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Issue 196 | FEBRUARY 2011

Europe’s new Ryder Cup captain reveals why he is ready to step out from Seve’s shadow Full interview on pages 24 & 25

OLLIE GOOD SHOW

© PING 2011

darren clarke p12 | EWEN MURRAY p28 | melissa reid p31 | Pro Shop p34 | drivers p36 | ME & MY TravelS p47

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Editor’s comment 05

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Ignorance isn’t always bliss

I

t’s one of the imbalances of professional sport that a footballer can cheat in pretty much every match he plays in – a dive here, a deliberate hand ball there – and, to all intents and purposes, get away with it, despite being caught on camera and witnessed by thousands, if not millions of people. Yet if the same should happen to a golfer, he, or she, is treated like a pariah, with professional and social death by a thousand whispers being the general reaction to any accusations of cheating.

The mere whiff of suspicion of having deliberately bent or broken the rules can blight a golfer’s career, such is the code that we sign up to when we take up the game. It’s a sign of golf’s integrity that such incidences are extremely rare in the top levels of the game, with Elliott Saltman’s recent alleged transgression – see our story on page 30 – being only the third time a player has been officially sanctioned during the last 30-odd years on the European Tour.

It’s quite right that these matters are dealt with seriously, quickly and, above all, fairly, in order to preserve the integrity of the game, but before we all leap to decry Saltman’s claimed behaviour, I’d hazard a guess that a large percentage of club golfers unwittingly break the rules of golf every time they step out onto the course, whether it be making an incorrect drop, touching a branch in their practice swing or failing to announce a provisional ball.

Most of these transgressions are borne out of a lack of knowledge of the rules, rather than a willful desire to gain an unfair advantage, but as Padraig Harrington found out in his recent qualification in Abu Dhabi, being unaware of an infringement is no defence against the rules.

The law, in Harrington’s case may well be an ass, but that’s how it stands until someone sees fit to change it. So if you play golf regularly, and certainly if you’re a member of a club, a few minutes spent perusing the Rules of Golf before the competition season kicks off again this month might be time well spent.

Denis Pugh will be dispensing swing tips at Golf Live

Golf Live 2011 tickets go on sale With the Ryder Cup successfully returned to European soil, Colin Montgomerie is now focusing his efforts on making a success of Golf Live 2011, the public golf show for which tickets are now on sale. The Ryder Cup-winning captain will once again be headlining the event, giving guests an inside-the-ropes experience with one of the legends of European golf.

The three-day show, which began life at Stoke Park Golf Club in May last year, has now been transferred to the London

Golf Club in Kent, where it will take place between May 20-22.

Besides Monty, last year’s world-class line up also included Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Retief Goosen and David Leadbetter.

Other famous faces due to appear this year included ‘Voice of Golf’ Peter Alliss, and fellow BBC commentators Iain Carter and Andrew Cotter.

They will be joined by CNN presenter Shane O’Donoghue, trick-shot genius, Jeremy Dale, and coach of the Molinari brothers, Denis Pugh, for

three days of action-packed entertainment in Kent.

Speaking about the plans for this year’s event, Montgomerie said: “I am already starting to plan my masterclass sessions, and I am confident that this year’s event will be even more successful than last year.

These world-renowned golf commentators are a great asset to Golf LIVE, as they help the players communicate their methods and tips to the fans.”

The event also gives visitors exclusive access to the London Club’s world-class facilities, including the highly-acclaimed Jack Nicklaus-designed Heritage Course – venue for the 2008 European Open – the driving range, putting green and other facilities. The Driving Range Theatre will present interactive sessions focusing on ironing out golf’s most common faults, as well as equipment profiles and trick shot shows.

Tickets start from £45 and are available from the Golf Live website at www.golfliveevent.com.

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The National Winter Fourball Package

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1st November-24th December 2010 1st Jan-31st March 2011

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The Singing Hills Winter Fourball package consists of full English breakfast on arrival and 18 holes of golf for 4 people Monday to Friday £100.00 Weekends £120.00

The Standard Society Package

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1st March - 30th October 2011

1st March - 30th October 2011

The Standard Society Package includes coffee and bacon rolls on arrival, 18 holes of golf and 2 course meal Monday to Friday £75.00 pp Weekends £85.00 pp

The Standard Society Package includes coffee and bacon rolls on arrival, 18 holes of golf and 2 course meal Monday to Friday £46.00 pp Weekends £53.50 pp

Minimum 12 players. We will be happy to bespoke packages to suit your societies.

Sussex Society Secretaries

15% discount offer

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Book your society meeting at both courses during 2011 and receive a 15% discount. For full details of this offer, contact the society organiser at either venue.

Remember to visit our award-winning golf shops to see their extensive range of golfing products.

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Society Golf at Amazing Prices

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Terms and conditions apply – see the websites for more information

06 News

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Royal Ashdown’s Historic West Course Come and enjoy scenic heathland golf with no bunkers!

Visitors and societies welcome 7 days a week 18 Holes Weekdays £21 Weekends £26 available from October 30 2010 to March 26 2011

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T

he latest list of the world’s top courses produced by respected website www.top100golf courses.co.uk is filled with some familiar favourites and some new faces in a clash of tradition versus new money.

It’s an unusual World Top 100, which at first glance looks very familiar – at least the first half – but careful study of the second half reveals many changes. There are no fewer than 15 new entries, although some have risen back up the rankings from earlier years.

The highest new entry – straight in at 69 – is Les Bordes, which is ironically appearing for the first time

in the rankings after the sad death of architect Robert von Hagge in October.

As usual, the USA has more world ranked courses than any other country, but there are fewer in the latest list than ever before – a bit like the world golf rankings.

The USA has made way for the likes of Royal Aberdeen (Balgownie), while Wentworth’s West Course reappears after its multi-million pound facelift at 92, and the New course at Sunningdale – considered by many as superior to the Old (27) – makes its debut at 89.

Continental European courses generally miss out on world ranking places, but two new Stadium courses join the household name of Sawgrass on

66 Pro Tour tees off at St Georges The winter series of the popular 66 Pro Tour is to visit some of the finest courses in the South East over the coming months, with Open Championship venue Royal St Georges being the highlight of a classy line up of quality clubs scheduled to host events in the 2011 season. The 66 Pro Tour will head to the historic Kent links course on March 9, with the 18-hole event providing an early indication of how the world’s top professionals will fare when the 151st Open Championship gets under way in July.

With its trademark wild majestic dunes, the course has the benefit of spectacular viewing locations for spectators, and also has the deepest bunker in championship golf on the famous fourth hole.

The winter series also takes in events at Hankley Common (March 2), The Grove (March 14), Walton Heath (March 24) and Woking (March 29).

The summer schedule comprises an impressive 22 events, and begins on April 13 with an 18-hole event at The Berkshire and ends on October 22 at Walton Heath for the grand final. Other clubs in the south east to stage events include Littlestone, Princes, Stoke Park, Coombe Hill, Moor Park and The Addington.

For a full schedule and entry details visit www.66protour.com or call 01628 566250.

Sunningdale’s New Course

the latest list – PGA de Catalunya (86) and Bro Hof Slott (99).

Relative newcomer New Zealand continues to impress, with Kauri Cliffs (34), Cape Kidnappers (35), and the Jack Nicklausdesigned Kinloch Club (98th) earning their places in the top 100.

According to the site, the world’s top 10 courses look like the following:

Frost bites Berkshire’s Roger Chapman is still seeking his first win on the European Seniors Tour, after being edged out of the Mauritius Open by David Frost. Frost conjured a stunning eagle three on the 18th hole to force the tournament into a play-off, and then defeated Chapman at the second extra hole.

After a thrilling final round that saw Chapman overhaul a four-shot deficit and take a two-shot lead down the final hole, Frost saved his best till last with a brilliant drive followed by a sublime three iron to 15 feet that he rolled home for eagle.

“It was a great final round and a great victory for me, because when I was standing on the 18th tee two shots back I didn’t think I had any chance,” admitted Frost who won 42,000 euros. “Roger had made a great birdie putt on 17, so I didn’t give myself much hope. Then I saw him take 3-wood and thought he was playing for a par, so I had one chance to make eagle. I’m delighted to have won here – it is another great experience in my life that I will never forget. I have been very privileged to play and win all over the world and this is another

News 07

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Jones keeps up to bag Volvo title

op 100

1 Pine Valley 2 Cypress Point 3 Augusta National 4 Royal County Down 5 Turnberry (Ailsa) 6 Shinnecock Hills 7 Royal Birkdale 8 Oakmont 9 Muirfield 10 St Andrews (Old) See how your favourite courses fair by visiting www.top100golfcourses.co.uk.

Mark Jones, a 13 handicapper from Blue Mountain Golf Club in Berkshire, won the Grand Final of the Volvo Match Play Championship staged at Vale do Lobo on Portugal’s Algarve coast. Jones battled through four local heats to the regional final played at Frilford Heath, where he scored 37 points to book his place in the national final in Portugal. Jones had won the pairs event with his father in 2010, so his course knowledge was extremely valuable in his bid to win the singles event this year.

Jones was a model of consistency during the 72-hole final, but saved his best core to last, racking up 39 point on the Ocean course to finish on 140 points, which gave him the edge over William Welsh from Pytchley Golf Club near Kettering, who also finished on 140 points, but lost out on countback.

Following his win, Jones said: “William had a 10-foot putt on the last to make a five and win the tournament, which he missed and left me with a two-footer for the title. I’ve never had such shaky hands over a short putt before with the hole seeming so small! It was the perfect end to what was a great week of golf – perfect sunny weather, professionally organised tournament, great resort in both golf and accommodation, and the camaraderie among the competitors is the best I’ve experienced anywhere in golf.

The £20 entry fee was my best investment of 2010!”

The closing date for entries for the 2011 Volvo Match Play Championship is May 16, with local qualifiers starting on June 1. For more details visit www.volvogolf.co.uk or call 0845 4662222.

s back to deny Chapman Roger Chapman

chapter for me.”

For Chapman, defeat brought a bitter end to what was a very emotional week following the death of his lifelong friend, mentor and coach, George Will.

Will, who was 73, played in three successive Ryder Cups in the 1960s, beating

Arnold Palmer in his very first match in the biennial event. He was appointed professional at Walton Heath in 1957, and ended his teaching career at Sundridge Park in Kent, where he struck up a partnership with Chapman, helping him to make the

Ryder Cup team in 1981.

Given those circumstances, a playoff defeat was certainly a cruel end to a day in which 52-year-old Chapman had performed with the kind courage, determination and skill that would have made Will not only a satisfied coach, but, more importantly, a proud friend.

“I wanted to do it for George, but it wasn’t meant to be,” said Chapman after the play-off. “I was very emotional out there – and I didn’t put a foot wrong during regulation play. But you have to take your hat off to David, he made that eagle on the last when he absolutely had to, and then I made the mistake in the play-off, so you have to say the best man won.” read the U K’s

no.1 go lf pap er on line at golfn ews.co .uk

Golf News, The Studio, 14 Deanway, Hove, East Sussex BN3 6DG. Tel: 01273 556377. email: info@golfnews.co.uk. Website: www.golfnews.co.uk Managing Director Matt Nicholson matt@golfnews.co.uk

Design 71degrees www.71degrees.com

Editor Nick Bayly editor@golfnews.co.uk

Photography Action Images, James Cheadle

Advertising Production Kath Perry ads@golfnews.co.uk

Published by BlueGreen Media

Contributors Paul Mahoney, Clive Agran, Ewen Murray, Denis Pugh, Alistair Tait, Luke Donald

Europe captain ’s new Ry de is read reveals wh r Cup from y to step ou y he Seve’s shadowt pag

OLL IE Full inte rview on

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DARR EN CLA RKE P12

| EW EN MU RRAY P28

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| ME LISSA REID P31

| PRO

SHO P P34

| DR IVERS P36

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08 News

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The Dyke Golf Club

(Est 1906)

Play golf on the South Downs and overlooking the sea No temporary tees or greens and no restrictions on buggies or trollies

Winter Golf Society Package

Membership Special Offer

From January - March 2011

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£27.50 per person

If you decide to join as a full member by 1st April 2011 this £180 will be deducted from your first year

Package B Coffee & Bacon Roll, 18 holes One course lunch

£33.00 per person Package C Coffee & Bacon Roll, 18 holes Two Course Carvery

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The Dyke Golf Club, Devil’s Dyke, Devil’s Dyke Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 8YJ

SOCIETY & CORPORATE GOLF AT HEVER CASTLE

A

prize fund of more than £400,000 is up for grabs for PGA South Region professionals after the unveiling of this year’s schedule. Not only is there more money to play for, but there are more tournaments to enter, with seven new events crammed into an action-packed calendar. Virgin Atlantic is to sponsor both the Region and the Order of Merit, which now comprises eight tournaments.

A new stroke play tournament has boosted the Order of Merit with the addition of the PGA Sussex Masters, to be played over Worthing Golf Club’s Harry Colt-designed Lower Course in May. Also coming on board is The Keith MacDonald Match Play, which is played at Tylney Park.

The eight-strong series concludes with the PGA Southern Professionals Championship at Dale Hill Golf & Hotel, after which the top three players on the

Littlehampton will be hosting a new PGA South Region event.

PGA South Reg strengthens sc Order of Merit will qualify to represent the South Region in the end of season PGA Play-Offs, a stepping stone to the Challenge and European Tours.

Reinforcing their return to premier status are the popular PGA Surrey Open at its new home of Gatton Manor, and the PGA Kent Open at Prince’s, the famous links and Open qualifier. The Wildwood Invitational is now in early September, a move that promises top course conditions.

Worthing’s Lower Course

Two overseas trips, the Golf Escapes Turkey ProAm in Belek and The Golf College Challenge at top Spanish course Bonmont near Barcelona, make the ideal preparation for those professionals tackling an increased number of ProAm tournaments in 2011.

Betchworth Park and Coombe Hill both celebrate their centenaries with Pro-Ams, and three new ones will take place at Littlehampton, Copthorne and Stoneham.

The Stoke Park Pro-Am also joins the PGA South Region’s schedule and will be run in aid of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The 27-hole event’s prize format will motivate PGA Professionals to go for every shot, as every hole will offer player rewards. Charity does

Top referees offer lessons in the rules

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Golfers of all abilities are being invited to brush up on the rules of the golf with some of the best referees in the country. PGA tournament staff, who have officiated at all four Major championships, the Ryder Cup and European Tour events, will pass on their expertise at two specially arranged Rules of Golf courses at The Belfry.

The courses, which will include indepth analysis of the basic Rules, as well as televised rules incidents and practical demonstrations, is perfect for all players and essential knowledge for tournament organisers across the country.

“There has never been a better time

to improve your knowledge on the Rules of Golf following so many high profile Rules incidents,” said PGA head of golf operations Simon Higginbottom.

“For club secretaries and committees in charge of running competitions it is not only essential to have a sound knowledge of the Rules, but also to be confident in their application. As for the amateur golfer, having a grasp of the basics will inevitably lead to a greater enjoyment of the game.”

The courses will be held at The Belfry on March 11 and March 25, both priced at £125. For further details email amanda. cox@pga.org.uk or call 01675 470 333.

News 09

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Ford enjoys dream start

gion chedule not end there; the Seve Ballesteros Foundation Pro Am at Foxhills is aiming to surpass the £60,000 raised last year.

Sam Smith, newlyappointed PGA South Region Secretary, has high hopes for 2011: “The PGA South Region’s 2011 schedule has a great combination of tournaments at top quality venues across the region for the aspiring and seasoned competitors alike to compete against each other. The attractive spread of Pro-Ams and corporate events includes many of the Region’s top 100 golf courses. We think it will appeal to all, from those aiming for the European Tour, the PGA pro who wants to keep their hand in, and assistants venturing into professional golf.”

Kent golfer Matt Ford registered his best ever result on the European Challenge Tour by finishing second at the Gujarat Kensville Challenge in India. The Bearsted professional carded a final round 70 to finish one shot behind India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar at the season opener.

Ford, 32, who picked up a cheque for £18,400, told Golf News: “Obviously it’s very disappointing to have lost by a stroke. On the last hole, when I heard that Bhullar had made a bogey on the 17th, I tried to make a birdie to force a playoff. But I hit my approach a bit short, and failed to make the putt. But credit to Bhullar, because he deserved to win. On the positive side, it’s my biggest cheque and best performance of my career, so I’m very happy. To get some nice money up on the board early is the biggest positive.”

Last September, Ford tied for second in the Russian Challenge Tour, and finished the 2010 season 59th on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit. He capped an outstanding year by being named the PGA South Region’s Player of the Year. Ford, a past PGA Assistants champion, played in 33 PGA South Region events, and produced a scoring average of 69.5, 23 top ten finishes, winnings of £13,383.51, plus four pro-am titles at Walmer & Kingsdown, Lee-on-theSolent, Tylney Park Classic and the Nelson Trophy at St George’s Hill.

He went into his final round in India six shots off the lead, but ended up just a stroke adrift of Bhullar, who became the first Indian to win on the Challenge Tour.

three

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free membership

Free Society Guide out now!

Golf News’ Ultimate Guide to Society & Company Golf 2011 is now available.

This has been a musthave publication for every golf society organiser for many a year and now its even bigger and better than before with a new look, size and style.

Featuring many of the regions finest clubs and courses, predominantly located in the South East, this indispensible handy full-colour booklet provides all the information you’ll ever need to make your golf day a success.

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Among details included are up-to-date prices and packages for societies and visitors, information on tee time restrictions, comprehensive directions and local accommodation tips, as well as detailed

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Des igned by ree most s Jon exc es, The course iting cou rses Oxford that in the offers shire the ultim country is The stra – a pris conside ate tac red country tegically-c tine tical Americ to be one ontour challen side an-styl bunker of the to pro ed hol ge acr vide e par s, es ble oss a cha klan provide the cou water. d llengin nd natura rse charac ma lly into g gam teristic kes full e of the sur use Since s sim golf. of the roundi opening ilar to terrain With fou ng as the those , The r lake and Ben of a Oxford s and the son links Cham 135 course natural pionsh & Hedges shire has elem such . ips and been ents Inte as Co to host the Lad rnational, lin Mo to ma the And ies’ jor tou ntgom The Eng erson rna erie Oxford lish and Open, Consu ments shire hotel Bernha such with lting offers offe rd Lan an env World one destina ring 50 ger. iable of the luxu tion list of rious finest for a bed winner club challen rooms houses s ging , spa in the gam and e of country leisure golf and com and plex, leisure with makes a 4* break. an ide al

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For your free copy of The Ultimate Guide please email your Society or Company name to: info@golfnews.co.uk.

Darenth pro passes the test Golfers in Kent looking to sharpen up the game for the new season should head down to Darenth Valley, where the team of teaching professionals is second to none. Assistant professional Peter Stopford recently gained his Masters Teaching course with European Golf Teachers Federation, which will further enhance the services offered at the Teaching Academy. Peter works alongside Head Professional Bill Abbott, and both can be contacted for lesson on 01959 522922.

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News 11

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Chart Hills launches Performance Centre

summer Society Offers April - October 2011

From

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WESTERHAM GOLF CLUB

WOLDINGHAM GOLF CLUB

www.westerhamgc.co.uk

www.woldingham-golfclub.co.uk

01959 567100

C

hart Hills Golf Club has always been a popular place for some of the game’s top names to not only play the game, but also to practice their skills, with the Kent venues’ practice facilities among the best around.

European Tour player Benn Barham, European Senior Tour player Peter Mitchell, and Ladies European Tour player Dannielle Masters are just some of the more famous names to have honed their talents on the driving range and short game practice area, as well as out on the Nick Faldo-designed Championship golf course.

Building on its reputation as a centre for excellence, the Biddenham-based club has recently opened the Chart Hills Golf Performance Centre, which aims to bring together the club’s team of PGA professionals alongside experts in the field of sports biomechanics, physiology and psychology to provide a completely holistic approach to golf coaching.

Open to existing golf members free of charge, the Golf Performance Centre will also be open to golfers from outside the club who are looking to take their game to the next level.

For an annual membership fee of £500, Golf Performance Centre members will have access to all of the world-class practice facilities at Chart Hills, as well as the changing rooms, clubhouse, bar, restaurant and lounge. Other benefits include 80 practice balls for every visit, invitations to attend six outdoor PGA workshops and six ‘Mind to Perform’ golf psychology workshops.

£46

01883 653501

Chart Hills’ Director of Golf James Cornish

From

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SURREY NATIONAL GOLF CLUB

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Please call the Club of your choice for further details or to book your society

Mental training coach Karl Steptoe

Members will also receive a free subscription to the Mind to Perform website and e-newsletter, and be given a 10% discount on all needs assessment sessions. Each centre member will also receive a membership bag tag and an exclusive gift as part of their joining package.

The Performance Centre’s team will be headed up by Director of Golf and respected coach James Cornish, who has been at the club since 2004, who will be ably assisted by PGA Level II coach Anthony Froom and PGA Advanced Professional Karl Steptoe, who will be running the

psychology element of the coaching. Rosemary Livesley, a qualified sports therapist, will be looking after the physical elements of golf improvement. Her area of expertise involves designing bespoke exercise plans, injury management, deep tissue massage, nutrition and dietary analysis.

One-to-one coaching sessions start from £45 for 45 minutes, rising to £200 for a package of five lessons, while a one-hour Needs Analysis Assessment costs £59.

This involves a complete equipment check, a swing analysis session and the designing of a tuition plan.

Karl Steptoe is running a series of bi-monthly psychology workshops, with March’s session entitled ‘The Mentally Tough Golfer’, focusing on developing techniques to cope when under pressure.

The tuition workshop are also run bi-monthly, with each session lasting three hours and involving a guest speaker, equipment supplier or the performance centre’s own staff. There will be a maximum ration of six golfers per member of staff at these sessions.

For more details on joining the Chart Hills Golf Performance Centre call 01580 291148 or email jamesc@charthills.co.uk.

SELSDON PARK HOTEL & GOLF CLUB SANDERSTEAD, SURREY

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For more information please contact Caroline Screene on: 0208 768 3113 Selsdon Park Hotel & golf club, Addington Road, Sanderstead, Surrey, CR2 8YA

12 Profile

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Modelling his future

Darren Clarke says he still has plenty to prove as a player before he puts his feet up in the Ryder Cup captain’s buggy that surely awaits

T

here was a rumour doing the rounds a while back that Darren Clarke used to keep a black book that contained the names of people who had crossed him during his 20-year career as a professional golfer.

A fiery character in his earlier years, it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise to discover that it contained the majority of the world’s media and a long list of other players and officials who had rubbed him up the wrong way over the years. It’s perhaps a sign of his growing maturity that today this book, which he says only ever existed in his head, has just two names in it, although the owner is not about to reveal them. “They know who they are, let’s just leave it at that,” says Clarke, who confesses to have mellowed considerably as the years have slipped by.

The softening of Clarke’s temper might give rise to the belief that his ambition has waned with it, but nothing could be further from the truth. Admittedly, 42 is not an age when many golfers are getting better, but golf is a game that rewards experience as well as youthful vigour, and few tour pros have more miles under their belt than Clarke, who turned professional in 1990, aged 22, after an extremely successful amateur career in Northern Ireland.

As he embarks on his 21st season on

NickBayly Tour, there is still a discernable fire burning in the Ulsterman’s belly, even if isn’t quite as bright as it once was. Although it’s been two years since he won on Tour, and five years before that, an on-song Darren Clarke is still a beauty to behold.

Few people in the modern era have made the game look so easy at times, with his agricultural swish and soft hands working miracles around the fairways of the world.

On the flipside, few players have also possessed the ability to make golf look so difficult, with his quick temper and slumped shoulders being the all too obvious signs that all is not well in the Clarke camp.

With 12 European Tour wins in the bag – including two monster WGC paydays – and prize money well in excess of €20 million, Clarke’s record would be the envy of almost every player out there. But there is more than a sneaking suspicion that he could have won a whole lot more, and maybe a longed-for major, if life had panned out differently.

The untimely death of his wife, Heather, in 2006, perhaps put paid to that. Aged 37, and at a time when many golfers are reaching the peak of their powers, Clarke’s life was turned upside down in an instant. One minute he was playing the

circuit without a care in the world, jetting from event to event, driving fast cars and smoking big cigars – as well as providing a steady income for his family – the next he was a single father having to bring up two small boys virtually on his own. Always one for boy’s toys, Clarke had to put away those childish things and concentrate on being the best dad in the world – and that doesn’t always sit well with a career that demands total commitment on and off the golf course.

As Clarke says: “Of course I would have hoped to have won more tournaments by this stage of my career. But Heather got

fine margins, but this game is all about small margins. All the players will tell you this: You knock in a couple of putts and you get a little bit of confidence and everything changes.

But from tee to green, I’ve been very pleased with my game. I’m just not converting my chances into good enough scores.”

Margins indeed. Last season saw Clarke finish the Race to Dubai in a respectable 30th place, banking close to €900,000 in the process. However, he only managed four top-10 finishes, with his bestplaced runners-up spot in the Scottish Open helping to secure a last-gasp place in the

“I’ve done everything I can to try to win a major, but if I had been as mentally tough as Padraig, perhaps I would have done better” ill right at the time when I was winning a lot. I’m not using Heather’s illness as an excuse. But it’s a fact, my focus was much more on Heather’s health. I still want to win, and believe I’ve got the game to win.

It’s just getting my head together.”

And what kind of shape is his game in right now, as he embarks on his 21st season as a professional? “My game is pretty good at the minute,” he says. “In fact, it’s been good for quite sometime from tee to green, but I’ve been having a bit of a slow spell on the greens, to say the least. It’s a fine line and

Open Championship – an event which many have unsuccessfully tipped Clarke to win for almost as long as he’s being playing the game.

How will he judge his career if he fails to win The Open, or indeed, any major?

“I’ve always been rather short odds for The Open because of my affinity for links golf,” says Clarke. “I always enjoyed it growing up playing Royal Portrush and all the great links in Ireland. It feels like a links course should suit my game best. It will be very disappointing if I don’t manage to

Profile 13

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win it, because I have always thought I have enough talent to win one. But, then again, I probably haven’t been as mentally strong as I should have been. I’m pretty impatient. I want things done yesterday.

And if they’re not, then why not? I am aware of it and I try to be more patient. I’ve done everything I can to try to win a major, but if I had been as mentally tough as Padraig, perhaps I would have done much better.”

Although his exploits as an individual make for mixed reading, it’s perhaps for his performances as a team player in the Ryder Cup that Clarke has imposed himself most in the public psyche.

If anything’s guaranteed to get Clarke’s competitive juices flowing faster than ever, it’s the biennial tournament against the old enemy. A mainstay of the team since his debut in 1997, few who witnessed it will ever forget his emotional triumph at the K Club in 2006, when he birdied the opening hole in his match against Tiger, just weeks after the death of his wife. The image of Ian Woosnam holding Clarke’s arm aloft after his

singles win is one of the outstanding pictures of recent golfing history.

Clarke’s input into the 2010 triumph at Celtic Manor was as part of Colin Montgomerie’s backroom team, where he fulfilled the role of vice-captain. Being part of the support staff was nothing like being part of the team itself, and this point was rammed home in the immediate aftermath of the victory.

“When the matches were over, I went back into the locker room,” reveals Clarke. “It was a strange time for me actually. All of a sudden I felt completely flat because I wasn’t playing. All I had been doing was trying to help. So my job was done. As a player, all you want to do is party, party, party. But this time I didn’t feel that. I had put so much into helping as much as I could, but when we won, that was it. When all the celebrations were going on up on the balcony, I stood to one side. I felt apart from it all. Those moments are for the players, and you won’t see me in any of the pictures on the balcony. It wasn’t my deal.”

As for Clarke’s Ryder Cup future, on current form he seems destined to play a captain’s role rather than one as a player, with the matches at Hazeltine in 2016 looking a likely place to sign off his career.

“I would, of course, love to be captain at some stage,” agrees Clarke, “if I was ever to be asked. It isn’t a job you volunteer for. However, if I was asked, I may be more suited to captaining in America,” he continues. “The American crowds have always been unbelievably kind to me – goodness knows why, but they have. They know I’m a normal guy who likes to have a beer, and a lot of them seem to identify with that. So, overall, I may be more suited to America.

“Six years from now I will be 48,” continues Clarke. “That, to me, is just about the ideal age for any captain. Plus, there are certain captains better suited to leading in Europe, and others who could do either home or away.”

With four years to fill between now and when the 2016 captain is appointed, Clarke has plenty more petrol in the tank, and will be bidding to make it on to Jose Maria Olazabal’s team in 2012 as a player, rather than an assistant.

“I’m desperate to play in another Ryder Cup,” he admits. “The matches have always been unbelievably good to me all through my career. Nothing will ever compare with the emotions I felt at the K Club in 2006, but I would give everything to have one last crack at it.”

Ryder Cup ambitions aside, Clarke’s main focus this year is getting his family settled after the upheavals of recent times. Last year he relocated his young family from Surrey and moved back to his old stomping grounds of Portrush, while the week before Christmas he proposed to his partner, Alison Campbell, with the wedding set for the summer. New beginnings, in every sense of the word.

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High hopes for Hoebridge’s child hospice fundraiser

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Golfers at Hoebridge Golf Centre have kicked off a year of fundraising in which they hope to amass £12,000 for Chase Children’s Hospice in Guildford.

Incoming captain Mike Henley and lady captain Florence Smith have chosen Chase as their charity for the year and got off to a great fundraising start by collecting £640 at their first event – a bridge and Scrabble evening.

More than 80 keen fundraisers turned up to support the captains’ efforts for Chase, which provides nursing, practical and emotional support to families with children who are not expected to reach their 19th birthday across South West London, Surrey and Sussex.

Mike O’Connell, Hoebridge Golf Centre general manager, said: “The bridge and Scrabble evening was a great way to kickstart the fund-raising year ahead, well done to all those who attended, and in particular to Shirley Backwith and the Charity Committee for organising such a great event. Everyone at Hoebridge Golf Centre is firmly behind both captains in their drive to reach £12,000 for such a worthwhile cause and we will be staging a number of events throughout the year.”

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Hoebridge captain Mike Henley (left) and lady captain Florence Smith have set a target of £12,000 to raise for Chase Children’s Hospice in 2011

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Taylor wins Dhabi Junio

S

urrey amateur Ben Taylor showed he has a bright future in the game after winning the Abu Dhabi Junior Golf Championship with a three-round score of 13 under par.

Taylor, a Walton Heath member and golf scholar at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, has ambitions to become a tour pro, and shot rounds of 69, 65 and 69 to finish two shots clear of Rhys Pugh, the outstanding Welsh schoolboy from Pontypridd.

This Daily Telegraphsponsored event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club is renowned for drawing a high-class field, and this year was no different.

“I’ve never had that much fun in competition golf before,” said Taylor, a former tennis player at Reed’s, Tim Henman’s old school in Surrey. “I played two rounds with Rhys and we got a friendship going that was really nice to see.

It’s not always the most

comfortable environment when you form rivalries with people.”

Taylor has a languid muscular swing that looks built for a life on tour.

“Looking back at the sort of scores Tour players shoot here, my 65 on Monday is right up there,” he said.

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Abu or title

“That’s quite encouraging to see. Playing courses where the pros play puts you in a good position to know where you’ll be in the future. So that was one of the highlights of the week – winning on a European Tour course.”

Taylor and Pugh both returned final round 69s, and the gap to third placed Jordan Ainley, from Brokenhurst Manor, rose to 12 shots. Jerome Titlow, from The London in Kent, was the only other player to go under par on the final day.

Assistants’ Championship heads back to East Sussex The majestic beauty of the Sussex Downs again lies in wait for Britain and Ireland’s aspiring PGA golf professionals, after East Sussex National was confirmed as the host venue for the Powerade PGA Assistants’ Championship in association with FootJoy for the next two years.

It comes after the prestigious venue successfully staged the event last year, when it made a welcome return to the PGA National tournament schedule after an 18-year absence and will now see it host the PGA’s oldest championship this summer and in 2012.

The tournament, which this year carries a prize fund of £30,000, will be played over the challenging East Course between August 10-12.

The winner will pocket a cheque of £5,000 and also gain invites to the 2012 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and to the 2011 Australia’s PGA National Futures Championship which Guy Woodman (East Berkshire) won in 2009.

The East Course’s pedigree is unquestioned, having played host to two European Opens featuring some of the cream of world golf including major winners Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Jose Maria Olazabal, as well staging five Challenge Tour events and Tour school.

Derek Howe, general manager at East Sussex National, said: “We are proud to host the Powerade PGA Assistants’ Championship in association with FootJoy for the second year.

“Last year’s championship was a great success and working with the PGA is always a privilege, especially when it involves aspiring assistant professionals.”

Last year’s championship broke new territory, as it was the first time in its long history that a female assistant had qualified for the final, with Ireland’s Marian Riordan (Greystones) and Fern Grimshaw (Wessex Golf Centre) both teeing up.

This year’s championship will definitely see a new name on the trophy, as last year’s winner Guy Woodman is unable to defend the title, having become a fully qualified professional. Entry is only open to those undergoing their three-year PGA training programme.

A field of 120 players will contest the championship, with upwards of 500 assistant professionals attempting to qualify via seven regional qualifiers.

The regional qualifiers will be staged at Wanstead, Henley-inArden, Auchterarder, Penwortham, East Sussex National, Honiton, and at County Meath in Ireland.

The tough finishing hole awaits the Assistants on the East Course.

brief news in

It’s a family affair at Royal Ascot For the first time in its 123-year history Royal Ascot Golf Club have a husband and wife serving together as club captains. Malcolm and Kay Dargue took their place in the Berkshire club’s record books at the beginning of the year.

Direct Golf now in Farnborough Direct Golf, the UK’s leading multi-channel golf retailer, opened its latest superstore in Farnborough, Hampshire last month. Facilities at the 4,000 square foot store in Queens Road include a startof-the-art Global Play golf simulator, full custom-fitting, demo equipment, indoor putting green, specialist clothing section, and ladies and junior areas. Direct Golf now operates 16 stores around the UK. A 17th store will be opening in Reading later this year.

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16 Course Review

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Just over a year after becoming a members-only venue, Cranleigh Golf and Country Club is enjoying something of a boom thanks to its family-friendly attitude and quality service

Class

I

n these recessionary times, golf club memberships are in danger of slipping from the shopping list marked ‘essential’ to the one marked ‘luxury’, and while many hard core golfers are still willing to forgo other pleasures in order to get their fix, others, for whom golf was only ever a casual pastime, are having to think twice about signing off a four-figure sum each year. Which is why all but the most coveted clubs have to go the extra mile to attract new members these days, let alone hold on to the ones they’ve got.

One that is doing just that is Cranleigh.

Bought by The Country Club Group in 2007, the popular Surrey venue has been on the receiving end of a £3 million investment programme over the last three years, transforming it from a run-of-the-mill golf club into what is best described as a ‘club class’ leisure venue.

Golf is still very much the raison d’etre of the place, but the ‘country club’ tag reflects the broadening of the hospitality on offer, with a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, fully-equipped gymnasium, spa retreat, three fitness studios, two tennis courts and a myriad of other facilities, including a professionally-staffed crèche, all now available.

Calling it merely a ‘golf club’ would be selling it short by some considerable margin. It would be a bit like calling Harrods a corner shop (despite the fact that it is a shop that happens to be on a corner).

So, at a time when many clubs were hunkering down for the recession, cutting back on spending and mothballing building projects, The Country Club Group was splashing the cash – it also spent £4 million

on redeveloping Slinfold Golf & Country Club, in nearby Horsham, to a similar high specification. Swimming against the tide can sometimes feel like folly, but then again some of the financial world’s biggest winners in the current recession, Warren Buffett among them, have reaped the greatest rewards by doing just that: buying in when others are selling, and selling out when others were buying in.

Adhering to this principle, the management at CCG decided that the best way to set Cranleigh apart from the crowd was to make it more exclusive, rather than more accessible, and make its members feel special, rather than seeing them merely as a reliable source of revenue. Rather than open up tee times to all-comers, introduce winter memberships, two-for-ones and welcome societies seven-days-a-week, Cranleigh has gone the other way. Visitors can now only play as a member’s guest, there are no corporate or society days, and everything is geared towards meeting the needs of members. It redefines what it means to be a private members’ club.

Ben Lovell, Director of Golf at the club, is quick to highlight just how unique the move, which was made last March, is: “I think there is a misunderstanding among golfers generally that a club that is labeled ‘private members’ is a club that doesn’t allow visitors or golf societies. This couldn’t be further from the truth in most instances.

The ‘private members’ tag refers to the club’s ownership structure being split among the sum of the members. Most of them, in fact 99 per cent of them, still accept visitors and golf societies.”

He adds: “What we’re doing is offering a golf membership product that has added

value over other golf memberships in the South, that’s all. Non-members can still join the club – we’ve not closed the membership roster. Non-members are also still invited to use the club’s Retreat Spa and they can also use guest passes in the health club.”

In becoming a members-only club, Cranleigh joins a very small group of elite clubs in the UK that do not take green fee players, which also includes The Wisley, also in Surrey, and Loch Lomond in Scotland.

Lovell continues: “It really does add tremendous value to the membership here.

And members will still be able to invite their non-member friends and family to play golf, as they’d play together and qualify as a member’s guest. Members also have the opportunity to invite small groups of guests to play in organised golf days.”

Full country club membership, which allows unlimited access to the 18-hole course, health club, swimming pool and tennis courts, currently costs £104 per month. The club has gone to great lengths to show the close relationship fitness, core stability and flexibility have to golf – perhaps no surprise when you consider that the best golfers in the world spend almost as much time in the gym as they do out on the course.

Golf members can improve their handicap by attending one of the ‘fit for golf’ seminars regularly held at the club. Furthermore, they can receive their own gym workout programme designed specifically to improve the strength and flexibility of the key muscles used in a golf swing.

It’s easy to see where the £3 million has been spent, as everything has the whiff of the new, from the pristine changing rooms with there dark-oak lockers, and the

state-of-the-art cardio equipment in the gym, to the 30-metre heated indoor pool with its spa garden.

The stylish clubhouse is a melding of old and new, with two oak-beamed Sussex barns having been knocked into one to create a large double-height room that

Course Review 17

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forms the social hub of the club, housing the restaurant and the main bar. The pro shop has been dispensed with in favour of a general reception area, which sells balls, tees and the odd accessory, but no hardwear. As Lovell explains: “There’s little point in trying to compete on price for golf equipment these days, and unless you’re serious about it, there’s no point in doing it half-heartedly. Instead, we have an exclusive tie-up with online retailer Direct Golf, which gives our members significant discounts on all purchases made through them.”

On the day of my visit, a typically dark and wet Thursday in January, the clubhouse is buzzy and busy, and has an atmosphere of people at leisure, relaxing, chatting and generally enjoying their time away from work or home. It’s a far cry from the scene you’d

find at most clubs at this time of year on a weekday, where the sound of tumbleweed breaks the silence.

And what of the star attraction, the golf course? At 5,644 yards off the white tees, it would seem like a walk in the proverbial park on first glance at the card. But that would be to ignore the par of 68, and the fact that there are six par threes, which traditionally cause club golfers the most trouble. The two par fives are both well over 500 yards, while the 423-yard 10th more than justifies its status as the hardest hole on the course, with its gun barrel narrow fairway bordered by out of bounds all down the right-hand side.

Unlike many venues, there’s no easing yourself gently into a round at Cranleigh, which is mixture of parkland and woodland, as the opener here is a 170-yard par three

played to a green, which is fronted by a steep slope, two bunkers and a stream.

There’s no let up at the par-four second, requiring as it does a pin-point drive to a left dog-legged fairway that slopes away to the right. The 288-yard par-four third offers some light relief, with big hitters given the option of going for the green, providing they can move the ball 30-40 yards left to right off the tee.

For ladies this short hole presents a totally different challenge, as it requires a 160-yard carry over a stream just to make the fairway.

The 325-yard fifth, ‘The Gap’, is a cracking short par four, with players required to hit a precise drive to the corner of a dog-leg before launching their approach through a narrow bit of fresh air between two tall trees that guard the entrance to the green. Of course, you could launch it over it all that from the tee, but if you can do that, you should perhaps be playing on the Tour!

The short holes provide exacting and very different challenges, from the brutish 215-yard 11th, which has to be reached by passing between two trees standing not more than 75 yards from the tee, while the 118-yard 14th is called ‘Simplicity’, but that proves far from it in reality, with a stream snaking its way within a few yards of the right-hand side of the green, ready to swallow up anything marginally off line.

All told, it’s a thoroughly entertaining round, requiring all the shots in the bag and plenty of opportunities for risk and reward from beginning to end. The greens are always in tip-top condition, with temporaries never brought into use. Built just 25 years ago, the course still has some maturing to do, and will get even tougher as some of the internal trees grow, but for sheer golfing fun

for club golfers it hits the spot on all counts.

With no societies or visiting golfers to clog up the fairways, rounds are quick and tee times readily available, while the competition scene is about as active as I’ve seen at any club, with the club entered in all the local and regional leagues, as well as a healthy number of club events for all ages and genders.

Mixed golf is far more prevalent than at many clubs, which is symptomatic of the inclusive and family-friendly attitude that pervades throughout Cranleigh.

That said, if kids aren’t your bag, there are plenty of parts of the clubhouse where adults can enjoy their own company, from the Snug Bar that looks out over the summer patio and the course, to the adults-only section in the main barn, where golfers can enjoy a highchair-free lunch.

The menu in the restaurant caters for all tastes, from protein-heavy fare for hungry golfers, to more healthy salads and snacks for diet-conscious gym goers, while those wanting a quick drink without having to change their shoes are looked after in the aforementioned Snug Bar. So whether you’ve promised to take a few shots off your handicap or a few inches off your waistline this year, Cranleigh Golf & Country Club seems to have the all the answers.

Cranleigh Golf & Country Club Barhatch Lane, Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 7NG For membership enquiries call 01483 604098 or visit www.ccgcranleigh.com.

18 News

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t: +44 (0) 333 800 1818 e: sales@stewartgolf.com w: www.stewartgolf.com

“The

most interesting new

push trolley for 2011”

- Golf International

Introducing the best push trolley in the world.

Designed with the same engineering expertise used in our outstanding X5 Remote & F1 Lithium powered machines, the new Z1 Push Cart from Stewart Golf folds smaller, easier & faster than any other push cart on the market.

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Multi-function handle with ball & tee compartment, scorecard & pencil holder, drinks holder & umbrella holder.

Three quick release wheels for an even smaller compact state.

Strong yet lightweight aero aluminium construction.

Top and bottom bungee cords to hold almost any bag tightly in place.

Simple foot operated parking brake.

Soft grip, fully adjustable handle.

RRP: £199

Old Thorns set host Trilby qua

G

olfers who failed to get a place on the 2011 Trilby Tour are being offered second bite of the cherry following the launch of a series of qualifying events at one of the host venues for the coming season.

Old Thorns Hotel, Golf and Country Estate in Hampshire, which is staging a south region Trilby Tour event on May 18, has announced that it is to stage three qualifying rounds in March and April, with the winners earning a start in the tournament proper in May. Entry to the qualifiers costs £50, to include entry fee, green fee and a light lunch.

Old Thorns is also hosting a corporate day on May 17 – the day before the tournament – where 20 teams of four will take part in a Stableford team shoot-out, with the winning team entering into a three-hole play-off against each other, and the winner being awarded a place in the Trilby Tour event the

following day. The price per team is £1,500, to include green fees, two corporate banners on the course for the duration of the tournament, and overnight accommodation at Old Thorns on May 16.

The first phase of venues for the 2011 Trilby Tour will be announced on February

16, with those players who have made the shortlist allowed to nominate their preferred venues before an official allocation is made.

With each event restricted to 120 players, the 2011 schedule has been significantly oversubscribed, with hundreds of golfers paying a refundable £50 to go on to a waiting list.

Savile Row tailor William Hunt, the man behind the tournament, said: “Last year was a phenomenal year for us, and the feedback from players and the clubs has been fantastic. The Trilby Tour is all about giving normal guys a chance to look and feel like a golfing superstar for the day.

New GM at Goodwood

Kent Pietsch (right) takes the captain’s reins at Wentworth

Vietnam vet takes on Wentworth captaincy If the experts are to be believed, 2011 is going to be an extremely tough year – with everyone needing a little inspiration. Well if club members at Wentworth require motivation, they need look no further than new captain Kent Pietsch. Sixty-eight-year-old Pietsch, who drove into office on New Year’s Day, is the embodiment of an indomitable spirit, who meets challenges and even near disasters head on – and comes out winning.

Pietsch, the third American to captain the famous Virginia Water club in its 87-year history, is a distinguished veteran of the Vietnam War, having graduated from West Point. In February 1968, during the second Tet offensive, he commanded a helicopter raid by an air-mobile infantry company which flew into a firefight with 150-plus North Vietnamese. During the battle, Pietsch was hit by a bullet that went through his groin and shattered his sciatic nerve, leaving his left leg paralysed from the knee down.

He was invalided out of the army, but unlike most men who would have settled for a life behind a desk, he embraced his old love of skiing and for a year became an instructor for one-legged skiers in Colorado. Since then, he has had a highly successful career in investment business management in New York, London and Abu Dhabi, where he advised the government on oil investments.

Golf At Goodwood has announced the appointment of Stuart Gillett as its new general manager. Gillett, whose extensive skills have helped to establish numerous golf resorts throughout the UK, started the job last month, and takes full responsibility for golf administration at the prestigious West Sussex venue. He has just completed a successful term of office at Heythrop Park Resort in Oxfordshire, where he not only established the complex as the base for the Berks, Bucks and Oxfordshire county teams, but also held planning meetings with the European Tour for a Senior tournament in the same year. His list of previous employers includes a spell as general manager of Mill Ride, and two years as deputy general manager at the exclusive Bearwood Lakes, both of which are in Berkshire.

Speaking about his new position at Goodwood, Gillett said: “I am keen to build on Goodwood’s growing reputation in the world of golf, as well as its ambience and services, and work closely with the course management team.”

News 19

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t to alifier Old Thorns Golf & Country Estate

Ladies line up for Golf Cup! “To watch grown men shaking at the first tee is what this competition is all about. This year’s schedule is going to be even bigger and better and I’m looking at a selection of top clubs across the country and abroad. I’m confident that 2011 is going to be exceptional year for the Trilby Tour.”

Last year’s professional final was won by Fulwell Golf Club’s assistant pro Tom Reid, who beat former European Tour players Phil Golding and Phil Archer in a thrilling play-off at The Buckinghamshire, while the amateur final was won by Chris Dyson from Goodwood Golf Club in West Sussex (inset pic).

SPRING SOCIETY

PACKAGES

An amateur ladies golf tournament that offers the tempting prospect of an all-expenses paid trip to Spain for the winners of three qualifying events held in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire looks like proving a hit with the ladies this summer. Following on from its successful launch in the UK in 2010, The Ladies Golf Cup offers the chance for the finalist to represent England and take on teams from Spain and Portugal, where the tournament has been running since 1998, in a European Final.

The three qualifying events will be taking place at Moor Park on June 22, Stoke Park on July 4, and Brocket Hall on July 7. There are two categories available to play in: the 0-18 handicap and the 19-30 handicap. One winner from each category from each event will represent England in the final. Last year, England came out on top in the final at La Torre Golf Resort in Murcia, so this year’s winners have a lot to live up to. Entry fees are £75 per player, which includes green fees, all food and drink, a luxury goody bag and complimentary subscription to Women & Golf magazine.

Tournament Director Ben Lambourne said “This event captured the hearts of so many lady golfers in 2010. Given the great venues and support of fantastic brands, this event has a very bright future and will grow year on year.”

APRIL 2011/2012

MIDWEEK

£33.00

WEEKEND

£40.00

Tea/Coffee & Bacon Rolls 9 Holes on Par 3 short course 18 Holes Championship Course One Course Golfers Meal

Wildwood GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

Horsham Road Alfold, Surrey GU6 8JE

Tel: 01403 753255 www.wildwoodgolf.co.uk

To register call 01491 412967, email ladiesgolfcup@ ompremium.com or visit www.ladiesgolfcup.com.

Oxfordshire to host ‘amateur Ryder Cup’ The Oxfordshire Golf Club is to host the grand final of The Four Nations Golf Challenge, a brand new event for 2011 that is being billed as the amateur golfer’s domestic version of the Ryder Cup. The pairs team competition, which is open to club golfers of all handicaps, gives players the opportunity of playing for their country – England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – and experiencing their very own ‘Ryder Cup moment’.

To earn a chance to represent their country, a pair will need to win a maximum of four four-ball, better-ball matches, starting in May, in regional brackets consisting of 16 pairs each. Depending on the number of entries, a one-day final qualifying event will be held to decide which six pairs will represent their country in the grand final, which will be contested by four teams of 12 players representing the home nations at The Oxfordshire from September 25-28.

The ambassador for the tournament is one of the game’s longest serving amateur golfers, Gary Wolstenholme, who finally turned professional last year at the age of 50. Wolstenholme, who played in six Walker Cups and represented England 218 times, said: “There is no better feeling than playing for your country and being part of a team. I’m really excited about what I feel could become one of the most exciting competitions ever devised for the club golfer and I’m very proud to be associated with the Four Nations Golf Challenge.”

The Oxfordshire, a spectacular rolling layout designed by Rees Jones and owned by the Leaderboard Group which also includes Chart Hills, Dale Hill and Sandford Springs, opened its own state-of-the-art four-star hotel last May and every finalist will stay there free of charge throughout the four days of the final, which is planned to be televised.

The cost of entry is £20 per person (£40 per pair) and entries close on April 30.

For tournament registration and other information visit www.fournationsgolfchallenge. co.uk or call 01276 35505.

9

STAY PLAY

PA C K A G E S With unlimited golf – 2 Luxury Garden Suites with Full English Breakfast served in the main clubhouse

1 Night Stay from 2 Night Stay from 5 Night Stay from

£80.00 £150.00 £350.00

per person per person per person

All rates based on two people sharing a suite

For larger groups we have access to a lovely country inn approximately 2 miles from Wildwood - same rates apply – transport to take golfers is available ALL ACCOMMODATION INCLUDES USE OF THE GYM, TEA & COFFEE MAKING FACILITIES, FREEVIEW TV, FULLY SELF CONTAINED WITH BATHROOM EN SUITE, LUXURY TOWELS, SMALL KITCHEN AREA & FRIDGE WITH FRESH MILK AND DRINKS - SO IDEAL FOR GOLFERS STAYING A FEW DAYS! BREAKFAST IS SERVED IN THE GOLF CLUBHOUSE FROM 7AM

Wildwood GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

Horsham Road Alfold, Surrey GU6 8JE

Tel: 01403 753255 www.wildwoodgolf.co.uk

20 News

Lydd Golf Club Romney Road, Lydd, Kent TN29 9LS

winter Four Ball special

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Brocket launches new-look academy

Includes: 18 holes and Breakfast

Midweek - £90.00 Saturday - £120.00

Sunday Special

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a third off!

For more information or to book call the Pro Shop on: 01797 321201 www.lyddgolfclub.co.uk

Restricted to only 600 members Enjoy golfing excellence at affordable prices...

2011 Exclusive Membership Offer - for a limited time only exclusive membership package available!

2011 golf society packages available aT competitive rates!

Play Sutton Green For reduced green fee rates book your golf online at:

www.suttongreengc.co.uk Sutton Green Golf Club, New Lane, Sutton Green, Nr Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7QF. Tel: 01483 747898 www.suttongreengc.co.uk Sutton Green Golf Club is the ideal venue for your wedding, party and dinner dance

T

he Palmerston Golf Academy at Brocket Hall in Welwyn – home of the former Faldo Golf Institute – has secured the highly-respected teaching professional Barney Puttick as the first in a series of appointments that will attract top coaches from the world of golf to this corner of Hertfordshire.

The Palmerston Golf Academy has engaged some of the best names in golf to host residential and non-residential golf schools on the Brocket Hall estate, further establishing it as one of the leading teaching centres in the country.

Voted one of the UK’s top 25 coaches

by Golf Monthly, Puttick was previously head professional at Mid Herts Golf Club for 10 years, and has taught over 150 county golfers in his role as Herts County coach. He has also nurtured the talent of a number of professionals and developed a reputation as a short game specialist, having worked with Ken Brown, putter inventor Harold Swash and golf psychology guru Dr Karl Morris.

Puttick will provide lessons for all levels of golfer, as well as staging

a full programme of specialist golf clinics to build skills and improve all aspects of the game.

“I couldn´t hope for a better environment in which to teach,” said Puttick. “The state-of-theart facilities include an indoor teaching school, long game zone, short game zone, a chipping and putting zone and a par 3 six-hole course. I have ambitious plans and will soon be announcing news of my residential golf schools.”

Meanwhile, golfing twins Jo and Sam Head, who took the golf scene by storm 15 years ago when they turned professional, will also be joining the teaching staff at Brocket Hall this month.

Jo and Sam, who are now qualified teachers, will be offering a range of coaching programmes, from low level ‘Family and Friends’ lessons for lady beginners who want

to learn together, right up to a one-day Tour Experience for advanced golfers who want to learn how to master the game from world-class tournament players.

Lessons can include lunch at the Michelinstarred Auberge du Lac restaurant, as well as overnight accommodation in the Melbourne Lodge on the Brocket Hall estate.

Facilities will also include a V1 Swing Analysis computer, the newest Flight Scope launch

monitor, and a Titleist Sure Fitting Centre. Brocket Hall´s Club Director Peter Tschernitz added: “Barney´s reputation as a highly-regarded coach and short game guru will be a great asset to us at the Palmerston Golf Academy and I am absolutely sure that everyone that enrols will gain skills that will last them a lifetime.”

For more details about tuition packages visit www.brocket-hall.co.uk or call 01707 368786.

Darwin discovers Moor Park role Moor Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth has announced the appointment of 23-year-old Rob Darwin to the position of head professional.

Darwin joined the renowned Hertfordshire club in March 2009, following time employed as assistant professional at Royal Birkdale, venue of numerous Open Championships.

He takes over from Lawrence Farmer, the long-standing head professional, who retired in October after 18 years at the club.

Darwin follows in the footsteps of Open Champions Sandy Herd and Arthur Havers, and well-known professional Ross Whitehead, all former head pros at Moor Park.

He has already proven a very capable successor, and was instrumental in the opening of the Golf Swing Studio and the introduction of Tomi putting analysis, together with a

new approach to golf tuition.

Darwin is a Titleist Performance Institute Accredited Coach, qualifying him to assess golfers and design personal golf fitness programmes.

He will also continue to develop the

services offered to members and visitors, and further develop the junior coaching programme. He is currently looking to strengthen the coaching team with the appointment of an assistant professional.

News 21

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Leaderboard launches Tees for Teens initiative Aspiring young golfers are being offered a helping hand in their quest for sporting stardom following the launch of the Tee for Teens programme at the four golf clubs under the ownership of the Leaderboard Group.

Chart Hills, Dale Hill, Sandford Springs and The Oxfordshire are all inviting junior golfers between the ages of eight and 18 to enjoy complimentary membership and professional golf training at any of the Leaderboard courses starting from this month.

The group hopes the initiative will encourage a greater number of British youngsters to take up the game in advance of the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, when golf will become an Olympic sport for the first time since 1904.

£20

Summer Society packages From A key part of this unique offering will be group lessons held

by PGA professional trainers at all four courses, where junior members will receive the encouragement and training necessary to enable them to make

the most of their time on the course, with the possibility that some of them may go on to become core members of the junior teams.

Parents should contact their nearest Leaderboard club directly for details on application criteria.

per person

Includes: Coffee & Bacon Baguettes

‘Download Free 2 for 1 voucher from our website’ Book your Summer Society before 31st March 2011 to receive a £20 Pro Shop voucher, quote GN20 Download our New 2011 Society Brochure by visiting our website www.weald-of-kent.co.uk & subscribe to our Monthly Newsletter to receive Exclusive Offers for both on & off the course

The Weald of Kent Maidstone Road, Headcorn, Kent TN27 9PT. Tel: 01622 890866. Email: proshop@weald-of-kent.co.uk www.weald-of-kent.co.uk

the ridge golf club

summer Golf Packages 1st April 2011 – 31st October 2011

Hassocks is to benefit from continued investment in the golf course and the clubhouse facilities

Hassocks Golf Club has been withdrawn from sale following a restructuring in the management of the popular Sussex club.

The club, which is located nine miles north of Brighton, was put up for sale in November last year with a guide price of £775,000 quoted by selling agents Humberts Leisure.

However, club owner Denys Cole has since had a change of heart and has decided to retain the business, taking on the role of general manager in addition to his position as director. Mr Cole will be assisted in the day-to-day running of the club by head professional Michael Ovett and Jenny Sands.

The management team has outlined a major investment programme, both on and off the golf course, starting with an internal renovation of the existing 5,780-square

Cole takes the reins at Hassocks foot clubhouse, which will have a new layout as well as benefitting from a complete redecoration.

The 18-hole course is also to receive significant expenditure, with plans to build new back tees to lengthen the 5,754-yard layout and improve the general playing conditions, while additional land has been acquired to extend the current driving range and raise the quality of the practice facilities in general.

Opened in 1995, Hassocks is primarily operated as a pay-andplay venue, although the club has a core of 300 members and is renowned for its friendly atmosphere.

The club has maintained

its 2011 subscription at 2010 rates, offering 7-day membership for £695 and 5-day membership at £535.

Mr Cole is delighted that the future of the club, which first opened in 1995, is now settled, and that plans are in place to take it forward. “This has been a very exciting time for me.

There is a fresh energy among everyone in the Hassocks team. I am very much looking forward to working with each one of them as part of my much more active role in the club for the future.”

The club’s website is currently undergoing a redesign, although web users can still access online details at www. hassocksgolfclub.co.uk.

Diamond Bronze EMERALD Silver Gold Platinum

Coffee, bacon rolls, 18 holes of golf English breakfast/light lunch, 18 holes of golf Coffee, bacon rolls, light lunch, 18 holes of golf Coffee, bacon rolls, 2 course dinner, 18 holes of golf Coffee, bacon rolls, light lunch, 2 course dinner, 28 holes of golf Coffee, bacon rolls, light lunch, 2 course dinner, 36 holes of golf

£25 £29 £33 £37 £52 £55

Weekend bronze: £35 Weekend Silver: £44

Book before 28th February for Summer 2011 and the organiser goes free

*NEW* SENIOR JOINT MEMBERSHIP JUST £759 PER YEAR – Contact us for more information PLAY & PAY EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY Play the Course any time for £15 (60+ £13). After 12.00pm £12, Loyalty Cards extra savings The Ridge Golf Club, Chartway Street, Sutton Valence, Maidstone, ME17 3JB. Tel: 01622 844382. Web: www.theridgegolfclub.co.uk

22 News

brief news in

Lilly in the pink The Golfbreaks.com 2011 Pro-Am proved a roaring success after a team lead by Wellingborough professional Simon Lilly took the top prize after four days of hardfought competition in the sunshine at San Lorenzo in the Algarve.

Plimmer joins Horsham Respected Sussex-based golf coach Neil Plimmer has left Mid Sussex Golf Club after nine years as head professional to take up a new post at Horsham Golf & Fitness. Plimmer, who has been a Golf Monthly Top 25 coach since 2007, joined the fast-expanding team of PGA professionals at Horsham in January, and will play a central role in developing the junior golf coaching programme at the popular pay-and play facility.

www.golfnews.co.uk

Take a closer look at Hever Castle With a big song and dance being made over the 400th anniversary of Henry VIII’s succession to the throne last year, Hever Castle is a name that will ring many bells with those with a passing interest in English history.

For it was here, on the leafy borders of Kent and Surrey, that Henry rode down from Hampton Court to win the heart of Anne Boleyn, whose family seat was at Hever.

Located a few miles from Edenbridge, Hever Castle has long been a popular attraction with students of history, as well as young families who like to enjoy the

Broome Park Golf Club

stunning grounds, with its boating lakes, mazes and beautiful Italianate gardens. Golfers too, have also been flocking here for the last 20 years, following the creation of the 27-hole layout right in the heart of the estate. The

Championship Course, comprising the Kings and Queens nines, was built in 1992 and combines to offer a 7,000-yard layout, while the 2,784yard Princes’ nine opened six years later to provide an additional challenge

Golf has always had a reputation for forging friendships that last a lifetime, as well as cementing business links that smooth the wheels of industry, but in this busy life we lead, finding the time to make the first indtrouctions isn’t always quite so straightforward. Many golfers are stuck in a rut of playing with same group year-in, year-out, which although cosy, can make it difficult for new members and those not attached to a club to find playing partners and make new friends.

Thankfully, golfers new to an area or those looking to find new friends on the fairways need only log on to TEEforeTWO.co.uk, the UK’s premier website for single golfers, and they’ll soon to be able to link up with hundreds of like-minded individuals who not only love to play golf, but who also share similar interests such as meeting new people, travelling and enjoying an active, outdoor life..

To help members meet each other, TEEforeTWO organises golf days all over the UK and in 2010 had over 500 members attending various golf days and events. The calendar for 2011 is looking even busier, as membership levels increase to ensure there’s someone for everyone.

To find out more about TEEforeTWO, click on www.teeforetwo.co.uk.

CREWS HILL GOLF CLUB Walmer & Kingsdown

Enjoy a game of golf - want a good deal?

On Your Own...

£60.00 per pair

Then come along to Crews Hill Golf Club any Monday & play a round of golf on the full course for £15pp between January & March 2011

Stableford Betterball Further details on www.broomepark.co.uk - click on ‘Open golf events’ With easy access from A2/M2 or M20 routes

SPRING - SOCIETY PACKAGES From 1st March 2011 to 31st May 2011

From £31.00 per person

(minimum 12 Players) Includes Coffee & Bacon Roll on arrival

Please contact Claire for further details on:

01227 830728 www.broomepark.co.uk

The Broome Park Estate, Barham, Nr Canterbury, Kent CT4 6QX

Winter Savers

C l u b

Mixed Open Saturday 14th May 2011 (PM tee times)

from as little as £335, and to help you make the decision to join there is a flexible ‘Approach’ scheme, which allows prospective members to taste the benefits of the club for a nominal fee before committing to a full membership.

The club has a membership cap at 375, so to ensure you don’t miss out this year call membership manager Peter Holder on 01732 700771 to arrange a time to play a preview round from only £15.

To find out more, please visit www.hever. co.uk or email mail@ hevercastlegolfclub.co.uk.

Find your true love on the links

G o l f

Only

for members and guests to enjoy.

Although a proprietaryowned club, Hever is operated very much along the lines of a private club, with its members given high priority when it comes to accessing the courses and the numerous additional benefits that go above and beyond those available at most other clubs. These benefits include unlimited range balls use of the new driving range; two free junior memberships; exclusive members-only tee times throughout the week, and annual passes for Hever Castle.

Membership starts

(normal green fees apply Tues - Sunday) A challenging downland James Braid designed course offering excellent all year round golf.

Superb views of the English Channel from every hole.

A warm and friendly clubhouse.

Visitors and societies welcome.

Specials offers can be found by visiting our website

Walmer & Kingsdown Golf Club The Leas, Kingsdown, Deal, Kent, CT14 8EP Tel: 01304 373256. Email: info@kingsdowngolf.co.uk www.kingsdowngolf.co.uk

Or with Friends…

Golf Societies (8 or more players) from as little as £25pp for Coffee & Bacon Rolls - 18 holes of golf & a Light Lunch.

From January to March 2011

To book your golf society please call:

020 8363 6674 E: info@crewshillgolfclub.com W: www.crewshillgolfclub.com

Crews Hill Golf Club, Cattlegate Road, Enfield, EN2 8AZ

News 23

www.golfnews.co.uk

John Whitbread joins the party at Coombe Hill Golf Club in Surrey, which is celebrating its centenary this year Photograph by: Peter Dazeley

Y

ou arrive at Coombe Hill Golf Club via a rather bland suburban side street. But bland is the very last way to describe an historic club that is celebrating its centenary this year with typical style and panache.

Just step into the splendid clubhouse, full of impressive oak-panelled honours boards and welcoming leather armchairs, and you are instantly aware of class, character, and achievement.

The membership list could easily have been lifted from the pages of Debretts or Who’s Who, headed by the Royal Approval of the Prince of Wales, later to become Edward VIII and the Duke of York, who reigned as George VI after his brother’s abdication.

Golf was one of the king’s passions and he forged a long friendship with another Coombe Hill Pro, Archie Compston.

While on a Mediterranean crusie together, the pair of them drove 3,000 balls into the sea.

Winston Churchill was an early member, and he was joined on the fairways by fellow Prime Ministers Herbert Asquith and David Lloyd George.

Prominent writers such as Somerset Maugham and James Bond creator Ian Fleming shared the tees with media magnates Lords Northcliffe, Beaverbrook and Rothermere, while London Palladium impressario Val Parnell introduced American superstars Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye to Coombe Hill’s delights. Even today members still play for the Danny Kaye Trophy.

The best known of today’s 600-strong membership, which includes many captains of industry and commerce, is comedian Jimmy Tarbuck. As one of the top celebrity golfers on the international circuit, Tarby has been able to sample the delights of some of the world’s finest and most exclusive courses, but he has never been tempted to abandon Coombe Hill’s sylvan delights.

“It is just a very special place, both for the wonderful challenge of the course and the marvellous camaraderie of the membership,” says Tarbuck.

It is the course, not surprisingly, that is at the heart of everything.

Ranked the UK’s 100th best layout – which was the only new entry in highly respected www. top100golfcourses.co.uk’s 2011

Life on the Hill Professional Sandy Herd with Prince of Wales (King Edward VIII) and brother Duke of York.

rankings – it was created from Kingston’s rolling hills and slopes, just 45 minutes from the centre of London, by one of the founders JF Abercrombie. Using just his eye and experience and early 20th Century equipment, ‘Aber’ used the undulating countryside and magnificent trees to create a par-71 stroke of genius that would stand the test of time for the next 10 decades.

When the course was opened on May 30th, 1911, the local paper’s golf correspondent eulogised over “scenes of beauty on every hand...the rhododenrons, so much a feature of the woods, are everywhere ablaze with colour.” As for the golf, he wrote it was: “as sporting and scientific a set of 18 holes as anyone can wish to excel upon.”

It’s a critique endorsed by Walton’s evergreen former Ryder Cup star Neil Coles, who is among an illustrious cast list of former club professionals, including Ken Bousfield and Craig Defoy, plus four Open winners in Sandy Herd,

Sir H enry Cott on

Arthur Havers, Dick Burton and the flamboyant three-time champion Sir Henry Cotton.

The course, which measures just 6,300 yards, starts with three par fours that get progressively harder, followed by two consecutive par fives – a rarity these days – followed by the superb short downhill sixth, which golfer writer Bernhard Darwin picked out for special praise in a review he wrote in the early days. Such are the changes in elevations that many second shots are played to raised greens, such as found at the parfour 8th, 11th and 16th, while the raised tee at 15th offers magnificent views over the leafy suburbs of South West London.

The closing stretch has great variety, with the 17th offering the shortest of short holes, before the closing par four, which asks for a blind approach to the 18th green, providing a suitably challenging finish to a course that requires plenty of local knowledge before it

is truly mastered.

Like all long established families or institutions, however, Coombe Hill has had to withstand moments of true crisis. The first came in 1930 when would-be housing developers were seen off by an alliance of stalwart members and Malden Council.

Coombe Hill was not left untouched by the Second World War, with several of the greens used to grow food in aid of the war effort and the course being pock marked by a series of Luftwaffe bombs.

Even Telegraph Cottage, behind the 14th green used as a war-time home and golfing refuge

by General Dwight Eisenhower, was hit. The dark humour of the time was underlined by the temporary rule which stated: “A ball moved by enemy action may be replaced as near as possible to where it lay. Or if lost or destroyed it may be dropped, not nearer the hole, without penalty.”

The end of the conflict left the club in a sorry state, however. In 1946 they had just 60 members and were losing money. With a sale seemingly imminent a group of businessmen led by Lou Freedman and Johnny Segal came to the rescue and laid down the ground rules for the club’s current status and success.

The club is hosting centenary celebration events virtually every month this year, with the highlights being home and away matches with fellow centenary club Hillside in Lancashire.

For more details on the club’s centenary events visit www. coombehillgolfclub.co.uk.

London Club to host Help the Heroes day London Golf Club in Kent is to host a charity golf day on March 14 to raise funds for Help the Heroes and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. The ASH Charity Golf Day, which is now in its third year, was set up by London Club assistant professional Matthew Achurch, who lost his uncle to the disease.

The day will involve coffee and bacon roll on arrival, 18 holes shotgun start on the par-72 International Course, recently host to European Tour Qualifying School, followed by gala dinner, prize presentation and auction.

Matthew said: “Our target is to raise £6,000, however, we cannot reach this without good support from individuals and businesses. Teams of four players are priced at £380. Alternatively, there are opportunities to sponsor a hole, which will feature company branding.”

To register your interest, call Matthew on 07540 182852 or email matthewachurch@hotmail.co.uk.

brief news in

Chart Hills hosts Society Cup Societies looking for a bit of early season competition are being invited to sign up for The Societies Challenge Cup, a new event being held at Chart Hills Golf Club in Kent on March 8th. Societies can enter as many fourperson teams as they like, with each team costing £160 (£40 a head), to include 18 holes and a three-course lunch followed by a prize presentation. The winners will have their names engraved on the trophy, which will be kept on display at the club, while there are further prizes for the top three teams with the best aggregate Stableford score, and the best individual score.

Entries close on February 28.

To book a place please call 01580 292148 or visit www.charthills.co.uk to download an entry form.

Hove ladies dig deep The ladies section at West Hove Golf Club has been invited to become an honorary associate member of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children after raising over £10,000 for the charity since 2006.

Weald to host Ormond St day The Weald of Kent Golf Club is hosting a charity golf day on May 19 to help raise funds for Great Ormond Street children’s hospital in London.

The event is being organised

by Mark Stokes, whose son recieved treatment at Great Ormond Street last year.

Teams of four are being invited to enter, with fees set at £220 per team (£55 per player) to include coffee and bacon roll on arrival, 18 holes of golf, three-course dinner and all prizes. Non-golfers are welcome to attend the dinner.

The closing date for entries is April 29. For further details call 07973 460978 or email mark@blacklionpress.co.uk.

Free lessons in Luton!

Golfers in Bedfordshire are being offered the chance of a free six-week course of lessons following a drive to increase golf participation

by Active Luton. A total of 30 beginners will be given the complimentary lessons at Stockwood Park Golf Centre, with the sessions being funded by the EGU and EWGA.

24 Interview

T

here is unlikely to be a dry eye in the locker room when captain José Maria Olazabal addresses his European Ryder Cup team for the first time in Medinah next year. The matches, which are to be staged near Chicago in 2012, are etched into the DNA of the emotional Spaniard, and his selection to lead the team was arguably the most one-sided golfing contest you’re ever likely to encounter. The clamour for the 44-year Spaniard was as deafening as it was heartfelt, and there can have been fewer more deserving, nor suitable candidates for the role since Seve was awarded the job at Valderamma in 1997.

Ollie, as he is widely known, is respected and admired on both sides of the Atlantic, having triumphed 23 times on the European Tour and won six PGA Tour events – including two US Masters’ title – making him the perfect choice to captain an ‘away leg’. His Ryder Cup record is no less impressive, having won 18 of his 31 matches, and lost just eight.

His opposite number at Medinah will be 46-year-old Davis Love, a well-respected, if somewhat more retiring figure, with six Ryder Cups to his name.

Olazabal, who is already one up on his rival, having featured seven times as a player, did well to express his surprise and delight at securing the top job in an event that has played such a major part in his stellar career. “The two Masters wins at Augusta are the highlight of my playing career, but this is my proudest moment,” he said when the official announcement was finally made in Abu Dhabi on January 17. “Without question the Ryder Cup has given me many memorable times, especially with Seve, from the moment we were first partners in 1987, and when Europe won in America for the first time. We were unbeaten in 1989 and 1991, and we won our last match together in 1993. Seve was also our captain at Valderrama in 1997 and that was especially significant because the match was played in Spain for the first time and, of course, we won.”

“I’ve played under five captains – Tony Jacklin, Bernard Gallacher, Mark James, Seve, and the last, in 2006, with Ian Woosnam. It was a wonderful experience to be involved as a vicecaptain with Nick Faldo in 2008, and then again with Colin Montgomerie when we regained the Cup at Celtic Manor last year, and I like to think I learned a lot from tasting defeat and victory.”

Olazabal believes his extensive experience in the biennial match will stand him in good stead, and insists the prospect of travelling to America to defend the trophy holds no fears for him. “I’ve spent a lot of my career in America, and the fans there have always been fair to me. I’ve learned a lot along the way from my own experiences and I’m looking forward to drawing on all that knowledge with the aim, of course, of keeping the cup in our possession.”

While there’s no doubting the support he’ll receive from the public, it’s the current generation of players, those he will be leading into battle, who have the greatest admiration for Olazabal. For Graeme McDowell, who sunk the winning putt at Celtic Manor, one of the highlights of last year’s victory was a moment involving the Spaniard. “The biggest moment for me was on the Monday morning before the singles matches with José Maria in the team locker room,” said McDowell. “There was that great photo of him and Seve in there with him hopping up on Seve’s shoulders to try and see a pin. He broke down in tears that morning thinking about Seve, about the Ryder Cup and the experiences they shared in it.”

There is no doubt Ballesteros’s ongoing battle with his health, and the great Ryder Cup memories the two Spanish friends share contributed to Olazabal’s tears. He and Ballesteros formed the competition’s best partnership, winning 11, halving two, and

Interview 25

www.golfnews.co.uk

José Maria Olazabal has lived and breathed the Ryder Cup for more than 20 years, and next year he’ll have his own chance of leading Europe to yet another historic victory, following his appointment as captain

ollie, ollie, ollie losing just two of the 15 matches they played together. Sadly, the last decade has also seen Olazabal dogged by injury and plagued by ill-health, including losing two years to rheumatoid arthritis in his feet in the mid-1990s. He has also suffered with rheumatic pain in his back and shoulders for the past two years and featured in only three competitive European Tour events in 2010.

He plans to play a limited schedule of events in 2011 and in the run-up to the matches in 2012, and still believes he has the ability to compete for the game’s big prizes.

“I am looking forward to competing again and giving myself the chance to win. Although I have accepted the captaincy, I think my desire to keep playing is known by everyone.

But I want to stress it is a great honour to become Ryder Cup captain, and I will be committed to getting everything right in the build-up to the 2012 matches.”

Olazabal’s poor health led to concerns that

he might not be physically up to the demands of the job, something that he is keen to scotch, while acknowledging that it is something he has little control over.

“There is a little concern about my health, I cannot lie about it,” he says. “But I have felt much better in the last few months and it looks like everything is moving in the right direction. I’m going to try to play in four consecutive tournaments this month, and I should be okay.”

Lee Westwood, arguably the father figure in the new-generation Ryder Cup team, believes it does not matter how often the captain plays on the circuit in the build-up to the matches.

“Everyone knows Ollie and I don’t see it as a problem if he is not around and playing that much,” he said. “He should be able to play enough events that will keep him abreast of what the likely team members are doing, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Sam Torrance, who grabbed his own slice of Ryder Cup history when captaining the winning team at The Belfry in 2001, is equally confident that Olazabal will have his finger on the pulse, regardless of his playing schedule and believes that the two apprenticeships that he has served will have provided him with the best preparation for what lies ahead.

“There’s a lot to be learned from playing under a captain, but I found I learned more as vice-captain than I did playing in any of them.

You’re so closeted as a player and you don’t realise what’s going on behind closed doors to make things right for you. As vice captain you find all this out. The captaincy’s a huge job, and he will have learned a lot as vice captain. I think it’s imperative that you do that job before you’re captain.”

Although it’s too early to tell what kind of captain he’ll be, Olazabal has already stated that he is keen to return to a format where the points list plays a more important role in team selection, and has even gone so far at

to suggest that he would consider reducing the number of captain’s picks to two from its current three.

Regardless of the format or the finer details, you can bet that one man above all other will be routing for Olazabal when the matches finally get under way next September.

“The Ryder Cup is in very good hands,” Ballesteros said, on hearing the news firsthand from his compatriot and closest friend.

“This is a happy day for me and some of the best news to start 2011. It goes without saying that José Maria’s selection is the right one, because we will have a great leader heading a fantastic group of players. It will be difficult for me to be in the United States and witness the captaincy of my dear friend, but I hope to watch it on TV and see his success. He knows better than anyone else what has to be done.”

This depth of friendship and compassion is not rare among fellow sportsmen, but there’s no doubting that these two giants of the game have fed off each other like no others before or since.

“Seve was the biggest inspiration for me without a doubt,” says Olazabal. “I didn’t know what the Ryder Cup was all about before going to Muirfield Village. He took me under his wing – I saw the way he fought until the end and his passion for winning.

It’s something I’ve carried on, or at least I’ve tried to keep with me. I would love him to be able to travel to Chicago and stand alongside me, but being realistic I think those chances are very slim. We’ve already chatted for a few minutes about the Ryder Cup and some of the decisions he took when he was captain at Valderrama. We joked a little bit too – it was very special to share those moments with him.”

Special moments indeed, and ones that both men hope to carry on sharing, as they face the private and public battles that lie ahead.

26 Feature

www.golfnews.co.uk

World Ice Golf Championship

below minus 50 degrees.

The greens are ‘whites’, with the surfaces smoothed down to a fine sheen in order to aid precision putting, while towering icebergs are an integral part of the layout, as are roving polar bears.

Because the glacier on which the 9-hole course is built is constantly moving, the greens have to be cut just a few days in advance of the tournament so that they don’t crack.

But even ice golf has it weather worries,

Uummannaq, Greenland, 2006

G

iven the way that winters are going in the Northern Hemisphere, this is a scene that golfers in the UK might well have to get used to in the coming years, as we begin to experience more extremes in our climate.

With so many courses shut under blankets of snow for large chunks of last year, it’s really high time we adapted to suit the conditions, rather than expecting to play in shirt sleeves. As my mother used to say, ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, it’s just inappropriate clothing’.

Golf clubs need to adapt too, and embrace the opportunity to be a little bit creative when there’s six feet of the white stuff preventing ‘normal’ play from continuing. In fact, we need to get rid of the whole concept of ‘normal’ when it comes to playing conditions.

Iceland, a country which

Storybehindthepicture has more than its fair share of snow, has the highest density of golf courses per capita than any other country in the world. Do they complain about the lack of grass? No, they put a flag in the ice, use orange balls, and get on with it.

Although I was somewhat disappointed not to see Bruce Parry attempt it during his recent tour television series,

ice golf, which traces its roots back to 17th century Holland, is very much alive and well in the Artic Circle. The World Ice Golf Championship has been played for since 1997, and goes from strength to strength, drawing a field more international than the Open Championship itself.

Played on a small island called Uummannaq, off Greenland’s North West coast, the 36-hole tournament has been supported by Drambuie in recent years (it goes well with ice apparently), and sees golfers regularly hitting the links in temperatures

with the 2007 and 2008 championships having to be cancelled because the ice wasn’t thick enough to guarantee players’ safety – a sure sign that global warming is more than a figment of someone’s imagination. Talk about putting on thin ice...

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Column 27

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NickBayly email: editor@golfnews.co.uk

‘Waterproofgate’ opens it’s doors for Sunice

Play over 210 of the finest courses in the South East for only

£39.95

The rain got under the US team’s skin in more ways than one at Celtic Manor

tw To order call: 01273 556377 or visit: www.golfnews.co.uk

s product endorsements go, the failure of Sun Mountain’s waterproof jackets to keep the rain off the backs of the US Ryder Cup team at Celtic Manor last October was about as bad as it gets. US Ryder Cup team officials famously suffered the embarrassment of having to trudge off to the on-course merchandise tent and buy another complete set of outerwear – at a cost of £4,000 – after their official kit spectacularly failed to keep the players half-way dry during the totally expected downpours in Wales.

The day before ‘Waterproofgate’, as it is now known, Sun Mountain poured even more fuel on the fire of appalling foresight when it posted a caption on a photograph on its company website which read: “Check out this photo from a Ryder Cup practice round. That’s a fine looking USA jacket. Weather will most likely be a factor at this year’s event, so may the team with the best outerwear win.”

Never has a truer word been written.

Fortunately, there were no such problems for Monty’s men, who kept

dry in the gear that had been supplied by the ultra-dependable Scottish-based company ProQuip.

Sun Mountain’s president, Rick Reimer, defended his company by claiming that part of the trouble was the unusual stitching patterns specifically requested by the US team – whose waterproofs were designed by Corey Pavin’s wife, Lisa – which had caused ‘significant leakage problems’. Now, that’s I call a stitch up. But the damage had already been done, and it will come as no surprise to learn that Sun Mountain’s contract with the PGA of America has quickly been terminated, and replaced not by another American firm, but SunIce, a Canadian company based in Quebec which specialises in skiwear and has only been making outerwear for golfers since 1992.

The company will now be providing the US team with all the waterproofs for the matches at Medinah in 2012, although it’s highly unlikely that the jacket will get an outing given the climate at that time of year in Illinois. But then again, nothing’s certain in life is it, Mr Reimer?

Plenty of mes in this team Along with all golf fans on this side of the Atlantic, I was delighted that the 2010 European Ryder Cup team won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year’s ‘Team of the Year’ award for its nail-biting victory in October, but was I the only one left wondering what it’s going to take for a winning Ryder Cup team not to win this trophy?

I have no wish to belittle the achievement, but I can’t help but feel that a Ryder Cup team doesn’t really meet the criteria of being a ‘team’ in quite the same way as it does when compared to say, the Ashes-winning England cricket side or a Premiership-winning football squad.

My idea of a team is one

that has been developed over a number of years, with right and wrong combinations worked out over months and months, leading ultimately to a season where it all comes together over an extended period of time.

Because of its almost iconic status as a sporting event, and the exciting nature of its denouement after less than 72 hours of golf, the team that wins the Ryder Cup is put on a pedestal way beyond its merits. The team, such as it is, largely picks itself on the basis of past individual achievements, while the points for over three-quarters of matches are won by players playing their

own ball, with individual efforts going towards a team score. Only eight points are available in the foursomes, with just eight of the 12 players given the chance to play on any given day. Traditionally, some members of the team never get to play in this format during the Ryder Cup. With non-playing captains barred from continuing in the role and a largely judgmentfree selection process, how can these group of individuals, who for the remaining 51 weeks of the year are trying to beat each other’s brains out, really be regarded as a team in quite the same way as the one’s previously mentioned?

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28 Column

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EwenMurray

Skysports voice of golf speaks out on issues of the month email: ewen@golfnews.co.uk

Ancient’s rules need re-writing

T

he Desert Swing began with one of the finest performances from any golfer I’ve seen. Martin Kaymer’s 24-under-par total around the Abu Dhabi course was nothing short of phenomenal.

The first day’s headlines were centered round the disqualification of three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, after an eagle-eyed television viewer saw his ball move after he replaced it on the seventh green.

There is no doubt the ball moved, and the super slow-mo camera confirmed that. It moved three dimples forward and two back. At the time it moved, Padraig was looking at the hole and doing what many tour players do, lining the manufacturer’s name up to the intended start line. When he returned to the ball, the name was indeed lined up to where

Harrington took his punishment like a true professional

he wanted. Now, Padraig is as meticulous as any player I know, and if he was happy with the alignment, then that ball could not have moved more than a dimple, otherwise he would have noticed.

I would say at this point there is no more honest a lad than

Padraig, and if he had known the ball had moved he would have called for a ruling, even though he was well aware of the procedure which, funnily enough, would have been to replace the ball with no penalty. This confirms he was unaware the ball moved.

Many of Europe’s top stars will be missing from the 2011 Players Championship

Sawgrass loses out to number’s game With Kaymer, Westwood and Rory Mcilroy declining membership of the PGA Tour, its commissioner, Tim Finchem, has much thinking to do. The latter two players have already hinted that they will miss the Players Championship at Sawgrass in May and Kaymer has yet to confirm his participation in what most people call the event immediately below the four majors. The Players without these three in the field will not be the event of recent years, and will diminish into just a regular Tour event.

The problem lies with Finchem and his team in Jacksonville. To be a member of the PGA Tour you have to commit to 15 events.

Four of these can be majors, and four can be the World Golf

Championships, which leaves seven more in America to reach your quota. In Lee, Martin and Rory’s case, they can receive three sponsor’s invitations as nonmembers, and all three players will more than likely take them as preparation for the three majors held stateside.

As there is no major in America until a month after the Players, one of three invites would be wasted.

Immediately after The Players is the Volvo Match Play at Finca Cortesin in Spain, a must-play event for a European Tour member who is eligible, and following that is the showcase event of our Tour, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Logistically, Sawgrass doesn’t fit in, because should they play in

The rules of the game as we know are at times finicky, but the ball moving a dimple or a yard, the rule is the same, as is the penalty if not addressed immediately.

I felt for Harrington, as I did the referee, Andy McFee. Andy had to preside over the Ian Poulter mishap in Dubai last November, when Ian inadvertently dropped the ball on his marker, causing the marker to flip, therefore incurring a penalty shot.

The word that is important here is the word ‘intent’. Was there any intent from Ian or Padraig? Of course not, they were quite simply accidents that gave them no advantage whatsoever. Andy was doing his job, like the thorough professional he is, and he carried out the letter of the law.

I’m sure these two incidents have been under much discussion throughout clubhouses around the world, and everyone will have their

opinion,with the majority believing these rules are harsh or outdated.

The Royal and Ancient’s statement after Abu Dhabi was well considered, as you would expect from an organisation we have every reason to be proud of.

It said it would look hard at these incidents and discuss whether the rules were perhaps out of date and could be made more suitable to the modern game.

The R&A reviews the rules every four years, with the next review at the start of next year. My own opinion is that these penalties in question should not have happened, yet I’m aware they were a proper interpretation of the laws of the game.

I may well be in the minority, but can I respectfully suggest that when the committee meets to discuss the way ahead, it bans caddies from lining up their players. That is beginning to annoy me.

Rankings add spice to new world order

Ponte Vedra, they will be racing back to Europe, then racing to America to prepare for the US Open at Congressional. Hardly decent preparation for the year’s second major!

The Fed-Ex Cup is Finchem’s baby, but it goes on far too long, the whole month of September to be exact, and this is a year where the USA and the international team contest the Presidents Cup. That hyphenates the series making it a five-week Fed-Ex swing. This is fine if you reside in the USA, hopeless if you don’t.

Maybe the PGA Tour sponsors are happy to have just members playing, but if I were paying the huge prize money they are, I’d feel a little short-changed if three of the top seven players in the world were missing, whether it be at Sawgrass or the Fed-Ex. We now have a global game, and it does not end by the eastern seaboard of America. I suspect there will be meetings and changes to the Tour policy – we’ll see.

The world rankings have generated little interest over the last decade or so, with Tiger Woods so far ahead of the rest, but how things have changed in the last 12 months. This year we will see the lead changing regularly, with so many top players separated by fractions. Tiger’s eagerly-awaited comeback is underway and five of his tournaments that come in the run up to the Masters are on courses he has enjoyed victories on in the past. Lee Westwood’s consistency is admirable and his long game is up there with the very best. Lee has improved greatly around the greens over the past year and finished the season 12th in the scrambles statistic category.

What creates the interest is the fact that as many as half a dozen players could make the number one position in the next few months. Kaymer’s clinical way of closing out tournaments makes him a strong candidate, while Graeme McDowell’s surge up the list from 39th a year ago to fourth at the time of writing, gives him a chance to be at the pinnacle of the sport. It will be interesting to watch Mickelson and Woods over the next two months and see how they react to being overtaken by their European counterparts. It doesn’t need it, but the Masters Tournament will have some added spice when it gets underway in April.

Feature 29

www.golfnews.co.uk

Nick Bayly pays as visit to Horne Park Golf Club in Surrey, as it prepares to unveil a new state-of-the-art putting studio, which is being backed by Dr Paul Hurrion, one of the foremost putting experts in the game today

G

olf magazines – including this one – have been banging on for years about the need for club golfers to get themselves custom-fitted whenever they are looking to buy a new set of irons or a driver, but how often has this been mentioned when it comes to putters? The piece of equipment that is responsible for the most number of shots in any round is the forgotten piece in the custom-fitting jigsaw, with most golfers happily picking one off the shelf, giving it a couple of waggles on the carpet and marching to the till.

This is perhaps not that surprising, given that most putter manufacturers only offer lip service to the concept of a true putter fitting.

They might offer different head styles, shaft lengths and grips, but these adjustments bear no relation to a proper custom-fitting.

A putter must match your putting style and posture – an analysis that can only be carried out with a dynamic fitting from a qualified putter fitter and instructor.

The other reason that so few people play with custom-fit putters is that putter fitting centres are few and far between. Thankfully that is beginning to change, and the new Gel Putter Fitting Centre at Horne Park Golf Club near South Godstone is one of growing number of venues that are focusing their attentions on this vital area of the game.

The putting studio officially opens it doors to all golfers on March 1, but I went along for a sneak preview last month to receive an assessment – which subsequently turned into a golf lesson -– from Dr Paul Hurrion, one of the foremost experts in the dark art of putting, who has teamed up with influential putter brand GEL Golf to roll out a number of GEL Fitting Centres across the UK which use his specially-designed Quintic putting analysis system to ensure a custom-fit like no other.

The studio is being operated by the Mike Yorke Golf Academy and is staffed by experienced PGA professionals Mike Yorke and Paul Williams, both of whom have been personally trained by Dr Hurrion to offer an outstanding custom fit service and coaching experience. When booking a session, golfers can chosen to custom fit an existing putter or one of the Gel putters, or any other brand, as well as receive expert putting tuition. MYGA is a dedicated coaching company that delivers quality instruction across Surrey and Sussex.

It has recently launched ‘Short Game Secrets’, an instruction programme, lead by Paul Williams, that provides dedicated short game coaching to pupils across the region.

The studio at Horne Park is housed in a brand new purpose-built building adjacent to the clubhouse, which comprises an eightfoot golf hole located on a perfectly flat artificial surface. The Quintic Hi-Tech Putting analysis system uses high-speed cameras and a computer with biomechanical analysis software that provides the data from which a proper fitting can be achieved. While some manufacturers offer static putter fittings, measuring hand size and length of arms, the Quintic fitting is all about movement and dynamics and finding out what feels comfortable to the eye, the hand and the body as a whole – as well as what produces the best results, which after all, is the bit that matters.

The camera located at ground level

Dr Paul Hurrion (right) takes Nick Bayly through a putter fitting at Horne Park

Putting for Dough

Having your eyes over the ball will help you to read putts more effectively

opposite the ball captures data from just the first 12-inches of the ball’s journey to the hole, but this snapshot provides enough information to extrapolate results for the entire length of the putt, recording the angle of the clubface at impact (open or closed), launch angle (loft), spin, ball speed. All of which combine to tell you how far the ball missed the hole – if you needed reminding!

As well as developing the fitting centres, Dr Hurrion has also designed a range of putters that combines with Gel’s unique horizontal groove technology with is own biomechnanical research. The result is the Gel Paul Hurrion Signature Range, a collection of eight putters that are designed to impart

A properly fitted putter will help to generate instant roll, for straighter putts and more consistent length

immediate topspin onto the ball, as well being perfectly weighted to match the golfer’s putting stroke.

Dr Hurrion, who has a cast list of Tour pros who regularly call upon his services, including Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, explains the science behind the design of the Gel putters.

“When the golf ball is at rest on the green, it’s sitting in a depression in the grass. The putter’s loft is what helps lift the ball out of the depression, but the problem is that traditional steelfaced putters lift the ball too much and impart backspin, which causes the ball to initially bounce slightly higher and go offline.

The groove technology is designed to help lift the ball out of the depression without imparting backspin, but forward spin to minimize bounce and keep your putts on line.

“At the GEL Fitting Centres, pros use the specially-designed tools to analyse a player’s putting stroke and allow him to accurately fit each and every golfer with the most suitab le putter for the individual,” says Dr Hurrion.

“Not only can they ascertain suitable length, loft and lie, but also blade against mallet, centre versus heel shaft and face-balanced against toe heavy.”

After I had hit a series of ten eight-foot putts on the indoor carpet, Paul’s instant assessment of my putting stroke was that I was standing too far away from the ball, and that the ball was so far forward in my stance that the putter face was on its way to the follow through at the point of impact – resulting in a closed face and pulls to the left. The data backed up this assertion, with marked hooked spin and a consistently high launch angle, which resulted in the ball ‘bouncing’ for the first 20 inches of its path, rather than rolling smoothly off the face.

Using a mirror to frame the ball, he made me take up my address position to work out where my eyes were in relation to the ball. It turned out that my eyes were focusing at least

two inches behind the ball, as well as several inches short of the ball, giving me a false impression of my true alignment – thus making even straight putts almost impossible to judge correctly.

Standing closer to the ball not only allowed the putter head to rest flatter on the ground – rather than having the toe in the air – but it also resulted in my eyes being directly over the ball, and for me at least, provided a true visual line to the hole. Not everyone sees straight from this position, which is why everyone needs to do the mirror test to record their own visual perception. Also, moving the ball more centrally in my stance meant that the putter face was now square to the target – which is essential if you want to hit the ball straight.

By using an inflatable ProStance balance board beneath my feet, Paul also noted that I was resting the majority of my weight on my heels rather than on the balls of my feet, and that I was placing more weight on my back foot – another factor in my poor posture that was affecting my balance through the stroke.

Lesson almost over, Paul thrust a Gel putter into my hands which could be adjusted to change shaft lengths with the simple twist of a screw, while a separate loft and lie machine meant that those elements could also be changed in an instant. Paul was able to tweak the specifications to a point where I felt comfortable at address – a 36-inch shaft no less -– so that the putter head was lying flat to the ground and pointing directly to the target line and my eyes were directly over the ball.

He also de-lofted the putter by 1.5 degrees from the standard three degrees in an attempt to bring down my launch angle, which would reduce the ‘skid and bump’ start that was characteristic of my putts.

I then hit a dozen putts using Gel’s facebalanced Pondera putter, which he said would much better suit my stroke than the Anserstyle model I was currently using. The results were impressive and instant. While my change of ball position had largely corrected the problem I had with squaring the putter head up, the de-lofting of the face had eradicated the bounce, while the groove design of the Gel putter created an instant forward role, as opposed to the slight skid I had with my old putter. All of which helped to provide more consistent distance control and helped the ball to hold its line – the result being that I held more putts, sinking six out of the 10, as opposed to the two I managed with my ‘old’ putter. (Apparently even tour pros miss 40% of all eight-foot putts, so I didn’t feel too bad).

Horne Park’s pros are happy to simply adjust your own putter, or you can, of course, buy another brand – but I defy most golfers not to get better results using a Gel one designed from virtual scratch with your game in mind. Although my putting stroke had been somewhat deconstructed (i.e. torn to shreds), I came away with a renewed sense of confidence, a few key things to work on, and the knowledge that Paul had found a putter that would help me hole more putts.

An hour-long putter fitting session with one of Horne Park’s qualified fitters costs £45, while a 30-minute assessment costs £25. Book by calling 01342 844443, emailing Paul at info@mikeyorkegolfacademy.co.uk or visit www.hornepark.co.uk for more details. Horne Park is easily accessible by road from the M25 jtn 6 or M23 Jtn 9 or 10.

30 Tour News

brief news in

Saltman handed 3-month ban

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Castle Stuart to host Scottish Open

Scottish tour player Elliot Saltman has been banned from competing in top professional tournaments for three months after being found guilty of cheating during last year’s Russian Open. Saltman, who won a place on the European Tour in November, was accused of incorrectly marking his ball on the green on at least five occasions in the first round of last September’s Russian Challenge Cup in Moscow.

Schwartzel reclaims title Charl Schwartzel headed a South African top three on home soil, retaining his Joburg Open title by four shots. Schwartzel hit a fourunder-par 67 to win from Garth Mulroy with Thomas Aiken a shot further back.

The 26-year-old Schwartzel finished on 19-under to secure his sixth European Tour title. Warwickshire’s Jamie Elson was the top ranked Briton, securing fourth place on 13 under after a level-par 71.

Europe’s Royal result Europe staged an amazing comeback to win the Royal Trophy for the fourth time in five editions of the team competition. Colin Montgomerie’s side trailed Asia 6-2 going into the final day’s singles matches, but won six of them and halved the other two to complete a remarkable 9-7 triumph.

Montgomerie proved he could still play as well as captain, beating Kim Kyung-tae 3&1.

Karlsson joins PGA Tour Sweden’s Robert Karlsson has moved with his family from Monaco to South Carolina following his decision to join the PGA Tour for the 2011 season.

Karlsson, who won the Dubai World Championship in November, also plans to play the full quota of events on the European Tour, helped by the fact that all four majors and three WGC events will count towards his tally of required tournaments on both sides of the Atlantic.

C

astle Stuart Golf Links has been confirmed as the new venue for the Barclays Scottish Open following Loch Lomond’s decision not to renew its contract to stage the event in 2011.

Loch Lomond’s longstanding association with the Scottish Open is to come to an end this year after the famous club was sold by its American owner to the club’s own membership.

Castle Stuart, which only opened in the summer of 2009, is located

between Inverness and Nairn, and overlooks the Moray Firth on Scotland’s north east coast. The course was designed by American architect Mark Parsinen, who had a hand in the creation of Kingsbarns, and can be stretched to over 7,400 yards off the championship tees. It will host the tournament from July 710, a week before the Open at Royal St George’s, with the field playing for a prize fund of £3 million.

Loch Lomond, which has hosted the Socttish Open for the last 14 years, was bought by its membership

for an undisclosed sum last month, with a Board of Directors chaired

by Sir Nigel Rudd, a member and leading industry figure, now in place.

A spokesperson for the board said: “Loch Lomond’s reputation for golfing excellence is already established, and the goal now is to move forward with our plans to consolidate its reputation as one of the foremost private members’ clubs in the world. The support we have received from members has been exceptional, and highlights what great affection there is for the club.”

Kaymer deposes Woods from No.2 slot Martin Kaymer moved into No.2 in the world ranking after winning his third Abu Dhabi Championship with a typically dominant frontrunning display.

The 26-year-old German led by five shots going into the final round, and fired a six-under-par 66 to finish eight shots clear of runnerup Rory McIlroy. Kaymer only had one bogey during the 72-hole event and finished the tournament on a record 24-under par.

Kaymer’s elevation to world number two behind Lee Westwood means that Europeans hold the top two positions in the rankings for the first time since Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer in 1993.

It is the first time since 2004 that Woods has been outside the top two.

McDowell wins Viewer’s vigilance Shot of the Year leads to Harrington disqualification Padraig Harrington was disqualified from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after a TV viewer emailed the European Tour to say they had seen him incorrectly mark his ball during the first round

of the tournament.

Harrington, who shot an opening 65, was subsequently disqualified when a replay of the footage by tournament officials revealed that his ball moved a fraction of an inch as he replaced it in front of his marker on the seventh green. His disqualification was on the grounds that he hard marked himself down for a par three, when it should have been a five, including a two-stroke penalty.

Speaking after the incident, Harrington said: “I was aware I hit the ball with the back of a finger when I was picking up my coin. I looked down and was pretty sure it had just oscillated on its spot and had not moved, so I continued on. In slow motion it’s pretty clear the ball has moved three dimples forward and it’s come back maybe a dimple and a half. At the end of the day that’s good enough, but I wouldn’t have done anything differently. If I’d called a

referee over it would have been pointless because if he’d asked me where my ball was I’d have said it was there. As far as I was concerned it didn’t move.”

Tour senior referee Andy McFee said: “I got an email from the Tour feedback site late in the evening after the first round. I managed to get a look and knew immediately we had an issue. It’s a minute movement, but it’s a movement and he never replaced it, so he should have included a two-stroke penalty. The fact that he is unaware he moved the ball unfortunately does not help. Because he signed for a score lower than actually taken the penalty is disqualification.”

Two months ago Ian Poulter lost a play-off for the Dubai World Championship after he dropped his ball on his marker, while Colombian Camilo Villegas was disqualified from the opening event of the PGA Tour season last month because of a TV viewer spotted an infringement.

Graeme McDowell’s crucial birdie putt on the 16th hole on the final day of The Ryder Cup was voted The European Tour Shot of the Year for 2010, adding to the Northern Irishman’s remarkable haul of awards following his career-defining season.

The 31-year-old’s achievements throughout 2010 have been recognised around the world with a host of awards, and among the many great shots he played in a phenomenal season it was the 15-foot putt on the 16th green at Celtic Manor during his singles match against Hunter Mahan which stood above the rest.

McDowell said: “That putt was the best I’ve hit in my life. It was just 15 feet, but it was above the hole and very fast. I knew I just had to get the ball going and thankfully it caught an edge and dropped in, because I wouldn’t have fancied the one back if it had missed!

“In the context of The Ryder Cup, that 16th hole was massive as I was aware that everything was riding on the outcome of my singles match with Hunter. I knew that a half point was still not good enough to regain the cup. I will never forget the feeling standing over that putt and appreciating its importance. It was as important as any stroke I will ever play in my career.”

H

Feature 31

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ow did you get into golf?

I started out playing football, but then I got to a stage when I wasn’t allowed to play with the boys anymore and didn’t enjoy it as much with the girls, so I took up golf instead, as both my parents played.

Football definitely was my first love, and I still love it a lot. Like in the winter, it takes me away from golf. I play for a team in Loughborough, so it’s definitely still there and one of my loves, but golf is my passion and I never get bored of it.

Marvellous

Were you good at sport at school?

I was quite academic when I was younger, but I lost a bit of interest when I was older.

I used to love doing PE and feel I’ve been gifted to play sports. I’m lucky that I’m one of those people that just absolutely love it. I love watching and playing sport.

Mel

Having enjoyed such a good amateur career, did you feel a lot of pressure when you turned pro in 2008?

I didn’t feel a huge amount of pressure. I felt that I was confident enough in my own game, but maybe expected too much out of myself. All in all I had a very good first year and learned a lot. To be fair, I probably should have won a couple of times, but I learned a lot from coming second those three times that I did.

How much did losing that six-shot lead in Denmark in 2008 affect your confidence?

I felt like I didn’t throw it away. I shot level par or maybe one under for the day. Shooting that kind of score, you’d expect yourself to win, but I always felt that when I was in contention, someone always shot a really low score. Rebecca Hudson shot a 64 at the English Open to beat me by one and Martina Eberl shot 65 to beat me in Denmark. It’s happened, it’s golf and hopefully one day I’ll be the one shooting the low score and beating somebody else by one.

Nailed on for a place in Europe’s Solheim Cup team this September, 23-year-old Mel Reid is a girl in a hurry.

Golf News caught up with her, just How important was winning your first title in May? Looking back, it was bigger than I realised at the time. It was one of the things I had to do.

If there is a weakness with me sometimes, it is my patience and my mental strength. I’m like, ‘why is this not happening now?’ ‘Why am I not fulfilling my capabilities?’ ‘Why am I not achieving what I want to achieve right away?’ I think winning in Turkey, looking back, it was really hard. It was tough; it was tough on that last day, and I was just in a frame of mind where I just was so determined to win and I was so happy that I pulled it off. I turn around now and think I still should have won two or three events last year. I honestly believe that I’m going to win lots of tournaments, and I will win majors.

As long as I keep doing the right things, and refer to the blueprint that me and my coach have. It will happen.

Did you learn anything?

I certainly did. I wasn’t quite as patient as I should have been. I was aware of everybody else instead of just myself. I guess it did make me a lot more selfish and I can’t really be aware of what everyone else is doing. I think I’ve got to stick to my own game plan.

That’s what Dave Ridley, my coach now, has brought so much to me: stick to your own game and hit the areas you want to hit. There’s nothing else that you can do. If somebody shoots 64 to win, then fair play to them. They deserve to win. I was already thinking about winning the tournament instead of getting the job done.

You famously built up quite an entourage of support staff in your early career, how has that settled down?

I did have a lot of people behind me, especially in my last year as an amateur, when Sir Clive Woodward was helping me out. I had a really good team behind me, a team of 13 people pushing and pulling me in all kinds of ways. I think it was fantastic for me because two or three years down the line it’s made me go, ‘That worked well for me and that didn’t work well for me.’

At the end of the day I take full responsibility for myself and at the end of the day it is down to you whether you want to do it or not. That’s basically what it comes down to: who wants it more out here. I just feel that it developed me as a golfer much more quickly than had I done it myself. I feel like a much stronger person and this is what I believe in. I believe in fitness, my nutrition and this is the way that we’ve got to practise. Now I have a small group, but we’re very tight. My team behind me now, I have Vicky Cuming, my manager, my coach Dave Ridley, and Dave Reddin, who’s my fitness guy. We’re all on the same lines and going to get stronger and stronger as we develop through the years really.

Have you changed much since you started?

I’m a very different person now to what I was four years ago. I was very, golf, golf, golf, that’s my life; that’s all I think about doing; whereas now I have not only great friends out here, I’ve got my best mates out here, but I’ve a great set of friends at home who are also part of my team, whether they know it or not. They take me away from golf and I’m very lucky all the way through my golfing career. I’ve got great parents, brothers and sisters, and people like that, and I’m fortunate that people have let me develop into who I am. I’m not a stereotypical golfer in that I love football, I love snowboarding, and I am slightly rebellious in that sense. At the same time, they understand that I’ve worked very, very hard at what I do. I just think now that I’m a much more balanced person. I work harder at my golf than I used to but I don’t put as many hours in, it’s more quality work. I do other things: I go out with my mates now and things like that. I think the balance of myself has made me a more confident person.

Are you surprised you didn’t win again?

I feel I should have won six or seven tournaments since turning pro, but I haven’t and there must be a reason why I haven’t.

I know that in some situations golf is golf, and people are going to shoot better than me, but I feel I’ve not put all the components together at the same time and when I do, I’ll take a massive step up. I had a very consistent year on the European Tour, with 10 top-10 finishes, and was always up there in contention. I was in the last group out for seven out of the last nine events. I feel that my game is moving in the right direction, but there are a lot of things I need to work on this winter that will make a huge difference.

How important is your caddie, Lee? Lee has been awesome on the bag and exceeded all my expectations. We won the first week, which helps. He’s a top bloke and I like him a lot. He’s also a good player and he knows how it feels coming down the stretch and he knows how it feels when things aren’t going great. We’ve played a few tournaments together, and he knows what to say when I’m

not hitting it well or whatever I need. We’ve become a strong team, and you never know, we might be together 10 or 15 years.

How well are you swinging it at the moment?

My coach has developed a blueprint for my swing and there’s not much that goes hugely wrong. There are seven components in my swing and things can break down when they get out of synch. Basically we work on the connection and making it more consistent a connection. There are a few problems in my strength, and we need to work on that this winter to make it tighter, I guess.

You were bitten by a snake during a tournament in China in October. Are you more careful when you’re digging around in the rough these days?

You bet. That was a crazy moment. I was calm at first. It was only when they drew blood out to test the potency of the venom that it was painful. They had to shove a needle in me, and I’m not very good with blood or needles. It was fine in the end. It happened just after I hit my second shot to the 16th hole. I was going through a boggy patch of ground, and I felt something sharp on my leg, like a scratch. I was like, ‘what was that?’ and I started running. My caddie, Lee, was like, ‘Reidy: run faster, it’s after you again!’ The head greenkeeper came over and said he’d spoken to one of his assistants, who was a snake expert.

And he said it was venomous, but not one of the deadly ones. They said I had to go straight to the hospital, but I was determined to finish my round. My playing partners finished the hole and we called a couple of groups through, and after the treatment, I pitched to about six foot and made birdie.

That was for the snake!

Finally, who would be in your favourite fourball?

Me, Smithy from Gavin and Stacey, Laura Davies for her banter, and Tiger Woods, because I want to ask him lots of questions.

32 Instruction

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Drivers: Thre E T A M I T L U E TH E C N A M R O F R UR PE

TO

PONSIV R ATION, RES E L E C C A Y, R SPIN, TRA JECTO

ENESS

Graeme ‘G-Mac’

McDowell

Tip 1: Position

PIECE

4

PIECE

3

Here I place my hands together. My hands will meet in the middle of my body, and you can see my shoulders are level at address.

Tip 2: Stance ALSO AVAILABLE IN TOUR YELLOW

* S N I TOUR W S Z-STAR SERIE

HE IN 2010 FOR T

7011-Srixon-GolfNewsAdvertArt.indd 1

* AS OF 1st DECEMBER 2010

47

AL INTERNATION

09/02/2011 11:16

I then slide my right hand down 3 or 4 inches, keeping my hands touching. My right shoulder is now lower than my left, which moves my weight slightly over to my right foot.

Instruction 33

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ee off the tee Cleveland Golf/Srixon ambassador Ben Clayton takes himself off to the Cleveland Golf/Srixon Centre of Excellence to test drive Cleveland’s three new Launcher drivers The second model is the Launcher Ultralite SL290 driver, which is aimed at golfers with a medium-paced swing speed. The 460cc driver head looked traditional, but was at the same time still forgiving. We then moved on to the Launcher Ultralite TL310 driver, which is the heaviest of the range, yet has a slightly smaller 430cc head.

Even though this is the heaviest, the shaft suited my swing, and I was hitting it consistently longer than the 270 and 290 models. I was also hitting it eight yards further than my own driver and while maintaiing the same levels of accuracy.

With Dean’s input and help I went away with the knowledge that I was improving on what I am currently using.

To help maximise your driver, you need a solid set up position. In order to sweep the ball off the tee, it is important to have the correct ball position and weight distribution to aid you in attacking the ball consistently.

IF DISTANCE MATTERS

WEIGHT MATTERS

/270 270g LIGHTEST/FASTEST

/310

/290

310g PENETRATING WORKABILITY/TOUR PROVEN

290g LIGHTER/FASTER

Tip 3: Distance Now with the club, the ball position is level with my left heel. Having the ball opposite my left heel will help place my right shoulder lower than my left.

This is promoting me to sweep the ball off the tee as my weight is slightly favouring my right foot at address. Addressing the ball this way will allow me to swing the club in an athletic manner.

This approach will give you great results for distance and accuracy with your newly-fitted driver, ensuring the distance-sapping slice or miss-hit is a thing of the past.

TM

60 DAY RIGHTWEIGHT GUARANTEE

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT CLEVELANDGOLF.COM

WHAT’S YOUR RIGHTWEIGHT?

A LIGHTWEIGHT DRIVER WILL LET YOU SWING FASTER AND HIT IT FURTHER. THE COMPLICATION, IS THAT A SINGLE LIGHTWEIGHT DRIVER WON’T FIT EVERYBODY. THAT’S WHY YOU NEED TO FIND THE RIGHT WEIGHT FOR YOUR SWING AND, WHY OUR NEW LAUNCHER ULTRALITE DRIVER COMES IN THREE DIFFERENT WEIGHTS.

To book a session at the Cleveland Golf/Srixon Centre of Excellence call: 07747 533959 or email: customfit@srixoncleveland.co.uk Ben Clayton is based at Hindhead Golf Club.

To move your game forward in 2011, call Ben on: 01428 60445 or email: benclaytongolf@yahoo.co.uk to book your free on-course assessment.

Cleveland and the CG logo are registered trademarks of Cleveland Golf / Srixon, CG16 and Zip Grooves are trademarks of Cleveland Golf/Srixon

A

t the start of every year I seek the advice from Dean Cracknell, the manager of Cleveland Golf/Srixon Centre of Excellence in Reading. Dean knows my game very well and understands that it’s built around being straight from the tee and relying on my short game to put together a good score.

After I had hit some shots with my current driver, Dean looked at the numbers from the impact analysis system, Trackman, which is a radar device that measures what happens to the club and ball.

This year Cleveland has three new drivers on the market with different weights depending on your swing speed. The first driver I tried was the Launcher Ultralite XL270 model. This model is the lightest, and is aimed at a golfer with a slower swing speed.

Even though this is the lightest model, the shaft was not suitable for me, and I only saw a gain of two yards.

WWW.CLEVELANDGOLF.COM

34 Pro-Shop

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Rife Deep Blue RRP: £129 Contact: www.rifeputters.co.uk

Nike Golf Performance Carry Bag RRP: £140 Contact: www.nikegolfeurope.com Nike has used the Max Air technology found in its running shoes to boost the comfort levels found in the new Performance carry bag, which features cushioning and shock absorption in key areas, such as the curved shoulder strap and ventilated back pad. Clubs are kept in check by 14-way full-length divider system with a 9.5-inch oval top, while an extra wide base offers extra stability when used on a cart. Storage comes in the form of 10 pockets, eight of which are zippered. The colour options are Black/Grid Iron-Silver-Sport Red, Black/ Silver-Black, Black/Topaz-Silver, Grid Iron/ Varsity Royal-Obsidian.

Rife’s ascendancy in the putter market continues apace, with scores of top-notch players carrying them in their bags without appearing to be paid any money to use them, which speaks volumes in these commercial days. With their trademark blue faces, Rife putters are hard to miss, and the latest launch, the Deep Blue, is no exception. As the name implies, the weight is positioned deep in the rear corner of the face, offering extreme stability and an MOI of over 6,000. To keep the weight in the rear, the face is CNC milled out of ultralight aluminium. This thick insert delivers a solid feel and sound at impact, while the side rails are hollowed out underneath, leaving the thickest mass of stainless steel in the two rear corners. Along with extreme stability, the Deep Blue has an uncomplicated look at address, with three sight lines extending the length of the putter to aid alignment. Like all Rife putters, this model also features the company’s RollGroove face technology, which feature spaced grooves which grip and lift the ball into an instant forward roll to create the ‘no skid’ roll no matter where you hit the ball on the face.

Nike Golf VR Pro Blades RRP: £720, 3-PW Contact: www.nikegolfeurope.com The third generation of blades to come out of the Nike Golf Stable in the last decade, the new VR Blades are said to be the most highly engineered tools to come out of the Fort Worth factory. The key to its craftsmanship is a more precise forging process, which all but eliminates variations from club to club for improved consistency, while the new X3X high frequency grooves, which are closer together and deeper than anything previously manufactured, result in a cleaner, more consistent ball flight and spin. The grind and profile is the same as is featured in its predecessor, the VR Forged TW Blades, making them a straightforward switch for the game’s top performers.

Qwik-Fold Trolley RRP: £149.99 Contact: www.ukgolfdistribution.co.uk For those that can’t be bothered with all the battery-charging palava of a powered trolley, a pull trolley still provides a value alternative and takes the weight off the shoulders, if not the strain. Golf Locker’s new 3-wheel Qwik Fold trolley does what it says on the tin, in that it folds down in just one second – they’ve timed it – making it the ideal choice for those what are habitually late for their tee times or need to leave the car park in the hurry after losing a monster bet on the last hole. Aside from the folding mechanism, features include a detachable front wheel for those that like to push rather than pull, and an adjustable handle, which is suitable for both hands. There’s also a scorecard holder, a ball, tee and swivelling drinks holder, plus an umbrella holder and mesh netting baskets, ideal for storing all your golfing paraphernalia. The trolley is available in white, red and black finishes.

Cleveland CG16 irons RRP: £499, 3-PW Contact: www.clevelandgolf.com Available in a classy black pearl finish, Cleveland’s new CG16 irons feature the laser-milled zip grooves that have proved so effective in its range of performance wedges, thanks to the friction and ball-stopping spin generated.

Lighter than their predecessors, the CG16s have a large back cavity that helps get the ball airborne more quickly because of the lower, deeper centre of gravity created.

Designed to play like longer, penetrating wedges, the clubs have stronger lofts than the CG15s, but will help the low to mid-handicapper achieve even more control. Another innovation is the clearly marked lofts etched into the heads to help players identify and fit the degrees between clubs to their game and extend those gaps into the wedges.

A Tour version is also available for better players, which features a thinner top line and a smaller cavity back.

Pro-Shop 35

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Ping Moxie Junior Set RRP: £225 (K), £215 (G), £170 (i) Contact: www.pingeurope.com Ping has always looked after junior golfers and the Moxie set continues the company’s commitment to treating youngsters like adults, while recognising that they have very different equipment needs throughout the growing-up process.

Thus the new Moxie range comes in three different set ups, each suited to different ages and heights to assure that young players are properly equipped, allowing them to play their best and develop an early love of the game. Four, six and seven-club sets are designed to match a young golfer’s strength, size and ability. For juniors aged 6 to 7, the Moxie K set includes a 23° steel fairway wood, 7-iron, SW, Anser putter and a lightweight dual-strap carry bag. For juniors 8-9, the Moxie G set includes a 16° titanium driver, 23° fairway wood, 7-iron, 9-iron, SW, Anser putter and a dual-strap carry bag. For juniors aged 10-11, the Moxie i set includes a 16° titanium driver, 23° fairway wood, 27° hybrid, 7-iron, 9-iron, SW, Anser putter and dual-strap carry bag.

High-lofted heads and flexible lightweight graphite shafts help to get shots airborne more easily and hit the ball further, while junior-sized grips help young golfers to release the club properly through impact.

Wilson Staff FG62 irons RRP: £599, 3-PW Contact: www.wilson-staff.com

Callaway Golf RAZR Hawk driver Price: £329 Contact: www.callawaygolf.com

Titleist 910 Series Hybrids RRP: £195 Contact: www.titleist.co.uk Titleist’s new 910 hybrids, which are available in 17, 19, 21 and 24-degree loft options, are a first for golf in that they are the only set of hybrids that allow the loft and lie of the club to be independently adjusted.

This is down to the club’s SureFit Tour dual-angle hosel, which features a sleeve and a ring, each with four settings. The sleeve settings are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 and the ring settings are lettered A, B, C, D. This results in a matrix of 16 unique loft/lie combinations that allows the fitter or golfer to make left or right flight improvements, and launch and spin improvements.

The head is five per cent larger than previous designs, and a square toe profile and contrasting white scorelines enhance the confidence-inspiring look at address. The profile, offset and centre of gravity, transitions throughout the lofts to create optimal trajectory and spin for each club. The stock shaft options include three Mitsubishi Diamana shafts, each with different weight and bend profiles to fit a broad range of swing speeds, while there are a further 80 custom-fit shafts to choose from.

A

re we witnessing the death of titanium as the material of choice for the premium driver? Judged by recent launches from many of the major equipment brands, the answer could well be ‘maybe’. And it’s certainly a big ‘yes’ from Callaway, which hasn’t launched a titanium driver for 2011. They have been dabbling on and off with carbon composite heads way back when the ERC was making headlines, but this is the first sure sign that a corner has definitely been turned as far as titanium is concerned.

The RAZR Hawk, which goes on sale on February 15, is made from a new forged composite material that has come about following a collaboration with the R&D team at Italian supercar maker Lamborghini. This material is claimed to be one-third the density of titanium, yet features a greater load carrying capacity. This allows tolerances to be controlled like never before, resulting in a clubhead that is lighter and stronger than titanium, and creates the freedom to position weight exactly where needed for maximized distance, accuracy, and workability. As you’d expect from working with the wind tunnel boffins at Lamborghini, the RAZR Hawk is streamlined to within a millimetre of its life, using every trick in the book to reduce drag and increase clubhead speed. This has resulted in a driver that reduces energy loss from drag during the downswing by over 40 per cent when compared to Callaway’s FT-9 driver.

All this technology adds up to a supercharged driver – with a supercharged price to match – that will have techloving Callaway fans frothing at the mouth. Whether consumers are ready to start paying over £300 for a driver, when £199 has been about the norm in recent years, remains to be seen. Players can chose from Draw and Neutral set up to suit their preferred shot shape, while Aldila’s RIP graphite shaft offers increased tip stability for greater consistency and control.

RATING

Wilson’s heritage as a producer of irons for top players is further enhanced by the introduction of these lovely looking blades that will no doubt find their way into the bags of the game’s elite exponents. Precision forged from mild carbon steel for soft feel and shot-shaping ability, the FG62 blades have a muscleback design, and have a slightly larger head than a traditional blade, a thin top line, slight offset, and a wider, cambered sole coupled with a rounded leading edge for more ground interaction. The sole also prevents skidding on firmer fairways, while its mild camber and heel and toe relief minimise digging in on softer approaches to the green.

They come with Dynamic Gold Steel True Temper shafts in regular and stiff flexes, plus Lamkin Crossline grips.

TaylorMade Golf TP irons RRP: MB £799 (2-PW); MC £699 (2-PW); CB (3-AW,Gr/St) £799/£699 Contact: www.taylormadegolf.eu March sees the launch of three new sets of irons from TaylorMade, each featuring subtle design differences to promote superior performance for different levels of players. Created with input from tour pros, the Muscle Back, Muscle Cavity and Cavity Back irons blend classic forged iron features with modern performance elements. The MB and MC are both created using a six-step forging procedure that results in pure feel, while the CB employs a multi-material construction comprised of a forged face and cast body. The MB is designed for the purist, with cleans lines, a compact head and minimal offset to deliver the feedback and workability coveted by blade fans. A thin topline, thin sole, straight leading edge and tapered hosel promote the kind of pure connection sought after by skilled players.

36 Product Showcase

www.golfnews.co.uk

Titleist 910 Drivers RRP: £300 Contact: www.titleist.co.uk Titleist’s new 910D2 and 910D3 drivers feature the company’s new SureFit Tour dual-angle hosel, a patented technology that allows the loft and lie to be independently adjusted. The SFT hosel offers 16 loft/lie combinations that can change direction and the ball’s launch angle and spin rates. Painted in a striking black PVD finish, the 910D2 features a 460cc pear-shaped head and is designed to promote a straight ball flight with high launch and low-to-mid spin.

The 910D3 features a smaller 445cc head that produces a more penetrating flight and provides increased workability favoured by top players. Both drivers feature a sloping rear crown and a rear bezel weight, which optimize the club’s centre of gravity and improve ball flight. It is available with lofts of 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 and a variety of quality stock and custom-fit shaft options.

TaylorMade Burner 2.0 RRP: £249 Contact: www.taylormade.eu

Wilson Staff DXi driver RRP: £249 Contact: www.wilsonstaff.com Wilson claims that its DXi driver is its most forgiving big stick yet, courtesy of a new five-zone face area that expands the sweet spot to a size never previously possible. The key technology behind its performances comes from two high-density tungsten rubber inserts that move the centre of gravity location further back as the loft increases. The 8° and 9° lofts feature weight low in the clubhead to maximise vertical gear effect, which lowers spin. While the 10.5° and 12° lofts feature weight low and back in the clubhead to maximize dynamic loft, producing a higher ball flight. This technology helps deliver distance gains for players of all abilities. The DXi is available in 8- (custom-only), 9-, 10.5- and 12-degree lofts, and comes fitted with the highly-rated Global Aldila VooDoo VS6 shaft and is available in stiff, regular and light flexes.

The SuperFast 2.0 is the lightest driver Taylormade has produced to promote faster swing speed and more distance.

The ultra-large 4,550 square millimetres face and low-drag aerodynamics are designed to increase swing speed, a higher launch angle and lower spin-rate, equaling a dramatic boost in distance. The larger face is important in light of the fact that the longer club-length - 45.5 inches – makes it more challenging for the average player to make square contact consistently; the larger face provides more area with which to strike the ball. The high-MOI titanium clubhead also features TaylorMade’s Inverted Cone Technology, milled directly into the back of a clubface. The 2.0 also features a distinct white crown, which, when paired with its black PVDclubface, provides optimum contrast for easier and more consistently accurate alignment.

The driver choices for 2011 are very much black or white. Which colour will you go for?

Nike SQ Machspeed Black Driver RRP: £240 Contact: www.nikegolfeurope.com The 460cc Machspeed comes in both round and square heads shapes and features a sleek sole profile to ensure that the air moves quickly and cleanly over the crown, reducing drag and increasing clubhead speed.

The square version offers golfers a little more forgiveness for greater consistency, while the round model offers increased shotshaping ability. A deep face creates a more forgiving hitting area, while the overall design produces a lower ball flight and lower spin rates than the original Machspeed, making it more appealing to better players.

Both models offer Nike’s STR8-FIT technology, which delivers eight face angle options – from two degrees open to two degrees closed. It comes with Mitsubishi’s lightweight Fubuki shaft in four flexes and four loft options for right-handers and two for lefties.

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON! Ping K15 Driver RRP: £269 Contact: www.pingeurope.com

Ping’s K15 driver could be the answer for all golfers who suffer from the curse of the dreaded slice. Both the driver and the matching fairway woods feature Straight Flight Technology, which makes it easier for golfers who fade it to square the clubhead up at address, giving them a better chance of finding the fairway. But rather than introducing ugly-looking offset, an external weight pad has been inserted towards the heel, which moves 10% of the overall weight in the driver to promote a natural clubhead rotation through impact and encourage a draw. The pad is hidden from view at address, helping to present a clean, confidence-inspiring look from above.

The driver, which has a 460cc titanium head, is fitted with a TFC 149D 45.75inch graphite shaft that uses high balance point technology and allows clubhead speed to remain consistent. It comes in lofts of 9.5, 10.5 and 12 degrees.

Product Showcase 37

www.golfnews.co.uk

Callaway Diablo Octane Black RRP: £249 Contact: www.callawaygolf.com Callaway’s classy Diablo Octane driver introduces the concept of Forged Composite — a revolutionary new material that is both lighter and stronger than titanium. The composite material, which has been produced in conjunction with Lambourghini, allows for a performance-enhancing distribution of mass within the clubhead when compared with drivers using an all-titanium construction.

Ultra-thin walls create a lower head weight for faster swing speeds, while Hyperbolic Face Technology chemically mills away excess material for precision thickness control across the face, resulting in high ball speeds. This lighter, more efficient clubhead is then paired with a longer shaft to increase head speed and power at impact for longer distances. Available in a Standard and an all-black Tour Model, the Diablo Octane is finished with a striking dark PVD finish that cuts down glare on bright days. The Tour model comes in 8.5-, 9.5-, 10.5-degree loft options, while the Standard is available in 9.5-, 10.5-, 11.5- and 13-degree lofts. Both are fitted with a 45.5-inch Project X graphite shaft.

Mizuno JPX 800 driver RRP: £229 Contact: www.mizuno.eu Mizuno created the JPX 800 driver following in-depth research into data gathered from thousands of club and pro golfers from its fitting centres which focused on improving ball speeds from shots struck above and below the sweet spot. The result is a driver which claims will add yards to driving distance, even from miss-hits. This has been achieved by increasing the JPX800’s vertical MOI (resistance to twisting at impact). The 460cc head sits square at address and relies on a complex internal weighting system to promote a straight, high ball flight. Research showed that the square set-up best neutralised the right-handed amateur’s most destructive shot – the pull, straight left. Chris Voshall, head of Mizuno’s R&D team, said: “While the JPX800 has many of the key elements needed to help amateur golfers - including forgiveness, hot face and slightly longer shaft length, we didn’t hook the face or do anything else to keep it out of a better player’s hands.”

The JPX 800 driver is fitted with Mizuno’s lightweight 45.5-inch Exsar DS5 graphite shaft and is available in RH only with 9-, 10.5-, 12- and 13.5 degrees of loft.

John Letters T9+ RRP: £199.99 Contact: www.johnletters.com The new T9+ woods feature John Letters’ unique weighted ‘Feel Cell’ technology to provide optimum feedback and great feel, even on off-centre hits .The 460cc body is made from high grade titanium with a beta titanium face to provide a higher elasticity and strength to optimise distance while maintaining control. Weight is placed in the heel and toe of to increase the MOI to create unparalleled face strength whilst reducing dispersion. Featuring mid-size Winn DSI gips, the T9+ comes with Aldila’s Tour Gold graphite shaft as standard, with other options including Grafalloy’s ProLaunch red and blue, plus the new Project X, all in a variety of flexes and lofts of 9.5°, 10.5°, 13° and 15°.

TaylorMade R11 Series

Cleveland Launcher Ultralite

RRP: £329, £399 R11 TP Contact: www.taylormadegolf.eu

RRP: £249 Contact: www.clevelandgolf.com Cleveland’s entire range of new drivers for 2011 is built on the principle that using the right weight club can help golfers gain more distance off the tee. Tests reveal that a 10g reduction in total club weight increases ball speed by 1mph. The Ultralite series features three distinct models — XL 270, SL 290 and TL 310 — for specific swing types. The XL 270 (460cc) and XL 270 Draw (460cc) weigh just 270 grams, and work best for those with smooth swing tempos (XL 270 delivers 4-5 mph more ball speed than traditional 315g drivers).

The SL 290 (460cc) is for players who make a more aggressive transition from backswing to downswing, while TL 310 (440cc) targets those players who prefer to work the ball and seek a penetrating ball flight. The overall club weight varies due to differences in head and grip mass. Specifically, the XL 270 has the lightest head (192g) and grip (26g), while TL 310 has the heaviest head (200g) and grip (46g). So get your scales out and do the maths!

TaylorMade has bundled all of its gadgetry into one supercharged package with the new R11 and R11 TP drivers, which combine Adjustable Sole Plate, Flight Control and Moveable Weight technologies. And to top it off, they’ve given it a white crown.

ASP Technology allows the face angle to be adjusted independently of the loft, offering neutral, 2° open and 2° closed angles.

Golfers can also create three lofts with the same face angle, or they can further accentuate a face angle or counter a negative face angle.

Altogether, the combination provides 48 ways to set up the driver to promote up to 100 yards of side-to-side trajectory adjustments. The 440cc head also includes two cartridges weighing 10g and 1g, which can be set up for draw and fade bias. If a more neutral setting is desired, 4g and 6g weights are available separately. The head has a triangular shape, which creates more inertia and a deeper back centre of gravity, while the white crown and black PVD face provides a contrast against the ground to make the head easier to align. The TP model comes with the option of 18 additional shaft choices.

Cobra S3 driver RRP: £249 Contact: www.cobragolf.co.uk Cobra Golf steps up to the adjustable clubhead plate once more with its latest launch, the S3. Adjustable Flight Technology allows the clubface to be positioned in once of three locations for open (+1.5), neutral and closed (-1.5) options to generate preferred shot shapes. The face on the 460cc titanium head is taller and more eliptical than previous Cobra drivers, while the manufacturer claims that its proprietary E9 technology makes the sweetspot 30% bigger than before, helping shots hit from low on the heel or high on the toe fly that much further. Ball speeds have also been increased courtesy of new beveled perimeter face design, which reduces wall thickness around the clubface and shifts it low to improve launch conditions. The standard shaft is the 45.5-inch Fujikura Blur TX, while loft options range from 8.5 (custom-only), 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 degrees.

38 News

www.golfnews.co.uk

ot l e ng i d s n r e e Ha Dun e-op Les ing r spr

1offer r o s f e e 2 en f From

APRIL 1st

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AY hM 15t

1 201

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Enjoy 2 for the price of 1 18 holes of golf on the newly re-configurated Les Dunes for u68 Mon-Thurs & u82 Fri-Sun, so from u34 per person!

Special rates on day tickets also available on application.

Subject to availability. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other current offers.

Dorset Resort sets the gold standard!

The Dorset Resort has once again been officially recognised as one of the country’s outstanding leisure destinations following receipt of its second 5-Star Gold Award from Visit Britain.

The popular Bere Regis-based golf and country club was awarded the industry’s highest accolade in recognition of its outstanding accommodation, food, attention to detail, customer service and surroundings, and is one of only a few handed out each year throughout the country.

The award makes the Dorset Resort the only 5-Star resort in Dorset, representing another feather in the corporate cap.

General Manager Graham Packer said: “To be acknowledged as a 5-star holiday destination

Graham Packer with award

is a massive honour, but to achieve the highest marks possible and receive the Gold Award is very special.

We all feel so proud here, as so much hard work goes in to running the resort, so to get it for the second year shows our continued commitment to achieving high standards.”

Hardelot Golf Club, Northern France

New Year savings at Dartmouth

To book or for more information, including on local accommodation, contact Virginie on +33 321 837 310 or hardelot@opengolfclub.com. Reservation lines open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm or Nigel Jibson UK Representative Tel. 01923 351124 `Quote Golf News’. Email: nigel@opengolfclub.com.

www.hardelot-golf.com www.opengolfclub.com Hardelot is just on the other side of the English Channel, only 40 minutes drive from Calais.

FREE GOLF +

WHOLE IN ONE Set in over 600 acres of rolling Devon countryside in the foothills of Dartmoor National Park, the Ashbury Golf Hotel boasts seven 18 hole golf course options plus extensive sports and leisure facilities - all free of charge to guests staying at the hotel. Guests may also take advantage of the sport, craft and leisure activities available to them at the Manor House Hotel.

Kigbeare 8th 403 yards, Par 4

Pines 4th 270 yards, Par 4

Forest 8th 442 yards, Par 4

Ashbury 6th 410 yards, Par 4

Online deal at Forest of Arden Marriott Golf is extending its successful winter online offer at one of the finest courses in the Midlands. During March and April golfers can book a round over the Arden (Championship) course at Marriott Forest of Arden Hotel & Country Club, Maxstoke Lane, Meriden, near Coventry from as little as £35. If the booking is made online, each player will also receive a £10 voucher redeemable in the resort’s golf shop. The same offer is available on the resort’s Aylesford Course, with green fees from £20. The Arden course at Marriott Forest of Arden was designed by Donald Steel and has regularly been used a venue for the British Masters and the European Open. For reservations visit www.marriottgolf.co.uk or call 01676 522335.

Stay & play in the

Garden of England

Oakwood 16th 172 yards, Par 3

7x 18 hole course options – yards

Beeches 5th 385 yards, Par4

Autumn to Spring Specials …up until 28th April 2011 3 Night weekend £138/£223 4 Night midweek £172/£250

Full board, Free buggies

Summer Special May – Sept 2011 3 Night weekend £221/£258 4 Night midweek £225/£285

Full board; midweek buggies £11.25

White

Yellow Red

KIGBEARE Par 72

6528

6126

5334

PINES

Par 72

6400

6076

5327

FOREST

Par 71

6140

5854

5211

ASHBURY

Par 69

5804

5534

4918

BEECHES

4826

Par 69

5765

5400

OAKWOOD Par 67

5400

5400

4650

WILLOWS

1939

1939

1939

Par 54

In addition there are extensive practice facilities and a driving range.

Freephone: 0800 389 9892 www.ashburygolfhotel.co.uk

In addition to the Championship 27-hole golf course, the resort boasts 12 Scandinavian-style lodges, which can sleep up to eight people, and can be rented out throughout the year for a minimum of three nights.

For bookings call 01929 472244 or visit www.dorsetgolfresort.com.

Play one of the best courses in Kent while enjoying the very comfortable 4 star Ramada Hotel 1 night Bed & Breakfast, 2 Rounds of Golf

£85 £129

per person

2 nights Bed & Breakfast, 3 Rounds of Golf

per person

1 night dinner, Bed & Breakfast, 2 Rounds of Golf

£98 £155

per person

2 nights dinner, Bed & Breakfast, 3 Rounds of Golf

per person

Contact us today on: 01622 844382 www.theridgegolfclub.co.uk The Ridge Golf Club, Chartway Street, Sutton Valence, Maidstone, Kent ME17 3JB

While the early bird might catch the worm, early bookers can catch cheap birdies at Dartmouth Golf & Country Club. The resort is freezing VAT for the first three months of 2011, meaning any golfers visiting the resort up until March 31 will not have to pay the new, higher rate.

Those who can’t visit until later in the year can still take advantage of a great early booking incentive. Golfers visiting between April and October can enjoy 15 per cent discount on pre-paid buggies if they book before February 28 – a £72 saving for the average group booking.

A three-day break with unlimited golf on the resort’s 27 holes is available from just £79 per night. Guest also receive complimentary use of the leisure facilities, which include an indoor pool, Jacuzzi and sauna.

Located just four miles from the historic town of Dartmouth, the resort is the ideal base from which to explore the delights of south Devon, with Dartmoor, the River Dart, fantastic beaches and a host of picturesque towns and villages nearby.

For more information, or to book, call 0800 043 1774, email reservations@ dgcc.co.uk or please visit www.dgcc.co.uk.

News 39

www.golfnews.co.uk

Just awarded

Come on down to Carden Park

British Tourist Board Gold Award

FREE GOLF Air-conditioned clubhouse facilities l Restaurant offering an extensive menu l On site accommodation in the Dorset Golf Hotel 16 twin rooms l From £54.95 pppn including Dinner, Bed and Breakfast and FREE GOLF l One Day Society Packages from £25.00pp l l

S

ituated within a breathtaking 1,000-acre country estate, golfers at Carden Park have a wealth of facilities to enjoy including the two stunning championship courses The Nicklaus Course, designed by the great Jack Nicklaus and his son Steve, and The Cheshire Course.

There is also a driving range with 13 covered and eight uncovered bays.

The resort is currently offering a winter warmer package, which offers the

Under starters’ orders for Ryder Cup package Golfers with a passion for horseracing should sign up for the Cheltenham Centenary Festival Golf Day, which is being hosted by YourGolfTravel.com from March 14-15.

The TwentyTen/Cheltenham package, which costs £2,000 for a four-ball, includes Champagne breakfast at the Celtic Manor TwentyTen clubhouse on March 14; 18 holes over the 2010 Ryder Cup course; complimentary buggies, course planner and bag tag; Team and ‘Beat the Pro’ prizes; Callaway goodie bag; three-course gala dinner; Celebrity Cheltenham preview; Overnight accommodation and breakfast at Celtic Manor; return transfers to Cheltenham with Tuesday Club race tickets.

Packages start from just £99 for golf on the Montgomerie course, plus the special preview evening.

For more information call 0800 043 1860 or visit www.fairwaytofurlong.com.

chance to play a round of golf, with tea, coffee and bacon rolls included, for just £25 per person Monday to Friday (£35 at weekends).

The special offer runs

to March 31.

The resort has recently been awarded GolfMark status from the English Golf Union (EGU), in recognition of its junior and beginner-

friendly golf facilities.

The award means that parents can easily identify a club that provides a safe and organised environment for children.

As well as its outstanding golfing facilities, Carden Park’s hotel boasts 196 luxury bedrooms and suites, award-winning restaurants and a sumptuous spa.

Plus with a wide variety of onsite activities, including an aerial ropes course.

For more information call 01829 731534 or go to www.cardenpark.co.uk/golf.

Telephone No: 01929 472244

Play over 210 of the finest courses in the South East for only

Have a free round at Hardelot

£39.95

tw

one

To order call: 01273 556377 or visit: www.golfnews.co.uk

The magnificent Dunes Course at Hardelot

To celebrate the reopening of the Dunes course in Hardelot this spring, following a major redevelopment project, visitors to this popular French resort are being offered two green fees for the price of one on all rounds played between April 1 and May 15, 2011.

The 2-for-1 green fees are €68 from Monday to Thursday during the promotion period, €82 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, making a midweek round just €34 per person. Special rates on day tickets also available during this time.

The par 70 Dunes

Tenterden

Golf breaks with tuition course has undergone extensive improvements and investment over the winter, taking the yardage to over 5,900 yards.

The layout demands both precision and length, with its tree-lined rolling fairways, and has the potential to become one of the best courses in Northern France, complementing

the quality of its sister course, Les Pins.

The resort is under 40 minutes from Eurotunnel, which runs up to four trains an hour, and is the same distance by car from Calais.

To book or for more information, contact call 00 33 321 837 310 or email hardelot@opengolf club.com.

Day 1

Day 2

Swing Health Check with Pro (1hr) l Breakfast l 9 Hole Playing l 18 Holes of Golf Lesson with the Pro l Full Unlimited use of Golf Facilities l 18 Holes of Golf l Full Use of our Luxury Spa l Full Use of Golf Facilities l 2-Course Dinner l Full Use of our Luxury Spa l Accommodation (up to 5pm) Variety of Spa Treatments available on request l

Price £190 per person (based on 2 sharing) London Beach, Hotel Club & Spa, Ashford Road, Tenterden, Kent. TN30 6HX. Tel: 01580 766279. Fax: 01580 763884. Email: offers@londonbeach.com

www.londonbeach.com

40 Travel

www.golfnews.co.uk

As the southernmost island in the Mediterranean, with transparent waters, fabulous beaches, excellent golf courses and year-round sunny skies, there are many reasons why Cyprus is often described as a jewel

Jewel the

of the Mediterranean

T

his peaceful, stress-free island oasis has a long tradition of hospitality towards travellers that makes it among the most welcoming of holiday destinations. Of course, it helps that Cyprus offers great value for money and that everybody speaks English and drives on the left-hand side of the road!

But for those who want more than two weeks lounging in the sun, Cyprus has few peers when it comes to variety.

Some of the country’s 2.2 million annual visitors head straight out on tours to the magnificent monasteries and exquisite Byzantine churches.

Others embark on bacchanalian wine tours, gourmet trails or bird watching in the mountains. The activities on offer are as varied as the landscape, which switches between rugged coastlines, sandy beaches, rocky hills and forest covered mountains. With so much to do and so little time to do it, it is no wonder that families return year after year to the same converted farmhouse in the same old sleepy village or to one of Cyprus’s many first class hotels.

With a bewildering legacy of more than 10,000 years of history, Cyprus has spectacular theatres, Roman mosaics, Crusader bridges and Venetian fortresses. The culture

calendar buzzes with year-round live performances attended by tourists and locals alike. While the hotels offer cuisine from all over the world, it would be a mistake to leave Cyprus without having sampled the local food at one of the many tavernas and restaurants which offer authentic Cypriot cooking.

Cyprus boasts four championship golf courses designed by some of the best golf architects including Donald Steel’s course situated 1,800 feet above sea level, the completely refurbished 6,650 yard par 72 course lies on the grounds of a 12th century monastery.

The second course built near Aphrodite’s Rock is 6,780 yards and lies in a beautiful valley surrounded by dramatic red rock formation.

In 2003, Cabell Robinson designed a superb course, also located minutes from Aphrodite’s Rock. The 7,330 yard course lies on an American style resort surrounded by a 5* hotel and villas.

The newly opened excellent course designed by 6 times major champion, Sir Nick Faldo is a magnificent 6,890 yard Par-71 Mediterranean golf course, this is a must to play and already gaining a reputation with a

ranking from Golf.com as one of the 10 best new courses.

Cyprus has developed into an attractive golfing destination with more courses in the pipeline expected to open in the next few years.

EN Q U IRIES For further information call Cyprus Tourist Office on 020 7569 8800 or visit: www.visitcyprus.com For golf enquiries call Exclusive Golf on 020 8660 9905 or visit: www.exclusivegolf.co.uk

Travel 41

www.golfnews.co.uk

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1. As a member we guarantee to match any other like for like offer you may receive elsewhere.

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Matt Nicholson enjoys an action-packed five days of sunshine in Arizona, where desert meets golf in spectacular fashion

Arizona F

Rocks

or me, golf doesn’t get much better than that offered in Arizona, or more specifically Scottsdale and Tucson. The areas have over 250 courses to play on, from $250-a-round PGA Tour layouts to more accessible and affordable $30 public courses, and plenty somewhere in between. And with over 330 days a year of sunshine, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy them. But numbers alone don't begin to tell the story of why Arizona is my idea of golfing nirvana.

I’ve yet to come across a region where the condition of the courses is so consistently high, while the hotels, restaurants and the quality of the service is up there alongside the best in the world. Variety, they say, is the spice of life, and if you’re looking for something markedly different to your regular diet of boring old parkland tracks when you go away on holiday, then Arizona will simply blow your mind.

‘Target golf’ has received something of a bad press in recent years, often used as a rather lazy catch-all for American resort courses where you can supposedly ‘point and shoot’, rather than having to think your way around a golf course. Arizona’s desert courses are often – and wrongly – accused of falling into this category, but for me they deserve their place in the spectrum of the golfing experience every much as a links or a parkland course.

With water at a premium and the hot, arid desert not a natural habitat for things

that grow, golf courses out here tend to limit their grass coverage to the tees, fairways and greens, leaving the rest to the natural laws of the land. While this makes for some spectacular pictures, it also presents a stark contrast to the natural golfing setting that many of us have grown used to. Stripped down to their bare essentials, desert courses can look, well, a bit naked, but for me that offers its own natural beauty, and in many respects offers an even more authentic Arizona experience, as so little of the natural environment has been changed in order to accommodate the golf courses.

Thus the desert golfer is required to hit shots around boulders the size of small houses, negotiate around giant cacti and fly vast canyons in order to reach the relative safety of the green. It makes for heartstopping moments and a few scary ones too, as you try to avoid stepping on sleeping rattlesnakes or impaling your most valued parts on a spiky thorn.

Unique course architecture has contributed to Scottsdale's stellar reputation as a dream golf destination, with some of the game’s most renowned designers having showcased their talents here. Tom Weiskopf, Robert Trent Jones (Sr and Jr), Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Jay Morrish, Robert Cupp, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw and Bill Grove have all left their distinctive imprints here, making Scottsdale a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ of the golf design world.

This embarrassment of architectural

The breathtaking at Ventana Canyoshort Par 3, n.

offers a challenge to all , t r e s e d e level of golfers, with huge h t l in e w e j ’s t changes in elevation, over h ig r W re in Phoenix d y lo L 300 bunkers and plenty k n a r F izona Biltmo of water serving to ramp up the test. To give you an idea of how The Ar

excellence has created plenty of ‘must play’ holes as well as a number of ‘don't miss’ golf courses. I have been lucky enough to play quite a few of these during my visits to Arizona over the years, but I never get tired of playing the established ones, while always keen to play the new ones that keep being added.

During a five-day visit in November I got to play four courses, kicking off with the 27-hole layout at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa (www.kierlandresort.com). Staying at the resort’s hotel overnight following a 10-hour flight from the UK, we arrived on the first tee feeling refreshed and ready for our desert challenge. The three nines at Kierland – Acacia, Mesquite and Ironwood – can be played in any three combinations of each other – all of them offering around 7,000 yards of manicured fairways and carpetlike putting surfaces. Opened in 1994 and designed by Scott Millar, Kierland is one of Scottsdale’s most established tracks and

hot it can get in the summer, the golf buggies here have air-conditioning, while golfers can also feel the wind in their hair by hiring a twowheeled Segway to travel the fairways. They take some getting used to, but will add to the fun of any round here, if that’s possible.

After lunch in the award-winning clubhouse, with food to match, we headed off through the McDowell Mountains to transfer to the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort and Casino (www.radissonfort mcdowellresort.com) for the next leg of our golfing journey. After a night spent in the aforementioned casino, our odds of coming out on top against the We-Ko-Pa Golf Resort (www.wekopa.com) looked decidedly dodgy, but the stunning mountain views soon got me in the mood to raise my game.

We-Ko-Pa – which translates as ‘Four Peaks’ from the native Indian – offers two stunning championship layouts, the Cholla and the Saguaro. We played the Ben Crenshaw-designed Saguaro, which opened four years ago to accompany the famous

Tour Operators who specialise in Arizona Golf Tours: Eagle Golf Tours | www.eaglegolftours.com | Tel 01273 419111.

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rs on e d l u o he Bvated tees.

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Cholla, and is already rivalling its more established neighbour for sheer golfing fun.

While the Cholla is mostly played through the air, the Saguaro is best tackled on the ground, with the huge contours and swales making it a severe challenge to plot your way around. Although the fairways are wide and fast running, the bumps and mounds can leave some testing lies – up, down and side – while heavilycontoured approaches to greens can send the ball flying in the wrong direction if not properly directed or flighted. Being on the right side of the hole is also a massive benefit when you eventually find the putting surfaces, as three-foot downhillers can often end up being 15-foot uphillers if you’re a bit heavy-handed, as I found to my cost on more than one occasion. After our round we enjoyed lunch in the elegant We-Ko-Pa clubhouse, which has a Red Indian theme reflecting its location in Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation reservation. Sadly, we didn’t have time to play the Cholla course, as our transport was ready and waiting to take us on the short journey to our next overnight stay at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.

The Biltmore (www.arizonabiltmore.com) is an Arizona landmark in its own right, with its unique angular design drawing upon the influence of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, having been built by one his students back in 1929. The hotel was originally owned by the Wrigley family – of chewing gum fame – and has attracted a host of celebrities over

was allegedly Marilyn Monroe’s favourite swimming pool, and cooed over the grand piano that Frank Sinatra used to belt tunes from back in the day. Despite a $50 million refurbishment in the 1990s, the resort has managed to retain a stylish 1930s art deco feel. After our tour we headed into downtown Scottsdale for a quick drink in The Valley Ho (where, we were told, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood held their wedding), and then onto the stylish City Hall Grill for a superb steak dinner.

After waking to another gorgeous Arizona morning – 70 degrees is the average temperature during the winter months – we headed to the nearby Boulders Resort (www. theboulders.com), where we were treated to a pre-round breakfast on the practice range, which is my kind of warm-up routine. The Boulders has two championship courses, the North and South courses both of which were designed by Jay Morrish. Either would rank in my top 10 courses in the world, but the 6,726-yard South simply takes the breath away, with the first six holes rivalling anything I’ve played. Resembling a set from the Flintstones, it’s about as prehistoric a setting for golf as you could imagine, with towering rock formations playing a central role in any round here. From the very first hole – a 447yard par four - if you hit a drive too far down the left side of the fairway, you'll find yourself blocked out by a massive two-storey rock.

You can try to hit a ball over it to the green with a wedge, but since the lie at this point is more likely to be sand, clean contact is no guarantee. Perhaps the most striking part of the course is Boulder Pile, which surrounds the 545-yard par-five fifth hole.

Reachable in two if you hit a good drive down the left, the green is surrounded on three sides by rocks that rise some 200 feet above the surface. There's also Rosie's Rock, named after the resort’s founder, near the seventh tee. It looks like it could tip over at anytime, but apparently it's been in that position for centuries and isn't going anywhere – at least that was what I hoped as I teed off under its shadow.

Rocks aside, the greens on the South Course are fairly large, but have a good bit of undulation in them, while there are also a few water hazards, most notably on the short par-4 sixth, where it comes into play off the tee, and the 583-yard 18th, where it fronts the green.

And typical of Morrish courses, there is a drivable par four. In this case, it's the 12th, which plays

Golf Amigos | www.golfamigos.co.uk | Tel 0845 230 3100.

The Sono for a hun ran Desert dred mile stretches s.

anywhere from 237 yards to 348. Whichever tees you play off – and there are five to choose from – this is a course you'll never forget, making it a must-play, even though it does command a hefty green fee. The Boulders Resort itself is five-star all the way, with general manager Michael Hoffman, formerly of Claridges in Mayfair, running the place to the same impeccable standards.

After taking stock of our lost ball count, we then headed 90 miles south to Tucson, where we stayed overnight at The Lodge at Ventana Canyon (www.thelodge atventanacanyon. com) in preparation for a round at Ventana Canyon the following day. Sadly, the resort’s Mountain Course was closed for maintenance, so we had to content ourselves with a sneaky peak at the infamous 16th, a renowned par three whose green is cut from the rock face, before tackling the resort’s other track, the Canyon Course. Also designed by Tom Fazio, the 6,836-yard Canyon is another gem of a desert layout, rolling through the Esperro Canyon and using the famous Whaleback Rock as a feature. It’s not a typical desert course, although the large, undulating greens and huge changes in elevation make for a thrilling round.

The round culminates with a 503-yard par five 18th that includes a desert wash just in front of the green, making it a partial island with a cascading waterfall behind. The course also has two stunning par threes, the 13th and 16th, both of which can result in double-digit scores should you miss the

green – which I thankfully didn’t!

After the game we headed out to a local cattle ranch to play at being cowboys for the afternoon, which, as it turned out, involved a three-hour trek on horseback.

If you know your films, think The Three Amigos or City Slickers, rather than Brokeback Mountain, if you don’t mind.

That evening, feeling a little sore (from the saddle), we moved a mile up the road to the luxurious 398-bedroom Loews Ventana Canyon Hotel (www.loewshotels. com), where, after an excellent dinner in the award-winning Flying V Bar and Grill, we took a few hours to reflect on our past few days in Arizona. With so many truly worldclass courses in such a concentrated area, it’s possible to get overwhelmed by the sheer quality of the golf offering in this part of the world. The secret, I think, is not to try and cram them all in at once, but pick a mix of ‘must plays’ and ‘should tries’ and give yourself time to savour the moments rather than rushing around ticking all the boxes.

You could play a different golf course every day in Scottsdale for the best part of six months, so this place is guaranteed to have you coming back for more.

“Resembling a set from the Flintstones, Boulder’s South Course is about as prehistoric a setting for golf as you could imagine”

Matt Nicholson travelled on British Airways, which operates daily direct flights to Phoenix Sky Harbor (www.britishairways.com).

For more information on any of the golf courses and hotels featured visit www.arizonagolfcollection.co.uk.

me Te a g r u o y n o st y focus It’s harddrtaomatic We-Ko-Pa formatioounr game among s at The ancient r at the Boulder ock s

Made for perfect days, perfect greens and perfect putts.

Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club #13, Pawleys Island, South Carolina

There’s nothing more fun than a golf vac ation, and nowhere better t o t a k e t h a t t r i p t h a n S o u t h C a ro l i n a . Wi t h m o re t h a n 3 6 0 c o u r s e s from the mount ains to the coast, we’re Americ a’s #1 golf destination.

Come see why South Carolina really is made for vac ation. Find out more at SouthCarolinaGolf.com.

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Home from home in South Carolina

Normandy Golf www.normandygolf.com

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SEE PAGE 9

An INN on York Street 10-DAY SPECIAL FOR £499

Enjoy 10 nights B&B including 5 rounds of golf with buggy for just £499 each (based on 2 people sharing and assuming exchange rate of £1 to $1.55)

If you want to experience some good old English hospitality while playing Carolina’s finest golf courses, then check into the Inn on York Street

S

taying in impersonal chain hotels and motels when travelling abroad can often leave you shortchanged when it comes to getting a true experience of the local culture, which is why an increasing number of independent travelers are choosing to stay in boutique-style accommodation, including bed and breakfasts, where a personal service is always guaranteed.

One such couple offering such a service are Mark and Sandie Woodier, a husband and wife team from Cheshire, who moved out to Charlotte, South Carolina last year to set up their own upmarket B&B. Specifically targeting golf-obsessed tourists from the UK, the delightfully-named Inn on York Street offers four luxury en-suite rooms in a typically stunning Southern Plantation house.

Since opening last year, the Woodiers have enjoyed an almost constant stream of visitors from the UK and from guests who live closer to home, drawn to Charlotte by its charm and elegance, wonderful

Stay in a historic Southern Plantation, English run B&B Never more than 4 pampered couples Play leisurely golf on fabulous conditions courses Experience the slow pace and charm of "small-town mid America" Relax and unwind after golf by the pool by sipping "Mint Juleps" Luxury en-suite rooms with gourmet breakfasts and concierge services Golf booked and arranged to your liking Choice of more than 20 courses within a 35 minutes drive Find us a 50 minutes drive south of Charlotte Airport Check out our guest reviews at www.tripadvisor.com

Owners Mark and Sandy Woodier are generous and helpful hosts

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£325pp! climate, and the huge variety of golf courses on the doorstep. Quail Hollow, a regular venue on the PGA Tour and host for the 2017 US PGA Championship, is just one of the top quality tracks on offer.

Mark, who used to work as a fruit merchant in Manchester, is also a keen golfer, and is able to advise guests on what the local courses are like, as well as book tee times and organise golfing itineraries.

“The choice of golf courses here is amazing – there are 29 within a 35-minute drive,” says Mark. “They’re all in great condition, because of the climate, and reasonably

Quail Hollow

cheap too. You can play golf all year round in South Carolina. January and February can be as high as 20 degrees, with very little rainfall, although it can get very hot in July and August.

“There are four airconditioned en-suite bedrooms, a swimming pool, large veranda, threeacre garden and plenty of space in which to relax, so we’re perfect for hosting large groups of friends or family, as well as people travelling as couples or as singles,” adds Mark.

“We’re really enjoying ensuring our guests have a fabulous holiday and will happily recommend restaurants, golf courses and other activities to make their stay a memorable one.”

Prices for seven nights’ B&B, including four rounds of golf, start from just $750 (£465).

For more information on a holiday to Inn on York Street visit www. innonyorkstreet.com or call 001 803581 8681.

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46 Travel

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Omaha Beach Challenge 2011

Ryanair tees up huge golf discounts Budget airline Ryanair has launched a new promotion which offers up to 50% discounts off green fees at top courses in Europe. Ryanair Golf Direct, a partnership with industry specialists Golf Away International, initially covers 20 Spanish resorts, but will be extended to Portugal, the Canary Islands and the UK. Dermot McArdle, chairman Ryanair Golf Direct, said: “Ryanair Golf Direct was established to get people playing lower priced golf on their holidays by booking green fees through the internet. We are delighted to have this exclusive agreement which allows us to negotiate larger concessions with leading courses to allow our members unprecedented savings in and around the locations that Ryanair is flying to.”

Ryanair currently charges £40 for checking in golf clubs one-way, adding £80 to the cost of a return flight. For more information on the golf courses include in the offer, visit www.ryanairgolfdirect.com.

Your Invitation to enter the Golfnews ONL Omaha Beach Challenge Y

£13 5 Bag an early-bird

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olf News has teamed up with Brittany Ferries Holidays and Hedge End Golf Centre in Portsmouth to launch the Golf News Omaha Beach Challenge, a brand new competition open to UK golfers who fancy testing their skills on one of northern France’s most popular golf resorts.

The two-day tournament, which takes places from March 9th-10th 2011, will be held over both of the superb 18-hole courses at Omaha Beach Golf Club, with the competition format involving both Individual Stableford and Better Ball Pairs events.

TO EN TER

saving at La Manga

THE ITINERARY March 8 – Overnight ferry crossing with Brittany Ferries on the 10.45pm sailing from Portsmouth to Caen.

March 10 – 8.30am Shotgun start on the Manoir Course for the Better Ball Pairs Stableford competition, followed by prize-giving ceremony in the clubhouse with prizes generously provided by Callaway Golf. Return ferry crossing from Caen, which arrives in Portsmouth at 9.15pm.

the outward sailing; two rounds of competition golf on the Le Mer and Manoir courses; one night’s bed and breakfast in the Ibis Hotel in twin/ double room.

March 9 – Tee times from 8.30am on the Le Mer course, playing in an Individual Stableford competition.

Overnight accommodation will be in the Ibis Hotel in Port en Bessin.

THE COST The package costs just £135 per person, based on four people travelling in one car. The price includes a return ferry crossing with a cabin on

HOW TO ENTER To enter the Golf News Omaha Beach Challenge, please contact the Brittany Ferries Golf desk on 0871 244 0808 to reserve your place.

Holidays begin Discover the beautifully uncrowded fairways of France and northern Spain with Brittany Ferries.

The La Manga Club resort in Spain is offering a host of early booking benefits for 2011 holidays, including free nights and a gift of a further one night’s transferable stay.

Valid for seven-night stays during summer, Easter and all half-term periods, the holidays must be booked by February 28 and offer up to two nights’ free accommodation plus, for hotel guests, two free activities per adult per stay.

Activities include a choice of golf – available on any of La Manga’s three championship courses – tennis at the resort’s

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Call the golf desk on 0871 244 1406 or visit brittanyferries.com/golf All prices are per person based on minimum 4 passengers per car for travel until 31 March 2011. Terms and Conditions apply. See website for full details.

where holidays begin

28-court tennis centre or selected spa treatments at the 2,000sqm spa.

Other incentives for families include one child under-13 going free when sharing their parents’ room, 40 per cent discounts for children staying in their own room, free kids’ meals for under fives, and entry into the complimentary Funlandia programme of family activities – including movie nights, treasure hunts and more.

Prices for a week in May half-term, based on a family of four staying in a two bedroom selfcatering apartment, start from €1,000. The same stay based on two twin or deluxe rooms at the fivestar Hotel La Manga Club Principe Felipe cost €1,900, and include breakfast.

A new development for 2011 is the opening of Lee Westwood’s first overseas junior golf academy this summer.

The academy operates between August 1-5 and 8-12, and children will take part in a dedicated instructional programme, designed by Westwood, covering all aspects of the game, with prizes and gifts for all attendees.

The academies will run for two hours per day and will be open to boys and girls in two different age groups – seven to 11 years and 12-16 years.

For reservations call 00 34 968 17 5577 or visit www.lamangaclub.com.

Travel 47

www.golfnews.co.uk In association with...

meandmytravels with Richard Boxall The former European Tour pro turned TV golf commentator reveals his private passions when carrying a passport My first holiday was… with my parents and another family in Majorca when I was about five. My abiding memory is floating uncontrollably out to sea in a rubber ring. I was heading for some jagged rocks, what felt like miles from the shore, and had to be rescued by my dad.

just a golf course, but it’s a beautiful if slightly remote place. I played there in the Home Internationals as an amateur in 1980, and will never forget it.

My favourite golf resort is…

Eagle Trace in Florida.

Jebel Ali Hotel in Dubai

My ideal travelling golf partners would be… Me, Paul Thomas and Derek Cooper, both of whom are old mates from my playing days, and me again. Two Boxalls might make a formidable foursomes combination!

The best hotel I’ve ever stayed at was… Sandy Lane in Barbados. The hotel is superb, the service fantastic, and I love the sound of the cicadas in the evening. I’m also a big fan of the Jebel Ali Hotel in Dubai. It’s not too busy, and not too expensive, although that’s all relative in Dubai.

My favourite place in the British Isles is… Dornoch in the north-east tip of Scotland. OK, so it’s essentially

Aymerich courses on the Costa del Sol

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The thing I hate about travel is… the travel. Queuing, passport control, parking, it’s all a nightmare. Flying business class eases the stress, but

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My top piece of travel advice is… to try and turn left when you enter the plane and get stuck into the drinks trolley. I find it helps me sleep. Thankfully, I don’t get too bothered by jetlag.

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I’m planning a trip to… the Middle East. It’s called the Desert Swing, and it’s work, but I’ve still got to plan it!

My dream holiday would be… back at Sandy Lane with my family.

We’d travel first class (only sadly not on Concorde), be picked up by a Bentley at the airport, and spend two weeks around the pool, swimming, doing rough water sports, eating, and I might even throw in a round of golf.

FROM

My favourite golf course in the world is… Les Bordes in France, although Sunningdale Old comes a close second. I grew up playing Camberley Heath, so I love all the classic heathland tracks in Surrey and Berkshire. I also love links golf, so it’s so hard to choose just one.

Les Bordes in France

The worst holiday I’ve ever had was… with my family in the south of France when I was 15. We stayed in a caravan that had recently suffered fire damage. Need I say more.

FROM

My most recent holiday was to…

Trevose in Cornwall last October.

I’m an honorary member of the golf club and try and get down there as often as I can. We stay in the excellent self-catering accommodation at the club and venture out for the odd meal to Padstow. I’ve got kids aged between three and 19, so Trevose is an ideal family-friendly place to go.

My most memorable meal abroad was… at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Dubai last month. I had 12oz New York strip with Idaho potatoes, and I can honestly say that it was best steak I’ve ever had. When I’m on tour with Sky I will eat out 99% of the time, especially when we travel to places like Hong Kong, but there are the odd occasions when room service in the hotel is the only option.

we are only allowed to do that on flights longer than six hours.

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Keeping your holiday on course

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HITS the TARGET The G15 iron technology starts with an innovative cavity design for maximum forgiveness and it continues with a wider sole that helps you hit higher-flying, longer-carrying shots. ® To start consistently hitting your mark, visit a PING fitting specialist or ping.com.

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