Golf World December 2012

DECEMBER 2012, ISSUE 13 VOL 53

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

NEW GEAR TRENDS FOR 2013

RYDER CUP REACTION

Six new wedges

And why you must get the right bounce

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NEW GEAR TRENDS

‘GOLF HAS BLOWN IT’

ERNIE ON DRINKING

Faldo’s Olympic verdict

Why Els had to stop

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HIT PURE IRONS

By Jason Day

Impact made easy

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DECEMBER 2012

LATEST WEDGES

FAIRWAY WOOD TIPS

£4.20

FALDO’S OLYMPIC VERDICT n

ERNIE ELS INTERVIEW

RYDER CUP EXCLUSIVES

Poulter tells you...

‘I LIVED IN A VAN TO GET HERE’

The lengths players go to break onto the PGA Tour

How to win Whether it’s for £1 this Sunday or a Ryder Cup point MARTIN KAYMER HOW TO HOLE PRESSURE PUTTS

JUSTIN ROSE YOU’VE GOT TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

PAUL LAWRIE HOW TO KEEP YOUR SWING TEMPO

10 THINGS We’re talking about in golf...

Golf World December 2012

1

Is Clarke the 2014 captain?

In the afterglow of Medinah, attention has turned to who will defend the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in two years.

A

fter the Miracle at Medinah, there has been much salivating and speculating about who will lead the European team at Gleneagles in 2014. We seem to have an abundance of candidates, but there is a clear favourite with the bookies – and Darren Clarke is 8/11 on.

“The inside track is edging for Darren, ahead of Paul McGinley, so I believe,” says fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington. “They would both make great captains. Hopefully they will go with Paul in 2014 and then Darren for 2016. I certainly think 2014 is Paul’s opportunity, as there is less chance of Paul getting the captaincy if Darren gets it first. There is also a strong case for Thomas Bjorn.”

The only one of Olazabal’s four vicecaptains at Medinah, who no one seems to be talking about is Miguel Angel Jimenez. “I have been on the European Tour for 24 years,” says Jimenez, “and I have played in the Ryder Cup four times.

I have also been vice-captain twice, and so it would be very nice if I could be the next captain, of course.”

As the youngest of the candidates and with time on his side, Bjorn is also an outside bet for 2014, but perhaps a stronger candidate for 2016 or 2018.

“Whatever happens,” says Bjorn, “the good thing is that Paul, Darren, Miguel and myself have all played under different captains and worked with them too. We have a great insight into what it takes to be a captain, and I think the players would benefit from that. Who knows if any of us will be captain? But we have all been involved a lot.”

Only one of the four – Clarke – has won a major. McGinley (with only four wins on Tour) is way behind the other two, in terms of victories; but he did hole the winning putt at The Belfry in 2002, when he halved his match with Jim Furyk, and more importantly, everyone

says he is brilliant in the team room.

“My vote would go to Paul McGinley, definitely,” says Peter Hanson. “Paul did so much for the team in Medinah, and he is so precise with everything he does. He does not speak unless he has something very specific to say. He is always spot on, and you can see how good he would be as a captain. He just loves the Ryder Cup – you can see it in his eyes.”

A natural with the media, McGinley has been a player, vice-captain or captain on nine Ryder Cup or Seve Trophy teams, and finished on the winning team every single time. “It would be an honour,” says McGinley.

“I don’t want to put myself out there.

I have played my part and I have been a vice-captain like the other three guys. It is not right for me to play a political game to try and get the position.”

Lee Westwood has perhaps not surprisingly backed his long-standing ally, Clarke, though the Ulsterman has also expressed hopes that he might be able to play in the 2014 Ryder Cup. “Darren is a major champion and a very good public speaker,” says Westwood. “He’s tactically very astute.

Paul is good in the team room and makes a great vice-captain. Paul has played in three Ryder Cups, whereas Darren has played in five and won a major; and won a lot more tournaments than Paul. I think Darren just edges it.”

“It’s probably the biggest honour that can be bestowed on a member of the European Tour,” Clarke says. “If I were to be offered the position I would embrace it with both arms, and hope I could do just as good a job as Jose Maria did at Medinah.”

The speculation is likely to continue until the Tournament Committee meet at the Abu Dhabi Championship, when a decision is expected.

By Robin Barwick, who travelled to Medinah and St Andrews with Mercedes-Benz.

The four favourites

DARREN CLARKE 8/11

Born: August 14, 1968 Joined European Tour: 1990 Tour wins (majors): 18 (1) Ryder Cups as player: 1997, 99, 2002, 04, 06 Ryder Cup record: W10–L7–H3 Ryder Cups as vice-captain: 2010 & 12 Seve Trophy: 2000, 02

PAUL McGINLEY 11/8 Born: December 16, 1966 Joined European Tour: 1991 Tour wins (majors): 4 (0) Ryder Cups as player: 02, 04, 06 Ryder Cup record: W2–L2H5 Ryder Cups as vice-captain: 2010 & 12 Seve Trophy: 2002, 05, 09 (captain), 11 (captain)

THOMAS BJORN 10/1

Born: February 18, 1971 Joined European Tour: 1995 Tour wins (majors): 15 (0) Ryder Cups as player: 97 & 02 Ryder Cup record: W3–L2–H1 Ryder Cups as vice-captain: 2004, 10, 12 Seve Trophy: 2000, 02, 03, 05, 07, 09 (captain), 11.

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ 25/1

Born: January 5, 1964 Joined European Tour: 1988 Tour wins (majors): 18 (0) Ryder Cups as player: 99, 04, 08, 10 Ryder Cup record: W4–8–H3 Ryder Cups as vice-captain: 1997 & 2012 Seve Trophy: 2000, 02, 03, 05, 07, 09, 11.

December 2012 Golf World

‘If I don’t have one more party for the rest of my life, I’m still ahead of the game’ A history with alcohol gave Ernie Els the push to pull back from the party life – and win another major.

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WORDS: Tom Callahan PHOTOGRAPHY: Dom Furore, Getty

wenty years ago, I sat down with 22-yearold Ernie Els in the Johannesburg offices of Sam Feldman, the first in a long, grey line of Ernie’s agents. Els had yet to play in either a Masters or a US Open but had won everything at home. “People may go ‘Ooh,’” he told me, “but I like a beer with my friends.” After Els won the 1994 US Open at 24, I asked Payne Stewart how Ernie was getting along at Lake Nona in Florida.

“He’s had a beer,” Stewart said, laughing, “with every member of the club.” Payne meant it, of course, as a compliment.

In the rollicking or, more often, mean-spirited whispering around Els and alcohol ever since, a pertinent piece of information has been left out. It’s what begins to explain the change in Ernie this year that was at least a factor in his triumph at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

If not for courage against drink, Els would have been a rugby or tennis player. He would never have been a golfer at all. In a culture of alcohol on the hard side of South Africa, Ernie’s dad, Neels, had a better excuse for drinking than most. Neels’ father died of cancer at 43, calling him at bedside to the brutal transport business and placing six younger siblings in his care.

He was 18. (“To take over that business at that age,” Ernie says, “can you imagine?”) The youngest child, a 4½-year-old boy,

Golf World December 2012

was run over by a car and killed in front of the house. Their mother was never the same after that. She died at 50.

“You need a new hobby,” said Ernie Vermaak, Neels’ fatherin-law, dragging him to a driving range. Neels had never given golf a thought. As a boy, he stuck to men’s games. “But I started to enjoy it,” he said, “so much more than drinking.”

That was the beginning for Ernie Els. On December 12, 1969, 56 days after Ernie was born, Neels had his last drink. “I made a promise to God,” he told me by a practice putting green in 2002, “and He gave me something back. He gave me Ernie.”

“Really,” Ernie says softly. He hadn’t heard that before.

December 2012 Golf World

THE ULTIMATE RYDER CUPPER Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson don’t come close to him. Neither do apparently great Ryder Cup protagonists like Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal or Lee Trevino. Ian James Poulter is officially the King of the Ryder Cup, with a better “win” percentage than anyone else who has ever played in the event. For the last three Ryder Cups the Englishman has been Europe’s top points scorer…

Player Wins Lost Halves Av Points Ian Poulter 12 3 0 0.80 Arnold Palmer 22 8 2 0.71 Hale Irwin 13 5 2 0.71 Tom Watson 10 4 1 0.70 Julius Boros 9 3 4 0.68 Lee Trevino 17 7 6 0.66 Gene Littler 14 5 8 0.66 Jack Nicklaus 17 8 3 0.66 Jose Maria Olazabal 18 8 5 0.66 Colin Montgomerie 20 9 7 0.65 Qualification criteria: 15 matches

Golf World December 2012

IAN POULTER

RYDER CUP EXCLUSIVE

Poulter’s guide to

WINNING

Intense, passionate and downright Seve-like in his ability to rise to the Ryder Cup moment, Ian Poulter is the ultimate closer.

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WORDS: John Huggan PHOTOGRAPHY: Howard Boylan, Getty

mid a post-match flurry of seemingly ever-more flowery verbiage, it was actually a mildly inebriated Lee Westwood who found the words that best paid tribute to Ian Poulter. “We have revised the qualification for next time,” announced the world No.4 during the victorious European Ryder Cup team’s commonly chaotic and sometimes surreal press conference.

“It’s nine spots, two captain’s picks and Poults. The ‘Poults Clause’.” Likewise, his team-mate Graeme McDowell said: “He had to take his sunglasses off on Saturday; he didn’t want his eyeballs to pop through the lenses!”

Two tongue-in-cheek salutations that nevertheless speak seriously of the deep admiration his team-mates clearly feel for the joker in their pack. Rarely can any one golfer have so profoundly influenced the overall result of the biennial contest between two teams of 12 from Worlds Old and New. A winner in all four of his matches and now the proud owner of a remarkable 12-3-0 record in four appearances in Europe’s colours, Poulter has evolved into the Seve Ballesteros of his generation, surely the ultimate compliment for any Ryder Cupper.

In fact, not even the late, great Spaniard – whose silhouette adorned both the European bags and their Sunday shirts – ever came up with a performance quite like that produced by Poulter over three days of

riveting and ultimately historic golf at Medinah. The 36-year-old Englishman even found time to pause for a metaphorical nap. At the controversial behest of European skipper José Maria Olazábal, he was forced to skip the fourballs on Friday afternoon. It was the following day when Poulter, paired with world No.1 Rory McIlroy, moved from supporting act to headliner. Two-down on the 13th tee to Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson, the Europeans proceeded to make birdie on every hole thereafter to clinch a vital and tide-turning victory. While McIlroy made the first, Poulter proceeded to make a birdie on the last five holes, the Ulsterman taking an unfamiliar backseat.

“Ian is just so intense,” said McIlroy. “He gets that look in his eyes, especially after he makes a big putt. At one point he even looked right through me. But it’s great to see the passion he has for this event. The Ryder Cup brings out the best in him and I’m glad it did today. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be in this position.”

The position McIlroy referred to still wasn’t great. A four-point deficit going into the final day’s singles represented a burden only once before overcome in 38 previous Ryder Cups and never on foreign soil. No matter. While winning a match they looked like they would lose was important enough to the European cause, Poulter’s burst of genius had a more farreaching effect.

“Watching Ian gave the side a huge psychological lift,” says assistant captain Darren Clarke. “Everyone was so elated by what he did. We went from down to up in what felt like no time at all.”

December 2012 Golf World

From $9 an hour to $20,000 a hole Tommy ‘Two Gloves’ Gainey on hustling, TV’s ‘Big Break’ and going face to face with an iguana.

WORDS: Guy Yocom PHOTOGRAPHY: Brent Humphreys

I

worked on the line for AO Smith for the better part of five years, wrapping insulation around hotwater heaters. I won’t lie to you, it was tough work.

I like playing golf more. But I loved that job. That company was and is a family. We had fun, and we looked out for each other. Companies like that and their workers, they’re what make this country tick. I represent AO Smith to this day and won’t ever forget the people there for what they represent.

© GOLF DIGEST

TOMMY I played a lot of golf in my spare time and was GAINEY’S getting better all the time. There was a mini-tour 2012 SEASON event coming up that I wanted to play in, but I EVENTS PLAYED: 29 couldn’t afford the $750 entry fee. A friend put up CUTS MADE: 16 TOP TENS: 1 TOP 25s: 3 BEST FINISH: 3rd, most Crowne Plaza Invitational at of it, I took off from work without giving proper Colonial MONEY WON: notice, and proceeded to win. First prize was $804,703 WORLD $15,000, a lot of money to a guy making $9 an hour. I RANKING: 151 still remember the promoter asking when it was over, “Are you pro or amateur?” I think he was hoping I’d say amateur so he wouldn’t have to pay out as much of the purse.

After I won that $15,000, it was back to work on Monday morning. When I walked in, the news was all over the plant. We started up on the line, and I got word that my supervisor, Dale Clark, wanted to see me in his office. My stomach dropped. I walked in, and Dale says, “Tommy, do you know why you’re in here?” I said, “Yes, sir. I took time off with no vacation or sick

Golf World December 2012

PGA TOUR STORIES

leave. If you need to write me up, I understand.” He says, “We both know I should probably take some kind of action, but I’m not going to do that. You’re a good worker, and I appreciate what you do for us. But the next time you need to take time off to play in a tournament, I’d appreciate it if you level with me. We’ll try to work something out.” Then Dale smiled. “Tommy, I know you just won $15,000, but what are you going to do with your life?”

I answered, honestly, “I have no clue.” The way Dale said it made me realise I had to make a commitment one way or the other.

I grew up idolising Fred Couples. He’s the ultimate smooth operator. He swings smooth, moves around smooth, never gets ruffled, makes things look so easy. The first time I met Fred, I was real nervous. I think he noticed, because he went out of his way to make me feel at ease. The thing about reaching the tour later than most players is, it’s hard to put yourself on the same level as your heroes. Convincing yourself you can belong on the same stage with people you’ve held in awe for so long is a big challenge. But you have to do it to survive.

After four days, I told Dale I thought I’d give pro golf a try. I gave my two weeks’ notice and lit out for the mini tours. It didn’t really work out. Two years later, I met a guy who knew how to line up gambling matches. He was my backer, and I was his horse.

We took on all comers. He put up the money, and when we won, I got a nice percentage. We’re talking pretty big money, sometimes $20,000 a hole. Most of the time it was best ball, me and a partner against two other guys. Usually the opponents were guys I recognised from the mini-tours. I played like I had nothing to lose in those matches, which was true because my backer was putting up the cash. At the same time, there was a little voice in my head reminding me that if I didn’t win, I didn’t get paid.

There are a lot of kids out there who think they have a chance of getting to the PGA Tour who probably won’t make it. The average player doesn’t realise how hard it is or how good you have to be. But my advice is, try. If you don’t give it a shot you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering, and you’ll never forgive yourself.

I’m self-taught. Never had a lesson from the time I was nine, when my little brother, Allen, and I used to take turns with the pullcart, running between shots to see how many holes we could get in before dark. If I had an advantage, it was good feel with my hands and an ability to figure things out on my own. I always did things the way I pictured they ought to be done, even if it was unconventional. For example, I shuffle cards upside down, the palms of my hands facing the table, my fingers riffling the cards instead of my thumbs. It’s the opposite of how most people do it, but wrong for me happens to be right.

The great ball-strikers get most of the attention, but it’s the good short games I admire the most. The best I’ve seen on tour is Fredrik Jacobson. His swing isn’t a whole lot prettier than mine, but he can do things around the greens that are amazing. At the Texas Open last year, it seemed like he got up and down every time he missed a green. He tied for fifth that week hitting shots around the green I couldn’t believe. There isn’t a tour player who can’t hit it great.

But it’s the wedge and putter that win.

‘My swing is ugly. I know it looks ugly, and you can’t tell me otherwise’

My swing is ugly. I know it looks ugly, and you can’t butter me up and tell me otherwise. It’s a baseball swing, it’s unorthodox and it looks terrible. But it feels good. I’m like the kid in school who is told how ugly he is but feels good about himself anyway.

My swing gets results. It’s made me one of the best players in the world – not one of the best on the PGA Tour yet, of course, but I am part of a real small percentage of people on the planet who can play the game for a living.

Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do. On the first hole on Sunday at Mayakoba last year, I hit a terrible shot into this low jungle area with caves. My caddie told me not to go down there, that there were snakes all over the place. I’ve had a deathly fear of snakes my whole life and wanted to follow his advice. The problem was, I was in the top 10 and couldn’t afford the penalty. Hoping for some good karma, I took a deep breath and crawled down into this dark place, found my ball and slashed it out. Now it was time to get out of there. I turn to climb out, and there, sitting on a ledge, is a huge iguana, staring me in the face. I became almost paralysed with fear. I was too scared to scream. What adrenaline I had left kicked in, and I flew out of that jungle.

I played on ‘The Big Break’ twice. What makes the show successful isn’t the golf competition. It’s the way they put all the guys into a house where you’re pretty much forced to interact, and what that leads to on the course. At “The Big Break IV” there were days where they’d start filming at 6.30am and go until 10pm, so we never got a break from each other. There’s a lot of bluster, insecurity and fear among the contestants, every type of human emotion. The producers loved that stuff and tried to promote it. Guys would get scared. Off camera you’d hear whispers. “I’m not as good as so-and-so,” or “I hope I don’t have to play this guy one-on-one,” stuff like that. I didn’t say anything, but all the time I’m thinking, I sure hope I get to play you, because you’re beaten already.

Baseball is where I started wearing two gloves. I never changed when I started playing golf. It’s no gimmick. I’ve tried every combination of playing with only one, the other or both, and it doesn’t work. My hands sweat easily, they also get cold, and the gloves help me hold on to the club better.

Here’s my goal. I want to make enough money to fly privately so when my four-year-old son, Tommy III, gets older and starts playing team sports, I can go catch his games during tournament weeks. See, every generation wants the next generation to have it better than they did. My father wanted a better life for me than what he had, and my purpose is to make all things possible for my boy.

December 2012 Golf World

Game chan g WORDS: Richard Gillis PHOTOGRAPHY: KPMG

We convened a meeting between four of golf’s biggest powerbrokers, who pulled no punches on the state of the game.

The Player

‘There’s a chance that we’re not going to make the most of the opportunity of the Olympics’ Sir Nick Faldo is a six-time major champion, Ryder Cup captain, course architect and Junior series creator.

The Advisor

‘Building golf courses is not a message that governments want to send to voters’ Andrea Sartori is head of KPMG’s Golf Business Division, consultant to many major course developments around the world.

gers

The Designer ‘The game has to go back to its simplistic roots’ Gil Hanse is one of golf’s most influential course architects, who has been chosen to design and build the 2016 Olympic course.

The Sponsor

‘This sport has some wonderful new talent, both male and female.

But greed is creeping in’ Giles Morgan is Head of Sponsorship at HSBC, which has spent $300 million on golf in the last 10 years, including a WGC event and The Open.

CLUBS OF

THE FUTURE

Golf World spoke to key members of the golf equipment industry to gauge what you can expect to see in 2013 – and beyond.

WORDS: Brian Keogh and Peter Masters

Golf World December 2012

FUTURE CLUBS

H

ere is a trivia factoid for your next pub quiz. Who was the last man to win a major using a wooden-headed driver? Answer: Davis Love III, at the 1997 US PGA Championship.

He averaged a blistering 307 yards off the tee with his timber club during the week, out-driving Tiger and John Daly by 10 yards.

Nowadays, of course, players like Bubba, Dustin and Rory can hit their 3-wood that sort of distance; and golf clubs are made of a multitude of materials, including titanium, aluminium, steel and tungsten.

Despite the global economic crisis and the fact that fewer and fewer people are apparently playing the game, the profits of the world’s biggest golf equipment companies show no signs of diminishing. Forbes reported earlier this year that TaylorMadeAdidas had record sales of $508 million (£317m) for the first quarter of 2012 (which was an increase of 32% on 2011 when sales reached $1.4 billion). Sales this year are expected to come close to $2 billion, and similar figures are available for other leading companies. Cash-strapped or not, golfers will still pay big bucks for that new toy.

But enticing an ever decreasing pool of players to part with good money is putting the equipment industry under increasing pressure to make the game more fun, more exciting and more accessible for the average player, while remaining within the rules set down by the R&A and the USGA. So, what can we expect the future of equipment to look like in the years to come? How different will the clubs in your bag today look in 12 months, five years or even 25 years?

We spoke to numerous members of the equipment industry to ask that very question. The answers were varied, but one theme came out – that technology has not reached a plateau.

TaylorMade’s Director of Research and Development, Dr Benoit Vincent, believes that we will see huge strides made over the next 25 years. “The tools we have to design products now are so powerful that we can simulate performance ahead of time. So when we search we can imagine a new performance level. The proof is that we have hundreds of ideas in our legal department that are just sitting there because we have to capture them. We dream about doing other things, but there are only so many things you can produce and you need a tremendous amount of co-ordination to make millions of products and distribute them around the world. But we have work to do for the next 20 years, no problem at all.”

Golf World spoke to some of the game’s key decision makers and figures to analyse the future of equipment

JOHN SOLHEIM

BENOIT VINCENT

The Chairman and CEO of Ping.

TaylorMade’s Director of R&D.

DAN STONE

DR STEVE OTTO

Vice President of Titleist Golf Club R&D.

The R&A’s Director; Research and Testing.

DEREK MURRAY EWEN MURRAY A former World Clubmaker of the Year.

Ex-tour player, Sky commentator.

PETER McEVOY

ROB JACKSON

Amateur legend, course designer.

Mizuno’s UK Marketing man.

1 More colour is coming

White drivers were an oddity just two years ago. Now, we’ve got pink, red, orange... and more.

At the 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales, the thought of a player using a driver with a clubhead colour other than black or grey would have been almost laughable. Yet a month later at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, Ian Poulter used a white Cobra ZL driver. A couple of months later when TaylorMade debuted its white-headed R11 and Burner SuperFast 2.0 models, what seemed implausible had suddenly become cool.

Fast forward two years and seven of the 12 members of the European Ryder Cup squad were using white drivers, while Bubba Watson wielded a bubble-gum pink Ping G20 driver.

The question remains, however: Are coloured drivers a legitimate trend or a passing fad? If some of the offerings for 2013 are any indication, they’re here to stay for a while. Cobra recently unveiled its upcoming line of AMP Cell drivers (see page 40), and though the club should be RIGHT: Cobra’s AMP Cell irons reflect a move towards more colourful drivers (left).

recognised for its ability to adjust loft to six different settings (thus eliminating the need for separate loft-specific heads), it likely will be most noticeable for its array of colourful choices (silver, blue, red and orange). Expect

the company to have at least one of each colour played by a member of its tour staff in 2013. It’s also not out of the question that a player might use a different colour driver in each round of a tournament.

Callaway also is taking its uDesign options to another colour level next year. Originally, the company’s uDesign colour options were limited to the sole of the club. Now golfers will be able to choose from a number of differently coloured crowns. Red, orange, blue, purple and white will all be available with others perhaps to follow. For those wishing to stick with black, that will remain the standard option. Of course, colour has extended beyond drivers. Cobra’s new AMP Cell irons match the drivers, while putters and even wedges (Titleist’s Bob Vokey has a new Indigo blue wedge he’s been working on) now come in several hues too.

All of which means that come the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, the attention on colour will likely extend far beyond the team uniforms. It will be in the players’ bags, too.

December 2012 Golf World

YOUR GAME

Honing the Pivot Line action The Pivot Line is a pretty easy concept to grasp; a simple commitment to turning within it will bring you quick results.

Getting stuck behind the ball can stem from a quest for width at the start of the swing, which can cause a fatal sway into the right side.

#1 TAKEAWAY We have all heard the advice about a wide backswing arc. For many of us, it means starting the swing by sending the clubhead out as wide as possible, with minimal wrist action. As you can see above, this can easily lead to an early backswing sway, weight shifting to the outside of the right foot as your entire body crosses the Pivot Line.

From here, it is already a long way to get back in front of the ball to make that squeezing strike.

Instead, commit to rotating around a centred torso right form the start, your weight staying central (right). Feel free to let your wrists cock early in the piece. Do not confuse this with a narrow takeaway; the left arm is still extended and the gap between hands and chest – a true measure of width – has not been shortened.

Ian Clark A Fellow of the PGA, Ian is an authorised Golfing Machine coach, a Nicklaus/Flick coach and a Titleist Performance Institute golf fitness instructor. He is based at the World of Golf driving range at New Malden ,Surrey.

Golf World December 2012

Keep that image of the Pivot Line in your mind as you begin the swing. It will help you rotate around a fixed point, with no sway.

Build a better takeaway

1

Find a wall. Measure out a clublength from it. Take up your stance side-on to the wall, so your backswing would take the club towards it. Make sure your back foot is positioned that full clublength from the wall.

‘Allow your wrists to hinge, and keep your weight even’

3 2

Slowly, make your takeaway. Avoid lateral movement, using that image of the Pivot Line to keep you centred. Keep your weight even, and let your wrists hinge. If you do this correctly, the club will move back without its head hitting the wall.

As soon as you cross the Pivot Line, the clubhead will strike the wall. Work on this drill until you feel confident making a fullspeed backswing without the clubhead clattering the bricks.

December 2012 Golf World

2012 NEW PRODUCTS

YOUR GAME

Hit the green with your fairway wood Why keeping a level head is key to mastering this daunting long shot. By Jason Day

A

mateurs struggle with fairway woods because they get intimidated by the shot. Sure, modest loft on the face (typically around 15°) and a ball sitting tight to the turf does not look as enticing as a 7-iron on a tee – but the harder you try to force this shot, the worse your results will be. A smooth rhythm and a confident mindset, created by knowing you have the right approach, is all you need to make a success of this shot. We’ll uncover that approach here. As you will see, it is based around a level strike. A level attack promotes the twin desirables of clean contact, while presenting every one of those 15 degrees to the ball. Hit the ball forwards, not up or down, and you’ll be well on your way to better fairway wood shots.

JASON DAY AGE 24 PGA TOUR EARNINGS $9,978,406 PGA TOUR WINS One KEY STAT On approach shots to par 5s from 250-275 yards, Day averages 53’ 10” from the flag (10th on tour).

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

www.taylormadegolf.eu

Set-up: Programme a level attack Solid contact with your fairway woods is all about the clubhead’s angle of attack.

The ideal attack sits right in the middle of the squeezing, downward attack we favour with our irons and the sweeping, upward strike that works well with the teed-up driver. We want to brush the ball forwards with a neutral attack, the clubface meeting the ball as it levels out at the bottom of its arc. Use your set-up to promote this.

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LEVEL SHOULDERS

2

TAKE AIM

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BALL POSITION

1

Aim to create a feeling of being level at set-up. That starts with 50-50 weight distribution, but also use a clubshaft, positioned horizontally, to reinforce that feeling in your shoulders. A feeling of a level belt, and even the lines in your shirt, can also help.

Square alignment helps the low point of the swing fall in the right place – as your shoulders open, it moves forwards. So use the clubshaft as a reference to keep shoulders and hips square to your target line.

A level attack means impact must take place at the low point of the club’s arc. That low point falls between your shirt buttons and left shoulder, as represented by the tee peg between my feet. Play the ball opposite this position.

When you come to address the ball, aim to retain that level sensation. Yes, your trailing shoulder will drop a touch – it has to, to put the trail hand below the lead hand – but never feel you are leaning back, behind the ball. Finally, make sure you spend plenty of time looking up, connecting your target.

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December 2012 Golf World

Golf World December 2012

COURSES

Abu Dhabi

With three stunning courses, guaranteed sunshine and luxurious accommodation, Abu Dhabi is now a serious golf destination.

WORDS: Peter Masters PHOTOGRAPHY: David Cannon, Getty

I

n the process of hitting a tee shot on the 11th hole at Yas Links, something unusual happens. My downswing is accompanied by the ferocious, earsplitting shrill of a Formula One car, where the driver, pedal to the floor, is building up speed down the home straight. Now you’ll have had downswings interrupted before, a sneeze perhaps or the dropping of a golf ball by a playing partner, but a screaming banshee? That’s something entirely different.

December 2012 Golf World