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WOMEN’S U.S OPEN PREVIEW: OLYMPIC & KO(S) Lydia Ko and Jin Young Ko appear primed to battle it out at the US Women’s Open.

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110

TIPS FROM THE GAME’S TOP PLAYERS & COACHES

10 COURSE REVIEW: MORNINGTON GOLF CLUB

Brendan James looks at one of Australia’s most improved courses.

32 U.S OPEN PREVIEW: DESPERATELY SEEKING A MAJOR

We reveal the 10 best players looking to become a first-time major champion.

75 TOMMY FLEETWOOD BALL-STRIKING Nine ways to hit it closer.

78 LEE WESTWOOD IRON PLAY

98 TESTED: FOOTJOY HYPERFLEX GOLF SHOES

Splash it closer more often.

Improved approach play.

79 TONY FINAU DRIVING

54 WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?

Leading professional Luther Blacklock reveals Nick Faldo’s secrets.

62 INSIDE THE ATHENA

How the WPGA managed to start a new tournament during COVID-19.

110 HOLIDAY AT HOME: BELLA VISTA

Brendan James samples all the golfing delights the Bellarine Peninsula has to offer.

NEWS & VIEWS

18 CRAZY FOR HIDEKI

Hideki Matsuyama won Japan its first green jacket and, with it, its first men’s major title.

20 BIRDIES OR BOGIES WHAT ENTERTAINS YOU?

We debate whether birdies or bogies are more entertaining at the professional level.

80 THE FALDO FADE

82 TOUR TIP #1: STEWART CINK

How to properly release your club in greenside bunkers.

84 TOUR TIP #2: LYDIA KO

Use your chin as a reference point during the swing.

86 SWING STUDY: HIDEKI MATSUYAMA

The swing that captured Japan its first green jacket.

REVIEWS & NEW RELEASES

68 WOMEN’S GEAR

The latest women’s gear from Callaway, Golf Goddess, Cobra Puma and FootJoy.

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24 FROM THE VAULT

These shoes combine classic looks with modern comfort and stability.

Karrie Webb wins back-to-back US Women’s Open titles.

26 YOUR SAY

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100 TESTED: CALLAWAY EPIC SPEED & EPIC MAX DRIVERS The Epic evolution continues.

FOR WANDERING GOLFERS

102 THE BUCKET LIST

Sandy Golf Links provides affordable, pleasurable golf right in the heart of the Melbourne Sandbelt.

104 TOURS & COURSES

Queensland tours and utilising the trans-Tasman travel bubble.

108 AUSTRALIA’S LOST COURSES

Lakewood Shores was one of Australia’s best nine-hole courses ... before COVID-19 forced its closure..

122 TOP-100 SPOTLIGHT

Sydney’s Eastlake GC keeps rising through the public access course ranks. To our judges, that’s no surprise..

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22 DOING IT FOR JARROD

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94 NO MORE GUESSWORK

77 RUSSELL KNOX SAND PLAY

Your five-minute lesson to hitting it further.

Golf course architecture has traditionally been dominated by men. We want to know why.

These Equalizer wedges look sleek.

The latest rangefinders, speakers and launch monitors.

48 THE CHRYSALIS MOMENT

Women and girls are often considered an untapped sector in golf. But they’re coming.

93 BEN HOGAN EQUALIZER WEDGES

88 FOOTJOY PREMIERE SHOES 90 PING PUTTERS

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8 TEEING OFF: BRENDAN JAMES 16 HUGGAN’S ALLEY: JOHN HUGGAN 30 IN MY OPINION: GEOFF OGILVY 40 SUBSCRIPTION OFFER: WIN ONE OF FOUR

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130 THE THING ABOUT GOLF: brendon goddard

The irons everyone loves … In black. golf australia | JUNE 2021

7

TEEING OFF

BY BRENDAN JAMES | GOLF AUSTRALIA EDITOR

DEPUTY EDITOR Jimmy Emanuel

“the PGL hasn’t gone away and has actually intensified its pursuit of players.”

Men’s professional golf is fast approaching a crossroads where the choice made by some of the game’s best and most popular players has the potential to tear Tour golf apart.

At the time of going to press, the Premier Golf League (PGL) or Golf Super League, as some have called it, was ramping up its presence. Tempting offers to agents and their players – including Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Rickie Fowler and World No.1 Dustin Johnson – to turn their back on the PGA Tour to join its world Tour have been made.

News of the rival golf Tour first surfaced in early 2020, with multimillion dollar guaranteed contracts, team structures and potential team ownerships for players. The original plans were for an 18-tournament schedule between January and September with 48-player fields and US$10 million purses each week.

The PGA Tour responded by saying any player who joined the PGL would lose their PGA Tour membership status. When the PGL’s No.1 target, Rory McIlroy, announced he would not be taking part most expected the breakaway Tour would wither and die on the vine.

But the PGL hasn’t gone away and has actually intensified its pursuit of players.

Its Saudi Arabian investors are targeting a September 2022 start for the PGL and they’re looking for quick decisions from players. To hurry them up, the inducements put on the table are huge – guaranteed up front payments reportedly between US$30 million and US$40 million plus team ownership as well as competing for US$10 million at every event.

The financial temptation for players (and their agents) must be great. Any player accepting a PGL contract will effectively rule themselves out of playing major championships, the Ryder Cup and/or Presidents Cup. The PGA Tour does not control any of the 8

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EDITOR Brendan James bjames@golfaustralia.com.au WRITER Michael Jones ART DIRECTOR Allan Bender GRAPHIC DESIGN Oliver Barles ARCHITECTURE EDITOR Mike Clayton COLUMNIST-AT-LARGE John Huggan COLUMNIST Geoff Ogilvy CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Karen Harding, Adam Lawrence, Rod Morri, Paul Prendergast CONTRIBUTING PGA PROFESSIONALS Daniel Blackwell, Rob Richards, Anthony Summers PHOTOGRAPHY Getty Images, Matthew Harris, Gary Lisbon, Mark Newcombe

four majors, nor the Ryder Cup. It does own the Presidents Cup. Perhaps, more importantly, is the fact the PGA Tour is one of the six founders of the Official World Golf Ranking, alongside the R&A, PGA of America, Augusta National GC, the USGA, European Tour and the International Federation of Tours. So, one can easily assume the PGL will not be considered an eligible Tour for world ranking points, which means those playing on the PGL will have no exempt status for major championships, nor any standing for Ryder or Presidents Cup selection.

Most players will tell you they play for the trophies and the money looks after itself.

Decision day is looming if you’re one of the 48 multi-millionaire golfers offered the chance to get even richer. Do you choose money over history and legacy?

What would you do?

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COURSE REVIEW

M o rG nO L iF nC LgU Bt o n M O R N I N GTO N P E N I N S U L A • V I CTO R I A

One of the oldest golf clubs on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is basking in its rising popularity as a result of recent changes to its golf course.

I

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BRENDAN JAMES

have a confession to make. The first six or seven times I ventured to Victoria’s golf-rich Mornington Peninsula to play I didn’t even consider adding Mornington Golf Club to my itinerary.

That would not be the case today.

Of course, my failings back then could perhaps be forgiven when you consider there is a plethora of great golf to be experienced on the peninsula with nearly 20 courses

CESS C ACES I L B PU OURS C 021 2

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to choose from – a dozen of which have attained a ranking among the best courses in the country.

Mornington Golf Club is, today, one of those courses having joined the ranks of the peninsula’s elite in 2019 when it debuted at No.84 on Golf Australia magazine’s list of Top-100 Public Access Courses. When the 2021 ranking was published earlier this year, Mornington had risen to No.64 making it one

THE SLIGHT UPHILL PAR-4 15TH OFFERS THE BEST GREEN APPROACH SHOT ON THE COURSE. golf australia | JUNE 2021

11

THE DAM RIGHT OF THE 3RD FAIRWAY PUTS PRESSURE ON MAKING A GOOD TEE SHOT.

of the most improved layouts in the country.

“Having debuted in this ranking in 2019, Mornington continues to impress. The closing holes of both nines have been improved with the construction of new greens, while the 19th hole addition is one of the most visually spectacular holes on the Mornington Peninsula,” noted Top-100 judge, James Walsh.

Fellow judge Alex Georgiou added: “Mornington is a course of great potential, always has been. The terrain combined with the ever-present breeze ensures no two rounds are ever the same and you had better be on your game when the breeze turns to a gusty wind.”

Mornington Golf Club ebbs and flows across dramatic terrain, with its western boundary hugging cliffs beside Port Phillip Bay about 70 minutes’ drive south of Melbourne’s CBD. On a clear day the 12

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skyscrapers of the city centre can be seen from the course.

The club is one of the oldest on the peninsula having been established in 1904 on land – alongside the nearby Nepean Highway – now home to car yards, a pub and hospital.

There were two more moves before the club settled into its current home in 1946 after signing a lease with theatrical entrepreneur Sir George Tallis to use 120 acres of his estate to create a golf course. After Tallis died two years later, the club purchased the land and sort advice from course designers Vern Morcom and Sloan Morpeth, who described the site as “a little too steep”. In the end, the club entrusted the job of laying out the course to former top amateur golfer, Gus Jackson, and the first nine holes officially opened in April 1950.

Morcom was back on the scene in 1954,

altering some holes and building five new ones, and 18 holes were in play by the end of 1955.

Major changes were made in the late 1960s when the club purchased a further 17 acres and architect Jack Watson laid out new holes (where the 11th and 12 holes lay today) and allowed the redesign of some established holes that had been squeezed into the property.

But the Mornington layout has never played or looked as good as it does today, courtesy of better irrigation (the course is now connected to an endless supply of recycled water) and hole redesigns as part of a masterplan put into action by the club in 2016.

The report – from Contour Golf Design architect Ben Davey in collaboration with golf writer and Cape Wickham Links co-designer Darius Oliver – agreed with Morpeth’s view and tabled some solutions to fix the steep sidehill lies encountered on several holes.

IT’S A MAGNIFICENT BACKDROP TO A STRAIGHTFORWARD HOLE THAT IS FUN AND CHALLENGING TO PLAY FOR GOLFERS OF ALL ABILITIES.

golf australia | JUNE 2021

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THE NEW GREEN AND BUNKERS ON THE PAR-5 18TH HOLE HAVE CREATED A STRATEGIC CHALLENGE.

Better turf quality across the course may, in time, minimise the impact of the steep slopes until further remodelling work is carried out.

Several holes have new tees, while new greens can be found on the 9th and 18th holes.

The closing hole green – with bunkers short left, back right and another 15 metres short of the putting surface – has added to the strategic challenge required on the reachable par-5.

The next stage is likely to see changes to the dramatically undulating 6th hole and new tees on the stunning downhill par-3 7th hole.

The first major work of the masterplan was the building of a 19th hole, which not only added another spectacular par-3 to the already world-class Melbourne golfing landscape, but it shone a spotlight on the work being carried out on the Mornington course.

The 145-metre one-shotter is built directly 14

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WE FOUND THIS PARCEL OF LAND COVERED IN BUSH AND THE IMMEDIATE THOUGHT WAS IT MIGHT BE THE PERFECT SPOT FOR A PAR-3.

– MORNINGTON GC GM, CRAIG MURDOCH. above the waters of Port Phillip Bay, exposing it to unpredictable winds. It’s a magnificent backdrop to a straightforward hole that is fun and challenging to play for golfers of all abilities. Five years ago, this hole was buried under thick bush.

“We found this parcel of land covered in bush and the immediate thought was it

might be the perfect spot for a par-3,” Mornington Golf Club General Manager, Craig Murdoch, said.

“Some of our members helped out and, as they cleared the land, we realised we had this ideal golfing land with a beautiful view down to the bay and across to the city. It is spectacular and nothing on the bay like it.”

SAND DOMINATES THE SURROUNDS OF THE SLIGHTLY ELEVATED PAR-3 16TH GREEN.

FA C T F I L E

THE LONG PAR-4 13TH HOLE SLOPES MARKEDLY TOWARD TROUBLE RIGHT.

The 19th, opened for play in 2017, slips into the routing between the par-5 14th and the bayside par-4 15th hole and adds to the high quality of the holes the members refer to as ‘Baymen Corner’.

The 14th is the longest hole on the course and demands a semi-blind drive over scrub to find the fairway that snakes to the right and back to the left – following the natural sloping terrain beside an adjoining creek – and up to a small green. Here, you will be greeted by stunning bay views, which stay with you for the next few holes.

The aforementioned 19th follows and then it is on to the dogleg right 342-metre 15th, which climbs from the tee to the top of a ridge, and then turns toward the bay leaving a spectacular approach shot to an angled green squeezed between expansive bunkers short

right and long left.

Sand also plays a major role in the defence of par on the diminutive 16th hole. Played from alongside the bay, your tee shot must carry a gully and a scheme of pot bunkers to find the exposed elevated green. Hitting your tee shot up into the wind here is a risky exercise.

Yes … Mornington has its flaws and, over time, are going to be addressed with some smart remodelling. What can’t be faulted is the fun you will have playing a round here.

There is nothing repetitious about a round at Mornington. You will have to hit a range of shots with different clubs from a myriad of diverse sloping lies. And that’s before you even consider the effect of the wind. It’s all great fun and it’s going to be interesting to follow the progress of the proposed course changes over the next few years.

LOCATION: Tallis Drive, Mornington, Victoria.

CONTACT: (03) 5975 2784; (03) 5975 4171 (pro shop).

WEBSITE: www.morningtongolf.com.au DESIGNERS: Vern Morcom, Sloan Morpeth and Gus Jackson (1950); Jack Watson (1967); Ben Davey and Darius OIiver (ongoing).

COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Kevin Toebelman.

PLAYING SURFACES: Santa Ana couch (fairways); Bentgrass (greens).

PGA PROFESSIONAL: Michael Faraone.

GREEN FEES: $55 (18 holes, weekdays); $75 (18 holes, weekends and public holidays).

MEMBERSHIPS: Mornington has a wide range of membership categories.

There is currently a waiting list for seven-day full memberships, but fiveand six-day memberships are available.

To download a membership brochure, visit the club’s website: www.morningtongolf.com.au ACCOLADES: Ranked No.64 in Golf Australia magazine’s Top-100 Public Access Courses, 2021.

golf australia | JUNE 2021

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HUGGAN’S ALLEY

BY GOLF AUSTRALIA COLUMNIST-AT-LARGE | JOHN HUGGA

T

he clue, as ever, is in the title. If sport at the professional level is to be truly “competitive” it must be open to all, or at least all of those armed with talent enough to reach for the stars. Any dilution of that absolute is to the detriment of what, in this increasingly commercial world, is referred to as “the product.”

Speaking as a fan of many sports – except the mind-numbing tedium that is horse racing and Formula One – I am in favour of frank discussion around any and all aspects of the fun and games I like to follow. As the world of soccer confirmed just recently when the proposed European Super League (ESL) was met with near unanimous condemnation, such discourse can be a powerful weapon when those in charge deviate from what we fans want to hear and see. The ultimate power still belongs to the people.

But not as much as it used to.

And certainly not in golf. The PGA Tour is an egregious example of what happens when control is driven solely by money. The game itself – the vehicle carrying the wads of cash – has long been relegated to an afterthought by men in suits, those who converse in gibberish also known as ‘corporate-speak’.

One of the (many) issues with the ESL was that, while the proposed format was designed to produce an ultimate winner, there was no threat of relegation, no real losers. Everyone was going to get rich. And that is a road modern professional golf has ventured down too.

Take the Florida-based PGA Tour and what it is calling the “Player Impact Program,” a pot of gold totalling $40m that will be distributed among only ten players.

The player deemed “most valuable” will receive $8m, none of which he will earn on the golf course. It is, of course, appearance money by any other name.

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And no surprise, not on a circuit that has operated an all-exempt system since 1983. Originally, that was implemented in an attempt to all but eliminate weekly qualifying for tournaments. Fair enough.

That can be unwieldy. But what we have now has evolved into little more than a safety blanket for those in possession of Tour cards. While it is far from impossible to lose that passport to the Tour, it has

PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER JAY MONAHAN

definitely become more difficult to screw things up over the last 38 years. To go from exempt to off the Tour used to be a lot “easier” to achieve than it is now.

At the end of every season, I take a look at the money-list and ask, “where did that guy win $2.9 million dollars?” It has never been easier to coast along, keep one’s card

and “win” much lucre, filthy or otherwise.

The suspicion that more and more players on the feeder Tours are actually superior to many on the main circuits is, it says here, increasingly justifiable.

All of which begs the obvious question: Is this real sport? Or at least the kind of sport we all would ideally like to watch?

Of course, for those who are currently ‘in the system’, the status quo is just fine, thank you very much. Selfprotection is the name of this game for the run-of-the-mill Tour player.

Indeed, one of the more amusing aspects of all this nonsense is how quickly a group of rabid political right-wingers can transform themselves into a trade union, one that protects the interests of even the most mediocre.

Perhaps just as insidious is the level of control the PGA Tour attempts to exert over every aspect of their business. As I write, the biggest and most powerful circuit in our game is involved in a law suit with swing coach, Hank Haney.

Haney was the host of a radio show on Sirius XM when he made some rather injudicious comments about LPGA players of Asian extraction.

As a result, the man who guided Tiger Woods to multiple major championship victories lost his gig.

The point here, however, is not to take sides in that dispute. But in trying to get the suit to go away, the PGA Tour are arguing that it has a “supervisory interest” in the content of Sirius shows. Ah-ha! In other words, Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is golf’s equivalent of “Big Brother.” Censorship, or something close to it, is his aim. And Haney, at least to an extent, is George Orwell’s fictional hero, Winston Smith, battling against the system.

One last thing. The all-exempt system was originally devised by Gary McCord, a non-winner on the PGA Tour before he went on to be a glib television announcer. One year after his self-preserving brainwave, 1984 dawned. Just a coincidence, I’m sure.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES.

“The PGA Tour is an egregious example of what happens when control is driven solely

With views of Port Phillip Bay from every hole you must experience it in person to appreciate how very special this golf course really is....

www.morningtongolf.com.au

03 5975 2784

MAJOR HISTORY

The image of Shota Hayafuji – Hideki Matsuyama’s caddie at the Masters – removing his cap and bowing his head to Augusta National will be imprinted into the memories of golf fans for years to come. It was an extremely historic day for the sport, after all.

Matsuyama had defeated exciting American youngster Will Zalatoris by one shot to become the first male golfer from Japan to win a major championship – and he had done it on what is arguably the game’s most celebrated stage for all the world to see.

There were no immediate tears, no leaps of joy and no screams of happiness. The phlegmatic 29-yearold simply embraced Hayafuji, shook hands with his playing partner Xander 18

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Schauffele and proceeded to walk towards Jim Nantz and Butler Cabin. But rest assured, Matsuyama was filled with emotion. He had been all day.

“My nerves really didn’t start on the second nine. It was right from the start today. Right to the very last putt,” Matsuyama said through his long-time interpreter Bob Turner prior to receiving his green jacket from Dustin Johnson during the Butler Cabin Ceremony.

“It’s thrilling to think that there are a lot of youngsters in Japan watching today. Hopefully in five, 10 years, when they get a little older, hopefully some of them will be competing on the world stage. But I still have a lot of years left, so they are going to have to compete against me still.

“Up until now, we haven’t had a (male) major champion in Japan, and maybe a lot of golfers or younger golfers, too, thought, well, maybe that’s an impossibility. But with me doing it, hopefully that will set an example for them that it is possible and that, if they set their mind to it, they can do it, too.

“Hopefully I’ll be a pioneer in this and many other Japanese will follow. I’m glad to be able to open the floodgates hopefully, and many more will follow me.”

For anyone doubting what Matsuyama’s Masters victory meant to the golf-mad people of Japan – where he has long held rock-star status – one of the country’s newspapers actually published pictorials detailing each of his 278 shots.

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES X 2

CRAZY FOR HIDEKI

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, meanwhile, described the victory as an “amazing feat” for the island nation – which, according to the R&A’s Golf Around the World report, has the planet’s second-largest number of golfers and courses behind the United States.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that Matsuyama’s countrywoman Tsubasa Kajitani managed to claim the second instalment of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur the week prior to the Masters.

“What she did was fantastic. I wish I could have seen it. I was playing down in Texas, so I wasn’t able to see her play. But hats off to her. Hopefully I can follow in her footsteps and make Japan proud,” an inspired Matsuyama said of

his 17-year-old compatriot after his threeunder opening round at Augusta.

There are growing suggestions, too, that the six-time PGA Tour winner should receive the immense honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron when Tokyo welcomes the Games on July 23.

“I’m really looking forward to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. If I am on the

team, and maybe it looks like I will be, I’ll do my best to represent my country, and hopefully I’ll play well,” said Matsuyama, quite modestly.

“If the schedules worked out and I am in Japan when that happens and they ask me, what an honour that would be.”

An honour indeed, one that would be well and truly deserved. golf australia | JUNE 2021

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OPPOSING VIEWS

BOGIES ADRIAN LOGUE Golf Australia Top-100 Judge and contributing writer Speaking at the annual Australian Golf Media dinner, Bob Shearer once said, “You don’t know pressure until you’ve had to bogey the last four holes to win the Australian Golf Writers Championship.”

Bob knew something about pressure.

He felt four days of it from none other than Jack Nicklaus to win our national Open on the Golden Bear’s own redesigned Australian Golf Club in 1982. In the end, Bob’s lead with four to play was such that he COULD have finished with four bogies and still won.

Just four years later Nicklaus himself would credit a bogey on the 12th at Augusta with giving him the motivation to attack the remaining holes and secure his final green jacket in the ‘86 Masters.

Perhaps the most celebrated bogey in championship history came for Jordan Spieth on the 13th at Birkdale in 2017. And like Jack’s bogey in ‘86, Spieth’s chaotic and magnificent 30-minute dropped shot would ignite his finishing stretch, propelling him to a remarkable victory.

Three decades earlier, Nick Faldo made 18 straight pars on the final day at Muirfield to win the 1987 Open Championship. A gritty performance to be sure, but is it better than the weekend golfer going full-Faldo with 18 rock solid ‘net’ pars (ie. bogies) for 36 points to win a place in the ball rundown?

Don’t get me wrong – life isn’t always a bogey-party. Adam Scott’s four closing bogies at Royal Lytham & St Annes might have won him a Golf Writers Championship but it lost him the 2012 Open. Sure, that was a bummer, but

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those character-building bogies would give ‘Scotty’ the mongrel he needed to win the Masters the very next year.

Bogies work in mysterious ways.

Consider how far over par you are for your lifetime playing golf? Shoot mid-80s every week for 30 years and you’ll be 20,000 over par before you know it. That’s a lot more bogies than birdies.

What can a sane person do but treat those bogies as teachable moments: Don’t double chip. Avoid 3 putts. Take an extra club. Practice your punch-out game.

You learn nothing from a birdie except an unrealistic expectation that you might be good enough to make lot’s more of them. You’re not.

We need bogies in our life whether we know it or not. Jin Young Ko’s 114-hole bogey-less streak was notable exactly because of its lack of bogies. Meanwhile, golfers everywhere are smashing birdieless streaks but does anyone care?

Are bogies better than birdies? A life almost entirely devoid of birdies is normal for most golfers, but a life without bogies is a prison of perfection that we’re not wired to cope with. Bogies define the human condition in a way that birdies cannot. I can’t express it better than Jin Young Ko’s first words upon missing a three-footer to bogey her 115th hole: “I’m free.”

BIRDIES BRENDAN JAMES Golf Australia Editor Birdies win this argument hands down.

I’ve never seen a player bang their buggy with their putter having just made a birdie.

I have, however, seen a flatstick and ball meet a watery grave after a three-putt bogey cost said pitcher of golf equipment a close match. That bogey was, perhaps,

the most entertaining I have seen as I was the lucky benefactor of the three-jab.

This incident aside, bogies are generally unwelcomed guests at a dinner party.

That is, of course, unless that dinner party is being hosted by the United States Golf Association. They love a bogey.

Sit through four days of the US Open Championship and you will see far more bogies than birdies. It’s about as much fun as getting a prostate examination from The Incredible Hulk … I would imagine.

The USGA does everything in its power to ensure the winning score for its flagship championship finishes as close to par as possible. If no player finishes under par after 72 holes it is cause for much celebration and the USGA can beat its chest again about hosting the toughest of all the majors.

This month, the 121st US Open will return to Torrey Pines. The USGA has been preparing the course for months, narrowing the fairways and lining each one with thick, kikuyu rough that will be cut to about four inches – that’s 10.16cm in the new money.

This type of narrow, penal course setup makes for boring, bogey-riddled golf.

There’s only one playing line between tee and green and a missed fairway, sometimes by as little as a metre, requires a chop out with a wedge and a likely bogey.

For mine, a championship decided by a closing birdie or two or three – where a player chases down the trophy – is far more exciting and entertaining than a player dropping a shot or two across the closing stretch to lose the title.

And a course set-up that encourages aggressive, exciting play is far more entertaining than inhibiting playing conditions where the world’s best players are forced to tip-toe around the course playing defensively to avoid public humiliation with a horror score.

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BIRDIES OR BOGIES … what eNTERTAINS YOU?

9. US OPEN, 2006

Win o t Geoff Ogilvy parred the 72nd hole to set the clubhouse mark at five over and ultimately it would prove good enough to win as none of the runners-up – Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie – could manage a closing par to force a play-off. It was the first time since 1978 that the entire field finished over par.

TOP-10

BRUTAL MAJORS 10. U.S OPEN, 1958

Southern Hills CC Renowned hot head Tommy Bolt kept his cool as oppressive heat, high winds and tucked pins on hard greens took their toll on the field. In winning by four strokes, he never shot worse than 72 in finishing at three over, while no other player escaped without scoring at least 75 in one round.

Winged Foot”, Hale Irwin survived with a seven over 287 to claim his first of three US Open titles, two shots ahead of compatriot Forrest Fezler.

Winged Foot was diabolical. Not a single player broke par in the first round, and there were only four sub-par rounds for the tournament among those that finished in the top-10.

5. U.S OPEN, 1955

The Olympic Club Legendary Ben Hogan set the clubhouse mark at seven over on the treacherous Olympic layout.

8. U.S OPEN, 2007

Oakmont CC The winning score for the second consecutive year was five over par and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera was the last man standing, one stroke ahead of Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk. Cabrera was the only player to break par twice on an Oakmont course that featured ankle high first cut rough as well as firm and baked greens running up to 14 feet on the Stimpmeter.

6. U.S OPEN, 1974

Winged Foot GC In what became known as the “Massacre at

3. U.S OPEN, 1950

Merion GC Just 16 months on from surviving a head-on crash with a bus, Ben Hogan won his second US Open and fourth major championship, this time in an 18-hole play-off with Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio. Cold, wet weather during the week leading into the tournament made Merion play much longer, while the long rough was lush and sticky.

2. U.S OPEN, 1963

The Country Club, Brookline The experienced Julius Boros birdied two of his last three holes to finish at nine over and force an 18-hole play-off with fellow Americans Jacky Cupit and Arnold Palmer. Winds up to 80km an hour during the tournament wreaked havoc and Boros’ winning score of 293 remains the highest in postWorld War II US Open history

7. THE OPEN, 1999

Carnoustie, Scotland The enduring memory from this championship is the thick rough lining the course and Jean van de Velde’s 72nd hole meltdown, where he made a triple-bogey seven to fall back into a play-off with local hero Paul Lawrie and American Justin Leonard at six over par. Lawrie prevailed in extra time after carding a final round 67 to complete the biggest final round comeback (10 strokes) in major championship history.

the South Course, dubbed ‘The Monster’.

No player was able to break par for the first two days. Hogan’s closing round 67 was only one of two rounds in the 60s for the week on the par-70 course.

He was already being congratulated on his fifth US Open title, before municipal club pro Jack Fleck birdied two of the last four holes to shoot 67 (the equal lowest round of the championship) to tie him. Fleck went on to beat Hogan by three strokes in the 18-hole play-off in one of the greatest upsets in major championship history.

4. U.S OPEN, 1951

Oakland Hills CC Ben Hogan finished at seven over and won his second consecutive US Open by two strokes on

1.THE OPEN, 1938

Royal St Georges, England The 73rd Open Championship was played in horrendous conditions, particularly over the final two rounds. During the third round, gale force winds ripped an exhibition tent apart and scattered debris across a wide area. Only seven sub-80 scores were recorded in the final round.

In the end, Englishman Reg Whitcombe claimed his first and only major win with a final round 78 to finish 15 over and the victor by two strokes.

golf australia | JUNE 2021

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fundraising campaign I had the privilege of meeting Jarrod Lyle only once. It happened briefly, but it was an encounter I will never forget.

Standing outside the clubhouse of The Australian Golf Club during the Aussie Open in 2017, I was chatting with two established members of the media when the former PGA Tour player approached our group. He was in between chemotherapy treatments for his third battle with acute myeloid leukaemia and was just days away from receiving a bone marrow transplant.

After speaking with my more experienced colleagues for a few moments, Lyle turned to me, an inexperienced 24-year-old golf writer at the time, and said: “Shit, sorry mate. I’m Jarrod. Nice to meet you.”

We spoke for no more than two minutes – I can’t recall many details of our conversation – but for him to introduce himself like that spoke volumes of the man he was.

children living with cancer, having first been diagnosed with the illness at the age of 17. And he continues to offer his support through his legacy to the organisation; “Jarrod’s Gift”.

One of the terrific initiatives established by Jarrod’s Gift – together with the PGA of Australia and Golf Australia – is the annual “Doing It For Jarrod” campaign, which began in 2019 following Lyle’s sad passing in August of 2018.

The campaign will this year be held throughout the months of August, September and October and encourages Australian golf clubs to dedicate a members’ day to the memory of Jarrod Lyle to help raise much-needed funds for Challenge.

This year, Jarrod’s Gift is hoping to have 300 clubs participate in the campaign in what would have been the year Lyle celebrated his 40th birthday.

At the time of going to press, 14 clubs part in the aign. ticipate, golf clubs ose an existing s’ day to be their ng It For Jarrod y, complete an ine registration rm via Challenge’s bsite and collect old coin donation

from every player on the day.

Each club that takes part in the campaign will receive a registration pack that includes unique Titleist prizes, plus an opportunity to win a money-can’t-buy experience at the 2021 Australian PGA Championship.

Golf Australia’s Mark Hayes – who was great mates with Lyle and, together with Martin Blake, assisted him in writing his autobiography, My Story – has urged the nation’s clubs to join the campaign.

“Just do it,” Hayes told Golf Australia magazine.

“The thing that’s different about Jarrod’s Gift and him as a bloke is that he’s not doing it for big business or big money, he’s doing it for little people and families doing it tough.

“It’s not necessarily about finding a cure for cancer – although we would obviously love that – it’s about making the lives of people and families living with cancer easier.

“This isn’t about sending someone to Disneyland, it’s about finding ways to help the mum who has been the taxi for six months. Just like Jarrod did, it’s about finding ways to help the little people.”

For more information about the Doing It For Jarrod campaign and to donate to Jarrod’s Gift, visit www.challenge.org.au or call (03) 9329 8474.

– Michael Jones

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KARRIE GOES BACK-TO-BACK JUNE 3, 2001

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feeling. And there’s just times when I retire from golf that I’ll sit back and remember these times. It’s just so rewarding. As a little girl I never expected to be sitting here once, let alone twice. So, it’s just a great feeling,” Webb told the assembled press in North Carolina.

The future World Golf Hall of Famer – who would be inducted in 2005 – won the championship by the largest margin in 21 years to become the seventh player to score back-to-back US Women’s Open titles.

That exclusive club hasn’t welcomed any new members since Webb’s admittance

and includes the following names: Annika Sorenstam (1995/96); Betsy King (1989/90); Hollis Stacy (1977/78); Susie Berning (1972/73); Donna Caponi (1969/70); and Mickey Wright (1958/59).

“I feel fortunate enough to have won one, but to win two, back-to-back, you just really can’t put it into words. It’s just a dream come true,” said Webb, who won her two US Women’s Open titles by a combined 13 shots.

Despite recording numerous runner-up finishes throughout the 2001 season, Webb

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his month marks 20 years since Karrie Webb claimed consecutive US Women’s Open titles, after she defeated South Korean Se Ri Pak by an impressive eight shots at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club.

The then 26-year-old shot rounds of 70-65-69-69 to reach seven-under-par 273 and capture her fifth (of seven) major championship and 24th (of 41) LPGA Tour title.

“To walk up 18 two years in a row with a comfortable enough lead to really enjoy the atmosphere of the 18th green is just a great

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was winless and her form was something of a talking point in the lead up to Pine Needles.

Nevertheless, she was confident her game was heading in the right direction and wasn’t bothered that Annika Sorenstam was stealing some of the spotlight.

“A lot more people are more worried about my game than I was. I knew how close I was to having everything in the right shape at the right time. The hard work really paid off,” said Webb, who banked US$520,000 with her victory.

“There were other stories to talk about,

I KNEW HOW CLOSE I WAS TO HAVING EVERYTHING IN THE RIGHT SHAPE AT THE RIGHT TIME. THE HARD WORK REALLY PAID OFF. – KARRIE WEBB. other players to talk about, and that’s fine with me. You guys can keep doing that and I can be the second thought and hopefully sneak up and win a few more tournaments.”

The Queenslander wasted no time returning to the major-winner’s circle, either, hoisting the trophy at the Women’s PGA Championship just three weeks later to complete her career Grand Slam, despite nearly flying home after the third round to be with her ill grandfather.

“I didn’t really do it for myself today. I did it for my grandad and I know that it might not help out the situation, but my grandma told me on Thursday that she wanted me to win it for him,” Webb said at DuPont Country Club after becoming the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam.

The US Women’s Open will return to the Donald Ross-designed Pine Needles for the first time since 2007 next year.

TOP-10

WOMEN CHASING HISTORY Karrie Webb’s seven major titles places her among the greatest female golfers in history.

American Patty Berg is the greatest female major winner with 15 championships, closely followed by Mickey Wright (13), Louise Suggs (11) with Babe Zaharias and Annika Sorenstam both on 10 major wins.

10. STACY LEWIS (US) After taking time off to become a mum, the 36-year-old won her first event – the Scottish Open – in three years in 2020, suggesting she could be a contender to add to her two major wins in the near future.

9. ANNA NORDQVIST (Swe) The Swede broke through for her first pro victory in a major at the 2009 LPGA Championship. Surprisingly, it took another eight years to reach the two major milestone, grabbing The Evian in a sudden-death playoff.

8. IN-GEE CHUN (Kor) Major wins in 2015 and 2016 have been followed by a successful career on the LPGA of Korea Tour for the now 26-year-old.

7. SO-YEON RYU (Kor) It is 10 years since Ryu claimed her maiden major title at the US Women’s Open. The now 30-year-old added another in 2017, when she was the LPGA Player of the Year.

6. SUNG HYUN PARK (Kor) The now 27-year-old won the second of her two majors at the Women’s PGA Championship in 2018. She had three top-eight finishes in 2019 but her world ranking has since dropped to No.19 based on inconsistent form.

5. ARIYA JUTANUGARN (Thai) Ariya completed the US and British Women’s Open double in 2018 but her form in the past

three years has dropped off for the now 25-year-old.

4. LYDIA KO (NZ) Hard to believe the Kiwi (pictured below) is still only 24 and she won her first major, The Evian, nearly six years ago. She won her second major at the very next outing in early 2016 and hasn’t added one to the list since.

Her recent form holds great promise.

3. YANI TSENG (Tai) Tseng turned pro in 2007 and by mid 2011 she had accrued five major titles – the youngest player, male or female, to ever reach that mark. Now aged 32, Tseng has struggled with her game for much of the past decade.

2. JIN YOUNG KO (Kor) The current World No.1 claimed two major championships in 2019 and with good form on her side, the 25-year-old has plenty of time to make her mark.

1. INBEE PARK (Kor) Park (pictured above) stands alongside Webb on the list of major wins with seven. Her 2021

Want to get something off your chest? Let us know your opinion via e-mail to: golf@golfaustralia.com.au or send your letter to: Letters to the Editor, Golf Australia magazine, Level 8, 205 Pacific Hwy, St Leonards NSW 2065.

HEADING TO TASSIE

KEEPING FUN IN THE GAME I enjoyed Brendan James’ article in the May edition about looking for balls in the rough.

I have to agree that searching for balls in the rough takes a lot of the fun out of golf, and it also slows the game down.

This is a constant source of debate among my golfing mates and I. Any suggestions we put to our committee come back with a reply along the lines of wanting to “keep the course rating at a certain level”.That’s an excuse that we just don’t understand as the bulk of the revenue for the club comes from visitors to the Sunshine Coast, who want to have an enjoyable game of golf without spending time looking for a ball that you can’t see

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unless you are standing right on top of it.

I also think the idea of a 14-hole course, such as Bougle Run, is an excellent idea. My golfing partners and I are all in our mid-seventies and we often discuss the fact that 18 holes is too long (particularly in the humid months) and that a shorter course would be more suited to our game.

As golf courses are looking to attract more players, particularly those who are time poor, the idea of a shorter course has a great deal of merit and, in my opinion, I believe they should be ranked alongside 18 holes courses.

Doug Pinnington Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Follow Golf Australia on Twitter @GolfAustMag

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JUNE 2021 | golf australia

Follow Golf Australia on Instagram @golfaustraliamagazine

MORE MATCHES PLEASE

Geoff Ogilvy’s column on match-play (GA, May 2021) was absolutely spot on.

Match-play is the very essence of where the game began and it has endured all these years simply because it’s the most enjoyable form of the game.

I’ve been lobbying my club for several years, unsuccessfully, to revert to having match-play as part of our club championships.

Instead, we have four consecutive weeks of stroke play … four of the slowest rounds you are ever likely to play.

That said, we do have a separate match-play title and, as a measure of its popularity, it is the only club event where we get a small gallery watching the matches.

Like Geoff, I’d love to see more matches played at every level of the game.

Len Matherson Via email

PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES

LETTER OF THE MONTH

I just finished booking my next golf holiday. I’m heading to Tasmania, having read Brendan James’ articles on the courses of northern Tassie and the new Bougle Run course.

As for the short Bougle Run course, I’m just as excited about playing that as I am about Barnbougle Dunes and the King Island courses. Hats off to Barnbougle owner Richard Sattler for continuing to deliver great golf and not being afraid of taking a chance on something different.

Neil Jarman Via email

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29

IN MY OPINION

EXCLUSIVE BY GEOFF OGILVY | GOLF AUSTRALIA CO

“Not many work harder on their games than Hideki ... And he does it mostly by himself”

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JUNE 2021 | golf australia

HIDEKI ... THE HUMBLE CHAMPION.

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his year’s Masters was a big deal in a couple of important ways. First of all, it was nice to see the year’s first (male) major back to being just that. And it was certainly a good thing for golf in general when Hideki Matsuyama, a player I have long admired, became the first Japanese winner of the green jacket.

I’ve been around Hideki a couple of times at Presidents Cups, occasions that have given me some insight into the psyche of not just him but every Japanese player.

Their culture is just so different from the rest of us. They seem to carry such a feeling of responsibility, one that is really obvious in Hideki and his compatriot, Ryo Ishikawa.

It’s a heavy weight, one that seems to be especially burdensome in team matches.

In Hideki’s case, I’ve seen him struggle to produce anything like his best form in foursomes and four-balls, when the fear of letting down a partner seems to inhibit his play. Then, when he is let loose in the singles, he routinely shoots six or seven under par and wins easily. Playing for himself clearly comes a lot more naturally.

None of the above is a criticism, of course. But it seems to me that it stems from the level of attention Japanese players get from their home media. Anyone who has spent any time on Tour will surely have noticed the large pack of journalists and photographers that routinely follow the Japanese players. The attention they get is amazing to see. They have so many cameras on them and so many people around them at all times. All of which reflects the incredible interest the Japanese public clearly has in their play.

In turn, that has to create an unbelievable level of stress.

So it is that guys like Hideki and Ryo truly are carrying the hopes and aspirations of a nation. Far more, I think, than any other nationality. Rory McIlroy is obviously huge in Ireland. Ian Poulter and Justin Rose the same in England. And we Australians all have a huge interest in the fortunes of Cam Smith, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman, to name but three. But none of the above is as suffocating as what the Japanese players live with every day. Especially Hideki.

MATSUYAMA IS THE FIRST JAPANESE MAN TO SUCCESSFULLY CLIMB GOLF’S MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP ‘EVEREST’.

Amidst all of that, one of the great things about Hideki is how humble he is, which is also amazing when you think about how he is so idolised by a country boasting a population of almost 130 million people.

In the team room at Presidents Cups he is always quiet, which is partly a product of the language barrier. His English isn’t great, but he understands more than he speaks.

He always seems to know what is going on when everyone is talking. Like other Japanese players I know, he doesn’t like to speak English until he can do it really well.

So, he isn’t part of any deep conversations.

But I have noticed that, whenever the captain calls a meeting, he is one of the first to arrive. Hideki is all about the team.

He loves it.

At this point I’d like to share a little anecdote about Hideki in a team room at the Presidents Cup. But I can’t. He’s the “quiet guy in the corner” in those circumstances. He’s the guy who, after you’ve been on 100 trips with him, has lots of stories about you, but there are none about him. He’s everyone’s favourite on those trips, but there are no tales to tell about him afterwards. He’s the one who is happy to answer any questions, but if you don’t bother him he won’t bother you. But he’s not bothered if you bother him. He’s that guy.

As for his golf, Hideki has long been known on Tour as a “flusher.” Everyone recognises that. He hits the ball so well and

so purely. And when he gets going with his irons, he is close to the hole all day. Make that months. When he gets in a groove he plays well for a long time. Which is not to say that his game doesn’t come-and-go. We tend to forget that Tiger was unique in that respect; he was so good almost all the time.

Hideki is more normal than that. So, although he hadn’t won for a while before the Masters, his victory is hardly a surprise.

There was never really a thought that he was done playing well. He will be relevant for as long as he wants to be. Although he is only 29, it seems like he has been around for 20 years. But only a decade has passed since he was low-amateur at Augusta, having (twice) qualified for the Masters as winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

Again, all of that that is a product of his inherent discipline. Even when he is playing short of his best, he is so dedicated. Not many work harder on their games than Hideki. He hits so many balls. And he does it mostly by himself. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him with a coach on the range. There’s never any drama around him.

Which is not to say Hideki’s life is any different from the rest of us. He just keeps it to himself. Even when he got married a few years ago, no one knew about it on Tour. It wasn’t that he wanted to keep the wedding a secret. It was just that – as he said when it came to light – no one had asked him. So, he didn’t volunteer anything.

His attitude to life seems almost Zen-like.

He goes to the course. He does his job.

Then he goes home. And that’s all anyone needs to know, which is impressive.

Still, it is clear that, no matter how much attention he has been used to at home, Hideki’s level of celebrity in Japan is going to soar in the wake of his Masters win, which is actually hard to imagine. Even before this, he has had to resort to the “movie star thing” when out in public. He has worn the dark glasses and the hat.

Proficiency at golf is idolised everywhere, but in Japan it is idolised to a uniquely high level. It is the sport of the “elite” in Japan anyway. If you are a top player, you are the elite of that elite. Cast your mind back to when Adam Scott returned to Australia for the first time wearing his green jacket.

Multiply that by 100 and you’ll have an idea of how Hideki will be greeted at home. It will be ticker-tape parade type of stuff.

This won’t be the last Japanese victory at the highest level. They have already had such a long history in golf, much more than anywhere else in Asia. But Hideki will always be the first. And it’s great that he won the Masters, which is so revered in Japan, just as it is here in Australia. The reaction of Hideki’s caddie said it all really.

His little bow to the course as he pulled the pin out of the hole on the 18th green after the tournament was over said it all. He had such respect for all that had gone on out there. And what a great spirit that is, one we should all aspire to have. golf australia | JUNE 2021

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y l e t a er Desp SEEKING A MAJOR A golfer’s career, fairly or not, is defined by success at major championships. After years of repeat winners, the men’s majors have recently become a breeding ground of one-time victors. Here are the 10 best players looking to continue the trend and join the major champions club at this month’s US Open at Torrey Pines.

WORDS JIMMY EMANUEL PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES

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ajor championship golf in the men’s game was for so long dominated by players collecting stacks of the four biggest titles in the game.

Of course, there were the one-off winners, the occasional bolter who claimed a major and disappeared into the competitive abyss or those expected to be multiple champions, but, alas, remained on a single win for their entire career.

But as long as many can remember, it was Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson claiming a swathe of trophies, with the likes of Greg Norman, Ben Crenshaw and John Daly collecting a couple along the way.

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In recent times however, despite some hot runs of form from the likes of Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, the one-time winner has become the taste of the majors.

In fact, since 2008 when Tiger Woods claimed the last US Open staged at Torrey Pines in unbelievable circumstances and Padraig Harrington added two more majors to his tally, 25 of the 48 major championships played (at the time of writing) have been won by a player as yet unable to add to his major collection. With another six won by players claiming the first of multiples in the same period.

These sort of swings and roundabouts are common in professional sport, and with ageing once dominant players like Woods and Phil Mickelson, not the greatest of surprise.

However, as the best players in the world

prepare to head to the stunning coastline of San Diego and the South Course at Torrey Pines, the recent run looks likely to continue, with 34 of the top-50 players on the Official World Golf Rankings (at the time of writing) without a major win.

All 34 of these players are a chance of continuing the strong run of first-time winners in the majors. After all being one of the best 50 in the world at any pursuit is elite, and US Opens are known to throw up the odd surprise winner.

However, the following 10 players are among the biggest chances to do so, some that would be great stories and of course the two Aussies of the cohort. All of whom will hope the one-time major club is ready for another member, albeit similarly wishful they won’t remain in the group for long.

preview

JON RAHM

At 26, Rahm already has a career the envy of many of his peers.

A five-time winner on the PGA Tour and six times in Europe, the Spaniard has played on a winning Ryder Cup side, risen to World No.1 and captured the Order of Merit title in Europe.

Since turning professional following a share of 23rd at the 2016 US Open, Rahm has been a constant favourite to claim a major championship trophy, but hasn’t been able to get over the line or truly contend at one of the big four.

Rahm has 10 top-25 finishes from 18 major starts and has looked most likely at Augusta National, where he shared fifth this year a week after welcoming his first child. And yet this month’s US Open might be his best chance of breaking his major duck.

America’s national open hasn’t been kind to his compatriots, with legends of the game Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal not gelling with the often-oppressive style of golf required at the USGA’s test.

And despite having a game influenced by Seve, Olazabal and Sergio Garcia, Rahm is right at home at Torrey Pines and was T3 in this event at Pebble Beach in 2019.

After an impressive amateur career, Rahm announced himself as a professional when holing a long eagle putt on the 72nd hole to win the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in 2017.

Yes, the course will play differently under the control of the blue blazers of the USGA, but Rahm is clearly infatuated with the layout designed by William F. Bell that shares Farmers Insurance Open hosting duties with the North Course each year. Recording finishes of T29, T5, 2nd and T7 since his win in 2017.

Along with his fondness for the host venue is Rahm’s form so far in 2021, including seven top-10s from nine starts.

Rahm is among the best players on the planet from tee to green, combining power from the tee with accurate approach play to rank second on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Tee-to Green this season.

If he can combine his good form and love of Torrey Pines, Rahm is a very likely addition to the major winner’s club.

MARC LEISHMAN

Marc Leishman is a Torrey Pines specialist having finished in the top-20 at the regular Tour stop seven times from 12 starts, including two runner-ups and a win in 2020.

The Victorian is certainly not a prototypical US Open player, with accuracy off the tee not his strongest suit and a game built on ball flight control and short game. However, a clear liking for Torrey Pines and as one of the better wind players in the game, this might present as the 37-year-old’s best US Open chance.

Torrey Pines lies on cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, where winds often whip up, and Leishman’s lead in form is vastly improved after a disappointing second half of 2020 when the Virginia Beach resident struggled to find his best golf after the PGA Tour’s 34

JUNE 2021 | golf australia

NEW DAD JON RAHM WOULD CONSIDER THE US OPEN HIS BEST CHANCE TO WIN A MAJOR TITLE.

COVID-19 enforced hiatus.

Leishman played some good golf in Hawaii to start his year before a T18 at Torrey Pines in February and hitting his straps at Augusta National where he shared fifth behind winner Hideki Matsuyama. After a spell, the burly beer maker teamed up with great mate Cam Smith to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, his sixth PGA Tour title.

Unfortunately for Smith and Leishman, there were no world ranking points on offer for the teams win, but the confidence of another trophy and some improved play of late will have Leishman up for this.

And he has already almost joined the major winners club on a number of occasions.

His best chance going begging when he lost in a three-way playoff for The Open Championship to Zach Johnson at the Old Course in 2015.

Leishman has long been tipped as a major winner, but it can be almost guaranteed he won’t get a better chance at this particular title than at Torrey Pines in 2021.

CAMERON SMITH

The Queenslander is a player on the rise in a big way! And it would be a surprise to no dedicated observer of the professional game if a major title found its way into his grasp in the near future.

Smith is now the top-ranked Australian in the men’s game, even despite earning no world ranking points for his win with Leishman at the Zurich.

Announcing himself on the world stage at the 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay with a T4 finish, Smith has struggled at this event ever since.

His best result since then was his T38 last year, which suggests Smith is a long shot at Torrey Pines. But the two-time Australian PGA Championship winner is a much improved player and appears more comfortable on the biggest stage every time he tees it up.

After finishing runner-up at the November 2020 Masters, Smith was 10th at the same

CAMERON SMITH AND MARC LEISHMAN HAVE PLENTY OF TORREY PINES EXPERIENCE.

event this year, one of seven consecutive top30s up to and including his Zurich win. A run that came after he missed the cut at Torrey Pines in February.

Now a three-time PGA Tour winner, Smith has a mixed record at Torrey Pines with a best finish of T9 in 2019, but his exquisite approach play and short game mean when his long game is on he is now comfortably one of the best players in the world.

Small yet not insignificant gains in distance off the tee in recent years will help greatly around the South Course in US Open mode, and Smith’s chances will likely hinge on his iron play over the week.

Now earning his own notoriety, rather than as Cam Smith the golfer not rugby league legend, the mullet sporting Smith seemingly has his own major championship destiny in his hands.

“I feel like I have a really good understanding on golf, but I wish I did sometimes work a little harder than I do,” Smith said recently. “I don’t get lazy. I just get

content sometimes. I’d rather be out doing something with my mates than pounding balls on the range.”

If he can keep his momentum from earlier this year going, and things fall his way, like Leishman, Smith might have to wait some time before he gets a US Open that is so well suited to him.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE

Of the players on this list, Schauffele is potentially the most likely to win a US Open during the course of his career, who like many of the others has a strong connection with the host venue.

Not yet a prolific winner on the PGA Tour, the 27-year-old owns four titles on the world’s biggest circuit and has a worst US Open finish of T6 from four starts that also includes a best result of T3.

Tipped by many as a major winner of the future, Schauffele was born in San Diego and will have no shortage of support at Torrey Pines, where he was a joint runner-up behind

Patrick Reed in February.

Despite challenging Reed earlier this year around the host venue, Schauffele has in fact missed more cuts than he has made at Torrey Pines with the pressures of playing at home surely being a factor. And the player preparing to tee it up at the US Open this year is far more accomplished than the one who missed three straight weekends in 2016, ’17 and ’18.

“It’s one of my favourite tournaments of the year and I show up here every year and I miss the cut almost every time. It’s nice to sort of to get over the hump and have a good finish,” Schauffele said in February.

The 2017 PGA Tour rookie of the year’s game is built for the style of golf dished up at US Opens. Powerful from the tee and accurate when approaching greens, finding fairways is perhaps the Californian’s Achilles heel.

Schauffele’s misstep at the 16th hole at Augusta National, when the slightest of rays of hope of a green jacket presented themselves before ultimately finishing T3, will have provided plenty of motivation to improve golf australia | JUNE 2021

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IS IT TIME FOR TONY FINAU TO STEP UP FROM BRIDESMAID TO BRIDE?

on that result and improve his already outstanding major record that includes two second places.

“If you look at my career, you could call it a big ball of scar tissue with a bunch of second places. I don’t look at it that way. I don’t think my team looks at it that way,” Schauffele said at Augusta on Sunday.

I’VE PROVED TO MYSELF AND A FEW OTHERS THAT I THINK THERE IS A MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP IN ME. – LEE WESTWOOD.

TONY FINAU

If there was a golfer that exemplifies “always the bridesmaid never the bride” it would have to be Finau.

A one-time PGA Tour winner, Finau has amassed 57 top-10s from 222 starts in professional golf and 11 top-25s at the majors from just 19 starts. An impressive career already at just 31, but like all top players, Finau wants victories rather than good finishes.

The US Open has been a happy hunting ground for the American who was T8 last year at Winged Foot. So to Torrey Pines, where Finau’s form line since making his debut reads T24, T18, T4, T6, T13, T6, T2.

Finau has power to burn, which is a significant asset at Torrey Pines, as is his ball striking ability. A combination that sees him ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green on the PGA Tour in 2021.

But it is the World No.12’s putting that will be the key to finally adding more wins to his 36

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resume and a major title.

If the former Golf Channel Big Break contestant can find some consistency on what are sure to be hard and fast greens this month, Finau will surely be in contention over the weekend at Torrey Pines.

TYRRELL HATTON

The Englishman has yet to find his best golf at the majors and has never played Torrey Pines in a competitive round. But as one of the best players on the planet, Hatton can’t be discounted here.

Hatton’s best US Open finish came at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 where he was T6, but his form since a good start to 2021, including a win in Abu Dhabi, has been largely indifferent.

A share of eighth at the Zurich Classic his best result in America for the year at the time of going to press.

One of the best putters in the world, Hatton’s accuracy off the tee and iron play are the keys to his success as one of the shorter hitters amongst the top ranked players .

The decision to play the desert swing on his home Tour earlier this year is an admirable one. But a missed chance to tee it up at an albeit different Torrey Pines in preparation for this week is a surprising one that makes it difficult to judge his chances at the US Open.

Hatton is a streaky player and with his work on the greens a hot week at a major and a trophy wouldn’t surprise.

SUNGJAE IM

Unlike many others on this list, the Korean doesn’t own a particularly good record at Torrey Pines or in the US Open. But it would be foolish to discount Im as a potential major champion of the future.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE APPEARS TO HAVE A GAME WELL-SUITED TO WINNING MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Sitting at 36th on the world ranking, Adam Scott was all but guaranteed to earn a place as one of the players inside the top-60 at May 24 or June 7, while Matt Jones (54) and Jason Day (59) had their work cut out for them.

ADAM SCOTT

Rarely if ever taking a week off, Sungjae puts more middling results on his record than most simply because he plays more than his fellow Tour players, and exhaustion is always a factor.

But a best finish of 22nd and T32 at the US Open and Farmers Insurance respectively — both his most recent starts – suggests that Im is working out the toughest tournament in men’s golf and the South Course.

An outstanding ball striker, accurate driver and rock-solid putter, the 23-year-old has a game that is well-suited to any venue, and realistically should thrive on a US Open style setup.

One of the breakout stars at the Presidents Cup held at Royal Melbourne in 2019, there isn’t a person who watched Im that week who didn’t walk away thinking this was a player destined for bigger things, with his win at the 2020 Honda Classic confirming the notion.

Unable to add to his win tally since, the pressure of potentially joining the major winner ranks and becoming just the second Korean winner of a men’s major is an unknown element for Im. But like Y.E. Yang before him, Im is fearless, and a major championship would surely help avoid his required military service at home in Korea.

And despite some indifferent form so far this year, after Hideki Matsuyama’s victory at

AGE: 40 US OPEN APPEARANCES: 19 BEST FINISH: T4 (2015).

WHY HE CAN WIN: The US Open has been Scott’s worst major over the course of his career. The Queenslander missing eight cuts and finishing in the top-10 just three times.

However, Scott (pictured above) is the lone Aussie to play in 2008 at Torrey Pines, finishing 26th, and has recorded top-10s in his past two starts at the venue, including a second place in 2019.

The 2013 Masters winner’s form has been indifferent so far this year, his share of 10th at the Farmers Insurance Open the best of the lot, but the former World No.1 should never be discounted at the majors.

JASON DAY AGE: 33 US OPEN APPEARANCES: 10 BEST FINISH: 2nd (2011 & 2013) WHY HE CAN WIN: Day has been very unlike Jason Day in recent times, with missed cuts mixed in with middle of the pack results. But

expect him to be right up for this event.

The Queenslander has five top-10s at the US Open and is a two-time winner at Torrey Pines.

The 2015 US PGA winner is still working out the kinks of new equipment and a new swing coach in the form of Chris Como, but Day has a clear affinity with Torrey Pines and if he can earn a place in the field, it wouldn’t surprise if he was on the leaderboard on Sunday.

MATT JONES AGE: 41 US OPEN APPEARANCES: 5 BEST FINISH: MC WHY HE CAN WIN: This is a big ask for the two-time Australian Open winner, but Jones (pictured below) has the tendency to surprise when he is truly on his game.

Never making the weekend at five US Opens, the Sydneysider will have taken a lot out of his T26 finish at Augusta National in April.

Jones has been a frequent starter at the Farmers Insurance Open and has made the weekend more often than not, and his T13 in 2019 suggests the course will suit the quick moving, ball striker’s eye.

SUNGJAE IM HAS A GAME THAT SIMPLY SHOULD THRIVE AT A US OPEN VENUE.

The Masters this past April, a win at Torrey Pines for Im would truly signal the rise of Asian men’s golf on a major scale.

PAUL CASEY

The Englishman has now spent the majority of his life in the United States and a national title would mean a great deal to the Scottsdale resident, who has a mixed major championship record.

After an up and down beginning to his US Open career, Casey appears to have figured out how to manage his game around the long rough, firm and fast setups of the toughest major test. The 43-year-old finishing inside the top-30 in each of the last four years.

One of the few players on this list to play the last US Open held at Torrey Pines in 2008 (T65), Casey has only played the Farmers Insurance Open on three occasions, recording two missed cuts and a share of 28th.

However, Casey finds his best golf when conditions and the golf course are tough. Two of his three PGA Tour wins coming at the Valspar Championship, where ball striking and game management are crucial elements to success.

And the veteran is not far removed from a run of four consecutive top-10s to start his 2021 campaign that included two events 38

JUNE 2021 | golf australia

also played in California and The Players Championship. A stretch where his usual formula of power and greens in regulation served him well. As it will at Torrey Pines.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD

Among the most popular players in the game, Tommy Fleetwood would be a very welcome addition to the major winner’s club.

A magnificent swinger, the 30-year-old hasn’t been at his best so far in 2021 and would be something of a surprise winner this time around, despite two runner-up finishes in major championships, including the 2018 US Open.

It was a blistering Sunday 63 in that year to finish behind Brooks Koepka and record a second straight top-5 at the US Open, but Fleetwood hasn’t looked himself since returning to America following Europe’s desert swing to start the year. And appears to be still adjusting to new clubs and a golf ball following signing with TaylorMade.

A loyal European Tour member, Fleetwood is another of the players listed here to never tee it up competitively at Torrey Pines, however, the course should match up well with his game.

Strong in every area, putting is always the key to Fleetwood contending, especially at

major championships, where green speeds are at their fastest and three putts are huge roadblocks to momentum.

Working hard on this area of the game with putting guru Phil Kenyon, the fivetime European Tour winner is yet to secure a trophy on the PGA Tour, but certainly wouldn’t be out of place in the company of previous English major champions.

LEE WESTWOOD

No one knows better than Lee Westwood that his time to shed the title as one of the best players to never win a major is running out.

And given his early 2021 form, this month might present one of his best chances.

A prolific winner around the world, the 48-year-old recorded back-to-back runner-up finishes at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass earlier this year.

“My game’s still good enough to win out here. Just keep working on it,” he said after The Players.

Outside of his good form this year, Westwood’s style of play, US Open record and past performances at Torrey Pines suggest this month presents as one of his best of a dwindling number of chances to finally secure an elusive major trophy.

One of the best ball strikers of his

TOMMY FLEETWOOD IS ONE OF THE GAME’S GREAT BALL-STRIKERS AND A US OPEN CHANCE.

(FLEETWOOD) APPEARS TO BE STILL ADJUSTING TO NEW CLUBS AND A GOLF BALL FOLLOWING SIGNING WITH TAYLORMADE.

generation, Westwood’s often troublesome chipping and putting have been solid of late, and 19 US Open appearances have netted 16 made cuts, 10 top-25s and a best finish of third place twice. One of which came at Torrey Pines in 2008.

Having only played the Farmers Insurance Open on one occasion, sharing 47th in 2014, the man from Worksop certainly doesn’t have the deep knowledge of the South Course that many of his competitors will rely on. But missing the 18-hole playoff in 2008 by one shot after his birdie putt failed to drop at the 72nd hole will be a positive memory, albeit it another missed chance.

“It’s sickening not to be in the playoff tomorrow, but all in all I played pretty good all week and if somebody said you’re going to have a chance from 20 feet for a playoff on Monday then I would have probably taken that at the start of the week,” Westwood said on Sunday in 2008. “So, while I’m disappointed, I’m pleased with myself and I think that I’ve proved to myself and a few others that I think there is a major championship in me.”

If there is a most deserving player on this list to continue the one-time win run at the majors it would be Westwood, who is getting towards his last chances to confirm that there is in fact a major in him.

Torrey Pines’ South Course is a familiar one for much of the field that will take part in the US Open this month and for many viewers accustomed to seeing it in February each when the PGA Tour makes its annual visit.

But how will the course differ from February to June and under the control of the USGA and senior managing director of championships John Bodenhamer?

For one the weather will be markedly different.

Rugged up players and the occasional fog are regular sights at the Farmers Insurance Open each year, but expect short sleeves and sun for the US Open held in the height of summer.

The slightly raised high and low temperatures will mean a firmer and faster test, just as the USGA likes, and was presented in 2008 when the Bentgrass and Poa Annua greens became slightly browned off and bumpy in the afternoon.

“We are going to let Torrey be Torrey and hopefully it will play firm and fast because of the weather and if we get a little bit of a breeze,” Bodenhamer said at a US Open media day according to the Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard. “Whatever that produces is what we’re going get.”

Torrey being Torrey means the course will play long, as the South Course is one of the longest the PGA Tour visits each year.

And architect Rees Jones, who completed redesign work here in 2001 to add bunkers, move greens and add tees, has added more length with three new tees in recent years allowing the course to play as long as 7,698 yards.

Beyond length, it is fair to expect that the rough will be longer than it typically is when the PGA Tour comes to town, with graduated rough expected.

In fact, Bodenhamer suggested the course will play very similarly to the one presented by predecessor Mike Davis in 2008, with perhaps an easing of the rough.

That year saw only play-off combatants Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate (one-under) finish under par for the week as opposed to the low scoring victors of the Farmers Insurance who have finished in double digits under par each of the last 20 years except on three occasions.

“I think you’ll see the same golf course but that is going to depend on the weather. We will have the same fairway widths and a little less graduated rough,” Bodenhamer said when comparing the 2021 layout to 2008.

golf australia | JUNE 2021

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JUNE 2021 | golf australia

c i p m y l O &

) S ( Ko

The return to form of Lydia Ko has her on the radar for more major success. But it could be another Ko, Jin Young, who stands in her way during the US Women’s Open at San Francisco’s The Olympic Club.

M

WORDS MICHAEL JONES PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES

ore than five years have passed since an 18-year-old Lydia Ko leapt into Poppie’s Pond as the youngest two-time major champion in LPGA Tour history.

It felt like the sky was the limit for the Korean-born Kiwi, who by 2016 had already won 12 LPGA Tour titles in just four years including two as an amateur. Nobody could have predicted the winless slump – or the criticism – she would soon endure, following two further Tour wins and an Olympic silver medal to come in the months after her ANA Inspiration success.

Ko would go on to play 45 events across multiple Tours before claiming her next title at the LPGA Mediheal Championship in 2018, defeating Australian Minjee Lee with an exquisite eagle on the first hole of a playoff.

“It’s a huge relief,” an emotional Ko said in the aftermath, having copped months of criticism for her every movement on and off the golf course, including coaching and equipment changes as well as her new diet and hairstyle.

“I tried to stay away from all the media and everything that was being said about me and tried to just focus on what was going on

golf australia | JUNE 2021

43

in front.”

Ko would be deprived of silverware for another 1,084 days, however, before blitzing the field by an emphatic seven shots at the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii earlier this year.

“Hand on my heart, there were times I wondered ‘hey, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be back in the winner’s circle’, but I’m obviously grateful for everything that has happened in my career so far. Being back in this position is super cool,” Ko said after claiming her long-awaited 21st professional victory in April.

Ko has credited much of her recent success to her appointment of renowned swing coach Sean Foley. The former World No.1 – who is currently seventh in the world ranking – started working with Foley in April last year 44

JUNE 2021 | golf australia

when her game appeared to have reached an all-time low point. She has since banked 13 top-15s and one victory from 20 starts (at the time of writing).

“Sean has really been helpful for me,” Ko said after breaking the tournament scoring record at the LOTTE Championship. “He’s been great to just simplify everything for me.

I’m very grateful for his advice both on and off the golf course.”

The 23-year-old is now preparing for her 10th US Women’s Open Championship, and she will arrive in San Francisco hopeful of ending her major drought by cashing in on her recent good form. Ko was just 15 when she claimed low amateur honours with her first US Open appearance at Blackwolf Run in 2012 and has great respect for the original major in

women’s golf.

“There’s just so much history around it.

And no matter if you’re playing golf or tennis or any other sports, to say you’re a US Open champion, I think, it just kind of brings a special moment to you,” Ko said.

“To be playing on the LPGA, on the Tour that I’ve always dreamt of playing, and for it to be the biggest championship on the mainland, in the States, that’s huge. When you see the big names that have held the trophy at the end of Sunday, to have my name alongside their names, I think would be an honour.”

Surely no true golf fan would be disappointed to see Lydia Ko’s name added to the honour roll this month.

Ko’s biggest obstacle at The Olympic Club is likely to be her namesake, South Korean

WHEN YOU SEE THE BIG NAMES THAT HAVE HELD THE TROPHY AT THE END OF SUNDAY, TO HAVE MY NAME ALONGSIDE THEIR NAMES, I THINK WOULD BE AN HONOUR. – LYDIA KO ON HER INSPIRATION TO WIN THE U.S OPEN.

LYDIA KO RETURNED TO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE IN RECORD STYLE AT THE LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP.

OLYMPIC COMES FULL CIRCLE The Olympic Club has hosted 11 previous United States Golf Association (USGA) championships – including five US Opens and three US Amateurs – but it has never welcomed any of the women’s events. That was until now.

The Californian club is gearing up to host the most prestigious women’s tournament in America this month, despite only admitting female members for the first time in 1990. The Lakes Course, which opened in 1927 and was originally designed by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, will finally have its fairways graced by 156 of the world’s best female golfers.

“I always love going to San Francisco and to add the opportunity to play a major at The Olympic Club is just amazing,” Lydia Ko said ahead of the US$5.5 million US Women’s Open, which will allow a limited number of fans.

“Thank you to the USGA for bringing us to one of the most iconic venues in the country.”

Iconic, indeed. The heavily tree-lined course underwent an extensive Robert Trent Jones redesign before it hosted its first-ever US Open in 1955 and was once dubbed “the best in the west” by legendary amateur Bobby Jones.

Bill Love, who was formerly the president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, oversaw another redesign in 2009, before the layout had its bunkers renovated in 2016.

Although its name might suggest otherwise, the relatively short 5,986-metre Lakes Course features no water hazards and there is only one fairway bunker in play off the tee, which can be found at the 6th hole. Yet it has always managed to test the world’s best players; oneover-par 281 is the average winning score from the five men’s US Opens (1955, 1966, 1987, 1998 and 2012) it has hosted.

So, what does that mean for the US Women’s Open? Well, accurate players and shot makers like Lydia Ko, Jin Young Ko, Inbee Park, Moriya Jutanugarn, Brooke Henderson and Jessica Korda should each have an advantage over the rest of the field.

The 317-metre closing hole is widely regarded as one of the finest short par-4s in the United States and offers an excellent view of the clubhouse. The relatively small green is one of the trickiest on the course and traditionally plays its part in deciding who walks away with the spoils.

superstar Jin Young Ko, who has not finished outside the top-20 at the US Open in all four of her appearances.

The World No.1 – who has made 16 of 18 cuts at the majors for five top-5s and two titles – was runner-up to her compatriot A-Lim Kim, who birdied the final three holes to snatch the win by one stroke at Champions Golf Club in Houston last December.

Jin Young, 25, has dreamt of hoisting the coveted Harton S. Semple Trophy ever since she watched her hero Se Ri Pak overcome Jenny Chuasiriporn after 20 extra holes in 1998.

“I want to get the US Open trophy,” Jin Young said. “When I was three years old, I watched the TV on my father’s knee about Se Ri’s win when she won this tournament – and then I saw that I want to play the golf, so I started.” golf australia | JUNE 2021

45

EVERY TOURNAMENT I FINISH INSIDE TOP-10, TOP-5, SO WIN IS COMING. – WORLD NO.1 JIN YOUNG KO. In only three full seasons on the LPGA Tour, Jin Young has won seven tiimes – including the ANA Inspiration and The Evian Championship – captured consecutive money titles and was named Player of the Year in 2019 after receiving Rookie of the Year honours in 2018.

She’s also won 11 times in her career on the LPGA of Korea Tour.

You don’t need to look far to discover where her tenacity comes from, either.

46

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“My father was boxer,” Jin Young said recently. “I want to be more stronger than yesterday. World Ranking No.1, this position is not easy, but not tough. If I’m playing better and better, I can keep this position one month or two months or even more. That is good motivation for me.”

At the time of going to print, Jin Young was nursing a minor wrist injury – which she described as a “soft injury” – that was preventing her from practising. But it certainly hasn’t done anything to affect her confidence.

“Every tournament I finish inside top-10, top-

5, so win is coming,” Ko said ominously after finishing T3rd at the LA Open in late April.

Another key player, you would imagine, will be Jin Young’s compatriot Inbee Park.

The two-time champion (2008 and 2013) has featured over the weekend in 12 of her 14 US Open appearances and scored an impressive nine top-10s.

The five-major era career Grand Slam winner – second in the world rankings at the time of writing – is arguably the most consistent player in the women’s game and hasn’t finished outside the top 15 all year.

The last of her seven major victories came

aussies HEADING TO olympic* SU OH Best result: T17th (2018).

The 25-year-old Victorian will make her seventh US Open start this month and will be hoping to replicate her efforts at Shoal Creek three years ago, which heralded a share of 17th place. Oh has recorded one top-10 from 29 major starts.

JIN YOUNG KO WALKS IN A PUTT TO SEAL HER VICTORY IN THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP.

at the Women’s British Open in 2015 and ended a Tiger-esque run of six major wins in 14 events. A Park victory in San Francisco will see her climb to equal sixth of all-time women’s major championship winners alongside American Betsy Rawls.

World No.4 Nelly Korda will fancy her chances at her national Open, too, as she continues to search for her maiden major championship title.

The 22-year-old Floridian only has the one top-10 finish from six US Open starts – but she has been in magnificent form all year, securing her fourth LPGA Tour title in February and recording five additional top10s through to May. Whether Lydia Ko breaks her winless drought at the majors; Jin Young Ko continues her dominance as the World No.1; Nelly Korda wins her maiden major title; or Inbee Park adds to her already incredible CV, one thing is for certain: the 2021 Women’s US Open promises to be an enticing event.

HANNAH GREEN Best Women’s US Open result: T34th (2019).

The 2019 Women’s PGA champion (pictured top) has only made two previous US Open starts, sharing 34th place in 2019 and 40th place last year. Green is in terrific form having recently finished runner-up in the Women’s World Golf Championship.

MINJEE LEE Best result: T11th (2017).

The five-time LPGA Tour winner (pictured above) has made six of seven US Open cuts and been thereabouts on several occasions, despite never really threatening to contend.

“The US Open is definitely my number one major and I would love to win that,” Lee told Golf Australia magazine last year.

SARAH JANE SMITH Best result: T5th (2018).

Smith had missed four of five cuts to start the new season at the time of writing, however she’s punched her ticket to The Olympic Club via a qualifier with Swedish major winner Pernilla Lindberg on the bag. Smith led the 2018 US Open by three shots through 36 holes.

SARAH KEMP Best result: 67th (2010).

Kemp began 2021 well, sharing fifth place at the Gainbridge LPGA and has earned her start in San Francisco via a qualifying event.

The 35-year-old will be competing in her fifth US Open. *The field was not finalised at the time of going to press.

KATHERINE KIRK Best result: T25th (2007).

The Queensland veteran has played in 16 US Opens and made the weekend on eight occasions. She last won on US soil in 2017 at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

GABI RUFFELS Best result: T13th (2020).

The newly-minted pro (pictured right) has an impressive record at the majors, having never finished outside the top-20 from her four starts. Ruffels, 21, shared 13th place at this event last year and was T19th at the ANA Inspiration in April. golf australia | JUNE 2021

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GROWING THE GAME

CHRYSALIS MOMENT They’ve been considered the untapped sector of golf, but they’re coming. It’s time to apply a different lens to the emergence of women and girls in golf.

W

WORDS KAREN HARDING

hat do butterflies and women’s golf have in common? More than you might think. Beyond the simple superstition that a kiss from this ethereal creature to a golf ball is a sign of good luck, butterflies are generally symbolic of renewal, hope, endurance, courage and change.

Butterflies do not evolve from smaller to larger versions of themselves. Rather, they undergo complete metamorphosis from egg to larva (caterpillar) to pupa (chrysalis) before emerging in final form. Women’s sport – of which golf is a sub-species – has also evolved in stages rather than on a continuum.

To see how far Australian women’s golf has come – and what comes next – we first need to examine some numbers.

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The participation ratio of females to men in the modern era peaked at 34 percent in 1970, 51 years ago. By 2018, when Golf Australia launched Vision 2025 and the R&A its Women in Golf Charter – both a call to action – this was down to 20 percent. By the end of 2019, momentum had shifted positively.

Then, the pandemic.

Figures from the New Member Demand in Australian Golf Clubs published in November 2020 show a boom in numbers. Against this is the sobering figure that only 12 percent of the increase was in females, effectively lowering the participation ratio.

But numbers do not tell the whole story and club membership is not the only measure of participation.

“There’s been an increase in the ‘raw’

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overall female engagement figure, just not proportionately to men,” said Chyloe Kurdas, Female Engagement Senior Manager at Golf Australia. “During COVID, they were perhaps more likely to be hanging out in the lesson space, in the social club space, in the public facility space rather than joining a club.”

Add to that alternative ways to ‘consume’ golf other than membership – public golf, driving ranges, resort courses, social golf, mini golf, adventure golf, simulators, Holey Moley, TopGolf, park golf, disc golf, and other forms – and it becomes apparent that the actual number of women and girls involved in golf is substantially higher than just the number of club members.

That’s the good news. But the ratio is still an issue. As Kurdas acknowledged, “There’s more work to be done. And that’s why we’ve moved from awareness raising to an actiontaking phase.”

This includes clubs and organisations building action plans that suit their particular need and circumstance, based on information and resources provided initially through the Vision 2025 national roadshows and then the Even Par program which assists clubs in reviewing gender neutral strategies.

Golf Australia is compiling Visionary Case Studies, examples of steps taken around the country in clubs large and small, metropolitan and regional. Each month a selected case is featured, reflecting the diversity of strategies.

“Now we have stories to tell, whereas at the start we didn’t,” Kurdas said. “There’s no silver bullet, you’ve got to do a bit of everything. What the Visionaries of the Month are rewarding, what we’re celebrating, is the actual innovation brought to the implementation of whatever they did.”

Like our little butterfly, women’s golf is moving from the larva stage (where it was at its most active and also most vulnerable) to the chrysalis stage, during which startling transformation takes place and from whence it will emerge fully developed.

There’s a lot to navigate, though, and it’s coming from all directions.

Retention is, frankly, key. If we recruit X percent each year, we need to retain at least that to have nett gain over anticipated losses.

To achieve this, we need to move beyond the static measure of only recording data or prioritising entry via private clubs.

The role of public golf cannot be underestimated in either engagement or

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... IT BECOMES APPARENT THAT THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF WOMEN AND GIRLS INVOLVED IN GOLF IS SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN JUST THE NUMBER OF CLUB MEMBERS. retention. For many, its accessibility for all, low cost, and no fuss culture devoid of dress regulations makes it both part of a journey towards club membership or a destination in itself. It is an easier place for beginners to start and elderly members to finish. And without doubt, it is the most inclusive of all facilities.

Then there’s the aforementioned consumer points of golf, all of which form potential entry and retention points. For the entire ecosystem of golf to operate efficiently, we need all of these to be healthy.

Amongst the numbers produced, there is considerable concern over age groups. The average age of club members is 56.3 years, of which males average 54.7 and females 63.9 years. The pyramid of figures indicates that males predominate below 50 and above 70 years and females between 50 and 70 years.

The group of females aged 25-50 years, where the ratio appears at its worst, is considered of particular concern.

The only problem with age-related studies is that they are narrow and don’t entirely relate to the female experience. Age is really only relevant up to around 18, possibly slightly less, when people leave secondary school and head in different directions.

From here on, people respond to the demands their life is asking, regardless of what age that occurs. After all, one can be a mother of young children anywhere between 18 and 50 years.

So, let’s look at it through the lens of stage groups rather than limit ourselves to particular age groups.

A ‘straw poll’ of 14 different stages of females reveals some interesting information.

These stages were loosely defined as primary, secondary and university students, mothers of pre-schoolers, primary school children and teenagers, career women with and without family, sole family providers, empty nesters, retired, elderly, women with disability and multicultural women. A 15th category of ‘girl

dads’ was included.

Why did we go about it this way? Because although engagement of that poorly represented 25-50 years group is essential, it’s not the whole story if we are looking for overall retention. And including all stages represents best not only that women’s lives are layered but that golf is the game for all.

There is not the room here to dissect this in detail, nor is it a formal study, but its premise and findings suggest that a formally designed research project of this nature could prove useful.

Key findings of accessibility, equality of opportunity, time, cost and culture were not surprising but some responses were, supporting the notion that different stages command different needs. Interestingly, the factor of intimidation was most felt by women over the age of 50. It would seem ageism needs addressing if we are to be truly inclusive.

The biggest question to come out of it is how best to marry the varying needs and allow female players to move comfortably from one stage to another.

From the respondents come some ideas to take beyond those already being addressed: Dress: Allow athletic wear (including shoes which do not damage the greens) because it’s an athletic activity. This also makes it ‘cooler’ with the young. Refusing jeans is ancient.

Competition: Lose the focus on competition and allow social rounds on timesheets.

Conversely, allow competitions to run all day, not just in morning windows. Mix up formats and have more team events, particularly those that lend themselves to shorter timeframes.

Time: Provide one-tee starts, the most inclusive of them all. They may not be as social but they allow students, mums, workers of any category, elderly and those carrying disability to play at a time that is convenient, not prescribed.

Inclusion and disability: As this is a broad category, there are broad needs. Google

Translate on websites and booking pages is an easy start for multicultural players. The sensitivity to ask what is needed for all and the commitment to make it available via practical applications is another.

Membership: Consider options that include paying a lower annual fee but a higher ‘green fee’ (ie user pays) for those who want an attachment to a club but play irregularly. And options matching stages rather than ages, which can be entered accordingly.

Then there’s some next frontier suggestions, ideas which extend the boundaries considerably: Childcare: Childcare provision is an important part of the conversation. Creches at golf facilities, clinics that allow mums to bring babies, a modification to prams/strollers that allows clubs to be attached warrant thought.

Not only do we cater for mothers but we introduce youngsters at an early age to the golf course setting, which can offset some need for formal introductory programs later.

Course set-up: In her article Let Them Score, Golfweek writer Beth Ann Nichols asserted that golf courses should be set up so that female players approach greens with a similar scoring club in their hands as males. At Tour level, when this happens the accuracy and scoring rate has been shown to be highly comparable.

“We don’t want to see a pitch-and-putt every week but of the dozens of players consulted, nearly all believe that more reachable par 5s and more drivable par 4s … would make the product stronger and their jobs more fun,” concluded Nichols.

This, of course, has ramifications down the line – for more exciting play, marketability, sponsorship and creation of role models at tour level, as well as enjoyment, participation, retention and pace of play at club level.

To those who would argue that women are playing the course the way it was meant, the answer is, you’re right. But remember this, courses were almost uniformly designed by men, for men. That male players have outgrown these courses is a different discussion.

Course architecture: Canadian golf course architect and leading voice in design to accommodate women, Christine Fraser contends that the experience

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A ROUND WITH FRIENDS SHOULD BE FUN. BUT SOME WOMEN FIND THE GOLF CULTURE INTIMIDATING.

all the good things underway in golf, we have a great story to tell, one that increasingly defies the narrow stereotypes which have created negative and inaccurate perceptions of the game that have deterred entry by non-subscribers.

But how do we do this when most of the stories about golf are no more than preaching to the choir? How can we move from the church and out into the community?

Back to engagement we go.

Recruit non-golfers and assist them to recruit non-golfers. Latch on to celebrities and disrupters who happen to love the game and can change the culture and profile. Broaden our reach through TV, the major media platform. It’s a costly exercise but it’s one that could be achieved using the combined resources of bodies and organisations throughout the golf industry

GOLF COURSE CHILDCARE OR CRECHES SHOULD BE PART OF THE ONGOING CONVERSATION.

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which all stand to gain.

The summer coverage of local events such as The Players Series, The Athena and the NSW and Queensland Opens via PGA TV and its production partners showed the potential to not only highlight domestic events but create role models – so essential to female engagement – from aspiring players.

Golf resources are stretched compared to other sports. But wouldn’t it be amazing to produce a funky ad of the ilk of the Suncorp Team Girls netball one, played in prime time.

In just one minute, the girls captured a lot of other girls with their message, “First we whispered, now we roar!”

We have seen it work in golf. The catchy, “How you like me now?” from the eight youngsters featured in the 2013 Netflix documentary The Short Game created interest in the US. And many Australian kids would have noticed exceptional Sydney junior golfer Sahara ‘The Weapon’ Hillman-Varma feature on the Extraordinary Me section on Nickelodeon. A weapon, indeed.

With a great story and a medium in which to tell it, it becomes possible to push through previously intransigent barriers. We have been told that sponsorship dollars follow success.

Yet the 2021 study, Closing the Visibility Gap, found that with visibility, women’s sport has the facility to generate significant revenue and create success, to marry social impact with commercial profit.

So, back to our developing butterfly.

Her metamorphosis is the transition that underpins evolution. Her DNA doesn’t alter, just her form, a response to the surrounding environment.

Like her, women and girls in golf are still evolving. We are in a chrysalis moment, preparing to complete the final stage of development to emerge as fully functional, independent beings of equal respect and diversity in the game. To spread our wings and fly, free of all restriction, into a glorious future.

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES X 4

of women is nuanced and not always reflected in management, maintenance or architectural decisions.

“Overlooking our experience has created social closure where many women feel unwelcome, discouraged and drop out of golf, thereby perpetuating the gender imbalance so detrimental to the sustainability of golf. We need to address this on the ground as well,” she said.

Fraser’s considered thoughts on issues such as forward tees, hazard placement, ground contouring, mowing patterns, height of cut and, yes, the provision of adequate toilet facilities on course need addressing.

Culture: The big one, the toughest of all.

Where do we start? Being welcoming, being kind, being generous in all ways is paramount.

Welcoming means everyone. Acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we play. Ensuring that programs for women, girls and gender diverse folks include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, multicultural citizens and players with disability.

And beyond. Across the board, women are engaging in all aspects of the golf industry.

But it needs to go further. We need women in leadership roles to be part of making decisions, not just assisting or being the recipient thereof.

In many areas we still have men telling women what men think women need. What we need is a collaborative process – co-creation – in which women are more deeply involved with shaping their future. Happily, those men that ask and then listen are there, and they are growing in number.

From the beginning, golf has been its own recruitment agency, with the game largely regenerated through families. This is still the case, but it now needs to be its own marketing agency as well.

We need to sell our story better and to the broader market. We need to ask: what will the golfer of 30-40-50 years from now look like?

And adapt to it.

We also need to tell our story better. With

@cobrapumagolfau

COURSE DESIGN

PHOTO: JEFF MINGAY

ERE H W

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Throughout its history, golf course architecture has been a male-dominated profession.

Even now, though, there are barely a handful of women in the industry. Why?

T

WORDS ADAM LAWRENCE

hat most golf designers, through the history of the profession, have been men isn’t wholly surprising. In the early part of the 20th century, when golf course architecture emerged, most members of most professions were men.

Among the first women ever to get seriously involved with course design were the leading British amateur Molly Gourlay, who worked with Tom Simpson on a number of projects, and her American colleague Marion Hollins, the brains behind the development of Cypress Point in California.

Hollins, it is claimed, convinced Alister MacKenzie to build the famous par-3 16th at Cypress Point by teeing up a ball and proving

that the carry was achievable.

In the near 100 years that followed Gourlay and Hollins, though, very few women have practiced golf course architecture, and one of the only women who is listed as the main designer of a course is a signature name – Annika Sorenstam. It is in this way that golf design has diverged from other professions, which, even if they are not now equally divided between men and women, are certainly much closer. Building architecture, for example, has made significant strides in this regard in recent years: figures from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Journal indicate that in 2018, 28 percent of architects were female, but women made up 44 percent of new entrants to the profession that year.

CANADIAN COURSE DESIGNER CHRISTINE FRASER HAS WORKED EXTENSIVELY THROUGH EUROPE. golf australia | JUNE 2021

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WHEN THERE ARE NO WOMEN TO MENTOR OTHER WOMEN OR MEN WHO ARE WILLING TO STEP UP, THERE ARE FEW SHOULDERS FOR YOUNG WOMEN TO STAND UPON TO FACILITATE CAREER DEVELOPMENT.

PHOTO: DANIEL MCEVOY

– AMERICAN COURSE ARCHITECT, KARI HAUG.

GERMAN ANGELA MOSER IS DEFINITELY A HANDS-ON STYLE OF COURSE ARCHITECT.

Golf architecture, of course, is a much smaller profession, and there are far fewer opportunities for people to join the business (it may be noted too that golf architects seem to be very slow to retire!). Jan Bel Jan, one of the industry’s few long-established women, and recently president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, notes the importance of this factor. “As with most professions with relatively few practitioners, if there is not awareness that the profession exists, there is little likelihood that there would be many aspirants to said profession,” she says. “For years, male-to-female golfers has hovered around 80/20 (in the United States). So it makes sense that most golf content is about and by men, including stories involving golf course architecture.”

Minneapolis-based architect Kari Haug, who is leading the European Institute of Golf Course Architects’ (EIGCA) efforts to open the business up to women, says: “While 56

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little boys grow up watching and learning from fathers or other male role models who might participate on greens committees, work as superintendents or even golf course architects, little girls usually don’t have this same experience.”

Haug says the absence of a mentor can create a “generational gap” in professional knowledge for women golf course architects.

“Most architects learn the art while working with a mentor or as an apprentice,” she said. “Skill development is facilitated through this relationship and further, mentees are introduced to the mentor’s network of professional colleagues. When there are no women to mentor other women or men who are willing to step up, there are few shoulders for young women to stand upon to facilitate career development.”

Haug, whose mentor was American architect Garrett Gill, also emphasises the importance of role models. Hers was Alice Dye.

“One of my biggest business disappointments is that I never got to meet her before her passing,” says Haug. “One of my professional goals now is to recruit women to stand upon my shoulders before another generation adds to the gap, and that is why I am enthusiastically advocating for recruitment of women in the field of golf course architecture.”

Kristine Kerr, of New Zealand-based Kura Golf Design and one of the very few women who has her name on a new course design, agrees with this suggestion.

“People need either to be drawn to a profession or fall into it … golf course design is not widely known of as a profession,” she says. “Opportunities need to be there! In terms of global golf projects and major new developments, it is very cyclical at the whim of economies and golf course design is not always in high demand.

“I ‘fell into it’ at a time when golf

MOSER HAS WORKED ALONGSIDE ACCLAIMED COURSE ARCHITECTS TOM DOAK AND GIL HANSE.

GUILA FERRONI’S PASSION FOR GOLF ATTRACTED HER INTO COURSE DESIGN AND STARTING HER OWN FIRM.

development was booming in the 1990s in Singapore, where my parents were living.

I had a degree in landscape architecture and learnt the ropes with Nelson Wright Haworth (NWH), who were prolific and highly regarded. My dad was a scratch golfer and we were exposed to golf from an early age.

We also moved from NZ to Australia for my parents to be involved in the development of Palm Meadows in Queensland.”

Kerr subsequently worked with Gary Player Design in Europe and China and credits them and NWH with giving her the expertise and exposure to win her own commissions.

Bel Jan says: “When people see others like themselves participating in a game or profession, they are likely to participate, too.

When male golfers read about golf course architecture, they saw that not only as a dream, but a possible walk of life. Globally, the few women who were acknowledged as golf course architects received little public

recognition, so the possibility of golf course design as a profession was not seen by females, or by males who may have suggested such a career to their daughters, sisters, friends, or students.”

Bel Jan continues: “In recent years, females have enjoyed an increasing presence on the golf course, on secondary school and collegiate teams, in multiple golf organisations, and with vendors and suppliers that support golf. Most of these women and girls were introduced to golf by a male family member or friend, just as most men have been introduced to golf.”

It was a passion for golf that drew Italian architect Giulia Ferroni into the course design profession.

“I studied architecture and after university started working in the building design business,” Ferroni says. “I spent a few years designing houses, offices, shops and furniture, but I ended up being not completely satisfied by that career, as golf is my passion.”

Martin Hawtree provided Ferroni with the opportunity to enter the golf business.

“I spent lots of time on site and in the office, and as an eager reader went through Martin’s entire library,” says Ferroni, who completed the EIGCA’s professional diploma course in 2018 and has now established her own firm, Leeds Golf Design, in the United Kingdom.

“You have to be very committed to find your way to become a golf course designer. It is a very specific career – there are very few golf design firms compared to other businesses, so the chance of entering the industry and have success can be very limited,” says Ferroni.

“The best candidates may be players, who are very passionate about the game and want to move forward exploring the discipline of designing golf courses. But the statistics show fewer girls play than boys, and carry on through the years. This is the core of the problem, there are fewer women in golf design because fewer girls start playing at a young age.” golf australia | JUNE 2021

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I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PAID WELL AND IN LINE WITH MY MALE COUNTERPARTS, AND I HOPE THAT PROVIDES SOME INSPIRATION THAT OTHER FEMALES CAN BE REWARDED FINANCIALLY IN GOLF. – KURA GOLF DESIGN PRINCIPAL, KRISTINE KERR.

Although womens’ golf has a much higher profile and has become more popular in recent years, the public perception of the game, in much of the world, is still of domination by middle-aged and elderly men.

That the urban myth that golf got its very name because it stood for ‘Gentleman Only, Ladies Forbidden’ should have any traction at all emphasises the point.

German architect Angela Moser, who works with some of the industry’s leading lights, including Tom Doak and Gil Hanse, says: “There are not many footsteps to follow as a female in the golf industry, but big ones to fill.

From Ida Dixon, May Dunn, Marion Hollins 58

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and Molly Gourlay to Alice Dye, there have always been women in golf design.

“These women stepped up to, advised and influenced architectural legends like Alister MacKenzie, Tom Simpson, Tom Dunn and Pete Dye, who saw them as having a valuable opinion. But no clients saw them as equal or sole designers. With a wholly different social environment, these women found the courage to speak up and are the reason for some of today’s most iconic golf holes and courses,” Moser said.

“In a sport that has such a long history of being for ‘gentlemen only’, the golf industry will need more time to adapt to the social

change that is happening worldwide. Today our society is already transitioning to open up clubs, workspaces and job opportunities to women. We are setting the standard for the liberal industry-to-be.“ Moser continues: “Yes, we need to break old habits, pride and prejudices. But this does not mean supporting a person because of her gender to get the numbers right. We have to look at their personality, performance, talent, potential and grit.

“I fell in love with golf design while playing amateur tournaments as a teenager and started to work in the industry to learn every aspect of the business. While I never thought

GOLF DESIGN’S PIONEERING WOMEN IDA DIXON Perhaps the first female golf course architect in the world, Dixon designed Springhaven Club in Philadelphia in 1904. She went on to serve as president of the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia until her death in 1916.

AFTER WORKING WITH GARY PLAYER DESIGN, KIWI KRISTINE KERR FORMED HER OWN DESIGN FIRM.

to operate an excavator or bulldozer daily, I was convinced that it would not hurt to learn the craft of shaping. I try to keep my mind open and learn different styles, methods and make my own experiences to expand my knowledge.

To me, it is about using those possibilities best and give back, to educate the next generation’s talents, no matter what gender.”

Canadian designer Christine Fraser, who, like Ferroni, got her start working for the Hawtree firm in the UK, says: “We can substitute almost any male dominated profession for golf design, and the answer to the question ‘Why aren’t there more women?’ will be the same. Is it because men

ALICE DYE Winner of more than 50 amateur titles and a Curtis Cup player, Alice Dye (pictured above) worked alongside husband Pete from the 1950s and throughout their golf design careers. Famously credited with the idea for the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass, Alice was a strong proponent of multiple teeing areas for women, conceiving and promoting a two-tee system for women.

She became the American Society of Golf Course Architects’ first female president in 1997.

MAY DUNN The daughter of Scottish golfer, clubmaker and course architect Thomas Dunn, May moved to the United States in 1915 where

she became the country’s first female golf professional. She founded Reno Golf Club and designed the city’s first course. She went on to also design and manage the nearby Tahoe Tavern Links, now the Tahoe City Golf Course.

MARION HOLLINS A prolific sportswoman, Marion Hollins (pictured left) won the US Women’s Amateur in 1921 and was captain of the first US Curtis Cup team in 1932. Hollins was also the visionary behind the Women’s National Golf and Tennis Club on Long Island and, as a golf course developer, she hired Alister MacKenzie to design both Cypress Point and Pasatiempo and introduced him to Bobby Jones for the layout of Augusta National.

MacKenzie sought and valued Hollins’ input into the designs; he credited her for the 16th at Cypress Point and insisted she inspect Augusta National in his absence, writing: “I do not know any man who has sounder ideas.”

Hollins will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2021.

MOLLY GOURLAY, OBE English golfer Molly Gourlay is credited as Britain’s first female golf course architect.

Working in partnership with Tom Simpson, her design work includes County Louth and the Old Course at Ballybunion. Gourlay also served as chairman and president of the English Ladies’ Golf Association and chairman of the Ladies’ Golf Union. golf australia | JUNE 2021

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KARI HAUG HAS EMBRACED TECHNOLOGY IN DESIGNING SUSTAINABLE GOLF COURSES.

simply make better architects or writers or broadcasters? Resoundingly no – it is the result of a cyclical system that perpetuates and reinforces the historic lack of inclusion, exposure, and resources available for women to excel in this industry at the same rate as their male colleagues.

“Golf tends to be a reflection of the economic and social times surrounding it.

And not unlike modern society at large, it has a disparaging history of excluding and marginalising women from the game. We have never felt entirely welcomed or considered by the institution of golf. Women today still bear the weight of overcoming a long series of inequities which was deliberately designed to create and enforce a gender imbalance to privilege men. We must overcome a vast array of unconscious (and conscious) institutionalised sexism to overcome barriers and constraints imbedded in golf culture.”

Fraser continues: “A woman’s experience on the golf course is comprehensive and nuanced and not always reflected in important management, maintenance or architectural decisions. Overlooking our experience has created a social closure where many women feel unwelcome, undeserving, discouraged, and more likely to drop out of golf, consequently perpetuating the gender participation imbalance that is so detrimental to the sustainability of golf.

“People often choose to pursue careers in the golf industry because they have cultivated a love of the game, and that likely evolves from playing. And for a variety of reasons, 60

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... IT WILL BECOME LESS SPECIAL AND QUITE NORMAL TO SEE A WOMAN AS AN ARCHITECT, SHAPER OR SUPERINTENDENT. – COURSE ARCHITECT ANGELA MOSER. some listed above, women and girls do not play golf at the same rate as their gender counterparts. Therefore, until we vastly increase the participation rates of women and girls, the professional gender equity will remain imbalanced. If we continue to perpetuate a top-down approach, golf will always be governed by men. We must consider grassroots intervention, and affirmative action to place women in positions to disrupt a system so entrenched as golf. Golf will be better for it.”

But if the golf environment has become more welcoming to women in recent years, the business realities of the game have gone the other way.

“A period of time that really stood out for golf course architects was the decade prior to the economic disruption that began in 2000,” says Bel Jan. “It was a fantastic era!

“The opportunity to be engaged in golf course design was possible for those who knew it could be a profession and who then chose to pursue that career. The 1990s was a decade when women were very active in golf course design. If there was a time when everyone could learn that golf course design

was a profession and that there were women successfully engaged in it, that was the time to illuminate the golf world and beyond.

“Since 2000 far fewer golf courses have been built. With limited projects came limited opportunities to design or redesign golf courses. This meant a loss of talented designers who opted to pursue other work, as well as far fewer opportunities to begin a career in golf course design. Twenty years on, golf course architecture may be recognised and appreciated by experienced golfers, but without exposure to its practitioners, including female golf course architects, men and women are unaware of golf course design as a possible career choice. With more women playing golf at higher skill levels and who want to have golf as a career, but are not good enough to make it on Tour, golf course design is an avenue – if they know the profession of golf course architecture exists, if projects exist, and if they are afforded the opportunity to be hired. In March 2020, the ASGCA hosted a Junior Design Challenge in three age groups for golfers 8-17 years old, and 33 percent of entries we received were from girls. We know there is interest in golf course architecture

JAN BEL JAN CAME FROM A FAMILY OF GOLF PROS AND GOT HER START WORKING WITH TOM FAZIO.

from girls.”

Kari Haug highlights the financial pressures: “Golf course architecture is an expensive profession. There are websites and software licenses to maintain, professional dues, travel and marketing expenses, continuing education, and so forth. While these expenses exist for male architects as well, women have the additional obstacle of making only 77 cents on the dollar as compared to men, when they can get the job. It is a fact that most men (and women) will tend to hire men for architecture jobs, and when women do get the work, compensation is often much lower than for men. Being overlooked for work, and paid less when we get it, makes keeping a business solvent quite difficult.

“I don’t know for sure, but I think the difficulties in securing work and the consequential financial strain causes most female architects to eventually close up shop and leave the profession. If not financial strain, there must be some other insidious force that causes attrition, because many women have completed rigorous education, but have not stayed in the profession. Further, the financial outlook likely causes those considering entrance to the profession to choose a different career path. I know this to be true in the case of at least one promising female architect.”

Kerr points out that women shouldn’t, however, be put off by the prospect of unequal pay.

“I have always been paid well and in line with my male counterparts, and I hope that

provides some inspiration that other females can be rewarded financially in golf,” Kerr said.

So, what is the outlook?

Moser quotes Alice Dye, who said: “Discrimination in golf isn’t going to be broken down by women, it’s going to be broken down by the fathers of daughte see that their female child doesn’t hav same opportunity as their son.”

Moser says: “Transition won’t hap in a day, week or year. It will slowly change, especially as golf design is such a small niche. Ultimately, what is holding back more women designers is finding clients who will make the leap to hiring us. But as more women play golf, so will more e the industry. It will become less speci quite normal to see a woman as an ar shaper or superintendent.

“Until then, it can only be the goal to grow interest, mentor and involve equally eager and talented women int the golf design world, working alongs the best architects of the current era.

Adam Lawrence is a British golf writer and historian, and the author of More Enduring Than Brass, a forthcoming biography of the golf architect Harry Colt. This article first appeared in the January 2021 edition of Golf Course Architecture. For a free subscription to the magazine, visit www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/subscribe.

WEBB’S EYE FOR DESIGN For decades, Karrie Webb dominated the women’s game at the highest level.

Having wound down her playing commitments, the World Golf Hall of Famer has ventured into the world of golf course design alongside the vastly experienced Ross Perrett.

The pair launched the limited partnership Perrett Webb Pty Ltd (www.perrettwebb.com) in 2018 after having previously worked together on a design bid for the 2016 Rio Olympics course. While not receiving the Rio contract, Perrett and Webb were keen to work together on courses in Australia.

The partnership’s first project is the creation of a masterplan to remodel holes at Brisbane’s Indooroopilly Golf Club. Webb has worked on other projects since the early 2000s, including alongside Bob Harrison for new holes developed at Townsville GC in North Queensland.

“I am quite familiar with Indooroopilly Golf Club having played there many times as an amateur,” said Webb on the announcement of the club’s decision last year.

“To be selected with Ross Perrett to redesign the course as our first venture together is very humbling and something I will give my full attention to. I sincerely look forward to working with the board to achieve our mutual goals.”

Getting a new, women’s tournament up-andrunning in less than two months, while in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, sounds like mission impossible. But it happened. Here’s how the WPGA and its partners pulled it off.

WORDS PAUL PRENDERGAST

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s a showcase of Australia’s emerging talent, ‘The Athena’ ticked all boxes.

With a format previously unseen in the world of golf with an unapologetic aim of showcasing the emerging talent of Australian women’s golf, the inaugural staging of the WPGA Tour’s The Athena tournament in February was certainly eye-catching to say the least.

Even the very nature of the announcement, a mere 10 days before the tournament would commence at the Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club, appeared to be more aligned with the sudden viral online successes that are a hallmark of this generation.

Chief Executive Officer of the WPGA Tour Australasia, Karen Lunn, laughed at the suggestion this launch ‘strategy’ was part of a grand design. She assured me it was not, more a result of the feverish amount of work that had preceded it from the WPGA Tour’s staff and partners to rapidly pull many moving pieces together.

“We’d been working with Matt Burgess from Evolve Sport on a few things, he’s worked on a lot of other sports and doesn’t come 62

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from a traditional golf background.” Lunn explained. “Matt has a lot of close connections at Fox Sports and he put a proposal to them to do something different and off the wall.”

“Funding for the event came from the Federal Government’s commitment to funding for Women and Underrepresented Sports and we only got word it had been approved on December 21. We spent the better part of January planning and trying to arrange for some other sponsors to come on board.”

“Adidas and Callaway joined with us and have been fantastic partners. Together, we want to be able to build on this for the future.”

Being able to call on and receive Karrie Webb’s direct support in the running of the event was a tremendous fillip for the Tour and the event’s stature in its inaugural year.

Lunn said that Webb’s long-time support for the endeavours of young Australians has only shifted up a gear or two since she has stepped back from her full-time playing commitments.

Webb had only been back in the country less than two months but as soon as Lunn picked up the phone to tell her about The Athena, she was immediately on board.

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THE FIELD ASSEMBLES AT COOLANGATTA FOR THE INAUGURAL PLAYING OF THE ATHENA.

“She said: ‘I want to be involved, let me know what I can do’,” Lunn recounted. “When you come up with a concept like this and someone like her says she’s loves it, that’s a great endorsement for us and the WPGA Tour in general.”

“The Athena concept itself (two days split into a skills and knockout stroke play format) evolved as we went along. There were some things we really wanted to do that the budget wouldn’t allow but we eventually got to a point where we thought we had a good concept to run with over the two days.”

While Webb has often been a support to many from afar, the impact Australia’s greatest golfer has on these players is never more evident than when she is around them in person. Queensland’s Sarah Wilson fell into the category of those in the field of 12, who had yet to meet Webb, and her reaction upon realising it was indeed the Hall of Famer walking towards her prior to Friday’s rehearsal was magical.

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In front of a table of beaming girls all trying to play it as cool as possible, Wilson stood and nervously put out her hand to introduce herself before throwing caution to the wind and going all in for what ended up being an awkward hug.

Little did Wilson and the rest of the players know but Webb was dealing with her own set of nerves as she prepared to make her TV commentary debut ahead of Saturday’s skills format. Indeed, just being back at CoolangattaTweed Heads meant in some ways that Webb had come full circle, as it was watching Greg Norman win the 1986 Queensland Open at this course that inspired her to want to follow in his footsteps in professional golf.

The short turnaround between the announcement of the event and its staging clearly caught many of the host club’s members on the hop too. The Athena was unique in more ways than one, but rarely has there been a Tour event staged in the midst of membership play across both days of a

weekend. The 36-hole facility allowed both to co-exist in harmony, so much so that 20 minutes before the players were due to start from the 10th hole on the River Course, there were still members playing through the hole.

Many in these last few groups hadn’t read the memo as there were some quite confused and bemused as to why carts loaded with equipment and TV cameras were starting to appear just to watch them. Most were oblivious to the contestants warming up on the nearby short game area and putting green and hardly any had realised that really was Karrie Webb in her cap and sunglasses chatting with technical crews alongside them.

Webb said she only just met five of the girls for the first time during the Friday rehearsal.

She commented they all had ‘pretty tidy swings’ but she made particular mention of 16-year-old Justice Bosio’s performance during the rehearsal, noting the Caboolture junior might have beaten the rest of the girls home had they been keeping score.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN KRISTALLE BLUM EN ROUTE TO CLAIMING HER FIRST PROFESSIONAL VICTORY.

AUSSIE ICON KARRIE WEBB INTERVIEWS MONTANA STRAUSS DURING THE FIRST DAY CHALLENGES.

VICTORIAN AMATEUR KONO MATSUMOTO GIVES A RECOVERY SHOT THE THUMBS UP.

NSW’S TAHNIA RAVNJAK FINISHED THIRD IN THE STANDARD BUNKER SHOT CHALLENGE.

As the tournament unfolded, evidence of the wave of talent coming through the ranks was not only on display from the 12 competitors. The school-aged girls chosen from the local area to caddy for the final eight contestants on Sunday could have been storylines of their own and well may be in the years ahead.

WPGA Tour President Julia Boland, herself a former WPGA and LPGA professional, said that some of the group were on scratch or better and the ‘highest’ handicap among the red-shirted brigade was a three.

If The Athena proved anything to us, it’s that women’s golf just below the lofty standards being set by LPGA stars Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Katherine Kirk and Su Oh is already at a level that should have us all thrilled at what’s in store moving forward.

Despite limited opportunities since turning professional, 20-year-old Stephanie Kyriacou has burst onto the world stage and came to The Athena as the reigning Ladies European

Tour Rookie of the Year after earning status on Tour with her tearaway win at the 2020 Australian Ladies Classic in Coffs Harbour when an amateur. In the weeks following The Athena, Kyriacou underlined her explosive talent with a magnificent 63 to lead all comers after the opening round of the TPS Sydney event at Bonnie Doon.

In January, Steph Bunque shot 70-66 to feature on the leaderboard in the opening rounds of the TPS Victoria, a similar groundbreaking event where the prospect of a male, female, amateur or professional winner was still on the cards with less than nine holes to play.

Gold Coaster Karis Davidson, at just 22, was among the more experienced players at The Athena with a resume that includes early success on the tough Japan Tour, while Coolangatta-Tweed’s Becky Kay threatened for the title around her home course with family and friends willing her on at every step.

Two of the three amateurs on show – Bosio and Kono Matsumoto – showed composure

beyond their years to march into the final four with Matsumoto eventually succumbing to Adelaide’s Kristalle Blum in a tense final shootout over three holes.

Any untried concept justifies a thorough review and the WPGA, sponsors and broadcasters have been doing just that following the event. However, as a vehicle to showcase talented youth and their vibrant personalities that are swiftly emerging in this country, all of the key stakeholders agreed The Athena certainly exceeded its brief.

As the dust settled, many had to test their memory to think back to a similar ‘feel good’ event such as this on any Tour. Many sports in this country had ground if not to a complete halt, but to a glacial pace at best since the pandemic began and women’s professional golf has suffered as much as any. A handful of players have been able to join their male counterparts in pro-ams and tournaments such as the TPS events over the past 12 months but standalone women’s tournaments golf australia | JUNE 2021

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QUEENSLAND AMATEUR SARAH WILSON TAKES ON THE 100M PITCH. BECKY KAY MADE IT TO THE SEMI FINALS (BELOW).

were some of the quickest to fall.

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PGA LAUNCHES WOMEN’S NETWORK

resulted in a short-term lockdown and concerns about the ability of the Victoriabased players and the bulk of the TV crew to

The Women’s Golf Network is a new series of events introduced by the WPGA Tour of Australasia and PGA of Australia that aims to provide an inviting entry point for women to the game of golf.

The Women’s Golf Network was launched at Melbourne’s Yarra Yarra GC in March and has since started its tour around Australia with female PGA Professionals guiding participants across full days of clinics and networking.

With support from both adidas and Callaway REVA, each day consists of an adidas Performance Clinic for experienced golfers and the Callaway REVA Beginner Clinic for new players.

“The goal of the Women’s Golf Network is to provide an encouraging environment for women eager to try golf for the first time and to provide a pathway for existing golfers to further their games,” PGA of Australia Tournament & Event Operations General Manager, Natalie McIlroy, said.

“The series of events complements the many coaching clinics and programs run by PGA Professionals and golf clubs around the country, and we hope the participants continue their golfing journey following an inspirational day with our female PGA Professionals.”

“Golf has seen a surge in popularity over the past 12 months but we understand that some women can find that initial introduction to the game somewhat intimidating,” WPGA CEO Karen Lunn added.

“With the Women’s Golf Network we wanted to create an opportunity for ladies to come and try golf clinics run by our female PGA Professionals and for those girls and ladies already playing to receive expert coaching.”

With the aim to inspire women to play golf, the Women’s Golf Network provides a warm environment to play golf and the opportunity to network with likeminded women.

To find out more, visit the website www.womensgolfnetwork.com.au.

Be Inspired. Have Fun. Play Golf!

Join us for a memorable day on the golf course with female PGA Professionals.

Full day and half day clinics to suit women of all golf abilities.

Refreshment on arrival, clinic and mindfulness session, lunch, 9 holes, drinks and canapés and a participant gift COST: $195 (INC GST) TIME: 9AM 5PM

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COBRA KING RADSPEED XB WOMEN’S DRIVER The RADSPEED XB (XTREME Back) Women’s Driver features an oversized shape (460cc) and back-biased RADIAL WEIGHTING to deliver the longest and most forgiving ball flight with low spin.

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Cost: $829.99 (driver); $499.99 (fairway); $419.99 (hybrid); $239.99 (per iron).

Tested by: Ashley Carolan, Beginner Golfer.

MODEL PLAYED: Callaway Big Bertha REVA driver with 12.5˚ loft, 3- & 5-wood, 4 hybrid and 5-iron to sand wedge, all fitted with Callaway RCH 40 shafts.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Having done most of my early driving

FACTS AND FIGURES LEFT-HANDED: The majority of the REVA range is available in left-handed models, including both driver lofts, the irons, 3-, 5- and 7-wood, as well as the 4, 5 and 6 hybrids. Meanwhile, a 9-wood and 7 and 8 hybrid are offered in right hand only.

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Callaway’s R&D team has used significant research and testing with women to develop advanced distance technologies, optimised lofts, swingweights, shaft lengths, and forgiving head shapes.

With Big Bertha REVA driver, we’ve used significant research and testing

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range sessions and golf with borrowed clubs, particularly men’s, the balance and lightweight properties of the entire REVA range were instantly noticeable to me.

So, too, was the look compared to some other clubs I have hit.

The irons gave me plenty of confidence when I put them behind the ball and some of the shots that I

with women to create optimised lofts, swingweights, shaft lengths, and a forgiving head shape to help you hit it a lot farther.

This driver promotes high launch and low spin to take the slice or big miss out of your game. And a straighter ball flight means more distance, so we’ve developed a total ball speed package with our ‘A.I. Designed Flash Face SS21’, Super Strength Titanium, and our innovative ‘Jailbreak Technology’.

Big Bertha fairway shaping and increased offset create a forgiving design that can take the slice or big miss out of your game. It’s easy to hit like a hybrid, from a shallower face, optimised lengths, and a larger head that promote more

struggled with early were a lot easier with the REVA clubs.

Among my earliest standout moments, was my first hit with the hybrid which I instantly liked because of the sound and feel. Then it was the driver that I really fell in love with, and hit it as many times as possible, including a number of range sessions spent hitting lots of tee shots.

distance and better control into the green.

The Big Bertha REVA Hybrid is built for women who want to unlock their inner distance with a total forgiveness package.

This is our easiest to launch women’s hybrid, with a larger head volume that’s designed to help you get rid of the big miss that spins off line.

Big Bertha REVA irons mark the first time that our ‘A.I.-designed Flash Face Cup’ is in a women’s Big Bertha Iron.

We’ve created high ball speeds and increased spin robustness off of every club in the set, with a unique ‘Flash Face’ architecture for each individual iron.

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HOW THEY PERFORMED: I was really impressed with the entire set of REVA clubs I had the opportunity to try. Each one helped with the areas of the game I particularly struggle with, mainly getting the ball up in the air.

The irons are really lightweight, which took some time to get used to, but once I did, I could swing confidently knowing the large head and sole meant my bad shots weren’t terrible and the ball was going to get up if I hit it almost anywhere on the face.

As mentioned previously, the hybrid was instantly among my favourite clubs. The combination of power and forgiveness was great, and coupled with the sound, it made it a favourite to go back to every time. This was also where the draw bias of the REVA line started to show itself.

The majority of my time with the fairway woods was spent hitting the 5-wood as it was a little bit easier to get along with. But the 3-wood definitely wasn’t unhittable at all.

In fact, one of the noticeable things about the entire set, was that each club went a noticeably different distance for me, despite the fact I haven’t been playing the game

that long. Meaning there was a job for every club.

Working my way up to the driver during my first range session was particularly exciting, because like all golfers, hitting it far is part of the fun.

Having used a mixture of clubs before I found my shots going left early with the REVA driver, perhaps because my previous clubs weren’t that suited to me and I had to ensure they didn’t go that way. But once I got comfortable, the ball tended to be straight with a little draw, and definitely never a slice.

The adjustability of the driver was a major plus for me, because I could test out different things to get my best results and ended up adding some loft and keeping it that way.

All-in-all, every one of the REVA clubs I tested was very impressive and outperformed any of the other clubs I have used so far since getting into golf.

The balance of every club when swinging really stood out, while I liked the feel of the good shots with all, but was able to notice a difference when I didn’t hit my best shot yet still got a fairly good result with the shot.

And the driver without question remained the favourite of the entire bunch.

ALL-IN-ALL, EVERY ONE OF THE REVA CLUBS I TESTED WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE AND OUTPERFORMED ANY OF THE OTHER CLUBS I HAVE USED SO FAR. – ASHLEY CAROLAN.

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It’s not just a game. It’s not just a grass.

WHEN IT COMES TO GOLF, SIR GRANGE CAN DO IT ALL. Sir Grange is a fine-leaf Zoysia Matrella that has unique qualities. Fantastic droughttolerance, high shade and wear-tolerance, combined with a very fine, deep green leaf, make it the perfect short-mown surface.

What separates Sir Grange from other grasstypes in the golf world? Density and leaf structure. Sir Grange is approximately twice as dense as couch and kikuyu, meaning it has roughly twice as many plants in any given area. Further to this, Sir Grange leaf blades grow directly upwards from the surface, unlike couch grass which grows outwards from a root or runner. These traits ensure golfers get a better ball lie on Sir Grange and better ball speed in play.

DIVOT RECOVERY

MOWING HEIGHTS

Due to a strong and vigorous root system, Sir Grange can withstand wear and divots much better than other grass-types. This also leads to the sheer density of the plant that helps cover divots quicker – meaning a lot less time spent on divot-maintenance.

Sir Grange looks fantastic at a variety of mowing heights. Sir Grange can be mown short for when we’re talking fairways and green-surrounds-height, or even unmown in the rough – Sir Grange can handle mowingmaintenance at these varying levels without much in the way of scalping or bruising that can occur on other grass-types.

WEED RESISTANCE Sir Grange’s superior density also makes it much more difficult for weeds to invade which is music to the groundskeeper’s ears.

SHADE TOLERANCE The superior shade tolerance of Sir Grange makes it ideal for shaded greens and fairways that exist on most golf courses; where other grasses tend to struggle.

LOW INPUTS & REQUIREMENTS Sir Grange has a very high drought-tolerance that significantly reduces water usage. It also requires 75% less nitrogen and up to 50% less mowing compared to other grasstypes, saving the golf industry valuable time and money.

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Tommy Fleetwood

9 ways to hit it closer

Take your ball-striking to the next level with the World No.27

I

f you are looking for a player from whom to learn how to hit good approach shots, Tommy Fleetwood is your man. In 2019-and 2020, he was ranked 3rd and 4th respectively on the European Tour in the Greens In Regulation performance category at 74 percent. That’s a lot of very, very good irons shots – enough to see him average 13.5 greens per round across two long campaigns. Here, he reveals the secrets to his incredibly consistent ball-striking.

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Everyone is trying to hit it further off the tee, but in my world, with a choice of 280 yards in the fairway or 300 yards in the rough, I’d take the former.

Why don’t amateurs think the same? To hit more greens, make more effort to find the fairway first. That’s your first step to better irons shots.

sure it’s just a good shot. It can be too deep and you’re too steep, or if you haven’t made a divot you haven’t squeezed the ball out properly. If it’s going left, you’ve come over the top, if it’s going right you’ve come inside too much. In this age of Trackman, I still don’t think you can beat looking at your divot and your ball flight.

I don’t think too much about anything at address – except alignment. I struggle with that, whether being too open or too shut. So I have to keep an eye on it. I try to get my path as square as I can because I can get ‘in-to-out’, with too much right-to-left shape. Everyone should always be trying to stay within the parameters of where they play their best. I set up as neutral as possible and try to get my divots as straight as possible. Then I know I’m playing OK.

I grip down the club a little bit, but if a ball is above my feet, I grip down further. I like to feel the weight on my heels more than usual, too.

You feel as if the ball is going to go left from this lie but you often hold off it and end up hitting it right. If the ball is below my feet, I squat a little bit more at address.

Again, you feel as if the ball will go right but you often flip your wrists and end up hitting it left. That’s what I always do! Don’t compensate too much.

Divots tell you pretty much everything, they always have done.

Every shot I take on the course I always have a look at my divot to make 76

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The ball on a downward slope is a difficult one for most people… but it actually helps my swing because I can’t get ‘in-to-out’ as much from that sort of lie. I’ll have a little more weight on my

left side with a wider stance to keep myself grounded. However, the key thing is you have to trust that the ball will get in the air.

Just focus on taking the ball first.

The ball on an upslope looks inviting. It’s a great natural launching pad… but it always goes left when I hit it – I am still working that lie out! As a rule, you need to take half a club more as the ball will fly higher. This is especially true into the wind when it is even more worthwhile taking that extra half club and hitting it a little more softly.

An extra club is actually a good tactic in any scenario. A smoother strike nearly always reaps rewards.

I like to feel my right palm facing down through impact. It means my right arm covers my left arm through the hitting zone. That helps to squeeze it out properly. If the right hand gets underneath, it is going to go right or you have to manipulate it and end up flipping it left. With the right hand on top, you can play from there.

Russell Knox

two-step sand play Use my two tips to splash it close more often

I LIKE TO FEEL THAT MY RIGHT PALM FACES DOWN THROUGH IMPACT

From my perspective, bunker play probably gets less attention from amateur golfers than any other area of the game. It should therefore come as no surprise to find that it’s very often the area they find the most difficult. The ironic thing is that splashing competently out of the sand is really quite simple if you know what to do.

I know that sounds a touch flippant, but the margins for error in a bunker are actually much greater than with a regular chip or flop shot since you don’t have to be extremely precise with your entry point

into the sand. The key thing is to take that important first step and get yourself into the practice bunker. If you can make that commitment, I’ve no doubt that within a short space of time you’ll be hitting greenside splash recoveries a lot more confidently.

My advice is to get comfortable with the basic technique to begin with so you can get the ball out every time. Once you have that mastered, you can then learn to hit a wider range of shots. Follow the above pointers and the two key tips below and bunker play will soon be one of your strengths and not a weakness.

MAKE A BIG SWING

If you open the face properly and have the confidence to accelerate into the sand a couple of inches before the ball, it’s actually not that hard to get out of bunkers.

Get the ball position forward to give yourself room to hit the sand first and release the club.

TEXT & IMAGES: © BAUER CONSUMER MEDIA LIMITED

I struggle with spinning my lower half too much… I think I have the fastest legs in the world! So I have to work on slowing it down. From the top of the backswing, I like to press into my left foot a little bit and then I can turn through the shot.

But be careful you don’t overdo it as I can sometimes; I spin a bit too quickly now and again and then I have nothing to hit against.

People often advise a threequarter swing for control.

To be honest, I am not a big fan of that tactic, because I struggle (surprisingly as I grew up playing Southport’s links on England’s west coast) with keeping the ball down. I can keep it down, of course, but I still have to hit it hard to do so.

But for amateurs it can be a great tactic in the wind. To hit those controlled shots, generally you should be gripping down a little, play the ball a touch further back in the stance and swing more smoothly.

ALTER THE SPIN AND RELEASE

I like having my feet square to the target but my body a little open. If you want to generate lots of backspin, take a big swing and a little less sand. If you want the ball to run more, abbreviate the finish, swing slower to create less speed and take a little more sand.

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Lee Westwood

get ready for better iron play You’ve heard this from me more than once over the years, but I’ll say it again. You can’t hit solid golf shots without proper fundamentals.

Your posture, ball position and alignment

determine your swing shape, your swing path and the direction in which the ball travels, so it’s important to get it right! Here are five key things I focus on to keep my iron game on track.

CREATE A SOLID BASE

Ball position is key and it needs consistency. Flex your knees so they are over the laces of your shoes with your weight towards the toes. I like a slightly closed stance because it’s something I’ve always done. I just like to have my right foot drawn back very slightly.

UNDERSTAND YOUR WRIST ACTION

How the wrists behave in the swing can be confusing since the movement actually takes place while the club is moving. I find it best to explain and demonstrate when the club is static.

Take your address position and be aware that the wrists actually work in an up-and-down chopping motion.

Lift the club up as I have done here and simply move it into the takeaway position with your upper body. Your hands now have set the club correctly in the takeaway.

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CHECK THE LIE

The toe of the club should be just off the ground. This is why fitting is so vital. The clubs should fit you. If they don’t you’ll always be making compensations.

GET THE HANG OF IT

Your hands and club should hang vertically underneath your shoulders because they are always going to want to return to this point. Your hands should be neither too near your thighs nor held away from the legs.

GROOVE THE TAKEAWAY

I always like to see the club parallel to the target line with the clubhead in this position.

Many golfers open or close the face in the takeaway. A closed clubface means it’s effectively looking directly at the ball for longer, while fanning means the club face is too open. The exercise (left) will help.

strategy HOW TO BEAT A TOUGH AND STRATEGIC PAR-4 The 350-yard 3rd at Augusta is a great strategic par-4. What makes it so difficult is the shape of the green and the wind that circulates around the trees. You can hit almost the perfect shot onto the front edge and see it roll all the way down. It’s a hole where you have to manage a ‘miss’.

STEP 1 Part of knowing where to ‘miss’ is understanding what type of recovery shot you want to play.

Here, you rarely have the option of a regular chip. I like to bump a 5-wood up the hill to the left pin or a little lofted shot from back left to a right pin.

STEP 2 If you can, always try to find out in advance where the pin is located. You can then use that information to help you target the appropriate part of the fairway with your tee shot.

Tony Finau The 31-year-old US Ryder Cupper averages over 300 yards off the tee and is currently one of the world’s 10 longest drivers. We quizzed him about his technique.

I start on the balls of my feet. I’m not thinking about putting the weight on the right foot and then transfer to the left. I get in an athletic position and I make a solid turn. To be honest, I don’t really know what percent of my weight is going where, but I know that through the ball it’s definitely 80 to 90 percent on my left foot, and holding a nice finish on my left. It takes strength and the variables of timing with your body but I know I hit the ball solid.

Setting the club early is super-important

for someone like me because I have really long arms. Sometimes I get stuck setting the club on the downswing and that’s one of my things that I’ve been working on. But you have to make sure you’re loaded at the top for you to make an aggressive move at the ball.

STEP 3 The smart guys nearly always lay up off the tee to leave a full wedge in. You can bomb a drive and maybe leave yourself an eagle putt, but I’ve seen plenty of players walk off with bogey or worse. The risk is only worth taking if you can almost guarantee a birdie.

Otherwise, a stress-free par is a much better option.

– Gary Player is a nine-time major champion.

3

Same thing as my putting; it’s my forward press right before I take the club back. I press the club, it’s very subtle but I feel it, and as soon as I feel it then the club has got to back and then it fires through. It ke big drives simple, especially und

It’s a huge advantage. The numbers spea for themselves. We’re hitting it 30-40 yards further on average than the guys just 20 years ago. The technology did that.

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from our archive

IAN BAKER-FINCH FEBRUARY 1997

Four years into a horrible form slump, Ian Baker-Finch allowed some of the world’s best coaches to critique his swing in Golf Australia magazine.

STUART APPLEBY FEBRUARY 2010

“Swing-wise I’ve been really trying to work to make sure my body and my turn through the ball is nice and my arm speed matches that.” – Stuart Appleby.

the secret behind the faldo fade If you release your forearms freely through impact – think Tiger Woods in his prime – you are obliged to maintain your spine angle, for if you stand up through impact the ball will start left, stay left and continue left! Powerful draw spin comes from a consistent spine angle.

Players such as Lee Trevino and Nick Faldo employ what is essentially a ‘fade mechanism’ by keeping their hands and the

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clubshaft low through the ball. However, a small side-effect of this method is that the player is forced to stand up through impact and finish with the spine in a more upright position.

It is no coincidence that both Faldo and Trevino, who could be labelled supremely accurate ball-strikers, are far from being long or powerful hitters quite simply because suppressing forearm rotation through the ball reduces power and distance.

– Luther Blacklock is a PGA Master Professional. www.explanar.com

HIDEKI MATSUYAMA MARCH 2017

“Focus on one shot at a time.

That is all you can do and you should do. If I do that and perform at my best, I believe my results will take care of themselves.” – Hideki Matsuyama.

Take control with mantras Take a leaf out of the Tour pro psychology book and use positive reinforcement to boost your confidence

N

euroscientists estimate that we have around 50,000 thoughts a day. That means for the four hours you are out playing golf, your inner caddie will have talked to you over 10,000 times. This is helpful when you play well but when you don’t, it can feel like someone is following you around ripping your game to shreds.

This is not only unhelpful, it can make you feel out of control, angry and frustrated. With these thoughts having such a powerful influence on behaviour, motivation and focus, learning how to deal with them can make a huge difference to your performance.

One of the ways the pros do this is by developing their positive self-talk.

Specifically, they use mantras – short phrases that remind them of the practice they’ve put in or the skills they’ve mastered. Using a mantra can be like receiving verbal persuasion from a caddie or coach who is standing alongside you as you compete – either focusing on your technique or helping you stay motivated.

The persuasion these mantras offer can boost your confidence so you play to win rather than trying not to lose. They are helpful in the tough moments as they can help you evaluate situations more positively and enhance your ability to cope with the pain or pressure that comes when you push yourself mentally or physically.

A study on how young elite Irish golfers coped under pressure in international tournaments found these techniques were key within their coping strategies. Their positive self-talk helped them to regain a sense of control. The studies on these types of self-talk show they are particularly effective when competing in tricky environments such as extreme heat.

There are a number of suggestions as to why mantras work. A persuasive view is that when we are under pressure we are held back by lapses in motivation and the effort we feel we are putting in. Having our inner caddie talk to us so positively decreases our perception of effort (how hard, heavy, or strenuous the movements are feeling) and can increase our potential motivation to master the moves. When you remind yourself of your motivation, the effort feels easier and the same workload suddenly feels less strenuous so we perform better.

So follow our guide to writing your own mantras, test them until you find one which fits and regularly assess in your post-round analysis if it is working. Once your reflections show it is having a positive impact at least 50 percent of the time, you can feel confident you are starting to get a great handle on your inner caddie.

- Dr Josephine Perry is a sport psychologist at Performance in Mind. performanceinmind.co.uk

Make your mantras work 1 | IDENTIFY Identify when you have the tricky moments in a round. Which areas would benefit most from positive head chatter?

2 | NOTICE Notice what self-talk you are already using in your head at those moments. You can jot down thoughts once you come off the course or even use the voice recorder on your phone to capture what you think in these key moments.

3 | CONSIDER Consider what would help.

Would it be instructional; to improve your stance, routine, breathing or skill, or motivational; to psych you up, stay focused on your mental strategy, be reminded of your purpose or to reduce stress.

4 | THINK Think of all the different phrases you could use. Try to hone each one down to about three or four words which would be easy to remember.

5 | ENSURE Ensure the phrases are positive.

Rather than reminding us not to do something (don’t get distracted) we need to focus on what we can do (hinge and turn).

6 | GET EMOTIONAL If you go for a motivational mantra it should make you slightly emotional. If it gives you a bit of a lump in your throat thinking it, then you’ve found the right one.

7 | EXPERIMENT Try your different mantras on the course until you settle on the one that feels right for you.

8 | PRACTISE Once you have found your mantra practise using it until it feels natural and stays front of mind.

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STEWART CINK

eing tentative on shots from greenside bunkers simply won’t work.

Creating clubhead speed is essential in getting your ball out of sand consistently.

The faster the club travels at impact, the more spin is generated on the ball. This in turn allows the ball to climb quicker and land softer.

An integral part of this swing, which some players struggle with, is correctly releasing the club and fully utilising the bounce of the club.

Ideally, you want to create a release that uses the bounce but avoids a

‘scooping’ motion with the wrists at impact. There is a fine line between a good release and a scooping motion, especially with the small margin for error in the bunkers.

Two-time winner in 2021, Stewart Cink, provides a perfect example of the correct release of the clubhead creating efficient speed through impact.

Releasing the club correctly returns the shaft back to a neutral position at impact, which engages the bounce of the club and creates the ‘thud’ sound when the club hits the sand. This is a sound you will hear when the game’s best bunker players, like

2

Cink, play this shot.

Cink doesn’t drive the club steeply into the sand. It is a shallow angle of attack and note how the clubhead has released passed his hands at impact. This release adds significant speed through the ball, resulting in greater spin, without adding distance to the short shot.

Of great note here is Cink’s open clubface. The face just through impact (pic 1) is pointing straight towards the sky, almost perfectly perpendicular to the ground, and stays in this ‘upward release’ position throughout the follow-through (pics 2 & 3).

3

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES X 3

B

THE PROPER BUNKER SHOT RELEASE

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LYDIA KO

YOUR CHIN: A GOOD SWING GUIDE

H

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

ow do you know when you have completed your backswing?

The answer is simple. When your left shoulder (for right-handers) is tucked directly beneath your chin.

It’s OK for your chin and shoulder to touch, just as long as your chin is raised enough to leave enough room for your shoulders to complete the turn, just as Lydia Ko can be seen doing here.

She has made a full turn with the top of her back now pointing at her target. In a split second she will drop her hands vertically into the downswing.

Ko’s chin will also play a role in her follow-through.

Make a slow-motion swing and stop when the right arm and club shaft are parallel to the ground (pointing toward the target) on your follow-through. This time your right shoulder should be under your chin, with the shoulders again forming a 90° angle to the target line. If your chin has moved slightly left at this point, no worries. The right shoulder’s rotation will naturally push it this way.

To ingrain and maintain proper shoulder rotation, practice swinging while moving the left shoulder under your chin going back, and your right shoulder under the chin swinging through. It’s a simple way to boost your efficiency and power.

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SWING STUDY

HIDEKI MATSUYAMA PGA Championship. His breakout year propelled him to No.2 in the world ranking and pundits predicted a major victory was just around the corner.

When he arrived in Augusta for the 2021 Masters, Matsuyama was four years into a winless streak, which was brought to a celebrated end. Below are the key points of the swing that won the Masters … without his trademark swing pause.

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2

3

4

ADDRESS

TAKEAWAY

HALFWAY

AT THE TOP

You can’t see that clearly from this angle but Hideki ideally sets up with his spine tilted slightly to the right at address. There is a hint of this seen with his right shoulder being set lower than his left. His arms hang comfortably beneath his shoulders, while his weight is centred over the balls of his feet in an athletic stance.

Like so many good ball-strikers, Matsuyama gets the club moving with his shoulders. The butt end of the club is still pointing at his belt buckle, as it was at address. This is indicative of his shoulders doing most of the turning with his hips moving only slightly. Take note of how far the black belt loop on his right hip has moved. We’ll keep track of that during the swing.

Hideki’s set up, with his chin sitting high, allows him to turn his left shoulder under his chin. His wrists are slightly under-hinged here, which is great for the driver.

Hideki has worked on this position in recent years, making sure the club shaft is ideally parallel to his toe line. Previously, the clubhead could get too much outside his hands leaving the shaft pointing left of the target line.

Standing greenside on a long par-4, you could always tell when Matsuyama was on the tee. The pause at the top of the backswing was an absolute giveaway. He introduced the transition pause from backswing to downswing back in 2014 when he tried to slow down his backswing. At Augusta, the pause was all but gone but his swing speed was still beautifully controlled.

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PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES X 9

Prior to his Masters victory, Hideki Matsuyama was perhaps better known for the pause at the top of his backswing than the 14 victories he had accrued in Japan and on the PGA Tour in eight years as a professional.

Two of those wins came in 2017, including a second World Golf Championship title, and Matsuyama was runner up at US Open and T5 at the US

• Stats from 2021 PGA Tour season

STATS AT A GLANCE

WHAT’S IN HIDEKI’S BAG

WINS 1 (The Masters) DRIVING DISTANCE 296.8 yards (102nd) DRIVING ACCURACY 61.63% (85th) STROKES GAINED TEE-TO-GREEN 1.028 (21st) STROKES GAINED TOTAL SCORING .732 (46th) STROKE AVERAGE 70.488 (36th) LOWEST ROUND 63 (Houston Open)

DRIVER: Srixon ZX5 with 9.5° loft, fitted with Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX shaft.

3-WOOD: TaylorMade SIM2 Titanium with 15° loft, with Graphite Design Tour AD TP 9 TX shaft.

IRONS: TaylorMade SIM UDI (3-iron), with True Temper Elevate Tour X100 shaft and

Srixon Z-Forged to pitching wedg with True Temper Dynamic Gold To Issue S400 sha WEDGES: Cleve 4 Forged (52°-10 and 60°-08°), wit Temper Dynamic Tour Issue shafts PUTTER: Scotty Cameron Newpo BALL: Srixon Z-S

5

6

7

8

DOWNSWING

IMPACT

THROUGH

AT THE TOP

Hideki’s hips and legs have initiated his transition into the downswing.

If you resist your shoulder turn with your right hip you’ll not only damage your back, you’ll never be able to achieve Hideki’s powerful downswing position where he is leveraging the ground. His knees have squatted slightly as he has applied force to the ground.

Remember the black belt loop above his right hip? It has now almost disappeared from view as his hips have rotated left ahead of his uncoiling shoulders. This is a big power move. Hideki has lost some height here but it’s of no concern. His left shoulder rises to compensate and helps him hit up on the ball to maximise his launch angle.

Hideki’s hips are facing the target and he is using ground force pressure (see his right foot really pushing off the ground) to power into the follow-through. His left leg is also straightening providing plenty of resistance.

Look at his extension through the ball. Again, hands and arms are in front of his turning body, just as they were in his backswing, while his head has not yet started turning towards the target.

If there was a criticism to be made of Hideki’s swing in the past it was that he would stand up a little too much in his followthrough, losing his spine angle established at address. But it would seem he has successfully worked on fixing this aspect of his swing. His high hands nearing the end of the swing are indicative of a full, natural and balanced follow-through. golf australia | JUNE 2021

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The golf shoe market has evolved in significant ways over the years, companies like FootJoy adapting to the diverse requirements of golfers in style, function and fit.

Despite the greater variety in athletic options, spikeless shoes and brands however, classic styled leather golf shoes remain a popular segment of the footwear market. And FootJoy’s new Premiere range caters to that demand by blending the style and materials of its iconic Classics range with modern comfort and stability.

Offered in three styles, the Premiere 88

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series is the result of consultation with top Tour players to continue the company’s commitment to innovation even within a traditional product category.

“I was lucky enough to work with the team over the last several years to talk about what’s needed for the best golf shoe out there,” Adam Scott said. “My big belief is that FootJoy should have the best golf shoe out there and I believe they’ve achieved that with The Premiere Series.”

Part of the modernisation is the ‘VersaTrax+’ outsole which delivers traction from every conceivable place a

golfer could find themselves on and off the golf course.

Blending multiple TPU compounds and an anti-channelling tread pattern, the new outsole offers grip on soft and hard surfaces and everything in between.

For comfort, an ‘Ortholite EcoPlush FitBed’ creates underfoot cushioning as well as stability, while soft Pittard’s leather uppers produce the look that will attract many and has already made the Premiere the most worn golf shoe on the PGA Tour.

SRP: $329.95 www.footjoy.com.au

FIT FOR PURPOSE Fitting a product to the needs and dimensions of each individual golfer is of the highest importance to ensure best performance.

A dedicated golfer purchasing clubs without undergoing some sort of fit is almost unheard of in this day and age.

And footwear is moving in the same direction.

FootJoy has long run fitting days at golf clubs, where a company representative helps players find the best model, size, width and more for them. But to widen the availability of such a service and to accommodate the busy golfer, the company has adapted this process. For the better.

FJ Fitting Stations have begun popping up at golf clubs around the country, where a golfer utilises a QR code that links to a self-fitting instructional video. The station is accompanied by a kit including sizes, widths and a Brannock device to measure feet, meaning the fitting process can be done at any time a golf shop is open during its one to two-week time with the station on site.

Multiple stations are located in each major city, with FootJoy able to guide golfers as to their nearest location.

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PING 202

MOR MOR PING has been a leader in the putter space since Karsten Solheim was producing flatsticks in his garage. And the still familyrun company continues to innovate, its 2021 putter series built for maximum moment of inertia (MOI) and minimum frustration.

Offered in 11 models from the classic Anser blade to the technologically advanced Harwood mallet, the new line-up utilises multiple materials to drive up MOI and make putting easier, while also offering 90

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improved feel and attractive looks.

“We’ve engineered a lot of scorelowering technology into the 2021 putter line through extensive research and Tour player feedback,” PING President John K. Solheim said. “All of the models are developed with higher MOI through strategic use of various materials, including tungsten, steel and aluminium, to provide the forgiveness and accuracy golfers expect from a PING putter.

“The dual-durometer insert features uniform, shallow grooves to give golfers a soft, responsive feel for more consistent distance control with the precise touch they need to hole more putts. We’ve also advanced the visual cues depending on the model to help make alignment easier and more natural when addressing a putt.”

The use of multiple materials varies from model to model optimises the performance of each of the 11 head styles.

aterial r fa ves

od,

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BEN HOGAN EQUALIZER II FORGED WEDGES

BIGGER AND BETTE FROM TEXAS The name Ben Hogan is synonymous with precision and performance thanks to The Hawk’s own game and subsequent foray into the equipment industry.

Having undergone a number of iterations, the latest version of the Ben Hogan golf equipment company aims to bring the same qualities to its direct to consumer products. Including the all-new Equalizer II Forged wedges.

Featuring “clean, classic and elegant styling” the new model is forged from 1025 carbon steel, and is physically larger than its predecessor to expand the hitting area, while discretionary weight has been removed to optimise the CG. “The vast majority of wedges on the

market today simply load as much weight as possible near the sole to create very high and uncontrollable trajectories,” President and CEO of Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company Scott White said. “With Equalizer II wedges, we’ve managed to reposition more weight than ever before at different, precise locations in the various wedges to maximise performance.

“In the lower-lofted gap wedges, the Center of Mass is located much higher on the face to create more penetrating, controllable trajectories.

Then it moves lower in the sand and lob wedges to provide progressively higher trajectories. It’s a simple

ncept, but one is very difficult to ute from a design and acturing standpoint.” ning a high bounce ge and lower bounce for improved turf interaction, the es are offered in lofts ile a special Texas and hard conditions elect lofts. m the company, the ilable in two finishes ft options. com golf australia | JUNE 2021

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NO MORE GUESSWORK Golf and technology have become intrinsically linked in the modern game. The advantages are evident in instruction, club fitting and playing the game. From launch monitors to lasers, these are some of the best pieces of golf tech.

BUSHNELL PHANTOM 2

CONVENIENT SIMPLE To improve upon its predecessor, the new Phantom 2 includes evolved GPS distances and convenience measures in a small and easier to read unit.

New ‘GreenView’ distances allow for movable pin placements and more accurate distances, while ‘Dynamic Green Mapping’ adapts distances to where the golfer is playing from.

Featuring a battery with more than 18 hours of life per charge, the Phantom

2 has 40 percent l text and Bushnell technology allowin magnetically attac the arm of a cart o buggy for quick re to the up to six ha layup distances pe RRP: $229 www.bushnellgo

USHNELL

EAR ISTANCE aturing many of the same features the Phantom 2 GPS unit, the Bushnell N EDGE is a GPS watch with a new uchscreen.

Beyond the convenience of yardages on ur wrist, the ION EDGE has a 15 plus ur battery life, GreenView and Dynamic een Mapping capabilities.

Connecting with the Bushnell Golf App the Phantom 2 for course updates 94

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of the more than 38,000 worldwide mapped layouts, the ION EDGE instantly recognises courses and advances holes, making the user’s primary job to look at the distance and hit the shot.

The ION EDGE is offered in two colour combinations and features a scorekeeper and shot distance calculator.

RRP: $329 (Available mid-June). www.bushnellgolf.com

WINGMA

IC RE world, golf stantly changing s Wingman is in fering needs of t s opting to add experience, its core business ce with high qua an. chnology to attac aker plays a golfe ough their preferr me time linking n application that e front, centre an stances at the pre the remote cont ellgolf.com

LAUNCH MONITOR

IMPROVE BUSHNELL PRO XE ON THE LASER GO FOCUS Able to be used both indoors and outdoors, the Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor is conveniently sized and uses a mobile device to give instant launch data, video replay and shot tracing.

Used by many golf instructors and recreational golfers alike, the Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor delivers accurate shot distance, ball speed, clubhead speed, shot shape, smash factor, launch angle and direction.

RRP: $849.95 www.performancebrandsaustralia.com

Bushnell’s line of laser rangefinders are the most used on the PGA Tour and offer a variety of features, with the Pro XE sitting at the top of the pile.

“The longest, most accurate, most consistent golf laser rangefinder ever” according to the company, the Pro XE utilises a new slope algorithm that more accurately reflects modern ball flights in the “Play As” distance.

Fully waterproof, accurate to one yard and able to measure 500 plus yards

to a flag, the Pro XE incoproates new ‘PinSeeker with Visual JOLT Technology’ that locks onto flagsticks and flashes a red ring in the eyepiece and vibrates to confirm the target has been acquired. And for ease of use, Bushnell’s BITE technology allows the Pro XE to be magnetically attached to a cart, while slope capabilities can be turned on and off with a switch to make the rangefinder tournament legal.

RRP: $899.99 www.bushnellgolf.com golf australia | JUNE 2021

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NG CADDIE SC300I NCH MONITOR

ORTABLE ND PLAYER CUSED est addition to the Performance Brands Australia of portable launch monitors, the Swing Caddie i provides swing and ball flight metrics direct to your or tablet. ecting via Bluetooth and delivering audible distances, t uses Doppler radar technology and atmospheric re sensors to produce spin rate, launch angle and apex And a remote control adds to the simplicity of use.

749.95 ww.performancebrandsaustralia.com

PORTABLE LAUNCH MONITOR

ACTICE PARTNER lfer wants to improve, and the unch monitor allows them do ut breaking the bank and in any uring clubhead speed without a ball to be hit, the unit uses its database s to give accurate predictions, fers can also monitor the impact of

SURESHOT PINLOC 6000iPSM LASER RANGEFINDER

LOCKED-IN DISTANCE Sureshot’s PINLOC 600iPSM features a range of technologies and measuring capabilities to give every distance a golfer could need in an easy to read and accurate format.

The unit’s ‘Priority Loc’ focuses on the target, while ‘Pinloc’ locks on and displays the distance for 15 seconds. Offering slope adjusted measurements, the 600iPSM 96

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vibrates once on your desired target, has a magnetic component for ease of use and also offers ‘Scan Mode’ to survey entire terrain with distances appearing quickly.

Water and shock resistant, the PINLOC 600iPSM is designed for a comfortable fit in any hand.

RRP: $429.95 www.mgigolf.com

actually hitting a golf and the pressure of a result on their swing.

Now offering metre measurements, the lack of a need of a golf balls means the PRGR launch monitor can be used in the backyard or on the back nine.

RRP: $349.95 www.performancebrandsaustralia.com

NITORS

hes golf has likely heard onitors. The small lp produce numbers re a constant behind o on the range. a fixture in fitting and nts, and are capable of ements as well as part of ses ‘Single Radar ce a shot’s 3D trajectory all flight parameters in adar Technology’, the lighter and faster and o a smart phone or tablet tailed club and ball contains ‘Performance on, dynamic lie angle and capabilities.

995 (3e); $24,995 (4).

95 (3e); $29,995 (4). All shipping and import tax.

MPROVE e stylish design means Sureshot’s AXIS GPS atch can be worn as a simple timepiece. But its go pabilities make it an indispensable piece of golf chnology.

More than 38,000 courses are ready to be played, th front, centre and back green measurements, stances to hazards, shot distance measuring and oring capabilities.

Possessing a battery life of as much as a month in me mode and 12 hours in golf mode, the AXIS GPS atch can also save 10 scorecards.

RP: $279 ww.mgigolf.com golf australia | JUNE 2021

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FOOTJOY HYPERFLEX GOLF SHOES Cost: $279.95 (BOA); $249.95 (laced).

Tested by: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Deputy Editor (GA Handicap 9.4) MODEL PLAYED: WRAPID, powered by BOA Fit System.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The unique and almost non-golf appearance of the HyperFlex shoes was an instant hit with me.

The knit style and trainer-like look making them the perfect driving range and casual game shoes personally.

My opinion only elevated further once putting the shoes on and feeling the combination of comfort and support and being truly impressed by the locked in yet 98

JUNE 2021 | golf australia

soft feeling of the new WRAPID and BOA fit system.

HOW THEY PERFORMED: When it comes to golf shoes, my personal tastes are very diverse.

I love the classic leather upper and soled models, with traditional style blending with sold construction to give a connection with the ground and look that harks back to the best dressed players of the past.

I am also partial to the modern, athletically inspired models that do their best to bring comfort and different looks to the golf course. And even sometimes new materials.

The end result … I have more than one

pair of each.

When it comes to the latter, form and function have at times in the past not matched up well. A really comfortable pair’s appearance slightly letting it down. Or the opposite imbalance.

But in the case of the HyperFlex, the balance is outstanding for mine.

The look is great and a wide range of colours means this will be the opinion of more than just this writer. Meanwhile, the comfort is even better.

A soft underfoot feeling doesn’t mean you are giving up support, with the model tested wrapping around my foot and locking

TRACTION IS OF COURSE THE OTHER KEY PERFORMANCE ASPECT IN A GOLF SHOE, AND THE HYPERFLEX COULDN’T BE FAULTED IN THIS REGARD.

me in place.

BOA models tend to do this very well, however, to get the shoes to fit as I like, the forefoot can often feel tight. For the new HyperFlex this certainly wasn’t the case, there was enough room (for lack of a better word) on the top of my foot to be without any discomfort whatsoever, while the system snugly fit around the base of my ankle and towards the sole.

Traction is of course the other key performance aspect in a golf shoe, and the HyperFlex couldn’t be faulted in this regard.

No matter the lie or conditions I found myself in during testing the shoes, a slip or misstep doesn’t easily come to mind.

An additional litmus test for this pair of shoes was also passed with flying colours, with multiple people, both golfers and not, commenting to me how much they liked the look of the shoes.

This might not mean much to some, but an athletic pair of golf shoes needs to have a certain amount of course transcending style to my mind, and the HyperFlex proved its worth in that way.

As is the case with all golf shoes, the HyperFlex isn’t for everyone, that’s why it is

not the only shoe in FootJoy’s range.

But having been on the fence with some of the company’s previous efforts in this category, it is certainly for me.

The blend of support and comfort mean it can be worn all day and feels like you are in a more stable trainer, while the style makes it a very versatile option and one that will appeal to a wide range of golfers.

FOOTJOY SAYS: As part of FootJoy’s continued commitment to performance innovation, the all-new HyperFlex is tuned specifically for golf to deliver crazy-soft comfort and performance along with support that returns energy to the golfer.

HyperFlex features an advanced midsole/ outsole combo that includes two new technologies that provide unrivalled comfort and performance where you need it out on the golf course.

FJ’s ‘StratoFoam’ cushioning is a proprietary foam blend that provides optimal support and comfort in any conditions. This midsole design provides the perfect blend of cushioning which helps absorb shock while maximising energy return to reduce foot fatigue.

The all-new ‘OptiFlex’ outsole design

features dual flex grooves that flex naturally with your foot for comfort as well as a thin, semi-rigid TPU flex plate that promotes multidirectional flexure and traction where you need it in the golf swing.

“When you take the first steps in HyperFlex, you’ll notice that the shoe moves in unison with the foot,” Vice President, FJ Footwear Chris Tobias said.

“This new outsole technology is designed to mimic the natural flexure of the foot, so not only are you getting a great walking shoe, but a shoe that will maximise the ground force throughout every movement in the golf swing.”

HyperFlex features breakthrough performance fit technology, delivered with athletic-inspired styling and materials in both a laced version as well as the all-new WRAPID, powered by the BOA Fit System.

This innovative new system features an asymmetrical configuration that ensures a dialled-in, precision fit with a reduction in pressure on the top of the foot. It enables the shoe to move with you, wrapping your foot in complete security, all while providing powerful support through the swing.

For more information, visit www.footjoy.com.au golf australia | JUNE 2021

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CALLAWA & EPIC MA Cost: $879.99.Tested by: Jimmy Eman Golf Australia Deputy Editor (GA Handic MODELS PLAYED: Callaway Epic Speed with 9˚ loft, fitted with Mitsubishi Chemical MMT 70 shaft and Callaway Epic MAX with 9˚ loft, with Project X HZRDUS Smoke iM10 70 shaft.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Having anticipated it might be hard to split these two, I was instantly taken with cosmetic differences out of the box. The Epic Speed looking like my sort of the driver, while the MAX looked flatter, wider and more forgiving at address.

Upon first swings I was similarly able to discern slight differences in flight and feel that made it clear the Speed was likely more my sort of club, but both were impressive to say the least.

HOW THEY PERFORMED: Testing equipment is always exciting, but these drivers had me extremely keen to get to the range and course for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the original Epic driver was an absolute favourite. Secondly, I recently sat down with Dr. Alan Hocknell, one of Callaway’s top R&D people to talk about the range. And finally, the proceeding MAVRIK Sub Zero has maintained a spot in my bag for the past year.

The Epic Speed immediately identified itself as my kind of driver, although when compared to my MAVRIK Sub Zero on just feel, flight and looks it wasn’t as if I was throwing old faithful away instantly.

At address my “older” driver and the Speed were remarkably similar. Both are about as traditional as modern drivers can

FACTS AND FIGURES SUITABILITY: Across the three Epic models (including the lower spin, high MOI MAX LS) which can be adjusted from 8˚ to 14˚ and are offered in a range of shafts options, there is a driver to suit every golfer.

AVAILABILITY: Both tested models are offered in 9˚, 10.5˚ and 12˚ lofts in both right and left hand.

CALLAWAY SAYS: Exceptional ball speeds start with new A.I.-designed ‘Jailbreak Speed Frame’. Previous Jailbreak designs stiffened

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look, while I toned down gr of the Epic Spee slightly less rounde aerodynamic design not hugely different Off the face t the same, th powerful hotte

ad perfor their wo The Spee driver, albeit n but any distanc particularly given of forgiveness. In f mis-hits were penalis Epic Speed.

Not far behind in the di the Epic MAX was a forgiven The flight was a little higher, an more easily, and I felt I could swi freedom without fear of a really big The adjustability of the MAX model also a positive. With a bit of draw bias in its most neutral setting for me, moving th weight to the heel really got the ball movin left. Whereas shifting the weight towards t toe didn’t create a fade but a straight flight Both these new models really impresse me. The MAX was so easy to hit, and looking down it gave a real confidence boost. The flight was great and I can see

the body in the vertical direction. By applying Artificial Intelligence, this new structure improves stability in the horizontal and torsional direction as well.

The A.I.-designed ‘Flash Face’ is specifically engineered to optimise the Jailbreak Speed Frame, promoting fast speeds across a more expansive area. Each face and each head geometry are uniquely enhanced in Epic Speed, and the super strength titanium promotes maximum speed, forgiveness and spin robustness.

Epic Speed is the fastest Epic driver

ever. The advance construction promote head speed. The taller r crown are engineered for e aerodynamic shape that can s generate more speed from thei ng.

Epic MAX is the most forgiving Epic ever. It’s built on a simple equation: max ball speed (with the new Jailbreak A.I Speed Frame) + maximum forgiveness (with high MOI and adjustable weighting) = the ultimate max driver.

For more information, visit www.callawaygolf.com.au

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THE BUCKET LIST

SANDY GOLF LINKS Australians are well aware how lucky we are to have the Melbourne Sandbelt in our country. The perfect landscape has – for nearly 100 years now – collided with talented course architects to deliver some of the world’s most renowned golf courses, whether that’s Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, Peninsula Kingswood or Victoria.

But it’s also common knowledge that scoring a game at one of the aforementioned courses can be rather difficult. That’s where Sandy Golf Links comes in.

The totally redesigned former Sandringham Golf Club – found opposite Royal Melbourne and Victoria Golf Clubs – provides public golfers with an affordable and accessible slice of the Melbourne Sandbelt.

Leading design team Ogilvy, Cocking &

Mead were tasked with the redevelopment of the course, which was completed late last year and offers visitors of all abilities the chance to experience the qualities of Sandy’s neighbouring courses.

“We did a lot of things so that the course doesn’t daunt anyone, but it’s also a great layout for lower handicappers because to score well, you probably need to attack it from the right spots,” co-designer Mike Cocking told governing body Golf Australia.

The superbly maintained par-65 offers two sets of tees – both of which are comparatively short at less than 5,000 metres – allows maximum scores, provides free golf for kids under 16 accompanied by a playing adult (after 1:30pm) and even encourages players to throw the ball from bunkers if they prove too tricky.

“It’s short enough that it’s playable for

all, but a test for those who want to take it on using the width on offer. Really, it’s the perfect length for kids and beginners – both men and women – and those who are wanting to prolong their golf and now find the big courses too tough,” Cocking added.

Sandy Golf Links is set to unveil a public driving range in the near future and will eventually become the administrative hub of Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia.

“The golf course is growing in nicely and with any luck we will be opening the Australian Golf Centre and a 30-bay public driving range with Top Tracer in the middle of June,” General Manager Philip Drew told Golf Australia magazine.

Green fees start from $43.50 for 18 holes on weekdays or $45.50 on weekends. Bayside Council area residents receive lower rates. For more information, visit www.sandringham.golf

PHOTOGRAPHY BRENDAN JAMES golf australia | JUNE 2021

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FOLLOW THE SUN

NORTHERN STARS Winter has well and truly arrived. And if you’re living in the southern states, you’re probably longing for those warm, dry days on the golf course. Thankfully, Reef n Beyond Guided Holidays can turn your dreams into reality with its North Queensland Golf Tour.

The nine-day tour begins in the picturesque Airlie Beach and includes rounds of golf at the incredible Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett-designed Hamilton Island course with further games at Proserpine, Bowen, Charters Towers, Magnetic Island and Townsville golf clubs.

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Non-golfers have the option of joining their partners on the golf course or enjoying everything this magnificent region has to offer.

Hamilton Island Golf Club – situated on Dent Island (pictured) – is easily one of the world’s most picturesque golf courses and will, of course, be one of the tour’s real highlights. It is well and truly entrenched in the upper echelons of Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses, as ranked by Golf Australia magazine.

The tour starts from $3,790 per person, twin share and has multiple

departure dates from June to November.

It includes six rounds of golf, 15 meals, an experienced guide, airport transfers, daily prizes, presentation dinner and great non-player experiences on Hamilton Island, Whitehaven Beach and Magnetic Island.

Non-golfers will have the opporttunity to explore, enjoy and take part in: Hamilton Island; Townsville; Ravenswood ghost tours; Venus Gold Battery tours; Whitehaven Beach; and the Miner’s Cottage in Charters Towers.

To book, visit www.reefnbeyond.com.au or call 0438 089 682.

GOLDIE TOUR

EUREKA! There’s no denying the Gold Coast its rightful place as one of Australia’s best tourist destinations, thanks to its spectacular beaches, exhilarating theme parks, pristine national parks and a smorgasbord of quality golf courses.

Golf Tourism Australia, celebrating its 21st year as one of this country’s most respected golf tour operators, is currently offering flexible two- and five-day golf packages to the Queensland region.

There are nine golf courses to choose from, including seven of Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses for 2021: Palm Meadows (No.62); RACV Royal Pines (No.55); The Palms Course at Sanctuary Cove (No.46); Lakelands (No.34); The Glades (No.24); Links Hope Island (No.22); and Brookwater (No.12).

HAMILTON ISLAND GC

You will also play rounds at the wellregarded Palmer Gold Coast – designed

by Graham Marsh and Ross Watson – and Palmer Colonial.

Two-day packages start from $490 per person and include two nights’ accommodation and two rounds of golf in motorised carts. Five-day packages start from $890 per person and include four nights’ accommodation and five rounds of golf in carts.

Additional nights of accommodation and extra rounds of golf can be arranged upon request. Packages also include private airport, hotel and golf course transfers, as well as 24-hour assistance throughout your stay.

For more information, visit www.golftourismaustralia.com or call (03) 9787 1110. golf australia | JUNE 2021

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PHOTOS: BRENDAN JAMES X 2

RACV ROYAL PINES

N.Z BUBBLE TRAVEL

NORTH ISLAND STUNNERS The trans-Tasman travel bubble is allowing us Aussies to return to New Zealand and its world-class golf courses sooner than perhaps expected.

Thank God. The North Island of New Zealand is known for its stunning coastline, delicious produce and natural landmarks and is home to renowned golf courses, such as 106 JUNE 2021 | golf australia

Cape Kidnappers, Kinloch, Wairakei, Royal Wellington, Titirangi and Windross Farm.

Go Golfing Travel is currently taking bookings for its fully escorted NZ North Island golf tour departing Auckland on March 5, 2022.

The 12-day tour starts from $6,425 per person, twin share and includes: four- and five-star accommodation; six rounds of golf

at the aforementioned courses; various offcourse experiences; multiple meals and the services of an experienced Go Golfing host.

There is also a 100 percent money-back guarantee if the tour is cancelled up to two weeks prior to its commencement due to government restrictions or border closures.

For details, visit www.gogolfing.net.au or call 1300 55 28 55.

KINLOCH GC

WAIRAKEI

PHOTOS: BRENDAN JAMES X 3

TITIRANGI GC

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n November 2019, Lakewood Shores golf course – home to Binningup Golf Club – was listed in Golf Australia magazine as one of this country’s 60 best nine-hole courses.

According to many of this magazine’s Top100 Courses judges, Binningup was easily in the top handful of nine-hole layouts on the national list.

Nearly five months later, the course was closed as nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns were enforced. Within a few weeks, the course’s owners – Binningup Nominees – announced the closure would be permanent.

Binningup was a magnificent nineholer just north of Bunbury, about 140km 108 JUNE 2021 | golf australia

south of Perth. Carved from bushland, the opening holes led you out of the bush to beach dunes offering great ocean views.

It was one of those rare offerings that could rightly claim being a ‘hidden golfing gem’, at least up until its last past few years as it gained a level of cult status for offering some of the best value golf in the land, charging a green fee of $20 for nine holes of outstanding golf.

Designed by Michael Coate and opened for play in 1986, Binningup was laid out in a clockwise routing around rugged sandy scrubland with several of the large greens accommodating two flags.

There were two long par-5s in the first three holes, with the 568-metre 3rd being

an absolute brute in the afternoon when the prevailing south-westerly breeze kicked in.

The walk from the 3rd green to the 4th tee brought the Indian Ocean into view.

Binningup had few, if any weak holes, and the highlight in this writer’s opinion was the par-3 6th hole – a medium length one-shotter that played between dunes and away from the ocean to a dramatic green protected a bunker short left and another back right.

It is just over a 15 months since the last shots were played across the Binningup layout but it will live on through the stories and fond memories of those who were lucky enough to tread its fairways.

– Brendan James.

PHOTOS: THERON KIRKMAN X 2

BINNINGUP • WESTERN AUSTRALIA

New 18 Hole Course and Clubhouse.

Now Open LONSDALE LINKS 31 Clubhouse Drive Point Lonsdale VIC 3225 Ph: 03 5258 1955 E: admin@lonsdalelinks.com.au W: www.lonsdalelinks.com.au

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a l l e B a t s i V H O L I DAY AT H O M E

Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula has emerged as one of Australia’s finest golfing destinations with easily accessible nationallyranked courses leading the way.

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BRENDAN JAMES

F

or so long the golf courses of Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula have existed in the shadow cast by the amazing layouts of the Mornington Peninsula, which is just a 40-minute ferry ride across Port Phillip Bay. Chatting to some local Bellarine golfers you will hear them sometimes refer to the Mornington as “the other side” in a geographical reference, but also one with a tone of rivalry.

The Bellarine has closed the gap on its bayside neighbour with four courses entrenched in Golf Australia magazine’s Top-100 Courses ranking, and a fifth likely to join them when the next list is published in January 2022. There are also acclaimed public access layouts and nine-hole courses in the region to help scratch your golfing itch when holidaying in the region.

For mine, the ease of accessibility for visiting golfers and value for money of a round are the Bellarine’s greatest assets.

Adding to the growing hype about the Bellarine is the addition of the Lonsdale Links course.

Lonsdale Golf Club dates back a century but the course that now lies across fantastic golfing terrain at Point Lonsdale is the newest on the Peninsula, having reopened last December – following an extensive rebuild by the design team of Ogilvy, Cocking & Mead (OCM – Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead).

The club’s previous incarnation was a good course but the rough diamond that it was, golf australia | JUNE 2021

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LONSDALE LINKS

has been polished, buffed and polished again to produce a layout that is destined to propel the club into the Top-100 Courses ranking at the start of 2022.

The OCM design ebbs and flows across gently undulating coastal dunes, while holes on the lower reaches sit alongside salt marshes and wetlands near Lake Victoria. It is a short par-70 of just 5,505-metres from the tips but the links aspects of the course will test better players, while allowing the rest of us to simply have fun. If having fun was the sole underlying purpose behind Lonsdale’s new design, then OCM has hit the nail on the head, especially those holes that have been inspired by some of the world’s best holes.

In the early 1900s, famed course architects CB Macdonald and Seth Raynor created a series of template designs, based on the strategies of the world’s best holes. OCM has used elements of those templates and the holes that inspired them at Lonsdale Links.

Half of the holes at Lonsdale have a template connection to holes found on the National Golf Links of America, North Berwick and The Old Course at St Andrews.

Perhaps the most spectacular of these is the 112 JUNE 2021 | golf australia

165-metre par-3 12th and its dramatic putting surface, which gives rise to the hole’s name, ‘Thumbprint’. Inspired by the 16th at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in the US, Thumbprint looks like a giant thumb has pressed down the middle of the putting surface, leaving a series of different tiers and ridges across the green.

Elsewhere, the 115-metre par-3 14th is a shorter reverse version of the original ‘Redan’ hole – the 15th at North Berwick in Scotland – while the famed ‘Road Hole’ at St Andrews has inspired the green complex of Lonsdale’s short par-4 16th, where the green is protected by a deep pot bunker and an out-of-bounds fence.

“We really wanted to do something a little bit different down here, mainly because of the surrounding competition, with Thirteenth Beach and Barwon Heads, as well as Curlewis not too far away,” Mead told Golf Australia magazine earlier this year.

“The more we thought about it, and the more we cleared the non-native trees off the property to reveal the dune land, the more we thought the site resembled that of the National Golf Links of America, which we studied in 2012. It has some low salty wetland areas, views across the lake and rolling dunes,

so it gave us some inspiration and that sort of evolved into creating a similar style course to what the architects Macdonald and Raynor had created in the early 1900s.”

OCM didn’t create perfect copies of famous holes but were ultimately dictated to by the Lonsdale terrain when inspired to use an element of Macdonald’s templates. Mixed in between these ‘templates’ are further fun and challenging holes, that might become the inspiration of course designers in the future.

“It was certainly our intention to create a more strategic course than what was once here. Our ideal is for a course to not reveal itself on day one. The more you play it, the more you should understand it and work out where the pins are and where you want to access them from, it’s all about plotting you way around,” Mead added.

It is a similar design strategy extensively found at each of the four other Bellarine courses already well established among the finest courses in Australia.

Barwon Heads is referred to as a “golf village by the sea”, and it is an apt moniker as the Bellarine’s three highest-ranked golf courses can be found here.

BARWON HEADS GC

BARWON HEADS IS THE SORT OF COURSE THAT COMPELS YOU TO GAZE DREAMILY IN THE WINDOW OF THE REAL ESTATE AGENTS ON YOUR WAY OUT OF TOWN. – GOLF AUSTRALIA TOP-100 COURSES JUDGE, ADRIAN LOGUE. The Barwon Heads Golf Club has long been a favourite destination for Melbourne golfers and interstate visitors. The opportunity to stay on-site and tour the oldfashioned but thoroughly challenging 18-hole course and nine-hole par-3 layout lures golfers at all times of year.

Access to the famed links is easier than many are aware of (tee times for visitors are available five days a week), meaning this elements-hardened layout – ranked No.20 in Golf Australia’s Top-100 Courses ranking in 2020 – should be the cornerstone of every Bellarine golf itinerary.

“Barwon Heads presents itself in three distinct acts with great tumbling dunes on the smaller paddock then the wild holes around the turn that open out into some beautiful wide spaces on the back nine ... Barwon Heads is the sort of course that compels you to gaze dreamily in the window of the real estate agents on your way out of town,” said Golf Australia Top-100 Courses ranking judge, Adrian Logue.

Victor East, the professional at Royal Melbourne GC, designed the course in 1920 and much of the framework of his work

remains, although there have been tweaks of the design, especially in recent years. Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford from Golf Strategies Course Design were commissioned by the club in 2004 to improve the course by remodeling bunkering, lengthening several holes and to remove selected areas of Ti-tree to enhance playing lines. This work is ongoing.

The course boasts all the attractive qualities of a links with firm, fast-running fairways, an undulating terrain as well as mounding and bunkering that seemingly blend naturally into the surrounding landscape. Throw in some ever-present wind of varying strengths and the links at Barwon Heads grows in stature despite its apparent lack of length from the tips.

The overwhelming highlight of any round at Barwon Heads is the experience of playing the opening six holes. Laid out across a dunescape just a short iron from the ocean, the first six holes are raw, links golf holes that could have been plucked from the east coast of Scotland.

The best of these is the 390-metre par-4 3rd, which gradually doglegs right around a natural sandy wasteland before rising to the green. Into the prevailing wind, the tee shot

over the wasteland is daunting, while the uphill approach needs to be kept low beneath the height of the sand dunes to the left.

Just around the corner, Thirteenth Beach Golf Links gives golfers two Top-100 Course ranked options – the acclaimed Beach course (No. 24) and the ever-improving Creek layout (No.50). Both the Beach and Creek Courses are used for the VicOpen, which calls Thirteenth Beach home.

The Tony Cashmore-created Beach course at Thirteenth Beach brought world class golf to the region and rather than complementing it’s classically designed neighbour, Barwon Heads, it has become the top-ranked layout on the peninsula and regularly features among the best 20 courses in the country.

Thirteenth Beach was the vision of entrepreneur Duncan Andrews, who fell in love with the coastal strip of sand dunes at first glance. Having already developed The Dunes Links on the Mornington Peninsula, Andrews commissioned the design genius behind that layout – Tony Cashmore – to craft a course that would incorporate as much of the rugged dune landscape as possible.

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relatively flat land, the excitement builds on the 5th tee as the layout begins its journey across some of the best natural terrain for golf in Victoria. Cashmore, following a minimalist philosophy in creating the Beach course, located some fabulous tee and green sites among the dunes, which have, in turn, produced some memorable holes. The trio of holes, starting from the par-4 5th, is the highlight of the front nine while the back nine includes two world class par-3s in the 12th and 16th holes.

The adjoining Creek course, which was born three years after the Beach in 2004 and initially lacked the grandeur of its big sister.

Yet members and visitors alike are discovering the Creek Course is a considerable, if slightly different, test.

The Tony Cashmore/Sir Nick Faldo design is more open and expansive, which complements the tighter Beach course perfectly. Strategic decisions and shot selections are everywhere. At the 431-metre 5th hole, second shots come in from long range and can either fly a bunker set short and right of the saucer-style green or be bounced in from the left side and placed in the lap of the vagaries of the landform. The par-4 8th and 9th holes can be played aggressively from the tee – bringing water and bunkers into play, respectively, or conservatively to avoid the trouble. On the inward half, sentinel trees at the par-4 13th and 14th require more grey matter contemplation to avoid connecting with the timber. And the Creek course these days is stronger for its redesigned par-3 12th, 114 JUNE 2021 | golf australia

which now measures a shorter 145 metres from the back tees with a pond left of the undulating green.

The latest addition to Thirteenth Beach is a very good nine-hole par-3 Short Course, which is ideal for families, beginners or better players looking to sharpen their iron play. For all and sundry the course offers a wide range of fun shots into some wild and intriguing green complexes.

It is an easy 20-minute drive, north of the oceanside Thirteenth Beach, across the Peninsula to the region’s fourth Top-100 Course – Curlewis Golf Club.

Curlewis is one of the most improved courses in Australia during the past decade.

Back in 1947, Vern Morcom – the long-time Kingston Heath course superintendent and acclaimed designer – was commissioned by the then East Geelong Golf Club to create an 18-hole layout on the club’s current site. He crafted an open layout with wide fairways, big undulating greens to take into account the wind that is such a strong influence on the courses of the Bellarine.

But the decades that followed were difficult without a reliable water supply and the course, despite its superb design, was never able to reach its full potential. That is until it was purchased in July 2015 by local winery owners, Lyndsay and David Sharp, who injected $1 million into upgrading the layout.

This included retaining the design services of Mike Clayton, who had been consulting to the club for many years.

His advice over the years has been

minimalist rather than massive overhaul.

The result has seen Curlewis climb in every national ranking published in recent years. In January 2020, Curlewis was ranked at No.54 in Golf Australia’s Top-100 Courses. Eight years earlier it did not receive a single vote from our panel of judges, such has been the steady and sustained climb of the course.

The forced closure of the course during the height of the pandemic in 2020 saw the club take advantage of the opportunity to undertake further improvements.

“Ironically, there was a silver lining during the period of closure,” Curlewis General Manager, Jamie Brigden, said. “We were able to activate extensive course innovations and improvements – some were on the ‘wish list’ whilst others were those that had been put on the back burner.

“A particular favourite for the Curlewis team has been the installation of ‘The Serpent’, a water feature (commonly known as a ‘burn’) which meanders across the par-5 6th hole.”

The Serpent has added a strategic element to the three-shotter, not only asking questions of your tee shot but also how you plan to play your second shot.

Many of the tees have been reworked, while more than nine bunkers have also been modified.

“The back nine is now complete and we are now forging ahead on the front nine,” Brigden said. “Fairways have been widened on eight holes and, in several locations the rough has been removed or reduced. This inherently

… IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS THE ROUGH HAS BEEN REMOVED OR REDUCED. THIS INHERENTLY FORCES THE GOLFER INTO A MINDSET OF MORE STRATEGIC THINKING WHEN TACKLING THE COURSE.” – CURLEWIS GENERAL MANAGER, JAMIE BRIGDEN.

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PORTARLINGTON GC

forces the golfer into a mindset of more strategic thinking when tackling the course.”

The most recent changes have also seen the not-so-interesting par-5 1st hole shortened and converted into a strategic par-4 where position off the tee is far more important than it ever was when played as a par-5. The 9th hole has also been overhauled from a dogleg left par-4 to a slight dogleg left with a right turn at the end, creating a strategic line of play alongside the left side fairway bunker. It’s only a short two-shotter but the position off the tee, again, is crucial for good scoring.

Heading east along the northern bayside coast of the Peninsula, there are two more high quality courses to be found within a short drive of Curlewis.

Clifton Springs Golf Club boasts some beautiful water views north, particularly over the closing holes of a round. From the tees of the par-5 16th and par-4 18th it’s possible to see the bluffs along Corio Bay and even to Melbourne on a clear day.

Another highlight of a round here is the lofty standard of the couch fairways and bentgrass greens.

Further along the coast is Portarlington Golf Club – one of the oldest clubs on the Bellarine Peninsula, having celebrated its centenary in 2009.

During the past century the club moved to several sites around the town – before settling on its current location in 1937 – and has evolved from a nine-hole oil and bluestone scrape course to one of the golfing joys of the region and narrowly missing a place in Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses ranking published in January this year.

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The club decided to expand to 18 holes in the early ‘60s and approached the former curator at Lonsdale Golf Club, Eric Horne, to design the layout. He did the work for free and the full 18-hole layout was opened for play in 1963. He returned nearly a decade later to revise the layout when additional land became available. Further redesign was made again in the early ‘80s.

But the most significant changes to the layout came after the appointment in 1996 of the renowned Tony Cashmore as the club’s consulting course architect. In the years that followed, his vision for Portarlington was gradually rolled out. This included the upgrading of all fairways to Santa Ana couch grass, the rebuilding of several greens as well as the reshaping of fairways and bunkers.

Several new tee positions were created while a program of tree removal was put in place.

This is a little slice of the Melbourne Sandbelt on the Bellarine. Several bunkers would look right at home at Kingston Heath, while the small greens and occasional stands of imposing pine trees are reminiscent of some of the top Melbourne courses.

The design is solid but the condition of the couch fairways is the gamebreaker.

Portarlington’s fairways would be the envy of many private city courses boasting bigger budgets and maintenance staff.

The run home from the Sandbelt-esque, short par-4 12th hole is strong. The 13th is a 241-metre par-4 that is so tempting it almost forces you into hitting driver from the tee, with the two strongest par-4s on the course following it. Then there is the water carry on the par-3 17th, before heading to the 18th – a

deceptive 318-metre downhiller where the playing line narrows the closer you get to the green, and the small pond fronting it.

Geelong lies at the western end of the Peninsula and is home to several public accessible courses, with the best of them being the nine-hole Geelong Golf Club.

Located about 10 minutes’ drive north of the city centre, Geelong has twice been ranked among the best nine-holers in the country by Golf Australia magazine.

Geelong wasn’t always a nine-hole course and boasts a history stretching back to 1892.

But after more than a century as an 18-hole layout, the club was forced to close in 2004. In the decade that followed, land was sold off for development and the course reopened as nine holes in 2014.

Course architect Graham Papworth created the design which flows nicely across quality golfing terrain and features beautifully presented Santa Ana couch fairways and tees as well as some excellent bentgrass putting surfaces.

It’s not an overly long course but it definitely tests your approach shot skills course as Papworth’s green complexes don’t lack for contours and are often surrounded by cavernous bunkers, mounds and swales.

With three teeing options on each hole, the course is enjoyable for players of all standards.

Even low single figure players will discover there is a real challenge to find the best spots to attack the flags as leaving yourself on the wrong side of the hole, or even on the wrong tier, can ensure the best score you will make is a bogey.

Geelong features some terrific short par-4s but, for mine, the best of them is the tree-lined

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The village has a wide range of premium self-contained accommodation options including 14 apartments, cottages and suites located on-site at 3 Geelong Road, Barwon Heads, just two minutes’ drive from Barwon Heads Golf Club. There are also four off-site apartments, townhouses, cottages and suites just around the corner from Seahaven Village.

For availability and costs, checkout the website www.seahavenvillage.com.au

PORTARLINGTON GC

282-metre 3rd. The first of five bunkers – that lie diagonally from left to right across the fairway – is easily reached with a shot of about 215 metres. The closer you get to the green, the easier the second shot becomes but the slightly uphill drive must be straight to avoid the sand left and rough to the right.

The seaside resort town of Torquay, about 21km from Geelong, is probably best known for its surfing roots. Here you will find the world-famous Bells Beach, but there is some good, fun golf to be found as well.

The original course at Torquay was designed by the father and son team, Mick and Vern Morcom, who gained fame for their long greenkeeping careers at Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath respectively.

In the mid-2000s, the RACV purchased the course and commissioned OCCM (Ogilvy, Clayton, Cocking and Mead) to rebuild the layout over a three-year period while an adjoining resort and day spa was constructed.

The new links-style RACV Torquay course opened for play in 2012 and features generally firm conditions and the ever-present wind, which goes hand-in-hand with its coastal location. The bunkering is relatively small and simple but in many cases the surrounds are contoured to feed balls into the sand. The greens feature subtle slopes and are receptive

to running shots, especially those played from the correct side of the fairway.

By comparison, RACV Torquay’s nearest golfing neighbor The Sands Torquay, less than 10 minutes’ drive away, features far more expansive sandy hazards.

The name really says it all. The Sands, Torquay. The developers of this fine golf course didn’t miss the mark when they bestowed the name upon this layout.

As the name suggests this course features plenty of sand – in fact there are more than 100 bunkers scattered across the landscape between the 1st tee and the 18th green. And this is marginally less than what was in the ground when the Stuart Appleby-designed layout opened for play in 2004.

There is little doubt Appleby’s design team – which included veteran course designer Brit Stenson from International Management Group Design – was influenced by the bunker work of Dr Alister MacKenzie and his associate Alex Russell in the Melbourne Sandbelt during the 1920s. Appleby, for one, has described the bunkering in the Sandbelt as the best in the world so it should come as no surprise that his first foray into course design would see him try and emulate the best.

The designers did a pretty good job in creating some wonderful bunkering

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PEPPERS THE SANDS TORQUAY Peppers The Sands Torquay Resort, just an eight-minute walk from the beach, is a contemporary, premium golf resort where you can relax in beautifully designed studios and suites with a balcony or terrace affording stunning views over the course.

Other amenities include a refined restaurant, a bar, an indoor lap pool and tennis courts, plus a fitness room and meeting rooms.

For availability and costs, visit www.thesandstorquayresort.com THE BARWON HEADS GOLF CLUB Travellers have been making use of the accommodation facilities within the iconic Barwon Heads clubhouse since 1924.

There are 19 ensuite rooms available for members and their guests, for golfers wishing to stay before or after a round, and for those visiting Barwon Heads seeking a traditional, service-oriented experience.

For more details, visit the club’s website www.barwonheads.golf

Come and

"experience Geelong"

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PORTARLINGTON GOLF CLUB Memberships from $535

GREEN FEE PLAYERS WELCOME

geelong gc

schemes that not only intimidate players visually but also deceive you on the distance remaining on some shots.

The front nine – set among a growing residential development – offers fairways zigzagging between bunkers or wetlands or both. But it is the back nine that will really excite the first-time visitor to The Sands as more undulating topography, giving rise to a greater range of shots, comes into play.

From the championship markers, the 435-metre 11th is the longest and most brutal par-4 on the course. Despite being played downwind on most days, this two-shotter is played uphill past a small grouping of Moonah trees before the fairway splits into two as part of the natural slope and the ideal location for some bunkers. The approach is uphill to a green where only the top of the flag is visible. There is no tougher shot to be found on the course.

The best par-3 at The Sands is its shortest – the 148-metre 13th. The green is perched high above the tee on a ridge and you have to trust your club selection, as most of the green

cannot be seen, despite sloping markedly from back to front.

The 400-metre par-14th is one of the most beautiful holes at The Sands. Laid out on land that was formerly part of the Torquay rubbish tip, there are seven bunkers ready to halt your progress along this fairway, which is set on the edge of a ridge and features a steep slope down off its right edge. The putting surface is also set carefully on a sideslope, with mis-hits right or long of the green finding inevitable trouble.

Visitors to The Sands in recent years might have noted the course was looking a little tired and the presentation had dropped off. But the course, and the adjoining resort, was put up for sale by receivers last year after the Chinese companies that owned and operated both were placed in the hands of administrators.

Former Morgan Stanley vice president Jack Dahan bought the course and resort for $12.8 million in March and future investment in the course will certainly see it push hard for a return to a Top-100 ranking spot.

the sands torquay

WHERE TO PLAY LONSDALE LINKS Green fees: $80 (weekdays); $90 (weekends) www.lonsdalelinks.com.au

THE BARWON HEADS GC Green fees: $120 (weekdays); $160 (weekends). $80 (weekday, house guest); $105 (weekends, house guest). www.barwonheads.golf THIRTEENTH BEACH GOLF LINKS Green fees: $95 (weekdays); $115 (weekends). $130 (weekday, 36 holes*); $160 (weekends, 36 holes*). *Check availability. www.13thbeachgolf.com CURLEWIS GC Green fees: $60 (weekdays); $70 (weekends). www.curlewisgolf.com.au PORTARLINGTON GC Green fees: $55 (weekdays); $60 (weekends). www.portarlingtongolf.com.au GEELONG GC Green fees: $30 (18 holes), $20 (nine holes). www.geelonggolf.com.au THE SANDS TORQUAY Green fees: $50 (weekdays); $60 (weekends). www.thesandstorquayresort.com

120 JUNE 2021 | golf australia

EASTLAKE GOLF CLUB FULFILL YOUR PASSION, 15 MINUTES FROM THE CBD

Premium public access 7 days 15 minutes from Sydney Airport & CBD Open competitions Sun-Fri Winter special $25 after 2:00pm (7 days) Come enjoy our appealing new course upgrades!

Visit: eastlakegolfclub.com.au to secure your booking e @eastlake_golf • Corner Gardeners Road & Isaac Smith Street, Daceyville

TOP-100 SPOTLIGHT

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Wedged between the private Bonnie Doon and The Lakes Golf Clubs, on a long stretch of undulating terrain, is Eastlake Golf Club – a wonderful public access course making its mark in the national rankings.

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BRENDAN JAMES

D

riving to the airport from Sydney’s CBD along the Eastern Distributor, it’s not hard to notice the roll out of one golf hole after another. You get a sneak peak of The Australian Golf Club.

Then, within seconds, The Lakes Golf Club looms up on the left.

Looking further to the east, another private club in Bonnie Doon skirts the

edge of what might be considered the Sydney Sandbelt.

Wedged in between the Doon and The Lakes, on a long, narrow stretch of dramatic sandy terrain, is Eastlake Golf Club – a public accessible course for the past 90 years and one of NSW’s most improved courses in the past decade.

A vast expanse of Botany Wetlands (part

of the old Sydney drinking water supply) separates Eastlake from The Lakes, but the two clubs’ history is forever linked. The Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage granted The Lakes club a 20-year lease in 1928 to build a private golf course.

A condition of the lease required The Lakes to also construct an 18-hole course, on land to the east, for use by the public.

THE DOWNHILL PAR-3 17TH HOLE IS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ON ITS LENGTHY PREDECESSOR. golf australia | JUNE 2021

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THE UPHILL DOGLEG LEFT PAR-4 5TH HOLE ALWAYS PLAYS TOUGH INTO THE PREVAILING WIND.

The Lakes enlisted Eric Apperly and former Australian Open and PGA champion Tom Howard to map out a design for their championship course as well as the new public layout at Eastlake. (Interestingly, Apperly defeated Howard 4 & 3 in the final of the 1920 Australian Amateur nearly a decade earlier).

The first nine holes of the layout was opened in 1930, a handful of months after the great Bobby Jones won the US Open and completed the Grand Slam. Therein lies the origin of the course’s name as Jones’ home course was East Lake in Atlanta. When the remaining nine holes were completed two years later, the club’s patron, George Solomon, penned a letter to Jones notifying him Eastlake had been named after his club.

Months passed and a reply, as well as a memento and a club used by Jones, arrived at Eastlake.

“I want you to know how very much I appreciated your letter informing me that the Eastlake Golf Club of Australia has been 124 JUNE 2021 | golf australia

christened more or less in honour of myself.

This is, indeed, a compliment, for which I am very grateful,” Jones wrote. “Please express for me to your membership my sincere good wishes for the prosperity of the club and their enjoyment of it.”

Nearly 90 years on from the arrival of Jones’ letter and the club, and its wonderful course, is prospering well beyond the dreams of its founding members.

Memberships are doing well and the course is likely to host approximately 60,000 rounds in 2021.

Eastlake’s popularity can be attributed to the quality of the course – in terms of the design and presentation – and the value for money it represents, for both members and visiting golfers, which Eastlake has always catered for.

The most dramatic improvements to the course have all come in the past dozen years. It started with new holes and significant upgrades created by course designer Ross Watson and has continued in recent times with major works overseen by

course superintendent Nathan Bradbury.

What has remained a constant is the bones of Apperly and Howard’s original routing –an eight-hole trek out to the furthest end of the property, before looping back for a 10-hole journey back to the clubhouse. This is not dissimilar to some of the great Scottish layouts like the Old, New and Jubilee courses at St Andrews or Royal Troon on the Ayrshire Coast.

Most of Watson’s work can be found on the front nine. While the short par-4 5th and the long, dogleg right par-5 7th were major redesigns, the 351-metre par-4 8th and the tough par-3 9th were new holes.

The 174-metre 9th, known as ‘Wee Burn’, is arguably the toughest of the lot. Not only is it a strong mid- or long-iron from the tee, but the approach must clear ‘the burn’ that cuts across the fairway short of the green and wraps around the right edge of the hole, with just two bunkers separating the water from the putting surface. The job isn’t done once you’re on the dance floor, with subtle slopes making green-reading here a difficult process.

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THE PAR-4 14TH HAS BENEFITED FROM THE REMOVAL OF NONNATIVE PINE TREES.

COMPLEMENTING THE DESIGN CHANGES HAS BEEN A SERIOUS DEDICATION TO IMPROVING AND MAINTAINING THE OVERALL QUALITY OF THE PLAYING SURFACES. Of the long-established holes, one of the most memorable is Eastlake’s short par-4 14th hole. The 249-metre ‘Big Dipper’ offers a genuine birdie chance heading back to the clubhouse but treat it with contempt and you might pencil in a double bogey on the scorecard. The tee lies beside the Botany Wetlands, while the fairway wraps left around the edge of the hazard and climbs a short but steep hill to a green protected by bunkers left and right. The temptation to drive straight at the green, bringing the wetlands into play, can be too much for some.

Bradbury has overseen the redesign of the

tees, bunkers and the removal of non-native Pine trees, which has fully exposed one of the most attractive holes on the course.

Similar tree clearing has been undertaken at the next – a 454-metre par-5 – and this significantly improved the quality of the fairway turf as well as widening the playing lines along the rippling fairway to the pitched green.

I’ve played Eastlake dozens of times during the past 35 years and for much of that time I hated just one hole. Arriving at the 17th tee meant contemplating a tee shot with a long iron or fairway wood

– depending on the wind strength and direction – to tiny, normally rock hard green sitting atop a steep hill 200 metres away. I never birdied the hole and could probably count the number of pars on one hand.

Thankfully, that hole no longer exists and has been replaced by a shorter par-3 featuring a large, undulating green separated from the Botany Wetlands by two deep bunkers. The downhill tee shot of 155 metres is more appealing and fun for players of all standards.

Complementing the design changes has been a serious dedication to improving and maintaining the overall quality of the playing surfaces, which are excellent for a public access layout.

The significant improvements at Eastlake during the past decade has been played out and documented in Golf Australia magazine’s biennial ranking of Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses. In 2011 and 2013, Eastlake was not ranked in the Top-100. In 2015, it debuted at No.80, and jumped up another five places in 2017 to golf australia | JUNE 2021

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THE SWEEPING PAR-5 15TH HOLE NARROWS THE CLOSER YOU GET TO THE SLOPING GREEN.

No.75. There were more celebrations in 2019 when it reached No.63 and then, earlier this year, Eastlake surged to No.52.

Bradbury has been at the helm at Eastlake throughout that time and his work to improve the layout, to make rounds of golf more fun for all golfers, has certainly caught the eye of our ranking judges.

He has recently overseen a rebuild of many tees and will soon turn his attention to upgrading most of Eastlake’s bunkers during the next few years.

The non-native tree removal program implemented by Bradbury has worked wonders, not just to widen the playing corridors on most holes but also to improve the turf quality as the kikuyu fairways don’t have to compete with Pine trees sucking all

the moisture out of the ground.

“The course plays hard enough, especially when the wind blows, so you don’t need lots of trees making it even more difficult,” Bradbury said. “The tree removal program has been huge and as a result the course is more fun to play than it was 10 years ago.

“I’m lucky in that I have a general manager and a board that realise what a great asset they have out there and they allow me to make it as good as it can possibly be. The one common goal between us is player enjoyment.”

And while enjoyment remains the goal, Eastlake will certainly maintain its presence in the ranking and its popularity will continue to rise.

THE LONG PAR-3 9TH HOLE, KNOWN AS ‘WEE BURN’, IS THE TOUGHEST OF EASTLAKE’S ONE-SHOTTERS.

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FA C T F I L E LOCATION: Gardeners Rd, Daceyville, NSW. CONTACT: (02) 8999 8422; (02) 9662 6453.

WEBSITE: www.eastlakegolfclub.com.au DESIGNERS: Eric Apperly & Tom Howard (1932); Ross Watson (2012); in-house (ongoing).

PLAYING SURFACES: Kikuyu (fairways, 14 holes); Couch (fairways, four holes); Poa Annua (greens).

COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Nathan Bradbury.

PGA PROFESSIONALS: Alex Sutherland (head professional); James Edge, Corey Cruickshank, John Burrough.

GREEN FEES: $50 (weekdays); $55 (weekends).

MEMBERSHIPS: Eastlake has a number of membership options that are very competitive, from a low cost start up through to the traditional full membership. There is a waiting list for the six- and seven-day full membership.

However, there are five-day (Monday to Friday) memberships as well as two-day (Monday and Thursday) memberships available. For more details of available member categories, visit the club’s website.

ACCOLADES: No.52, Golf Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses, 2021.

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THE THING ABOUT GOLF

B

rendon Goddard played 334 passionate games for St Kilda and Essendon in the AFL before retiring at the end of 2018. Now, Goddard, who was twice named an All-Australian, has been able to turn his attention to his other great passion: golf.

How were you introduced to the game?

Dad was the golfer of my family growing up and he tried to play every Saturday comp. His parents owned a general store and lived in a little town called Toongabbie down in East Gippsland. It had a public golf course with an honesty box system and dad was the self-proclaimed superintendent there. My older brother and I used to ride around the course in the back of his HQ Holden ute and hit balls whenever dad was watering the tees or greens. Most of my time was spent out there and that’s probably when I fell in love with the game.

Where do you play most of your golf and what are you playing off at the moment?

I’m off scratch at the minute and playing mostly at Peninsula

Kingswood and Cathedral Lodge. We’ve got a good little crew down at PK with Geoff Ogilvy, Marcus Fraser, Nick and Jack Riewoldt, Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting.

You got the opportunity to caddie for Marcus in the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach. What was that like?

Oh, it was awesome. I was a kid in a candy store really, in my absolute element. Frase and I caught up for lunch about six weeks before he qualified. He asked me if I’d liked to caddy for him if he qualified. I just kind of laughed and said, ‘Don’t ask questions you know the answers to.’ He’d missed something like three cuts heading into qualifying (at Walton Heath in England) so I wasn’t expecting much. But I checked the scores before I went to bed and he was one off the lead. I couldn’t sleep that night … I just kept checking the scores and knew that the top-11 or something would qualify. At about 4am he had pretty much sewn up a spot and when I woke up (after Fraser had finished T3rd) there was a text from him saying, ‘Are you coming or what?’

I think it would be fair to say football fans enjoyed watching you play because you were always so committed to the cause. What type of golfer are you?

As you can imagine, I’m pretty passionate on the golf course. I used to have a short temper. People probably don’t believe me when I say this (laughs) but I started to calm down because I learnt to respect how hard it is to play consistently well. I used to be a member at Yarra Yarra early in my playing career and that was pretty convenient because it was only five minutes down the road from where we trained (Witton Street, Moorabbin). All the boys would give me crap leaving the footy club because I was forever in my golf gear.

But I just got completely immersed in it.

What are some of your favourite golf courses?

I’m a bit of a toffee when it comes to golf courses (laughs). I’m a big Seth Raynor and C.B. Macdonald fan. I love courses like the National Golf Links of America, Fisher’s Island and Friar’s Head, which is probably my all-round favourite golf course.

Some others would be Oakmont, Merion, Shinnecock Hills and I love LA Country Club.

I could go on forever to be honest.

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130 JUNE 2021 | golf australia