21dfvdfv

TODAY’S GOLFER OCTOBER 2017 (AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 27)

HELP! I’M 7’7” AND NEED NEW CLUBS! Join Britain’s tallest man for a fitting challenge O

SGO

CO UK

WN COUNTDSO‘18 TO PABRjoIrn interview Exclusive uts e their deb Who’ll mak rutal course eb We play th

Y C A U C C A THE

+

HOTTEST NEW KIT

365

e’s TaylorMadd foam-fille P790 irons Cleveland’s driver Launcher edge & cavity w echMizuno’s t -18 packed MP D333 Srixon’s A

!

E U S IS ways to hit more fairways and greens

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 365 AUG 31-SEP 27 £4.70

Easy ler’s exclusive iron play advice Rickie Fowate clubs from 200+ yards cur c a t s o M

LEGENDS’ LESSONS Q Watson Q Player Q Langer Q Couples

Goes Where No Driver Has Gone Before.

The new G400 driver’s streamlined shape advances aerodynamics and stability to our highest levels ever.

A speed-inducing forged face and MOI-raising tungsten sole weight deliver greater distance and fairway-finding forgiveness. Vist PING.com today. © PING 2017

Forged Face Engineered to increase face exing and deliver a powerful sound and feel, the forged face is precision machined to produce hotter ball speeds across the entire face.

Tungsten Sole Weight With a combined MOI over 9,000 and the deepest CG location in golf, there’s no more forgiving driver available.

ALTA CB (Counter-Balanced) Shaft

Colour-Shift Paint Technology The premium copper shaft paint transitions to black as you address the ball to reduce distractions.

Contents O CTO B E R 2 017

On the cover 42 Ryder Cup countdown Bjorn exclusive, possible teams and a look at the Paris course.

51 The Accuracy Issue Our experts – and Rickie Fowler – can help you hit fairways & greens.

76 I’m 7’7” and need new clubs!

We join Britain’s tallest man for a unique fitting from Ping.

82 Lessons from the legends Watson, Player, Langer, Couples and Lehman open up on golf.

91 New gear special Cleveland, TaylorMade and Mizuno’s new clubs revealed.

On the cover Hitting your 7-, 8- and 9-irons on the green is the key to scoring; we’ll show you how to do it.

Features 10 First tee Starring Justin Thomas, Branden Grace, sports stars who took on the pros and the secret PGA dinner.

51 Hit your target TG Top 50 coach Scott Cranfield has eight tips to help you hit more fairways and greens.

64 Hit more greens with Rickie The PGA Tour superstar shares his exclusive ironplay essentials.

70 Best clubs from 200+ yards Should you be using wide hybrids, narrow hybrids or driving irons?

88 My Life in Golf Harry Potter’s twin wizards have a magic touch when it comes to golf.

64

EUROPEAN GOLF RESORTS

TOP 100 KORINEUM

No.36

Along with 200 miles of enchanted coastline, over 300 days of sunshine every year and 9000 years of history and culture it is the breath-taking setting that sets this resort apart.

This 5 star Luxury resort’s 18 hole championship golf course is a dynamic 6,232 metres, 72 par gem designed for golfers of all standards and ages. The unique design enables the golfers to enjoy the views of the Five Finger mountains and the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean sea from each hole making it a breath taking experience and also a golfing challenge that golfers want to experience over and over again.

7 NT HOLIDAY AT 5+ KORINEUM GOLF HOLIDAY RESORT INCLUDING: 9 Return Flights with FREE Carriage of Golf Bag* 9 20kg luggage + 8kg cabin bag 9 4 Rounds of Golf with guaranteed tee-times 9 Daily Breakfast & Evening Meals 9 Return local transfers 9 Representative in resort 9 NO Credit Card charges 9 Complimentary shuttle service to Kyrenia town 9 Book by 31 March 2017 & receive FREE Sea View Hotel Room Upgrade for stays in Sept - Oct 2017

7N GOLF IGHTS HOLI D F RO M AY

ONLY

INTEREST FREE PAYMENT PLANS AVAILABLE + EARLY BOOKING DEPOSIT FROM £49

FLY, STAY & PLAY FOR FREE! Book a group of nine people and the tenth person goes absolutely FREE.

£499 I N C LU FLI G H D E S 4 RO U T S + OF G NDS OLF

Highly recommended on Trip Advisor, Beautiful Mediterranean Coastal Views, Private Beach Club, Spa & Freshwater pool

Award Winning Leading North Cyprus Specialist Call our offer hotline now

0208 150 6066 9345

Visit our website now

Holidays made in Cyprus, Crafted by Locals

PP

CyprusParadise.com/TD

Contents

O CTO B E R 2 017

Instruction

Equipment

Courses

30 Rule of thumb Learn a new routine for finding a better grip every time.

91 New gear revealed Cleveland wedge, driver and irons, plus TaylorMade and Mizuno irons.

116 Top 50 tricky tracks 50 of the UK and Ireland’s top value courses that test even the best…

33 Skim it to win it Copy a familiar movement pattern to improve your ball-striking.

104 The latest clubs tested Including Ping’s G400 driver and Callaway’s Steelhead XR fairway.

122 Stay and play Including legendary Open and Ryder Cup venues for under £300.

35 Pitch pin high Maintain set-up loft to control distance on shorter shots.

107 Reader test: Odyssey O-Works Can the microhinge insert help four ordinary golfers hole more putts?

125 TG Undercover Does Birkdale neighbour Hillside deserve as much acclaim?

38 Turn for the better Find the ideal movements for an online backswing.

108 Showcase: Push trollies Our pick of 10 of the latest models that take the strain when you play.

128 The insider’s guide to... Scottsdale This desert golf paradise is now home to 1,223 spectacular holes.

40 Bounce back like Jordan Spieth revealed the true quality of champions at Royal Birkdale.

110 TG Top 10s Including drivers, hybrids, better player irons and high MOI putters.

132 Dream destination... Greece Why Costa Navarino is putting Greece on the golfing map.

91

Subscri e

Get every issue delivered to your home plus 24 Srixon AD333 balls Page 26

EXPERIENCE EVERY MOMENT. REGISTER FOR TICKETS NOW. DON’T MISS A MOMENT.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO REGISTER FOR RYDER CUP TICKETS.

REGISTER NOW. RYDERCUP.COM/TICKETS

Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough Business Park, Peterborough, PE2 6EA. Tel 01733 468000

FROM THE EDITOR

Fitting a 7’7” golfer is no small task Gettingclubsthatarerightforyouisamust... especiallyifyouareBritain’stallestman! ver the years I’ve seen lots of strange things in TG. A chimpanzee that played golf was a favourite of mine (along with a list of 10 courses that Rudy could play, such as King Kongsbarns and Baboonbeg). I also remember trying to find out what was the best fruit for mn). If you’re

O

hael Catling’s mad-keen golfer, he hits it miles! has a few an who wears a ed to make a cast, dard-length driver headed to the US uding a stint with s went wild for his e wanted to play ith Ping about 400 clubs. Ping f clubs, so they our HQ in ll see what we can o, and the results Paul’s strike, ency and the joy s brilliant to ment to the can make to age 76 to find out

If you or someone you know are aged 16-24 and are interested in work experience opportunities at Bauer Media go to www.gothinkbig.co.uk EDITORIAL Editor Chris Jones Courses Editor Kevin Brown Equipment Editor Simon Daddow Staff Writer Michael Catling Group Art Director Hakan Simsek Senior Production Editor Rob Jerram Art Director Paul Ridley Art Editor Calum Booth Digital Editor Camilla Tait Senior Digital Marketing Executive Sarah Pyett Editorial Assistant Stephanie Etchells

01733 468523 01733 468299 01733 468469 01733 468685 01733 468240 01733 468631 01733 468466 01733 468244 01733 468096 01733 468571 01733 468243

CONTRIBUTORS Scott Cranfield, Rickie Fowler, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Bernard Langer, Fred Couples, Tom Lehman, Nick Dougherty, Andrew Cotter, Stuart Hood, Chris Bertram, Duncan Lennard, Lee Scarbrow, Lee Cox, Gary Casey, Simon Payne, Adrian Fryer, Ian Clark, Matthew Blake, Andy Taylor, Karl Morris, Steve Astle, Angus Murray, Mark Broadie, Andrew Redington, Chris Ryan, Bob Atkins, Paul Sturgess, Howard Boylan, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Steve Jackson, Isobel Sampson, Maya Stigner, Gary Lees, Joost Luiten. Pictures by Getty Images unless stated.

ADVERTISING Commercial Director Donna Harris Sales Account Manager Ben Peck Travel Director Ken Gill Telesales Executive Iain Henderson Telesales Executive Jordan Paylor Telesales Executive Josh Kerley Project Manager Gabriella Challis Inserts contact Howard Foster

01733 395028 01733 363206 01733 468690 01733 366429 01733 366409 01733 366386 01733 366345 0161 877 7455

MARKETING Direct Marketing Manager Julie Spires 01733 468164 Marketing Manager Susan Rogers susan.rogers@bauermedia.co.uk Head of Newstrade Marketing Leon Benoiton leon.benoiton@flgroup.co.uk Newstrade Marketing Manager Karen Caruso karen.caruso@flgroup.co.uk PRODUCTION Advertising Production 01733 468878 Printerr Southernprint, Unit 3, Factory Rd, Upton Industrial Estate, Upton, Poole, Dorset, BH16 5SN Publisher Bauer Consumer Media Ltd Distributor Frontline BAUER CONSUMER MEDIA Editorial Director June Smith-Sheppard Head of Digital Charlie Calton-Watson Finance Director Lisa Hayden Group Finance Director Sarah Vickery MD Sport Patrick Horton Group Managing Director Rob Munro-Hall CEO Paul Keenan SUBSCRIPTIONS Visit greatmagazines.co.uk/TG, call 01858 438 884 (overseas +44 1858 438 884) or e-mail bauer@subscription.co.uk Small print: Calls will cost no more than 5 pence per minute from a BT landline. Calls from mobile providers and other networks may vary. All phone lines are open 8am-9.30pm Monday to Friday; Saturdays 8am-4pm.

BACK ISSUES £4.70 (overseas £6.15). 01858 438 884 or +44 1858 438 884 (overseas).

Chris Jones, Editor

Subscribe!

Get 13 issues of TG and 24 of Srixon’s new AD333 balls from just £35 Turn to page 26

Today’s Golfer is published 13 times a year in the UK by Bauer Consumer Media Ltd, registered address Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA. Registered number 01176085. No part of the magazine maybe reproduced in any form in whole or in part, without prior permission of the publisher. All material published remains the copyright of Bauer Consumer Media Ltd. We reserve the right to edit letters, copy or images submitted to the magazine without further consent. The submission of material to Bauer Media whether unsolicited or requested, is taken as permission to publish in the magazine, including any licensed editions throughout the world. Any fees paid in the UK include remuneration for any use in any other licensed editions. We cannot accept any responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, images or materials lost or damaged in the post. Whilst every reasonable care is taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions nor do we accept any liability for any loss or damage, howsoever caused, resulting from the use of the magazine. Complaints: Bauer Consumer Media Limited is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (www.ipso.co.uk) and endeavours to respond to and resolve your concerns quickly. Our Editorial Complaints Policy (including full details of how to contact us about editorial complaints and IPSO’s contact details) can be found at www.bauermediacomplaints.co.uk. Our email address for editorial complaints covered by the Editorial Complaints Policy is complaints@bauermedia.co.uk.

Member of Audit Bureau of Circulation

First

Tee

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN GOLF EDITED BY MICHAEL CATLING

BIG PICTURE

10 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

P

Lights. Camera. Action! Rory and Sergio were filming an advert to mark the 60th anniversary of the first watch on the moon.

The spaceman came golfing The Ryder Cup teammates arrived on the range in a dune buggy dressed like a couple of extras from Interstellar.

Surprise! The duo kept their identities hidden, even hitting a few warm-up bunker shots, before taking off the helmets.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 11

TOUR

Pro athletes turned golfers Steph Curry isn’t the only sports star who can’t stay off the fairways

O p C T “ S a b t

y

K, so he didn’t make the cut.

He didn’t even come close, shooting successive four-overds of 74 to miss out by 11 t that didn’t stop Stephen m impressing on his Web.com ut at the Ellie Mae Classic. s awesome” said Jordan He exceed my expectations,” ul Casey. That may be true, does Curry compare to other an who have tried their luck in ssional ranks?

Yevgeny Kafelnikov

Nigel Mansell

Ivan Lendl

Not content with reaching the top of the tennis ranks, Kafelnikov joined the pro golf circuit in 2005. Since then, he’s played 27 times on the European Tour and Challenge Tour, missed the cut every time, and failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. He is, however, doubling as a pro poker player and Russia’s highest-ranked golfer.

The British racing driver warmed up for his first F1 season with Ferrari by making his pro golf debut at the 1988 Australia Open. Further appearances and missed cuts followed at the 1989 Balearic Open and the 1992 South Australia, before an unsuccessful attempt to ply his trade on the European Seniors Tour in 2003.

When he’s not busy coaching Andy Murray, there’s a good chance the former tennis world no.1 is on the golf course. Lendl once confessed to playing around 250 rounds in a year.

He even attempted to qualify for the 2008 US Open, and has previously played in two European Tour and three Web.com tournaments.

Andriy Shevchenko

Scott Draper

Tony Romo

The ex-Chelsea and AC Milan striker is a self-confessed golf fanatic and two handicapper, so who could blame him for testing himself on the Challenge Tour in 2013. The Kharkov Superior Cup in his native Ukraine seemed like a good place to start, but rounds of 84 and 86 left Shevchenko propping up the leaderboard on 26-over-par, 40 shots off the lead.

The former Davis Cup star bounced back from missing the cut at the Victorian PGA Championship – his first pro golf event – by winning the Australian Open Mixed Doubles with Sam Stoser the same day. Two years later, he became the only person in history to win titles on both the ATP and PGA Tours with victory at the NSW PGA Championship.

A close friend of Tiger, Romo was still an NFL rookie when he tried to qualify for the US Open in 2003. The closest he got was in 2010 where he advanced to the sectional qualifiers before withdrawing due to Dallas Cowboys commitments. He tried again this year, but failed to make it past the initial qualifying stage after posting a threeover-par 75 – six shots off the pace.

12 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

First

Tee

Q&A

‘I was jealous that Jordan won’ PGA champ Justin Thomas on what drove him to victory at Quail Hollow he US PGA Championship was supposed to be Jordan Spieth’s homecoming party. The storyline was all about the Open champion chasing the career grand slam, but no one told Justin Thomas who once again arrived late to the party. It has become something of a habit ever since Thomas led the University of Alabama to the 2014 College Golf Championship, a year after Spieth had done so for the University of Texas. And so, it began: Whatever Spieth would do, Thomas would go and do it, too. He even took a swig from the Claret Jug and quickly got the taste for Major success. The 24-year-old is now able to drink from the Wanamaker trophy whenever he likes and has already set his sights on winning the FedExCup. Just like a certain friend before him…

be very, very shaky. I remember at one point, I looked at my hand and it was a little bit shaky. But I mean, that’s why you play. You play for those nerves. As funny as it is, I tried to eat a lot and drink a lot.

Walking to the 17th green, I had some snacks in my bag and I was eating it and I literally almost choked. I was like, you’ve got to be – am I really going to choke? Is this a sign of things to come?

Q. How special was it sharing the moment with Rickie and Jordan when you came off 18?

It’s awesome and I think they know I would do the same for them. It’s a cool little friendship we have. I know Rickie was a couple groups in front and Jordan was probably through nine or something when I started. I just couldn’t believe Bud Cauley stayed around. He’s one of my best friends. We live together in Florida. I was about ten minutes from going to tee off and he was walking off to go sign his scorecard. He hung around for an entire 18 holes, not knowing what could happen.

But I think that kind of shows where the game is right now. We obviously all want to win but if we can’t win, we at least want to enjoy it with our friends.

Q. You’ve spoken before about watching Tiger win the PGA in 2000. Was it always your dream to follow in his footsteps?

That’s kind of the first memory for me in terms of being at a golf tournament. I was seven years old and watching it in the clubhouse. Hearing the roars and seeing what Tiger was producing was the reason that I was like, ‘okay, this is really what I want to do’. It’s crazy to be

T

Q. Has there ever been any frustration watching Jordan win Major after Major?

Frustration probably isn’t the right word.

Jealousy definitely is (laughter). I mean, there’s no reason to hide it. I was jealous that Sergio won; that Brooks won; that Jordan won. I wanted to be doing that, and I wasn’t.

Q. Can you describe your emotions when you first saw your name at the top of the leaderboard?

I was a lot more calm than I thought I would be, to be honest. I thought I would

Q. Coming from a family of PGA Tour pros, does it make it extra special winning the US PGA? You want to win any Major but for me, the PGA definitely had a special place in my heart. Like I said, I want to win every tournament I play in. But this was really cool. It’s just a great win for the family, and it’s a moment we’ll never forget.

sitting here now after watching him do his champion’s toast and hoping that I’m there one day, and I am.

Q. What’s next on your list of targets?

I know that Major champion will never be taken away from my name. Hopefully I’m going to win some more, a lot more. I know you can’t get to two unless you get one. It’s huge for me. We’re getting to crunch time in the FedExCup and the Playoffs, and this puts me in a lot better position. I’m just excited for that, I’d say more than anything.

US PGA INSIGHT

The defending US PGA champion is now expected to put on a lavish show

T

2017

JIMMY WALKER Jumbo shrimp and Colossal crab cocktail

Bone in prime ďŹ let mignon Chocolate chip cookie & powdered doughnuts

2016

JASON DAY Mixed green salad Prime rib-eye steak Chocolate molten lava cake

Y.E. YANG RORY McILROY

2015

Bulgogi – Beef sirloin marinated with Korean barbecue sauce

Roasted vegetable and lentil soup

Modeumjeon – Rice noodle salad

Duo of smoked beef tenderloin

odeumjeon – Pan-fried delicacies, i cluding halibut, mushrooms and courgettes

Flourless chocolate cake

Soosam Daechoo Danja – Ginseng and jujube sweet rice balls

2012

JASON DUFNER 2014

2010

KEEGAN BRADLEY

Roasted beet and belle chevre salad

Maine lobster

Alabama Slammer (fried green tomatoes with pimiento cheese; jumbo lump crab; shrimp and grits; honey-butter chicken biscuit)

Filet mignon Ice cream sundae

‘Butt rubbed’ filet mignon

PADRAIG HARRINGTON

2009

Leek and potato soup Smoked salmon on soda bread / Cabbage salad

Gooey ‘cast-iron’ brownie 2011

2013

G

RORY McILROY Goats cheese and beetroot salad Duet of Irish beef tenderloin Sticky toffee pudding

MARTIN KAYMER Traditional Germa Christmas dinner – G , knodel and red cabb ge

s bee ste / with Ii h h p

I i h hi ke C

ke / e

First

Tee

TOUR

The Golf Test

South African superstar Branden Grace was the first man to shoot 62 in a major championship, but that’s FIVE SHOTS WORSE than his best ever round!

Have you ever rushed on to the 1st tee just before your tee time?

Yes. I always tend to keep it on the late side. I’ve got a joke going with my caddie Zach [Rasego] as he’s always saying to me, ‘Branden, we’ve got to go.’ I tell him they can wait for me, to which he normally replies: ‘You’re more than welcome to start a couple of shots behind the field if you want.’ He always worries.

TG SCORE BIRDIE

Have you ever had a hole-in-one?

Two – both in China actually which is pretty funny. I have never won anything for it. In 2015, we played in the BMW in China and the i8 had just been released. I told Zach if I hit it in, I will definitely take the car. I managed to do it on the proam day, but of course it was one day too early. That was a pity!

TG SCORE BIRDIE

Have you ever shot a 59 or better?

I shot a 57 during a practice round on the Sunshine Tour. I was seven or eight-under through nine. I was only going to play nine but I thought, bugger that, I want to see how low I can go. I finished 13-under for the round.

TG SCORE EAGLE

Have you ever run out of balls?

I have not thankfully, touch wood! I always take 12 balls when I play so if I ever run out, something has gone drastically wrong!

Have you ever shanked a shot before?

Oh yes. I had one in Abu Dhabi in 2015. I was standing on the 7th hole, a par 3 with the water right. There was a guy on his phone who was irritating me. Everybody was trying to keep him quiet, but I stood over the shot, lost focus and hit it straight out of the hosel and into the dam. One of the most frustrating doubles ever.

TG SCORE PAR

TG SCORE BIRDIE

Have you ever scored double digits on one hole?

I have indeed. As an amateur, I made an 11 and it was very painful especially as it was a pro-am type of event in Durban and I was playing alongside South Africa’s then No.1 cricket player, Jonty Rhodes.

TG SCORE BIRDIE

Have you ever five putted?

I haven’t five-putted, but I did unfortunately four putt the par-3 6th – with the big sloping green – in last year’s Masters at Augusta. Once again, thanks for bringing all these bad memories flooding back!

TG SCORE PAR

Have you ever found your ball in an unusual place?

Yes, I have indeed. I’ve actually found my ball stuck in the base of an old tree about a yard off the ground. The tree trunk was split near the bottom and my ball was lodged right in the middle of it. Needless to say, it was unplayable.

Have you ever broken a club in anger?

No. That’s something I am proud to say. I’ve broken a couple of clubs when I’ve hit a shot and the clubhead has flown off. But when I was growing up, my dad was very strict like that and said: ‘If you break your own clubs, you will have to buy your own clubs.’

TG SCORE PAR

Have you ever played a prank on a fellow golfer?

Just small things like stealing a guy’s socks or belt in the physio truck. I have seen a lot of pranks where people have put the banana in the bag and it’s gone all squishy and wrecked the grips.

TG SCORE BIRDIE

A new leading score by the seven-time European Tour champ, who matches his record-breaking feat at The Open. Next month, popular Englishman David Howell finds himself in the hotseat.

16 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

TG SCORE BIRDIE

TOTAL: -8

PUMA’s newest EVOKNIT polo provides a perfect fit with seamless construction, engineered ventilation and moisture wicking for optimal comfort and mobility.

Play on your own terms: free to move, free from distraction. Play Your Way.

#PLAYYOURWAY

First

Tee

QUIZ

Match the caddie Every superhero needs a sidekick, and Tour pros are no different

ANSWER

5

6

ANSWER 7

ANSWER

9

10

ANSWER

7. Mike ‘Fluff’ Cowan (Jim Furyk)

10. Michael Greller (Jordan Spieth) 9. John McLaren (Paul Casey)

12. Zach Rasego (Branden Grace) 11. Ted Scott (Bubba Watson)

18 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

ANSWER 11

8. Joe LaCava (Tiger Woods)

ANSWER

ANSWER 8

ANSWER 12

ANSWER 6. Ian Finnis (Tommy Fleetwood)

ANSWER

4

5. Gareth Lord (Henrik Stenson)

ANSWER

3

ANSWER

3. Billy Foster (Lee Westwood)

2

sleeve of Pro V1s, there are still plenty of player-caddie relationships which have stood the test of time. To put your knowledge to the test, see if you can match the caddie with their current employer.

1. Alastair McLean (Colin Montgomerie)

1

paid handsomely to perform the role of a strategist, a psychologist or even a wife without benefits.

So, while the sacking season has seen players dispensing with caddies faster than your 28-handicapper gets rid of a new

4. Colin Swatton (Jason Day)

I

self-confessed 13-time Major champion and formerly the richest sportsman in New Zealand. A caddie is often tasked with doing the dirty work and frequently incurs the wrath of the angry golfer. In return, they get

2. Austin Johnson (Dustin Johnson)

t may not seem like a glamorous job, lugging a tour bag around and waking up at silly o’clock to scope out the course, but a caddie is more than just a mere assistant.

Just ask Stevie Williams, a

WHERE EUROPE

GOES TO PLAY Murcia - Spain

If there is one thing that defines La Manga Club, it is our unparalleled sports facilities.

Covering an area of around 1,400 acres, the resort’s award-winning facilities include three 18-hole golf courses, a 28-court tennis centre, eight FIFA-approved football pitches and modern cricket amenities.

If that wasn’t enough, La Manga Club boasts an array of four and five-star accommodation, a luxury spa and more than 15 bars and restaurants – plus one of the best climates in Europe to enjoy.

THE END RESULT, A TRULY UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE.

Tel. +34 968 17 5577 reservas@lamangaclub.com lamangaclub.com

Your say...

Rules debacle Did Spieth take things too far?

Expensive tickets, 22-minute delays and dodgy drops got you venting your fury LETTER OF THE MONTH

TO THE POINT

Going with the flow read with interest your article ‘Strike the Right Balance’ on page 42 of the August issue (363). It reminded me of some early experiences on the golf course when I was just starting to play. I used to get very frustrated and angry at myself for topping and shanking irons and slicing my drives. When I had finished throwing clubs in the air and cussing, I would look over to see my mate’s dad Dave, who was a psychologist, looking at me with a wry smile. All he would say was, ‘Does it really matter?’ The answer, of course, was no. Not really. Some 20 years on, I am still playing the game and experiencing the highs and lows.

In a spring competition, I carded

I

nett scores of 86 and 85 over two days. Very poor by anyone’s standards but not, I gather, uncommon. So, with a new fitted driver in hand and Dave’s mantra in my head, I signed up for our Club Championship with cautious optimism. I ended up finishing the weekend with a nett par 69 on Saturday, and a nett 58 (11-under) on Sunday. Since then, I have consistently played to my new handicap of 21, five shots less than before, with those wise words still at the front of my mind. Now, I would dearly love to get down to 18 by the end of the summer (cheats take heed) but if it isn’t to be, oh well!

It doesn’t REALLY matter. But it does matter a bit.

GLENN HAYLER, EMAIL

LETTER OF THE MONTH WINS A putter from Ping’s 15-model Sigma G range, worth from £175

20 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Golf’s worst kept secret is finally out . From 2019 at Bethpage Black, the US PGA Championship will be moving from August to May, leaving The Open as the final Major of the year.

The changes mean we can look forward to four consecutive months of Major championship golf, while the players can enjoy a less cluttered schedule.

Everyone’s a winner, aren’t they?

Jimmy Walker Last year, it was very crazy with the Olympics thrown in there. We had two Majors in three weeks and a World Golf Championship.

The spacing seems nice. It will be interesting to see if they can add new golf courses to the rotation for May. Rory McIlroy Especially with the Presidents Cup and The Ryder Cup every year, I think it gives the American guys a little bit more time. Overall, I think it’s a great thing.

Charley Hoffman In the long run, I think this is good for the tour and the PGA. Yes, it could limit some choices for PGA sites, but it could open up choices, too, like in Florida and other parts of the country.

Easier game for the pros I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Open this year, although Jordan Spieth’s penalty drop did make me think what would have happened in a normal club competition. Would any club golfer have had the temerity to do what Spieth did and basically tell John Paramor where he was going to drop it and take nearly 20 minutes to do so. I doubt it and I can only imagine the response of other members back at the clubhouse if they did. Plus, I’m pretty sure that if a club player hit a ball that far right, they would probably not even look for the ball and they would just play three off the tee. It is almost a different game for the tour players. They have someone carrying all their equipment, a caddie telling them exact yardages and rules officials guiding them through any tricky situations. The greens are perfect, no bobbles or pitch marks and they all run at the same speed. And then there are tonnes of spectators and dozens of marshalls who find balls that would normally never be seen again. Yes, they are obviously fabulous golfers, but everything is loaded in their favour.

NEIL SMITH, LANCASHIRE

Stuck in the dark ages Well, would you believe it? The dress police have decreed that lady golfers on Tour will have to be more modestly dressed. And there was I thinking that the ladies game is not hidebound by archaic dress codes.

Are knickerbockers and bonnets going to be brought back? The men on Tour are not under so much restriction, maybe because they are not so attractive, to me at least. But why do they have to wear long trousers, even in hot and humid conditions? The caddies wear

First

Tee

shorts; why not the golfers? Instead, they plod on, often soaked with sweat running down into their waistbands. That can’t be easy or comfortable, especially when you’re trying to play at the peak of your performance. Can the governing bodies on both sides of the pond really enforce dress issues and disqualify players for wearing shorts? Legally, I would have thought they would be on sticky ground. By all means, they should adjudicate regarding competitive play but leave the players alone to decide on sensible dress.

GRAHAM STROUD, WOLVERHAMPTON,

A right Royal rip off I was fortunate enough to attend the final day’s play at this year’s Open Championship and while I enjoyed the proceedings tremendously, I must now accept that it was quite possibly the last one that I will attend. The reason why? The spiralling costs that the R&A are expecting its audience to shoulder.

A £75 entrance fee, £15 park and ride and £10 for a souvenir programme. A simple ball marker usually costs around £1.50, but here is was three times that amount.

Wherever I went, it seemed the R&A were trying to extract the maximum they could from my wallet. Add onto this the cost of refreshments and travelling to and from the venue and it makes the day an incredibly expensive experience. A family of four with two siblings over the age of 16 could have easily spent in excess of £400 for a day’s attendance. And that’s without splashing out on gifts in the merchandise tent. To make matters worse, the BBC has lost its live coverage of the event and one now has to pay to view the Championship from the comfort of their home.

KEN HEWITT, MERSEYSIDE

Sneaky shuffling

Too revealing?

The LPGA is clamping down on low-cut tops and leggings.

Time to punish poor shots I couldn’t help but feel aggrieved by the part the crowd had to play at The Open in helping golfers get lucky breaks. Nothing intentional I must add, but on many occasions, balls heading for a gorse bush or the out of bounds hit a member of the crowd and landed kindly on some well-trodden turf. What should have resulted in a one or two-shot penalty ended up leading to a birdie chance. I, for one, believe that golfers should be punished for wayward shots. I know I certainly am whenever I play.

SHAIN MCALINDON, EMAIL

GET IN TOUCH I Write to Today’s Golfer, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA or editorial@todaysgolfer.co.uk Like Today’s Golfer on Facebook Follow @thetodaysgolfer on Twitter

Phil Mickelson I think it will be a really good thing for the PGA because it would be earlier on in the rotation when there is maybe more excitement for the Majors. We get to August, and that excitement kind of dwindles a little.

Rickie Fowler From a scheduling standpoint, it might be better for us to have an actual off-season . The schedule will be more uniform from March to August as far as big events, which will probably be a good thing.

Dustin Johnson It’s going to space everything out a little bit more, instead of it all being kind of crammed together.

So, it gives you a little bit more time to prepare.

The phrase ‘you must be joking’ comes to mind after watching Charley Hoffman getting relief from a bunker at the RBC Canadian Open. Not only did he shuffle his feet to try and get a stance in the bunker, he called the referee over who gave him free relief because he had managed to get down to the base lining of the bunker. I know this is not the first occasion this has happened, but the USGA and R&A must sort this out. After all, a bunker is a hazard. If he couldn’t get the stance he wanted, why not play the shot backwards like Karrie Webb had to from a pot bunker in the Ladies Scottish Open?

BARRY GIBSON, EMAIL

Cringeworthy commentary I do hope that the US PGA Championship is the last time we hear Peter Alliss as a commentator.

He is completely out of touch with the modern game and even more so with the modern crop of players.

Compared to Sky’s commentators, like the excellent and knowledgeable Ewen Murray, he just bumbles his way through talking, in his own words, English, Yiddish and rubbish.

I am afraid that these days it is mostly the latter. I write not as a young buck but as a 75 year old who has enjoyed Mr Alliss’ commentary in the past. Sadly, I fear he is well past his sell by date and should quietly retire before he is forced to go.

JIM STEWART, EMAIL

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 21

First

Tee

Nick

Dougherty The changing face of golf’s top dog shows just how special Tiger was olf never fails to surprise. Justin Thomas wasn’t even in the conversation going into the US PGA Championship, and yet he’s now the name on everyone’s lips. Sport can be fickle like that, especially if you don’t fit into the narrative.

The build-up was all about Jordan Spieth chasing the career grand slam and how Rory McIlroy was the only man who could stop him. The rest of the 156 players in the field were almost an afterthought. I couldn’t help but draw parallels with Tiger Woods and how the media made every Major all about him. I don’t think you can deny Jordan and Rory are two of the biggest draws in golf right now. They are probably the best as well, which is why I found it really interesting to see a picture doing the rounds on social media of Rory driving and Jordan putting. The caption underneath asked whether a Rory and Jordan hybrid could beat Tiger in his prime.

Two against one should be an unfair fight but even when you combine Rory’s long game with Jordan’s short game, I would still give the edge to Tiger. For the best part of 15 years, Tiger was almost unbeatable. Between 1999 and 2009, he won 50 per cent of the World Golf Championships he competed in. Just let that sink in. I’m not even sure whether Jack Nicklaus would have got past the 15th hole against him. Tiger didn’t really have a weaknes . E en his driving was f better than we give him credit for. Most myself in this, were already beaten before they teed it up against him. I’m not ashamed to admit that because I cannot overstate how dominant he was. The only time I ever beat Tiger over the course of a tournament was at 2009 Open. He missed the cut and wh like to celebrate someone’s misfortune, I had ticked another box in my career. I such a remarkable achievement becaus think we will ever see someone as good again. Most people would say that Rory driver of a golf ball than Tiger and I wo wholeheartedly. But Tiger’s iron play wa superior to anyone’s back then or now. much as I admire Jordan’s short game, Tiger’s was every bit as good, if not bet The real debate we should be having where Rory and Jordan stand in today’s game. On paper, Dustin Johnson is the world’s best. But I do believe

G

when they are all firing at 100 per cent, Rory stands head and shoulders above the rest. He makes us ride the Rory rollercoaster but he is capable of delivering some of those ‘wow’ moments, the kind you just don’t expect. Look at the way he won the Tour Championship last year. He holed out for eagle from the fairway on 16, hit a shot under the trees on the 18th and then holed a 15-footer for birdie, just after Ryan Moore had made a lengthy par putt, to win the play-off. He has just got that star quality. And when he does win Majors, he wins them the way Tiger used to. He smashes the field to pieces.

I even think Rory can, at his best, deliver a game of golf which could have rivalled Tiger in his pomp. I don’t think Jordan can do that, but I do believe he is the best at grinding out good scores when he’s playing poorly. Look at the Open just gone; most people would have capitulated after hitting that tee shot on 13. It was like watching a re-run of his Masters collapse. I genuinely thought it could be massive in terms of the damage to his career. And then he went and pulled together one of the best fivehole finishes I’ve ever seen in a Major. In its own way, that is star quality. No one player has the perfect game but they all have their o trengths. They are like superheroes, which is what e so exciting. I’m forever looking at the m sat at the Sky Cart and so many ave got some seriously impressive They might not win all the time, but incredibly consistent. Jordan is the property in golf after what he did at en but that tag seems to change after tournament because the depth in y’s game is so high. onically, Tiger is probably responsible hat. He inspired the current eration, leaving behind a blueprint of w to look and perform like an athlete. competition is so much stronger ause of it and now, anyone of 50 ers can win a tournament. You only to look at how many maiden Major pions we’ve had in recent years. The of one player dominating like Tiger ng gone. It’s high time we stop pining undisputed number one, and lap up npredictability of today’s game. After bloody good fun to watch.

‘Rory can, at his best, deliver a game of golf which could have rivalled Tiger in his pomp’

Nick Dougherty is a three-time European Tour winner and now a presenter on Sky Sports’ golf coverage. Follow him on Twitter @NickDougherty5

22 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Performance Engineered INTRODUCING THE PXG X COLLECTION

Engineered with a patented insert, and special crown and weighting system that only PXG would use.

The result is optimal launch, spin and distance coupled with incredible sound and feel.

Visit Golf Addiction and test out the PXG X Collection for yourself.

Unit 2 Potterdyke Development Lombard Street, Newark NG24 1XG 01636 676 856 www.golfaddictionuk.com/pxg

Unit 4 Elizabeth Business Park Tigers Road, Leicester LE18 4TN 0116 278 5550

First

Tee

Andrew

Cotter As women’s sport basks in a summer of success, golf must take advantage ave you ever wondered what it’s like to be a woman?

I should perhaps clarify a couple of things about this opening query.

Firstly, this is nothing do with me idly considering a radical lifestyle change, which would have a few people nodding knowingly while muttering to themselves “Hmmm... doesn’t really surprise me”.

Secondly, you may well be a woman anyway – in which case you probably don’t really think about it that much at all.

It’s just that I have noticed, as we approach the end of our sporting summer, how much higher a profile women’s sport has received recently.

We have seen The European Championships in football as well as the Cricket World Cup and, as I write, the Rugby World Cup is taking place. And I really do mean that we have seen them, because they have all been given plenty of media coverage with audiences in the millions for England’s games in the latter stages of the Euros.

There have been other women making headlines in sport, featuring on the front as well as back pages, whether it be Johanna Konta reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon or Johnson-Thompson taking a good deal of World Athletics Championships.

So where does golf stand? Well, in this least, it is on rather unstable ground.

You may have read the stories about the Ladies European Tour. No fewer than seve have disappeared from the calendar. You l schedule and there are glaring gaps. Betw Mediterranean Ladies Open in April and T Championship in July, there was nothing t members of the LET but practise their sho and watch Love Island on ITV2.

And when there is a chance to play it is fraction of what the men are competing fo So Ivan Khodabaksh has stepped aside Executive of the LET and more needs to c Because as it stands, if you are a woman, LPGA Tour in America is the only place to want to make a successful living in golf.

So what, you might ask, the world is cru the market place harsh. Lack of sponsorsh reflects the lack of interest. But surely the cyclical – there is a lack of interest becaus really seen. Not the other way round.

In a way you have to initially make peop

H

you have to make people see the product by putting it in front of them; attaching it to something which they know and recognise.

Do you think that people would be just as keen on following the exploits of Johanna Konta or Laura Muir if not for Wimbledon or the major athletics championships? Where men and women share the stage?

When we were talking about golf in The Olympics I considered that one of the benefits would be an increase in profile for the women’s game, as it was an event where the women and men played at the same time (almost), on the same course and for the same rewards.

But it’s not enough and perhaps it is time for something more radical.

I can hear the grumbling and turning of the pages from here. Things are fine, stop banging on about this - if women want to play golf there’s plenty of opportunity. But there has never been the same opportunity.

When I was younger I wanted to be a golfer – largely because I thought it would be nice to play the game professionally. I couldn’t help but notice that Seve and Sandy and Faldo seemed to elves thank you very much. Even my local ce new Audi Quattro with his name on the ould make a decent living. wing up a girl I wouldn’t have seen any of n’t have been able to consider it an option. denied an illustrious and well-paid career any real ability – but I still knew that it was . Other boys. is not just a problem for golf. In fact things se in other sports. The central contracts and’s rugby players are on are far less nd well paid than those of their male erparts. Female cricketers or footballers pittance compared to those with a Y osome. in tennis, one of the rare sports where are equal rewards, you will still find plenty they don’t deserve it. actually has a chance to be one of those ch is a model for equality – something can aspire to do. h I am sure there will be men who may coff, but all you have to do is ask yourself: r? haps wonder, in sporting terms at least, like to be a woman.

‘As a woman, the LPGA Tour is the only place to be to make a successful living in golf’

Part of the BBC commentary team, Andrew Cotter grew up tackling Ayrshire’s links and plays off 3. Follow him on Twitter (@MrAndrewCotter)

25 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

SAVE ON & GET 24 BALLS I Subscribe to save money off newsstand prices I 13 issues delivered or instant digital access I Get 24 Srixon AD333 balls as a welcome gift

Today’s Golfer is Britain’s No.1 golf magazine, helping you play better through our tips and drills, our equipment news and reviews and our course guides. As a new subscriber you will receive 24 of the new Srixon AD333 balls, worth £49.98 (see page 100 for more on the new ball), and get the mag delivered to your door before it’s in the shops, or instant digital edition access with offers 2 or 3.

Chris Jones, Editor

SAV

OFFER 1

PRINT EDITION

13 issues + 24 Srixon balls for £38

E

PERUP TO 6 RECCENT A3 SR EIV ND WO IXON B E 24 RTH ALL £49 S .98!

OFFER 2

DIGITAL EDITION

13 issues + 24 Srixon balls for £35 BEST OFFER

OFFER 3

PRINT & DIGITAL

13 issues + 24 Srixon balls for £43 Subscribe online or by phone quoting IDAA Call 01858 438884 Online www.greatmagazines.co.uk/TG Terms & Conditions: Subscriptions will start with the next available issue. Prices include postage for print and packaging. Prices quoted apply when paying by recurring payment. One-off payments also available – see website for prices. The minimum term is 13 issues. After your first 13 issues your subscription will continue at this offer price unless you are notified otherwise.

You will not receive a renewal reminder and the recurring payments will continue to be taken unless you tell us otherwise. Gifts are for UK subscribers only and we reserve the right to replace the gift of one of similar type or value. This offer closes September 27, 2017. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Cost from UK landlines for 01 numbers per minute is (approximate) 2p to 10p. Cost from mobiles per minute (approximate) 10p to 40p. Costs vary depending on the geographical location in the UK. You may get free calls to some numbers as part of your call package – please check with your phone provider. Order lines open 8am-9.30pm (Mon-Fri), 8am-4pm (Sat). Overseas? phone +44 1858 438884 for further information. Calls may be monitored or recorded for training purposes. For full terms and conditions please visit www.greatmagazines.co.uk/offer-terms-and-conditions.

PRIZE DRAW

Win a dream trip to PGA Catalunya Chance to experience the jewel in Costa Brava’s golfing crown…

Spain’s No.1 The Stadium Course is one of Continental Europe’s best.

his month we’ve teamed up with the Costa Brava Tourist Board to offer f a sensational prize enabling one lucky reader – and golfing partner - to follow in the footsteps of many of the world’s leading players at classy PGA Catalunya, Spain’s no.1 golf resort.

Up for grabs is a three-night break for two at the resort’s Hotel Camiral on a bed and breakfast basis, with three rounds of golf each at PGA Catalunya, return flights provided by Monarch and transfers to and from the resort.

PGA Catalunya is the home of the stunning Stadium course which has regularly staged European Tour events, including the critical final stage of ET Qualifying School, since opening in 1999. It’s so good it was recently voted Spain’s no.1 course as well as 3rd in continental Europe and 77th in the world.

It is a fitting platform for golf at the highest level though is loved by professionals and amateurs alike.

T

The acclaimed Stadium layout is backed-up by the neighbouring Tour course which isn’t quite as demanding and challenging to play but nevertheless guarantees to provide plenty of thrills, spills and golfing fun and condition-wise enjoys a similar standard of maintenance and quality.

With seven top quality golf clubs and nine varied layouts on offer on the Costa Brava, the popular Spanish coastal region of the province of Girona, just north of Barcelona, is

a magnet for golfers from all over the world including a growing number from the UK. While PGA Catalunya is the main attraction, you’ll discover a fabulous selection of courses, which include Club Golf d’Aro Mas Nou, Club de Golf Costa Brava, Empordà (Forest and Links courses), Perelada, Golf de Pals and Torremirona.

Monarch flies direct to Barcelona from Gatwick, Manchester, Leeds-Bradford and Birmingham airports with return fares starting from £86. For details call 0333 003 0700 or visit monarch.co.uk G For more information on this stunning area of Catalonia, visit www.costabrava.org

HOW TO ENTER Log on to www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/win, click on the Costa Brava option and enter your email address. Entries close at midnight on September 27. Full terms can be found on the website.

ENTER NOW AT WWW.TODAYSGOLFER .C O.UK / WIN

5 minute putting drill Perfect in the time just before you tee off Page 39

Fault

Fixer SAVING YOU SHOTS EVERY TIME YOU PLAY EDITED BY DUNCAN LENNARD

Getagrip onthings

Skim it to win it Imagine throwing a stone for better ball striking Page 33

Bounce back like Jordan How Spieth overcame some awful golf to win at Birkdale Page 40

A new routine to get a better hold every time Page 30

THE WHOLE GAME COVERED

100 S MORE TIPS ONLINE Visit www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/tips

Driving Irons Short game Tour tips Putting Mind games

32 34 35 36 39 40

BASICS

Rule of thumb Fault: Powerless shots and poor club control Fix: Get your gloved hand more on top of the handle

It’s easy to slip into bad habits… and one of the easiest is centred on the way you hold the club. One of the most common I see is the gloved hand slipping more and more under the handle as the season

Learn a new routine for finding a better grip every time progresses. It puts the wrist into a weak and immobile position, making it harder for you to cock your wrists properly and robbing your swing of snap. Here’s what to look for... and what to do about it.

Palm first Start a new routine.

The golden rule here is ‘palm first, fingers second’. So begin by placing the palm of the hand against the handle.

Long thumb A tell-tale sign your top hand is slipping underneath is the sight of your thumb extending down the grip, way past your index finger joint. It creates a very ‘palmy’ hold that limits your ability to cock and hinge the wrist.

Right angle Keeping the fingers stretched out, check the grip runs from the palm crease under the heel of the hand to the index finger knuckle.

Fingers second With the palm in position, simply close your fingers around the handle. Your thumb and index finger joint should now be more level, with the line between the two pointing up to your trail shoulder.

MORE TIPS ONLINE

www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/tips 30 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Fault Fixer

An easy way to find the correct top-hand hold

Heads up

Fingers spread

Take your grip with the shaft at around 45°. With a club in this position it’s much easier to push the correct part of the lead palm against the grip.

Keep fingers extended while you introduce your hand to the club palm first. Check the handle runs below the heel of the hand.

Trail hand: reverse the process When you’re happy with your top hand hold, add the trail hand. This time, reverse the process and start by placing your fingers against the grip. Feel the handle against the joints of the three middle fingers.

Snug fit Close the fingers around from here and you’ll create a snug fit between the two hands, the trail hand thumb fitting securely over the lead thumb. A couple of waggles to relieve any pressure, and you’re good to go.

Under handed

T G T O P 50 LEE SCARBROW

JOHN O’GAUNT GC, BEDS JohnJacobs Teachingand CoachingAward winner,coaches JamieRutherford &HannahBurke

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 31

DISTANCE

Pull up for power Boost clubhead speed through this little-known distance key Fault: Poor impact speed and short drives Fix: Pull the handle away from the ball through impact Watch the longest hitters on tour and you will see a fascinating sight; their hands are actually pulling upwards, away from the ball, through impact. This move is a key creator of speed. To get why, imagine you are swinging a pendulum between your fingers; pull the fingers upward and the pendulum accelerates. It’s a principle you can apply to your golf swing – but to develop the skill, start with a 7-iron.

Stretch lead side Start with a 7-iron. Swing halfway down and hold position. From here, swing through to a finish.

As you do, work to extend your lead side; feel the leg straightening, the lead hip and shoulder rising.

Low hands To grasp this concept, understand that your hands reach their low point before the clubhead does. You need to feel your hands are at their lowest as they pass your right or trail thigh. From here, a power delivery will see you pull them forwards and up, away from the ground. This proves that contrary to traditional coaching, there is a certain amount of up-down movement through the downswing.

Extra speed As your lead hip and shoulder rise your hands are pulled upwards. You can see they are higher at impact than they were moments earlier. The clubhead responds by releasing powerfully downwards, to the ball.

T G T O P 50 L E E C OX

T H E S H I R E , LO N D O N Coach to World Long Drive champion Joe Miller and PGA Fellow Professional

32 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 3 3 32

Fault Fixer

Stone skip Contrast that position over on the right to the one you find naturally when skimming stones.

Your weight moves naturally into your front foot while your head and chest rotate freely as the stone is released. The whole motion delivers easy power.

Trapped behind yer often feels a need to get ‘under’ the up. With this approach, weight remains he back foot and the head stays down. It thins and a weak, high ball flight.

Down and out This weight shift and body rotation join forces to fire speed into the hand, which releases the stone on a slight downward angle – the ideal golf club delivery. Always remember it’s the clubface’s job to send the ball upwards, not yours.

IRONS

Better strike urself getting stuck on your back foot, hat skimming action and work it into your our weight forward and your head and g through and you’ll soon find that more scending strike.

S

Copy a familiar movement pattern to improve your ball-striking Fault: Poor strikes caused by trying to help the ball up Fix: Bring a stone-skimming action into your swing As you no doubt know, great iron players strike slightly down on the ball. This is how a lofted clubface transfers energy into the ball. However, this attack angle eludes many club golfers. The sight of a

lofted face and the awareness that the ball goes upwards can all-too-easily lead to a back-footed scooping action through the ball in an attempt to assist launch and help the ball into the air. To beat this tendency, you need to wake up a natural movement pattern, one we’ve all used skimming stones on a pond...

T G T O P 50 GARY CASEY

T H O R P E WO O D G C , C A M B S 30 years’ experience coaching golfers of all levels

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 33

FULL SWING

More awareness This drill will aid a greater awareness of what you are changing to create each move – the path of your hands and arms, the forearm rotation, the clubface angle and so on.

Flat first move

Middle ground Now try to split the difference in the hands’ path, forearm rotation and the shaft’s angle and you will start to move closer towards a more online first move.

Now go upright

T G T O P 50 S I M O N PAY N E

C OWG L EN G C , G L A S G OW Scottish Golf Development Centre coach and Fellow of the PGA.

34 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 3 3 34

Fault Fixer

SHORT GAME

Pitch pin high Maintain set-up loft to control distance on shorter shots Fault: Poor distance control on chips and pitches Fix: Focus on your trail wrist to maintain face loft

When it comes to pitching, the club golfer is typically more out for distance than direction. Failure to send the ball the right distance normally comes down to inconsistent angles during the swing; alter your wrist hinge/cock or vary the club’s

attack angle and you’ll be prone to either adding or reducing clubface loft, which affects how far the ball goes. If you can set face loft at set-up and maintain it during the swing, you’ll become much more consistent with distances. Here’s how.

Set-up: Trail wrist kink

Backswing: As a unit

I’m addressing the ball for a standard pitch – ‘though with the trail arm only.

The ball is central in my stance and I’ve created a little shaft lean (a small kink in the back of the trail wrist). The bungee helps illustrate swing arc, or radius.

Your most effective backswing sees that set-up relationship maintained.

As you move the club back, keep a similar angle in the back of your trail wrist. The bungee helps you gain a feel for maintaining the radius.

Through-swing Now swing through – but again, keep focused on the back of your trail wrist.

Allow the pivot of the body to move the club through and you’ll be able to maintain that small trail wrist kink – and the loft on the clubface.

Attack control Keep the tension constant in the bungee through to the finish. That ensures you’ve kept the radius of your action consistent throughout – helping you create a brushing attack, control attack angle and keep face loft consistent.

T G T O P 50 ADRIAN FRYER

FELLOW OF THE PGA Based at the Liverpool Golf Centre.

See more at www.solid golf.com

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 35

to notice how he maintains a very stable lower half. This is key, as it’s only through a rock-solid lower half that you can keep the heaviest part of your body – your head – still. Next time you play, focus on keeping your left or lead hip still both back and through. This will help you keep the putter on line during the stroke.

Keep your lead hip rock solid

When Jordan Spieth’s caddie Michael Greller was asked what made his boss such a good putter, he replied it might have something to do with the fact he spends up to 10 hours a day on the practice green.

Such revelations might explain the wild long game Spieth occasionally exhibits – but it certainly accounts for his eerie ability with the flatstick. On paper, the new Open champion’s putting stats look merely quite good – he is 37th in the PGA Tour’s Strokes Gained category and his 28 putts-per-round average put him tied 16th in Birkdale’s stats. But where Spieth excels is in his ability to make putts that matter, something he proved by being five under for his last five holes at Birkdale. At almost 36 per cent, his birdie conversion rate is phenomenal. To putt well under pressure, you need reliable technique. Adopt these four attributes and improve your own performance under the gun.

Copy the new Open champion – and hole the putts that matter

Jordan Spieth

TOUR TECHNIQUE

Note the angle of Jordan’s belt; tilted forward, buckle pointing downwards.

This indicates Jordan is bending from his hips, confirmed by the look of extension through his upper body.

This posture allows him to position his arms correctly. His upper arms are slightly resting against the side of his chest, his forearms on the same angle as the putter shaft.

Create a belt tilt

Fault Fixer

Advanced Fellow of the PGA. Master Professional at World of Golf

WORLD OF GOLF, NEW MALDEN

IAN CLARK

T G T O P 50

This picture was taken in the heat of Major battle, but you’d never know by the look of Jordan’s hands and arms. There’s no sign of tension.

Relaxed hands and arms are key to touch and control. Let your arms hang from the shoulders – achieved through that good posture – and keep grip pressure firm but light, and you’ll give yourself your best chance.

Let the arms hang

The lead hand and wrist have a direct link to your blade. However, the wrist is prone to break down under pressure, making it a notorious weak point in the stroke. Try the left-handlow grip. Jordan is one of many players to benefit from a hold that helps keep the lead wrist in a firmer and more robust position. It can also help align the forearms better.

Try lead-hand-low

Putting average: 28 (T16th) Driving accuracy: 42.9% (100th) Scrambles 16 (30th) Birdies: 17 (T2nd) Prize money: £1.4 million

JORDAN’S OPEN WIN IN NUMBERS

DRIVING

Turn for the better Find the ideal movements for an online backswing Fault: Offline shots caused by swinging across the ball Fix: Wake up your core rotation Every backswing is a combination of the arms swinging up and the body

T G T O P 50

M AT T H E W B L A K E DY R H A M PA R K C C , H ER T S Head pro in Herts since 2006 and authorised Ping clubfitter.

38 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

turning round. The perfect blend of the two sees the club move back on an effective plane around the body, the hands finishing somewhere over the trail shoulder. But if one of those motions outbalances the other –

Link club to body Take your regular driver stance, but feed the handle up through your hands so the butt of the club pushes into your stomach. Take care not to alter the shaft angle as you do this.

typically it’s armswing dominating body turn – you can run into problems with the club’s path and start hitting some wayward shots.

Here’s a drill to help you find that ideal blend.

Keep in touch Now swing the club back until the shaft is around horizontal. Ensure your core contributes to this rotation by keeping the butt in contact with your shirt. Ideally the shaft will be parallel to your ball-target line.

Carry on to the top Of course the butt of the club will come away from your stomach. But as a final check, the shaft should again be around parallel to your ball-target line with the butt pointing away from the target.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 3 3 38

Fault Fixer

PUTTING

A great putting drill to prepare you for the challenges of the course

Build a spiral Start by setting up six golf balls in a spiral, back from the hole. Make the first putt 2ft from the cup, then position the next five in a curve round behind you, each ball getting further from the hole. Make the longest putt around 10ft.

Start shortest

Build rhythm Employ your regular routine of reading the putt and setting the blade each time. This allows you to train the discipline and rhythm you’ll need on the course. That’s far more beneficial than the usual machine-gun approach, which bears little relevance to the tasks you’re about to face.

Set up to the shortest putt and knock it in. Move back up the spiral, trying to hole each putt. The shape of the balls ensures each putt is a different length, and runs over different slopes – just as you’ll get when you are on the course.

T G T O P 50 A N D Y TAY L O R

KIRTLINGTON GOLF CLUB, OXFORD Director of coaching at the Andy Taylor Golf Academy.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 39

MIND GAMES

Spieth revealed the myth of consistency... and the true quality of champions

T Play the shot the situation requires

MORE TIPS ONLINE

www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/tips 40 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Fault Fixer

Inconsistency works both ways

Take pride rescuing a bad day

You can still hit a good shot

T G T O P 50 KARL MORRIS

WWW.THEMINDFACTOR.COM Karl has worked with Major winners including McDowell and Oosthuizen.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 41

NT

PA R IS

O C

OW

O

D

O

UNT

RYDER CUP 2018

2018

O

‘My job is to make sure that everything is ready for the 12 guys playing so they can deliver their point’

’THE PLAYERS ARE MUCH NICER TO ME THAN THEY USED TO BE!’ As the qualifying process starts for Paris, we sat down with European captain Thomas Bjorn to find out how he’ll approach the job of bringing the Ryder Cup home WORDS KEVIN BROWN PICTURES GETTY IMAGES

ith a year to go until the first ball is struck at Paris National, European captain Thomas Bjorn is thinking of little else but the Ryder Cup. Everything from the course set-up to player pairings, the outfits, the speeches, even the dinner menus... it all comes down to Bjorn. “I’m probably the only person in the world who’s thinking about it 24-7 with 12 months to go,” he told us.

The 45-year-old Dane has achieved virtually everything in the game except being crowned a major champion – he is a three-time runnerup – but being handed the European captaincy is the highlight of his career.

He added: “I’ve never looked forward to anything so much in my life. It’s a great honour.

A great opportunity to gather your thoughts on how you think it should work. I studied a lot of captains as a player and as a vice captain and always wondered what that feeling would be like to be the one leading out a team of 12 great players. Now it’s my turn to do just that and it is an exciting moment for me. I’ve lived and breathed the European Tour for so long,

W

and now I will do the same with the Ryder Cup.” Bjorn is determined to regain the trophy after seeing it slip through Europe’s grasp at Hazeltine last year, and the 15-time European Tour winner will use all his guile, including that gained playing on three successful teams (1997, 2002 & 2014) and serving as a vice captain (2004, 2010, 2012 and 2016) on four occasions, in a bid to ensure it comes home...

Can you sum up the captain’s role?

My job is to make sure that everything is ready for the 12 guys playing so they can deliver their point. It’s something that happens to very few.

It’s an amazing opportunity for everybody involved and a great honour to be part of.

There’s a lot of pressure on your shoulders – how will you manage that?

The Ryder Cup is all I think about, and that’s alright – that’s the job. I’m looking forward to the challenge. We’ve got some unbelievable players – senior players with bags of experience and some young talent coming

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 43

RYDER CUP 2018 through and hopefully the team will shape up in a way that I’d like to see it. But a lot of things can change.

How have the early preparations been going?

I’ve been trying to get all the initial pieces together enabling me to plan. Obviously I’ve got a good idea what I want to do, but it’s always great to speak to people and no matter how much you think about things, other people have great ideas, too.

Debut delight Bjorn at Valderama in 1997. He won again in 2002 and 2014.

What have you said to the players so far?

Just play golf. I remember what it was like in the non-Ryder Cup years... as a player you don’t really think about it, and I don’t want them to think about it. I just want them to think about playing and winning golf tournaments.

Have potential players approached you, and are they different around you?

They are nice to me – they never used to be that nice to me! I’ve been talking to some of the top players, reminding them ‘win your Major Championships. I’ll speak to you in a year-and-a-half and we’ll start putting together a plan.’ But for now, their focus needs to be on the big championships. That’s what they are in the game for. Not thinking about Ryder Cups.

I don’t want to fill their heads full of Ryder Cup stuff. They will hate me before we get there, so it’s wise to keep well away from that.

It’s probably a good idea to have Spaniard Jon Rahm on board – have you sent him the European r Tour membership forms?

Any European who is not a member of the Tour, I encourage to become a member, obviously. But people have to make their own choices about how they want to live their lives.

I’m in no position to deal with players and when it comes to family and what they want to do. But I encourage every European-born player to become a member of the European Tour, so we can get the possible best team.

I know all about Jon. He’s very, very talented.

But I’m not sending the membership forms to him because that’s a decision he has to make.

Surely we can’t afford to let the world No.6 slip through our fingers? g For any young player, a big goal is to play in the Ryder Cup. It’s a great event, and I always say legends are formed on the performance in major championships, but public legends are very much formed in the Ryder Cup. When people ask me what I remember most about Seve, I do remember five majors, but I remember more him and Ollie walking down the fairways in Ryder Cups. The Ryder Cup is a massive event and it can do a lot for your career and your persona, and I think that’s something that I can encourage.

It was a shame that in-form Paul Casey

44 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Helping hand He’s tasted victory as a vice captain three times, including 2010.

missed out for the same reason at Hazeltine?

I’ve been very clear that the qualification criteria is right and no individual player was going to affect that. I have a long list of names on my phone of all the players that are members in America and there’s certain people that are not members in Europe. And I’ll encourage all of them, including Paul, to be a member of the European Tour. That gives me an opportunity to get the best team.

But that’s Paul’s decision, and I can’t do anything about that. But I’ll encourage him.

Every single player that is European born is of equal importance to me right now, because I don’t know where those 12 are going to come from. It’s about who plays the best golf and not what you’ve done in the past.

Russell Knox also had his nose put out of joint by not getting a pick for Hazeltine; have you spoken to him yet?

You’ve got to be careful being too blunt, but there’s the obvious answer. There are eight spots up for grabs and I can’t do anything about those eight. I’ve always set out to make it on paper because then you’re certain. If you don’t, you’re at the mercy of somebody else.

As a sportsman, that’s not a great place to be.

When do you see the team taking shape?

When we get to April or May next year we’ll have a good idea, and then it’s a case of spending some time with the youngsters, seeing what they’re like as people and getting a plan together.

How exciting is it for you that half the world’s top-20 are European?

‘People say there’s a group of 25 players and the team can come from there, but my list is 50-60’ People are saying there’s a group of 25 players and the team can come from within there, but my list is 50-60 strong and I don’t allow myself to judge who is going to make it and who is not; experience tells me that who you think is going to be there won’t make it and it’s probably not going to be anything like you think. So I’ll just sit back and see how things develop. Ryder Cup points start at the beginning of September, that’s when we start putting our ideas together envisaging what it’s going to be like though you always know, especially the way the system is now. Next summer is going to be a massive time for everybody with points counting for more.

There’s a long way to go in the whole process, but I’ll be monitoring everything closely.

What is the hardest part about the job?

It tends to be the picks, as well as when things are not going for you during the event and you’re trying to work out a plan to try and swing things back in your direction. It’s important to put all the groundwork in place, so I can put more time and energy into the players who are going to be there.

Xxxxx point Xxxxxt Tour win at the 2015 South African Open.

Is that where your back-room team comes into its own, laying the foundations?

I’ve got good people around me, people I can lean on, including every single ex-captain – they have been very helpful already... We do this together. We always have done. And that’s a massive plus for us. It’s not my Ryder Cup, it’s all about the 12 guys in the team and we’re on-hand to ensure that they can perform.

How painful was Hazeltine for you?

That hurt a lot. Darren put a lot of effort into his captaincy and he did a really good job and it always hurts when you lose. I said at that time and I’ll stand by it, always – always – remember that the players who stand on the other side are very good, so it would be a very strange thing if we always won it. They’re very evenly matched teams so they’re going to get it right, we’re going to get it right, they’re going to get it wrong and we, at times, are going to do the same: that’s just the way it is. They just played better at Hazeltine. You couldn’t point the finger at any of the players, you couldn’t point the finger at the captain – they all put in a fantastic effort, but that week they got outplayed. We out-played the Americans at Celtic Manor and Gleneagles.

What can you tell us about Paris National?

It’s a dramatic course, always has been. It’ll test the players even though it’s not the longest layout. It will test them because you can’t get away with anything at Paris National. It’s going to be a magnificent venue, probably one of the best to stage a Ryder Cup on. In general, I would say the American team probably hit the ball further than the Europeans but, on the

other hand, both accuracy and course knowledge is a huge advantage.

What will you do differently to past captains?

You gather ideas from all of them, but you’ve got to match your captaincy to your personality. I’m not going to come out shouting and screaming and running around everywhere. I’ll let the players do more in the foreground.

How has the Ryder Cup changed since your first playing appearance in 1997?

The player of today is so different from 1997, when we played under the law of Seve. That captaincy would probably not work today because players are different, so you’ve got to adapt your captaincy to what’s around you.

Will you keep playing much?

From the start of the year, I’ve said I want to play golf for the next 12 months and have that

as my main focus, after which I’ve got other things going on that I have to keep an eye on.

But I feel that I can manage those two things quite well and can draw a lot on my ten years as chairman of the Tournament Players Committee, where I’ve done so many things away from the golf course as well.

Are you confident of regaining the trophy?

Some of our top players started the season so well with Sergio winning the Masters, but there will be a lot of ups and downs between now and then. I’m taking a backseat at the moment, letting them get out there, play a bit of golf and concentrate on their individual careers.

I’m a strong believer that if you look after your individual career, all these great things will come as a by-product of what you do.

Obviously for the youngsters who haven’t been there it’s more of a focal point than for the guys who have been there a lot and just take it in their stride.

BACKING BJORN Bjorn has appointed close friend Robert Karlsson as his first vice captain, saying: “With Robert’s exper I know he can deliver and he give me the foundation to ma the right decisions. Every tim have a conversation, there’s always a mind at work.

There’s an analytical side to Robert that sees good things in people and the

way they play, while he can also can be critical at the right times. We’ll have great ons and make good decisions re’s a lot of decisions to be ng the way.” o be supported by four more captains, Bjorn says he’s in o rush to appoint the others “but I’m quite sure that one more will come by the end of this year.”

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 45

NT

O

O C

PA R IS

UNT

OW

O

D

2018

‘On the tee, playing in his first Ryder Cup...’

O

Eight players who stand a great chance of making their debut t’s the hottest ticket in town, and the fight for a spot on the plane (or train) to Paris is being led by a new generation of twenty-somethings

I

and late bloomers. Darren Clarke had six first timers among his ranks at Hazeltine, but there’s a good chance Captains Bjorn and Furyk

could have just as many at Le National. Of the 25 players in the world’s top 30 who are available for selection, 10 are would-be rookies. From Rahm

and Fleetwood to Thomas and Hoffman, we’ve picked out eight potential newcomers who are in the running to earn one of eight automatic spots or a pick…

Alex Noren

Justin Thomas Brian Harman

Jon Rahm

Thorbjorn Olesen Charley Hoffman

Xander Schauffele y Fleetwood

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 47

OWN

SO

I

2

8

PA R

Eiffel power!

01

TO

O C O U N

TD

It’s going to take brains and brawn to overcome next year’s Ryder Cup course. We played it to find out how tough it will be W O R D S M I C H A E L C AT L I N G P I C T U R E S G E T T Y I M A G E S

RYDER CUP 2018

I

Course facts

What’s changed

RYDER CUP 2018

The holes it will be won on 15 408 YDS

How it plays: The clue is in its name. ‘Le Judge’ may not be the longest, but precision is a must. A lake snakes around the fairway before wrapping itself around an island green.

Opting for a long iron off the tee is the sensible play, and will leave a mid-iron to a green measuring 39 yards front to back.

17

PAR 4 480 YDS

16 PAR 3

177 YDS

How it plays: Modified in 2016, L’Appel is the shortest par 3 on the course and plays downhill to a green framed by bunkers, mounds and water. The biggest danger lurks to the right where the undulations drag balls towards the lake. Miss the green and it will take a minor miracle to keep a bogey or worse off your card.

18

PAR 4 471 YDS

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAY JON RAHM “It’s a great design; challenging in every aspect. You do hit almost every single club in the bag.

When you miss the green, you have many opportunities. It leaves a lot more to the imagination, especially around the greens. I can’t think of anything bad to say about the course.

It doesn’t get boring. I can’t hit driver on every hole because I’m going to be in deep trouble. Being able to hit 5-woods, 3-irons off the tee makes it fun.”

MARTIN KAYMER “You need to drive it well. If you hit the fairways, you should create chances. You just need to keep the ball in play. You know par is a good score on 60/70 per cent of the holes.”

THOMAS PIETERS “It’s a second-shot course. If you can just place it in the fairway; you don’t need to be very long. But if you don’t hit the fairway, you’re looking at bogey or worse.”

How it plays: Twinned with the 18th which plays in the opposite direction, this beastly par 4 appears fairly innocuous at first with no bunkers or water in sight. The tee shot, though straightforward, plays uphill to a fairway filled with humps and bumps. The undulations are just as pronounced on the green, which cambers dramatically from right to left. Ian Poulter told us: “You get a breather from the water on 17 with a long par 4 uphill, slight dogleg right-to-left. There’s no bunkers on the hole but it’s very, very tough.”

How it plays: Not for those of a nervous disposition. The final hole was ranked as the hardest at the 2017 French Open and is as dramatic as it is devilish. The design takes inspiration from the 17th at TPC, with the green floating on its own island. Getting the tee shot away is no easy feat, with water on the left and four pot bunkers on the right. After that, good luck! Poulter said: “You have a bit of everything on the last. Bunkers down the right, a water hazard to the left and an island green there to finish. It’s a very good test.”

RORY McILROY “If you start to hit it off-line, it really does punish you. There’s a few holes where you have to be conservative and try to take your pars.

I think you can be a little aggressive on the par 5s. And those last four holes will bring quite a lot of excitement.”

How you can play the course...

...and be at the event itself

Like most Ryder Cup venues, Paris National is a very accessible course, which accepts visitors daily (until a month before the event).

The green fee is €175 via the Le Golf National website (golf-national.com). We travelled to France via Eurostar, which operates 19 daily services from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord with one-way fares from £29.

Travel time is two hours, 15 minutes.

There is no event in golf like the Ryder Cup, and you can be in Paris to experience it for yourself. Your Golf Travel’s Ryder Cup Experience package includes five nights B&B accommodation and a Ryder Cup Season Ticket (Thu-Sun), with daily transfers to and from the hotel and an invitation to the YGT Ryder Cup Party. Costs from £1,799. To book, call 0800 193 6631 or visit yourgolftravel.com.

50 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

HIT Y

TAR GET UR

PIC

TU

RE

S A NG

US

MU

RR

AY

SH

OT

ON

LO

C AT

ION

AT

THE

LON

DO

N C LUB , KE NT

itting fairways and greens is the bedrock of a solid score; you’ll never score well if you’re constantly chipping out of the trees, or trying to get up and down for par. In this article you will see a phrase – ‘stable clubhead’ – make an regular appearance. That’s because delivering the clubhead with stability at impact is at the core of accurate golf. In terms of direction it refers to harnessing keeping the blade squarer for longer, increasing your margin for error. For distance control, a stable clubhead relates to the consistent transfer of energy from club to ball. I’ll guide you through eight steps so will work on both, and we’ll round things off with some strategy advice.

H

AC C U R ACY THE

ISSUE!

RICKIE FOWLER IRON PLAY TIPS

LOVE YOUR 7, 8 & 9 IRONS

BEST CLUBS FOR 200 YARDS

The PGA Tour star shares his accuracy secrets

Tour stats guru Mark Broadie reveals why

Wide hybrid, narrow hybrid or driving iron?

#1 Hit shots with split hands Add stability to the clubface, and gain control T G T O P 50

SCOTT CRANFIELD C R A N F I EL D G O L F A C A D EM Y PGA Master Pro & Principal of Cranfield Golf Academy with seven golf centres.

Spread your hands Start this drill by separating your hands on the handle; keep your gloved hand in its regular position and move the trail hand down to the bottom of the grip. Waggle the clubface and feel how, with the hands spread, the face feels less lively and more controlled.

BACK

THROUGH

#2 Clap for accuracy Feel how to limit forearm rotation and deliver a square clubface

Address Palms facing

At the top Palms ‘connected’

With the focus on rotation in the golf swing, it’s easy to overdo rotation in the hands and forerarms. To feel a more effective move, leave the club to one side. Take your regular set-up but leave your hands an inch or so apart, palms facing.

Now make a backswing with your trail hand and arm only; leave your lead or gloved hand in its address position. As you swing the arm back, maintain an intention that you will bring the hand back down to ‘clap’ the lead hand.

Downswing g Overcooked rotation

Impact Smack the glove

With that intention – which parallels the ideal delivery of the clubface – the notion of rolling the forearm open is alien. Yet this is the motion many club golfers make in a misguided quest for rotation.

Now swing the trail hand back down to clap the gloved hand. Repeat this drill a few times to feel how the trail palm feels “connected” to the lead palm throughout its journey. Finally take a club and look to feel the same trail arm rotation.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 53

#3

Face #4 Improve your pivot Your body pivot is what holds the clubface twist square. Splay your feet to feel how this works

Build awareness, boost face control

To help you keep the face squarer for longer, improve your feel for the face and what it’s doing. You can achieve this by taking a 7-iron and turning the club through 90 degrees (1, below), so the length of the blade looks at the target. Move the club back (2). The new angle of the head will feel unusual to you, which improves your awareness of it. It also puts the club’s mass along the target line. In this position its face is more reluctant to rotate. This helps calm any tendency to roll the forearms through the first part of your swing.

Give this drill some focus by tapping a ball forwards. Of course don’t worry where the ball goes. But note that to strike the ball in this position the face must avoid rotation through impact – this is another good habit to get into in your quest for accuracy.

1

2

5 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 54

Backswing Push off

Throughswing Trail foot push Now return the favour, pushing off with your trail foot instep to initiate your forward rotation. When you’ve developed a feel for how your pivot is initiated from your feet, return to the golf club and make practice swings, looking to repeat the feeling.

#5 Imagine the club has no loft Hitting irons straight is just the start... hit them the right distance, too

SHAFT LEAN CHECK As you do this feel how your hands naturally move forwards, ahead of the clubhead, to create that force through the shaft.

You’ll create some forward lean in the shaft – a key indicator of applying the correct, slightly downward attack angle.

#6 Feel a ‘pressure impact’ Learn an easy way to feel how you need to apply the club to the ball

Blend your #7 transition to create ‘lag’ It adds face stability & distance control Lag can be roughly defined as the angle between your clubshaft and wrists. Create this angle and you can release the club downwards, into the ball. Without it, your attack angle will tend to be too shallow. To learn what lag should feel like and how to create it, focus on your change of direction. Take your 7-iron. Turn it upside down and grip it by the head, with your trail hand only.

Make a three-quarter backswing (1). The angle between your arm and the shaft should be just short

1

2

58 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

of a right angle. Now start forward by feeling your lead knee and weight move to the target. As you change direction, allow your wrist to increase its cock while the arm pretty much holds position (2).

Now you have the “head” in a position where it can lag behind, arriving later and with more speed and compression. Work on this with the club inverted. When the motion starts to come more naturally groove the feeling with the club the right way round, though keep it trail-hand only.

#8

Plan the shot better These seven steps will go along way to improving your technique – but that counts for nothing if you don’t have an effective plan for the shot.

Focus on these five areas to ensure your strategy matches your swing

TAKE YOUR TIME When you’re faced with a tough shot, the huge temptation is to get it over with. But rushing the shot brings disaster. Instead, take your time. Stand directly behind your ball target line and absorb the entire scene, hazards and all. Realise the fairway is wide; you could probably fit 1,000 balls across it, and you only need one of those. Above all, prove to yourself that while the shot is tough, a good outcome is a possibility.

LOCK ON TO YOUR TARGET Dangerous hazards like water have an ugly habit of grasping your attention. You can’t ignore it, but you can release yourself from its hold by picking your target and committing to it throughout the planning stage. The clearer you define your line, the easier this comes, so pick an intermediate target to help you.

Drum this line into your mind’s eye and you’ll be better able to resist that last-second doubt that breeds a ‘safety’ adjustment… and usually disaster.

KEEP AWARE Some tees have mower stripes that may – or may not – point you down the fairway. It’s important you become aware of these lines and how they relate to your chosen shot path because it’s easy to be subliminally influenced by them. Similarly with the tee markers; they will not necessarily line up square to your shot. The bottom line is to use these elements to help you aim… and ensure they don’t use you.

MIND YOUR BODY LANGUAGE Be aware of how you stand, move and breathe. Simply standing tall with good posture can help give you a feeling of confidence. Take this feeling into your practice swing. Hold a balanced finish, looking down the fairway; try to look as composed as possible to any onlooker.

Moving like this helps you feel confident and committed, and helps you ward off feelings of twitchiness. A deep breath also helps slow your heart rate and keep you calm.

GO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW Your best chance of pulling the shot off lies with hitting the shot you are most comfortable with. It’s important you don’t let the hazards or the hole force you into using a club – or a shape of shot – that makes you anxious. That can mean playing for a left-to-right shot even if the hole bends the other way, or changing clubs if you think it will help you commit with a confident swing.

AC C U R ACY THE

ISSUE!

WE CAN ALL BE MORE ACCURATE...

AND THIS IS HOW

Â

60 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

H

‘The area that has the most impact on your average score is not your driving, short game or putting. It is your shots into the green’ TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 61

ACCURACY STATS

Average distance from the hole from 150 yards This is why your 7, 8 and 9-iron approaches are so important...

90 shooters

Top pros

56’

21’

100 shooters

70’

Average pros

23’ 80 shooters

42’

Stats familiar?

Improve your approach, improve your score.

Greens hit from 100-150 yards You’re up to three times more likely to miss than a Tour pro

100 shooters

35%

90 shooters

47% 80 shooters

63%

Top Tour pros

80%

has turned around and it follows the statistical pattern of previous seasons,” Broadie tells us. “Whenever you compare the earnings of top-10 players in the PGA Tour’s Strokes Gained Driving, Strokes Gained with Approach Shots, Strokes Gained Around the Green and Strokes Gained Putting categories, you always find that the leaders in the Strokes Gained from Approach Shots statistic have taken home the most money.”

So does this mean the whole ‘putt for dough’ adage is a myth?

Yes. Well. Um. It’s complicated, so we will let the professor explain.

“In general, golf tournaments are won by the player on the leaderboard who putts the best,” says Broadie. “But to get your name on to the leaderboard you need to be hitting your approach shots well. And this is why, if I had to give a mid or high-handicap golfer one piece of advice it would be to work on becoming more accurate from 100-150 yards.” That’s right, folks. Forget chipping from dawn until dusk or beating balls with your metal woods, hybrids or long irons.

According to golf’s leading data expert, if you want to slash your handicap quickly the clubs you need to dial in are your 7, 8 and 9-irons.

“The difference in golfers’ average performance statistics from 150 yards is astounding,” adds Broadie. “From this distance in the fairway, the best pros put half their shots within 21 feet of the hole, average professionals put half of their shots within 23

feet of the hole. Golfers who average 80 put half of their shots within 42 feet of the hole.

Golfers who average 90 put half of their shots within 56 feet of the hole. And golfers who average 100 put half of their shots within 70 feet of the hole. These are enormous differences that offer a big opportunity. If you can get your 7 or 8-irons 10 to 15 feet closer to the hole, then you can quickly take a couple of shots off your game.” While extremely exciting, the above is perhaps a tad labour intensive for some weekend golfers.

Thankfully, Professor Broadie has an alternative performance metric for those who aren’t salivating at the prospect of continually pacing out the distance from their ball to the cup.

“Work on hitting the green in one shot

‘If you want to cut your handicap you need to dial in your 7, 8 and 9-irons’

from between 100 and 150 yards,” advises Broadie. “The data I’ve gathered on shots hit from the fairway between these distances shows the following. Golfers who average 80 hit the green 63% of the time. Golfers who average 90 hit the green 47% of the time.

And golfers who average 100 hit the green 35% of the time. Again, these are huge variations that highlight the major scoring improvements you can make by hitting just two or three more greens.”

Got that? Great, then what are you waiting for? Grab your clubs, get out there, dial in your mid and short irons and prepare to give yourself a chance of winning this weekend.

Q Mark Broadie is a professor at Columbia Business School, the man behind the PGA Tour’s strokes gained statistics and the author of the best-selling book Every Shot Counts (everyshotcounts.com).

And if you do miss the green…

Professor Mark Broadie on the short game shots that’ll benefit you the most “A former PGA Tour professional recently asked me to research how many short game shots the average 90 shooter faces from 60 yards or less in an average round. It turned out the answer was 13, and that these 13 could be split into the following five

categories: 0-20 yards on the fairway; 0-20 yards in the rough; greenside bunker shots; 20-60 yards on the fairway; and 20-60 yards in the rough. I quickly discovered two things. First, the key to gaining strokes in all these areas is getting the ball on the green in one shot.

And second, the short game shots that cause higher handicappers the most problems are: 20-60 yards from the rough; greenside bunker shots; and 0-20 yards in the rough. So, if you’re looking to improve your short game these are the three areas you should focus on.”

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 63

AC C U R ACY THE

ISSUE!

HIT MORE GREENS

BY PGA TOUR WINNER RICKIE FOWLER

The American superstar reveals his approach play secrets W O R D S C A M I L L A TA I T PICTURES ANDREW REDINGTON, GETTY IMAGES

rom growing up on his local driving range in California to becoming one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour, Rickie Fowler puts a lot of his more recent success down to working with coach Butch Harmon for the past three years.

Since Fowler hired Harmon in 2014, the 28-year-old American has won five tournaments across both European and PGA Tours, including his victory at the Players in 2015 – but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.

In 2014 Fowler finished in the top five of each of the four Majors, but by the end of 2016 he had hadn’t managed better than T33 in all four Major-starts, and failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup play-offs – so Harmon told him he needed to take his golf more seriously.

“We had a big conversation at the end of the year last year, and he didn’t like it,” Butch told Sky Sports. “I said, ‘You gotta decide are you going to be a Kardashian or are you going to be a golf pro?” You’re the king of social media, you’re all over these Snapchats and all these things. You need to reach down and grab your ears and get your head out of your you know what and get back to work, get your body in shape. He’s got a

F

64 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

trainer he works out tremendously with and he’s worked unbelievable with his golf swing. He’s gone back to winning tournaments again – get rid of those Kardashians.”

Since then, Fowler has refocused and with a victory and five other top five finishes in 2017 he has become ranked in the top two on the PGA Tour for scoring average, total driving, strokes gained and sand saves.

We caught up with Rickie at the Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, where he told us that working on the fundamentals and staying consistent in practice is the key to accuracy on the course.

You have some of the best performance stats on the PGA Tour, what do you think has helped you become a much more accurate and consistent player?

I’ve been playing well this year, everything has been trending in the right direction. I feel like I’ve done a really good job of continuing to work on the little things and the fundamentals, making sure that I’m not too far off of where I want to be swing wise, so Butch and I are always staying on top of that to make sure it’s in the right spot and right tempo. His son Claude helps me out a bit, too,

RICKIE FOWLER

‘Butch and I go back to basics.

Alignment, posture, swing length and contact will take care of a lot’

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 6 4 65

RICKIE FOWLER

Add ess p p h a

Top

k a

And if something is a bit off, how do you go about sorting that?

Butch and I typically go right back to basics with everything and then try to come up with the answer. Alignment,

66 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

GREENS IN REGULATION

67.74

8th on tour

(APPROACHES)

You have one of the best scoring averages on the PGA Tour; is there a secret to how you practise?

Right now, I really don’t spend a whole lot of time on the range. I much prefer spending my time playing and putting myself in real situations. If I find something that’s feeling a little bit off, or needs work, or if I’m not playing well, I’ll work on that either after the round or the next day for 30 minutes to an hour. It’s not about the amount of time you put in. It’s the quality of it.

posture, swing length and contact will take care of a lot.

STROKES GAINED

and then I’ve got my caddie Joe, who has a great eye, so I feel like I’ve got a great group of people who help keep me in line.

0.732 8th on tour

What do you work on a lot?

Tempo, timing. Nothing ruins your timing like bringing the club back too far and too fast.

To keep my backswing nice and compact, I try to feel width – that my hands are far away from my body. Wide swings also tend to be shorter and smoother.

How do you stay consistent when you’re on the course and not feeling on your A-game?

I don’t try and change much, I usually just try to adjust and let it happen. The more I force it, the more it can all go wrong so I really just try not to force it then I’ll go and work on it after the round.

Does where you are on the leaderboard determine how aggressive you are?

Yes, I definitely play the course differently depending on where I am on the leaderboard. Depending on the situation, there are times where your position allows you to play a course or a hole more aggressively.

How do you approach strategy on the course and decide those percentage plays into greens?

For me, distance is a huge advantage out there, but being in the short grass is key. There are definitely times I will take less club off the tee to make sure I’m in the fairway, to avoid hazards, but sometimes the gamble is worth it to push it a bit further up so then I’ll go for it. I’d never want to be too far back, though.

Do you change strategy when you play different courses?

Finish

A little bit. When I play over here on links courses I really just try to avoid bunkers off the tee, as it can be close to being a one-shot penalty. I’ll try to play to a wider part of the fairway or try to take out the hazards.

Sometimes you might have a harder or longer shot into greens, but the last place you want to be is in the bunker off the tee.

You’re ranked first for sand saves on the PGA Tour; what is your key to getting it close from the bunker?

I’ve put in a lot of work with Butch over the last few years. There are a handful of keys that I have, like making sure I have a really solid stance. I think everyone has a bit of a different technique, but it all comes down to the main fundamentals, confidence and just really working at it.

To help amateurs improve their accuracy, what would you suggest?

Getting out there and playing is key.

But if they are looking for accuracy, they’ve got to practise from inside 150 yards. That’s where they tend to lose shots (and that’s where stats guru Mark Broadie says we lose shots; see page 62).

Is there a different f preparation for you mentally for Majors, or is it just the same process?

I think a lot of guys possibly make it different. But myself and my team try to make it as normal as another event. I feel like guys will spend some more time on the golf course or more time than they would at a normal Tour event. So I’ve gone to trying to play nine holes Monday, nine holes Tuesday and 18 holes Wednesday. Just like I would a normal event; you play a pro-am Wednesday and lead into the golf tournament.

APPROACH FROM 150-175 YARDS

D

23”7’ 4th on tour

GRE EEN OR FRIN NGE IN REGUL ULATION

73.02% 8th on tour

For me, getting potentially, nine, nine, 18, it gives me a chance to figure out what I want to do on the golf course and not worry about my swing or what I need to work on there.

You’ve won the Scottish Open and finished second in the Open, so why do you think your game suits links golf so much?

I grew up on my local driving range at home and it was just a flat piece of land with some built-up mounds and flag stuck in the middle. I had to use my imagination and just hit shots, since there wasn’t really much to aim at; it’s not like there were trees out there or bunkers to try and hit shots to pins or anything like that.

Then typically the wind would blow a little in the afternoon, so I learned how to play in that, too.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 67

RICKIE FOWLER

Rickie’s green-hitting keys Four things Fowler does that you can add into your game

MY SWING THOUGHT

MY No.1 ACCURACY KEY

WHAT I WORK ON…

WHEN TO BE AGGRESSIVE

‘Getting a little bit quick at the top is one of my tendencies, so I’m always working on that with Butch’ 68 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

AUTUMN/WINTER COLLECTION 2017

ESTANISLAO GOYA | CALLAWAY TOUR PROFESSIONAL

HENNI ZUËL | CALLAWAY TOUR PROFESSIONAL

We wear Callaway... do you? #IWEARCALLAWAY @ApparelCallaway

CallawayEuropeApparel.com

AC C U R ACY THE

ISSUE!

The 200 club What’s the best club to help you hit the green from long range – wide hybrid, narrow hybrid or driving iron?

MEET THE TESTERS CHRIS RYAN Handicap: Pro Chris is senior instructor at The Belfry Academy SIMON DADDOW Handicap: 10 TG Equipment Editor

New

Gear e’ve all boomed a Sunday best drive down the middle on a tough par 4, only to stroll to our ball and realise there’s more than 200 yards left to the flag. A few years ago you’d have been full of dread addressing a 3- or 4-iron for an approach shot from the turf. Back then we literally prayed shots got airborne, and if they did, we willed them to stay in the air long enough to carry any hazards between us and the flag! For any shots that did make it into the air the chances of stopping them on a green (because they span so little and flew so low) were few and far between.

W

That’s all changed today, though, as hybrids have convinced many golfers to ditch their long irons. Hybrids make it easier to flight long shots from the turf, but they also dramatically improve your chances of stopping shots closer to the flag as well. But did you realise there’s more than one type of hybrid available nowadays? The choice between wide and narrow bodies and utility irons (hybrid irons) is vast. Each is aimed at very different types of golfers, so we thought the time was right to explain the different anatomies of hybrids, and through the use of data show how each can help – or hinder – your game.

How we did it To give a true reflection of how each category performed we’ve used data collected during our 2017 Top Gear test earlier this year. Our test pro Chris Ryan and Equipment Editor Simon Daddow hit each of the wide and narrow body hybrids alongside the utility irons on a Foresight GC2 launch monitor (because of his repeatable swing we’ve only published the data for Chris) while using a premium golf ball. Numbercrunching was left until all three tests were complete to avoid any possible manipulation of the figures.

The anatomy of a wide body hybrid

Shaft weight

More like a fairway wood than you think Higher launching = more spin

Shorter hosel Rounder head shape

HOW THEY PERFORM

Wider head and sole

Lighter swingweight

THREE OF OUR 2017 FAVOURITES...

£229

£229

£199

The difference between our two testers demonstrates perfectly why manufacturers make wide and narrow hybrids. Simon’s slower, rhythmic swing benefits from the extra ball speed, launch and spin wider hybrids can deliver; the same traits rob Chris of a bit of carry. We’d say that if you need help deciding between the pair, think about whether you prefer hitting fairway woods or mid-irons. If you’re more confident hitting fairways and are the owner of an average swing speed, wider bodies are difficult to beat.

Don’t forget brands like Ping, who make a single hybrid; generally these fall into the same sort of styling as a wide body hybrid, so factor that into any prospective buying decision.

CHRIS’ WIDE NUMBERS O Average ball speed: 146mph O Average launch angle: 14.2° O Average backspin: 3866rpm O Average height: 36 yards O Average carry: 236 yards

New

Gear

The anatomy of a narrow body hybrid

Heavier swing weight to match your irons

They’re meant to be hit like irons Narrower head

Sole shaping Lower launching = less spin

HOW THEY PERFORM

Compact iron like heads Squarer, boxy head

THREE OF OUR 2017 FAVOURITES...

£239

£189

£190

Our test threw up much closer results than last year’s wide v narrow body hybrids test. The data though still supports the theory. Chris launched and peaked shots out lower with less backspin using narrower hybrids. His 1.5° lower launch shows perfectly how these designs are set up to flight shots lower. What does it mean for you? If you’re looking to buy a new hybrid, consider your swing speed and ball flight very carefully. If you want to attack hybrid shots aggressively, and don’t have an issue getting hybrid shots to hang in the air rather than nose dive out of it, narrow body hybrids and utility irons are well worth a shot. If you’re also prone to hitting hybrids left, narrow bodies and hybrid irons are worth a shot.

CHRIS’ NARROW NUMBERS O Average ball speed: 147mph O Average launch angle: 12.7° O Average backspin: 3323rpm O Average height: 35 yards O Average distance: 235 yards

Launch of a hybrid, with the spin of an iron Internal weighting Hollow body

Ball speed like a hybrid, (higher) spin like an iron

Looks of an iron

HOW THEY PERFORM

Springy sole and top edge Fast face tech

THREE OF OUR 2017 FAVOURITES...

£200

£169 (g)

£165

Utility irons are much easier to hit than traditional long irons – but there’s still no doubt in our minds they’re best suited to quicker swing speeds. Simon’s slower club speed struggled (like many club golfers with a 20° utility iron) to launch shots to achieve a good peak height and optimal carry. Chris launched them 2.4° lower (than wide body hybrids) and peaked shots out nine yards lower than the narrow hybrids. That explains why so many pros pop one in the bag at events like The Open, where there’s lots of wind and you don’t generally need to carry much in front of the green. Plaudits must go to Ping (again), as the new G400 Crossover does exactly what it promises; ball speed of a hybrid with the lower spin of an iron.

CHRIS’ UTILITY NUMBERS O Average ball speed: 146mph O Average launch angle: 11.8° O Average backspin: 3298rpm O Average height: 26 yards O Average carry: 230 yards

PRIZE DRAW

WIN

£699 WILSON STAFF FG TOUR V6 IRONS!

Your chance to land a premium set, from 4-PW, from the iconic brand that’s won more Majors with its irons than any other!

Follower Harrington has long used Wilson Staff kit.

e’ve teamed up with Wilson Stafff to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a set of FG Tour V6 irons (4-PW).

Used by three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington, the V6 irons are designed for the accomplished golfer who values ultimate feel, precision shot-shaping and feedback.

The FG Tour V6 irons have been developed within Wilson’s Feel, Crossover and Distance (F-C-D) system to meet the technology needs of all types of golfer. Defining players

W

within the three categories enables the club’s features and benefits to be matched to individual playing styles.

Made from 8620 carbon steel, the V6s feature split tungsten weighting through the set, improved sole camber as well as bounce for added distance, versatility and optimal ball flight. Weighting in the long irons (4 and 5) is split across 12 grams in the toe and eight grams in the heel to increase the Moment of Inertia and launch angle without increasing

spin. The 6, 7 and 8-irons have weight placed in the centre of the sole to lower the centre of gravity and provide optimal forgiveness across the scoring clubs.

How to enter: Visit todaysgolfer.co.uk/win click on the Wilson Staff option and enter your email address. Entries close at midnight on Sept 27. Full terms and conditions are on the TG website.

E N T E R N O W AT W W W.T O D AY S G O L F E R . C O . U K / W I N

!

HELP S

C A

CA

G P

U

S

W

N

d g, an o Pin ned t – tur

ned appe hat h see w ent to we w

S CLUB NEW NEED ND I ’7” A I’M 7 W

t man talles tain’s – Bri rgess ul Stu So Pa

E

verywhere he goes, cameras start clicking and heads start turning.

Pro basketball player Paul “Tiny” Sturgess is something of a celebrity in his hometown of Loughborough and has been known to enjoy free first-class upgrades on flights. Superstar status normally affords you such perks, but Sturgess gets his out of necessity. Standing at 231.8cm – he is officially Britain’s tallest man following the death of Game of Thrones star Neil Fingleton in February.

Sturgess wears size 19 shoes, rocks the scales at 24 and a half stone and wolfs down 7,000 calories a day. At least he did when he was touring with the Harlem Globetrotters in America. There, he became a YouTube sensation for his “no jump dunks” and entered the Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest professional basketball player.

Only now he’s leaving behind the world’s biggest arenas for the bright lights of Hollywood. He will be appearing in a Warner Bros feature film next year. Not that he wants to give too much away about the plot or title.

Golf is the only thing on his mind today, and has been for the last six months.

“I’ve only just come back from America where I played basketball non-stop and didn’t touch a golf club for six months,” he says.

“Playing for the Globetrotters means you play in one city, sleep, and then go to another city the next day. You are constantly on the move, so there’s no time for golf or anything like that. I feel really fortunate to have travelled to 38 countries and played in every state of America [since 2011]. But living out of a suitcase does get to you.”

Most 20-somethings would wax lyrically about playing in front of a sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden or meeting then US President Barack Obama at the White House, but there’s a sense that Sturgess would have swapped it all for the chance to play at Augusta National. “I actually had to turn down an invite to play during the Masters week,” he explains. “Someone on the committee went to one of our games and pulled a few strings to invite me. I was on Tour at the time, so I was really gutted that I couldn’t go.”

As it transpires, it’s unlikely he would have been allowed to play. Not because he’s not good enough; but because he’s unable to meet their strict dress code. “I don’t have any golf shoes,” bemoans Sturgess. “Finding clothes are fine – I can get them all from America – but I’ve looked everywhere for golf shoes and I can’t find a pair my size. I have to wear trainers which is a bit of a nightmare in the winter. When I was 17, I went to one manufacturer, but they wanted to charge me for a mould. It would have cost over a grand for the mould and the shoes combined and I

78 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

‘We increased the tape under the jumbo grips to 15 e a l s’ wasn’t p To avo “prestig “hack ar Leiceste charity g most of Longclif Sturgess full lunc plays. “M shooting Park Hil haven’t handica went to 17, I use was rea but I’m and my tailed of problem 52-degr very acc horrend What

custom fitted, which is why we are meeting at PING’s European Fitting Centre at Gainsborough Golf Club. Until now, Sturgess has had to make do with a standard-length which, g, have a o find.” gether ed k in and om fit. was cause I d swishes ht, with another adal chion. ps,” he hit n which amic loft ma massive o grips But I nough; d all my culous,

FITTING BENEFITS Mike Lea European Fitting, Events & Education Manager at PING “I often hear people say that I’m not good enough to be custom fit. That’s rubbish. It doesn’t matter what ability you are, whether you are new to golf or off single figures, getting equipment which is built, designed and fit for you will give you the best opportunity to play the best golf you are capable of.

It’s the same theory behind getting a new pair of sunglasses. Karsten Solheim, who was the founder of PING, used to wear glasses, but he’d never give them to someone else with the expectation that they could see the world as clearly as he could. So if you apply the same logic, why should Paul – who’s well over seven feet tall – play with the same length equipment as someone who is five feet? Our standard length typically fits someone who is between 5’7” and 5’11”. But it doesn’t just depend on height alone. It also takes into account your wrist-tofloor measurement. Michael Phelps is 6’7” and plays with standard-length golf clubs for the simple reason that his arms are ridiculously long. My advice is to go and get checked. What statically you might measure into could be completely different to what dynamically you fit into.”

Confident Paul fires another G400 down Ping’s range.

but Lea suggests not. “Because of the size of Paul’s hands, which measure over 10 inches in length from the crease of his wrist to the end of his longest finger, we’ve increased the amount of tape under the jumbo grips to 15 extra layers. Lea likens them to baseball bat handles, but it’s not just the grips which are supersized. The PING G400 iron shafts have been extended four inches longer than standard, while the head itself has been cranked 2.25 degrees upright. Most golfers would probably struggle to even make contact with the ball, and yet Sturgess proceeds to crush the next five balls 20 yards further than his previous best. And accurately, too.

“Paul has quite a strong left-hand grip and by making it a little thicker, it’s helped to stop him from over-releasing the club at impact,” explains Lea. “Looking at the figures, his ball speed has increased by about 10mph; his spin rates have gone down; and his carry has increased from 174 yards to around 190. The total distance increase is about 20 yards and the landing angle on average was 35.5 degrees with his own clubs; whereas now its 45 consistently. The big thing is that we’ve managed to perfect the length and lie and given him a more forgiving head, which has reduced his scatter patterns.”

The swing itself is about as unconventional as the belly putter he uses. Sturgess describes it as “pretty steep”, while a passerby likens it to an axe being swung. What isn’t

Harlem star Globetrotter.

in doubt, however, is its effectiveness. “He was hitting his four hybrid (22°) 250 yards,” says Lea, “which is what most people dream of hitting their driver. The funny thing is that the hybrid we’ve fitted him for is probably the same length of his old driver. He complained that he was hitting his driver erratically, and that was because it was standard length.

We’ve now given him a G400 driver which is at the legal limit – 48 inches in length. We can’t make it longer without making it nonconforming. He is a tall guy at 7’8” or 7’9” with his shoes on, so he needs to be stood upright and have that space to create leverage. Again, extending the length has

Final fit The putter isn’t ignored.

really helped with his posture and he’s now hitting it that magical 300 yards.”

Not that Sturgess is overly concerned by the numbers. He’s says he’s just happy to be hitting clubs which don’t feel like someone else’s. “I’m just glad I am able to walk away positive about my game,” adds the 29-yearold. “I’ve been a bit down about my golf, but it’s nice that I’ve got clubs which are tailored for me. I’ve never had that before. Even when I had a growth spurt and went from 5ft 10 to 6ft 10 in the space of year, I just got a longer shaft fitted. I’ve always had to adapt and manage but now if I do play badly, I know it’s me and not my golf clubs.”

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 79

What’s in the bag

1

DRIVER G400 SF-Tec (12°) PING Tour 65 X stiff shaft (48in in length)

1

2

6

G400 5-wood (17.5°) PING Tour 75 X stiff shaft (+3in in length)

3

4

FAIRWAY

2

G400 4-hybrid (22°) PING Tour 85 X stiff shaft (+3in in length)

3 5

HYBRID

4

IRONS G400 4-PW Project X 6.0 shafts (+4in in length) Lie angle (2.25° upright)

5

WEDGES Glide 2.0 50°, 54°, 58° Project X 6.0 shafts (+4in in length) Lie angle (0.75° upright)

6

PUTTER Sigma G, Kinloch CB 15” CB60 Counter Balance Grip (44in in length; standard is 34”) Lie angle (2.25° flat)

Nice fit That isn’t a belly putter, just a 44” ‘conventional’ model that’s as long as most drivers! Paul was also fitted for Ping’s Crossover as a hybrid replacement.

Tall guys on tour How do these golfing giants stack up against Paul Sturgess?

GEORGE ARCHER 6ft 5½ The tallest winner of a Major, Archer triumphed 13 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1969 Masters. He later underwent a hip replacement but still won another 19 titles on the Champions Tour.

CHRIS WOOD 6ft 6in A Silver Medal winner at the 2008 Open. The 29-year-old has since added three European Tour titles to his CV, including the 2016 BMW PGA Championship, He also made his debut at last year’s Ryder Cup in Hazeltine.

ROBERT KARLSSON 6ft 6in The Swede may sit outside the world’s top 400, but don’t forget he was a European Order of Merit winner in 2008.

That year, he finished fourth in the US Open and played in his second Ryder Cup.

PHIL BLACKMAR 6ft 7in Officially the tallest golfer ever to compete on the PGA Tour.

Blackmar made his debut in 1985 and remained active for the next 15 years, winning three tournaments. He now commentates for Golf Channel.

CRAIG SMITH 6ft 8in Nicknamed ‘The Giant’, Smith failed to make the grade on the European Tour, posting just 13 appearances between 2004 and 2011.

Instead, he spent most of his time on the Asian circuit before joining the Jamega Tour in 2012.

#COBRACONNECTUK

Are you #Connected?

Use COBRA’s new KING F7 driver and find out more about your game e’ve teamed up with COBRA Golf to give you the chance to track your drives like a pro – and win some great prizes in the process.

Join the COBRA Connect Club this summer and share your longest drives on social media – using the hashtag #COBRACONNECTUK – for the chance c to win COBRA goodies.

Shot h tracking tech has been around u for a few years, but in the p past you’ve had to install

W

expensive tags in the grips of your clubs.

COBRA has massively simplified the process by teaming up with Arccos to create the COBRA Connect grip, which comes free on COBRA’s 2017 KING range of drivers.

The device lets you review your drives post-round via a free app, to determine how far they went, and where, so you can keep a tab on fairways hit, distance gains and where your misses are. Users have already registered more than 170,000 drives, and here are some of the things it’s told us...

FAIRWAYS LEFT TOTAL: 41,898 PERCENTAGE: 24.40%

FAIRWAYS RIGHT

172 K COBRA CONNECT

TOTAL: 51,435 PERCENTAGE: 29.95%

SHOTS HIT

FAIRWAYS HIT TOTAL: 78,375 PERCENTAGE: 45.64%

(27,302 ROUNDS SO FAR IN 2017)

Pros love it!

COBRA-PUMA staff players Rickie Fowler and Carly Booth have both been using COBRA Connect.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED Share your biggest drives via social media over the summer – we’ll pick the best to appear in the magazine, on the Today’s Golfer website and social media.

1 Play golf using COBRA’s superb KING F7 drivers, which come already fitted with the COBRA Connect Arccos sensor in the end of the grip.

Q For more details visit www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/cobraconnect 2 Download the free COBRA Connect app on to your smartphone and sync your club to access your driving stats – plus the free GPS functionality.

3 Tell us about your best drives to win COBRA goodies! Share your screen shots @TheTodaysGolfer and @cobragolf on Twitter and Facebook

4 We’ll pick the best drives from the next few months to appear in the magazine, on the TG website and our social channels so get out on the course!

Tom Watson

Gary Player

Lessons

OF A

LIFETIME Between them, these five gentlemen have won a staggering 48 Majors. We sat down with Tom, Gary, Bernhard, Fred and Tom to find out how their experience could help you

WORDS KEVIN BROWN P I C T U R E S B O B AT K I N S , G E T T Y I M A G E S

82 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

LEGENDS’ LESSONS itting in the plush restaurant at Wentworth Golf Club, the five golfers around me really know what they’re talking about. On my right is Tom Watson and Gary Player. On my left is Bernhard Langer.

Next to him is Fred Couples and Tom Lehman. Between them they’ve won practically everything in the game – PGA Tour events, Ryder Cups, Presidents Cups... and the small matter of 48 Major titles on both the regular and the senior circuits. What they don’t know about golf – competing at the highest level, improving, grinding out a good score – isn’t worth knowing.

S

We were invited to sit down with all five for an exclusive chat before they starred in the latest Berenberg-backed Gary Player Invitational, an annual tournament, staged on the Player-designed Edinburgh Course at Wentworth Club. The event is part of the Gary Player Invitational series, which has helped The Player Foundation raise more than $63million for charitable causes around the world. This year it was won by the team led by Padraig Harrington and Ladies European Tour star Alex Peters.

It took place on the Monday of Senior Open week, just days before Langer went on to

Bernhard Langer

claim his 10th Senior Major at Royal Porthcawl. Even the players present were in awe of Langer’s success, with Watson saying: “Bernhard is the Tiger Woods of the Senior Tour, he really is. He’s absolutely killing it.”

Ever humble, Langer chipped in: “All the guys here are true champions, and to be in the presence of all these greats is a great honour... they’ve achieved amazing things. It’s always fun for me to hang around with these guys. I learn from all of them.”

With so much experience on tap, we asked them to pass on their best advice from a lifetime in the game...

Fred Couples

Tom Lehman

Learn from the best Watson, Player, Langer, Couples and Lehman were photographed exclusively for TG at Wentworth in July.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 83

Champion golfer Lehman bagged the Claret Jug at Royal Lytham in 1996.

Sawgrass’ finest Smooth-swinging Couples has won two Players titles.

What’s the key to your longevity?

TW: I say this tongue in cheek, but mainly I have good genes. I have the right body for it. I have very strong legs and I think a lot of it has got to do with the physical part of it. Plus I found the secret to my golf swing in 1994 when I made a change that allowed me to hit the ball better than I ever had before. I found the key at 3.15pm during practice on a Tuesday afternoon at the Heritage Classic, 1994, Hilton Head, South Carolina. I was tired of hitting the ball with toe-deep divots out to the right. I decided to swing like Corey Pavin’s practice swing. Swing to the left through impact. As soon as I did that, I hit the ball perfect. Divots were square, and I had a different feeling with my right shoulder. It wasn’t as low coming into the ball. It all had to do with shoulder plane, keeping it the same on the downswing as it was on the backswing.

FC: I think the big secret is talent, whether you’re an athlete, actor or singer, and then you need a lot of luck. Everyone gets injured and for me it’s always been my back, though I’ve been able to play around it. Many people – Tom is among them – are very loose, which allows them to carry on playing.

GP: Firstly, you have to look after your body and to be fortunate to have the right genes enabling you to have that body. You can’t do anything without health so it’s about eating properly, exercising and sleeping well. Then it’s being happy and finally a good marriage helps. Also, I think it’s important to have a knowledge of the golf swing – in my 64 years as a pro, I only met one person who knew the swing from A to Z. That was Ben Hogan.

BL: I’ve been blessed with fairly good health. I haven’t had any Major injuries except with my lower back and that was a long time ago. I love the game, and that drives me to still work at it. I enjoy competing owing to the competitive instinct I have. Those are the main things which keep me going, though I

84 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

also have a great support system, a great family, a good coach and caddie and have had some great sponsors over the years.

TL: Two things. The most important is staying excited about playing golf. It starts with your mind – you have to love the game and want to work at the game. If you don’t have any of that, you’re not willing to do all the other stuff it takes to maintain it. The next thing is that your body has to hold up for you.

Was there a single turning point in your career and, if so, what?

TW: The mid-1990s when I changed my swing. It wasn’t a big move, it was something different. I had struggled for 10 years with my swing – I was doing the same thing that Jordan Spieth does, hitting the ball right… right, right, right. And the reason was my right shoulder was too low at impact. Once I kept that a bit higher at impact, that allowed me to hit the ball straight, not push it out to the left.

That was it in a nutshell.

FC: I made the Ryder Cup team at The Belfry in 1989 and I lost a critical match against Christy O’Connor. Tom was on the team along with Curtis Strange and a bunch of top players with Ray Floyd the captain, and at 28 years old I was a young-ish upstart. I saw how big a deal it was to them, and I wanted to be on that team more and more and I wanted to play even harder. That inspired me.

BL: I got on Tour aged 18 and will be 60 next month (August) so I’ve been very lucky to have over 40 years of golf at the highest level.

GP: Winning my first Open at Muirfield in 1959. I’m a poor boy, I haven’t got any money and The Open is the most important tournament in my life – nothing else compares. And I become the youngest man ever, at 23, to win it... and I’ve got no money.

And I came from eight shots behind to win it using that old crazy equipment and lousy course conditions – I shot 284 in rain and

‘I found the key to my swing at 3.15pm on a Tuesday on the range at the 1994 Heritage Classic’

Tom Watson

wind. I was a fighter.

TL: Most players are naturally confident and believe they are the best. Others have to earn that and prove it to themselves. Many go through peaks and troughs and at some point you say to yourself either ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘yes I can’. For me, it took a series of failures before I eventually got over the hump trying to get my card at the Tour school. That was when I knew I could compete.

Have you had to overcome many hurdles?

And if so, how?

TW: Frankly, for a while, I hated the game because I couldn’t produce. The harder I practised, it just didn’t work, so I took time off, six weeks at a time, a couple of times and never touched a club. But that didn’t work. It was down to the fact that my swing was flawed and until I found that ‘secret’ it became easy again. We’re all looking for that and it could be just one shot that brings it about.

FC: My parents both died when I was fairly young on Tour, so they didn’t get to see me play much. Then I got married and my wife got cancer and passed away. So playing poorly wasn’t the end of the world. I was just talking to a friend yesterday who was playing in a tournament with his dad and he was telling me how badly he was playing. I said I’d give anything to have one more round with my dad. You need perspective. You lose a tournament here, you lose a tournament

LEGENDS’ LESSONS many ways you can hit a golf ball solidly, but only one way to generate speed. It’s a pretty simple dynamic, so as a result everybody’s swing is looking more and more similar. Today, the guys are magicians with their wedges – there’s no change in skill level. It’s a case of hitting it 340 and taking what you get and there’s a skill in that and that’s why it’s so hard to win today. Take Rory – when he’s on, he’s virtually untouchable, but when he’s off you can beat him. Tiger was different. He could play poorly and still win.

Green jackets Langer is handed the Masters coat by Couples in 1993.

there, but that’s OK. Golf isn’t everything.

BL: I’ve had plenty of adversity. I’ve had the putting yips four times in my career. I’ve had personal grief – I lost my sister, I lost my dad – there’s always some heartache going on sooner or later. None of us are immune.

TL: Just not quitting. With my history, I spent a lot of time playing overseas, playing miniTours and would be among the top players there, but I would go to PGA Tour qualifying and miss out. It was a case of hanging in there and persevering and not saying ‘to heck with this, I’m done’.

How has your fitness regime changed since early in your career?

TW: You know what, I never worked out. My fitness was hitting three or four hundred golf balls every day, so why did I have to work out? That’s more than a workout! These kids today, they work out with weights and things like that... they should be out there hitting three or four hundred balls a day. I’m not discounting the fact that they can get stronger their way. I just know how I did it and what my work-out resume was. Obviously I know Gary has been a fitness buff throughout his career.

Would I do it differently? Probably, if everybody else was working out like that. The problem I have right 400 balls a day and don’t work out a lot – maybe with a trainer three times a week, not every day. So in I’m losing my streng FC: Well, the last yea I’ve actually had one I’ve played golf with baseball players, I’ve played with tennis players and they’ll sa sore they are and the fit. The more you do

better you’re going to get, but you’ve got to watch your body and Tom’s body is perfect for golf. He’s one of the hardest practisers that’s ever played along with Vijay Singh and Tom Kite. I’m not. I’d rather go out and play.

BL: I’ve always enjoyed fitness though, I had a back injury when I was 18 or 19 and at that point I realised I might not be jogging and running all my life because it’s not good for me. I have to stretch more and just take care of my body in a different way. As I got older I couldn’t do what I did in my 20s and 30s, so I focused more on flexibility so my workouts changed a bit in that regard.

How has technology changed the game for you, and average golfers.

FC: I think it’s made the game easier for us pros, but I don’t think any club has made the 15 handicapper’s game easier – and that’s why I feel like the ball they use should have a little more oomph to it, so they can hit it a bit further. I mean, our balls certainly are – I hit the ball now a lot further than I did when I was 25, and that’s all down to the equipment. I’ve kept two or three of my old clubs and you put them down and they look like pieces of junk!

Also, the condition of the courses is unreal – there’s not a bad patch of grass today. d skill to be at the very e ball goes so much d the driver is so much iving nowadays. It’s a power game there’s no bout it. : It’s simply changed the ay people approach the me. It’s a whole new style play and the teaching that es with it is taking antage of that technology, ayers are becoming more ss the same. There are

How have your ambitions changed?

TW: They haven’t changed. I’m still trying to hit the best possible shot, every time I hit it. It all boils down to that. Dull, I know, but it’s true.

BL: They’re still very similar really. The main thing is to improve, and if I can improve I know I can compete at the very highest level. If I can improve a little bit here and there, victories will happen. Those are the goals. The end result now would be to win the Champions Tour’s Player of the Year and head the money list and top certain categories such as the greens in regulation or putting stats.

TL: I know one thing for certain that hasn’t changed – I don’t like getting beat regularly by anybody. So I’m playing on the Champions Tour with Bernhard, who is so dominant. As much as I love Bernhard, I don’t like getting beat by him! But that’s what makes you work and prolongs your career, because you want to prove to yourself that you’re capable of beating somebody that good.

What does the future hold for you, and the game in general?

TW: Right now I’m playing seven or eight tournaments a year, having reduced it from a dozen, and will probably to reduce it until I feel I can no longer compete at senior level. I haven’t reached that time yet. As for the game itself, I see in America especially that a decline in junior players has turned around, it’s started to increase in fact and that’s the future of our game. And that’s what I’m committed to, particularly in my local area (Kansas), to create programmes for kids to learn the game right from the beginning. What I love about Scotland is that they give free lessons to the

WHERE THERE’S A WILL… It’s hard to believe we know, but at the ripe age of 60 Bernhard Langer seems to be playing better than ever. The evergreen German explains why: “I strongly believe you can improve your game in your 40s, 50s and may be even 60s. While you obviously lose strength and length off the tee you can make up for it with a stronger mind, better technique, and a better short game, which is a crucial part of the game.”

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 85

Unforgettable Watson’s best career moment? His 1977 ‘Duel in the Sun’ with Jack at Turnberry.

‘Golfers must have an honest assessment and belief in how far they can go’ Tom Lehman

GP: Nicklaus is the greatest golfer period scoring-wise, but the greatest golfer from teeto-green is Ben Hogan. Why? He won nine Majors, but went to war for five years and then came back but couldn’t play because of a serious accident. In his prime, he couldn’t play in 13 Majors. How about that?

TL: Tiger. I was caught right in the middle of the best of his best. I still can’t remember him missing a putt he had to make.

juniors up there. How about that?

GP: Hopefully to live until I’m 100! I will do anything within my powers to help make the game grow and it was fantastic to see golf back on the Olympics stage in Rio last year.

BL: For me it’s all about one thing – winning.

one of them alongside being part of the winning 1999 Ryder Cup team and the captain of the 2006 team at the K Club, though losing was no fun. Winning the Phoenix Open in my hometown was pretty special, too.

You’ve all had a hugely successful career but what would be the highest of the highs?

TW: My little duel with Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977 would be right up there.

That was the beginning of my run: I’d won the Masters earlier in the year and a couple of other tournaments. But playing with Jack over the last two rounds, and winning by a shot, confirmed to me that I could not only play with the big boys, I could beat them! That was a watershed moment for me.

FC: The Players Championship in 1984 when I beat Seve and Lee Trevino. I thought wow! I could play, but going head-to-head with those guys and then obviously winning the Masters at Augusta in 1992. Plus playing in the Ryder Cup; even though we lost more than we won, it was still fun.

TL: Winning the Open at Lytham in 1996 was

Who is the greatest you’ve played against?

TW: Jack Nicklaus. He’s probably the best thinker on a golf course. I guess even he got nervous, but he always thought better than anybody else.

FC: I played with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger about the same amount of tournament rounds, but I played more practice rounds with Tiger. And I’ve never seen anyone hit a ball like Tiger. He is the best player I’ve ever seen play – but Jack is the greatest ever to have played. No doubt.

BL: It’s such a fine line. Tiger may have been the best when he was at his best because he had it all – length, touch and mind. He could perform under pressure… he was complete.

Nicklaus was very similar. He may not have been as good a bunker player or chipper and pitcher as Tiger, but he had everything else.

86 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

What advice would you give to promising players and amateurs generally?

TW: Look at the best players and copy them by discovering what makes them special.

FC: Number one is you’ve got to have patience for the game of golf. It would have been weird if some guy had told me when I was 22 what I’m about to tell you… hey, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. At 22, I’d have said ‘get away from me’, but Tom has been playing forever and you can’t worry about two months when you’ve played poorly, you’ve just got to hang in there, you’ve got to practice and keep doing it. I’m more about getting people pumped up to play well.

BL: I always say stick with the fundamentals, don’t get lost in the technique of the swing.

Focus on the fundamentals – the grip, the stance, aim, ball position, that kind of thing.

Keep it simple and then surround yourself with good people, especially if you want to be a pro, including a coach you trust and a caddie who knows what he’s doing and a manager that is reliable and trustworthy.

GP: Make sure you get a good wife! In my life I’ve travelled more miles than any human being, sometimes for up to two months at a time and not in jets either, 40 hours to America, 40 hours to Australia, stopping four times, and sometimes with six kids! 99 out of 100 women would have divorced me! But Vivienne has been a power of strength.

Another thing is hard work; there should be no sense of entitlement – and, as Churchill said, ‘manners maketh the man’.

TL: It’s really important that every player has a honest assessment and belief in how far they can go. How good can you be? If you have this reality check then it’s simply a battle of you against you. I always believed if I played to my potential I was going to win and if I didn’t win it was usually because I made a mistake or two, but almost never because somebody else was better. The only time I got to that point was when Tiger came along…

LEGENDS’ LESSONS WHY THEY’RE SPECIAL GARY PLAYER Age: 81 Major titles: Nine Senior Major titles: Six PGA Tour wins: 24 International victories: 115 Prize money: Around $8 million President’s Cup: Rest of the World captain in 2003, ’05 & ’07.

Low score: 63 in the 1984 PGA Championship.

TOM WATSON Age: 67 Major titles: Eight Senior Major titles: Six PGA Tour wins: 39 International victories: Four Prize money: Around $26 million Ryder Cup: Played for US in 1977, ’81, ’83 & ’89 and was captain in 1993 & 2014.

Low score: 62 (three times).

BERNHARD LANGER Age: 60 Major titles: Two Senior Major titles: 10 European Tour wins: 42 Prize money: $33.5 million plus Ryder Cup: Played for Europe 10 times and was winning 2004 captain Low score: 62 (four times) FRED COUPLES Age: 57.

Major titles: One Senior Major titles: Two PGA Tour wins: 15 Prize money: Around $33 million Ryder Cup: Five US appearances between 1989-97 Low score: 61 in 2014 PGA Tour’s Shaw Charity Classic TOM LEHMAN Age: 58 Major titles: One Senior major titles: Three PGA Tour wins: Five Prize money: Around £32 million Ryder Cup: Three US appearances (1995, 97 & 99) and captain of 2006 team.

Low score: 62 in 2012 Charles Schwab Club Championship.

‘I always say stick with the fundamentals, don’t get lost in the technique of the swing’ Bernhard Langer

Q The interview took place at the latest Gary Player Invitational event at Wentworth.

Berenberg, the private and investment bank, and Black Knight International united some of the biggest names in golf, business and entertainment under the banner of ‘Golf & Giving’ to raise more than £126,000 for various children’s charities.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 87 65

MY LIFE IN GOLF

J James & Oliver Phelps Two stars of the Harry Potter film series on setting up a range on set, giddy chats with Justin Rose and practising their swings off camera W O R D S K E V I N B R O W N P I C T U R E S B O B AT K I N S

t’s 20 years since the first Harry Potter book was released in the UK and twins James and Oliver Phelps were 14 when they auditioned for the roles of Fred and George Weasley in the ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ movie so they could “get a day off school”. They wer e offered the parts, starred in all eight movies and became millionaires. Now 31, golf has long been the Birmingham boys’ passion...

I

Oliver: Dad has always been into golf and introduced us to the game when we were eight or nine and we’ve played ever since. When we started filming Harry Potter we weren’t allowed to do any contact sports so golf became our no.1 pastime. Rupert Grint and Tom Felton both played as well but Daniel (Radcliffe) didn’t get involved. Rupert was pretty keen. James went to Ibiza with a few lads while Rupert and I went to Southport and played Birkdale and Formby. It was beautiful. Birkdale has got to be my favourite course.

James: We’ve been lucky to play at some amazing courses all over the world – I’ve so many bag tags that it jingles like Father Christmas’s sleigh!

Oliver: After my honeymoon in California, I managed to sneak away to play Spyglass and Pebble Beach!

James: I went driving around Scotland and I managed to get to play Loch Lomond, which was just awesome. My gardener recently played Trump International in Aberdeen and he said it’s one of the best courses he’s played.

Hollywood’s big hitters…

O Clint Eastwood – He may be in his 80s but still plays a mean game off 14. Plays out of Tehama GC – he owns it!

O Michael Douglas – The 15 handicapper once shot 79 at St Andrews and his wife Catherine Zeta Jones is a pretty tidy player too.

O Will Smith – Another 15 handicapper who starred in The Legend of Bagger Vance, regularly taking on co-star Matt Damon when they weren’t filming.

O Jack Nicholson – Plays off 13 and in 2013 bought a $75,000 set of clubs made out of platinum and 24-karat gold.

O Sylvester Stallone – It took the ‘Rocky’ star just two years to get down to 12hcp.

O Billions star Damian Lewis is a regular at the Dunhill Links off his 12 handicap.

Oliver: I haven’t had a hole-in-one yet

but my best round was at Spyglass. I was put out with three of the slowest golfers ever – it took over an hour to play four holes! I decided to go ahead and play on my own. Playing off the backs, I shot in the 70s which, off 11, I was really chuffed about and still don’t know how it happened. I haven’t shot it since. I went close to single digits last year but had two Medals where I completely bombed so that was that.

James: I play off 14 and when filming in Australia I played Royal Melbourne and ended up going round in four over – the round of my life. The greens were rolling at 12 or 13 on the stimp!

Oliver: People say ski-ing is a good holiday but, for me, you can’t beat a golf break – not only because there’s less chance of breaking your leg but because it’s for all ages; the handicap system enables you to play any level.

James: You can play the world no.1 and, thanks to the handicap system, you can still have a good game whereas if you play tennis against Novak Djokovic, you’re losing.

Oliver: The best thing we did with

the Potter films is when we went to a driving range to shoot a promotional DVD. It was 2010 and we managed to swing a visit to Celtic Manor. We asked if we could play and if dad and his mate could join us. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. We later played golf in America with the head of Warner Home Video and he said ‘I can’t believe you did that’. We thought we were in trouble until he added “why didn’t I get an invite?”

James: Whenever we do work for the theme park at Universal in Florida, we stay in Orlando and a guy we know is a member of Bay Hill so we get to play there. One time we were sitting at breakfast, someone patted me on the shoulder and said ‘hope you’re having a great day?’ It was Arnold Palmer.

Oliver: We’ve also met Justin Rose, whose kids are into Harry Potter big time. He was talking about that and the whole time we were just thinking… it’s Justin Rose!!

James: I’d like to get down to single figures and get my name on another board at my club, Moor Hall.

Oliver: I’d love to get down to six – I’ve done it before, it’s attainable.

Scratch is a pipedream though.

James: Filming involved long days, 12 to 13 hours, but you’re only in front of the camera for three or four so there’s a fair bit of waiting around – a great chance to practice your swing.

Oliver: We even set up our own driving range at one location.

James: My favourite airport is Minneapolis – they’ve got a simulator with 15 different courses on it.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 89

THERE’S A STORM COMING ProQuip stormFORCE PX5 100% Waterproof Lifetime Guarantee.

Using exclusive Japanese fabric technology to provide four-way stretch, with superior softness for a virtually silent swing, ProQuip sets a new standard in all weather protection.

This, coupled with our 100% Waterproof Lifetime Guarantee, makes the stormFORCE PX5 ProQuip’s most advanced rainsuit ever.

The stormFORCE PX5 range also represents excellent value with significant savings when compared to other leading manufacturers.

Visit www.proquipgolf.com to find your nearest retailer.

@ProQuipGolf ProQuipGolf ProQuipgolf

New

Gear LATEST KIT REVEALED, REVIEWED & RATED EDITED BY SIMON DADDOW

It’s launch time!

New metal has broken cover and we have the lowdown on all of it Cleveland CBX wedge 92 Cleveland Launcher driver, woods and irons 94 TaylorMade P790 irons 96 Mizuno MP-18 irons 98 Cobra F-MAX family 100 100 Srixon AD333 ball FootJoy D.N.A. Helix 101 Odyssey O-Works Red 101

CLEVELAND

Are you in the 84%?

That’s how many golfers might be using the wrong kind of wedges leveland are short game specialists, and the firm’s RTX 3 wedges are among our favourites on sale right now. But their research suggests up to 84% of golfers might be playing the wrong kind of wedge – namely one that doesn’t match their cavity-back irons. And this is the solution.

The new CBX model has been specifically designed to be a lightweight, forgiving alternative to the bladey RTX 3s.

They’ll still give you tons of spin and control, thanks to the same milled grooves as the RTX, but that’s combined with bags

C

Super-spinny Rotex grooves Every wedge face goes through a two stage micro-milling process to increase friction. And because the milling pattern differs between lofts, you still get maximum spin even when opening the clubface. Face roughness is limited by the R&A, but to ensure every CBX wedge is right on the limit of the rules, four tiny laser-milled lines between every groove take friction and spin to the max.

92 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

of forgiveness, just like a cavity-back iron.

“Over 80% of golfers are playing cavity back irons, and they play these cavity back irons because they’re a little bit more forgiving, little bit easier to hit, usually lighter weight than tour irons,” Cleveland’s Brian Schielke told TG. “But then you look at their wedges, and they’re playing a pure blade designed for tour players with a 130gram stiff steel shaft. There’s just a total disconnect in feel. So these wedges were built to feel and transition with your cavity back irons, but still have the premium wedge scoring technologies.”

Helpful soles The CBX sole is 25% wider than the RTX 3 at the centre and nearly 50% wider at the toe. A V-shape allows the leading edge to glide through the turf more smoothly (without digging).

Unlike many wide sole wedges of the past, the CBX maintains versatility so it’s possible to hit a full array of short game shots.

New

Gear

Seamlessly matched to your irons Cleveland have put in some serious R&D time to blend the lower-lofted CBX wedges to a similar profile as a cavity back iron.

As loft increases the head profile seamlessly progresses to a traditional wedge profile. And because there’s a very good chance that if you play cavity irons

Forgiveness We all want forgiveness when it comes to drivers and irons, but it makes just as much sense to have lots of it in our wedges, too. The signature CBX cavity distributes 76g of mass from the centre of head to the perimeter and into the sole, so you get a higher moment of inertia and better distance control on shots that don’t come out of the middle.

you’ll have slightly lighter shafts, Cleveland have worked with True Temper to come up with a brand new, lighter weight 115g Dynamic Gold wedge shaft.

O Details: £109 each. Lofts: 46°, 48°, 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°. Stock shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold 115 wedge (s) Rotex Precision wedge (g).

FIRST HIT VERDICT We were among the first golfers to try the new Cleveland CBX wedge on an exclusive trip to Cleveland’s California HQ at the end of July. I was fitted for my ideal wedge set-up, before taking the three out (50°, 54°, 60°) for a couple of rounds.

What immediately struck me was the look; the CBX is pretty much identical to the blade version at address. The gameimproving tech is hidden at address, but it’s there to help at impact. And help it

Feel balancing tech Cleveland removed weight from the hosel, and by incorporating a tapering sole width (which gets wider towards the toe) more mass is located towards the toe, drawing the centre of gravity 3mm closer to the centre of the face. Cleveland say it improves feel and consistency.

did. I endured far fewer fatted shots on the soft, sandy range in the USA, and distance-wise the CBX was more consistent than the RTX 3 on the launch monitor. Even though it’s has a wider sole, the versatility is just as good as Cleveland’s excellent RTX 3. I could hit high lob shots just as easily, and on many occasions those Rotex grooves imparted enough spin to get lots of action on the ball. They’ve gone straight in my bag.

Chris Jones, TG Editor

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 93

CLEVELAND

Return of the Launcher

Super-forgiving driver leads Cleveland’s return to woods & irons leveland’s original Launcher driver took Vijay Singh to the lofty position of world No.1 – but you won’t see this reborn version anywhere near the Tour. It’s firmly aimed at amateurs, and specifically amateurs who just want lots of help hitting the ball longer and straighter, without the confusion (or the price) of adjustability. It doesn’t have sliding weight tracks, removable screws or a fancy hosel for a good reason – Cleveland says that frees up weight, which has been moved to create a more forgiving centre of gravity location than other models, so you can... launch it.

C

Cleveland’s R&D chief Jeff Brunski told TG: “This is a driver for average golfers who struggle to hit the ball with consistency. One of the key technologies is the HiBore crown, an innovative geometric shape that takes the centre of gravity and moves it lower and deeper in the clubhead.

“All that discretionary mass we save with a lightweight hosel and thin crown, we

moved low and deep to give a more forgiving, stable clubhead – the result is longer drives and a more stable and forgiving ball flight.”

O Details: RRP £279.

Lofts: 9°, 10.5°, 12°.

1

Five things you need to know about the tech in the new

1

New HiBore Crown The stepped HiBore crown was a popular feature on the original so they’ve brought it back. It allows the body to flex at impact promoting higher ball speeds, but also means more mass is lower to produce a high-launch/low spin trajectory.

94 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

2

Lightweight hosel Cleveland says adjustable hosels use too much inefficient weight, so they’ve done away with it. The HB’s glued hosel means designers have freed up more weight to redistribute to help deliver that higher, more forgiving ball flight.

3

Flex-fin tech The specially-shaped toe and heel fins on the sole compress at impact, transferring more energy back to the face for extra ball speed and distance especially on shots that are impacted off-centre.

4

Launcher cup face Cup faces are not new to drivers, but Cleveland say theirs creates higher COR (flex and rebound) across the entire face than the competition.

When combined with all the other speed tech in the HB it means lots of help to hit it far.

2

New

Gear

Matching irons, too Cleveland Launcher CBX

3

4

Just like the HB woods, Cleveland’s CBX irons have been designed to make a significant difference to performance for the average golfer.

A new V-Shaped sole (which has come about thanks to Cleveland’s nous in designing wedges) is shallower in the long irons and steeper in the short, which means you get every iron through the turf quicker. There’s also a new Launcher cup-face to maximise ball speeds across the face and feel balancing to nudge the centre of gravity closer to the centre of the face for better feel and consistency.

A progressive set design means the ow-profile long irons are easy to launch rom the turf, while the shorter irons are more compact for improved control. our Zip grooves, just like Cleveland’s edges, maximise performance on approaches, especially from the rough.

O Details: 5-PW £570 (s) £648 (g). Stock shaft: Dynamic Gold DST 98 (s) Miyazaki

Cleveland Launcher HB

Launcher HB

5

Matching hybrids and woods No new Launcher would be complete without a matching fairway and hybrid, both have been designed to launch higher with faster ball speeds for maximum distance. Like the driver, both have fins on the sole and cup faces.

Fairway £200. Lofts: 3W-15°, 5W-18°.

Hybrid £179. Lofts: 19°, 22°, 25°.

Lots of golfers need as much help as they can get to hit the ball high. They’re not worried about chunky heads, thick toplines or offset – they just want something that will squeeze everything out of their swing.

So Cleveland has created the Launcher HBs for players like that. Thanks to the hollow body construction the set delivers hybrid-like forgiveness and launch in an iron design.

A HiBore crown removes mass from above the ball’s equator and repositions it lower and deeper, increasing launch and forgiveness. An ultra-thin, lightweight steel face removes inefficient mass (increasing perimeter weighting), and the oversized head improves face flex for higher ball speed numbers for slower swing speed players.

Progressive shaping ensures the long irons look and play like hybrids while the shorter clubs are much more iron-like.

O Details: 5-PW £570 (s) £648 (g).

Stock shaft: Dynamic Gold DST 98 (s) Miyazaki C Kua (g).

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 95

TAYLORMADE

Foam party!

Meet the distance irons for the better player... featuring revolutionary Speedfoam ny reasonable golfer will tell you their ultimate set of irons would combine the looks and feel of a forged blade with the playability and forgiveness of a cavity back.

Until recently, the concept has been a pipe dream, but thanks to the introduction of hollow-body forged iron constructions, it’s all changing.

PXG ignited the market with their 0311s, and while others have gone hollow body without being forged (Callaway Epic), TaylorMade believes that to complete their best better player iron line-up ever, the new P790s have to be at least part-forged.

Designers have specifically targeted the look, feel and feedback of a true blade. But by teaming the muscleback styling with a decent-sized internal cavity – filled with a new polymer called Speedfoam – you get the forgiveness and playability usually expected of a perimeter weighted iron.

Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s Senior Director of Irons, told us: “This is a distance iron for the better player. It combines the forgiveness and playability of a perimeter-weighted design with the look and feel of a true player’s iron. It has a 20 per cent higher inertia (more forgiveness)

A

Five things you need to know about the tech in the P790s...

similar to the cavity-back M1 iron.

“Speedfoam fills the internal cavit That allows us to make the clubface thinner – it’s just 1.7mm thick – whi improves ball speed. The foam also dampens sound and improves feel.

“This is the most complex iron construction we’ve ever created. By wrapping the forged face onto the s and combining it with our most flex speed pocket, we’ve increased ball speeds especially for shots hit low i the face.

“Jason Day and Xander Schauffele both put a P790 long iron in play th first week it was available at the WG Bridgestone, and both said feel was softer but more solid than the UDi (Ultimate Driving irons) they’d been playing.”

Distance is also enhanced by the inclusion of TaylorMade’s most flex Speed Pocket in the sole, but becau the face is so thin it doesn’t have fa slots like the M1 and M2 irons.

O Details: RRP: £1,049 (s) £1,299 Availability: 3-PW, AW. Stock shafts Temper Dynamic Gold 105 (s) UST

Cast and forged two-piece head

Speedfoam

New

Gear Fill me up oam s ho bee pan ty.

TaylorMade launches first blade in four years The best players in the world are very fussy when it comes to their irons. The look at address, feel, sound, flight… every member of a brand’s tour staff can have different requirments.

That’s possibly why TaylorMade hasn’t launched a forged muscleback blade since 2014 (Dustin Johnson’s still playing it), but they’ve worked closely with their tour stars (especially Justin Rose) to create the new P730s.

The heads are forged from one piece of soft 1025 carbon steel. They’ve got the thinnest topline, minimal offset, a thin sole and ultra-compact head size to create that premium blade look.

TaylorMade says the MOI is deliberately low as the best players want maximum workability rather than distance; so unless you’ve got a world ranking, these probably aren’t for you.

O Details: RRP: £1,049 (s). Stock shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold (s).

Flexible friend s is one nnest clu er used o n (1.75mm uldn’t ma thin with t Speedf

Rory didn’t sign his TaylorMade contract until after The Masters, by which time TaylorMade’s iron supremo Tomo Bystedt says 85 per cent of the design work had been done on the new P730s. But when he saw them before Augusta, he wanted them (with some of his own tweaks). So TaylorMade custommachined him a one-off set at their HQ in Carlsbad. There’s only been one set of “RORS Protos” made in this way – good job, as they cost around $15,000 a pop!

Tungsten weighting

Floating face

Lighter shafts

MIZUNO

Craft work People, rather than a computer, honed these players’ irons n a digital world, where everything’s designed using computers, it’s not often brands say they’re taking a step back and using a craftsman’s eyes and hands. But that’s exactly what Mizuno have done with their latest MP-18 muscleback irons.

They’ve listened to blade purists and reverted to using their best Japanese craftsman, a guy known simply as “Turbo”, to come up with a pure blade, with subtle shaping a computer could never master.

Turbo (below) worked closely with Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Sandy Lyle on their major-winning Mizuno irons, and his new blades do look sensational. There’s not a lot of forgiveness built into the MP-18 MBs – they’re created for accomplished ball strikers who don’t need much help.

But, given that’s a tiny proportion of the market, Mizuno has added two MP-18 split-cavity designs to cater for a wider audience, both of which feature extra forgiveness in a compact shape better golfers will love.

I

Four things you should know about the MP-18 tech...

98 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

1

Buy each iron separately Mizuno are one of few brands who sell their irons individually. It means you can mix and match between models. You also get a massive choice of 16 shafts (at no extra cost) to ensure you get your perfect iron set up.

2

Short iron drop-off Mizuno studied their famous old irons and realised the short irons got progressively smaller, something CAD could never quite grasp. With input from Faldo and “Turbo” they’ve built the idea back into the MP-18s.

New

Gear

MP-18 MB Six-time major winner Nick Faldo played a role in designing these, so it’s no surprise they’re tailored to seriously good ball strikers. The heads are thinner, smaller and shorter than recent launches, and each is forged from a single piece of 1025 E carbon steel which, thanks to its high-density grain structure, delivers incredibly good feel and feedback. The MOI’s deliberately low to allow for maximum shot workability, which good golfers desire.

MP-18 SC The blade market has always been niche, as less than 5% of golfers have single figure handicaps. So it’s wise to include a more playable cavity back option to widen your audience. This is still a compact iron, but its split cavity makes a great addition to its forgiveness. Its blade height is 0.5mm taller and its top edge 1mm wider than the blade, so it’s still very much a tour-ready club. According to Mizuno’s senior engineer Chris Voshall the SC’s slightly wider, cambered sole offers a potent mix of looks, stability, workability and impact softness.

MP-18 MMC It’s easy to forget how far technology has come in the last few years, but hearing Mizuno say the MP-18 MMC (multimaterial cavity) is as forgiving as some of the best game improvement irons from 10 years ago really brings it home. It’s the result of a three-year project by Mizuno’s top craftsmen to bring cavity-back performance to a players’ iron. A 20g tungsten weight in the toe raises MOI and forgiveness, while a lightweight titanium cavity medallion pushes more mass to the extremities of the head for forgiveness.

3

There’s also a MMC Fli-Hi Utility irons are making a comeback, especially on tour. The multi-material Fli-Hi has a maraging steel face and internal pocket cavity along with 20g of tungsten toe weighting to enhance ball speed and playability. #2/#3/#4/#5 at £150 each.

4

Good ball-strikers only apply Mizuno’s Director of R&D David Llewellyn told us you need to hit shots consistently from the area the size of a 5p piece to look at using the muscleback successfully. The company’s maximum forgiveness JPX900 Hot Metal has a sweet spot size more akin to a 10p.

Details: £135 per iron (MB and SCC) and £150 per iron for the MMC. Shafts: 16 options.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 99

COBRA

Taking it to the F-Max Designed for players who have a slow-to-average swing speed hough many of us think we swing it like Rickie Fowler, the reality is very different. Many of us don’t swing it anywhere near as fast as we’d like, so clubs used by tour stars don’t perform as well in our hands.

Cobra’s new F-Max family – which includes a driver, woods and two sets of

T

irons, including One Length – is designed to work better for golfers with moderate swing speeds. Prices start from £229 for the driver and £449 for a set of the irons, and for that you get lots of R&D. Each wood and hybrid has been optimised to maximise club speed and carry. Back and heel sole weighting helps

square the face at impact promoting higher, straighter shots, while an offset neck helps increase launch and draw bias to maximise carry.

Lightweight shafts mean more swing effort is turned into ball speed, and Cobra says a new crown stripe helps you set up squarer to the target.

SRIXON

Best ever AD333 ball It now has more tour tech rixon’s AD333 has dominated the two-piece ball market in the UK for 11 years. Why? It’s a great ball for club golfers at a great price (£22 a dozen). For 2017, though, it’s getting even better. The new one features similar tech to their tour-proven Z-Star used by world No.2 Hideki Matsuyama. “The AD333’s built-in tour technologies should help golfers see great performance in every aspect of their game,” said Michael Ross, Senior Product Manager at Srixon. “This is the ball for players who seek playability from a more durable, two-piece design.”

S

Two colour options

sale for £22 per dozen.

100 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Hotter core

and consistent distance.

New

Gear

onth SHARPEN GROOVE SHARPENER

Odyssey Red Putters from £179 www.odysseygolf.com Red putters are the hottest clubs on tour right now. Three of the top seven in the world use them, so it makes sense Odyssey join the party and bring five red O-Works models to market. Each features the same “microhinge” face insert you’ll find in the standard O-Works putters.

REPAIR PITCH REPAIRER

Two set of irons Weighting is strategically positioned closer to the heel to help golfers deliver a squarer face at impact while an offset hosel helps promote a higher trajectory with added draw bias. A progressive construction means each club has been designed for a specific purpose and they’re available as a standard or One Length.

DRAW BALL LINE MARKER

Motocaddy push trollies www.motocaddy.com Motocaddy says the push trolley market is on the up, so they’ve revealed three new designs. A Cube model folds to a compact size; the P360 offers ultimate 360° manoeuvrability and a lightweight P1 offers the budget conscious a solid all round push trolley with a parking brake. Prices from £129.99-£169.99.

Grippier ‘Spin Skin’ A third-generation Spin Skin improves greenside control and shot-making potential i ll f h h

ALIGN PUTT ALIGNMENT TOOL

New dimples A new 388-dimple pattern reduces drag for more distance and better control in the wind

FootJoy D.N.A. Helix £175 www.footjoy.co.uk FootJoy says their tour players wanted more stability and extra flexibility from the D.N.A shoes. So their designers re-engineered the outsole to not only be lighter (increasing flexibility), but also to have a wider heel, to increase surface area and allow the cleats to be spaced further apart for extra traction.

WWW.GRO OVEFIX.COM 0208 240 0527 10 0 % B R I T I S H M A D E LIFETIME GUARANTEE

USE TG05 AT CHECKOUT TO RECEIVE A FREE FAUX SUEDE POUCH WORTH £2.00 WITH YOUR ORDER

Get Your Free Gift With Every Order Enter Voucher Code: TGFREE Redeem This Code On The Basket Page Before Checkout

Featuring Our Summer Season Offers With The Latest Equipment Proud To Be The UK’s Biggest Online Retailer In Golf!

0% Finance

Price Match

Custom Fit

PGA Advice OF

Great Multibuy Offer - Upgrade Your Woods Today For Just £409.97

FE R

JPX EZ Driver

JPX EZ Fairway

JPX EZ Hybrid

Was £359.00

Was £199.00

Was £179.00

Now

£199.99

Now

£109.99

Now

£99.99

Save £159 (44%)

Save £89 (45%)

Save £79 (44%)

“ Maximum Forgiveness With Full Adjustability ”

“ Maximum Forgiveness With More Ball Speed ”

“ Maximum Forgiveness

With Higher Ball Flight ”

R

FE

OF

R

FE

OF

R

FE

OF

Vapor Pro Irons (4-PW)

Approach S2 GPS Watch

XR Irons (5-PW)

Was £749.99

Was £149.99

Was £599.00

Now

£299.99

Now

£109.99

Now

£349.00

Save £450 (60%)

Save £40 (27%)

Save £250 (42%)

“ 'HƒEKGPV (GGN 9KVJ 6QWT

“ 2TGEKUG &KUVCPEGU 9KVJ

“ 5JQEM 9CXG 6GEJPQNQI[ +PETGCUGU $CNN 5RGGFU ”

Preferred Head Shapes ”

Great Course Coverage ”

Was £17.99

Now

£89.99

Now

ER

Was £149.00

F OF

2TQƒNG $CNNU (15 Pack)

ER

F OF

ER

F OF

Ultralight Cart Bags

Tour 360 Boost Shoes Was £139.99

£8.99

Now

£89.99

Save £59 (40%)

Buy 2 For £17

Save £50 (36%)

“ Lightweight Performer

“ #NN 4QWPF 2GTHQTOCPEG 9KVJ 'ZEGRVKQPCN 8CNWG ”

“ 360 Wrap Stability Now /GGVU $1156 'PGTI[ ”

With Premium Features ”

Free UK Delivery Over £30

Low Cost Delivery To Europe

ONLINE - www.clubhousegolf.co.uk

CALL - 0845 375 1716

Interest Free Finance Is Available On Orders Over £250, Subject To Status - T&C’s Apply. Price Match Guarantee Full T&C’s Online. Free UK Delivery Over £30 Excludes Non UK Mainland.

NE

The Latest Under Armour Clothing Range - As Worn By Jordan Spieth

W

Summer Polo Shirts

Summer Sweaters

Summer Trousers

Sizes S - 2XL

Sizes S - 3XL

Sizes 30W - 42W

From

£29.99

From

£49.99

From

£44.99

Great Value

Stylish Detail

Modern Fit

“ Moisture Control With Cool Fabric Innovation ”

“ Lightweight Fabric With HeatGear Technology ”

“ Stretch Engineered For High Comfort Levels ”

NE

Introducing The New G400 Family - For A Faster Speed Of Flight

W

G400 Driver

G400 Irons

G400 Fairway

Multibuy Offer

Steel Or Graphite

Multibuy Offer

Price

£349.00

From

£589.00

Price

£219.00

Custom Fit Options

Custom Fit Options

Custom Fit Options

“ Faster Forged Face For Higher Ball Speeds ”

“ Increased Face Flexing For More Distance ”

“ Longer Distance With Maraging Steel Face ”

NE

NE

NE

W

W

W

C2 Lithium Trolley

O-Works Red Putters

TriLite 3 Wheel Trolley

18 Hole Battery

33” - 35” Available

9 Colours Available

Price

£549.00

Price

£169.00

Price

£129.00

Free £22 Accessory

2 Grip Options

Free £60 Accessory

“ Ultra Compact Design With Two Fold System ”

“ Unmatched Roll With

“ Lightweight Design With Easy Glide System ”

Microhinge Face Insert ”

NE

NE

NE

W

W

W

Course Classic Shoes

Summer Polo Shirts

Titan Tour Ignite Shoes

Sizes UK 7 - 12

Sizes S - 3XL

Sizes UK 7 - 12

Price

£74.99

From

£59.95

Price

£129.99

100% Waterproof

New Ventil8 Plus

Free £13 Shoe Bag

“ Adaptable Style With

“ 5RGEKƒECNN[ &GUKIPGF

“ IGNITE Foam Delivers Responsive Energy ”

New Spikeless Outsole ”

For The Serious Golfer ”

Largest Selection Of Stock

Rated 5 Star Customer Service

STORE - 599 Eccles New Road, Salford, Manchester M50 1EP Store Opening Times: Monday - Friday 9AM - 6PM, Saturday 9AM - 5PM, Sunday 9AM - 4PM. See Website For Directions & More Details.

THE TEST

G400 v M2 v Epic How Ping’s new big stick compares to this year’s best sellers ing’s new G400 driver has gone down a storm, both on tour and with regular golfers. It’s more aerodynamic than ever, and is one of the best-sounding Ping drivers for years. But how does it compare with two of the bestselling clubs of 2017 (and the two longest drivers we’ve hit this year) – TaylorMade’s latest M2 and Callaway’s Epic Sub Zero?

We tested all three to find out.

P

MEET THE TESTERS CHRIS RYAN

The Belfry Handicap: Pro Average driver swing: 100mph CHRIS JONES

TG Editor Handicap: 11 Average driver swing: 100mph SIMON DADDOW

TG Equipment Ed Handicap: 10 Average driver swing: 90mph

TaylorMade M2 £369 www.taylormadegolf.com O Lofts: 9.5°, 10.5°, 12° (D-Type 9.5°, 10.5, 12°) O Stock shaft: Fujikura Pro XLR8

THE KEY NUMBERS Ball speed Chris Ryan 170mph Chris Jones 143mph Simon Daddow 130mph

Launch angle 10.3° 13.2° 11°

Backspin 1,936rpm 2,666rpm 2,106rpm

Carry 299 yards 260 yards 236 yards

Average

11.5°

2,236rpm

265 yards

148mph

Our verdict: When Nike quit the golf gear business, lots of its stars turned to the M2 for their driver. Tiger, Rory and Brooks Koepka all switched, without (at first) being paid to do so. They chose it because the M2 offers a brilliant blend of power and forgiveness in a head shape which is just about unbeatable. We’re massive fans of the simple and

104 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

clean two-tone crown graphics, the sound is great and because there’s no sliding weight tech, the price is a little more manageable than an M1, too. With no more than a handful of yards between these three leading drivers you can’t make your choice based on distance alone. We’d urge you to look at the smaller details which make a difference, like getting the right shaft for your game, a head shape and size you love as well as a CG location that’s in-line with your typical impact location (as it adds ball speed).

Why it’s my choice: 2017 has been a brilliant year for drivers; there’s excellent options out there from multiple brands. But for me, as an all-round performer, the M2 is outstanding. Just look at the amount of tour pros who’ve used it this year. The D-Type’s a great discrete draw driver for club golfers as it doesn’t shout “slicer” to your playing partners. Chris Ryan

New

Gear

Ping G400 £389 www.ping.com O Lofts: 9°, 10.5° (LS-Tec 8.5°, 10°; SF-Tec 10°, 12°) O Stock shaft: Alta CB 55 or Ping Tour 65 / 75

THE KEY NUMBERS Ball speed Chris Ryan 172mph Chris Jones 144mph Simon Daddow 131mph

Launch angle 12.9° 12.6° 13.2°

Backspin 2,135rpm 2,586rpm 2,177rpm

Carry 295 yards 260 yards 240 yards

Average

12.9°

2,299rpm

265 yards

149mph

Verdict: We’re not quite sure how Ping have done it, but creating an all titanium driver which competes against the latest carbon competition is seriously impressive. Ping pride themselves on engineering and that’s made a super-efficient driver in the hands of club golfers. G400 scores

Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic Sub Zero £469 www.callawaygolf.com O Lofts: 9°, 10.5° O Stock shaft: Grafalloy HZRDUS, Fujikura Pro /Aldila Rogue MAX

THE KEY NUMBERS Ball speed Chris Ryan 169mph Chris Jones 145mph Simon Daddow 130mph

Launch angle 12.6° 12.7° 14.4°

Backspin 2,240 rpm 2,699 rpm 2,265 rpm

Average

13.2°

2,401 rpm 267 yards

148mph

Carry 298 yards 262 yards 242 yards

Our verdict: The “jailbreak” tech in Callaway’s Epic drivers has warranted more column inches than any other club in 2017. Two internal titanium bars behind the face stiffen the structure of the head, ensuring more

really highly for us as the head has shrunk in size (creating a more visually pleasing driver) yet the MOI (forgiveness) has risen over the previous model. By positioning dense tungsten at the back of the head we’ve found G400 launches a little higher, which for many means it’s possible to loft down, which consequently adds more ball speed and distance. We also love how, if you need to go low spin or fight a slice, there’s a G400 to help (LS-Tec; low spin, SF-Tec; straight flight tech).

Why it’s my choice: G400 is a really solid all-round driver.

The sound is a massive step forward (that’s played a huge role in getting Ping pros to switch), and for golfers like me who impact shots on the heel side of centre the SF-Tec head is an excellent match. I’m more confident of consistently hitting fairways since switching to G400, which is really important when you’re not long off the tee! Simon Daddow

energy is transferred into the ball at impact. And in our experience, it works. The crown (carbon-fibre weave, graphics and aerodynamic speed step) looks pretty busy, but you can’t argue with the performance; it was our two amateur testers’ longest driver of the year, so we know it works well in a club golfer’s hands. It’s been a big success at retail, too, but if there was one asterisk on 2017 it would be the Epic’s lack of a major win.

Why it’s my choice: The Epic is the best sounding carbon driver on the market, and it’s meant the club has been an instant success in my hands. I like how the MOI’s higher on the Sub Zero than the standard Epic (with the 12g weight in the rear port), and by teaming it with the new ball I’ve added double-digit distance gains to my average drive. I hit the other two clubs here just as far, but the Callaway was consistently longest for me, and that’s why in this supercompetitive year for drivers, it’s in my bag. Chris Jones

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 105

THE TEST

Steeling a march Callaway’s reborn classic goes up against our longest fairway of 2017 allaway has made some legendary fairway woods over the years; Big Bertha, Warbird and Hawkeye all spring to mind. Yet its most popular was the first Steelhead, produced in 1998.

Over the last 20 years fast face tech, new materials and better aerodynamics mean fairway woods have taken a massive step forward – yet lots of us still yearn for those simpler clubs of yesteryear.

Callaway has latched onto this idea, resurrecting its Steelhead XR with a 21st century makeover. There’s now a flexible cup face, speed step aerodynamics and a new carbon crown, along with the latest shaft tech to help you flight shots better and further. The name will undoubtedly tug at the heart strings of many, so we thought it made sense to see how it faired against our longest fairway of 2017, TaylorMade’s latest M2.

C

Head to head Sitting the clubs side by side, immediately you see a difference in shape and size. The M2 may only be 6cc bigger, but how that extra size is used gives a very different appearance to the Steelhead. At 76mm wide (sole width) the Steelhead is 11mm smaller from face to back than the M2, but that’s what keeps the appearance original.

Both clubs have carbon crowns (which weigh 6-7grams) so there’s plenty of mass freed up to make launching shots from the THE KEY NUMBERS (15° LOFT) Club

Ball Launch Backspin speed angle

M2

164 mph

9°

2,657rpm 265 yards

Steelhead 161 XR mph

8°

3,283rpm 259 yards

Carry

turf a doddle. We particularly like the face groove pattern of the Steelhead, which harks back to the original, and the premium feel the Lamkin UTx grip delivers.

Verdict There’s a reasonably clear distinction between these two in terms of performance. If you used the original Steelhead there’s a good chance you’ll love the looks and general set-up of the XR. Callaway has done the remake really sensitively and married the old look golfers loved with plenty of modern tech. If you’re after complete forgiveness from a 3-wood then M2 is still a brilliant option, mainly thanks to its larger body. But if you’re after a higher-lofted fairway to rifle through semi-rough and flight high, soft-landing approaches into long par 3s and 4s, then the Callaway is a little cracker.

TaylorMade M2 £229

Callaway Steelhead XR £229

www.taylormadegolf.com

www.callawaygolf.com

Lofts: 3, 15° / 3HL, 16.5° / 5, 8° / 5H,L 21° / 7HL, 24° Stock shaft: TaylorMade REAX 65 Adjustable hosel: No

Lofts: 3+, 13.5° / 3, 15° / 4+, 16° / 5, 18° / 7, 21° / 9, 24° / Heavenwood, 20.5° Stock shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei Blue 55/65 Adjustable hosel: No

MEET THE TESTER CHRIS RYAN

Handicap: Pro Chris is senior instructor at The Belfry Academy

106 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

New

Gear

READER TEST

Q JG:

O RB:

AB: RB: IR: IR: Q Q JG:

JG: Q JG: AB:

AB:

AB:

RB: RB: IR:

RB: IR:

Q IR:

THE PRODUCT

JG:

Odyssey O-Works putters from £179 www.odysseygolf.com

AB:

Rupert Barker Handicap: 14

Alex Butler Handicap: 25

Iain Robb Handicap: 15

Joe Gray Handicap: 18

SHOWCASE

Time to push off They may not have batteries, but these high-tech trolleys are still packed with tech to fold smaller, run smoother and take the strain ush trolleys have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years.

Designers have worked hard to make them more functional, easier to use, lighter, smoother, more useful, better looking... They now have lightweight frames, quick-release wheels, bungee straps, idiot-proof folding mechanisms... even cup holders! But which should you buy? We’ve picked 10 of our favourite models on sale now, and included the price, how much they weigh and the folded dimensions – three of the most important factors for most buyers. We’d suggest you set one up in the shop – then put your bag in place and try it in the car boot – before you make a final choice.

P

Motocaddy Cube £149.99 www.motocaddy.com Weight: 6.9kg Wheels: 3 (all fixed inline) Folded size: 56cm x 37cm x 44cm

108 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

N

G

r

Motocaddy P360 £169.99

PowaKaddy Twinline 4 £159.99

BagBoy Tri Swivel 2 £229

www.motocaddy.com Weight: 7.6kg Wheels: 3 (front swivels) Folded size: 83cm x 46cm x 53cm

www.powakaddy.com Weight: 7kg Wheels: 3 (all fixed inline) Folded size: 75cm x 43cm x 40cm

www.jsint.com Weight: 7.72kg Wheels: 3 (front swivels)

Big Max Blade Quattro £279.99

ClicGear3.5+ £209

www.bigmaxgolf.com Weight: 6.5kg Wheels: 4 (all fixed inline) Folded size: 72cm x 59cm x 18cm

www.jsint.com Weight: 8.15kg Wheels: 3 (all fixed inline) Folded size: 61cm x 38cm x 33cm

www.lynxgolf.co.uk Weight: 6.7kg Wheels: 4 (all fixed inline) Folded size: 68cm x 42cm x 42cm

Motocaddy P1 £129.99

Rovic RV1S £179

Stewart Golf R1-S Push £199

www.motocaddy.com Weight: 6.8kg Wheels: 3 (all fixed inline) Folded size: 85cm x 41cm x 41cm

www.jsint.com Weight: 6.7kg g Wheels: 3 (front swivels) Folded size: 60cm x 38cm x 33cm

www.stewartgolf.co.uk Weight: 8.1kg g Wheels: 3 (all fixed inline) Folded size: 55cm x 49cm x 35cm

£120

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 109

TOP 10s

Our verdict on the best clubs of 2017. More at todaysgolfer.co.uk O£280-£389 DRIVERS P110 OHYBRIDS P111 O BETTER PLAYER IRONS P112 O MOI PUTTERS P113 O GRIPS P114

TOP 10 DRIVERS FROM £280-£389

IN MY BAG

Callaway Big Bertha Fusion £369 I www.callawaygolf.com Our verdict: You won’t see a Fusion in the hands of tour players as it’s designed almost exclusively for the club player, for whom its slightly higher-spinning head and oodles of forgiveness is well suited.

Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 13.5° Stock shafts: UST Recoil or Mitsubishi Diamana Red Board Adj hosel: Yes How much loft change: +2°/-1°

Callaway XR 16 £289 I www.callawaygolf.com Our verdict: Aerodynamics play a big role in driver design and our testing’s shown the tech is just as effective at higher swing speeds as it is at slower tempos. Matching extra speed with forgiveness is the key to the XR 16’s appeal.

Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 13.5° Stock shaft: Fujikura Speeder Evolution 565 Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: -1/+2°

Ping G400 £389 I www.ping.com Our verdict: Ping has worked wonders with the new G400. It scores highly for us as the head has shrunk in size (creating a more visually pleasing driver) yet the MOI (forgiveness) has risen over the previous model. It sounds superb, too.

Lofts: 9° / 10.5° Stock shaft: Alta CB, Tour 65, Tour 75 Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: +/-1°

Ping G400 SF Tec£389 I www.ping.com Our verdict: A very good club that could play an important role for any golfer who needs a bit of help to curb a slice. We love how the head doesn’t come with the stigma of being a predominantly game-improvement driver.

Lofts: 10° / 12° Stock shaft: Alta CB, Tour 65, Tour 75 Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: +/-1°

Ping G400 LS Tec £389 I www.ping.com Our verdict: We were really impressed – again – with all three G400 drivers. There’s something within the range for every golfer. Do yourself a favour and make sure you get properly fitted to ensure your set-up maximises your distance gains.

Lofts: 8.5° / 10° Stock shaft: Alta 55, Tour 65, Tour 75 Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: +/-1°

Srixon Z765 £325 I www.srixon.co.uk We’d never recommend a smaller-headed driver with no alignment aid to the golfing masses. But if you’re a better player who tends to hit shots low in the face, the 765 is well worth trying.

Lofts: 9.5° / 10.5° Stock shaft: Miyazaki Kaula Mizu 6 Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: 12 settings +/- 1°

TaylorMade M2 £369 I www.taylormadegolf.com Our verdict: We love the bigger size. It is really easy to generate speed with, feels very lively and you don’t have to be on top of your game to get the best out of it. For most of us, that’s a nice place to be.

Lofts: 9.5° / 10.5° / 12° Stock shaft: Fujikura Pro XLR8 56 Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: +/- 2°

TaylorMade M2 D-Type£369 I www.taylormadegolf.com Our verdict: The draw-biased D-Type brings something very new to the TaylorMade party. It’s seriously good for more than just slicers.

Lofts: 9.5° / 10.5° / 12° Stock shaft: Matrix MFS White Tie 55 Adjustable Hosel: Yes How much loft change: +/- 2°

Wilson Staff FG Tour F5 £299 I www.wilson.com Our verdict: The Wilson Staff FG Tour F5’s good performance and excellent components, particularly for high-spin players, make it a really solid proposition.

Lofts: 9° / 10.5° Stock shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki Z50 Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: Six settings (+2°/-1°)

Yonex EZONE XPG £289 I www.yonex.co.uk Our verdict: Yonex might not be everyone’s first thought when it comes to a driver, but the XPG offers decent performance, especially at smoother tempos.

110 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 12° Stock shaft: Yonex EX310 Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: +/- 1.5°

BRANDEN GRACE MR 62'S CLUBS The South African was the first man ever to shoot 62 in a Major. This is what he used to make history as he tamed Royal Birkdale during the third round of The Open.

O Driver: Callaway Epic Sub Zero 9 deg – Fujikura Six Tour Spec shaft O Fairway: None O Utility Irons: Callaway Apex UT #2 - 18 deg and # - 21 deg – Project X 6.5 shafts O Irons: Callaway X Forged 4 – PW – Project X 6.5 shafts O Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy 2 – 52 deg / 56 deg / 60 deg O Putter: t Odyssey O-Works Jailbird Mini

SIGN UP FOR THE TG NEWSLETTER...

Get the latest gear news first, plus tips, tour updates and exclusive offers, reader opportunities and prizes...

Sign-up at www.todays golfer.co.uk

TOP TEN TOP 10 HYBRIDS

TOUR STATS

Benross HTX Compressor £89 I www.benrossgolf.com Our verdict: The shaft and grip are great quality, but with major brands spending so much more on R&D, there seems to be a bit of a gap between top tour brands and the smaller competition. Great club at this price, though.

WHO LEAVES THE SHORTEST AVERAGE APPROACH TO A GREEN ON TOUR?

Lofts: 3/20°, 4/23.5°, 5/27°, 6/32° Stock shaft: Kuro Kage Black 70g Adjustable hosel: No

Callaway Apex x £189 I www.callawaygolf.com Our verdict: That penetrating flight is well suited to a strong performance off the tee. To get the max out of it from the fairway, you had better not have any difficulty launching shots from the short grass.

There are stats for everything on tour, including who hits the shortest average approach shots into greens. Surprisingly the biggest hitters don’t always have the shortest approaches, and incredibly world No.10 Rickie Fowler gives up 17 yards (on his average approach) against Bubba Watson! Here’s how some big names perform.

Lofts: 2H/18°, 3H/20°, 4H/23°, 5H/26° Stock shaft: Kuro Kage Black Hybrid Adjustable hosel: No

Callaway XR 16 OS £149 I www.callawaygolf.com Our verdict: An excellent hybrid that delivers the extra ball speed and distance the majority of golfers need. Our test pro thought 80 per cent of golfers would be better off with a wide-body hybrid like the OS over a narrower-bodied model.

Lofts: 3/19°, 4/22°, 5/25°, 6/28°, 7/31° Stock shaft: Mitsubishi Fubuki AT Adjustable hosel: No

Cobra King F7 £159 I www.cobragolf.co.uk Our verdict: The F7 is a gorgeous little hybrid and its versatility is boosted by the ability to dial in three lofts (with draw settings) from the hosel adaptor. Baffler rails on the sole help it get through turf better.

1 Bubba Watson

Lofts: 2-3/16°-19°, 3-4/19°-22°, 4-5/22°-25° Stock shaft: Fujikura Pro 75 Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: 3° (three draw settings)

Average approach 157 yards Average drive 306 yards (13th)

2 Dustin Johnson Average approach 158 yards Average drive 312 yards (T1)

Mizuno JPX900 £219 I Golf.mizunoeurope.com Our verdict: Across our three-man test team we thought the JPX900 hybrid was a pleasure to hit. With four lofts and the ability to tune the loft up or down by two degrees, it means the 900 can be fitted into virtually any golfer’s set.

Lofts: 16°, 19°, 22°, 25° Stock shaft: Fujikura Pro Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: +/- 2°

12 Sergio Garcia Average approach 161 yards Average drive 300 yards (T34)

Ping G400 £200 I www.ping.com Our verdict: The wider body is particularly suited to golfers who sweep shots off the deck. We didn’t all love the unconventional groove pattern, but it’s exceptionally easy to hit consistently well.

13 Jon Rahm

Lofts: 2/17°, 3/19°, 4/22°, 5/26°, 6/30° Stock shaft: Alta CB 70, Tour 85 Adjustable hosel: No

Average approach 162 yards Average drive 305 yards (16th)

17 Jordan Spieth Average approach 163 yards Average drive 291 yards (T98)

Srixon Z H65 £190 I www.srixon.co.uk Our verdict: Srixon aren’t renowned for their wood designs yet and with the H65 weighing in at a hefty £190 it’s unlikely to change with this model. But if you like the look of a wider hybrid, but would benefit from less spin, it’s a great solution.

Lofts: 2/16°, 3/19°, 4/22° Stock shaft: Miyazaki Kaula Hybrid 7 Adjustable hosel: No

18 Jason Day Average approach 166 yards Average drive 299 yards (T39)

TaylorMade M1 Rescue £239 I www.taylormadegolf.com Our verdict: The M1 is for golfers who either hit down on their hybrids (like irons) or have a tendency to pull hybrids left. It is expensive, but it gives a level of flexibility decent golfers have come to expect.

T49 Justin Rose

Lofts: 2/17°, 3/19°, 4/21°, 5/24° Stock shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage TiNi 70HY Adjustable hosel: Yes How much loft change: +/- 1.5°

Average approach 169 yards Average drive 300 yards (31st)

T63 Adam Scott Average approach 170 yards Average drive 303 yards (22nd)

TaylorMade M2 £189 I www.taylormadegolf.com Our verdict: Its lighter shaft (65g compared to M1’s 80g reg flex) means it’s a bit of a speed machine. It’s responsive, forgiving and easy to launch from the tee, fairway, rough and even a fairway bunker.

Lofts: 3/19°, 4/22°, 5/25°, 6/28° Stock shaft: TM REAX Adjustable hosel: No

T88 Tyrrell Hatton Average approach 172 yards Average drive 289 yards (123)

Wilson Staff D300 £139 I www.wilson.com Our verdict: If your buying criteria includes ease of launch, forgiveness, good distance and ball speed protection, the D300 is difficult to beat.

T108 Rickie Fowler

Lofts: 17°, 19°, 22°, 25° Stock shaft: Matrix Speed Rulz A-Type Adjustable hosel: No

Average approach 174 yards Average drive 299 yards (T39)

Our top-five softer-compression balls

1 Srixon UltiSoft £26 per doz www.srixon.co.uk

2 Callaway Chromesoft £32.99 per doz www.callawaygolf.com

3 Titleist DT TruSoft £22 per doz www.titleist.co.uk

4 Wilson DX3 Urethane £29.99 per doz www.wilson.com

5 TaylorMade Project (a) £34.99 per doz www.taylormadegolf.com

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 111

TOP 10 BETTER PLAYER IRONS

FITTING

Callaway Apex Pro 16 £879 (s) £1,099 (g) I www.callawaygolf.com Our verdict: A lovely looking iron that’s aimed at the very best, but with an extra degree of forgiveness. The sole and leading edge shaping is also a little more friendly than some previous Callaway players’ irons.

Availability: 3-AW (stock set 3-PW) Stock shaft: Project X (s), UST Mamiya Recoil (g) 7i loft/length: 34° / 37in

Cobra King Forged Tour £649-£749 I www.cobragolf.co.uk Our verdict: Thanks to work with guys like Rickie Fowler, Cobra has taken huge steps forward with these irons. The whole set is made up of really desirable head shapes, with sleek top and leading edges which appeal to decent golfers.

Availability: 4-PW (stock set 5-PW / 4-PW) Stock shaft: KBS Tour FLT 7i loft/length: 33° / 37.25in

Mizuno JPX900 Tour £120 per club I Golf.mizunoeurope.com Our verdict: Who wouldn’t want to play a set of these? They look and feel fantastic, and perform just as well. Plus, 16 premium shaft options all at no extra cost is a huge fitting benefit.

Availability: 3-PW Stock shaft: Choose from 16 steel and graphite options 7i loft/length: 34° / 36.75in

Mizuno MP-25 £120 per club I Golf.mizunoeurope.com Our verdict: The MP-25s have been around for a couple of years now; it was Mizuno’s first boron-infused MP better player iron. If you must have the look of a better player iron, but aren’t the best ball-striker, they are right up your street.

Availability: 3-PW Stock shaft: Pick from 16 steel and graphite options 7i loft/length: 34° / 36.75in

Ping i200 £120 (s) £130 (g) per club I www.ping.com Our verdict: Our pro’s numbers were bang on the test average for ball speed and carry, but a joint-lowest carry drop-off (three yards) means it will make for some accurate shot making. A fantastic all-rounder.

Availability: 3-UW Stock shaft: Choose from seven premium steel and one graphite option 7i loft/length: 33° / 37in

Ping iBlade £130 (s) £140 (g) per club I www.ping.com Our verdict: Ping openly admits the iBlade will make up a tiny proportion of its iron sales, but that doesn’t mean the iBlade isn’t good. It is. But the extra forgiveness from the biggercavity i200s will be much more satisfying for most of us.

Availability: 3-PW Stock shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold (plus four premium options) 7i loft/length: 34° / 37in

Srixon Z 765 £770 I www.srixon.co.uk Our verdict: Japanese tecchies pour over every detail and that makes these irons stand out. Laser-face milling, a beautiful satin finish, the sole detailing, a new heat treatment to improve feel and grooves that are just a tiny bit bigger... Brilliant.

Availability: 3-SW (stock set 4-PW) Stock shaft: Nippon NS Pro Modus3 Tour 120 (s) 7i loft/length: 32° / 37in

TaylorMade P770 £1,049 I www.taylormadegolf.com Our verdict: They’re a superbly simple, unfussy design which are more forgiving than you’d expect. It’s no surprise their ball speed was 5mph quicker and carry distance eight yards further than test average for a 7-iron.

Availability: 3-AW (stock set 4-PW or seven irons) Stock shaft: KBS Tour FLT 7i loft/length: 33° / 36.75in

POWER SPEC YOUR PINGS… More than ever, iron sets are sold from 5, 6 or even 7-iron to pitching wedge. And anyone who’s traded long irons for hybrids or high-lofted fairways knows the importance of filling distance gaps between their longest iron and most lofted hybrid or fairway wood. Ping's engineers have spotted the issue, too, so they’ve come up with a clever solution.

Step forward Ping Power Spec. After tons of analysis of the distance gaps everyday golfers are faced with (between their longest iron and most lofted hybrid or fairway) they’ve come up with a matrix so golfers get ideal distance gaps no matter where their iron set ends. It means that if your longest iron is a 5, Ping can change the loft to play like a 4.5 iron, or similarly change a 6-iron into a 5.5-iron, narrowing the gap many golfers see between irons and hybrids/ high-lofted fairways.

And it isn’t just your longest iron Ping adjusts either (as that would leave a gap to your next longest iron) the matrix they’ve developed means they’ll change the lofts of the rest of your new set to run in perfect loft and distance gaps alongside your longest iron. It’s a service you won’t find other manufacturers offering, but we reckon it’s a great idea and solves an issue countless golfers have encountered.

Wilson Staff FG Tour V6 £699 I www.wilson.com Our verdict: If you look at the V6s in the cold light of day, they’re a really decent set of forged irons, with just enough tech to aid, rather than punish, your enjoyment of the game.

Availability: 3-PW (4-PW) Stock shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT 7i loft/length: 35° / 37.25in

Yonex N1-CB £1,199 (s) £1,249 (g) I www.yonex.co.uk Our verdict: Yonex are keen to stress these are designed and made in Japan to very exacting standards, which if you’re a fan of all things Japanese you’ll love. This is a lovely set which marries a degree of forgiveness with a really nice looking head.

Availability: 4-PW Stock shaft: Nippon 950 (s), Yonex NST310 (g) 7i loft/length: 32° / 36.75in

5 pairs of performance golf socks

1 Stable 26 Performance £24.99 www.amazon.co.uk

2 FootJoy TechSof Tour £11 www.footjoy.co.uk

112 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

3 Stance Bubba Watson Camo Crew £12.91 www.stance.com

4 FootJoy Tour Compression £13 www.footjoy.co.uk

5 Callaway Opti Dry £4.99 www.onlinegolf.co.uk

TOP TEN TOP 10 MOI PUTTERS

ON TOUR

Benross Tribe MDJ2 £99 I www.benrossgolf.com Our verdict: The Tribe’s fanged head may look similar to Odyssey’s #7, which was involved in our test, but thanks to its hollow head delivering a higher-pitched impact sound, performance against the premium brands was very different.

Headweight: 370g Grip: Lamkin Sink RND 11 Toe hang: Face Balanced

WHO’S THE BEST ON TOUR AT NAILING BIRDIE CHANCES?

Bettinardi Inovai 3.0 £249 I www.bettinardi.com Our verdict: If you’re after a top, milled MOI putter, the Inovai won’t let you down and because it’s available in centre-shafted and counter-balanced designs there’s an option to suit everyone.

Headweight: 358g Grip: Lamkin Deep Etched Toe hang: Slight

Cleveland TFi 2135 Elevado £129 I www.clevelandgolf.co.uk Our verdict: A very solid MOI putter and with a price tag under £130 it won’t bust the bank. Thanks to the soft insert and polymer backer it feels good, and its circular groove tech has the capability to roll putts alongside the best.

Headweight: 370g Grip: Lamkin TFi Toe hang: Face balanced

O Justin Thomas Holes 38.33% of birdie putts

EVNRoll ER7 £275 I www.evnroll.com Our verdict: We were really impressed with how putts interacted with the face and rolled across the green. All three testers loved the head’s simplicity, the overall weight (heavier than some) and the cracking oversized Winn grip.

Headweight: 370g Grip: Winn Pro 1.18 Toe hang: Slight

(or better) he creates. Uses: Scotty Cameron X5 Prototype

O Anirban Lahiri Holes 35.84% of birdie putts

Odyssey O-Works 2-Ball £199 I www.odysseygolf.com Our verdict: The new “microhinge” insert makes this iconic design better than ever before. For us, a straight red line across the centre of the discs on the top would raise this design up to a whole new level.

Headweight: 350g Grip: SuperStroke Pistol GT Tour or SuperStroke Slim 2.0 (Counter Core) Toe hang: Face Balanced

Odyssey O-Works Tank #7 £179 I www.odysseygolf.com Our verdict: It’s a cracking head shape; the Versa alignment system is enhanced by some simple red highlights; and there’s a brand-new insert, which feels amazing and rolls putts super smoothly. A lot of putter for £179!

Headweight: 375g Grip: SuperStroke Tank Toe hang: Face Balanced

Ping Sigma G Wolverine T £175 (fixed shaft) £199 (adjustable) I www.ping.com Our verdict: Ping has obviously worked hard on the Sigma G range and the updates over previous Ping MOI putters are notable. The new PP60 flat-fronted grip is a great size and its sharp, defined edges mean you feel when the blade is square.

Headweight: 370g Grip: Ping Pistol PP60 Toe hang: Face Balance

(or better) he creates. Uses: Scotty Cameron Tour GoLo M3

O Brooks Koepka Holes 35.78% of birdie putts (or better) he creates. Uses: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Select T10

O Jordan Spieth 35.65%

O 35.41%

Scotty Cameron New Futura 6M £335 I www.titleist.co.uk Our verdict: If you’re after super-stability you’ll struggle to find better. And if you’ve found in the past that high MOI putters usually mean some wacky, far-out head shapes, the 6M is relatively simple.

Headweight: Depends o Grip: Matador Midsize Toe hang: Face Balance

TaylorMade Spider Tour red £269 I www.taylormadegolf.com Our verdict: A high-quality MOI putter that, in the right hands and matched to the right stroke, really performs. But you need to take time getting to know it before taking the plunge on one as it is so tailored to Jason Day’s eye and stroke.

Headweight: 355g Grip: Winn Medallist or Toe hang: Moderate

Wilson Staff The Bean From £95 I www.wilson.com Our verdict: The head is cast and then its face is milled. But it doesn’t mean the Bean lacked feel or roll performance; it didn’t. If you’re open-minded regarding brand and factor in the £95 price tag, this is a solid option.

Headweight: 365g Grip: Wilson Infinite Toe hang: Face Balance

Versatile sleeveless tops that are ideal for autumn mornings

1 Puma PWRWarm Knit Vest £54.99 www.cobragolf.co.uk/pumagolf

2 Adidas Climaheat Prime £79.95 www.adidas.co.uk

3 Ping Bowery £55 www.pingcollection.co.uk

4 FootJoy Lightweight Softshell Vest £105 www.footjoy.co.uk

5 Galvin Green Dyson £64.95 www.galvingreen.com

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 113

TOP TEN TOP 10 CLUB GRIPS

AND FINALLY…

Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 £6 I www.golfpride.com Our verdict: The most popular grip in golf and favoured by more tour players than any other. It’s an excellent blend of all-weather performance with a soft feel and feedback as well as high levels of traction.

Weight: 50g (Tour Velvet standard is 45g) Colours: Black. Sizes: Standard (Tour Velvet is available in Standard, Midsize, Jumbo and Junior)

Golf Pride MCC Align £16 I www.golfpride.com Our verdict: The Align is Golf Pride’s latest grip and it has a firm rubber, slightly raised compound strip along the back to heighten the sensation in your hands and give you a more consistent hold. Delivers brilliant feel and all-weather control.

Weight: 51g (Midsize is 62g) Colours: One only. Sizes: Standard or Midsize.

Golf Pride MCC £14 I www.golfpride.com Our verdict: Rory McIlroy’s grip of choice. This hybrid blends brushed cord in the upper hand for firm all-weather control with a softer rubber in the lower hand for ultimate feel and responsiveness. A slightly firmer feel than a typical cordless grip.

Weight: 46.5g Colours: Five Sizes: Standard or Midsize

OUR FAVOURITE PITCHMARK TOOLS A pitchmark repaired within 10 minutes will recover within three days. A badly repaired or unrepaired one will take over a week to heal. Try not to “lift” the bottom up and out of the green; this leaves a bald spot.

Instead fold the edges into the centre of the mark to conceal the indentation. It means you leave the green smooth and help the grass recover quicker.

Lamkin UTx Cord £13 I www.lamkin.co.uk Our verdict: You’ll find these on everything from TaylorMade’s M1 irons to Callaway’s Mack Daddy forged wedges. They’re an excellent blend of tacky rubber with a firm feel and thanks to a light cord layer they’re great at wicking moisture away.

Weight: 52 Colours: Five Sizes: Standard and Midsize

TaylorMade S

Lamkin Z5 £13 I www.lamkin.co.uk Our verdict: New for 2017, with multiple zones and rubber compounds to create lots of traction, without inhibiting comfort and control. Different patterns on the upper, middle and lower sections reflect how each hand works during the swing.

Weight: 50g Colours: Seven Sizes: Standard and Midsize

s

www.americangolf.co.uk

Iomic Sticky 2.3 £12 I www.iomicgrips.com Our verdict: The Sticky is made from an elastomer compound so the designers reckon it doesn’t go hard, shiny or brittle over time like a conventional rubber grip. It’s an excellent performer in the wet, too.

Weight: 50g Colours: 10 Sizes: Standard and Midsize

www.americangolf.co.uk

Superstroke S-Tech £9 I www.brandfusionltd.co.uk Our verdict: Sergio Garcia won the Masters using these and Jordan Spieth swears by his. They have a soft, tacky feel for heightened feedback and control. The cross-traction surface provides non-slip all weather performance, too.

Weight: 52g Colours: 4 Sizes: Standard and Midsize.

11. www.golfonline.co.uk

Superstroke TX1 Tour £15 I www.brandfusionltd.co.uk Our verdict: Combines premium rubbers and a corded upper section for control. Corded grips usually mean higher prices so we reckon if you don’t specifically need them it’s worth sticking to rubber only models as they can deliver a slightly softer feel.

Weight: 52g Colours: 5 Sizes: Standard and Midsize

G-Rip A-Tac – Great wet weather grip I www.g-rip.com Our verdict: You won’t find many grips that get tackier in the wet or when your hands are clammy, but that's exactly what the A-Tac does. Give the wet grip a rub over with a towel and it becomes stickier, great if you play regularly in rain.

Weight: 50g Colours: Six Sizes: Standard only.

o Design Div 95 www.golfonline.co.uk

Winn Dri-Tac £10 I www.adoregolfgrips.com Our verdict: The Dri-Tac is particularly well suited to golfers who demand the softest-feeling grip with a good degree of shock dampening (which is easy on the joints), but still demand inclement weather performance.

Weight: 48g Colours: Three Sizes: Standard, Midsize, Oversize, Ladies and Juniors.

FOR MORE GEAR ADVICE PLUS VIDEO VERDICTS & PICTURES VISIT WWW.TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK Looking for new kit? Don’t buy a thing until you’ve seen all our Top Gear 2017 reviews on our website PLUS BUYING SECOND-HAND? TG WILL HELP YOU CHOOSE 114 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

8.49 www.develgolf.com

Hillside Undercover Page 125

Courses &Travel

Arizona calling

WHERE TO PLAY AT HOME AND ABROAD

Page 128

EDITED BY KEVIN BROWN

Bring it on!

IDEAS TO SUIT EVERY POCKET TG Top 50 Stay & Play Undercover Insider’s Guide Dream venue

116 122 125 128 132

THE TG TOP 50...

Expansive Bowood is set in a sprawling Capability Browndesigned park.

Courses

G

ENGLAND ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK This quality heathland might be just 6,603 yards off the tips, but don’t expect to be shooting under your handicap here. There are no par 5s to gorge on and the fairways are mostly lined with ball-swallowing thick gorse.

Green fees: Summer (midweek) – single or foursomes after 3pm, £45.

Contact: 01728 452890.

BELTON WOODS, LINCOLNSHIRE Splendid all-round QHotels venue with two 18-hole layouts, the most challenging being the Lakes with, as you would expect, multiple water features. The most notable is the par-5 finale, with the 18th green menacingly perched beyond a lake in front of the hotel.

Green fees: £45 midweek, £55 weekends.

Contact: 01476 514332 BIGBURY, DEVON Challenging par-70 layout with breathtaking coastal views across to Burgh island. But you can’t afford to get distracted too much, too often, especially if the wind is blowing. Great year-round holiday golf though.

Green fees: £33-£39.

Contact: 01548 810557.

BOWOOD G&CC, WILTSHIRE Surely one of the late Dave Thomas’s best and most challenging layouts. The gently rolling parkland layout is plotted within the grounds of a 2,000-acre Capability Brown great park. You’re tested every inch of the way, especially at the right dog-leg par-4 2nd and the stroke index 1 17th.

Green fees: From £35.

Contact: 01249 823881.

CARDEN PARK, CHESHIRE You’ll have to use all your golfing nous to successfully negotiate this outstanding Jack Nicklaus parkland, which features several water hazards, notably the 17th that weaves round a large lake in front of the luxury hotel.

Green fees: From £25 midweek.

Contact: 01829 731002.

CASTLETOWN LINKS, ISLE OF MAN Designed by Old Tom Morris in 1892 and home of the premier course on this wellendowed golfing island. It has amazing views, gorgeous turf, an exhilarating clifftop location and spectacular and demanding holes.

Green fees: £45 in Oct. Contact: 01624 822211.

CHELMSFORD, ESSEX One of Essex’s finest – and toughest. Even though the short-but-testing par-69 parkland is just under 6,000 yards, it’s a hard nut to crack for high and low handicappers alike. It is

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 117

THE TG TOP 50...

Target golf Rolling greens at Dartmouth .

particularly demanding around the greens so make sure your short game is spot on!

Green fees: £50.

Contact: 01245 256483.

CHESTERFIELD, DERBYSHIRE This mature parkland layout is always in great condition and provides excellent north-east Derbyshire views but if you’re to master it, you need to turn up with a red-hot putter to combat the quick greens.

Green fees: £35.

Contact: 01246 279256.

COLLINGTREE PARK, NORTHANTS A splendid, well-established parkland examination – it is a former European Tour venue and was the handiwork of Johnny Miller after all. There’s plenty of water to avoid including the par-5 climaxes to both nines, the 18th famously featuring an island green right in front of the clubhouse!

Green fees: £35 midweek, £40 weekends.

Contact: 01604 700000.

you’ve plenty of balls. You’ll encounter several memorable holes including classic par 3s – while par 5s don’t come any tougher than the twisting 3rd, a dogleg with a narrow fairway.

Green fees: £46 midweek.

Contact: 01803 712011.

FOREST PINES, LINCOLNSHIRE Twenty-seven holes of densely tree-lined golf via the Forest, Pines and Beech nines. The longest and most challenging layout is the Forest and Pines combination, where you particularly need to thread your ball between the mature towering timber that seems to attract balls like metal to magnets.

Green fees: £40 midweek.

Contact: 01652 601718.

HOLLYWOOD, WEST MIDLANDS Formerly known as Gay Hill, you’ll do well to

master this century-old par-72 parkland which, in places, is as mean and tight as Scrooge. It’s a severe all-round test as it proved when staging last year’s Midlands Open. Two streams menacingly meander throughout the course.

Green fees: From £15.

Contact: 0121 430 8544.

HUDDERSFIELD, WEST YORKS Founded in 1891 this parkland course sits within Fixby Park and from the long doglegged 475-yard par-4 opener, Huddersfield – better known locally as Fixby – is a true test.

A long-time past host of European Tour and Seniors r events, the front nine is relatively flat but the inward half is undulating and at its highest on the 18th fairway.

Green fees: £120 midweek fourball after 3pm.

Contact: 01484 426203.

CROWBOROUGH BEACON, SUSSEX Fine heathland layout and somewhat unheralded Alister MacKenzie creation, lofty Crowborough is perched 800ft above sea level. At just over 6,000 yards it’s not long but deserves respect, with most fairways lined by swathes of penal heather.

Green fees: £35 Mon, £50 Tues-Fri. Contact: 01892 661511.

DARTMOUTH, DEVON The demanding Championship course features a dozen water features so make sure

118 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Wood work Forest Pines in Lincolnshire.

Courses

JOHN O’GAUNT, BEDFORDSHIRE Regarded as Bedfordshire’s best, the John O’Gaunt layout is a serious examination of parkland golf owing to the combination of mature tree-lined fairways, severe rough and small greens. For a friendlier game, try the club’s neighbouring Carthagena.

Green fees: £50 weekends (after 3pm).

Contact: 01767 260360.

Links class Isle of Man’s Castletown .

KEDLESTON PARK, DERBYSHIRE A wonderful parkland layout with a splendid mixture of long and short holes while the USGA-spec greens are a joy – if somewhat tricky, to putt on. Offers great views of Kedleston Hall too.

Green fees: £30 with county card (midweek), £35 at weekends.

Contact: 01332 840035.

KING’S LYNN, NORFOLK Tight tree-lined championship course – keeping the ball in play off the tee here is imperative if you’re going to score low and you need to be aware of the sloping fairways which encourage loose balls to tumble into the assorted timber.

Green fees: £50 from Nov 1.

Contact: 01553 631655.

LADBROOK PARK, WARWICKSHIRE Hidden away in the Warwickshire countryside, you’ll discover this century-old parkland that features a challenging quartet of par 3s including the prime 200-yard 15th. All three par 5s are on the front nine while all the par 4s require precision and especially good course management.

Green fees: £50 midweek.

Contact: 01564 742581.

MIDDLETON HALL, NORFOLK Every club in your bag will get a workout at the toughest par-71 test in Norfolk. The key to a good round here is finding the fairways – easier said than done of course – before attacking the small undulating greens.

Green fees: £22-£28.

Contact: 01553 841800.

MINEHEAD & WEST SOMERSET, SOMERSET Intriguing par-72 blend of classic links – pot bunkers protect the greens – with a parkland twist set against the rugged backdrop of the Brendon Hills. You need to hit the narrow fairways – which is no easy task when the strong prevailing wind is blowing.

Green fees: £25.

Contact: 01463 702057.

MOOR ALLERTON, WEST YORKSHIRE Modern classic close to Leeds icons Moortown and Alwoodley. It was legendary

American architect Robert Trent Jones’ first UK project, boasts 27 holes and there’s not a weak one – or cast-iron par – among them.

Green fees: Oct-Mar – £40 midweek, £45 weekends.

Contact: 0113 266 1154.

NORTHANTS COUNTY, NORTHANTS Widely regarded as the toughest course in the county, this is a serious test of golf with tight tee shots demanding both accuracy and length off the tee. Every shot demands your full attention and respect on a course on the fringes of Top 100 England contention.

Green fees: £45 from October 31.

Contact: 01604 843025.

NORTH DOWNS, SURREY A challenging treat on the North Downs at between 800-850ft above sea level with spectacular panoramic views. But you need to be fully focussed and ignore the fact it’s under 6,000 yards owing to the fact it’s extremely tight and demands careful shot selection and accuracy.

Green fees: From £15 on Mondays.

Contact: 01883 652057.

ORMSKIRK, CHESHIRE Home of a mature parkland, originally designed by Harold Hilton, with a great variety of holes plotted within 125 scenic acres. It is a

relatively flat, easy-walking course with some extremely tight fairways.

Green fees: £50.

Contact: 01695 572227.

PLAYERS CLUB, BRISTOL The American-style Codrington is a matchplay paradise. It’s long, tough and there’s water on 14 holes! It can be pretty intimidating, especially the par-4 4th that asks you to twice hit over water.

Green fees: £48 Mon-Thurs.

Contact: 01454 313029.

ROCKLIFFE HALL, CO. DURHAM At well over 7,000 yards off the back tips, this Marc Westenborg design is one of the longest in Europe. As a resort venue, though, there are several tees to play from. The modern masterpiece features stunning bunkering and water features including a virtual island green.

Green fees: £200 per fourball (Mon-Thurs).

Contact: 01325 729980.

ST MELLION (NICKLAUS), CORNWALL Inland courses don’t come any better or harder than this formidable Jack Nicklaus layout, which is carved from scenic Cornish countryside. It’s demanding but memorable with a stunning array of holes.

Green fees: Oct - £30-£40 (after 2pm).

Contact: 01579 352004.

SHANKLIN & SANDOWN, ISLE OF WIGHT With fairly tight fairways and well-protected greens, S&S is a more-than-worthy challenge for pros and hackers alike. It’s kept in tip-top condition throughout the year and affords breathtaking panoramic views.

Green fees: £36 midweek, £40 weekends.

Contact: 01983 404424.

SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE, STAFFS Originally designed by Harry Vardon, South

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 119

THE TG TOP 50...

Tees time Rockliffe Hall is one of north-east England’s finest.

Staffs is a classy parkland which has adapted to the modern game with tree-lined fairways and small greens making accuracy essential.

Green fees: £43 midweek.

Contact: 01902 751065.

THE KENDLESHIRE, BRISTOL Has 27 holes of modern golf (Hollows, Ruffet & Badminton nines) nestling in nearly 260 acres of the Frome valley. You’ll be relieved to find the 11th’s Sawgrass-esque island green.

Green fees: £100 Early Bird midweek fourball before 9am (coffee, bacon rolls & 18 holes).

Contact: 0117 956 7007.

THE SHIRE, HERTFORDSHIRE The only Seve Ballesteros design in the UK is a thrilling layout with water features aplenty.

Finishes in style with the signature of signature holes – the approach shot is played over an S-shape (for Seve) stretch of water.

Green fees: Mon-Thur - £190 per fourball, before 12 noon, food included.

Contact: 020 8441 7649.

THE TYTHERINGTON, CHESHIRE Another modern layout, the Tytherington opened about two decades ago and features more than 100 bunkers and eight water hazards, including the water-dominated 12th.

Green fees: From £17 (booking online).

Contact: 01625 506000.

THORNDON PARK, ESSEX Sitting in a mature deer park, Thorndon is particularly demanding off the tee. Finishes by looking down the 18th to the clubhouse, originally Thorndon Hall’s Palladian mansion.

Green fees: £40 (winter).

Contact: 01277 810345.

120 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

WOODBURY R PARK, DEVON The championship Oaks layout, supported by the nine-hole Acorns, is definitely a hard nut to crack, especially off the 7,314-yard back tees. It comprises rolling fairways, a number of lakes, big fast greens and a lake finale.

Green fees: £45 midweek, £50 weekends.

Contact: 01395 233500.

WYCHWOOD PARK, CHESHIRE Has been seriously examining golfers – pros and amateurs – and their patience since opening 15 years ago. It’s seriously tough off the back tees (around 7,000 yards), especially considering the numerous water hazards.

Green fees: £40 midweek, £50 weekends.

Contact: 01270 820 955.

SCOTLAND ANSTRUTHER, FIFE This dramatic nine holer just down the coast from St Andrews comprises an impressive combination of par 3s and 4s including the most demanding par 3 you’re ever likely to

Narrow test King’s Lynn is tree-lined.

play – the 5th, aptly known as The Rockies, that plays over 200 yards.

Green fees: £18 for 9 holes.

Contact: 01333 310956.

BRORA, SUTHERLAND Everyone who plays this timeless James Braid layout comes off buzzing – not because they accidentally touched one of the greenprotecting electrified fences, but because it is one of the most enigmatic, exhilarating links courses you’ll find anywhere.

Green fees: October – £45.

Contact: 01408 621417.

CARDRONA, BORDERS This 2001 Dave Thomas parkland/woodland creation has entertained the EuroPro and Challenge Tours and is majestically plotted amid the beautiful Borders Hills, is skirted by the River Tweed and is one of Scotland’s longest and most demanding inland courses.

Green fees: From £15 midweek.

Contact: 01896 831144.

CRAIGIELAW, EAST LOTHIAN A relatively new star of Scotland’s ‘Golf Coast’, this Donald Steel design opened in 2001 and was a qualifying course for the 2007 British Seniors Open at nearby Muirfield. Look out for the challenging greens, cavernous bunkers and spectacular Firth of Forth views.

Green fees: From Nov 1 - £35 midweek, £45 weekends.

Contact: 01875 870800.

GLEDDOCH HOUSE, RENFREWSHIRE A wonderful undulating mix of mature parkland and heathland holes which weave around a stunning 360-acre estate with

Courses

Tough love Moor Allerton in Leeds is a robust parkland.

WALES

IRELAND

Home help The Jubilee is arguably the toughest in St Andrews.

PLAYING AWAY

A dynamic dozen This month’s escapes include legendary Open and Ryder Cup venues for under £300 WORDS KEVIN BROWN

UNDER £ 100

Dunston Hall, Norfolk

Norfolk has a superb collection of classy links and this is the ideal base from which to discover Hunstanton, Brancaster and Sheringham et al. Plus it’s just a short drive from historic East Anglian capital Norwich.

The outstanding QHotels venue has just enjoyed £2m of investment including a £1m refurbishment of most of its 170 hotel room.

A further £500,000 has been spent on the state-of-the-art health club, including spa and gym, with the same amount spent on other projects, chiefly upgrading the well

122 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

established par-71 parkland course.

The four-star venue is set within 150 acres of glorious parkland dominated by a striking Elizabethan–style mansion and is particularly popular with corporate and society golfers.

The maturing course is a good challenge with a splendid variety of holes and should be treated with respect – there are plenty of strategically-placed bunkers to avoid while a number of lakes come into play on several holes, most notably the par-3 18th right in front of the mansion house.

It’s a gently-undulating, easy-walking course which meanders through woodland.

There’s a 22-bay covered and floodlit driving range as well, while diners can take their pick from fine dining in the La Fontaine restaurant or the more casual Brasserie, which serves a terrific carvery.

Contact: 01508 473809.

Deal: One night’s dinner, B&B and two rounds (one in 12 stay & play free) plus 20 per cent off drinks in Bunkers Bar throughout the stay, costs from £79pp.

Redcastle Hotel Golf & Spa, Co. Donegal

Forest of Arden, Warwickshire

Slaley Hall, Northumberland

Four-star resort has nine-hole parkland while 18-hole links Greencastle is 10 mins away.

Contact:: 00353 74938 5555.

Deal: Overnight B&B stay (for two) with a round on the hotel’s course and one at Greencastle costs from €168.

Well-established Marriott venue has two 18-holers (Arden & Aylesford) and good all-round facilities.

Contact:: Your Golf Travel on 0800 193 6610.

Deal:: A night’s DB&B and 18 holes (Aylesford) from £90pp.

Former European Tour venue with four-star accommodation and two outstanding courses.

Contact:: 01434 676525.

Deal: A night’s DB&B (exc Sat), unlimited golf, range balls, 1 in 12 free, 20% off drinks, from £99pp.

Courses

UNDER £200

The Belfry, West Midlands

China Fleet, Cornwall

Abbotsley, Cambs

A range of self-catering, apartment-style accommodation and a Hawtree-designed parkland course, health club and spa.

Contact:: 01752 848668.

Deal: B&B, bistro meal, round of golf and a treatment for one, from £230 per couple.

Two contrasting 18-holers (Abbotsley & Cromwell) and good practice facilities with the hotel offering 42 rooms, all twin or double bedded.

Contact: 01480 474000.

Deal:: One night (Sun-Thurs) break, with up to two rounds (Abbotsley), costs £140pp.

Glasson Country House Hotel & GC, Westmeath Fast-maturing parkland by Christy O’Connor Jnr and the four-star Athlone hotel with its new Killinure restaurant.

Contact:: 00353 90 648 5120.

Deal: Two nights’ B&B (midweek), one dinner and a round of golf, from €165pp.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 123

AROUND £300

Royal Birkdale and S&A, Merseyside

Where Jordan worked his magic.

124 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Royal Birkdale and Ryder Cup venue Southport & Ainsdale.

Contact: Your Golf Travel on 0800 193 6610.

Deal:: One night’s B&B at Ramada Plaza, Southport, and rounds at Royal Birkdale and S&A from £349pp.

Carnoustie, Angus Next year’s Open venue, and stay in the hotel overlooking the formidable links.

Contact:: 0843 178 7109.

Deal: One night’s B&B with two rounds – including one on the Championship course – costs £300pp (until the end of the year).

Yorkshire’s Ryder Cup courses Inland tracks that have all held the Ryder Cup – Moortown, Ganton and The Lindrick.

Contact: White Rose Golf Breaks on 01943 609888.

Deal: Two nights’ DB&B at The Weetwood Hall and golf at all three courses for £365pp.

Courses

F

Â

OUR PANEL Jonathan Crickmore

Doug Carden

Kevin Brown

Michael Catling

Age: 54 Handicap: 21 Lives: Southport, Best moment: Playing with Rory

Age: 63 Handicap: 13 Lives: Southport Best moment: Winning the Most

Age: 60 Handicap: 15 Lives: Peterborough Best moment: Interviewing the

Age: 25 Handicap: 8 Lives: Peterborough Best moment: Eagling the par-4

McIlroy at The Belfry – and winning the tournament together.

Improved golfer award at the Park Golf Club.

late-great Arnie Palmer in front of the clubhouse at Augusta.

18th at Mannings Heath to win the twos and club Stableford in 2015.

Imposing corridors The famous dunes of Birkdale’s neighbour.

Watering hole Refurbed clubhouse overlooks the 18th.

Name

Jonathan Crickmore

Tees & greens

Hillside has great tee placement on all its holes enabling you to see the shot required. The greens had just been treated but I’m sure the surfaces will be equally impressive when this process is complete.

It was relatively early in the season when we visited and in my book both were in good overall shape and condition. Definitely no complaints here.

General condition

The overall condition of the fairways and bunkers was excellent while the borrows and slopes on the greens are always food for thought… and make putting a joy.

Again excellent overall and that also applies to the typical tight links turf on the fairways and the neat, tidy – and menacing – bunkers.

Variety of holes & challenge

People talk about Hillside’s back nine which, for sure, is the most impressive half. However, the front nine is also first class and I particularly like the 4th and 5th which test mind and swing on tee and approach shots.

Hillside is very varied with an excellent layout and splendid combination of holes with many offering great views.

The range requires a short walk to get to, but it is well kept and allows a full range of shots to be played during a warm-up. The practice putting green surface closely mirrors those on the course.

Lack of time meant we didn’t really have chance to put them to the test apart from the relatively small practice putting green.

Practice facilities

Booking & welcome

The pro and his staff couldn’t have been more friendly and accommodating. We had a late tee-time and the management even offered to keep the kitchen open!

Doug Carden

Impressive – the staff in the pro shop were very friendly and made us feel really welcome.

Food & drink

I know for a fact the food at the halfway house is first class, as is the service... again the staff are so friendly you virtually have to drag yourself away to play the back nine.

Unfortunately we didn’t get the opportunity to sample either following our late tee-time so I will have to pass judgement on this.

Locker rooms

The guest lockers sit cheek by jowl with the members – a sign of just how welcome visitors are at Hillside.

Other washroom facilities are modern and first rate.

As you’d expect from a club of this stature – they were well kept with showers and towels were provided.

Value for money?

If you’ve never played Hillside, payment of the sizeable green fee will not be regretted. As a local golfer I’ll admit I’d like to see them lower, but that’s because I want to play Hillside again, again, and again....

Admittedly it’s not cheap to tee it up here, although having said that it compares favourably with the area’s other premier courses.

You’ll never hear anyone complain about Hillside – that’s because it is one of the best the UK has to offer. So if you’re visiting the area, don’t miss it and once you’ve played it, you’ll want to return.

A top links which provides a special and memorable golfing experience and I would certainly recommend it to other golfers considering playing there.

Overall verdict

126 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Courses A fair chance Expect slick greens that aren’t too funky.

Penalty spots Evil pot bunkers guard many greens.

Kevin Brown

Michael Catling

The former were neat and tidy although the greens, usually pretty fast, were a tad sluggish – probably owing to the fact they had just received some earlyseason treatment.

The greens were a little too bobbly and flat for my liking. That was my only complaint, however, as the views from the many elevated tees are simply breathtaking.

Overall conditioning of the course was, as you would expect from a layout of this stature, first rate with the crisp links turf a joy to play from.

The fairways were soft and surprisingly a little soggy in places, despite playing in May. It does make you wonder whether the course would hold up in the winter.

That might explain why they charge half the price.

Hillside has plenty of variety and challenge, boasting contrasting nines with the back nine weaving between towering dunesland. The par-5 17th, played from a stunning elevated tee, is simply sensational.

The first few holes are a little forgettable, but the rest are deserving of far greater acclaim. The 11th and 17th are simply magnificent, and up there with the best par 5s I’ve ever played.

A nine-hole putting green is located next to the 1st tee, and there are three practice nets nearby if you fancy a quick warm up.

I’ve played here a few times and the reception is always the same: warm and very friendly. Visitors can even use the snooker room free of charge.

Forget the practice nets. Walk a little further and you’ll find a fantastic little short-game area with two revetted bunkers, plus a 20bay driving range. Thirty balls cost £2.50.

There are no airs and graces at all, despite it being a private club. The staff are very accomodating and were even prepared to keep the kitchen open longer than usual.

The Facts Founded: 1911.

Architect: Fred Hawtree conducted a major redesign in the mid 1960s.

Vital statistics: Par 72 ranging from 6,160 yards (yellow tees) to 7,029 yards (championship).

Star hole: Several candidates but the par-5 penultimate hole – spectacularly plotted within the dunes – just about shades it.

Famous for: Neighbouring Royal Birkdale and Southport & Ainsdale and being the ‘meat’ in an exceptionally tasty links ‘sandwich’.

Although we missed out this time, the Hillside food is nearly as tasty as the golf on offer and the sausage barms served in the halfway house are right out of the top drawer!

They’ve just spent £1.1m on a clubhouse refurb and it shows. There’s a casual bar/lounge downstairs and a fine-dining restaurant upstairs with a terrace overlooking the 18th. Three courses for £24 on a Saturday is a steal.

Location: Hastings Rd, Southport. About one mile from Southport town centre.

Very modern and extensive. The restroom and showering facilities wouldn’t look out of place in a top-notch hotel.

First class. The room itself is never ending and includes a drying room, four showers, and around 400 lockers. Complimentary toiletries and towels is a nice touch.

Green fees: From £65 (winter) to £130 (summer £150 on Sundays).

£130-£150 for a summer round is pretty steep but you’ve got to remember Hillside is one of England’s top links. £65 for a winter game represents excellent value though.

I’d pay top dollar to play that back nine again, which is as good as it gets in my opinion. Royal Birkdale may get most of the plaudits in Southport, but I’d much prefer to pay £150 here than £245 to play Birkdale.

A class links act and easy on the eye too… if Hillside entered a beauty pageant it would be the brunette with all the curves that walks off with the title.

An underrated gem. No two holes are the same and while it’s not the tightest links I’ve ever played, it’s certainly no pushover playing over 6,800 yards off the championship tees.

Contact: 01704 567169, www.hillsidegolfclub.co.uk

127

THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO…

128 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Travel

A

Â

World class The CooreCrenshaw designed Saguaro at We-Ko-Pa.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 129

The courses Scottsdale is home to 13 of the top 25 courses in Arizona while five of them appear in a recent Top 100 Courses in the US listing with Troon North’s Pinnacle layout (25th) leading the way from We-Ko-Pa pair Saguaro and Cholla, 40th and 46th respectively. All three are above the thrilling TPC Scottsdale, home of the formidable Phoenix Open, and of course the one most want to play, enabling them to follow in the footsteps of the stars.

Whether you are staying on a resort or elsewhere, there’s bound to be a golf course nearby – and there won’t be a weak link among them.

The service is extremely high and the courses are always in immaculate shape, especially in the high season, which is our winter and offers ideal weather for golf. The facilities, specifically the clubhouse and practice amenities, are top notch too.

With so many quality courses around, it’s a tough call to decide which Scottsdale tracks to play. This time we sampled the par-71 Saguaro at the stunning yet remote We-Ko-Pa – which sits on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Reservation – followed by fellow resorts Westin Kierland and The Phoenician.

Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the Saguaro layout is now a decade old and perfectly complements Scott Miller’s Cholla course. With stunning mountain backdrops, especially at the short par-4 2nd, you’ll be in awe of the panoramic surroundings and equally impressed by the conditioning and slick greens with tricky-to-read borrows.

130 IS SUE 3 65 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Top to bottom: Red sky at night at the Phoenician; the Westin Kierland resort boasts 27 excellent holes.

Westin Kierland, meanwhile, is a real resort venue and has it all – including 27 holes of Scott Miller-designed golf in the form of the Ironwood, Acacia and Mesquite nines. You can warm-up in style and comfort on the airconditioned driving range and, if you fancy, take to the course aboard a climate-controlled buggy, a Segway or a specially-adapted golf bike... the choice is yours.

It may lack the drama and excitement of We-Ko-Pa but Westin Kierland still boasts a good variety of holes, including a thrilling finale to the Acacia loop that involves an elevated tee shot to a slither of a fairway tightly flanked by water all the way down the

left side and leading to the green. And right in front of the hotel too. Off course, you can also sample the custom club fitting and FOREMAX golf fitness training centres.

The Phoenician opened in 1988 and also offers 27 holes with the Oasis, Canyon and Desert nines with the last two the most spectacular combination. The former is probably the most challenging.

Oasis features plenty of water hazards and the Canyon has an exciting, potentially cardwrecking finale too, with the final three holes all involving water.

Expect the unexpected in Scottsdale – and that includes plenty of wildlife. Don’t be surprised to see a coyote or roadrunner dashing across the fairway – we spotted both at We-Ko-Pa along with a bright red cardinal, which are synonymous with the region given that the local American Football team is known as the Arizona Cardinals.

All this doesn’t come cheap, especially in high season, but quality rarely does. You’re generally looking at around $200 a hit – although there are plenty of excellent out-ofseason deals to be had. It’s the price you have to pay for the golfing holiday of a lifetime – and won't mind doing so.

Our final port of call was the brand-new 18hole par-3 course at Mountain Shadows. We put it to the test before its official opening earlier in the year and Forrest Richardson’s layout was not only great fun but a splendid challenge too, with holes ranging from 75 to 193 yards.

It is a considerably cheaper option too, especially if you’ve only got a couple of hours to spare!

Travel

Off-course travel guide

WHAT THE READERS SAY

When to go, how to get there, what to do off the course... and some deals!

DAVE ROBERTS (13 HCP) FROM EAST SUSSEX Scottsdale is certainly one of the nicest cities in America, offers a vast range of hotels and resorts with the desert golf experience dramatically different to the golf offering in the UK…and I love it! It has lots more to offer too, including a superb winter climate, and it is no wonder lots of wealthy Americans choose to own a second home in the area.

WHERE TO STAY Take your pick from 72 hotels and resorts within Scottsdale and we can highly recommend Westin Kierland, We-Ko-Pa and The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician, all class acts and offering 81 holes of quality golf between them along with luxury accommodation and world-class amenities.

Westin Kierland boasts 10 different dining options and has the edge when it comes to family fun – it has an Adventure Water Park, a 900ft lazy river and a surfing simulator.

You can unwind in five-star style at the ultra-elegant Canyon Suites at the legendary (and renovated) Phoenican Resort while remote We-Ko-Pa in eastern Scottsdale has plenty of allure including a sizeable casino.

JOHN WEBB (8 HCP) FROM CHESHIRE

Top to bottom: A canyon and distinctive bright red cardinal are among the beautiful off-course sights.

FOOD & DRINK

WORTH KNOWING…

There are more than 800 restaurants in Scottsdale with many serving mouthwatering native American, Latin and westernstyle fayre. You’ll find a sizeable portion in lively Downtown Scottsdale including historic Rusty Spur, Scottsdale’s last real cowboy saloon and one of America’s three happiest places. Craft 64 serves tasty pizzas and has more than 30 Arizona craft beers on tap.

Westin Kierland's Nuevo Latin cuisine at the Deseo restaurant– Spanish for ‘desire’ – will go down a treat while whisky lovers will head to the hotel’s unique Scotch Library, with 175 single malts and 30 blends.

O If you get the chance, check out the 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open. It’s loud and spectacular. You won’t believe it!

O You’ll find plenty of value in the shoulder seasons and cracking value in summer when the hotels and courses slash rates by as much as 60 per cent. Unsurprisingly, it’s a tad steamy so best to tee it up early or late.

O With plenty of creepy crawlies lurking in the desert, don’t look for your wayward balls for too long – so make sure you’ve got sufficient ‘ammunition’ with you.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS Shop until you drop in Downtown Scottsdale, especially in the Fashion Square District, which covers 1.8m2 ft with over 225 stores and restaurants. This is just one of several districts on offer with Arts and Entertainment being among the others. If you fancy a taste of the Old West you should pay Old Town Scottsdale a visit – it’s the heartbeat of the ‘West’s Most Western Town'. Among the new modern attractions is OdySea Aquarium, featuring 300 different species from waters around the world. With festivals and events aplenty, there’s always something going on.

GETTING THERE British Airways offers a daily flight from Heathrow to Phoenix. Fares start from £804 return including taxes and charges. Flight time is around 11 hours. Visit ba.com for further information or to book.

BEST TIME TO GO Golfing season is January to April when both the weather and courses are perfect. The area benefits from more than 330 days of sunshine a year, a measly 7.7ins of rain with an average temperature of 72.6˚F.

THE DEALS O Deal 1: Unlimited Golf for Two package at Westin Kierland with a one-night stay costs from $529 per room Sept 1-Dec 31. To book: Visit kierlandresort.com or call 001 800 354 5892 and ask for rate code UNGLF. O Deal 2: Reserve one night, receive the next at 40 per cent off at The Canyon Suites in November (four nights minimum) with the discounted second night averaging at $590.

To book: Visit canyonsuites.com or call 001 866 716 8136, quoting promo code ZB4.

O Deal 3: Stay & Play packages at We-Ko-Pa start from $499 per night and include a deluxe room, double occupancy and a round of golf for two. To book: Visit www.wekopa.com

Scottsdale offers some of the best desert courses in the world, and I just love the target-style golf offered at many of the top courses, especially Grayhawk, Troon North & We-Ko-Pa. I like to visit in November as part of an organised Pro-Am tournament holiday because the tour operator (The American Golf Holiday, see below) is able to offer access to some of the area’s top private courses, which makes for a fantasy golf experience. November is also a little bit cheaper than the high season months of February and March. Scottsdale is certainly an upscale destination and there is a tremendous range of high-quality restaurants to suit every taste and budget.

It is definitely one of my favourite places to play golf.

BOB HOUGHTON (13 HCP) FROM HAMPSHIRE I’ve been visiting Scottsdale regularly for nearly 30 years and have seen the area grow into a world-class golfing destination.

The combination of beautifully-manicured courses set in dramatic desert scenery, and a fantastic winter climate for golf, keeps me coming back for more. The direct British Airways flight to Phoenix makes it easy to get to, and the proximity of Las Vegas, Sedona, Tucson and Palm Springs offer superb multi-centre options.

The American Golf Holiday offers a full range of tailor-made Scottsdale golf holidays and tournaments. Visit www.americangolfholiday.com and www.pro-amtour.com or call 02380 465885.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK IS SUE 3 65 131

DREAM DESTINATION

I

Travel

Greek glory The stunning Trent Jones Jnr-designed Bay course.

ACCESSORIES & EQUIPMENT

UPGRADE TO LITHIUM

Personalised Golf Gifts for Every Occasion www.bestimpressions.co.uk

GOLFSTREAM ‘EVOLUTION‘DUO’ DIGITAL’ LITHIUM DEAL GOLFSTREAM LITHIUM DEAL NORMAL PRICE NORMAL PRICEÂŁ495...OFFER ÂŁ495... OFFERPRICE PRICEÂŁ375 FROM ÂŁ369 OUTSTANDING 100%100% UK MADE TROLLEY OUTSTANDING UK MADE TROLLEY VIDEO AVAILABLE ON WEBSITE

ÂŁ5.99 each 18 & 27 HOLE 24V GOLF BUGGY LITHIUM PACKAGES FROM ÂŁ569

Pack of 50 from

ÂŁ9.98

From ÂŁ8.99

Call our sales office 01484 448030

THE ULTIMATE TRAINING TOOL “A Great Gift Choiceâ€? *2/)675($0 '9ĆĄ Ăž',*,7$/ 5(027( NORMALLITHIUM PRICE ÂŁ949 OFFER PRICE SUSPENSION’ QOD DIGITAL TROLLEY AN INCREDIBLE ÂŁ779!!! BRITISH ENGINEERING WITH FREE ACCESSORIES Ćž2))(5 ),1,6+(6 7+ $35,/Ć&#x; AT ITS FINEST.

BRITAINS BIGGEST-SELLING GOLF MAGAZINE CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY

VIDEO AVAILABLE ON WEBSITE

DESIGNED TO CREATE THE CORRECT GOLF SWING POSITIONS • AT ADDRESS • AT THE TOP OF YOUR BACKSWING • AT IMPACT • AT THE END OF YOUR FOLLOW THROUGH.

18/27/36 HOLE 12V TROLLEY LITHIUM BATTERY PACKAGES ALL MAKES FROM ÂŁ169

LITHIUM BATTERIES FROM ÂŁ149

SWINGYDE CAN BE USED WHILE HITTING BALLS AT PRACTICE LIGHTWEIGHT...SIMPLE...EFFECTIVE

....WE ALSO SELL: PARTS, ACCESSORIES, GOLF BAGS......

Visit Swingyde.com and YouTube for more details or training drills

Available through pro shops, golf stores and at:

SALES/ADVICE LINE: 01236 879815 email: topcaddy@btconnect.com

Visit www.todaysgolfer.co.uk

MISCELLANEOUS

TUITION

The World Golf Teachers Federation

Earn money as a recognised golf coach

SUMMER SALE

30% OFF GOLF INSURANCE

NEXT Interactive 16 week training starts 2nd November

Now from only ÂŁ24.49 per year PLUS THESE FREE GIFTS 3 FREE worth ÂŁ7.50

AD333 balls Accreditation level 3 in coaching golf awarded by ABC

3 FREE rounds of golf worth up to ÂŁ360 A FREE limited edition poker chip ball marker!

Visit www.becomeagolfcoach.com or call 08450 949445

Get instant cover online today, visit:

www.golfcare.co.uk/TGA97 or call Freephone 0800 158 5515

Quote: TGA97

Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Terms and conditions apply.

134 TODAYS GOLFER Issue 365

8S ½ RH SYX QSVI ERH GPEMQ ]SYV JVII eBook on ‘How to FIGSQI E WYGGIWWJYP independent golf GSEGL´ YWI XLI contact details below.

to receive your information pack The professional alternative

www.todaysgolfer.co.uk

ACCESSORIES & EQUIPMENT

CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY BRITAINS BIGGEST-SELLING GOLF MAGAZINE

www.todaysgolfer.co.uk

Issue 365 TODAYS GOLFER 135

HOLIDAYS IN ENGLAND

ACCESSORIES & EQUIPMENT

GET

FOR

To advertise in

YEARS TO COME please call Iain on 01733 366429 or Angela on 01733 366314

www.golfbuggy.org

The TRIO

The Eventer and the TRIO Golf Cart help you enjoy a full 18 holes of golf a day. Sit back and relax in the sprung seat, as you drive between holes, conserving your energy for when you really need it - playing your shot.

Forward and reverse gears give manoeuvrability.

Virtually maintenance Up to free, and assembled 5 years warranty in under 2 minutes.

COURSE GUIDE

“Golf at its best in Norfolk�

18 Holes from ÂŁ25.00 Society Packages from ÂŁ29.50

Proudly manufactured in the UK.

BRITAINS BIGGEST-SELLING GOLF MAGAZINE CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY

Ask about the Lithium Option The Eventer

PHONE US TODAY!

DELUXE FREE PACK

WITH ALL NEW BUGGIES Unit 6, Fordwater Trading Estate, Ford Road, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 8HG Tel: 01932 570016

RATED ONE OF THE TOP 50 MOST CHALLENGING COURSES 0LGGOHWRQ +DOO *ROI &OXE +DOO 2UFKDUGV 0LGGOHWRQ .LQJ¡V /\QQ 3( 5< Tel: 01553 841800 Email: enquiries@middletonhallgolfclub.com

Website: www.middletonhallgolfclub.com

COURSE GUIDE

136 TODAYS GOLFER Issue 365

www.todaysgolfer.co.uk

HOLIDAYS IN ENGLAND

TheManor House

&

Kigbeare 15th

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never played such ĨÄ&#x201A;ĹśĆ&#x161;Ä&#x201A;Ć?Ć&#x;Ä? Ä?ŽƾĆ&#x152;Ć?Ä&#x17E;Ć?

415 yards, Par 4

^Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x2030;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ĺś t dĆ&#x152;Ĺ?Ć&#x2030; Ä&#x161;Ç&#x20AC;Ĺ?Ć?Ĺ˝Ć&#x152;

Ashbury Hotels

7KH 2QO\ 6SRUW &UDIW 6SD +RWHOV LQ WKH 8.

6HW LQ WKH IRRWKLOOV RI 'DUWPRRU 1DWLRQDO 3DUN 'HYRQ 7KH $VKEXU\ +RWHO LV WKH LGHDO YHQXH IRU \RXU JROI EUHDN

$W OHDVW KROHV RI )5(( JROI ZLWK HDFK QLJKW RI VWD\

Autumn to Spring 05/10/17 - 25/04/18

Pines 17th 442 yards, Par 4

Oakwood 16th 172 yards, Par 3

â&#x20AC;˘ FREE Golf â&#x20AC;˘ ½ Price Buggies - ÂŁ8 & So Much More!

November 2017 - 4 Night Midweek Breaks from ÂŁ195pp - Full Board!

PLUS unique Craft Centre featuring 18 tutored crafts, including Pottery, Woodwork, Glass Engraving & Hot Press Printing

6528 6400 5803 5502 5775 6111 1939

ĹŻĹŻ tÄ&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152; Ć?Ć&#x161;Ć&#x152;Ĺ˝ ^Ć&#x2030;Ĺ˝Ć&#x152;Ć&#x161;Ć? WĹ?Ć&#x161;Ä?Ĺ&#x161;

ashburygolfhotel.com

Ä&#x2020; $OO SULFHV SHU SHUVRQ Ä&#x2020; $OO URRPV HQ VXLWH Ä&#x2020; )XOO ERDUG Ä&#x2020; 3DUW\ GLVFRXQWV Ä&#x2020; HOLIDAYS IN ENGLAND

Set in the beautiful Cheshire countryside, but still only a 15 minute drive from the buzzing city of Manchester, Mottram Hall really is the perfect resort for your golf break. â&#x20AC;˘ 18 Hole Championship Golf Course â&#x20AC;˘ Par 72 & 6,675 yards â&#x20AC;˘ Hosted PGA European Seniors Tour â&#x20AC;˘ Open all year round and welcomes golfers of all abilities â&#x20AC;˘ Recent ÂŁ1.5 million refurbishment of SYV KSP½RK JEGMPMXMIW â&#x20AC;˘ Golf buggies available

Memberships â&#x20AC;˘ Membership categories to cater for all requirements â&#x20AC;˘ Traditional 5 & 7 day membership â&#x20AC;˘ Mottram Hall â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Country Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Âł5*EMV[E]´ žI\MFPI QIQFIVWLMT â&#x20AC;˘ Corporate options available â&#x20AC;˘ Reciprocal golf at all QHotels Golf Resorts â&#x20AC;˘ Complimentary Junior Membership

Residential â&#x20AC;˘ 1 in 12 go free. â&#x20AC;˘ 20% discount on drinks Society â&#x20AC;˘ From ÂŁ35pp inc. Coffee & Bacon Rolls â&#x20AC;˘1 in 12 golfers go free. â&#x20AC;˘ A fantastic dinner in our Claret Jug for an additional ÂŁ10.00pp.

Mottram Hall, Wilmslow Road, Mottram, SK10 4QT | 01625 828 135 www.todaysgolfer.co.uk

Issue 365 TODAYS GOLFER 137

CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY BRITAINS BIGGEST-SELLING GOLF MAGAZINE

0800 197 7549

Par 72 Par 72 Par 69 Par 68 Par 69 Par 71 Par 54

!

Ranges Archery Air Pistols %MV 6MžIW Lasers

EW

Family Racket Sports Leisure Bowls Funhouse Swimming Tennis Table Tennis Badminton Spa & Sauna Gamezone 5-A-Side Waterslides Snooker Squash Basketball Short Tennis Play Area Ten-Pin Sports

2XU &RXUVHV $OO RQ 2QH 6LWH Kigbeare Pines Beeches Oakwood Ashbury 9 + Pines Front 9 Ashbury 9 + Pines Back 9 Willows

N

Additional Facilities FREE to residents of our hotels

Last word

20 QUESTIONS Joost Luiten talks Ibiza and Jessica Alba… and why Augusta’s 12th is so hard 1 At what age did you first break par?

I must have been around 13 years old but I can’t remember where - it was so long ago!

2 Highlight of your career so far?

Winning the Dutch [KLM] Open twice. Last year was very special, but I’ll never forget beating Miguel Angel Jimenez in a play-off in front of my home crowd in 2013.

3 Best shot to date?

At my first Dutch Open in 2007, I hit a sand wedge out of the rough and it finished about a foot away from the pin. I made birdie, gave myself a chance to win, and finished second.

4 One mulligan you could have?

I three putted the last green in Austria from 10ft to miss the play-off by one shot in 2011.

5 Favourite hole?

I think the 12th at Augusta is the best. It’s a short par 3 but it just scrambles the mind.

14 And sportswoman?

Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers.

11 Favourite non-golf sports event?

The World Cup and Euros. I went to Switzerland in 2008 and saw Holland beat Italy 3-0. I really like going into the city and watching games on the big screens.

15 All-time favourite movie?

All the Hangovers. I love them.

16 Not to be missed TV show?

I’m watching House of Cards but the best I’ve seen is 24. Prison Break is great as well.

17 Favourite musician/band?

Michael Jackson was a great performer.

18 Favourite holiday destination?

I like Ibiza – it’s such a varied island.

6 Favourite course in Europe?

Probably Kennemer where we used to play the Dutch Open. It’s a very old fashioned golf course and you have to plot your way round.

7 Favourite US course.

I do like the Honda Classic, playing at the PGA National. And obviously Augusta. I’ve played there twice now and it’s very special – you want to go back every year.

8 Best scenery in golf?

The view from an 18th grandstand. At the end of the day, it all comes down to what happens on the final hole.

19 Dream celebrity fourball?

Michael Jackson… it would be funny to have Trump in there as well, and then Jessica Alba. I’ve always liked her!

20 Who would be in your dream Tour fourball (past or present players)?

Tiger Woods, Seve and Jack Nicklaus.

9 Favourite club?

I love using the driver – I’ve got an M1 – and it’s probably my most consistent club.

10 Best mate on Tour?

Chris Wood and Bernd Wiesberger. We always have a bit of banter and go out for dinners.

12 Favourite sports team?

Feyenoord.

13 Sportsman you admire?

[Roger] Federer. Only the greatest athletes can make something so hard look that easy.

‘Only the world’s greatest athletes can make something that is so hard look that easy’

THE SIMPLE REASONS WHY TOTALLY PORTABLE GPS OPTIONAL SMARTPHONE ALERTS OVER 40,000 COURSES COMPLETELY FREE APP HAZARDS & SHOT PLANNING

GET SMART, GET CONNECTED The revolutionary S5 CONNECT electric trolley pairs to the Motocaddy GPS app to provide front, middle and back distances, plus a wide-range of optional smartphone alerts. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just play. Perform. motocaddy.com

NO ON-COURSE NETWORK NEEDED SUNLIGHT FRIENDLY DISPLAY AUTOMATIC COURSE UPDATES

BUILT TO ENHANCE

Hydropearl Chrome Finish 40% less friction through the turf improves launch and spin in wet conditions and rough.

Hyper 17-4 Stainless Steel Increases strength 40% for thinner face.

COR-Eye Technology ®

Toprail Undercut Cavity

Innovative face-flexing technology launches the ball faster and higher to give you tourplayer-type distance and stopping power with the forgiveness and feel expected in a PING iron. Visit PING.com today.

Combines with COR-Eye Technology to amplify and expand face flexing to increase ball speed and launch the ball higher.

© PING 2017

GREEN IMPROVE EVERY PART OF YOUR GAME

Q Better chipping QBunker escapes QLag putts closer Q Hole-out with confidence

SAVE PAR AND MAKE MORE BIRDIES WITH A ROCK-SOLID SHORT GAME

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

CONTENTS

Welcome...

In this final installment of our instructional series, we focus on improving your game around the green here’s an axiom in golf; ‘The shorter the putt, the greater the respect’.

It’s a notion that can be extended to all golf shots.

As the hole gets closer our task appears to get easier, and we can easily lose a little focus and application. In fact, every short game shot you face has a direct and emphatic impact on the score you make, and any mistakes we make here are brutally exposed on the scorecard.

The link between short game and scoring also

T

raises pressure levels, and that’s why it’s so important to possess techniques in the three key areas – pitching/ chipping, bunkers and putting – that will stand up to the heat of battle.

This booklet will furnish you with that knowledge through a series of proven technical tips and drills.

You will also find advice on matters of strategy and green-reading – equally valuable if you are to make the best score possible on any given day.

Good luck!

MEET THE COACHES T G T O P 50 C H R I S R YA N

T H E B EL F R Y AC A D EM Y Chris is the senior instructor at The Belfry’s PGA Golf Academy

T G T O P 50 STEVE ASTLE

M O R L E Y H AY ES , D ER BY Advanced PGA professional and head of coaching at East Midlands Golf Academy

4-5 Crisp chips every time 6-7 Short game strategy: the 5 Ls 8-9 How to add or take off spin 10-11 The go-to chipping stroke 12-13 Improve feel and flow 14-15 Master the lob shot 16-17 Strategy: landing spots 18-19 The long bunker shot 20-21 High, soft-landing sand shot 22-23 Better bunker contact 24-25 Three alternative putting grips 26-27 Keep your lead wrist firm 28-29 Improve your holing out 30-31 A key green-reading skill 32-33 Improve your distance control 34 Short game practice; the 3 Ts

The venue This GREEN guide was photographed at the immaculate La Reserva layout in Sotogrande, Andalucia. La Reserva joins Valderrama, Real Golf de Sotogrande, Almenara and La Canada in making up Sotogrande’s prestigious quintet of golf courses.

For more information on Sotogrande visit sotogrande.com or call 0034 856 560 922.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 3

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

Strike chip shots pure… every time!

The duffed chip is frustrating, but there’s a technique you can use that makes heavy contact less likely. I call it ‘Up, Down, In’ – a simple way of representing backswing, downswing and followthrough.

Here’s how it works.

ROLL REVERSAL This steeper backswing sets up more of a downward pop onto the back of the ball. It also stops you rolling the club back inside, a common contributor to poor chipping contact.

4 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

STEEPER PLANE Move the club back, keeping the shaft and head outside the cane.

The ‘Up’ part of the backswing is not from picking the head up but from this steeper backswing plane. Your hands and wrists should remain quiet.

Backswing Think ‘Up’

USE THE SHAFT ANGLE Take your regular set-up, and focus on the shaft angle. Ideally, stick a cane or shaft in the ground behind the shaft at the same angle, just inside the heel of the club.

Downswing Think ‘Down’

CRISPER STRIKE This downward attack angle affords a crisper and cleaner strike, but it’s important you create it simply through that steeper backswing and not through chopping down at the ball.

Throughswing Think ‘In’

LATER LOW POINT Keeping your hands and arms quiet, feel you strike down on the ball a little more than normal. That straighter, steeper backswing promotes this, but make sure the low point of the club’s arc comes after impact.

LESS FACE ROTATION Your key thought for the followthrough is to feel the club works inside the ball-target line. Extend down the target line and the clubface tends to rotate; pull inside and you can keep the face squarer for longer, helping both strike and accuracy.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 5

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

Five Ls for short game success No part of golf is more flexible than the short game. Different lies, clubs, carries and slopes ensure no two shots are the same. So gather as much information about each shot as possible to get the ball close enough for a single putt. Use the five Ls to cover all bases.

1. LIE The ball’s lie determines the most appropriate technique as well as club selection, so it has to be taken into account first.

The more the ball is sitting down, the more you’ll have to squeeze it out. Only once you’ve assessed what type of shot the lie demands can you move on.

2. LINE Now shift focus from the ball back up to its journey.

Read the slopes to identify the line on which you’ll need to send the ball. Most golfers underestimate sideslopes, so when you 6 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

feel you’ve picked the perfect line, allow a little more. Also factor in crosswinds.

3. LANDING SPOT Once you know the line and what the lie will permit, take a look at the shot to picture where you will need to pitch the ball – the landing spot – to make the shot work, and lock it into your mind. Ideally, this should be as close to you on the green as possible.

4. LOOK After establishing the lie, line and landing spot, you can now take a step back

to remind yourself of how the entire shot needs to look – from the ball leaving the face to landing on your spot and rolling out down the line you chose. Make sure all the pieces fit your picture.

5. LOFT With that picture of the shot fresh in your mind, select the club that will deliver the flight, carry and roll you’ve visualised. Of course, this club selection must also take the technique you identified in Step 1 into account; a squeezing attack may need more loft.

TOP PLANNING Don’t fall into the trap of pulling your wedge and then assessing the shot.

Club selection comes at the end of the process.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 7

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

Add spin… or take it off In the short game there are times where you want the ball to run out and times when you want it to check up. While spin control my seem an advanced

WHEN YOU WANT TO ADD SPIN… Use this technique when the pin is cut close to the front of the green, or the green runs away from you.

8 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

skill, it’s actually within the compass of most players. All you need is to adjust your setup and change how you deliver the club. Try these tips.

SET-UP: CREATE LOFT Spin creation comes from applying loft with a gentle downward attack angle. To achieve this, keep your shirt buttons, the butt of the club and the ball in line at address. That means playing the ball centrally in your stance.

LEVEL SHOULDERS Aligning chest, handle and ball also has the effect of dropping your lead shoulder slightly.

This helps promote that slight downward strike while maintaining loft on the clubface. Your weight favours your lead foot.

RELEASE THE SPIN To feel the correct spincreating delivery, place a peg in the butt of the club and swing with your lead arm only. Let the peg point back to your belt buckle as you swing through. This ensures you maintain face loft through impact.

SET-UP: TAKE LOFT OFF To lower spin we need to reduce face loft and shallow the attack angle. So move the ball back in your stance to deloft the club; play it off your back toe cap. Keep your weight even and check your shirt buttons are forward of the ball.

WHEN YOU WANT TO TAKE SPIN OFF Use this technique when you have a lot of green to cover to reach the pin, or you’re chipping up a slope.

SHALLOW BACKSWING Also, grip the club a little firmer. This tends to immobilise the wrists, which helps you make a wider, wrist-free backswing. This creates a shallower arc to your action, which helps you keep spin off the ball.

RETAIN THE ANGLE Again, place a peg in the butt of the club but this time swing with your trail arm only. This time you need to keep loft off the face, so maintain the angle in the back of your trail wrist and keep the shaft vertical; the peg will point up to the sky.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 9

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

The go-to chip shot THAT’S TYPICAL! Most greenside shots need little more than carrying the ball to the green and letting it run out to the pin. It’s a straightforward shot needing only a simple technique, so don’t overcomplicate things.

10 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

There are all kinds of fancy lob and cut-up techniques out there, but the vast majority of chip shots just need a stock back-through motion. If you can build a simple action with fewer moving parts, you will improve your consistency around the green. Follow these set-up and swing cues.

GRIP DOWN Grip the club so your lower hand thumb and forefinger are at the bottom of the grip. Moving your hands closer to the clubhead helps you control it, while ‘shortening’ the club removes some of its power.

LESS SPEED, MORE CONTROL If you can take the pace and power out of the clubhead, you can make a positive, authoritative action without sending the ball too far. So base your go-to chip technique around taking speed out of the club.

TURN THROUGH Now rotate through, keeping the club against your stomach and the feel of body rotation moving the club. Note how stable and controlled the clubhead feels, in contrast to the sudden speed changes created by hands and wrists.

CLOSE CONTROL Keep your stance narrow – no more than a clubhead’s length apart. This helps you make a more controlled action, your weight centred. Again, this keeps moving parts to a minimum and helps take speed out of the club.

BODY CONTROL If you can control your action with your torso rather than your hands and arms, you’ll create a much more dependable and consistent motion. Feel how this works by placing the butt into your stomach, gripping down and rotating your core to move the club back.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 11

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

Improve your feel and timing The only true way to improve short game feel is to enhance your awareness of the clubhead, and face. Grip too tight – an easy trap to fall into given these are your scoring shots – and awareness evaporates. But here is an easy way to improve your feel – and the rhythm of your action.

THUMBS OFF Take your wedge, and grip normally. But just before you start the club back, lift both thumbs away from the handle. The club will now rest in the fingers of both hands, and you will immediately gain a better sensation of the weight of the head.

12 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

UNCLENCHED Your thumbs provide an opposing force to your fingers, allowing you to clench the club. With their influence removed, your hold of the club naturally relaxes.

LAG TIME Go ahead and hit a series of chip shots with your thumbs off the handle. You will instantly notice how, instead of any snatching, the clubhead almost lags as your hands and arms swing back.

SOFTEN YOUR ARMS To tune up the feeling of softness, feel and flow, start the swing with your arms slightly flexed. It will help remove any remaining tension in your hands and arms.

FEEL AND FLOW As well as boosting your awareness of the weight of the clubhead, this lagging helps you establish a smooth and unhurried rhythm to your action.

TURN THROUGH Keep your thumbs off right through to the end of your action. Feel how this also adds a little lag to your change of direction, helping the club release consistently at the right time. After grooving this softness, try to repeat the feeling with your regular grip.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 13

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk

Master the lob The high-flying, soft-landing lob shot is a truly useful shot to have in your bag – and chances are you already know how to play it. That’s because the technique is very similar to the

greenside bunker shot, using the same feeling of cutting under the ball with loft, and the flip release we learn on page 23. These tips and drills will help you get on top of the shot.

SET UP FOR A QUICK LAUNCH As in the sand, play the ball just forward of centre and open the face to add loft. For quick height you need to deliver loft on a shallow angle; to promote that, widen your stance and increase knee flex to lower the handle.

14 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

UNDER AND UP Just like the greenside bunker shot, the clubhead releases under and past the ball when you play the lob.

The only difference is that this time the sole of the club works against the grass rather than the sand.

Flip release drill 1: split hands Take your regular glovedhand grip, but place your trail hand at the bottom of the rubber. This split-hand grip encourages the lower hand to release under the ball, adding loft to the face and height to the shot.

Flip release drill 2: peg drop SKY HIGH Aim to finish with your forearms crossing and the clubface facing the sky. Hit 10 shots like this before reverting to your regular grip and repeating the feeling.

Grip the club normally, but insert a tee peg between the heel of your gloved hand and the grip. Make that full flip release on the way through and the hand’s heel will come away from the grip, allowing the tee peg to fall.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 15

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk

Hit the spot!

When you practise your short game, it’s only natural to focus on the result of the shot. However, I’d like you to shelve that for a while and instead spend your next three chipping

MIX IT UP Once comfortable hitting your spot with each club, make things harder by selecting a club randomly for each ball. This gets you closer to the on-course challenge, and will further improve your feel with each loft.

16 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

sessions focusing only on your ability to land the ball on your chosen spot.

Your ability to do this is crucial to the shot’s success, so here are two complementing drills to help.

Drill 1: Three clubs, one landing spot Round-the-green shots demand versatility, and changing clubs is part of that. But with different clubs creating different flights, hitting your chosen landing spot becomes a little trickier. To work on this, pick your 8-iron, wedge and sand wedge hit them in turn to one, chosen landing spot.

PRACTISE CLUB BY CLUB Hit eight balls with each club, getting a feel for how hard you need to carry each club near your spot. Of course the shot flies lower and runs more as the loft reduces, so take note of runout distances and consider which types of shot that carry-run ratio might be valuable.

Drill 2: One club, three landing spots Now we’re going to turn things around and learn how to send the same club different distances. Start with your favourite chipping club and create three specific landing targets at three, six and nine strides.

PICK A TARGET Start by focusing on the nearest spot. Hit eight shots to this one, before repeating the drill with your mid and long targets.

Assess which one is weakest and factor this into your on-course shot selection. All the time, you’ll build your feel for how to judge carry distance.

INSTINCTIVE FEEL As with drill one, proceed to picking random targets. Feel how the length and pace of your action is now almost instinctively changing as you move from one to the other. Take this landing spot focus to the course and it won’t take long for you to see the improvement.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 17

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk

The long bunker shot Sand shots of 40-60 yards need a very different approach than greenside shots. This time you’re looking to catch the ball clean – and that means changing your set-up, attack angle, delivery and even the club itself. Use these set-up and swing keys.

SENSIBLE STRATEGY The shot is known as one of the toughest in golf, and with good reason. So select your target accordingly, allowing more margin for error than normal.

BALL FIRST With greenside sand shots you take the sand from under the ball, an approach that needs a more U-shaped swing. Here, with the emphasis on a clean strike, you need a shallower attack that minimises trapping sand between the ball and face.

18 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

LET THE CLUB DO THE WORK Unless you have a really steep lip in front of you, take a straighter-faced club – for example a 9-iron instead of a sand wedge. It lets you make a shorter and more controlled swing.

PASSIVE WRISTS Keep your wrists quiet throughout the backswing. It creates a wider arc to your action and longer flat spot at the base of the swing. Again, that helps you find a more level attack.

LEAD SIDE PIVOT Add weight to your lead foot at address, and as you swing back feel you are pivoting around your lead side. This kills any tendency to sway and promotes a cleaner strike.

HIT FORWARD, NOT DOWN You can‘t afford to get choppy with the long bunker shot, so use your ball position to promote a level strike. Place it forward, opposite your lead instep; you can’t get too steep from here.

FEEL ‘WIDE’ THROUGH IMPACT Your ideal strike is ball first, then a little sand. That strike comes easier when you create a feeling of width on the followthrough. Try not to let the clubhead overtake your hands on the way through for a more solid, driven connection.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 19

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk

Master the high, softlanding bunker shot

For many bunker shots, the problem isn’t getting the ball to the pin but stopping it going too far. Short-side yourself and you’ll need to play a shot that rises quickly off the blade and lands softly, keeping the ball as close to the hole as possible. Here’s how.

CURB YOUR AMBITION As with any bunker shot, the most important thing is getting out first time.

Get too cute and can leave the ball in the sand. Accept that 10-15ft past is a good result from a tough bunker.

HIT THE HEIGHTS To get the ball to rise quickly and land softly, you need to apply the clubhead to the sand with plenty of loft. Achieving that is all about altering your set-up and creating the right attack angle.

20 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

SET-UP: SHAFT ANGLE FOCUS Play the ball forward of centre. Open the face before taking your grip, and lower the handle to add loft. Create a vertical shaft by ensuring your hands are level with the clubhead, not the ball.

BACKSWING: SHARPER WRIST COCK To apply clubface loft to the sand, we need the wrists to cock and then release coming into impact. Set this up by cocking the wrists more sharply than usual on the way back. Create at least a right-angle between your lead arm and shaft.

IMPACT: RETURN SHAFT TO VERTICAL Your one key thought for this shot is to match the shaft’s set-up angle at impact.

That means releasing the club to a vertical position through impact, the clubhead passing the hands as it enters the sand.

HOLD SWAY Avoid lateral movement to control the swing’s low point and promote a consistent entry point.

Make an accelerating rotation to create the energy that moves the ball up and out.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 21

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk

Find perfect sand contact Watch any elite golfer from sand and you’ll see a similar and slightly confusing pattern – a definite ‘thud’, but apparently only a subtle ruffling of the sand.

This is because the player is striking the sand with the back of the sole, or the bounce – which keeps the sand divot shallow and allows them to control the ball. Here’s how they achieve it.

THE PERFECT SAND STRIKE This is a terrific image of what should happen through impact in a greenside bunker. The clubhead actually travels under and past the ball, which rises on the divot of sand the club took.

22 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

SHALLOW DIVOT Note how shallow that sand divot is. That’s achieved partly from a shallow attack angle and partly because the back edge of the sole is being applied to the sand. A back-edge strike delivers more of a skimming impact.

FLIP RELEASE To find that shallow attack angle – and to use the back edge of the sole – you need to develop what’s called the ‘flip release’. This asks you to fire the clubhead past the hands through impact.

How to train a flip release

HINGE BENEFITS Aim to finish off with your trail palm and glove badge skywards. This is the opposite to the way our wrists work in the full swing, but it’s ideal for the right sand contact.

FORWARD FLIP To gain a basic grasp of what the flip release is all about, press your palms together and form a golf stance. Now simply hinge your wrists forward as shown.

TEE TIP Having got used to the feeling of flipping your wrists forward, try it with a club. Use your glove flap to secure a tee peg, pointing at the target, and aim to finish with the peg pointing to the sky.

FACE VALUE As you swing the club through the sand, feel how that flipping motion shallows the attack and presents the trail edge of the sole to the sand. Look to finish with the club’s leading edge horizontal.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 23

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

Three alternative putting grips While the orthodox reverse overlap putting grip can work perfectly well for many golfers, there are three increasingly common alternatives that can help players who struggle to control their hands through the ball. If putting is your Achilles heel, try all three of these and see which delivers the best results.

1 Palms facing Neutral feel with neither hand below the other HOW TO FORM IT This grip asks you to place your palms opposite each other on the grip, the ďŹ ngers of one hand wrapping over those of the other 24 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

according to preference. The trail hand usually ends up a touch lower than the lead, with the thumbs almost touching down the front of the grip.

WHY USE IT? The chief advantage of palms facing is that it levels the shoulders. This gives you a natural feeling of symmetry and neutrality,

which can help with alignment and attack angle. Users also report that with the palms facing, your hands are less likely to ďŹ ght each other in the stroke.

2 Claw

3 Lead hand low

Trail hand webbing guides the putter back and through

Leading hand extends down the grip, below the trail hand

HOW TO FORM IT Hold the putter with your regular lead hand grip.

Point the fingers of your trail hand down and introduce the hand sideways to the grip, placing it against the fleshy area between your thumb and index finger knuckle.

HOW TO FORM IT Hold the putter at the top of the grip with your trail hand, palm facing the target. Take your index finger off the grip. Now put your lead hand below the trail hand, its little finger against the trail hand’s middle finger. Overlap the trail index finger over the lead hand fingers.

WHY USE IT? The claw reduces the lower hand’s influence, stopping the two hands from fighting each other. Rather than supply a hitting force, the lower hand supports and guides the club back and through.

If your trail hand tends to take over, this could be worth a try.

WHY USE IT? It lets you pull the putterhead through, rather than the standard pushing feeling. Advocates say improves head stability, in the same way it’s easier to pull a shopping trolley in a straight line rather than push it.

STRONG LEAD Lead hand low also puts the lead wrist – often a source of weakness in the putting stroke – into a bowed and stronger position, helping it remain firm through impact.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 25

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

Hole out with confidence Your confidence with short putting will soar when you know you have that lead wrist under control. While a firm wrist holds the face square, a weak one can quickly break down under pressure, throwing the blade offline. Here are three ways to put some steel back into the wrist… and gain the upper hand.

LEADING INFLUENCE Your lead wrist motion strongly influences how the putter’s face moves. To keep the face square through impact, the wrist must avoid any flicking or rotating while moving positively through the ball.

26 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Wrist control 1: Vertical handle Check the putter runs down your palm, not across it, and the lifeline in the middle of your inside wrist is against the grip. This immobilises the lead wrist, helping to keep the clubface stable and under control.

Wrist control 2: Train a firm lead wrist Wedge a ball between your forearm and handle. Hit a series of putts.

If your wrists are ďŹ&#x201A;apping, the gap

between ball and wrist will grow and it will fall. Hit 10 putts keeping the ball in place before trying without the ball.

Wrist control 3: Forward press Your set-up can put the lead wrist in a buckled and vulnerable position.

Take charge of this by pushing it towards the target. As well as giving the wrist a straighter and stronger alignment, this works well as a trigger to set the stroke in motion.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 27

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

Tee drills for better putting If you have a kink in your putting stroke, getting technical to find the solution isn’t always the best

idea as it hinders the stroke’s flow. Instead, Use simple feedback drills to indentify the problem and

train the solution. Here are two effective solutions that need nothing more than a pair of tee pegs.

Drill 1: Train a square face at impact Strike two pegs simultaneously to keep the blade looking at the target

SQUARE PEGS, ROUND HOLE Go ahead and strike the putt. If your blade is open you’ll strike the inner tee first; if it’s shut it’ll be the outer peg. A square delivery sees them impacted at the same time. Use this drill to identify your issues and train a square delivery.

FRAME THE LINE Set up to a six-foot putt. Stick two tee pegs either side of your ball-hole line, a couple of inches forward of the putter’s face and just wider than the ball. Make sure the pegs are square to the line.

28 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

Drill 2: Train a centred strike Deliver the putter through a narrow gate to find the sweetspot

DEAD CENTRE Strike a series of putts from here. A tendency to catch the outer tee means a heel strike; if you keep hitting the inner tee, impact is out of the toe.

Consistently miss them both and you are finding the middle of the putter. Use this drill whenever your striking is off.

NARROW GATE This time, address the putt as normal but insert the two tees either side of the putter’s blade. Be very tight with this, leaving only a small margin either side of the toe and heel. Make sure the ball is opposite the putter’s sweetspot.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 29

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

On the right lines

The vast majority of six-foot-plus putts you face will have some degree of break and need careful reading to find the right line. But in reading the putt, the amateur player rarely allows for enough break and misses on the low side. These images help explain why… and what you can do about it.

ANATOMY OF A BREAKING PUTT This image should help to show you why it is we come up low of the hole so often. The orange cane represents the ball-hole line. The white string is stretched out along the ball’s ideal starting line, projecting to hole-high. The arc of balls illustrates the path the ball needs to take to drop.

30 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

THE APEX ILLUSION Most of you will have heard off the ‘apex’ of a putt – where the ball’s position is furthest from the ball-hole line. On this putt, the apex is the fourth ball from the putter. The apex usually becomes the golfer’s aiming point. But take a close look to see if you can work out why this leads to low putts.

Key difference Here is the same putt from a different angle – looking back down the ideal starting line. Again, look at the fourth (apex) ball: see how far it is inside the starting line projection (white string)? If you started the putt at that fourth ball, it would clearly finish low.

LOW LINE Note it well; because the ball starts to break towards the target as soon as it is hit, the apex point of a putt is always lower than your ideal starting line.

NEW TARGET So rather than line up to the apex, extend your starting line to hole-high and aim at that point; it’ll help you allow the break you need to get the putt rolling at the hole.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 31

Over 100 stores nationwide. Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

Improve your lag putting Your ability to control distance is at the mercy of your quality of strike. With toe and heel contacts losing distance and creating inconsistency, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to ďŹ nd the

centre of the face as the stroke gets longer.

The biggest problem here is letting your head and body move about during the stroke. These tips and drills will help.

Drill 1: Cane clash Keep your lower body more stable during the stroke GAP MAINTAINED A rock solid lower half allows your upper body to hold its position, promoting an accurate and centred strike. Maintain the gap between the canes to train that stability.

CROSS PURPOSE Place an alignment cane upright, a foot or so in front of your lead foot. Use a bungee cord to attach the second across the front of your knees. Set up with the knee cane a few inches in front of the upright one, as shown.

32 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

WARNING SIGN Strike the putt. The cane across your knees becomes an instant messenger of unwanted body rotation; twist too much and the canes collide.

Drill 2: Club prop

Drill 3: Coin strike

If you don’t have canes, this drill works too

An easy way to keep your head still

LET’S NOT TWIST AGAIN For a simpler way of achieving the same effect, lean a mid-iron against your lead thigh after you take your address. Twist excessively during the stroke and the club will fall to the turf. Keep steady and side-on and it stays up.

EYES DOWN Keep your eyes glued to the coin after the putter has removed the ball. This removes any tendency to lift up and out of the putt early, a common tendency which compromises the blade’s aim and the strike’s contact point.

COIN TEE Start by placing the ball on top of a coin. Then take your regular set-up but focus on the coin.

Strike the putt.

TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK 33

Shop 24/7 at americangolf.co.uk Ironplay

How to practise Your short game needs sound technique to play with consistency and precision.

However, you also need to develop the art of scoring. Unfortunately your attention

34 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

can only be in one place at a time, which is why the two areas don’t really mix. Your short game work will be most effective when split into three discrete categories.

1

2

3

TECHNICAL PRACTICE In technical practice you are working repetitively, to train new mechanics and muscle memory.

With your focus on the new move you’re working on, contact with the ball and the shot’s result should take a back seat.

TRANSITIONAL PRACTICE This starts moving you away from simple technique and more into on-course situations. When you hit shots, start to vary the lie, length of shot and the desired landing spot. Also, start paying attention to the quality of the strike.

TOURNAMENT PRACTICE Play one ball – which must be dropped – from one spot. This mode is all about scoring, so try games like par 18 – nine shots around the green, how low can you score? Ban technical thoughts and use your score to check progression.

NEXT MONTH

2018 TRAVEL SPECIAL 68-pa ge guide to the hotte destin st golf atio UK an ns in the d Plus T Europe.

G exclu play-a sive nd-s On sale tay deals.

Sept 2 8.