M I D D L E
E A S T ’ S
N O .1
G O L F
M A G A Z I N E
EST
1999
DECEMBER
2023
FINDING THE
LANDO NORRIS F E A T U R E VINCENT NORRMAN
FOCUS
READY TO TAKE HIS CAREER TO NEW HEIGHTS
JAZZY GOLFER
P YING HER PART FOR THE WOMEN’S GAME
Worldwide Golf is the Official Media partner to the DP World Tour in the Middle East and the official magazine of the Emirates Golf Federation
+ SCOTTY CAMERON MY GIRL + SWING LIKE PEREZ + 2023 STAT PACK
VOICE OF THE TOUR KEITH PELLEY,
Chief Executive, DP World Tour Keith Pelley took up his seat as CEO of the European Tour group in August 2015 and since then has overseen a period of exciting innovation and change, driving the creation of the modern, global Tour it is today.
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s we approach the end of the 2023 calendar year, it is an opportunity for us to reflect on another remarkable season on the DP World Tour and also welcome some exciting changes for the year ahead. In terms of the former, Ryder Cup player Nicolai Højgaard’s dramatic victory in our recent DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates provided another fitting finale to the Race to Dubai, bringing down the curtain on a season that spanned 12 months and featured 46 tournaments in 24 different countries, with more than 1.7 million shots from our members. There were many highlights along the way, from Jon Rahm becoming the fourth Spaniard to win the Masters Tournament in April to Rory McIlroy winning two Rolex Series titles en route to claiming a fifth Race to Dubai crown, and, of course, a hugely impressive victory for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup in Rome. The 2023 season also heralded the emergence of many new stars, with 17 first time winners in total. That list included 21 year old Ryo Hisatsune, the Cazoo Open de France winner who became the first Japanese recipient of the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award, and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg, who only turned professional in June and three months later was part of Luke Donald’s victorious Ryder Cup team in Italy, having won the final qualifying event, the Omega European Masters in Switzerland. In addition to his breakthrough victory in France, Ryo recorded a further seven top finishes and ended the season in 17th position in the Race to Dubai to claim the tenth and final available PGA TOUR card for 2024. He will now look to continue his development as a global talent, joining Adrian Meronk, Ryan Fox, Victor Perez, Thorbjørn Olesen, Alexander Björk, Sami Välimäki Robert MacIntyre, Matthieu Pavon and Jorge Campillo in earning dual membership via our Race to Dubai Rankings. The ten cards were a new initiative we brought in at the start of the 2023 season as part of our overall strategy to provide global pathways for international players, and it was particularly pleasing to see nine different nationalities represented: Poland, New Zealand, France, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Scotland, Spain and Japan. Golf has increasingly become a global sport since our Tour’s inception in 1972 and the diversity of this representation, combined with the fact we visited 24 different countries this past season, undoubtedly emphasises that.
In our Tour’s first season 51 years ago, we had 21 events between April and October, the majority of which – 13 – were played in the UK and Ireland, with a total prize fund for the year of €373,615. In 2024, our members will compete for a record overall prize fund of $148.5million and our prize funds are guaranteed to increase until at least 2027 because of our own commercial success and our Strategic Alliance with the PGA TOUR, both of which are part of our sustainable strategy of growth. Furthermore, changes to the structure of our new season will help us reach new markets and continue to showcase a diversity of cultures, with the 2024 campaign split into three distinct phases: the five Global Swings, the Back 9 and the DP World Tour Play-Offs. The Global Swings – the Opening Swing, International Swing, Asian Swing, European Swing and Closing Swing take place between November and the end of August. This first phase of the season includes new Bonus Pools and qualification routes into Rolex Series events and the Back 9, which takes place from September to October, following the conclusion of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Play-Offs. That gives us an opportunity to further bolster the strength of our fields in that autumn period, and if this year is anything to go by, it will have a strong appeal to fans watching both in person at events and via our world feed broadcast. For six consecutive weeks at the conclusion of our 2023 Race to Dubai, we recorded an increase in television ratings via our main broadcast partner, Sky Sports, in the UK and Ireland. That also reflected a wider trend we witnessed across the entire season. Out of 25 repeat events from 2022 to 2023, 20 of them saw a live average viewership increase by an average of more than 70%. These are incredibly positive statistics which illustrate once again not just how impressively we emerged from the global pandemic, but also how much our Tour is currently thriving. Since 1972, we have constantly evolved. We have brought in a number of changes for the 2024 season and if further change occurs within the global game, we will be ready to seize whatever opportunities that presents, just as we have done over the past 51 years.
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Contents D E C E M B E R
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2 0 2 3
14 We take a look back at the best moments from the 15th edition of the DP World Tour Championship.
Starter 20 2023 STAT PACK
Who was longest off the tee and who had the best stroke average? Find out on page 20.
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Features
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26 LANDO NORRIS The F1 ace tells us how he became addicted to the game. 32 VINCENT NORRMAN Winner on both tours this year, the Swede reflects on his breakout season.
Columns
36 JAZZY GOLFER
CHIARA NOJA
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We caught up with the Jazzy Golfer at the DP World Tour Championship to find out how her fight for equality is going.
With her GCSEs now out the way, the youngster reflects on what has been an up and down 2023.
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40 ALL OF THE LIGHTS
PETE COWEN
Trump International Golf Club Dubai just got a whole lot better with the introduction of floodlights on the back nine.
The Master PGA Professional shares his thoughts on the rumours linking Jon Rahm to LIV Golf.
ISSUE No.263 DECEMBER 2023 • Published by: Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd • Published in Dubai by: Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd • PO Box 24677 • Dubai, UAE (Tel) +9714 340 3785 Editor-in-Chief: Alex Gallemore • Editor: Thomas Wragg (tom@wspdubai.com) • Publisher: Mike Gallemore (mike@wspglobal.com) • Multimedia Journalist: Will Kent (will@wspdubai.com) • Production/Design: Shamshad Nayakkan • Editorial Panel: Mike Gallemore, Alex Gallemore, Thomas Wragg, Will Kent • Photography: Getty Images • June 2009 SSN 1- 46805671 • Approval UAE National Media Council: Ref.816 30/5/2007 Trade License No. 1/104375/15280 • Worldwide Golf specifies that post-press changes may occur to any information given in this publication and takes no responsibility for goods or services advertised.
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www.golfsuperstore.ae
Contents D E C E M B E R
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Gear
Instruction
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ODYSSEY PUTTERS
LOW POINT CONTROL
Find out how the introduction of AI putters can help improve your scorecard.
Topgolf Dubai pro Jamie Coughlin gives us a quick explainer into how to improve our ballstriking.
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PXG DOUBLE BLACK
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SWING SEQUENCE
Their latest GEN6 iron finish is perfect for the Middle East market but there is one draw-back.
Take an in-depth look at Victor Perez’s swing as explained by pro Jonathan Craddock.
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22ND MY GIRL BY SCOTTY CAMERON
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This collector’s piece by the legendary craftsman is more than a golf club, it’s a work of art. Forget the price, the hard part is finding one.
GOLFTEC DUBAI
Technology is big talk in golf at the moment, and GOLFTEC has plenty of that on offer.
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BUILD A BAG WITH MULLIGAN’S
QUICK9
Find out how much we saved putting together a full set of used premium Titleist irons, woods and a PING putter over their new price.
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SEPP STRAKA
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The Austrian answers nine weird and wonderful questions.
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WHAT’S IN STORE
With Christmas round the corner, we’ve listed six items that might help, from stocking fillers to a festive fairway look.
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TOUR STORY
With the conclusion of the 2023 Tour season, we take a look at which brands helped their players to glory on both the DP World and PGA TOUR.
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EDITOR’S LETTER
What does 2024 have in store?
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s 2023 comes to an end, it’s safe to say it’s been another thrilling year both on and off the golf course, with unlikely Major champions crowned, familiar faces continuing to shine, Tiger making another comeback and the fractions between LIV Golf and the established Tours taking a dramatic U-Turn. So, what does 2024 have in store for us? Firstly, right here in the UAE, we have the inaugural Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Resort, which sees a 72-hole strokeplay DP World Tour tournament played concurrently with a three-day Pro-Am team event, with Sunday featuring professionals only. Rory McIlroy has already confirmed his attendance, and there could be a bucket-load of stars from the sporting world joining him if the rumours within the industry are anything to go by! I’m not getting my hopes up just yet, but it could truly be a star-studded event kicking off 2024 on the DP World Tour. McIlory will be hoping for a strong start to the year in Dubai, as he looks to find the form that will help him secure an elusive Green Jacket at the Masters Tournament in April. Could this finally be his year? We seem to say that every year, with the Northern Irishman typically one of the heavy favourites going into the event. It would seem a travesty if he didn’t win the Grand Slam, but he’ll need to overcome the mental scarring of that final round collapse in 2011. Yes, he has come close on numerous occasions since then,
but he’s never truly looked like winning – it’s typically been a final day surge to finish inside the top five when he has left himself too much to do for victory. Perhaps now he has resigned from his role as a player director on the PGA Tour policy board he can be in the right mental state when taking on Augusta National. I, for one, would love to see him finally win on the Hallowed Turf of the iconic club. Other storylines to look out for in 2024 will be Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth also looking to complete the Grand Slam at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship respectively, how well the ten DP Word Tour players who received a PGA Tour card will get on in the States, including Dubai resident Adrian Meronk, will Tiger be able to play an event a month as he stated in November and what in the world is going to happen with the proposed agreement between PIF and the PGA and DP World Tour? The latter of those doesn’t seem to be getting resolved before the end of the year, so I guess it’s now a waiting game to see what the future holds for all three entities. I’d like to end my final note of 2023 by wishing all our readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and thank you for your continued support of Worldwide Golf.
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DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP Photography: Getty Images
DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP IN PICTURES
ANOTHER DRAMATIC SEASON ON THE DP WORLD TOUR ENDED WITH A BANG LAST MONTH, WITH NICOLAI HØJGAARD CLAIMING HIS FIRST ROLEX SERIES TITLE AFTER MOUNTING A BACK-NINE CHARGE TO WIN THE 15TH EDITION OF THE DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP.
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he Dane entered the final day three shots off the lead after a bogey-bogey finish to his third round but came good down the stretch with five birdies in the final six holes on Sunday. Højgaard cut a despondent expression after missing a short birdie putt on the final green but his victory was confirmed shortly later when neither 54-hole leader Matt
Wallace or Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland could register an eagle at the par-five closing hole. It was a third DP World Tour title for Højgaard at the age of 22, having previously lifted the trophy at the Italian Open in 2021 and Ras Al Khaimah Championship in 2022. The victory – the third for a Danish player this season following his brother Rasmus and Thorbjørn Olesen
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– lifted him to second on the Race to Dubai Rankings, which secured him a spot into two PGA TOUR Signature Events in 2024: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational “This feels amazing,” said Højgaard following the victory. “This one is for family. Everything they put in over the years, there’s so much hard work going into this. For it to happen like this is unbelievable.”
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DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP Photography: Getty Images
FAMILY FUN
Family Day marked a fun and fitting conclusion to this year’s DP World Tour Championship, with fans of all ages wowed by magic tricks, live music and even a singing princess. Other activities included drumming workshops, a circus show, face painting, balloon bending, plant potting and a bubble show to keep the kids entertained.
LOWEST ROUND ON EARTH
Matt Wallace birdied every hole on the back nine at Jumeirah Golf Estates as he carded a career-best round of 60 on day three of the tournament. His nine birdies in a row, 12 birdies in a round, nine-hole score of 27 and nine-hole score to par of nine under all matched DP World Tour bests but did not go in the record books due to preferred lies being in place.
RECORD CROWDS
Last month’s edition attracted in excess of 79,000 spectators over the course of the event – the most in the history of the tournament and a more than 14 percent increase on last year. “This year’s DP World Tour Championship was a fantastic success and we’re delighted to have welcomed a record number of spectators over the course of the event, despite challenges with the weather on the Thursday into Friday,” said Tom Phillips, DP World Tour’s Head of Middle East. “This reflects the huge interest in the event’s on and offcourse entertainment offering, as well as the continued growth of golf in the UAE and region.”
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RORY’S AWKWARD LIE
The four-time Major winner’s tee shot on the par-3 13th hole during the first round somehow landed in the lap of a female spectator as she lay on grass to the right of the green. McIlroy went up to her, scratched his head, then feigned a shot — to the amusement of the gallery. McIlroy stood back and said: “Right, ermm. Referee!” The World No.2 was granted relief before going on to make bogey.
WORLDWIDE GOLF GALORE
With Worldwide Golf being an Official Media Partner of the event, fans were spotted across the course picking up the thousands of copies available on site to read all about the latest news from the local golf scene and our Earth course hole guide with legendary caddie Billy Foster.
MERONK’S MERRY MEN
Adrian Meronk enjoyed plenty of support on his now home course, with the majority of applause coming from the 20-strong Adrian Meronk fan club who had flown over especially from Poland to cheer their man on. The four-time DP World Tour winner finished the tournament in a share of 32nd, which was enough to end the season atop the Race to Dubai Rankings – PGA Tour Eligibility ranking. As the leading player, Meronk banked himself full PGA Tour status as well as exemptions into the Players Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge – two of the PGA Tour’s Signature Events.
CRICKET CROSSOVER
Cricket legend and DP World Ambassador Sachin Tendulkar paid a visit to Jumeirah Golf Estates, where he tested his putting skills with Ryan Fox on the practice green. Tendulkar, the highest run scorer in international cricket, also met Rory McIlroy and presented him with a signed shirt and cricket stump, with the Northern Irishman offering some golfing tips and a signed DP World Tour Championship pin flag in return.
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IRISH GREATS MEET
The Pro-Am saw plenty of sporting stars take on the Earth course, including threetime Premier League winner James Milner and Irish rugby legend Johnny Sexton. The Grand Slam winning captain, who recently retired, played with fellow Irish star and five-time Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy. “It was an absolute pleasure to be asked to participate and I’m delighted to be here at this amazing golf course playing with some of the best in the world,” said Sexton. “I’m playing about 80 yards ahead of Rory and he’s still hitting it past me! I love watching him play so to be here up close is even more special for me.”
LADIES OUT IN FULL FORCE
A wet start to Saturday’s proceedings couldn’t put a dampener on Ladies Day festivities, with the on-course crowds buzzing with excitement and anticipation, and the Championship Village awash with colour. Drinks deals, competitions and live music fuelled a carnival atmosphere, while a Chicks With Sticks clinic was held in the Golf for All Zone. Oasis tribute band Faux Asis wrapped up the day with some timeless classics to end on a high.
BROWNE SECURES G4D TITLE
Mike Browne sealed victory in the G4D Tour Season Finale @ DP World Tour Championship, after the competition was reduced to 18 holes following Friday’s play being cancelled due to wet weather. Browne dedicated his second G4D Tour title to the memory of his father who passed away last year, after securing a three-stroke victory over World Number One Kipp Popert, inaugural G4D Open winner Brendan Lawlor and Canada’s Kurtis Barkley who all finished in a tie for second place.
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D P W O R L D T O U R S TAT PA C K Photography: Getty Images
The 34-year-old averaged just 27.83 Putts Per Round on the DP World Tour in 2023
McIlroy’s score of 271 at the U.S. Open was the lowest 72-hole total by a player who didn’t win the title
The four-time Major champion became the first player to win back-to-back Rolex Series titles with victories at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Genesis Scottish Open
McIlroy finished the season in top spot for Stroke Average with an impressive 68.88
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ory McIlroy captured a fifth Race to Dubai title last month, which saw him edge closer to Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight Harry Vardon Trophy victories, and just one shy of the late, great Seve Ballesteros’ six. The Northern Irishman wrapped up the season-long trophy with a week to spare in a year that has seen him win two Rolex Series events, secure three top tens in Major Championships and miss just one cut on the DP World Tour. “I think I’ve still got a good eight to ten years left in me where I can play at the top, top level,” said McIlroy following the final round of the DP World Tour Championship.
“I’d like to think that I’m going to challenge, at least try to get past Seve and then sort of try to get past Monty as well. But it’s certainly a goal of mine for the rest of my career to do something like that. It would mean a lot to me. “I think it shows my consistency year-to-year. I think over the last ten years, I think I’ve won eight season-long titles between America and between here, so it just shows my level of consistency.” Over the next few pages, we take a look at some of the key stats from the 2023 Race to Dubai, which saw 45 events held and 17 first time winners crowned from nine different countries.
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DP WORLD TOUR STAT PACK
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D P W O R L D T O U R S TAT PA C K Photography: Getty Images
441
Jorge Campillo topped the leaderboard for most birdies this season with an impressive 441 in 110 rounds. The Spaniard is ranked only 45th in Birdie Average though, with Rory McIlroy leading the way on that leaderboard with an average of 4.65 birdies per round.
334.53
1.97
Wilco Nienaber was at the summit of the Driving Distance rankings, averaging an impressive 334.53 yards off the tee – 27.87 yards higher than the Tour average.
Alexander Björk led the way in avoiding blemishes on his card, with the Swede averaging 1.97 bogeys per round. His compatriot Tobias Edén finished bottom of the leaderboard, carding 205 bogeys in 41 rounds for an average of five per round.
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73
Adrian Meronk had the worst start of a winner on Tour this season after posting a first round 73 (+3) at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, before carding rounds of 66, 63 and 66 to lift the trophy.
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Rasmus Højgaard and Vincent Norrman both came from six shots behind on the final day to win the Made in Himmerland and Horizon Irish Open respectively. This was the biggest deficit made up in the last round by a winner.
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D P W O R L D T O U R S TAT PA C K Photography: Getty Images
32 There were 32 holes-in-one during the 2023 season, including two at the Abu Dhabi Championship. Unbelievably, Dan Bradbury made three of those with aces in Abu Dhabi, South Africa and Spain.
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Matthieu Pavon, Nicolai Højgaard and Alexander Björk each had nine top ten finishes this season – the most on Tour. Todd Clements only managed one top ten all season, which just so happened to be a triumph at the D+D Real Czech Masters.
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+5 1.09
The highest cut in relation to par came at the US PGA Championship, with players carding 145 (+5) or better to make the weekend.
Pablo Larrazábal was hot with the flatstick this season, sitting at the summit of the leaderboard for One Putts. The Spaniard averaged eight one putts per round, which was 1.09 more than the field average
261
Ludvig Åberg and Matthieu Pavon shared the record for Low 72 with both players carding 261 en route to victories at the Omega European Masters and acciona Open de España presented by Madrid respectively.
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There were six albatrosses carded throughout 2023, with the first coming at the Abu Dhabi Championship courtesy of Paul Waring. Joost Luiten, Hurly Long, Darius Van Driel, Rhys Enoch and Niklas Lemke were the other five players to achieve the rare feat.
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FEAT URES
LANDO NORRIS Photography: Getty Images & Steven Tee
DRIVING
DUAL PASSIONS Lando Norris IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE SEASONENDING ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX LAST MONTH, THOMAS WRAGG SAT DOWN FOR A CONVERSATION WITH FORMULA 1 SENSATION, LANDO NORRIS, TO FIND OUT HOW HE TRANSITIONED FROM A PLACE WHERE GOLF WAS SCARCELY AN AFTERTHOUGHT TO BECOMING FERVENTLY ADDICTED TO THE SPORT.
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LANDO NORRIS Photography: Getty Images & Steven Tee
Norris and Fleetwood took part in a golf-influenced driving challenge at the DP World Golf Performance Centre last month
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ando Norris might be pardoned for once dubbing golf the “most boring thing ever,” considering that this 24-year-old typically invests his weekends hurtling a McLaren F1 machine around the planet’s most legendary racetracks at velocities surpassing 200 miles per hour. Despite the earlier statement on the game, all is forgiven, as Norris has transformed into a self-proclaimed “golf nut.” The Englishman now frequents fairways worldwide, playing off a handicap of nine, even boasting of playing 36 holes on the hallowed turf of Augusta National, where securing a tee time is as uncommon as witnessing snowfall in Dubai. “I played, that was the main thing,” said Norris when I asked what had changed from his previous statement on the game. “It’s true; I did say that many years ago. But then, once I played the game properly on a golf course—not just Topgolf with friends— and got into the competitive side of things, experiencing the feeling of hitting a good shot, I started thinking, ‘I can be a little bit better,’ and wanted to deliver better results. “As soon as I kind of got that drug of competition and success in golf, then I fell in love with the game. You can connect a lot more with people who are playing because you understand what they’re going through. “Once you understand it, the game makes sense. But before holding a golf club for the
first time, I was thinking, ‘What is this?’ Now, I’m addicted to golf.” That addiction, which started three years ago, is aided by the fact that Norris gets the unique opportunity to play golf all over the world on a regular basis, with F1 consistently visiting 20+ countries across the globe every year.
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AS SOON AS I KIND OF GOT THAT DRUG OF COMPETITION AND SUCCESS IN GOLF, THEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE GAME.
“I travel a lot, so I get to go to plenty of beautiful places where I try to play as much as I can,” he says. “But it can be tough, especially when I’m in recovery after a race at certain times, and I struggled with my back quite a bit over the last year. So, I’ve had to almost cut down on my golf rather than ramp it up, which is what I would love to do.
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“I used to take my clubs everywhere with me until my back problems. It got to a point where I’m watching golf every weekend, despite the annoying time zones when it’s based in America. I’d stay up quite late to watch competitions. I loved it so much and felt so connected to it that I would stay up until two, three, four in the morning and then wake up and race the next day!” Despite the back problems and lack of sleep, Norris had a remarkable F1 season in 2023. The Englishman only managed to bank 12 points in the initial eight rounds due to issues with his team’s car, but once McLaren addressed their hardware challenges, Norris delivered an impressive 193 points in the next 14 races, outperforming every driver except the dominant Max Verstappen and surpassing the next highest scorer by 34 points. During this period, Norris secured seven podium finishes, a feat that eclipsed his former teammate and good friend Carlos Sainz by four podiums. Interestingly, Sainz, who now drives for Scuderia Ferrari, also happens to be Norris’ primary golf rival on the grid. “There’s a bit of a battle between me and Calros, definitely,” he says. “Lance Stroll plays quite a bit, maybe not so much now, but he’s pretty good. Alex Albon’s girlfriend is a professional golfer, so he
plays when he can but me and Carlos are probably the most dedicated and have the most interest. I would say Carlos is the best, but he’s been playing the longest so that’s my excuse as to why he’s better!” NETFLIX CUP The duo, along with Albon and Pierre Gasly, took part in the inaugural Netflix Cup last month which saw the stars of the streaming service’s ‘Drive to Survive’ and ‘Full Swing’ go head-to-head in a match-play tournament at the Wynn Golf Club, kicking off the week of the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix. The chaotic event which saw the drivers paired with one of Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau and Max Homa, also saw racing infused into the matchups, with teams competing to finish a hole as fast as possible – regardless of strokes, with Norris disqualified on the first hole for picking up his ball. “I don’t want to talk about that!” joked Norris when asked if he enjoyed the event. “Netflix has helped grow both sports and bring in different audiences to each, which is positive. The Netflix Cup was a great event to be involved with. It was fun that we got to play with the pros, kind of put on the show, and trash talk and all that. I think it’s cool; I would have enjoyed watching it if I wasn’t playing, but I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed watching myself play as I would have said, ‘that guy sucks!’ “I’m sure if they could do it again, they’ll do some things better and change it up a little bit, maybe have some more groups or something. It was good to bring both sports together. Now the golfers have got to drive some cars to see how good they really are, but that’s a lot more expensive!” Rubbing shoulders with golf’s elite is no foreign terrain for Norris, as he effortlessly recites an impressive roster of top pros with whom he’s shared a casual round—names like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm,
Joaquín Niemann, and Mito Pereira. He then delves into the “fun” he had in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic Pro-Am with Bernd Wiesberger and the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am alongside former champion Tyrrell Hatton. One can’t help but wonder: what insights did Norris glean from these captivating encounters? “Just the feel and detail in every step,” he says. “I’m just swinging a club, and that’s all I’ve got, but these guys’ knowledge of when it’s here or there, the feeling of the hands being slightly different or something affecting it. I’m sure when you give them a club and it’s slightly heavier or lighter, they would pick up on it straight away, and I
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MESSING UP A CORNER ON A TRACK IS THE SAME AS MESSING UP A SHOT — THE LAP’S NOT OVER AND THE HOLE ISN’T OVER, BUT IT’S HOW YOU CAN RECOVER.”
Norris was paired with Rickie Folwer at last month’s Netflix Cup in Las Vegas
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FEAT URES
LANDO NORRIS Photography: Getty Images & Steven Tee
Pete Cowen and Ian Poulter take a look at Norris’ swing during at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic
MENTAL MATCHUP While you’d be hard-pressed to uncover many parallels in the physical conditioning of F1 drivers compared to professional golfers — envision the contrast between chain-smoking, beer-loving John Daly and the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Norris, who undergo some of the most intense workouts on the planet to be race-ready — the mental aspects of the two sports share numerous similarities.
“It’s exactly the same,” says Norris. “Messing up a corner on a track is the same as messing up a shot — the lap’s not over and the hole isn’t over, but it’s how you can recover and try to make that next shot even better, you know? Therefore, the mentality of it is exactly the same, and I get exactly the same amount of frustration by shanking it or doing something stupid. “It’s exactly the same as locking your tire into turn one, and you run wide, which is the same as being off the fairway. The thought process is also the same; obviously, some things are different with a lot more fear within F1 than there is in golf, but the thought process of achieving success, overcoming obstacles, bad shots, and mistakes and not letting that affect you, before going on to win or doing whatever you can, the mentality through that process is exactly the same.” Due to his previously mentioned problems with his back, Norris didn’t have the opportunity to play golf in the UAE this time around, but that’s not to say he’s not familiar with the thriving golf scene in the Emirates, as he recalls playing every course in Dubai with Dubai Hills and Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course topping his list of favourites, He did, however, seize the opportunity to learn from one of the best in the game in the
form of Tommy Fleetwood, with the duo taking part in a golf-influenced driving challenge at the DP World Golf Performance Centre before practicing together at the Tommy Fleetwood Academy. Would Norris class that as recovery of part of his fitness programme? “That’s what I tell my trainer!” he jokes. “For me, playing golf is definitely recovery as it takes my mind away from F1 and from overthinking certain things. That allows me to come back to the next race with a clearer head. Having said that, I still get very frustrated when playing golf, so it’s probably not as good as just sitting at home, but I love playing with friends on a sunny day. There are not many things better in life. It’s more mental recovery rather than physical recovery.” From his candid admission of finding golf “the most boring thing ever” to the transformation into a self-proclaimed “golf nut,” Norris’s journey across fairways and racetracks mirrors the mental intricacies that link these seemingly disparate sports. Whether it’s the thrill of teeing off alongside some of the best in the game or overtaking a rival into turn one, the mental fortitude required remains a constant.
WHAT MAKES YOU MORE NERVOUS, TEEING OFF IN A PRO-AM OR DRIVING AN F1 CAR? “Teeing off in a Pro-Am, 100 percent, by a mile. When I teed off in the Netflix Cup, I was so nervous; I don’t think my hands have ever been as shaky. I didn’t have any warmup either, so maybe that was part of the reason. I was probably more nervous in F1 at
some point when I started, but now I’m very much in a place where I’m at ease. Once you understand and you know you can do it, you’ve just got to focus on the little things. Everything becomes subconscious. When subconscious, you almost don’t have the nerves. You’re just going out there and doing it; you don’t think of doing it. I’m sure it’s the same with pro golfers,
but for me, when I play golf, I’m still having to think, and that’s the problem. Thinking is the issue; you’ve got to make it a subconscious feeling for it to be natural and to not let other things and external factors play a part in that. It’s the same with golf and the same with racing. I guess I’ve done racing a lot more, so it’s easier.”
probably wouldn’t. I didn’t know the difference between a crappy ball and a Pro V1; for me, it doesn’t make a difference! “It’s the same for me in F1; I can think of every single detail, but most people will think ‘I’ve just got to turn.’ I’ll obviously be going into a lot more detail and know every single step of the process, so it’s good to know that it’s the same for pro golfers. “The detail and accuracy that goes into every single thing is not something you are aware of in every sport; you don’t know what makes something so good. But when you’re with them and they talk about it, you understand why they are doing these things to create consistency and feeling. The thought process behind it all is what’s so interesting.”
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NEXT UP: NORRMAN Photography: Getty Images
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NEXT UP:
NORRMAN
EUROPEAN GOLF IS THRIVING. LUKE DONALD’S SIDE RECLAIMED THE RYDER CUP AT MARCO SIMONE WITH A NEWLOOK TEAM, AND THERE ARE STILL SO MANY NEW TALENTS CONTINUING TO IMPRESS. YOU LOOK AT RECENT DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER NICOLAI HØJGAARD, RECENT PGA TOUR WINNER LUDVIG ÅBERG, AND NOT FAR BEHIND IS FELLOW SCANDINAVIAN VINCENT NORRMAN.
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NEXT UP: NORRMAN Photography: Getty Images
“
IT’S BEEN A QUICK JOURNEY UNTIL HERE. I DIDN’T EXPECT THOSE TWO WINS TO COME THAT QUICK.”
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he 25-year-old is a two-time winner this year with his first triumph coming on the PGA Tour at the Barbasol Championship in July on this 23rd start before adding to his CV at the Horizon Irish Open in September. The 2022 Korn Ferry Tour graduate came from six shots back on the final day at the K Club to beat the likes of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry to win the title in Ireland. Those two high-profile wins have catapulted the Swede up the world rankings and he now looks set to end the year comfortably inside the top 100 players in the world. To compare, he finished 2022 ranked 324th. Each time he steps onto the course, Norrman’s trajectory seems to only surge upward. The Swede’s performance positions him as a potential contender for the 2025 Ryder Cup. His capacity to handle high-pressure scenarios in the sport this year demonstrates his potential. Now, his next milestone is contending in a Major tournament. Achieving this would further strengthen his bid for a spot on Europe’s roster in the next Ryder Cup. Will Kent caught up with the big-hitter at the back end of 2022 to find out all about
his game, what he thought of the Ryder Cup and how much we’ll be seeing him on the DP World Tour in 2024.
WWG: What a season it’s been for you – how would you describe it? VN: It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a quick
journey until here since when I turned pro. Those two wins have been quite amazing and a lot fun. I didn’t really expect those wins to come that quick, especially two of them. Obviously once I won the first one, I gained a little bit more confidence. I played really well in Ireland and snuck in there in the last day on the back nine. I think it was unexpected but pretty cool.
WWG: Was there any talk of you making the Ryder Cup team behind the scenes? VM: Not really. I heard a little bit but not
directly to myself, more through my team. I had the opportunity to play more in Europe to boost my chances, but I was so tired after the US swing that I wanted to focus on being prepared on coming to Europe and play. It turned out to be pretty good for me as I won.
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WWG: Did you manage to watch any of the Ryder Cup on TV? VN: I woke up about 3am the first day to
watch it, I couldn’t’ sleep. I watched pretty much every single shot at every opportunity. It’s one of the coolest things ever to watch. I’m very motivated to play in the next one in the US. With a few friends on the team as well, it was even more fun to cheer the boys on.
WWG: Following on from that, are you the sort of golf nut who watches old tournament replays on YouTube? VN: Yeah, I watch a lot of swings from guys
and I really enjoy watching golf. I always watch it Thursday to Sunday here in the US when the DP World Tour is on, perfect when eating breakfast. I really enjoy the game and every aspect of it.
WWG: Fortunately for you your PGA Tour status is secure, but what’s your opinion on the top 10 Race to Dubai finishers gaining PGA Tour cards for next season? VN: I think it’s huge. It’s really cool, it’s a cool
pathway to go now. I think it’s going to be good for the European guys coming out of college as they have a route to go back and play there. I really enjoy playing in Europe myself. I have a lot of friends that play there. It feels a little bit more like home because of that. I think it’s going to make some of the events more fun.
WWG: What’s your focus next year, is it the Majors or do you have an eye on the Olympics? VN: It would be great to play the Masters,
that would be amazing. I have a lot of goals
and there a lot of cool events coming up next year. I think the Majors are what I’m mostly thinking of right now but the Olympics would be a really, really cool bonus.
WWG: And how what is your schedule looking like for next year currently? VN: We’ve haven’t finalised it yet, but I’m going
to playing Hawaii on the PGA Tour in the first week of the year and will think I’ll focus mostly on the US. I’m really hoping to be able to play a few in Europe as well. If I’m unable to do so in the Fall season, I’ll definitely come back after.
WWG: What about playing the Scandi Mixed in front of home support? VN: It’s on my radar. I’m not really set yet,
it depends a bit on the scheduling with the Majors and stuff because I know the US Open is the week after. I’ll have to see how I play to see what my schedule looks like next year.
“
IT WOULD BE REALLY COOL TO PLAY THE MASTERS, THAT WOULD BE AMAZING. I HAVE A LOT OF GOALS AND THERE A LOT OF COOL EVENTS COMING UP NEXT YEAR.”
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THE JAZZY
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THE JAZZY GOLFER Photography: Paul Severn & Luke Walker
SWINGING In Style THE JAZZY GOLFER
FROM PICKING UP THE GOLFING BUG AFTER HITTING ‘THAT ONE SHOT’ ON A FAMILY HOLIDAY IN PORTUGAL IN 2017, TO BECOMING ONE OF THE MOST VOCAL FIGURES IN THE GAME ON OPPORTUNITIES AND EQUALITY FOR WOMEN, IT’S FAIR TO SAY THE LAST SIX YEARS HAVE BEEN SOMEWHAT A ROLLERCOASTER FOR THE JAZZY GOLFER.
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THE JAZZY GOLFER Photography: Paul Severn & Luke Walker
Jazzy took part in the Chicks With Sticks clinic at the DP World Tour Championship
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hat thrilling ride doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon, with the Englishwoman continuing to entertain and educate through CNN’s long-running golf series, Living Golf, of which she has presented since 2022, while also inspiring a whole new generation of women and girls to get into the game by creating the UK Women’s Golf Community – more on that later. Thomas Wragg caught up with the social media star at the DP World Tour Championship to find out more about her inspiring journey in the game, how she intends to get even more women into the sport and why she’s a big fan of a certain Dubai-based women’s golf group. Worldwide Golf: Aside from the thrilling golf, what brought you over to Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship last month? Jazzy Golfer: I was there exclusively with DP World as an ambassador of the title partner and logistics company. During the week we were highlighting some of the great activations that they have going on, such as the DP World container, the event as a whole and just really showcasing how amazing the week is on the DP World Tour schedule. I even visited Jebel Ali Port which was really good fun. I had the opportunity to drive one of the lorries and see exactly what DP World do day-to-day. WWG: How familiar are you with the work that DP World are doing through their container, which donates golf balls to grassroots organistations across the world? JG: Very familiar, as I have been working with DP World for quite some time. Our
relationship began at the BMW PGA Championship last year, and that’s when I became familiar with the incredible work that they’re doing in growing the game. I think the container is brilliant. Obviously as somebody that is really passionate about growing the game myself, something like that is incredible, obviously to donate it to causes all around the world in the women’s space, the disability space and the junior space is wonderful and just makes golf that little but more accessible. I couldn’t be a bigger fan of what they’ve been doing and it’s great to bring the fans along on that journey and get them involved with doing something good for the game. Even if they bring a couple of golf balls, imagine how many balls can be collected. The total as it stands is over 250,000 balls that have been donated - just think of the difference that that’s going to make. WWG: You launched the UK Women’s Golf Community last year. Firstly, what inspired you to create that, and can you provide our readers who aren’t familiar with the initiative with some more information? JG: I was actually at Carnoustie for the Women’s Open as a spectator, not in a work capacity, as I just really wanted to go as a fan and watch the amazing golf on show. While there I had a lot of women come up to me and say things like ‘thanks for inspiring me to get into golf but I have no other women to play with – what do I do?’. So, I think I’ve been wanting to do something really tangible for quite some time to make a difference to women in in the golfing world, but specifically in the UK because, obviously, that’s where
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I am from. After going to Carnoustie, it just kind of hit me that I had to do something and that’s where the idea and the concept for the UK Women’s Golf Community was born. In terms of what the campaign is, we operate in two different ways. The first is a supportive online women’s community, which is 6000 strong, where women can share successes, ask questions, get advice and also meet other women in their area to play golf with. The second part of what we do is similar to the UK Park Run model, whereby we have hubs all over the UK, we’re on about 15 at the moment and we cover Scotland, Wales, England and looking to move into Ireland next year. Women basically turn up at a driving range every other week, some are every week, to have some fun social golfing time in a safe and supportive environment. WWG: Just following on from that question, how does it make you feel when you have women come up to you telling you that you’ve inspired them to get into the game? JG: It’s a bit of a weird feeling, as I never intended to end up here. I quit my job in finance to try and make a go of things, but never did I think I’d end up working in golf. It’s wonderful. It’s rewarding when juniors come up to me wanting a chat and they’re wearing the Jazzy leggings, Jazzy skirt or something like that. To be honest, that’s why I do what I’m doing, so it’s my favourite part of the job getting to meet these people. How great would it be to get more of these juniors, women and girls playing the game? If I can do even a little bit towards that cause, then that’s good enough for me.
WWG: We saw you down the Chicks With Sticks clinic at the DP World Tour Championship. How familiar are you with that group and the work the founder, Jenny Hennessy, has done in helping introduce over 500 women to the game in the UAE? JG: I’m a big fan of Jenny and the work that she’s doing with the Chicks With Sticks. We’ve kind of been in touch for quite some time, as I asked her for advice when setting up the UK Women’s Golf Community. Chicks With Sticks, along with other initiatives across the world, have been an inspiration and support to me, and I think that’s the really important thing about the women’s space – everybody’s really supportive. We all have one goal, right? We want to get more women into golf. So yeah, I’m a huge fan of what Jenny’s doing, the group is growing at a really impressive rate, and I think it will go from strength to strength. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the group evolves over the next few years. WWG: We’ve seen a rise in equal pay at golf tournaments for men and women, the Scandinavian Mixed for example. Do you think these mixed events are the future of golf in helping women earn the same amount as men on course? JG: I don’t know if it’s the future of golf per se because I feel like women can stand on their own platform and they deserve to do so. But I do love the addition of such events, I think having them on the calendar is really important and it offers a different version of golf. The mixed tournaments are a great way of showcasing the women’s game and I think ultimately these women deserve it, right? They put in the same hours of work, they’re just as talented. I mean, have you seen their short games? They are incredible, and their swings are to die for. They deserve the platform in exactly the same way as the men do. I think increased and equal prize funds sends a powerful message about the value placed on gender and equality in golf. And for me, it goes beyond pay, it’s not just about the prize money that the players take home. I think it invites increased investment in areas such as broadcasting, marketing, promotional efforts and even player development programmes. We really need to increase the prize funds, not just because they deserve it, but because of the impact that it has on the game and beyond. WWG: It’s been quite the ride for you over the last six years. Did you ever envisage being in this position when you began your journey into golf? JG: No way! I’ve played sport my entire life I’ve always loved it, but it wasn’t until 2017 when I fell in love with golf on a family holiday in Portugal after hitting a pitching wedge exactly where I wanted it to go. That was it, I was hooked. When I came back to the UK, I really wanted to make the game my hobby, as I loved it so much, but I quickly found that all my local clubs weren’t really set up for women, especially women who work. I really wanted to do something about it, so I started documenting my journey as a passion project and its kind of steamrolled from there. Before I knew it, I was making a decision to quit my job in finance to try and make a career in golf. I really wanted to make a difference in the women’s space and just, I guess as many
people say, leave the sport better than you found it. That’s always been my mission but no, never did I ever think I’d be here. I’ve had no media training whatsoever and I would never have seen myself as a presenter by any stretch but I absolutely love what I do. I’m very grateful for the opportunities that I have. I’m really enjoying my current role with CNN, it’s really good fun, and then obviously being able to run the UK Women’s Golf Community alongside so many other women in the industry has just been a real pleasure. WWG: What advice would you give to any women who are looking to get into golf? JG: Just go for it! I rarely meet women and girls who have tried golf that haven’t enjoyed it. Everyone in golf will have their own story of that one clean shot. Or they’ll remember that perfect shot from the round that they recently played or a drive that they’ve bombed at the driving range. I think once you try it so many people love it. So, my first piece of advice is absolutely go for it. My second piece of advice is find group sessions, whether it be a Chicks With Sticks, a UK Women’s Golf Community meet up or a women’s group session at your local club or driving range. I think that will really help because it will instantly establish you with your own community of women and
girls to play golf with. So many of them will be at the same level as you that you can all learn together. I’d also suggest watching the Ladies European Tour or LPGA on TV, as they are incredible. Watch, learn and take it all in. Finally, if it’s within budget, try and have some lessons to learn the basics because that will set you up really well for your golfing journey. WWG: What does the future have in store for the Jazzy Golfer? JG: My CNN show has just been renewed for another 12 months, so I’m really excited to go to lots of different places, meet new people and tell the stories of some really impressive people and destinations in the golfing world. I also really want to focus my efforts on growing the UK Women’s Golf Community. It’s really starting to grow quite quickly now and there’s a lot of demand for it in all parts of the UK. So, we’re going to hopefully deliver as many new hubs as possible next year and just continue our efforts in bringing more women together, whether that be at meetups at driving ranges or on a bigger scale. We did an event in August where we took over an entire driving range of 24 bays with about six women in each, so roughly about 150 women and girls there. And that was just impressive. We’d love to do a few more things like that.
Jazzy spent the week showcasing all the activities on offer at the DP World Tour Championship last month
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GOLF UNDER THE LIGHTS Photography: Waqar Hussain Shah
GOLF UNDER THE LIGHTS
AT TRUMP INTERNATIONAL GOLF CLUB, DUBAI
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rump International Golf Club, Dubai has reaffirmed its position as one of the places to be this golfing season with the unveiling of LED floodlights on the back nine of their Championship golf course. This latest development is fantastic news for golf fans in the region as they can now tee off late into the night on the impeccable Gil Hanse-designed golf course. Tee times on the back nine under the lights currently start at 6 pm and run through until the final tee-off three hours later at 9 pm. Phil Waine, General Manager of Trump International Golf Club, Dubai, said: “The club has undergone many facility improvements in the six years of operation to maintain its reputation as a leading golf destination for our members, residents and international guests who frequently visit the club. “The Musco floodlight project on the Gil Hanse-designed Championship course is without doubt the most significant enhancement in the club’s short and eventful history. After great commercial success with the Par 3 floodlight installation back in 2018, it was a natural progression to illuminate holes 10 to 18 as the game of golf continues to flourish in the UAE. “The increased annual tee time inventory will provide an added flexibility to annual tee
time offering throughout the week. This will allow members and guests to enjoy playing golf outside working hours and during the coolest parts of the day during the summer months.” Trump International Golf Club, Dubai also boast state-of-the-art swing studios as well as the award-winning Par 3 course which is also floodlit, while they remain the only venue in Dubai to offer a TrackMan-powered driving range. These ongoing enhancements to the facilities align with the brand’s forward-
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thinking vision with the club consistently maintaining a luxury golfing experience unlike any other in the Middle East. The venue’s journey is sure to continue even more with further exciting upgrades for the future. “To see something we spoke about 15 months ago come to this is truly special,” said Director of Golf Martin McDonagh on the new floodlights. “It’s a huge enhancement to our facilities. “Members now can play seven days a week. They can finish work, go home, and then they come back out and get nine holes in at night time. “We also have the opportunity where they can play daytime into the night. It’s a
huge enhancement there for people. They can still play 18 holes at 3 pm in the winter months. In summer months, you can play late at night and try to avoid the heat.” Off the course, Trump Proshop stands out with its curated selection of exclusive brands, showcasing renowned labels such as Greyson, EP PRO, Fairway & Greene, and B. Draddy. This array of high-quality brands reflects the commitment to offering diverse choices and ensuring customers access top-tier apparel and accessories for their sporting needs. Moreover, the club also has an elevated dining experience by presenting five exceptional restaurants, each offering exclusive deals and culinary delights
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throughout the year. These dining options provide a sophisticated and varied culinary journey, reinforcing the commitment to excellence in service and gastronomy. Membership options are limited for 2024 and encompass a myriad of exclusive benefits each year, from teeing it up on the award-winning golf courses to all the extra attractions and amenities. Trump International Golf Club, Dubai is not to be missed!
Visit www.trumpgolfdubai.com for more information.
@trumpgolfdubai
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Photography: Provided
ABU DHABI PLAYS HOST TO THE LAUNCH OF TORQ-9
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bu Dhabi Golf Club recently hosted the inaugural TORQ-9 event, a new series of invite-only golf tournaments designed to integrate the worlds of Formula 1 and golf during race weekends worldwide. Taking place on the Garden Course under floodlights last month, the event coincided with the Formula 1 race on November 26, offering a unique blend of the two sports which are often not associated with one another. “With backgrounds in luxury marketing, events and golf, we at TORQ are combining the worlds of motorsport and golf,” said TORQ-9’s co-founder Mike Watson. “There has been very little innovation with the traditional golf day in the last twenty years. This series is just the beginning of our revolution of the conventional golf day.
Whether it is ‘beat the pro’ being a leading tour player, or on-course, world-class cuisine, a new benchmark is being set.” Participants at the Abu Dhabi event included high-profile figures from various backgrounds, such as DJ Spoony, former Premier League footballer Titus Bramble, and motor racing personalities Nyck de Vries and Johnny Herbert. DP World Tour winner Oliver Fisher served as the professional at the event, overseeing a ‘Beat the Pro’ challenge while other oncourse activations included longest drive as well as a show from World Trick-Shot Champion Geoff Swain and post-tournament chipping challenge. Any participant landing their ball inside the Englishman in their approach shot from the par-three 7th hole was eligible to enter
a draw for a private yacht charter from Dubai, adding an element of incentive to the competition. These TORQ-9 events adhere to an exclusive and accreditation-only format with all participants are personally invited, and spectators, though limited in number, are intricately connected to specific playing parties or teams. This arrangement enhances the intimate and exclusive nature of TORQ-9 gatherings. Looking forward, the TORQ-9 series has already unveiled its 2024 schedule, aligning with leading Grand Prix locations, including Miami, London, Singapore, Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. This strategic planning positions TORQ-9 as a global event with a presence in key cities, further solidifying its integration of Formula 1 and golf. WORLDWIDE GOLF’S EXPERIENCE By Will Kent I walked inside the changing room where the organisers had arranged personalised lockers with small gifts inside, and my locker was alongside Titus Bramble. I instantly took a picture and sent it to friends… it’s about the closest I’ve ever come to being a professional footballer! Besides from that moment of amusement, the entire evening was thoroughly enjoyable. One of the great things about golf is meeting new people from all walks of life. I even had the pleasure of being paired with DJ Spoony. Not only did he have to suffer my buggy driving for nine holes, but he had to endure my poor standard of golf as well. Sorry about that one!
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CHIARA NOJA COLUMN
MY GOAL FOR NEXT YEAR IS TOP 10 IN THE ORDER OF MERIT CHIARA NOJA
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ith it now being December and the end of the year, it’s a great time for me to reflect on the past 12 months both on and off the course. Recently, I finally put my GCSEs behind me which is great a feeling. I finished those in November, and I’m just glad to have them all over with now. On the course, it’s been a different story as obviously haven’t been playing because of my shoulder injury. Over the last few months I’ve pushed it and tried to make it work, but I think it’s time to take a step back and take the positives out of the season, get healthy and prepare for the next one. That’s what I’m doing now. I’ve been able to start going back to the gym now which is nice. I’m finally starting to be able to do something rather than nothing. There’s still a little bit of soreness in my shoulder, but it’s just about trying to manage things correctly. For me, it’s about building loads correctly and intelligentially to ensure I’m fit and healthy heading into the new year. I did manage to start putting for the first time towards the end of November and I’m looking forward to building that back up a bit more in the coming weeks. Small things like this are helping me to slowly get back to where I was, but things are not where I want them to be in terms of progressing to full swings. I’ll get there soon, but I don’t want to rush anything. Looking ahead, a lot of my focus for 2024 is about becoming and remaining healthy. The second goal for me is about acheiving top 10 in the order of merit. That’s a big thing. I could have done that this year, but with injury I sat out more than 10 events this year. I wasn’t planning to play all of them anyway, but I did sit out many which isn’t great when trying to climb up the order of merit. I’m still proud of the fact I’m top 30 with significantly less events than some of my other fellow competitors. A lot of taking my game to next level year is about putting in a lot of work, which is what the off season is made for. During the season a lot of it is about ‘go, go, go mode’. You don’t get to work on things a lot, so it’s basically maintenance work. My first small goal for December during this off season is to be able to start pitching again and hopefully work my way up. We’ll see how that goes, and fingers crossed by mid-December I’ll be back to swinging. I’m both nervous and excited to see how things go.
I’d like to round off my final column of the year in showing my appreciation for the people around me. My team this year and my family have been great in a year which has been stressful at times. Also, a thank you to my physio and gym trainer who have had to help me do a lot more work than usual to try and get me back to full health. There is a lot of work that goes in behind the scenes. Many people have got me here this season who I love and appreciate, and hopefully we can bring some more good work into next year and beyond.
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RAHM IS THE
MAN
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nless you have been locked away on a desert island for the past couple of weeks, all the golfing channels are ablaze with Jon Rahm and the $600 million LIV connection. Whether it is true or not, LIV has dominated the headlines by selecting one of the biggest targets on both the DP World and PGA TOUR. Everyone has a price and if they have put $600 million on the table it would be hard to walk away, but I expect Rahm to stay put for now. But the PIF merger deadline with the Tour is only weeks away, so, who knows how things may play out if PIF focus everything on developing LIV Golf.
Return of the Gmac
There is talk Brooks Koepka is bringing Graeme McDowell into his Smash team for the 2024 LIV Golf season, although I’m sure there are plenty of people expecting that space to be filled by Rahm or a young superstar. What many people are unaware of is these teams need sponsors and there is no one more commercially switched on than GMac. He is the best in the business when it comes to looking after sponsors and building lifelong relationships. During Pro-Ams he will chat with all his playing partners, show them lines on the greens and discuss swing tips. They will all have a laugh, a great time on course and a drink in the clubhouse later, just like we had to do in the old days. GMac has never been short of sponsors throughout his career, and it is a wise move for Brooks to bring him into the team. Plus, you can’t forget that Graeme is a Major champion and still plays great golf. It’s a shame many modern-day professionals view Pro-Ams as an inconvenience and treat it as a practice round, failing to get to know their playing partners. These are opportunities for the players just as much as an experience for the amateurs. Not all will be multi-millionaire potential sponsors, but great people to know around the world. Some of my best friends live in all corners of the globe and guess where we all met? Yes, playing in Pro-Ams or giving them a quick lesson or tip. Golf is one of the best social games, where you have five hours to get to know someone and enjoy their company. The only occasion I can sympathise with tour pros is when they must play a Wednesday afternoon Pro-Am and are in one of the starting groups the following day. Meeting up with friends is what this time of year is all about but unfortunately it looks like I can’t put my feet up just yet, as I’m having to catch up with my players in American for a few days, then off to the Bahamas, where Victor Perez has made a base for the 2024 PGA TOUR season.
Adrian Meronk was the only player out of the 10 to secure PGA TOUR cards last year on the DP World Tour with a full player status. Victor is currently on standby to see what starts he’s entitled to, and the Bahamas time zone is much better than being based back home in Scotland. Plus, I’m sure he will be glad of being able to practice in the sunshine instead of being battered by the cold driving rain in Dundee. One player we will be seeing more of on the PGA TOUR next year will be Nicolai Højgaard and he certainly has the game and nerve to make it in America, but he needs to keep a close eye on his Ryder teammate, Ludvig Åberg. The Swede has already won on the PGA TOUR after closing out the final event of the season, the RSM Classic, with a pair of 61s to win by four shots. These two plus the likes of Hovland and Rahm highlight a changing of the guard. The youngsters are hungry, and their work ethic is better than any generation before as golf is no longer just a sport but a business. The huge money on offer means the talent pool is being filtered from a young age and winners will come straight out of college in a similar way we’ve seen Åberg rise to stardom in such a short period of time. The big shock will be if a young rookie wins a Major. That will be something special as many of the big names now have the money to just focus on the Majors, which can only mean the standard of play will be fierce and entertaining to watch. This is why I wasn’t too concerned to hear that Cameron Smith missed the cut last month in Australia. We all have off weeks, and it was out of context, as he is a class player, and come Major time I would expect to see him fighting fit and challenging on Sunday.
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I wish you all a great Christmas and a happy New Year.
INSTRUCTION
LOW POINT CONTROL Photography: Will Kent
BY
JAMIE COUGHLIN
ACADEMY HEAD PRO, TOP GOLF DUBAI @GOLFPROJAMIE
GET INTO GOLF Worldwide GOLF 46
Control Your
Low Point
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astering the low point in your swing is a crucial factor when trying to produce good iron shots. The perfect swing sees the club bottom out after the ball, rather than in front of it. That’s really important to remember. During my lessons at Top Golf Dubai, I often notice my students holding onto the
Tiger Woods, above, illustrating a great example of hitting down on the ball to create a divot
misconception that lifting the ball with an upward motion and scooping it into the air is necessary when using irons. However, this approach is misguided, often resulting in considerable less distance due to inconsistent strikes. Each iron in your set offers ample loft to lift the ball off the ground effortlessly. Instead of fixating on lifting the ball, direct your focus towards striking down on it. You’ll watch many of the professionals on TV make large divots after making contact with the ball. That’s the sign of a wellstruck shot! What I like to teach people to begin with is to become aware with where the club is bottoming out. Initially, I want you to make small practice swings where you’re brushing the tee on the way back and on the way through. This will improve your clubface awareness and you need to master this first before moving onto stage two. The second part to this drill is to put masking tape on the ground, and try to hit that off the ground. It’s impossible to scoop this tape off the floor; you need to hit down to ensure the tape doesn’t stick anymore and instead flies off into the air. If you can’t get the tape to leave the floor, you’re doing it wrong. Transitioning from this tape drill, replicate the same sensation with a real ball in play. Keep in mind, the swing’s low point should occur a few inches past the golf ball, not prior. This adjustment reduces fat or thin shots, replacing them with more penetrating strikes. Give it a go next time your on the range!
Watch Jamie explain this simple drill in greater detail by scanning the QR code to the right!
Golf is anyone's game. Start your golfing journey with the 'Get into Golf' monthly pass, where you can take part in a host of beginner golf lessons with PGA Professionals at Topgolf Dubai. Now's the time to Get into Golf.
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INSTRUCTION
SWING SEQUENCE Photography: Getty Images
BY JONATHAN CRADDOCK PGA PROFESSIONAL, Peter Cowen Academy
VICTOR PEREZ
SWING SEQUENCE
I
t has been quite the year for Victor Perez after the Frenchman started 2023 in thrilling fashion by getting his hands on Rolex Series silverware for the first time with victory at the Abu Dhabi Championship. That triumph helped him on his way to securing PGA Tour membership for 2024, where he will be hoping to replicate his
1 Victor is 6 foot 5 and therefore has a lot of leverage. It is evident here in his wonderful textbook posture arms hanging under his shoulders. Body is primed and ready to commence the action/reaction of the golf swing movement sequence.
form of 2021 in the States, when he finished fourth at the 2021 WGCDell Technologies Match Play and T9 at THE PLAYERS Championship that same season. Pete Cowen, who has improved Perez’s game in the last three years, will no doubt be looking to push him to the next level as he seeks a first PGA Tour title this year.
2
3
Perez’s first move is a very simple one with the clubface looking towards the ball with the movement very much coming from an excellent body action. The body being the engine of the movement to transport the steering column the arm, hands and club.
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As with all top golfers note how the Frenchman spirals from the ground working around and up. This allows him to keep the club in front of the body to create an efficient and powerful load.
4 Perez holds his posture wonderfully as the arm and hands move the club up over the right shoulder. He maintains the opposition with his arms allowing for a simple repeatable movement.
7 Look at the stored potential power of Perez’s movement. Note how the club shaft is pointing straight down to the ball line. A common error we see with a lot of amateurs is an early rotation of the upper body. Here, he’s primed to compress the ball.
10 Victor’s clubface remains stable following impact. Do you see his hands or are they working around and up the inclined plane? I think all readers could take a leaf out of his book here. Next time you hit the driving range, take a video from down the line and see if you can see your hands through the hitting area.
5
6
Stretching to the top of the backswing, Victor’s body angles are perfect, really utilising his leverage fully here with the left arm above the shoulder plane. This can be a great source of power if utilised correctly.
8
I really enjoy Perez’s transition. We can see here how dynamic he is, the lower half spiralling down and around. Take a look at the previous slide and this one to see how the hips have changed direction, allowing for the club to work perfectly on plane.
9
The 31-year-old is in position here to hit his desired shot. He has worked the body action and club into a position to execute the intended shot shape. Can you guess what shape he is hitting here?
11
You guessed it, he is executing a power fade with full face contact giving him huge compression through impact. Victor’s left side is stretching around and up to allow him to maintain clubface stability.
12
Perez’s body action allows him to maintain his posture. This is something all golfers should practice to considerably increase consistency and distance. It is not just speed but also pressure on the ball, created by the correct positions of the arm, hand and club action, which in turn is supported by the body action. Speed and pressure will give you more distance!
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We are not quite at the end of Victor’s swing here but note how the right side is still lower than the than the left due to his wonderful transition. Reversing the spiral from around and up, to down around and up. A pleasure to watch, and a powerful movement which I am sure will bring many more success stories.
FEAT URES
GOLFTEC’S OPTIMOTION Photography: Provided
GOLFTEC’S OPTIMOTION
By WILL KENT
Dubai’s Scientific Golf Swing Breakthrough
N
avigating the field of finding a golf instructor can often be a minefield, especially locally in the city of Dubai. There are many great professionals working at fantastic facilities, but how do you find the right coach? As an average amateur golfer myself, I’ve had lessons from several pros in the past who have all had slightly different approaches. They’ve all helped – some more than others – but it’s about finding the right person for you. You also need to be prepared that you may not see results instantaneously, which is something many struggle with when they are paying out large sums of cash to improve. However, in Dubai, there’s now a new coaching option which caters to those seeking a scientific approach to their golf swing. This is in the form of GOLFTEC, a
US-based franchise who recently opened a state-of-the-art facility in City Walk, Dubai, marking its Middle East debut. Established in 1995, GOLFTEC’s grown into one of the world’s largest golf instruction institutions, boasting 250+ global locations, including 180 in the US, with over 10 million lessons delivered and a remarkable 96% success rate, saving players seven strokes per round. This new facility in Dubai offers golfers access to these successful teaching methods from the US. It employs cuttingedge technology for objective, fact-based instruction. PGA certified coaches use AIpowered OptiMotion Measurement analysis and TECSWING software to analyse swings, identify areas for improvement, and provide an accurate, goal-oriented roadmap for faster progress.
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OptiMotion helps introduce some actual numbers and science behind the golf swing with an easily-digestible colour coding system to explain the faults – and the good parts – of each swing. It’s powered by high-speed HD cameras, and it captures swings in 3D. It utilises a proprietary artificial intelligence model to gather an unprecedented 4,000+ data points in each movement. In summary, the technology is impressive and the success rate is so high it’s bordering on unbelievable. I had to go down and find out for myself. MY EXPERIENCE In my 60 minute swing evaluation session I discovered that I have a huge 5.2” shift off the ball to my right hand side in the initial part of the takeaway. I knew I did
this, but not to such a big extent. It was quite eye opening. Malcolm Young, GOLFTEC’s highly experienced coach, displayed this data on screen to me to help guide me through how to work on fixing it and why this was causing big issues with my strike. I was very impressed, and I finally had some actual numbers in front of me explaining where I was going wrong, rather than solely listening to one person’s opinion. That’s not to say human feedback isn’t important. It definitely is. Some of the world’s most renowned golf pros often don’t use technology to help their players. It’s only in the last 20 years or so where technology has made huge strides in coaching through launch monitor devices and video feedback. It’s still relatively new to this sport. But OptiMotion has taken it to a new level, explaining to the exact degree how open your shoulders are at P3, or even how closed your hips are at impact.
There are a lot of things Tour players all do well, and us amateurs are always trying to copy them. This technology helps unlock the door and give real numbers to help make the journey just that little bit easier. The GOLFTEC facility left such a positive impression on me that I decided to revisit a few weeks later to connect with Anthony Muia, another skilled GOLFTEC professional in Dubai. Anthony assisted me in finding the perfect fit for a new driver, expertly navigating me through the array of options available. I had the opportunity to test various heads and shafts at the facility, making it the ideal destination for anyone in search of a new set of clubs. Given its impressive range and lessons packages, I have confidence that GOLFTEC Dubai is poised for great success among golf enthusiasts in the region and is likely to even extend its reach to neighbouring cities.
ABOUT THE OWNER Haya Ghassan Alsulaiman, a 31-year-old Saudi native, is the visionary owner of GOLFTEC’s pioneering facility in Dubai. Relocating to Dubai three years ago amid the pandemic, Haya, daughter of a doctor and an entrepreneurial father who built a thriving automotive dealership,
emerged as the lone female leader among 200+ male employees. Her diverse roles, including marketing director and Head of Risk & Compliance, fuelled her entrepreneurial drive. Inspired by her father’s success, Haya ventured into golf and found love for the sport at GOLFTEC. As the first female
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golf business owner in the UAE, she established the Middle East’s inaugural GOLFTEC facility in City Walk, aiming to make a significant impact in the maledominated industry. Haya’s ambitious vision includes initiatives to attract more females to golf through innovative programmes at GOLFTEC.
GEAR
O DYS SEY’S A I PUT TE R S Photography: Callaway
ODYSSEY’S Ai-One & Ai-One Milled Putters BY WILL KENT
E
ven the most elite Tour players miss the centre of the face when on the putting surface. When impact strays from the sweet spot on the face, the result is a reduction in speed and the ball falls short of its intended distance. This often leads to missed putts or leaving them farther from the hole. But, to try and counter that issue, Callaway have now introduced Ai-One and Ai-One Milled putters to the market. These new flat-sticks have used an Artificial Intelligence and super-computing capabilities to craft the golf’s most advanced face insert. With consistent ball speeds across the face, this innovation promises a lot. It’s usually a big challenge to get a Tour player to change putters due to the feel and familiarity of their existing ‘old technolgy’. However, expect to see a few of them switch over to the Ai-One with this being on the biggest innovations in putter technology in a long time.
Putts wiith an Ai-One putter finish 21% closer to the hole on average when compared to a typical noninserted putter
But what’s the difference between the Ai-One, and the Ai-One Milled?
First of all, both have different face inserts. The Ai-One has an aluminium insert with a urethane cover and it’s similar to the White Hot. It’s a softer feel off the face, so if you’re wanting extra feel off the putter this may be for you, but this also depends on the ball you’re playing. This is a great putter – which comes in four different models - for when you’re playing on really quick greens. The Ai-One Milled has a titanium insert which feels a little bit more solid off the face. This gives really good feedback and releases the ball a little hotter at impact and arguably a little bit more solid. This comes in seven models, most of them being the mallet models as well as some old school blade variants.
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The Ai-One come in interchangable weights to allow you to dial in your head weight to your exact preference
AI-ONE FACE INSERT
AI-ONE MILLED FACE INSERT
THE VERDICT BY STUART SMITH
Precision Golf Custom Fit Specialist I’ve had some really good feedback so far when I’ve interacted with clients and customers in my fittings and I’ve got many people wanting to try these putters out. In terms of which one is suited to which player, this will all come down to feel. They are both designed to by AI to be more tighter off the face, regardless if you hit closer to the toe or heel to ensure you don’t lose as much ball speed. I would say the Ai-One has slightly bigger head in comparison to the Milled, so the higher handicap players may prefer that as it’s a little easier to line up on the putting surface. The Milled are also slightly more compact models, but obviously it all depends on how you feel when stood over the ball. That’s crucial as it’s all very personal and this is just my opinion – you may feel the opposite!
“
BOTH VARIANTS ARE GREAT, BUT I PERSONALLY GET MORE FEEDBACK FROM THE AI-ONE MILLED, ESPECIALLY AS I LIKE MILLED FACES. I’LL BE PUTTING IT IN MY BAG.”
It’s also worth noting that these putters also comes with new 90 gram super-light steel shafts, which give a lot more balance throughout the putter. They’ve been working on this for years, and this feels very well weighted in both the butt end and the head end. There are several more models of the Ai-One set to come out in February 2024, such as the Jailbird Mini DB, so if you’re after that model then keep your eyes peeled in the coming months. From a statistical standpoint, a Tour player three-putts once in every two rounds, while the average 15-handicapper three-jabs threes time in 18 holes. These are often the result of poor speed control due to off-centre strikes. With thesenew AI putters ensuring more ball speed even on poor putts, expect to see these statisticas drastically improve for all.
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These Ai-One Milled flatsticks ontain a 100% milled titanium insert to minimise ball speed loses on off-centre hits
PXG GEN6
Double Black Black finishes have been all the rage in the Middle East for some time now. Whether it’s preventing the glare from the ever-present sunshine, standing out from the crowd at the bag drop or just wanting to complete the Gary Player look, the PXG GEN6 Double Black delivers on all counts. But we’ve seen numerous times, from various black finishes, the stealth appearance can quickly wear and lose their looks. Playing golf on the plentiful sand-based championship
courses in the Middle East can quickly accelerate the aging process of black coated irons and your left with the question of should you have opted for the chrome finish instead and a decent pair of sunglasses? There are various methods to create a black finish and like most things, you get what you pay for. Starting with powder coating and painting, which are a pointless option in an iron that will encounter sand on a regular basis. Then you move up to an anodized or black oxide finish, with the latter being one of the better lasting
finishes that can also improve spin with wedges. PXG use a black Diamond-like Carbon coating that significantly increases the surface hardness of each club’s finish. PXG has also created the Double Chrome using the same process. “PXG was on a mission to introduce finishes that meet the visual preference of every golfer,” said PXG Founder and CEO Bob Parsons. “These new finishes do just that by offering an extraordinary look to compliment the outstanding performance GEN6 irons deliver.”
Review & Conclusion The PXG GEN6 has one of the tightest dispersion ratios of any irons we have tested. Therefore, putting the Double Black through its paces was never going to be an issue in terms of pounding balls on the range and on the course. If the black iron look is your thing, you will struggle to find one that can match the aesthetics of the PXG GEN6 Double Black. But you need to go all out and opt for the Steel Fibre Reserve matte black shaft.
Black Hawk Limited Line in the UAE
To keep things exclusive, the region’s distributor, eGolf Megastore, has opted to stock the limited Black Hawk DLC finish instead of the Double Black. These heads are similar to the Double Black but limited in number. They will be also be stocking the Double Chrome. Worth noting that if you play at night under flood lights it’s not easy at times to clearly see the face angle of the Double Black when you are stood over the ball. In terms of wear, the DLC finish has stood up well, but we have been kind to PXG by using the whole face! Oh, make sure you use non plastic tees on the par 3s to look after that face at impact.
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SCOTTY CAMERON
22nd My Girl If you have been a good boy or girl this year and struggling to think of ways to treat yourself for Christmas, you can’t go wrong with the limited edition My Girl putter by Scotty Cameron. If you fail to hide the receipt for the work of art putter you can quickly justify it as an investment and not a putter. Which isn’t far from the truth with these limited putters by one the game’s greatest craftsmen. Throwing one in your bag with the headcover off will be like taking a Ferrari wadi bashing at the weekend. So, if you are fortunate to find one, make sure you take care of it, as these are a collector’s dream. For his 22nd My Girl Limited offering, Scotty Cameron crafted a highperformance mallet with a high-end aesthetic exemplified in every colourcoordinated detail from its multimaterial construction to its custom engravings and accessories. Built nearly-face balanced with a mid-bend step-less steel shaft, this 34-inch tour-inspired model has an alignment-friendly top line, a solid 303 stainless steel face and body
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integrated with an anodized bright dip turquoise 6061 aircraft grade aluminium sole plate. The engineered sole component also contributes to the My Girl’s rail-like flange alignment cues, as Scotty’s familiar three-milled-dot design shimmers in a pool of translucent smoke lacquer. Intricate engravings on the face, toe and sole elegantly express the My Girl theme in white, gold and grey. A custom My Girl shaft band complements the textured grey Pistolini Plus grip and refined mid-mallet headcover. A precision milled, arrow-shaped top-line design provides confident alignment at address giving players the option to use the arrow to point to the intended target or align to the centre of the leading edge. Additionally, the rail-like flange lines form a track toward the hole, making setup easier. The step-less steel shaft has been engineered to minimize face rotation—or arc—in the putting stroke by incorporating a single midbend aimed directly down the target line. ■
Build a bag with Mulligan’s Golf
Titleist has led the way on both Tours this year in various categories, but not all of us can afford to build a bag to the same spec of a Tour pro. Which is why Mulligan’s Golf in Al Quoz Dubai is an Aladdin’s cave for golfers looking for huge savings on second hand clubs. We called in to see if we can put a Titleist set together and see the saving over new.
TITLEIST TS2 500AED/ Mulligan’s 1,595AED / New SAVING: 1,095AED
TITLEIST TS2 850AED/ Mulligan’s 2,945AED / New SAVING: 2,095AED
PING HEPPLER ANSER 2 700AED/ Mulligan’s 1395AED / New SAVING: 695AED
TITLEIST T300 IRONS° 350AED per club / Mulligan’s
925AED per club/ New SAVING: 575AED per club
SM8 VOKEY DESIGN WEDGES 60° & 56°
TOTAL SAVING
295AED each / Mulligan’s
795AED / New SAVING: 500AED
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8,895 AED
Vokey WedgeWorks 60 A Grind
The 8m Classic Wellputt mat
The Vokey WedgeWorks 60 A Grind – a low-bounce lob wedge designed for golfers playing in firmer course conditions who have a shallow delivery – is now available through WedgeWorks. Featuring 60 degrees of loft and 4 degrees of bounce, the A Grind has a smoothed-out sole that provides a faster feel through the turf and helps players slide under the ball in tight conditions.
The 8m Classic Wellputt training mat accurately replicates a medium-to-fast putting green surface with a rolling quality that is renowned as the leading scientifically accurate reproduction of a real-life green. The mat comes with patented visual aids designed to fine-tune your accuracy and consistency.
5 CNC milled Stack weights combine with a custom engineered shaft and hardware to create 30 unique combinations for unlocking dynamic variable inertia speed training. The dynamic, App Based Training: Programming directly from golf’s leading biomechanist, Dr Sasho Mackenzie are now available to you through an innovative App that acts as your personal trainer.
955 AED
2,095 AED
1,595 AED
TOUR TEE Black Spine 20 large pack
Travis Matthew California Christmas Polo
Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro Golf Edition
Utilising recycled plastic has the benefit of making the TOUR TEE almost unbreakable! Patented frictionless design; the golf ball sits on small nubs on the TOUR TEE’s head, resulting in less resistance and spin at launch. Trackman testing suggests that it can offer up to 12+ yards in extra distance and accuracy.
Kick off the winter season in the CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS polo. Perfect for holiday parties, the festively patterned polo features a vacationing Santa and beer can Christmas trees.
Designed to withstand the toughest hazards and impress fashion critics. The Titanium Watch5 Pro golf themed design sports a matching two-tone band, exclusive watch face, and stylish green home button — designed with exclusive colours made for the course. With Galaxy Watch5 Pro Golf Edition, it’s always tee time.
195 AED
395 AED
Limited edition Holiday Collection with built-in collar stays for the perfect shape.
Speed Solutions – The Stack
2,699 AED
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DRIVERS CALLAWAY TITLEIST TAYLORMADE PING SRIXON
Off the tee, Callaway’s Paradym Triple Diamond has bagged the most wins on the DP World Tour in 2023. From Jon Rahm’s Major moment at Augusta to Nicolai Højgaard’s victory last month at the DP World Tour Championship, the Triple Diamond has helped players with high ball speeds optimise their spin rates and launch. We said in January this would be a tough driver to beat on Tour but it was the narrowest of victories over PING and Titleist.
IRONS CALLAWAY TITLEIST TAYLORMADE PING
DP WORLD TOUR
TOUR STORY From the big dog to the short stick, we take a look at how the brands stood up when it came to winning events on the DP World Tour in 2023.
SRIXON
Tour players select irons based on consistency, feel and distance control, unlike amateurs that seek forgiveness and extra distance. Which is why we’re not surprised to see a single manufacturer run away with the class. Staff players will mostly use their sponsor’s premium tour style iron and dial them in accordingly. Which is why Callaway; Titleist and PING all performed well in this class.
PUTTERS
FAIRWAY METALS
WEDGES
CALLAWAY
CALLAWAY
CALLAWAY
TITLEIST
TITLEIST
TITLEIST
TAYLORMADE
TAYLORMADE
TAYLORMADE
PING
PING
PING
SRIXON
This year there was a clear winner when it came to the ‘money club’. Odyssey sunk more winning putts than any other brand on the DP World Tour. At the Masters, Rahm won with a Rossie S and Clarke secured his first Major with a Jailbird Versa model. Ping were second and their staff player Adrian Meronk not only managed to secure two victories this year thanks to his Ping Vault 2.0 Ketsch putter, but also to landed that number one PGA TOUR card spot.
SRIXON
SRIXON
Fairway metals are an area Tour players tend to mix and match, as they are not always linked to a manufacturer’s sponsorship deal. Many players will tend to stay with their main manufacturer, but we have seen players mixing things up by opting for the TaylorMade Stealth 2 fairway metal. Wyndam Clark won the U.S. Open with a full bag of Titleist hardware except his three wood which was a 15 degree TaylorMade Stealth 2.
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Wedges are probably the most important clubs in the bag for a Tour professional, as these are the clubs that put them in the scoring zone and bail them out of trouble when things go wrong. It’s also the club some well known players tend to exclude from manufacturer sponsorship deals. So it was not a shock to see Titleist’s Vokey design wedges lead this category. But the number of Callaway staff players that put the Jaws wedges in play meant Vokey did not totally dominate.
PGA TOUR STORY
Titleist drive away with top honours on PGA TOUR Callaway narrowly edged out Titleist as the driver to collect the most wins on the DP World Tour but Titleist had the final say by leading the way on the PGA TOUR. Titleist has taken home the most individual wins with 12, including two Major Championships courtesy of Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark. In a close second place was Callaway, who kicked off the year in dominating form by winning four of the first five tournaments of the season.
Harman
Tour, securing 11 tournaments, including The Masters. Ping also enjoyed a successful year on Tour, winning nine titles. Both the G425 LST and G430 LST models were the weapons of choice for PGA Tour pros in 2023. The latest G430 LST model helped the likes of Taylor Moore, Corey Conners and Jason Day to the top step on Sunday, while the older G425LST was arguably the most successful in terms of individual money earned thanks to a young Norwegian.
Ping’s 2021 model, the G425 LST helped Viktor Hovland land three TOUR titles including the FedExCup and bank a whopping $33 million along the way this year. TaylorMade secured seven PGA Tour titles this season, thanks primarily to Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. Both players
Clark In last two events of the season Titleist widened their gap over Callaway thanks to Camilo Villegas’ win in Bermuda and Åberg signed off a remarkable season with victory at the RSM Classic with the TSR2 in the bag. While Titleist has won the most tournaments, they were split across a number of different models. Having said that, the one model that recorded the most more wins was the Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond. It made it to the individual top spot thanks to the likes of Jon Rahm and Sam Burns and was the most dominant driver on the PGA
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used the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus to record their victories, with the 2023 model securing six of the seven victories and Collin Morikawa and his trusty TaylorMade SIM making it seven in total. Srixon finished the year with three wins thanks to Lucas Glover’s back-to-back victories at the tail end of the season and Brooks Koepka’s Major win at the PGA Championship. We’ve saved the most cherished victory for last. As Cobra was once again victorious thanks to an in-form Rickie Fowler at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
2023 PGA TOUR WINS Titleist: 14 wins Callaway: 11 wins Ping: 9 wins TaylorMade: 7 wins Srixon: 3 wins Cobra: 1 win
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DUBAI TEEN LIVING THE DREAM
DEVELOPING THE GLOBAL GAME WITH DP WORLD AND THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH THE PGA TOUR
ALAYNA RAFIQUE BREAKS PAR AND PLAYS WITH RORY AND SHE’S JUST 13!
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ARABIAN GOLF CLUB NEWS
Photography: Provided
ABU DHABI CITY GOLF CLUB
JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES
Andberg lights up Abu Dhabi City
William Andberg gave a masterclass in ball striking as he smashed the 6-hole scoring record in Round 1 of the GoGolf Junior Order of Merit, hitting all greens in regulation en route to making par on every hole to shoot 24 and record a winning margin of 11 shots.
Aybar and Wilmot dovetail to perfection
Richard Aybar and Chris Wilmot carded a remarkable gross score of 61, embellished with an outstanding tally of 10 birdies and an impressive eagle, to secure victory win the recently held Jumeirah Pairs. Peter Norris and Alan McNamara finished in second, narrowly missing out on top spot on a countback, while Craig Rooney and Steve Noon clinched third place. EMIRATES GOLF FEDERATION
AL HAMRA GOLF CLUB
Sangani on cloud nine
Hoggins on top at Al Hamra Trophy
Jignesh Sangani edged out Avtar Jalif with a better back nine, after both players had scored 42 points, to secure the annual Club House Trophy. Sangani produced a stella score card with five birdies and one eagle, along with a clean sheet on the back nine, four of the five birdies were made on the back nine, along with the eagle on the 18th hole. Best Gross went to Oliver Ravenscroft on 36 points with four birdies and four bogeys.
Dave Hoggins dominated the fairways and greens to clinch the 2023 Al Hamra Trophy after scoring 33 Stableford points in round one and 43 points in round two for a grand total of 76 points on the Peter Harradinedesigned track. Other prizes on the day went to Seyran Pogosyan for men’s longest drive, Jung Hee Lee for women’s longest drive and Jae Woong Lee for being nearest the pin. SHARJAH GOLF & SHOOTING CLUB
TRUMP INTERNATIONAL GOLF CLUB, DUBAI
Baxter Claims Open Title
James Baxter got his hands on the 16th edition of the Men’s Open Golf Championship, carding rounds of 73 and 71 to beat Hoshi Yadaz by two strokes. In the Net Division, Rashed Al Emadi enjoyed a very solid weekend of golf, posting an impressive five under par to beat Nicolas Ferdonnet by five strokes.
Emirates secure Inter Club Challenge triumph
Round 1 of the Ladies Inter Club Challenge witnessed an exhilarating clash between Trump International, Arabian Ranches and Emirates Golf Club, with the latter coming out on top of a tightly contested battle to win by one point. Wonjeong Lee from Emirates
Golf Club claimed the individual title, closely followed by the Trump ICC captain, while the trio of Donna Downes, Maria Dunkel and Deirdre Black showcased exceptional teamwork to be crowned the best group of the day. Anticipation now brews for the upcoming second round scheduled for 31st January at Emirates Golf Club.
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QUICK NINE
SEPP STRAKA Photography: Getty Images
QUICK 9
IN THE
BAG
SEPP STRAKA
Two-time PGA Tour winner Fill in the blank, pineapple on pizza is… Not good!
Miss a putt, or miss a fairway? Fairway
Lose all of your hair, or gain 50 percent more hair? I’m losing it already so we’ll go with that
Favourite course you’ve ever played?
Augusta National
DRIVER: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (9 degrees) SHAFT: Mitsubishi Kai’li White 60 TX
Last time you lost a ball? Yesterday
THREE-WOOD: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees) SHAFT: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Orange 80 TX SEVEN-WOOD: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (21 degrees) SHAFT: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Orange 80 TX
Last film you watched? Bourne Supremacy
Favourite childhood TV show? Spongebob Squarepants Last time you paid for a round of golf? Not that long ago, when playing with my family. I was going incognito!
IRONS: Srixon ZX7 Mk II (4-9) SHAFTS: Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 WEDGES: Cleveland RTX-6 ZipCore (46, 52, 56, 60) SHAFTS: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
If you could ask Tiger one question, what would it be? How do you do it?
Messi, or Ronaldo? Messi
PUTTER: Odyssey Stroke Lab Tuttle BALL: Srixon Z-Star XV
Worldwide GOLF 62