Worldwide Golf – September 2013 by Worldwide Golf

INTRODUCTION Worldwide Golf Executive Editor Since 1999

The 9-time Major Champion and 9-time Senior Major Champion who has witnessed and been a part of some of the most historic oric and memorable orable golfing occasions casionss reflects on n the game today ay

Player Gary

We need to see e the best playin ng the e besst in World Golf

’ve read about the recent speculation that the US PGA Tour is bidding to take over The European Tour and I can only believe that it is nothing more than just speculation. It’s highly unlikely that will happen but the fact is that anything that creates a situation where the best play the best has got to be good for the game. Certainly, it would be good to see more Americans playing internationally in European Tour events in Europe and all around the world. It’s also good to see the top Europeans playing against the leading Americans in the States. That’s what it’s all about. Americans want to see Americans beat the best players in the world. They don’t want to just see Americans beat the best players in America. Golf fans in Europe and the rest of the world want to see their favourites take on the best of the Americans and the best players in the world. That’s exactly how it should be. Golf should be a global game. I’ve always been a global player. I believe in that. So was Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson. It just makes you a better player. But the most important aspect that overrules every other consideration is that we should all be doing whatever we can as golfers in contributing to the requirements of the golﬁng public and the sponsors. The reason there is so much money in the

game is simply because of the tournament spectators, the golf fans who watch the game on television around the world and the sponsors who support the tournaments and the players. They create the wealth. They are the people who make golf such a popular sport and like any sport, they want to see the best players competing on the best golf courses against the best players. If the US PGA Tour and The European Tour are talking to each other to work out a means of avoiding tournaments clashing, then that’s good news for golf fans and for sponsors. Anything that can be done to bring that

2 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

about has got to be good for the game. I’m a professional golfer through and through and I would back the Tours to adhere to the principle of bringing their best players together. In my time there have been players who wanted to sue the Tour for various reasons – and that saddens me. The Tours have made it all possible for us. They organise the tournaments that create the prizemoney, and with the help of the sponsors that makes today’s top golfers millionaires. We should all be talking to each other and I’m sure it will all work out in the best interests of the game. Q

ABOVE George O’Grady, Chief Executive .ƧBDQ NE 3GD $TQNOD@M 3NTQ (left) pictured alongside 3HL %HMBGDL 42 /& 3NTQ "NLLHRRHNMDQ @S the WGC-HSBC "G@LOHNMR presentation in China.

CONTENTS 20

Henrik Stenson

Nick Tarratt

The big-hitting Swede hopes he can continue his current purple patch and win this year’s Race to Dubai.

Looks back on 23 years working in the golf industry in the UAE and gives his views on the progress of the sport.

FEATURES 36 Emirates Airline’s vision in Golf How global golf sponsorship works for Emirates

40 Middle East Golf Awards

Worldwide Golf/Sport 360 recognising the golf industry

42 Beatriz Recari Spanish Starlet steals the show in the Solheim Cup.

54 Bob Vokey

Master wedge craftsman Bob Vokey Q&A

REGULARS 10 The Starter Obscure golf courses, News and bite-sized features

17 World Round-ups

Review of recent European Tour and US PGA Tour events

47 Worldwide Golf Columists

Greg Norman, Gary Player and Pete Cowen shoot the breeze

65 Arabian Golf

Round-up of events around the region’s golf clubs

INSTRUCTION 53 Make the most of a hazard ruling By Stuart McMurdo, Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa

56 Use the ground to gain power By Mark Bruce, Emirates Golf Club

STYLE 84 Michael Phelps

The greatest Olympican of all time on golf, life in the pool and how he has no regular playing partners

58 Rip it with rotation

88 Travel

60 0DVWHU WKH IDGH WR ̨QG WKRVH SLQV

90 Driving Range

By Tim Backhouse, Royal Golf Club, Bahrain

By Wayne Johnson, Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Competitions 38 WIN two Hospitality Pavilion tickets to the DP World Tour Championship

66 :,1 FXVWRPLVHG RXW̨W IURP &REUD 3XPD Golf using their STYLECADDIE app

6 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

Oud Fes Golf City, supreme golf in Morocco

Mercedes SLS AMG GT

92 Fashion

HUGO BOSS Green

94 Beauty Golf Tour

Glamour and golf combine in Dubai

96 Cool Stuff

Keeping the fairways fresh and fun

Worldwide Golf

Contents

Over 100 destinations worldwide

Get set to cash in 1RZ WKH 0DMRUV DUH RYHU the dash for the cash is on!

LWK WKH ͤQDO 0DMRU eluding Tiger Woods the focus is on the The Race to Dubai and the FedExCup. With the big guns of The European Tour now based in the States, rumours are rife that the US PGA Tour is looking to buy out their European counterparts and pave the way to a World Tour run by the team in Sawgrass, Florida. You can see where the speculation has been generated, but Greg Norman once proposed it many years ago and things will never change, as The European 7RXU LVQ̵W D SURͤW PDNLQJ FRPSDQ\ but represents the interests of its members. The only interest for the US PGA Tour could be the rights to The Ryder Cup, but one thing that will hopefully come out of the speculation is a balanced schedule to allow the Americanbased Europeans to factor in more events on their home turf. These guys don’t need the money – just

the convenience! One European Tour player who has been lighting it up over the summer is our cover feature, Henrik Stenson. He’s regained his belief and has been hard at it on both the range and in the gym. It was interesting to talk to his coach, Pete Cowen, on how he manages to generate that huge power to hit his fairway-splitting 3 wood over 300 yards! Stenson’s rarely been out of contention recently If he could just get the short stick working like the rest of his game, Tiger and Rory could have a problem! I hope you enjoy the new look and feel of Worldwide Golf and get set for the launch of our new website.

Alex Gallemore Editor

ISSUE No. 151, SEPTEMBER, 2013 Published by: Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd +44 1663 719926

Editor-in-Chief: Mike Gallemore Executive Editor: Gary Player Editor: Alex Gallemore Publisher: Mike Gallemore

Editors: Todd Staszko, James Reeves, Tabitha Florence Design Manager: Joanna Eardley Technical Manager: Mark Collinge

Published in Dubai by: Prograﬁx, PO Box 24677, Dubai, UAE (Tel) +9714 340 3785

Senior Editor: Richard Bevan

Editorial Panel: Gary Player, Mike Gallemore, Alex Gallemore, Richard Bevan, Todd Staszko

Printed by: Raidy, Dubai

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.

Advertising & Marketing Director: Rasha Siriani rasha@wspdubai.com Designer: Sarah B. Mahmood

June 2009 SSN 1- 46805671 Approval UAE National Media Council: Ref.816 30/5/2007 Trade Licence No. 1/104375/15280

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 7

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STARTER

>> INDUSTRY NEWS >> INSIDER KNOWLEDGE

"I THINK THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A BIG STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION"

EUROPE MAKE HISTORY Hedwall the hero as Solheim Cup is retained >> Captain Neumann targets lasting legacy after historic European success

and so the game grows even more and that means a lot for the future of women’s golf and golf overall in Europe. “This is deﬁnitely one of the highlights of my career,” continued Neumann, 47, who won 13 times on the LPGA Tour and eight times on the Ladies European Tour. “I just can’t tell you how proud I am of all of them. They all played so well. Everybody has done something great for the team.” Neumann reserved special praise for Hull, who became the youngest ever player in Solheim Cup history and won two points from three matches. “She has a special game and she brings a lot of energy to our team and she’s just a terriﬁc player,” said Neumann. “She plays in a fearless way and it was just awesome to have her on our team and I think we all love Charley.”

"SHE HAS A SPECIAL GAME AND SHE BRINGS A LOT OF ENERGY TO OUR TEAM AND SHE’S JUST A TERRIFIC PLAYER" VICTORIOUS European Solheim Cup Captain Liselotte Neumann hopes that the Ladies European Tour can build on back-to-back wins in the biennial event, including their first ever victory on US soil last month in Colorado. With no fewer than six rookies in the team, Neumann led them to a stunning 18-10 victory which was spearheaded by two of her Captain’s picks – 24-year-old Swede Caroline Hedwall and 17-year-old Charley Hull from England. Hedwall, who was a rookie two years ago, won all five of her matches for a Solheim Cup first while Hull got the first point of the Sunday Singles on the board for Europe with a hugely impressive 5&4 win over American stalwart Paula Creamer. “I think this is obviously a big step in the right direction,” smiled Neumann. “There were eight countries represented in the team and the more countries you have represented with the media and TV in all those countries back in Europe that get the live feed, they watch it

10 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

Hull only turned professional earlier in the year but showed no sign of nerves as she mixed it with some of the biggest names in the sport. She even had the youthful audacity to ask Creamer to sign her golf ball for a friend back home shortly after she defeated the World No.11 in the Singles. “My friend James is a big fan of hers, so I thought I may as well get her to autograph the ball,” said Hull. “I gave myself high hopes and I just wanted to prove people wrong. I’m 17 and people were wondering if I could perform under the pressure, but I go out and enjoy it, which takes care of the pressure.” For Hedwall, who was part of the triumphant team at Killeen Castle in 2011, playing her part in the victory was the biggest thrill of her career. “This is the biggest moment of my life, golf-wise, for sure,” said Hedwall, who birdied the last to defeat Michelle Wie. “It is just awesome, I was part of it in Ireland but this beats by far.”

FITZPATRICK TO THE FORE YOUNGSTER BECOMES FIRST ENGLISHMAN TO WIN IN OVER 100 YEARS

NEWS DIVOTS CHANGE TO EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAINCY SELECTION

MATT Fitzpatrick became the first Englishman to win the US Amateur Championship since 1911 after he defeated Australian Oliver Goss 4&3 in the 36-hole final at Brookline Country Club last month. The 18-year-old punches his ticket to next year’s Masters, Open and US Open which means any potential plans to turn professional will be put on hold until those tournaments are done and dusted. “As everyone says, Augusta is golfing heaven and to get in the other Majors is unbelievable as well,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s virtually impossible to get a game at Augusta. This was my best opportunity.”

Fitzpatrick came into the event as the No.2 ranked amateur in the world and heaped praise on his short-game after defeating Goss. “I’d probably say what’s come out most this week is that my short game has been really, really top drawer while the weakest part of my game was my approach play into the greens,” he said after winning the title 102 years after Harold Hilton, who was the last English winner. Fitzpatrick, who won the leading amateur honours at The Open at Muirﬁeld, will now spearhead Great Britain and Ireland’s Walker Cup team in Long Island this month.

EUROPEAN TOUR SET TO RETURN TO PRAGUE THE European Tour have announced that it is to return to Prague for the first time since 1997 when the inaugural D+D Real Czech Masters gets underway next August at the Albatross Golf Resort. The tournament will carry a purse of €1million and will be held for at least the next five years. It will be promoted by Relmost AS, who have also promoted events on the European Challenge Tour. “We are naturally delighted to have reached an agreement to host the D+D Real Czech Masters for the next five years, which is a real commitment and statement of intent by both the sponsors and promoters,” said Keith Waters, Chief Operating Officer of The European Tour. “Albatross Golf Resort is an excellent venue worthy of hosting a European Tour event.” The last time the Czech Republic hosted a European Tour event was in 2011 when Oliver Fisher triumphed at the Czech Open in Čeladná.

RYDER Cup Europe have announced that a new ﬁveman panel will decide who will lead Europe in the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National in Minnesota. The panel will include the last three Captains (Colin Montgomerie, José Maria Olazábal and Paul McGinley), the Chief Executive of The European Tour and one representative of the Tournament Committee of The European Tour. The Tournament Committee has 15 members and is led by Chairman Thomas Björn and this decision to have a select ﬁveman panel came at the last meeting at the Scottish Open.

2016 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP CONSIDERS MOVE TO JULY THE President of the PGA of America has stated that it is likely to move the date of the 2016 PGA Championship from its usual month of August to July to factor in the staging of the Olympic Games which runs from August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro. “I don’t see how we can do anything other than move it up earlier,” said President Ted Bishop. “2016 is also a Ryder Cup year and I know the PGA of America wants the PGA Championship to take account of who makes the US Ryder Cup Team, so for us to go after the Olympics with the scheduling of the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Play-oﬀs, I don’t see how it could happen. "When 2016 is over with, questions will be asked whether the impact of the Olympics is really worth the strain that it puts on the scheduling for the four Majors in golf."

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 11

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GOLDEN MOMENTS IN GOLF THE KING IS BORN - SEPTEMBER 10, 1929 Arnold Palmer is born on September 10 in Latrobe, a small industrial town in Western Pennsylvania, sitting at the foot of the Allegheny Mountains around 50 miles east of Pittsburgh. His father Milfred J. (Deacon) Palmer, who works at Latrobe Country Club as head pro, buys his son his first set of cut down clubs at the age of four and it’s not long before the youngster is beating the older caddies at the club. Arnold later attends Wake Forest University on a golf scholarship but drops out after the death of his close friend Bud Worsham and spends three years in the United States Coast Guard. On his return he wins the US Amateur in 1953 and decides to turn pro, going on to revolutionise the popularity of the game on the world stage. The first golfing superstar of the television age, Palmer’s popularity soars due to his on course charisma and looks, his modest background and his unerring talent. He becomes the first signing of fledgling sports agent Mark McCormack, who goes on to form the International Management Group. After being joined on the roster by Jack Nicklaus

STARTER ROUGH REVELATION Two golfers, slicing their drives into the rough, went in search of the balls. They searched for a long time without success while a dear old lady watched them with a kind and sympathetic expression. At last, after the search had proceeded for half an hour, she addressed them sweetly. “I hope I’m not interrupting, gentlemen,” she said, “but would it be cheating if I told you where they are?”

MY WIFE HAS LEFT and Gary Player, ‘The Big Three’ are credited with breaking the preconception of golf as an elitist sport, bringing a new worldwide audience to the sport and opening the ﬂoodgates to the commercial potential of golf. Palmer wins seven Major championships – four Masters, one US Open, and two Open Championships.

Bobby called his friend in tears. “I can’t believe it,” sobbed Bobby. “My wife has left me for my golf partner.” “Get a hold of yourself, man,” replied his friend. “There are plenty more ﬁsh in the sea.” “Who’s talking about her?” said Bobby. “He was the only guy that I could ever beat!”

GREAT TRADE Bill and Ralph step up to the ﬁrst tee box. Bill says, “Hey, guess what! I got a set of golf clubs for my wife!” Ralph replies enthusiastically, “What a great trade!”

WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE GOLF CLUB? GOLF Clubs aren’t cheap to build or maintain but the Liberty National in New Jersey, where the FedExCup Series' opening event, The Barclays, took place last month might just grab the title as the most expensive club in the world. Opened for play in 2006, the development, built on a former toxic landﬁll, cost

US$250million to build while membership is a snip at a mere US$250,000 with annual fees of US$25,000. There are plans to build some nine hundred homes alongside the course in the coming years which will be available to buy at between US$1.5 and US$5million. If you ask us, they’re taking a right liberty!

BLIZZARD GOLF Two golfers were playing along somewhere near the edge of the course. One of them gazed across the fence and remarked, “Look at those idiots over there ice skating in this blizzard!”

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 13

Water way to end a tournament

WWG takes a look back at some memorable watery finishes >>

Two years ago Jason Dufner was five up with four to play and the US PGA Championship was within his reach. Standing on the par-3 15th tee at Atlanta Athletic Club he swung hard but knew as soon as it the left the club it was heading over to the right for a swim and a penalty. His lead slowly evaporated over the closing holes and Keegan Bradley stepped in to win the resulting play-off. Now that the Major monkey is off his back, thanks to his win at last month's US PGA Championship (where in a twist of fate, the 15th at Oak Hill is a testing par-3 with water guarding the right of the green), we can look back on other memorable splashes. Jean Van De Velde 1999 Open Championship Can you imagine standing on the 18th tee of The Open Championship with a three stroke lead? Frenchman Jean Van De Velde had that luxury at Carnoustie but fluffed his chance in the most excruciating manner. His first mistake was to take driver off the tee and he nervously pushed it into the right hand rough. He then went for the green but his pushed approach ricocheted off the grandstand and bounded back into the thickest rough on the course. He hacked his next shot 15 yards forwards straight into the Barry Burn. Tragically, he took off his shoes and socks and climbed in to access the damage. After deciding that splashing out was not an option he took a drop into yet more cabbage and hacked it over the Burn and into the greenside bunker. He now needed to hole his bunker shot for double bogey to win. It never had a chance and after he holed his putt to force a play-off his miserable afternoon came to an end when Paul Lawrie downed him and Justin Leonard for the title in overtime.

14 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

STARTER

Left: His ball stays dry but Richard Finch is about to get wet.

Richard Finch 2008 Irish Open Oddly enough Richard Finch’s ball didn’t get wet on the closing hole of the Irish Open at Adare Manor – but he did. Perched perilously on the bank of the River Maigue after a nervy lay-up to the par-5 closing hole, Finch made good contact with the ball but his momentum took him tumbling down the bank and into the water. His ball carried over to the green and after being hauled out of the drink by his caddie he composed himself to close out a memorable victory. John Daly 2011 Australian Open Two-time Major winner John Daly failed to enhance his reputation with the Australian PGA after withdrawing from the 2011 Australian Open on the 11th hole of the opening round after losing all of his golf balls in the lake. The American, who was seething after hitting the wrong ball from a bunker and incurring a penalty on the previous hole, stood in the middle of the fairway and dunked seven balls into the water using a fairway metal. He had no balls left so he shook hands with playing partners Hunter Mahan and Craig Parry and ambled oﬀ into a fancy courtesy car and went back to his hotel.

The Australian hierarchy were quick to cancel Daly’s invitation to the Australian Masters which was held two weeks later. Daly has previous Down Under. This incident came two years after he smashed a spectator’s camera into a tree at Royal Sydney and in 2002 he had a tantrum after

"WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF BALLS, YOU RUN OUT OF BALLS" a triple bogey on his last hole at Coolum. He threw his putter into the greenside pond and refused to sign his card, thus disqualifying himself from the tournament. Mark Calcavecchia 1991 Ryder Cup singles The 1991 ‘War on the Shore’ at Kiawah Island was one of the most pressurepacked Ryder Cups of the modern era and it took its toll on Calc in the singles. He found himself 4-up with four to play against rookie Colin Montgomerie but somehow managed to lose all four holes to tie their match. The pinnacle of Calc’s demise came at the par-3 17th which is

Above feft: Daly lights up a cigarette and gets set to leave after dunking all his balls in the lake in Australia.

Above right: Before LPGA Tour domination, Lorena Ochoa tastes the bitterness of defeat at the 2005 US Women's Open.

played the whole way over water. With the honour, Monty ﬁred his tee shot into the drink to open the door for Calc. The burly American proceeded to somehow follow the Scot into a watery grave and then lost the hole by missing a two foot putt. Monty compounded his misery by winning the last to halve their match. Luckily for Calc, Germany’s Bernhard Langer missed the door-die putt which handed the Americans victory. Lorena Ochoa 2005 US Women’s Open After 71 holes of hard graft the soon-to-be unstoppable Lorena Ochoa stood on the 18th tee at Cherry Hills GC needing a birdie to win her ﬁrst Major. She had won the week before on the LPGA Tour (the third win of 27 in total) and was in excellent form, but she proceeded to hit what is possibly one of the worst tee shots in the history of Major championship golf. Her 3-wood caught the ground before the ball, shooting the ball skywards. It limped into the lake by the fairway and, obviously shaken by her poor tee shot, she wound up with a costly 8 to drop way back. She bounced back with six wins in 2006 but had to wait till 2007 before she broke her Major duck at the Women’s British Open at St Andrews.

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 15

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WWG: When youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re out there competing, it looks like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in your own little bubble, do you ever get nervous? JD: I come across as a pretty cool customer I guess, but there are deďŹ nitely some nerves out there, especially when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to win a Major championship. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be oblivious to it when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re out there in the mix. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just natural for me to act the way I do on the golf course. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve just gotta be comfortable in that environment. WWG: Everywhere you go youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be known as a Major winner, how does your life and your career change with that on your CV? JD: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deďŹ nitely going to change my life, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m determined that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not going to change me. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of things that are going to come up tournament-wise, diďŹ&#x20AC;erent tournaments I can play in, diďŹ&#x20AC;erent opportunities that are going to

come my way, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to have to deal with that. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a diďŹ&#x192;cult task. You hear a lot of guys talking about the demands of winning a Major championship and what that brings. But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to take it step-by-step and day-to-day and just go with it. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll ďŹ nd out in the next couple of months how itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to go. WWG: Just how big a deal is it, to win a Major given the strength of the game right now? JD: I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think you can ever claim you belong with a group of guys who have won Majors until youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done it and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been through it. So, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great accomplishment. Hopefully, it will propel me to some better things â&#x20AC;&#x201C; some better golf, some more tournament wins, more Majors, more Ryder Cups and, who knows, maybe one day iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll end up in the Hall of Fame. WWG: Away from Golf, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a bit of a sports

nut. How does golf compare to other, more high-octane sports? JD: I think other sports are a little bit more exciting than golf. Big plays in basketball, home runs in baseball, big plays in American Football â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all that will get you pumped up. For me, golf is a little bit more boring. When Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m playing, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty matter of fact. I either hit it in the fairway or I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I hit the green or I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Usually Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m struggling with the putter, so thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not too much to get excited about there either! But then, those big plays in those other sports translate to the big plays in golf â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the back nine on Sunday. Personally, I get a lot from watching other sports. You can get a sense of how the top players come back from setbacks, how they let things in the past go and continue to plod forward. I try and draw on what those athletes have been through when iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m up there contending.

2013 US PGA Championship leaderboard 1 2 3 4 T5 T5 7 T8 T8 T8 T8

Jason Dufner Jim Furyk Henrik Stenson Jonas Blixt Scott Piercy Adam Scott David Toms Jason Day Zach Johnson Dustin Johnson Rory McIlroy

-10 -8 -7 -6 -5 -5 -4 -3 -3 -3 -3

68 65 68 68 67 65 71 67 69 72 69

63 68 66 70 71 68 69 71 70 71 71

71 68 69 66 72 72 69 72 70 65 67

68 71 70 70 65 70 67 67 68 69 70

270 272 273 274 275 275 276 277 277 277 277

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 17

TOUR NEWS Date: July 18 - 21 Event: Sanderson Farms Championship Venue: Annandale Golf Club, Madison, Mississippi Winner’s Cheque: $540,000

Date: July 25 - 28 Event: RBC Canadian Open Venue: Glen Abbey Golf Club, Oakville, Ontario, Canada Winner’s Cheque: $1,008,000

SNEDEKER WRAPS UP WIN No.2 AUSTIN GETS BACK TO WINNING WAYS WOODY Austin hadn’t made a cut all year on the US PGA Tour but he put that right in the best possible fashion with his first victory since 2007 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The 49-year-old shot a final round 67 to get to 20-under-par for the championship and then defeated Daniel Summerhays and Cameron Beckman in a play-off for the title and a two-year exemption on the Tour.

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To Par -20 -20 -20 -18

R1 69 63 72 69

R2 65 67 64 65

R3 67 69 65 65

R4 67 69 67 71

Total 268 268 268 270

BRANDT Snedeker picked up his second title of the season thanks to a composed three-stroke victory over four players – including Ryder Cup colleagues Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar – at the RBC Canadian Open. Snedeker, who won at Pebble Beach earlier in the season, carded a third round 63 to put him in the driving seat and sealed the win with a closing 70, four clear of Kuchar, Johnson, Jason Bohn and William McGirt.

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Country

To Par

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

1 T2 T2 T2 T2

USA USA USA USA USA

-16 -13 -13 -13 -13

70 71 75 66 70

272 275 275 275 275

Brandt Snedeker William McGirt Dustin Johnson Matt Kuchar Jason Bohn

69 69 67 74 68

63 67 63 64 66

70 68 70 71 71

Date: July 25 - 28 E Event: M2M Russian Open Venue: Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club, Moscow Region, Russia Winner’s Cheque: €166,660

HOEY DELIGHT AT FIFTH WIN MICHAEL Hoey sealed his fifth victory on The European Tour with a hard-earned four-stroke win over Alexandre Kaleka and Matthew Nixon at the M2M Russian Open. The Ulsterman raced into a four-stroke lead thanks to a superb third round 65 and hung on to win after a final round 2-underpar 70 gave him a 16-under-par total. Hoey’s first European Tour title came in 2009 and aside from a winless season in 2010 he has won at least one title every year since. Prior to this win he has missed seven out of ten cuts and had not finished better than 25th on The European Tour all season.

Al k hj]llq YeYraf_ lg l`afc l`Yl A `Yn] ogf Ún] =mjgh]Yf Lgmj lald]k& Al ak Y _j]Yl ^]]daf_ lg oaf Yf\ ]n]jq lae] qgm \g al qgm bmkl oYfl egj] Yf\ egj]& @gh]^mddq$ A [Yf _]l Yl d]Ykl Yfgl`]j gf] Z]^gj] l`] ]f\ g^ l`] k]Ykgf& Pos. Name 1 Michael Hoey T2 Alexandre Kaleka T2 Matthew Nixon 4 JB Hansen

18 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

Country To Par R1 R2 R3 R4 Total NIR FRA ENG DEN

-16 -12 -12 -11

70 70 69 72

67 67 70 70

65 71 68 67

70 68 69 68

272 276 276 277

Date: Aug 1 - 4 Event: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Venue: Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio Winner’s Cheque: $1,400,000

IRRESISTIBLE WOODS WINS HIS EIGHTH AT FIRESTONE WORLD No.1 Tiger Woods eased to his ﬁfth victory of the season with a stunning seven-shot win over Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The American won for the eighth time in his career over the Firestone course and the result was never in doubt after a second round career-best equalling 61 put him seven clear of the ﬁeld heading into the weekend.

Lg Z] YZd] lg [geh]l] oal` l`] Z]kl hdYq]jk af l`] ogjd\ Yl egj] l`Yf bmkl l`] EYbgjk Yf\ L`] HdYq]jk$ l`Yl k kge]l`af_ o] Ydd dggc ^gjoYj\ lg Yf\ A e hjgm\ A n] ogf kg eYfq&

Date: Aug 1 - 4 Event: Reno-Tahoe Open Venue: Montreux Golf & Country Club, Reno, Nevada Winner’s Cheque: $540,000

Al ^]dl dac] al oYk e]Yfl lg Z] l`ak o]]c& A lja]\ lg klYq [Yde Yf\ j]Yddq ^g[mk gf o`Yl A oYk \gaf_&

1 T2 T2 4

Gary Woodland Jonathan Byrd Andres Romero Brendan Steele

USA USA ARG USA

R1 R2 R3 R4 14 2 8 5

USA USA SWE USA ESP USA

Tiger Woods Keegan Bradley Henrik Stenson Zach Johnson Miguel A. Jimenez Jason Dufner

-15 -8 -8 -6 -6 -6

66 66 65 69 71 67

61 68 70 70 69 69

68 71 67 68 65 67

70 67 70 67 69 71

265 272 272 274 274 274

REED PRODUCES THE GOODS

GARY Woodland wrapped up his second US PGA Tour title at the Reno-Tahoe Open with a modiﬁed Stableford score of 44 points, nine clear of Jonathan Byrd and Andres Romero. Woodland’s excellent tally came from the format that awards eight points for an albatross, ﬁve for an eagle, two for a birdie, zero for par, minus-one for bogey and minus-three for double bogey or worse.

Country

Country To Par R1 R2 R3 R4 Total

1 T2 T2 T4 T4 T4

Date: Aug 15 - 18 Event: Wyndham Championship Venue: Sedgeﬁeld Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina Winner’s Cheque: $954,000

WOODLAND BACK IN THE BIG TIME

Pos. Name

7 4 14 8

16 11 5 17

7 18 8 3

PATRICK Reed produced one of the shots of the year to win a play-off with Justin Spieth and pick up his first US PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship. Blocked by overhanging branches in the right hand rough, Reed punched a low 7-iron to within 6 feet on the second extra hole and then duly sank the birdie putt to deny Spieth and make his way into the PGA Tour’s Play-Offs series.

A `Yn] Ydd l`] ege]flme af l`] ogjd\ [geaf_ g^^ làk oaf& A `Yn] fglàf_ lg dgk]& A k][mj]\ dal]jYddq ]n]jq _gYd l`Yl A `Y\ làk q]Yj& Eq [gfÚ\]f[] ak l`jgm_` l`] jgg^& A [Yf l oYal lg hdYq Y_Yaf&

Total

Pos. Name

Country

To Par

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

44 35 35 33

1 2 T3 T3

USA USA USA USA

-14 -14 -12 -12

65 65 67 68

266 266 268 268

Patrick Reed Jordan Spieth Brian Harman John Huh

64 66 66 62

71 70 69 70

66 65 66 68

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 19

20 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

HENRIK STENSON <<

STENSON'S BACK ON TOP Richard Bevan talks exclusively to The Race to Dubai leader Henrik Stenson about the roller-coaster journey that saw him slide from the top ﬁve in the World down to 230th before a scintillating run in some of this summer’s biggest events put him back where he belongs among the World’s top 10.

T’S August 2011 and while his European and US PGA Tour peers are contesting the final Major of the season in the USPGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia, Henrik Stenson is being blown off course by howling winds over four and a half thousand miles away in his local club championship at Barseback Golf Club in Loddekopinge, Sweden. To make matters worse, he loses by a shot to his somewhat less famous namesake Henrik Hilford Brander after shooting 12-over for 54 holes. It’s a new low in a career that had been in free fall for the previous 13 months. It wasn’t so long ago that that the towering Swede was tipped to be the ‘next big thing’ after claiming such prestigious prizes as the 2007 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona and The 2009 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. Back then he reached the lofty heights of fourth in the Oﬃcial World Golf Ranking but since a tied third in The 2010 Open Championship he hasn’t been able to buy a top 10 ﬁnish and he’s slid out of the top 100 to 130th – hence the absence of an invitation to the ball while his friends chase the

golden goose at the top table in Atlanta. He cuts a dejected ﬁgure. Yet things are about to get a lot worse before they get better – his World Ranking eventually bottoms out at a lowly 230th after a dismal run of results that show no sign of ending.

AST forward two years and things couldn’t be more different. I catch up with a positively buoyant Stenson who’s just finished third at last month's US PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club – his fourth top-four in as many events, following a remarkable run which has taken in the Scottish Open (tied third), The Open (runnerup) and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (tied second), as well as his sterling showing at Oak Hill. He’s leading The Race to Dubai and is back in the World’s Top 10. He looks much happier on course and is right up there in the stats for driving accuracy, greens in regulation and scoring average – proving he's got his game in great shape, as well as being in the best physical condition of his career. Helping to piece together the '2013 model Henrik Stenson' has been a team effort between golf coach Pete Cowen, sports psychologist Torsten Hansson, and physio Cornel Driessen. The scary thing for his rivals is – he still thinks

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 21

Unbelievable power delivery Henrik's 3-wood goes further than most Tour professional's drivers there’s plenty of room for improvement. “I owe a lot of credit to my team,” says Stenson. “I’ve obviously put a lot of hours in myself but they’ve helped out. I feel like I’ve got a really good team around me and everyone’s pushing in the same direction. All the small elements from each one add together to create the bigger picture. “It’s exciting, it’s been a great run. I’m enjoying making great results and I still feel I’ve got a lot to improve on – there are a lot of areas where I know I can become better. Hopefully, I’m going to be challenging even more when I work on those things.” Having revived his working relationship with former long-time psychologist Hansson last summer, Stenson believes the fruits of their efforts began to show at Merion in June during the US Open, where he finished in a tie for 21st place. The pair set out to draw a line under the downward spiral that was engulfing the player and made a commitment to a gradual, long-term improvement rather than frantically chopping and changing things in a bid to find answers. “I’ve been able to sustain a level-headed approach to my game and stick to my game plan, be decisive, be patient and have all the good traits that you want to have when you’re playing well,” he says. “I’ve been able to keep doing them, so mentally I’ve been very stable for the last two or three months. “That’s been key. The most important thing that I've got together with Torsten to look at my long-term approach to my game, and the processes I go through. If you’re not getting the right results in tournaments it’s easy to start running around chasing your tail looking for solutions. You’re willing to try one thing one day and something else the next to try and make things happen but that’s just not the formula for success. “Even though, at 37-years of age, I already know that, sometimes you end up back in that state anyway. So I think that’s the best thing we’ve done – to look at all the different elements of my game, and the things that are going on off the course, see where we are, and what needs to be added, what needs to be taken away, and just set up some good long-term goals in all the

US PGA TOUR STATS Driving Distance 290.4 72nd Driving Accuracy 69.49% 6th Greens in Regulation 70.72% 2nd Strokes Gained - Putting 0.000 106th Eagles (Holes per) 108.0 4th Birdie Average 3.42

88th

Scoring Average 69.356 4th

“IT’S EXCITING; IT’S BEEN A GREAT RUN. I’M ENJOYING MAKING GREAT RESULTS AND I STILL FEEL I’VE GOT A LOT TO IMPROVE ON – THERE ARE A LOT OF AREAS WHERE I KNOW I CAN BECOME BETTER. HOPEFULLY, I’M GOING TO BE CHALLENGING EVEN MORE WHEN I WORK ON THOSE THINGS.”

Above: Pete Cowen (top) with Henrik during the pro-am for the 2010 Omega Dubai Desert Classic and (below) new caddie Garth Lord discusses a shot at this year's US PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.

22 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

Above: Henrik shakes hands with the seven-shot runaway winner, Tiger Woods, at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, Ohio. "Tiger was so far out in front we were all playing for second place," says Stenson, who finished in a share of second place with Keegan Bradley.

HENRIK STENSON << Left: Henrik weighs up his shot into the final green at last year's DP World Tour Championship where he finished seventh.

diﬀerent areas and work towards them.” The same patient approach has been taken in the work Henrik has done with every member of his backroom team. Englishman Cowen has been by his side since 2001, “Pete's been with me when I was fourth in the world and when I was 230th, and now we’re back up in the top 10 again, so he’s always been by my side – I’ve always trusted him. "He knows what I need to do and I know, too, but at times we haven’t been able to get it together yet we’ve been getting closer and closer in the last year.” Physio and physical conditioning coach Driessen is a relatively new member of the team and Stenson believes their work together has been crucial in giving him the balanced-strength and stamina to compete at the top end of the leaderboard week in, week out. “I had a meniscus operation at the end of 2011 so when we started we did a bit of rehab on my left knee,” he says. “Then we did some screenings to check the overall status of my ﬁtness. I had strong legs but my core wasn’t quite up to the same level and my shoulders and glutes needed work, too. “I’m fairly tall with average strength

but there were certain areas that were a little bit behind so we’ve been working on them. With golf being a one-sided sport you’re always going to take more strain on either your left side or your right side so you need to balance up the other side. "We’ve also done some long-term work on mobility, which is obviously important. That’s paid off. I feel like I’m in a lot better shape than I was a year and a half ago.” When he romped home with a stunning final-round 66 to blow the field away and win one of the biggest titles in golf at The Players Championship four years ago, nobody, least of all the man himself, would have believed that a year later his form and confidence would begin the epic slide that would eventually see him drop outside the World's Top 200. Such a turnaround in fortunes would be tough for anyone to deal with. Did he ever consider throwing the towel in? “No I never thought about quitting,” he says. “I went through a big slump in my career back in 2001-2003 and 2002 was a complete right-off of a year. For virtually two years I was really struggling. That was obviously a tough two years but I came back and got up to No.4 in the

Above: Stenson in action in the final round at Castle Stuart en-route to a share of third place in the Scottish Open.

Top right: Henrik holds his runnersup plate at The Open at Muirfield. "I'd love to become the first Swede to win a Major, but more importantly, I just want to win a Major," says Stenson.

World after being at a really low point. Regarding the slump I went through in 2011, I wasn’t playing as badly as I was back in 2002. I wasn’t nearly as low. “Of course, I was frustrated. I’d won The Players Championship in '09 with a great final round and then in 2011 I’m fighting to make cuts – it’s not really going to cheer you up. Of course the frustration is going to build up – you’re not delivering to the standard that you know you can.” Stenson insists there was no one particular reason for his loss in form but rather – just like when the going is good – it was a combination of various factors. “It’s mental, it’s technical, it’s physical,” he says. “Everything kind of goes hand in hand. Every part is involved when you’re playing badly and every part is involved when you’re playing good. “Sometimes certain players have gone through tough times outside the golf course and that’s going to impact on your golf. If you’re going through a divorce or you’ve got relatives who are sick, or whatever it might be, that’s going to affect the player as well. Sometimes maybe we don’t look at those kind of things. “Sometimes just having too much on

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 23

HENRIK STENSON <<

your plate, if you’ve got too much going on outside the golf course it’s going to affect your focus and distract you and sooner or later your game will suffer. There might be a million reasons, there’s not one specific thing that makes a player go into a slump or have a loss of form.” Determined to stop the rot, Henrik made the decision to overhaul his approach to the game at the start of last year. “Sooner or later you get fed up with it and I got fed up with it around the beginning of 2012,” he says. “I thought, ‘OK, I’m not playing great but I’m going to at least start getting some results.’ That’s what I did that Spring. Mentally, I forced myself just by sheer willpower to start delivering results and get my way around the golf course the best way I could with whatever game I had." Results did indeed begin to improve – 15th at Bay Hill, 21st in the Shell Houston Open in the US, then three top 10s over the summer in Europe at the BMW PGA Championship, the French Open

Championship, and hopefully with a nice lead or even just still in with a chance of winning The Race to Dubai.” The grouping of the last four events into the big money ‘Final Series’ this year, with players wishing to line up in Dubai required to play at least two of the three events prior to the finale in order to be eligible, will, Stenson believes, add an extra element of excitement to the conclusion of The 2013 Race. “Everything’s going to be decided in those last four events,” he says. “They’re limited field events with big prize funds so it’s all going to be decided over those four weeks. In terms of winning The Race to Dubai it’s all going to be building up in those events. Myself, Graeme (McDowell) and Justin (Rose), who are the top three on The Race to Dubai, are all playing a very similar schedule and taking some time off after the FedExCup Playoffs in America. "We’re all pretty much doing the same thing and with some big events still to play on The European Tour during that period there’s plenty of opportunities for

"MENTALLY I FORCED MYSELF JUST BY SHEER WILLPOWER TO START DELIVERING RESULTS AND GET MY WAY AROUND THE GOLF COURSE THE BEST WAY I COULD WITH WHATEVER GAME I HAD. " and the Scottish Open. Two more top 10s followed in the autumn before the breakthrough came with a three-stroke victory in the SA Open Championship for his first European Tour title in five years. The result secured his place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, where he finished seventh. Stenson is relishing a November return to the place he called home for almost 10 years with a chance to take the spoils this time around. “I’ve got some great memories of Dubai, both from winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club and from living down there for so many years,” says the Swede, who’s recent form has also propelled him into the top 10 on both the money list and the FedExCup Rankings on the US PGA Tour. “I’ve got a very strong connection to Dubai and I’m really looking forward to coming there, for the DP World Tour

the guys behind the top three to make up some ground. It should set up for an exciting ﬁnish and nothing will be decided until the end but I’d like to come in with a healthy lead like I have at the moment.” But for “a couple of key moments” where he didn’t quite get the momentum he needed in the Scottish Open, The Open, and the US PGA Championship Stenson could easily have claimed all three trophies. “Tiger was so far out in front in the WGC that we were all playing for second place," says Stenson, who's got his game back in the kind of shape that marked him out as one of the best players on the planet in the late 2000s and is showing all the coolness under pressure over the ﬁnal stretch of the season that earned him the moniker ‘The Iceman’. His form undoubtedly deserves a victory and what better place for it to come that at Jumeirah Golf Estates in two months’ time? Q

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 25

Swing

THE ACADEMY AT EMIRATES GOLF CLUB in Association with PETE COWEN

HENRIK STENSON 1

PETE COWEN PGA MASTER PROFESSIONAL and coach to the stars, such as McDowell, Harrington, Kaymer, Stenson... if Pete doesn’t know it, it isn’t worth knowing!

Henrik’s got great mechanics and he understands his golf swing so he understands what actually works in his golf swing. He’s got much more stability in his body which is key. Here he’s hitting a 4-wood 250 metres on the range at the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill – and he makes it look easy.

26 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

1. Henrik’s upper body at address here is very good but his legs are a little bit straight for it to be perfect. His arm hang and upper body are well balanced and he’s ready to move from there. 2. This image is a bit misleading as it appears he’s picked the club up a little bit on the outside, but that’s something he’s concentrating on to keep the club outside his hands, which he is doing. A static picture never tells the whole story. 3. I’d love to see his shoulder a bit more loaded here. He’s a little a bit more ‘sat down’ at this stage with the elbows a bit more level with the shaft more on the right shoulder. 4. This shows where he gets his power. His shoulder is loaded

Pete explains how Henrik hits the ball a country mile 4

here (he loads it a bit later than most). He’s coiling into the ground, pushing down into the ground as he’s pulling up. It’s difficult to realise in a static position. 5. This is a continuation of what is demonstrated in frame 4. He does a specific exercise to help achieve this, working all the necessary muscles in order to get his body loaded. It works from the shoulders down and the feet up. It’s a bit like how a corkscrew works – pushing down while pulling up. We call it the ‘spiral staircase.’ 6. The change of direction. He’s still exerting pressure into the ground but without losing any height. The

club is coming out nicely in front of him to match his left arm position. 7. Great delivery but again a bit misleading in a static position. Only one small thing of note – his right leg should have stayed down a little bit. His heel should be rolling inward not outward. 8. This is faultless and demonstrates why he’s been playing so well recently. There’s no rotation of the face and his balance is perfect. Three balance points are all perfectly in line. The line from his sternum to his hands is in a straight line. From the top of his vertebrae and neck, down through the right shoulder, through the

right knee and into the middle of his right toe is a straight line and the line from his coccyx to his heels is a straight line. And they’re dynamic and static. Also, because of his hip and shoulder angle it means he’s not putting any pressure on his lower back. 9. The next few frames are a continuation of this balanced movement so he stays nicely balanced right through until the finish. 10. His position here makes it look like he’s held it off but he’s put massive pressure on the ball and not flipped the club at all. WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 27

Official 2013 Race to Dubai Ranking THE 2013 RACE TO DUBAI RANKING  AS AT AUGUST 19, 2013 Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Name Henrik STENSON Graeme McDOWELL Justin ROSE Richard STERNE Matteo MANASSERO Branden GRACE Ernie ELS Sergio GARCIA Ian POULTER Brett RUMFORD Lee WESTWOOD Charl SCHWARTZEL Mikko ILONEN Jamie DONALDSON Angel CABRERA Thorbjørn OLESEN Thongchai JAIDEE Marc WARREN Stephen GALLACHER Chris WOOD Thomas BJÖRN Scott JAMIESON Kiradech APHIBARNRAT Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ Francesco MOLINARI Paul CASEY Nicolas COLSAERTS Martin KAYMER Joost LUITEN Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO Thomas AIKEN Louis OOSTHUIZEN Simon KHAN Alex NOREN Marcel SIEM Jonas BLIXT Felipe AGUILAR Pablo LARRAZÁBAL Bernd WIESBERGER Raphaël JACQUELIN George COETZEE Shane LOWRY Darren FICHARDT Rafa CABRERA-BELLO Luke DONALD Marcus FRASER Rory McILROY Ricardo SANTOS Peter UIHLEIN Peter HANSON

Nationality

No. of events

SWE NIR ENG RSA ITA RSA RSA ESP ENG AUS ENG RSA FIN WAL ARG DEN THA SCO SCO ENG DEN SCO THA ESP ITA ENG BEL GER NED ESP RSA RSA ENG SWE GER SWE CHI ESP AUT FRA RSA IRL RSA ESP ENG AUS NIR POR USA SWE

13 11 10 15 18 17 13 12 10 17 9 10 17 15 5 16 16 20 17 13 17 21 12 10 17 16 11 12 17 14 18 9 12 16 14 4 18 22 17 17 13 14 16 20 10 14 10 20 16 11

Prizemoney €2,118,961 €1,693,388 €1,661,271 €1,265,514 €1,228,188 €1,069,469 €1,036,616 €1,016,700 €973,716 €948,180 €943,639 €882,321 €877,527 €826,072 €821,744 €756,699 €749,550 €736,862 €719,387 €690,469 €685,691 €684,206 €683,627 €654,078 €651,631 €638,770 €629,149 €606,562 €601,760 €600,808 €592,517 €590,807 €574,527 €565,510 €546,522 €536,606 €532,565 €523,414 €509,906 €506,870 €492,644 €470,620 €468,025 €460,162 €453,487 €447,866 €445,811 €435,287 €432,332 €409,895

Pos 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

Name Victor DUBUISSON Paul LAWRIE Grégory BOURDY Eduardo DE LA RIVA David HOWELL Danny WILLETT Padraig HARRINGTON Tim CLARK Alejandro CAÑIZARES David HORSEY Steve WEBSTER Peter WHITEFORD Edoardo MOLINARI Richie RAMSAY Tommy FLEETWOOD Eddie PEPPERELL Garth MULROY Graeme STORM JB HANSEN Robert ROCK Robert-Jan DERKSEN Maximilian KIEFFER Wen-chong LIANG David DRYSDALE Gareth MAYBIN Andy SULLIVAN Simon DYSON John PARRY Anders HANSEN Romain WATTEL Carl PETTERSSON Lee SLATTERY Dawie VAN DER WALT Michael HOEY Kristoffer BROBERG Morten Ørum MADSEN David LYNN Julien QUESNE Søren KJELDSEN Gaganjeet BHULLAR Jaco VAN ZYL Grégory HAVRET Jorge CAMPILLO Peter LAWRIE James KINGSTON Paul WARING Lorenzo GAGLI Matthew BALDWIN Mark FOSTER Richard BLAND

Nationality

No. of events

Prizemoney

FRA SCO FRA ESP ENG ENG IRL RSA ESP ENG ENG SCO ITA SCO ENG ENG RSA ENG DEN ENG NED GER CHN SCO NIR ENG ENG ENG DEN FRA SWE ENG RSA NIR SWE DEN ENG FRA DEN IND RSA FRA ESP IRL RSA ENG ITA ENG ENG ENG

15 16 19 17 19 13 11 7 18 18 19 22 14 15 21 18 16 21 21 19 17 20 11 22 19 22 20 18 11 19 8 20 8 16 20 16 10 16 23 10 15 22 25 20 10 18 21 24 17 18

€406,334 €388,774 €386,286 €382,120 €382,047 €369,066 €361,681 €351,221 €341,122 €338,426 €334,909 €320,903 €319,760 €314,024 €309,939 €301,662 €296,033 €292,353 €290,399 €281,160 €279,712 €274,067 €272,577 €271,980 €265,640 €262,847 €262,576 €260,623 €259,902 €257,917 €256,348 €251,263 €249,550 €246,383 €245,005 €243,260 €240,576 €230,016 €229,728 €222,745 €221,395 €218,448 €212,780 €212,533 €210,522 €209,058 €205,770 €204,152 €201,881 €199,368

E X P L A N AT I O N O F T H E E U R O P E A N T O U R R A C E T O D U B A I 2 0 1 3 The Race to Dubai is a season-long competition spanning a minimum of 45 tournaments in 24 countries and all five continents on The 2013 European Tour International Schedule. The Race to Dubai winner receives The Harry Vardon Trophy (first awarded in 1937), and a seven year European Tour Card exemption. The winner of The Race to Dubai will secure Category 1 Membership of The European Tour similar to the winners of The Open Championship, the US Open, the US PGA Championship and the Masters Tournament. The Bonus Pool will count as Official Money on the final Race to Dubai standings.

www wwgolf.biz www.wwgolf.biz

2 21

EXCLUSIVE

Interview

30 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

Nick Tarratt has been closely involved in golf in the Middle East from various positions, enabling him to see the overall situation from different perspectives, before becoming Director, The European Tour International, 'XEDL 2ĚŠFH Ě§YH \HDUV DJR

WORLDWIDE GOLF <<

Interview by Mike Gallemore Âˇ Picture by David Jackson

Nick Tarratt looks back on 23 years of golf in the UAE Nick Tarratt, 54, heads up The European Tour International, Dubai Office. Having first arrived in UAE more than 23 years ago and been involved in various roles and projects in the UAE and the region, Nick is in a unique position to give his views on the current state of the game of golf in this part of the world. Here he gives his views to Worldwide Golf.

WWG: When did you come to Dubai â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and why? NT: I ďŹ rst came to Dubai in September 1990 to work for the Emirates Golf Club as Golf Secretary. Back then it was the only grass course in the region. Sand courses dominated the local golf scene, highlighted by Dubai Country Club, Sharjah Wanderers Golf Club, Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Ras al Khaimah as well as Al Dhafra Links, Abu Dhabi â&#x20AC;&#x201C; still up and running today. How things have changed. Now, 23 years later, we have 20 golf clubs in the UAE and around 10,000 golfers.

WWG: What, currently, are the good things about golf in the UAE? NT: The high number of golfers regularly playing the game throughout the UAE, the high number of existing successful golf

facilities and the new golf facilities being planned, including the recently announced Donald Trump International at Akoya by DAMAC and Emaarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid City at Meydan. The model of real estate golf communities has been hugely successful in this part of the world and investors and developers certainly wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t continue with this drive if it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work for them.

WWG: What would you change about golf in the Middle East? NT: Golf in the UAE doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to be as inclusive as it used to be. There are too many ďŹ&#x201A;oating golfers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; perhaps as many as 2,000-plus residents in the UAE who are not aďŹ&#x192;liated to the Emirates Golf Federation and have no registered handicap. I view golf as

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 31

EXCLUSIVE

Interview a career and an industry and acknowledge that for most people it’s just a game of golf, a hobby to enjoy and have fun with friends. Nevertheless, an accepted and recognised structure needs to be in place. The handicap system is the backbone of the golf scene in any country worldwide. I’d like to see the Handicap Scheme reintroduced to embrace these ﬂoating golfers who are non-members of golf clubs, as well as golf clubs supporting the EGF by having a 4-tier structure of green fee rates – members, members’ guests, local EGF members and overseas golfers. I’m not keen on a UAE resident rate. The EGF deserves all the support possible to help all parties and stakeholders of the golf industry in the UAE. When I was Golf Secretary of the Emirates Golf Club it was primarily a member’s golf club with some corporate and limited international rounds. A little known fact was that non-members of Emirates GC resident in the UAE, could only play golf as members’ guests. The only other option was for them to book a room at one of the partner hotels in Dubai and book golf through the hotel – how times have changed!

WWG: What is your opinion of the current cost of golf? NT:: I’ve always believed that golf should be inclusive, accessible and affordable. The traditional pyramid golf structure is of a small number of aspirational high-end golf facilities and a larger number of more affordable golf facilities that complement the overall structure. This is not really prevalent in the UAE. To be able to grow the game among UAE Nationals and juniors, as well as attract sustainable numbers of international golf visitors, this situation has to be addressed. It could soon be the case that an 18 hole green fee will cost around £200 per person. It might be good business for the golf club and its owners in increasing their yield but it’s not good for the golf industry. I know many people in the UK who play golf three or four times a week at home. They come on holiday to Dubai regularly but don’t bring their golf clubs because they refuse to pay the sky-high rates charged by Dubai clubs. Back home they pay between £400 and £800 for annual membership which allows them to play as often as they like so it’s understandable that they won’t pay Dubai rates. I wonder how many golf visitors Dubai loses due to first impressions based on the price of a round. The model of The European Tour is to showcase the destination and host venue golf

32 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

Defending Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Champion, Jamie Donaldson, grew up playing at Macclesfield Golf Club in Cheshire, England. It isn’t a daunting 7,000 yard championship course but the £85 annual junior membership made it accessible.

NICK TARRATT <<

AFFORDABLE GOLF IS NEEDED I’ve always believed that golf should be inclusive, accessible and affordable. The traditional pyramid golf structure is of a small number of aspirational high-end golf facilities and a larger number of more affordable golf facilities that complement the overall structure. This is not really prevalent in the UAE. To be able to grow the game among UAE Nationals and juniors, as well as attract sustainable numbers of international golf visitors, this situation has to be addressed.

courses. A reference to the golf clubs on the internet shows only the green fee rack rates at the golf clubs. Abu Dhabi, through Golf in Abu Dhabi, should be applauded for taking a lead and bringing the golf clubs and hotels together along with Eithad Airways to create aﬀordable golf holiday packages. The 2013 – 2014 season looks like being a big year for golf in Abu Dhabi. The introduction of golf packages

European Tour stalwart Thomas Björn conducts a clinic for the juniors GXULQJ ODVW \HDU˸V 2PHJD 'XEDL 'HVHUW &ODVVLF DW WKH (PLUDWHV *ROI &OXE

is key to the growth of international golf rounds. But someone has to take ownership of the initiative to deliver the goods. Around 10 per cent of rounds in the UAE are international rounds. A positive approach being introduced at many clubs in the UAE is a Flexible Rate Policy. The Address Montgomerie, Dubai, The Track Meydan and Al Badia Golf Club plus various other facilities have pioneered this oﬀer

and should be applauded for their forward thinking. This is where, as with airlines and hotel rooms, the busier times are yielded and the quieter times are ‘discounted.’ All these ﬂexible rates are managed through websites and encourage greater business at all times of the year and create a win-win scenario for both the golf clubs and the golfers. It is interesting that a positive approach to sports tourism is being taken by the Department of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing headed by Helal Al Amiri and supported by the likes of Charlie Taylor, Tyler Stellman and Sally Edwards of Dubai Calendar. This is a very proactive and encouraging step towards Dubai’s plans to attract 20 million tourists by 2012. With Dubai being perhaps twice the price of golf holidays in Abu Dhabi and Turkey and as much as four times more than Spain, Portugal and France, the cost element is an area of concern. Packages including ﬂights, hotels and golf are the only way forward, as with all golf destinations in the world. Having been closely involved in the running of golf clubs for most of my working life I’m well aware of the cost of maintaining highend desert courses but the more facilities there are in the region the more golfers you need to keep them running. The multi-award winning Yas Links Abu Dhabi has become one of the star attractions for the ORFDO DQG WRXULVW JROI PDUNHW

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 33

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Interview The iconic clubhouse at WKH (PLUDWHV *ROI &OXE

Golf in the region has come a long way in the last two decades or so. The UAE now has 306 golf holes – 234 grass and 72 sand – at 20 golf facilities; around 10,000 resident golfers; at least three of the top 10 iconic golf clubhouses in the world.

WWG: What is the size and value of the golf industry in the UAE? NT: It’s vital that the industry does its own audit to quantify the value as well as the number of employees involved in the golf industry. This year the DP World Tour Championship will be doing an Economic Impact Study Report to calculate the value of the tournament to Dubai. I only wish we had done this long ago in year one of the Championship. So many discussions with government bodies involve Return on Investment and the Economic Impact to a city, or a region or country. It is also exciting that the DTCM are looking at this for Dubai as an industry. Scotland, through KPMG has just published such a report with the value calculated in excess of £1 billion a year.

WWG: So how healthy is golf in the UAE? NT:: The industry components of the likes of the Emirates Golf Federation, The European Tour, Dubai Golf and wasl, golf in Dubai, Troon Golf, IMG, ProSports International, Pro Golf International, Golf House, DTCM, Dubai Sports Council, Golf in

Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority and all the GMs of the UAE golf clubs plus industry experts should hold regular workshops to formulate a plan of where and when clubs, companies and individuals can work together and where there is healthy rivalry. These lines of communications have still to be established. Golf in the region has come a long way in the last two decades or so. The UAE now has 306 golf holes – 234 grass and 72 sand – at 20 golf facilities; around 10,000 resident golfers; at least three of the top 10 iconic golf

clubhouses in the world; and three high-proﬁle European Tour events promoted by golf in Dubai, ADTCA and IMG and The European Tour itself. A spirit of greater co-operation between golf organisations and key individuals is required as the industry continues to grow and the demands of customers, owners, governments and stakeholders become increasingly challenging. This is an interesting and exciting time for golf in the Middle East. I couldn’t think of a better place or a better time to be here! Q

The hugely impressive clubhouse DW 7KH (OV &OXE 'XEDL

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 35

LEFT Rory McIlroy en route to winning the 2012 DP World Tour Championship with a ƩYH ELUGLH ƩQLVK RYHU WKH ODVW ƩYH KROHV WR ZLQ E\ WZR shots from Justin Rose. BELOW In 2011, Luke Donald won 7KH 5DFH WR 'XEDL DQG EHFDPH WKH ƩUVW SOD\HU LQ KLVWRU\ WR ZLQ ERWK WKH European and US PGA Tour money lists in the same season.

EMIRATES FLYING HIGH AS one of the Premium Partners of The European Tour’s thrilling seasonending final event, The DP World Tour Championship, Emirates Airline is again demonstrating its commitment as a key sponsor of world-class golf tournaments.

he climax to the 2013 European Tour International Schedule, where the top 60 players battle it out for the DP World Tour Championship and for the title of European Number One in the 2013 Race to Dubai, highlights the influence Emirates has on golf globally. Apart from The DP World Tour Championship Emirates is the Oﬃcial Airline for nine other European Tour events, plus sponsorship of six additional international golf tournaments. Emirates were also the Oﬃcial

Partner of the victorious European Ryder Cup Team at Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010 and at Medinah in Chicago in 2012. “Our global sponsorship is comprehensive and works in many diﬀerent ways,” explains Roger Duthie, Head of Sponsorship, Emirates Airline. “We look for international events that generate worldwide media coverage and local beneﬁts. “Through our ‘Hello Tomorrow’ campaign which we launched in April last year we’ve been able to look at sponsorships which allow us to connect more with the fans and

to interact on site at various events so that we are able to make that vital, all-important connection with the fans. “The DP World Tour Championship is the richest event on The European Tour and is now in its fifth year. It is one of the most popular and prestigious tournaments in the Middle East.” With previous champions like England’s Lee Westwood (2009), Sweden’s Robert Karlsson (2010), Spain’s Alvaro Quiros (2011) and, last year, Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, the tournament has produced some of the most magical moments in world golf. “Being the Oﬃcial Airline is an ideal way of recognising Emirates’ sponsorship and involvement in the event. It also enables us to meet with our corporate and VIP guests as well as the fans.” A great deal of research goes into Emirates deciding upon which global events to support. The beneﬁts in terms of brand awareness and hospitality opportunities are carefully considered over a period of lead-in time. We do our homework, make the decision and go with it,” says Duthie. Emirates is the Official Airline of the Lyoness Open in Austria, the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea, the Maybank Malaysian Open, the Irish Open and is title sponsor of the

Emirates Australian Open. Emirates is also Oﬃcial Partner of the BMW International Open in Germany, the Australian PGA Championship, the Thailand Open, and the Alstom Open de France. They also support the Avantha Masters in India, the Boeing Classic in the United States and one of the four World Golf Championships events, the HSBC Champions in China. “We reach across all boundaries, countries and cultures,” says Duthie. “We want to show the fans that we care about their passion for their sport and hope that the fans, in turn, will become fans of Emirates. These fans are our existing and potential customers and wherever their interests lie we want to make a connection with them. “When we get into a sponsorship we’re in there for the long haul to support the event. Once we’re partners we commit to the long term. We don’t dip our toe in the water and then walk away. If our business grows as a result of our sponsorship we need to show the event and the sport that we’re giving something back. We’re not going to desert them just because our planes are full.” Emirates is not only the world’s leading airline it has also become a household name globally through its sponsorship of a wide variety of sports including golf, cricket, football, tennis, plus symphony orchestras, jazz and literary festivals.

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“OUR INTENTION IS TO BECOME A LIFESTYLE BRAND. WE’RE DOING MORE AND MORE THINGS FOR THE FANS TO ENHANCE THEIR EXPERIENCE AND ENJOYMENT AT THE EVENT. WE WANT TO BE A PARTNER AND A CHAMPION OF THE SPORT AND SHOW THE FANS THAT WE SHARE THEIR PASSION.” Roger Duthie, Head of Sponsorship, Emirates Airline

ENJOY THE BEST DAY OUT ON EARTH IN STYLE! WATCHING the four days’ play at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, the thrilling season-ending event on The European Tour is widely regarded as one of the best sporting experiences of the year.

efending champion Rory McIlroy is expected to join Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood among the top 60 golfers on The Race to Dubai in action on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates on 14-17 November. In keeping with Dubai’s reputation for providing exclusive experiences, the DP World Tour Championship oﬀers luxury hospitality with the best views of the course. Situated on the 18th fairway overlooking the spectacular 18th Green, the DP World Tour Championship Hospitality Pavilion provides a unique vantage point for guests to watch the tournament in comfort and style. The spacious terrace allows guests to soak up the electric atmosphere as players approach their ﬁnal shots of the day, while enjoying the very best gourmet

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2x HOS SPIITAL LITY TIC I KE ETS S To win two hospitality tickets to the DP World Tour Championship just answer the following question and email it to entries@wwgolf.biz Who won the 2012 DP World Tour Championship?

catering. Those who were alongside the 18th in 2012 will never forget the unbelievable atmosphere when Justin Rose’s monster putt for eagle almost dropped into the hole as he stormed to a course record 62 and when Rory McIlroy wrapped up both the DP World Tour Championship and The Race to Dubai 2012 titles with five successive birdies to finish his round. “The Hospitality Pavilion provides a spectacular experience for watching the action on all four days of the tournament,” says European Tour Director International, Dubai Office, Nick Tarratt. “It is a great opportunity to network with clients and VIP guests or simply enjoy the golf with friends and family.” Among the benefits of the hospitality packages are access to the Hospitality Pavilion as well as the golf course, while the day starts in style with complimentary VIP car parking. The modern climate-controlled Hospitality Pavilion also provides

Above: The hospitality pavillion over looking the 18th green offers a bird’s eye view to the action.

premium Breakfast, Lunch and Afternoon Tea food and beverage choices throughout the day. Special ‘Grab & Go’ options are also available for those fans wishing to take food with them out on to the course, while those remaining in the Pavilion can keep up to date with all the action, thanks to the live High Definition TV coverage. Guests will also receive the Official Tournament Programme and Daily Drawsheet and have unlimited internet access as the tournament’s dedicated hostess and guest management team ensure the day is a truly memorable experience. The cost of the daily package is AED 2,250 per person for the opening day’s play (Thursday 14 November). The cost for days two and three (Friday 15 November and Saturday 16 November) is AED 2,750 per person, while the final day’s play is AED 3,250 per person. There is also a Corporate Package of two days (Thursday and Sunday) at AED 5,250 per person with a full season ticket covering all four days of the Hospitality Pavilion experience for AED 10,250. The Hospitality Pavilion operates a free seating policy without table reservations to encourage spectators

to explore the rest of the action around the course throughout the day. “With the Hospitality Pavilion open from 9 am to 6 pm and the bar operating from 1 noon to 6 pm, there is plenty of time to enjoy the whole day and experience the very best of the DP World Tour Championship - the stunning conclusion to The Race to Dubai,” adds Tarratt. Last year also saw surprise player appearances from Ian Poulter, Stephen Gallacher, Sergio Garcia, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Henrik Stenson in the Hospitality Pavilion, so you never know who you’ll be rubbing shoulders with. Now in its fifth year, the DP World Tour Championship is a well-established and much anticipated event in the Dubai sport and social calendar so spectators are advised to book their hospitality passes today to avoid disappointment. Among those with fond memories of the hospitality experience is Mark Rix, CEO of 7DAYS, the Official Newspaper of the DP World Tour Championship. “Along with your bird’s eye view of the 18th fairway and green, you are treated to superb food and beverages all day long from top class catering staff.” says Rix. Q

To secure your place in the Hospitality Pavilion at the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates 14-17 November, contact HOSPITALITY@DPWTC.COM. For further information about the event and FREE TICKETS which give you access to the course and Championship Village visit www.DPWTC.com

RECOGNISING THE GOLF INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

RED CARPET GALA DINNER DECEMBER ‘13 INDUSTRY NETWORKING EVENT OF THE YEAR In Association with

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n the back of the extremely successful and widely acclaimed Sports Industry Awards (SPIA) earlier this year, Sport360 have now announced the Middle East Golf Awards (MEGA) in conjunction with Worldwide Golf. As a sport, golf is just about 25 years old in the region, but the industry here has managed to become the envy of the world due to the high standards it has set in service; course design and maintenance; organisation and quality of events and innovative marketing which has made a massive impact on boosting tourism and golf-related business in the region. Sport360, the Middle East’s most popular sports daily has joined forces with Worldwide Golf, the Middle East’s No.1 and most widelyread golf magazine, and ARN, to recognise these massive eﬀorts from individuals and organisations at the inaugural MEGAs, which will be presented at a black-tie dinner on Wednesday, December 11. The evening’s red-carpet function will be preceded by a golf day at a leading golf course in Dubai. The venues will be announced shortly. The MEGAs, covering 18 diﬀerent categories, will be a combination of public and readership voting, judgement on submissions and

panel selection. They have been endorsed by The European Tour, the Arab Golf Federation and the UAE PGA. Michael Chalhoub, CEO, Sport360, said: “Golf has really been a mega success story in the region. The Middle East hosts four European Tour events and television and media coverage transmitted throughout the world has wowed golf fans and experts everywhere. “The quality of infrastructure and the level of allied services rival any golf courses in the world. The MEGA is our tribute to the fantastic efforts put in by each and everyone involved with the industry. These awards, chosen by the playing public and industry experts, will be a true reflection of what everyone thinks about the golf industry in the Middle East.” Mike Gallemore, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Worldwide Golf and Worldwide Sporting Publications Global, added: “There have been golf-related awards in the past in the UAE but this is the first time that a comprehensive voting system embracing the playing public and industry leaders has been organized to create the MEGA. It is long overdue.” A total of 12 industry experts will make up the judging panel, and the entire awards process will be audited by Deloitte & Touche.

THE MEGA AWARDS LIST: Awards open for public voting

AWARDS JUDGED ON SUBMISSIONS:

Golf Course of the Year (above 400 AED); Golf Course of the Year (under 400 AED); Golf Hole of the Year; Best Practice Facility of the Year; Apparel of the Year; Equipment of the Year; Retailer of the Year; Professional Event of the Year; Best Academy of the Year; F&B of the Year.

Corporate Tournament of the Year; Amateur Tournament of the Year; Best Golf Sponsorship of the Year; Best Golf Marketing Campaign of the Year; Youth Development Initiative of the Year;

AWARDS VOTED BY THE JUDGES: Golf Society of the Year; General Manager of the Year; Golf Business Personality of the Year.

THE MEGA IS OUR TRIBUTE TO THE FANTASTIC EFFORTS PUT IN BY EACH AND EVERYONE INVOLVED WITH THE GOLF INDUSTRY. THESE AWARDS, CHOSEN BY THE PLAYING PUBLIC AND INDUSTRY EXPERTS, WILL BE A TRUE REFLECTION OF WHAT EVERYONE THINKS ABOUT THE GOLF INDUSTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST.  MICHAEL CHALHOUB, CEO, SPORT360.

SUBMISSION OF ENTRIES ARE OPEN NOW.

The closing date is September 6 for the Public Voting categories and October 28 for judges’ submission categories. Public voting begins on September 8, and will be on Sport360’s website (www.sport360.com/mega) and at Worldwide Golf on entries@wwgolf.biz Finalists of each category will be announced at a Press Conference on October 31.

www.wwgolf.biz

LPGA STAR PROFILE Beatriz Recari

ON THE SPOT What’s the strongest point of your game? BR: Putting. I want to increase my distance, but I’m very accurate.

42 || worldwidegolf WorldwideGolf - September 2013

PLAYER SPANISH beauty Beatriz Recari was one of the stars of the conquering European Solheim Cup Team that recorded an historic record 18-10 victory over the USA in Colorado last month. It was the ﬁrst time Europe had ever won the biennial event on American soil, and the 26-year-old, one of six rookies in the team, was among the star performers, scoring three points out of three including a 2 and 1 victory over LPGA Tour veteran Angela Stanford in the singles.

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Viva Recari! One the rising stars of the women’s game, Recari started life on the Ladies European Tour before gaining her LPGA Tour card for the 2010 season. She’s currently enjoying the best season of her career with wins at the Kia Classic in March and the Marathon classic in July moving her into the top 10 on the money list and the top 20 on the Rolex (world) Rankings. WWG: That was quite a way to make your Solheim Cup debut – was it everything you imagined it would be? BR: I didn’t know what to expect because it’s such a diﬀerent experience and I could never imagine that it was going to be so amazing. I don’t have the words. I mean, even if you interviewed me in Spanish, I still wouldn’t have the words. We really bonded as a team and it was one of the most wonderful experiences of my entire career. Being part of the team and how we bonded; golf is such an individual sport, but I tell you, that week was beautiful. It was such a good team and I’m just so proud of us all.

WWG: You must have been extremely proud to beat someone like Angela Stanford, a veteran of five Solheim Cups, in the singles as well as in the foursomes? BR: I feel really proud of myself because she’s a top player, she’s always up there. The night before the singles we were like, ‘Okay, we have 10½ points, let’s set a new record and let’s just focus on winning each match’. I did my job and I’m just really happy. I’m very happy with my game, and took a lot of positives out of the week. I have some things I still have to work on, but I feel like I’m improving every week, which is what I want and I’m just so happy. WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 43

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SOLHEIM RECORD BREAKER WWG: You were one of three Spaniards on the team along with Azahara Munoz and Carlota Ciganda â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it mustâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been great having those guys alongside you? BR: Yeah, it was deďŹ nitely an advantage. We have known each other since we were nine so we deďŹ nitely helped bond the team and we all played great. WWG: Whereabouts in Spain did you grow up? BR: I grew up in Pamplona, which is well known as the place where the Running of the Bulls takes place. When I turned pro, I missed it a couple of times, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen it basically every year of my life. WWG: Do you have any crazy stories from the bull runnig event? BR: That week, my grandmother says, is the week of no laws. It starts on July 6th when there is a â&#x20AC;&#x153;welcome to the partyâ&#x20AC;? celebration. But it ofďŹ cially begins on the 7th and goes on until the 14th. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seven days of non-stop drinking. The bars only close for an hour every day just to clean up. The city has 500,000 residents and that week two million people turn up. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even know what the craziest thing Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen is. What havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t I seen? People are running around naked, dirty, peeing, pooping â&#x20AC;&#x201D; everything. WWG: When did you start playing golf? BR: I started playing when I was 11. My father played professional soccer and then coached professionally. Because of health issues, he decided to give up soccer for golf. He asked me to caddie for him at tournaments. I liked it so much that I asked to sign up for lessons. A month later, my parents took me to the Spanish Championships. After that, I was so motivated and liked it so much that I wanted to take it up seriously. At the time, I was taking piano lessons. I said Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d exchange piano lessons for golf. He said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;OK, but you have to commit to it.â&#x20AC;? WWG: You speak English very well. Did you study it while you were growing up? BR: My parents were very conscious about me learning English. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t speak English, so they told me that if I wanted to have a successful career in business or anything, I needed to speak English. When I was ďŹ ve, I started taking classes with a private tutor. I thought it was so mean because all my friends were playing and I had to go to English lessons four days a week in between classes at school during my lunch hour. I was so angry at my parents, but I had a great advantage so Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m thankful.

BEATRIZâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SOHEIM CUP RESULTS Round 1 Foursomes Pettersen / Recari v Lang / Stanford Won 2&1 Round 4 Fourballs Recari / Icher v Kerr / Pressel Won 1up Round 5 Singles Recari v Stanford Won 2&1

"IF I WASN'T A GOLFER I WOULD HAVE MY OWN BUSINESS. MY PARENTS HAVE A RESTAURANT BUT THEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE ALSO ACCOUNTANTS. I WANT TO DO SOMETHING I ENJOY. SOMETHING THAT INVOLVES MARKETING WITH FASHION OR SPORTS. BUT I CANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T WORK IN AN OFFICE ALL DAY.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Below: Beatriz kisses the trophy after her two-hole OK@X NĆ¤ UHBSNQX NUDQ ( * *HL @S SGD +/& *H@ "K@RRHB @S SGD /@QJ 'X@SS UH@Q@ 1DRNQS HM "@KHENQMH@

Above: Carlota Ciganda, Azahara Munoz and Beatriz Recari of Spain hold the Solheim Cup after their historic victory at Colorado Golf Club.

Above: +DES SN QHFGS (M *XTMF *HL ,HBGDKKD 6HD ,NQF@M /QDRRDK 8@MH 3RDMF Beatriz Recari, Melissa Reid, 2TY@MM /DSSDQRDM 2D 1H /@J /@TK@ "QD@LDQ @MC -@S@KHD &TKAHR CTQHMF SGD 6DKBNLD 1DBDOSHNM @S SGD 1@Ć¨DR 'NSDK OQHNQ SN SGD RS@QS NE SGD '2!" 6NLDM R "G@LOHNMR @S SGD 3@M@G ,DQ@G "NTMSQX "KTA HM 2HMF@ONQD

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 45

WORLDWIDE GOLF COLUMNIST <<

Greg

NORMAN PREPARING TO GET BEHIND THE CAMERA WITH FOX

ongratulations to Jason Dufner on winning the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. Jason put on an amazing display of ball striking to win by two shots from Jim Furyk and is yet another example of how healthy the game of golf is right now. Dufner became the 15th first-time Major winner in the last 21 major events. That should tell you something about the state of the game of golf. There is so much young talent out there right now that professional golf is the healthiest it’s been in a long time. While Tiger Woods may move the needle forward as far as TV ratings go, these young guns have certainly been providing some great viewing opportunities. Speaking of viewing opportunities, last month FOX TV won the rights to broadcast USGA golf events starting in 2015. NBC has held the rights to the US Open Championship for nearly 20 years and Johnny Miller has been the face and the voice of this event for quite some time. FOX is in the process of assembling its own TV broadcasting team and I have been contacted by fellow Aussie and FOX Senior Executive, David Hill. David and I have known each other for many years. He was the head of FOX Sports when they were interested in becoming the broadcast partner for the proposed World Tour that John Montgomery and I put together back in 1994. David offered me the job on our first phone call and I am flattered to have been asked. I look forward to having more detailed discussions with him in the very near future. We have not yet had the chance to discuss the specifics of the job and with everything that I have going on with Great White Shark Enterprises at the moment, I need to learn more about the time requirements and expectations that FOX is looking for. It’s an

interesting proposition and I hope to learn more about the position in the coming weeks so that I can properly evaluate this opportunity. David Hill and FOX have always taken an innovative approach to their sporting broadcasts and I’m sure that they will think outside the box on golf, just as they have done on other sports such as American Football, baseball and hockey. FOX introduced the innovative yellow first down marker to American Football and I still remember seeing the hockey puck tracer for the first time, FOXTrax, that FOX introduced in their NHL coverage. Of course, that was in pre-high definition days when the puck was very hard to see on TV. Given their past and their propensity to push the envelope I’m curious to see what new technology they might bring to the table for golf viewing. For a long time I have been saying it would be nice to see a split screen used in golf coverage,

where viewers can see the golfer’s full swing and the flight of the ball off the clubface at the same time. Perhaps they will be the first network to really put this technology to use It’s an interesting time in golf right now and with the addition of FOX to the golf broadcasting schedule, all four major networks in the United States, FOX, NBC, ABC and CBS will now have professional golf on their network. Hopefully, this competition between the big four TV networks will result in a better experience for the golf viewers - and Ideally, a better experience for the golf viewers might help grow the game of golf. I’M pleased to see that the Queensland Open finally took place, at Brookwater Golf and Country Club, last month after a six-year hiatus on the PGA Tour of Australasia. I’m also pleased that the course I designed at Brookwater was named number one public access course in Queensland by Golf Australia. Q

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 47

Dirab Golf & Country Club is the first certified grassed 18-Hole Par-72 championship and 9-Hole Par 27 Academy golf course in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Located 45 kms south west of Riyadh City and nestled in the picturesque Tawfig valley, the club features lush tree-lined fairways and perfectly manicured greens. Open all year round, the course offers a driving range and practice facilities- 9holes are floodlit, enabling play after sundown. Having hosted the 1st Saudi Arabian National Amateur Championship in 2001, 10th Annual GCC Golf Championship in 2002, BMW World Qualifier Tournament in 2004, Dirab Pro-Am Golf Tournament in 2005, 28th Pan Arab Golf Tournament in 2008 and Saudi Oger Amateur Golf Championship in 2009, Dirab Golf & Country Club is equally suited for seasoned golfers and for those wishing to learn the sport.

WORLDWIDE GOLF COLUMNIST <<

Gary

PLAYER

GERRY McILORY WOULD BE RORY’S IDEAL MANAGER

was asked recently about the possible affect Rory McIlroy’s relationship with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki might be having on his golf game. Of course, I could only speak in general terms and not about any particular person and I’m in no position to tell anyone, Rory included, who might be a good woman for them. For the record, I wish both Rory and Caroline nothing but the best. They seem very happy together. I’ve always held the belief that for a man to be a champion golfer or sportsman, and this applies to everyone, he’s got to have a good partner in his life. This is what I’ve had and so has Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. We’ve been blessed to have a great woman behind us. If you don’t have that, it’s a tremendous hindrance to your golf career. I’ve been so lucky throughout my life. My wife, Vivienne, understood golf from the beginning. In our lifetime she’s made plenty of sacrifices for me. She’s looked after our children well and she’s dedicated her life to helping me to be a champion. I couldn’t have achieved that success without her. When you get married you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the right woman. You’ve also got to work extremely hard on your game and be dedicated to becoming a champion. I reckon I’ve hit more golf balls than any other pro in my lifetime due to the amount of practice I’ve put in over the years. I love Rory so much I just want to see him do well. I watch him with great interest whenever I can. He’s got a huge talent and a wonderful personality. I was really pleased to see him finish tied for eighth in the US PGA Championship, which proved that he’s on his way back to finding his form. It’s a tough life being a professional Tour golfer. I remember when I told my father I was going to be a golf pro he nearly had a heart attack. As well as a good wife, you’ve also got to have a good manager who will make your life easier for you. I started out with Mark McCormack, who also managed Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer and marketed us as The Big Three. Mark was a great man and a great friend, who managed the International Management Group with huge success. After Mark, my son Marc became my exclusive representative of all my businesses and it has worked perfectly. With a member of your family looking after your affairs, you know that they are going to have your best interests at heart. It would not surprise me if Rory’s father, Gerry, eventually becomes Rory’s manager. I’ve met his mother and father a number of times and they are wonderful parents to Rory, who have made

considerable sacrifices to further Rory’s career. I’m sure that Gerry would be the ideal person to be Rory’s closest advisor. Q IT DIDN’T surprise me one little bit to see Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson finish way down the field in the US PGA Championship. The week before, Woods looked the world-beater when he won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational by seven shots. He’s in his element on a course like Firestone where accuracy off the tee doesn’t matter so much. If he hits a wayward drive he’s usually got a clear second shot in. But faced with a course like Oak Hill, with long rough and narrow fairways, it’s a different proposition. To stand a chance of being in contention there, you’ve got to drive the ball straight and keep it on the fairway. Woods should know that and in two PGA Championships at Oak Hill he has failed to break par. He finished in a seven-man share of 40th place and Mickelson tied for 72nd place. At this stage of their careers, Mickelson and Woods are fully aware that when the rough is tough they’re going to suffer. If they can play a course where they can use an iron or a three-wood off the tee then they’re dynamite. There is no bigger fan of both Woods or Mickelson than me but they’ve got to start driving the ball straighter.

Q I WAS delighted to see Europe win the Solheim Cup last month. They won it in ﬁne style by a record eight points and for the ﬁrst time on American soil. For so long the Solheim Cup has been like The Ryder Cup used to be before the resurgence of the European Team in the 1980s. It was more like an exhibition match by the Americans than a golf competition. But the Europeans turned it around and now it’s one of the greatest team events on the world sporting calendar. In those earlier days I didn’t even bother to look at the result of The Ryder Cup on Monday to see who had won but not anymore and now the European ladies have followed suit to match the men. They won the Solheim Cup for only the third time in the event’s history back at Killeen Castle in 2011 by 15 points to 13 but to retain the Cup by the record winning margin since the Solheim Cup started in 1990 was phenomenal. Successful golf tournaments are all about competition. This back-to-back victory will enhance the reputation of the Solheim Cup and make it a much more popular and prestigious event than it’s ever been before. Now it will go from strength to strength. WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 49

Available throughout the GCC. Contact your nearest Golf Shop. www.prosports.ae

WORLDWIDE GOLF COLUMNIST <<

Pete

COWEN

PGA TOUR BUYING THE EUROPEAN TOUR?

here are problems at the highest level of the game at the moment and they are affecting The European Tour. The problem that the European Tour faces is that there is a finite resource of players – top players – who the world wants to see. No matter how many tournaments there are or who controls who or what, there are is still a finite number of elite players. The US PGA Tour now runs the Canadian and South American Tours which are now firmly under their umbrella and it’s trying to move into Asian and Australian territories, too. It would make sense to get the expertise all in one area so it does become a World Tour – almost like an elite Tour, one tier above the other tours. So you’d create maybe six events on the World Tour and then have the bread and butter of the US PGA Tour, The European Tour, Asian Tour and so on. But is that any good for golf? It’s certainly good for the top players who would play on the elite Tour. The European Tour have got to sit down with the players and talk to them. They’ve got to say ‘what can we do for you?’ They can’t just ask players to play more on The European Tour because the top players have always got a choice and they can turn round and say ‘we’re not going to do that, we’ll go and play somewhere else’.

Misc chief The US PGA Tour like making mischief. They know The European Tour is in a weak position at the moment as the top players are playing in America and that’s the time when you try and pick someone oﬀ – when they’re at their weakest. Guy Kinnings at IMG would be great at running The European Tour. It needs somebody like Guy, who is coming towards the best time in their career, while, with all goodwill, in the world George O’Grady is around the same age as me – 63 or 64, and perhaps he’s had his time. Running and selling The European Tour as a product is a specialist job and it’s no longer a job for ex-players. I’m all for ex-pros going on to becoming tournament directors or referees or rules oﬃcials and such because they got the experience and they understand the players’ point of view. But to sell the product they’ve got to have a presence and they’ve got to understand everything, including the marketing side of the

business. Without the players on board they’ve got nothing to sell. George has a very diﬃcult job because without having the players on board how’s he going to sell it? What’s he got to sell? He can say I’ve got ‘Fred Bloggs and Joe Smith and they’re very good young players’ but the response from sponsors will be ‘well we want Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’. The sponsors look at what they get out of sponsoring a tournament and they assess the value to them from the money they are spending. Are they going to be guaranteed national exposure, or global exposure. Out in the Emirates it was diﬀerent because players wanted to go out there to see how they built golf courses in the middle of the desert – that’s how it all started. That’s why people went to Dubai originally. Now it’s the stronghold of The European Tour. Without the Middle East The European Tour would have seriously struggled over the last 8-10 years. The European Tour should ask potential sponsorring companies what players they’d want at their tournament. That company would give them a list of say, around 30 names, in order of preference, probably starting with Tiger Woods

The Ryder Cup remains The European Tour’s biggest and then work it asset and revenue maker down from there. and a lure to entice the stars Then The Tour says to compete on home soil. they can get five The players and the Tour of them, and the need to find a formula that sponsors agree on works for both parties and that basis. So then not just in a Ryder Cup year. The Tour can go to those 30 players on that list and say they’ve got sponsors interested in such and such events and they can say they want five players so what can you give us on the following proposed dates? In theory you can sell six tournaments this way with six lots of five players. The European Tour needs the players to help out otherwise it’s going to really struggle. It’s been rumbling on for a number of years and now it’s got to the point where there are virtually no European Tour events in the middle of its summer. Prime spots on the calendar and there’s no European Tour events because of The Open or the WGC or the US PGA. There was nothing on during the same week at the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship – why? Q

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 51

INSTRUCTION

QUICK RULES TIPS

By: Stuart McMurdo, Golf Operations Manager, Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa

MAKING USE OF ALL OPTIONS FROM A LATERAL WATER HAZARD!

To watch the video go to Facebook/WorldwideGolf and go to the video section.

The 1st Hole at Jebel Ali is a notoriously tough opener with a large lake at the front and right of the green. Everyday l see players knock balls in the lake and immediately, without thinking, walk to the edge of the lake and drop a new ball. This inevitably means a bad lie in the rough on a down slope with a 50 yard lake to cover in your eye line. Rule 26 covers Lateral Water Hazard relief as in the case at the 1st Hole and allows a player 4 options: 1) To drop within 2 club lengths of the point of entry that crossed the hazard line. 2) To return to the position of the original shot. The next two options should always be considered and offer the best alternative. 3) To go back in line with the pin and the point that the ball last crossed the hazard line as far back as you like. This would mean on the first hole that you could go back to a comfortable yardage for the player, in the fairway off a flat lie, a much easier shot that the one mentioned earlier in the rough! 4) The fourth option, which many players dont realise, is that for red staked water hazards (Lateral Water Hazard) you can drop the other side of the hazard equidistant to the hole. This in some circumstances offers a better line to the hole and a better lie. It’s always worth taking a few minutes to weigh up your options – even though you might be seething after finding the hazard! WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 53

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Q&A

>> BOB VOKEY

BORN in Canada in 1940, Bob Vokey moved to California at the age of 25 and began crafting wedges from his garage in Anaheim, Orange County in the late 60s. He ran his own shop for a number of years before joining TaylorMade in 1986. He left the company in 1991 and after a short stint with the Founders Club, who he helped start, specialising in metal woods, Vokey joined Titleist in 1996. Today around 40% of PGA Tour players use Vokey Wedges and he’s made clubs for the likes of Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy over the years. There are some eight million currently in use around the world and Titleist sells almost 900,000 per year. Who are the top three wedge players you’ve ever seen, and who do you think is the best short game player on Tour at the moment? BV: I worked a lot with Lee Trevino, he was amazing and had all of the shots. And Seve. He was a magician. José Maria Olazábal was his disciple; I worked a lot with him and still do. Those guys could get up and down from anywhere. Right now, there are a lot of great short-game players out there. Steve Stricker has an outstanding short game, very consistent. How do the top players’ short games now compare with those of, say, 25 years ago? BV: Great question. Back in the day, there was more trajectory bias. To get the ball close, you had to hit it high. Manufacture the shot, I like to say. Now guys hit it lower with more spin. The “two-hop stopper,” so to speak. The new grooves have made it harder to hit that shot. Some of the younger guys have struggled making the transition. But for the older players, it was no big deal. Has course conditioning influenced the way Vokey wedges are designed, to perform from lush rough, perfectly raked bunkers and faster greens? BV: Greens are deﬁnitely faster than 20 years ago, there’s no doubt about it. The combination of

NOT EVERYBODY PLAYS ON PERFECTLY MANICURED COURSES. SO WE TRY TO MAKE WEDGES FOR EVERY SHOT AND EVERY CONDITION.

Golf’s Master Craftsman >> Bob Vokey is one of the most influential men working in golf today and the most famous wedge designer in the world. Vokey Spin Milled wedges and the Pro V1 golf ball has allowed players to control their distances and hit it close. But not everybody plays on perfectly manicured courses. So we try to make wedges for every shot and every condition. What difference has the development of the ball made to wedge play over your time in the game? BV: It’s been huge. The Pro V1 is amazing around

the greens. That’s why we do ball fitting from the green back to the tee. All of our balls are long, but where you’ll really see a difference is around the green with your wedges. Try a partial shot with your Vokey and a Pro V1 out of the rough. You’ll definitely see a difference. And I always tell regular golfers, use the same ball all the time. How can you predict the spin from your wedge shots if you’re changing balls all the time?

Amateur advantage How many wedges should we be carrying? BV: It really depends on your overall set make up, but almost every Tour player carries at least three wedges. Wedges are your scoring clubs. We’ve found that most amateurs can’t dial back a wedge. It’s very hard for them to hit a ½ wedge or a ¾ wedge so having an extra wedge that you can make a full swing with is going to help lower your scores.

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>> EQUIPMENT FOCUS WITH TITLEIST MASTER CRAFSTMAN BOB VOKEY

WHAT IS GRIND?

WHAT IS BOUNCE?

How does it affect how the club performs?

Know your angles!

BV: Grind refers to the shape, contour and relief of the sole. A grind with more sole relief reduces eﬀective bounce, but makes it easier to hit what I call the “touchy-feely” shots around the greens. A full sole wedge is going to be a bit more forgiving.

BV: It’s the angle between the leading edge and lowest point on the sole. If you look at a wedge, the trailing edge is lower than the leading edge. This is the bounce angle. I always say ‘bounce is your friend because it provides forgiveness on all types of wedge shot.

How does weight affect the performance of a wedge and do the Tour players favour a certain weight? BV: You need enough weight to be able to feel the club head during the shot, especially on partial shots. But you can’t make the wedge too heavy or you won’t be able to hit full shots out of the fairways. Most of the tour players will play their 56 and 60s at a D5 swing weight, which is also what we use for all of our retail wedges.

What bounce and loft combination is best for bunker play? BV: It would really vary from player to player. We categorise players into three types: slider, digger, or neutral. Sliders should use less bounce, diggers more bounce in general. The type of conditions also plays a part. For soft conditions we recommend more bounce, for ﬁrm conditions, less bounce.

LOFTSFINISHESLOOKS Why do you think there has been a reduction in the number of players using wedges over 60 degrees, and would you recommend a 64 degree wedge to anyone? BV: The new grooves cause the ball to launch a bit higher, so many of the Tour players don’t need that extra loft. Our Vokey 62.07 and 64.07 are niche wedges, but it’s another option in the arsenal. The 64 is a great trouble club to get out of deep rough. You also don’t need to open it up to make it work. But I will say if you’re going to play a

62 or 64, you need to practice with them. You can’t be tentative with those wedges. Vokey wedges are available in a variety of finishes; how much does finish affect feel? BV: It’s more the look of the club than the actual feel. It’s a perception. Some guys swear the oil can finish spins more, but we’ve tested them and in a blind test, players can’t notice a difference. You want a look that inspires confidence. Our Tour Chrome is a non-glare option. And Black Nickel is becoming more popular.

What is the most common characteristic that your tour pros look for in a Vokey wedge? BV: It needs to ﬁt their eye. Most guys are really particular and you can’t really blame them, it’s their livelihood. The shape, the top line, the leading edge – we focus on all of these things to make the wedge set up pleasing to the eye. Tour pros want the same as the average golfer – conﬁdence when they set up to a shot.

3,000,000 Spin Milled wedges sold! What is it about Vokey wedges that has made them the No.1 choice on pro tours around the world? BV: I never expected it to get this big. We’ve been No. 1 on Tour for seven straight years. We’ve sold over three million Spin Milled wedges. It’s humbling, even to see your name on a Titleist wedge. I’m just a golf guy, a tinkerer, a grinder. But I’ve always tried to listen. And I think the guys on Tour appreciate that.

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 55

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INSTRUCTION TIM BACKHOUSE HEAD TEACHING PROFESSIONAL ROYAL GOLF CLUB, BAHRAIN

Backswing This is where we generate the power. The picture shows the rotation in my shoulders, stomach, hips and legs. My left arm is straight, the thumbs pointing to the sky and the ball is away from my body. As I turn back, the power is converted into speed.

RIP IT WITH ROTATION How can a golfer successfully combine power and accuracy in their golf swing? The answer is rotating with connectivity, meaning that the club, hands, arms, shoulders, hips and legs turn together. A good drill for this is a rugby-style movement to pass a weighted ball. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to have good angles in the legs and back during set up to enable full rotation of the body.

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24/08/2013 07:41

Follow Through When the ball is released, my arms are straight out in front of me and the ball ﬂies directly away from the body. If the ball isn’t released properly and at the right time, the ball will not go to the intended target. When you try this drill, you will notice that if you bend your arms, you will lose accuracy and power.

WITH JUST FIVE MINUTES OF PRACTICING THIS DRILL, YOU SHOULD FIND THAT THE BALL IS GOING FURTHER AND STRAIGHTER

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 57

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FOLLOW THIS AND YOU’LL START HITTING THE BALL BETTER THAN EVER.

- If you stand up and lose your posture on the downswing, you’re wasting energy that could’ve been transferred to the ball at impact. This drill will help you get it back.

USE THE GROUND FOR POWER

- Take your address with a driver, then extend your left arm and stand up the club, with your left palm over the butt of the grip. Now simulate a swing with your right arm only, pushing down on the driver with your palm as you swing into impact (right). Feel your lower body gathering leverage against the ground as you ﬂex the driver shaft. This is the feeling you want when you make your normal swing.

How to turn leverage into yards! There are a lot of diﬀerences between the golf swing of an elite player and that of the average amateur, but what are the biggest? Let’s look at what most golfers want more than anything: power. My work with the biomechanics of most amateurs is they don’t push into the ground eﬀectively to create leverage in their swings, and leverage leads to power. The average golfer’s swing where a lack of leverage is most evident in the takeaway, halfway back and the transition. This drill will help create power in the downswing.

Improve your game with The Dubai Golf Academy at Emirates Golf Club

Essentially, by pushing down into the ground with your lead leg on the downswing, you set up more lower-body thrust for impact. And that translates into more clubhead speed. Try this and see the diﬀerence...

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INSTRUCTION

WAYNE JOHNSON DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION PGA JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES

Visualise the area you would like to play your shot towards, focus on landing the ball in the centre left of the green.

60 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

Home the DP World Tour Championship BY- Bryan Smyth, Golf Professional atof Emirates Golf Club

Wayne Johnson’s qualifications and coaching expertise are unquestionable having worked at the highest level as a golf teacher and coach, spending four years working as Director of Instruction for the world’s foremost golf teacher Butch Harmon at his schools in the USA, Bahamas and Macau where he worked closely and assisted Butch in many of his coaching sessions with such notable tournament professionals as Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Mark Calcavecchia, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and Jose Maria Olazabal. Wayne first came to Dubai in 2002 and was responsible for the creation of the Academy by TROON GOLF at the internationally recognized five-star Montgomerie Dubai, quickly becoming the Middle east’s leading golf instructional facility. Wayne is currently Director of instruction for the Jumeirah Golf Estates Tour Academy, home of the DP World Tour Championship.

HOW TO The par-4 16th hole on the EARTH course at Jumeirah Golf Estates is one of several signature holes and during the DP World Tour Championship often proves one of the key pivotal closing holes with a Sunday pin position tucked on the far right hand side of the green, bringing the lake into play with an errant approach shot. Here we look at a way to “play smart” developing a fade shot to enable you to work the ball into the target without risking and taking on the water.

Aim the clubface at your intended target whilst aiming your body (feet, knees, hips, shoulders) at the left hand side of the green.

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 61

INSTRUCTION Bryan Smyth, Golf OF Professional at Emirates Golf ClubGOLF ESTATES WAYNE BYJOHNSON DIRECTOR INSTRUCTION PGA JUMEIRAH

With the clubface and body set up in this way swing parallel to your body line which will create a curve shot or fade (ball moving from left to right in flight). 1 Takeaway parallel to body 2 Backswing 3 Completion of shoulder turn

Playing the stroke in this way allows you to play positively whilst maintaining an err of caution playing away from trouble but creating the shape of shot which will work the ball towards the hole. 1 Downswing 2 Follow through extension 3 Balanced finish

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NEW BIGGER & BETTER!

FIGME FIRST

Yassin wins the PING

ABU DHABI CITY ENHANCEMENTS

The inaugural FIGME GCC Championship takes place at Dubai Creek.

SUMMER OPEN

A new practise putting green and a some new tees have been added to toughen up the course.

Pg 70

+1 handicapper shoots level par 72 to win at Emirates Golf Club.

Pg 74

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DIRAB READY FOR MENA TOUR Dirab Golf Club gears up for hosting the Mena Tourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s American Express Dirab Golf Championship later this month.

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66 | ArabianGolf - September 2013

BUILDING A CLASSIC WITH the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic getting ever closer, the interest created by the Sultanate’s first professional golf tournament is fast gathering momentum.

he leading players on the European Ardhi, Deputy Chairman, National Bank of Oman, Challenge Tour are looking forward whose title sponsorship of the event and enthusiasm to visiting Oman for the first time and has inspired such widespread acclaim for the taking up the challenge at Almouj Golf, tournament. The Wave, Muscat, Oman on October “It was our mission in sponsoring the National Bank 24-27, in one of the strongest fields of the Tour’s of Oman Golf Classic that we would not only put 2013 schedule. Challenge Tour players like Shiv Oman on the world golf map but that we would bring Kapur, who was six under par “I’m excited to be competing the business world’s attention after seven holes to lead the way to the considerable benefits of against the future stars of in the first round of The Open Oman to international companies,” Championship; three times winner says Mohammed Mahfoudh Al The European Tour and I on the Challenge Tour this season, Ardhi. The amount of promotion believe the Arab Nationals and publicity worldwide that has Brooks Koepka, whose treble has already earned him his European already been generated since we who have proved their Tour playing card and two times announced the event earlier in ability in international winner Francois Calmels are the year has been very gratifying relishing playing against a truly and will no doubt have a bearing tournaments this season, international field that includes the on golf tourism and business in supported by the National best Arab Nationals in the region. Oman. Oman’s leading amateur, Azaan “We’ve seen the advantages Bank of Oman, will put in a Al Rumhy, now a scratch golfer, that golf has brought to the good performance.” – Azaan Al Rumhy Middle East region in can’t wait for the action to start. “I’m excited to be competing against terms of international the future stars of The European Tour and I believe business, and one of the most encouraging aspects of the Arab Nationals who have proved their ability in our event is the sponsor and supplier support we are international tournaments this season, supported getting from Government bodies, hotels, organisations by the National Bank of Oman, will put in a good and the Oman business sector. Omani businesses are performance,” he says. beginning to embrace the National Bank of Oman Golf Azaan is also looking forward to the Chrysler Classic and we are looking forward to progressing the Cup in November where he will lead his defending champions, Ghala Valley against Almouj Golf, The Wave, Muscat, Oman, Muscat Hills, and Ras Al Hamra, Muscat. The four-club team event is played in a Ryder Cup-style format with the top 12 golfers on each of the club’s Orders of Merit competing against each other. “I’m also pleased that my long-time colleague on the Oman National Team, Ali Hameed, received a sponsor’s invitation. I know he’s delighted to be taking part in the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic,” says Azaan. The National Bank of Oman Golf Classic is certainly capturing the imagination of the golfing and business community throughout the Middle East and internationally. The support the tournament is gaining week on week is phenomenal. “It’s exciting to witness the increasing interest in the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic in the Sultanate and further afield,” says Mohammed Mahfoudh Al

corporate connection with the tournament.” Support through their various services has also come from the Oman Golf Committee, the Ministry of Sports, Muscat Municipality, Royal Oman Police, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Health and the Civil Defence, which includes player arrivals, local transportation co-ordination, First Aid, Government permissions and approvals. “One of our most pleasing achievements is that, through our various sponsor’s invitations, we have managed to bring so many talented Omani and Arab National players into the event. Azaan Al Rumhy, our leading amateur, who finished tied 17th out of 49 in the recent PAN-Arab Championship in Egypt, will be competing, along with his Oman Team member Ali Hameed.” says Mohammed Mahfoudh Al Ardhi. Also in the field are Morocco’s Ahmed Marjan and Mustapha El Maouass, the first two in the PAN-Arab Championship; Ali Al Bishi from Qatar and Bahrain’s Hamad Mubarak, winner and runner-up respectively in the GCC Championship; Qatar’s Saleh Al Kaabi and Ahmed Al Musharekh, the UAE’s leading amateur before he turned professional last year, have all eagerly accepted sponsor’s invitations. “It’s good that we can provide these players with the opportunity to compete with the stars of the future from the European Challenge Tour. The experience of playing at such a level can only improve their game,” said Mohammed Mahfoudh Al Ardhi. Q

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 69

DUBAI CREEK GOLF AND YACHT CLUB www.dubaigolf.com

DubaiCreekGolf

CONTACT: Tel : +971 4 295 6000 E-mail: dcgyc@dubaigolf.com

dubaicreekgolfandyachtclub

HOME TEAM WINS THE INAUGURAL FIGME GCC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP THE Inaugural Filipino Golfers in the Middle East (FIGME) GCC Golf Championship took place at the Creek recently and coming out on top was the FIGME Dubai team. Captain Ramon Navea led his 12-man team to victory with a sensational score of 173.5 points, well clear of the FIGME UAE team who compiled

a score of 149. The singles event was won by Rey Lapa as he scored 24 points to come out on top ahead of 51 other competitors. Play got underway after a ceremonial tee shot of 220 yards down the ﬁrst fairway by H.E. Long Kem, Ambassador of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the State of Kuwait. The Nearest the Pin

competitions on holes 5 and 16 were both won by Warly Faner while the on hole 8 the winner was Chris Burkill and on hole 14 Bong Gante knocked it closest. The Longest Drive competition was won by Julius Segers who managed a massive 330 yard hit that left him only 120 yards to the pin.

GOEL WINS THE AUGUST MASHREQ MEDAL AJAY Goel came out on top of a ﬁeld of more than 80 in the blistering heat at last month’s Mashreq Medal thanks to a superb net 66 for a two-stroke win over Michael Nielsen. “It was just one of those days when it all came together,” smiled Goel. “It was a little humid but overall reasonable weather for August. The course was in excellent condition and I enjoyed it a great deal. The best gross score of the day came from Creek Club Champion Ryan Riley who shot a sublime four-under par 67. Nielsen’s net 68 helped him collect the prize for the winner of Men’s Division ‘A’ with the runner-up spot going to Warren Panting who scored 70. The Men’s Division ‘B’ was won by Emirates GC member Suresh Shawakramani and the

runner-up was Andrew George who put together a very respectable 72. The Ladies Division was won by another Emirates member, Carolyn Thompson, as she shot a 72 to win, while the Senior Division went to Thakur Tolani on 74. The Junior Division was won by Kabir Nanda on a countback over Monty Stapleton after both players finished tied on 70. After eight events it is Pat Morrow who leads the Creek OoM table with 349 points. This lead is only very slender though as John Fellingham follows closely on 346 points. The top five finishes count towards a player’s ranking on the Order of Merit and in third place is Mark Bishop who has accumulated 334 points from just four events and so is perhaps the favourite at this stage.

Stephen Hubner (Head Golf Professional, Dubai Creek) is pictured with winner Ajay Goel and Creek Vice Captain Tejan Fadlu-Dean.

70 | ArabianGolf - September 2013

David Stevenson of Prosports International, winner John Fellingham and Head Golf Professional Stephen Hubner.

FELLINGHAM SHOOTS HIS BEST TO WIN THE FOOTJOY SUMMER OPEN ANOTHER full field of more than100 players took part in the FootJoy Summer Open and at the close of play it was the current Dubai Creek Seniors Open Champion John Fellingham who came out on top after a magnificent (and personal best) 4-under-par 67. Fellingham was tied for the lead with fellow Creek member Max Burrows on the last hole which was the par-4 ninth and a solid drive and then a smooth pitching wedge left him 30 feet from the hole. He confidently rolled it in for his fifth birdie of the day and a one shot victory over Burrows. After receiving his prize, veteran Fellingham said: “It’s great to shoot in the 60s when you are in your 60s! I must say a huge thank you to Stephen Hubner and his team at Dubai Creek for putting on a wonderful event.” Winning the Men’s Net Division was the August Medal Champion Ajay Goel who won on a countback over Craig McBride after both players tied on 67. The Ladies Division winner was Glory Xavier who shot a 68 for a four-shot win over Diya Chopra. Winning the Junior Division was Kabir Nanda who shot 66 for a slender one-shot victory over Asanka White, who posted a 67.

CONTACT: Tel : +971 4 601 0101

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Nick Pomeroy (left) is pictured with Al Badia Golf Club Professional Thomas Rhee.

Club Captain Tony Billingham (centre) with winners John Allen (left) and Brett Armstrong (right).

POMEROY EDGES OUT DE VRIES TO WIN RAMADAN OPEN

ALLEN AND ARMSTRONG TAKE THE OPEN INVITATIONAL

NICK Pomeroy won the Ramadan Open recently after downing Jurry De Vries in a card countback with both players locked on 37 Stableford points. Pomeroy’s card was solid and he was helped along the way by a superb eagle on the par-5 eighth hole in blustery and very hot conditions. Jacqueline O’Connor took third place with a solid score of 35 points while the Longest Drive prizes went to Richard Kiddell on hole 12 and Glory Xavier on the ninth. The Nearest the Pin honours went to James McSweeney on hole 11 and Xavier who made it a double-haul of on course prizes after her impressive shot to hole 7.

JOHN Allen and Brett Armstrong secured the spoils in the Al Badia ‘Open Championship’ in late July after combining to score an impressive 42 points in the Pairs Betterball Stableford format. Finishing in second place, two points back, were Ben Davies and James Kachel as they narrowly edged

Mark Fitzpatrick and Kelly Hanwell into third on a countback. Armstrong capped a thoroughly successful day by also winning the Men’s Long Drive challenge down the 12th fairway while Ben Davies was the Nearest the Pin winner on hole 7. The Ladies Longest Drive prize went to Yulia Savina on hole 9.

SU FIRES WAY TO PGA CHAMPIONSHIP TEE CHALLENGE

ABGC PGA Professional Kelly Hanwell with Champion Antony Su.

ANTONY Su ﬁred an impressive 77 from the back tees en-route to successfully defending his Al Badia Golf Club Championship Tee Challenge title. Played contemporaneously with the ﬁnal Major of the season, the course was set up with an added 577 yards to the traditional blue tee distance of 6,726 yard on the Championship course and this proved a challenge to all who pegged it up. Su took 37 blows on the front nine and came home in

40 for his total of 77 which gave him a two-stroke win over Steve Kelshaw in the gross category. In Division ‘A’ Paul Batson took the spoils with a net 74 while Les Reis topped Division ‘B’ with an excellent net 71. The two Longest Drive prizes went to Brett Armstrong and Steve Kelshaw on holes 9 and 18 respectively while the Nearest the Pin contests were won by Gordon Adam on hole 7 and Keith Nann on hole 11.

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Mens winner Ian Roberts alongside Club Captain Eddie Ramage and Lady Vice Pauline Wallace.

Ladies winner Amanda Barrett alongside Club Captain Eddie Ramage and Lady Vice Pauline Wallace.

ROBERTS WINS THE INDIVIDUAL STABLEFORD IAN Roberts posted a brilliant 39 Stableford points to win the Individual Stableford event which was played the same week as the best in the game battled against the elements at Muirﬁeld for The Open Championship. Roberts posted an outward half of 17 points and kept his cool coming

back, scoring a further 22 points for his winning total, three points clear of Matthew Derrick. In the Ladies Division Amanda Barrett came out on top with a superb haul of 36 points, two clear of Ksenia Grayling.

RAMAGE AND GRAY DOMINATE THE team of Eddie Ramage and Elliott Gray were crowned the Two-Player Strokeplay Scramble Gross Divisional Champions recently after a superb score of 65 gave them a two-stroke win over Mark and James Sayer. The Men’s Net Division was won by Andrew Sim and Shahid Mir with 64.5, just 0.2 strokes clear of second-placed Cameron Marland and Gordon Shand. Taking the honours in the Ladies/Mixed Division were Kevin and Amanda Barrett as they signed for a 65 and a 0.5-shot victory over Rania Hage and John Onuonga.

SAYER AND ALBAN WIN THE AUGUST MEDAL JAMES Sayer returned a level-par gross 72 to win the August Rivoli Monthly Medal supported by Speed Cleaning with Sheila Alban taking the Ladies Division with a gross 87. The Men’s Division ‘A’ champion was Bryan Banner after he won on a countback with Gleb Fenwick with both players locked on 70 while in Division ‘B’ Martin Verity edged out Alain Delacourte by a stroke with a net 71. The Ladies Net Division saw Elli Oschmann post a net 70 to win by two from the incoming Lady Captain Pauline Wallace.

ArabianGolf - September 2013 | 73

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EMIRATES GOLF CLUB www.dubaigolf.com

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YASSIN CLINCHES THE PING EMIRATES SUMMER OPEN RAMSEY Yassin from Jumeirah Golf Estates carded a level par 72 over the famous Majlis course to triumph in the Ping Emirates Summer Open recently. Yassin, who plays oﬀ +1, picked up birdies on holes 3 and 9 but a double bogey on the short 2nd saw him out in level par. His back nine consisted of seven pars and a birdie and a bogey and his level par round was good enough for a one-stroke win over Rayhan Thomas. Charlie Stricklin took third place with a gross 76. Andrew Whitelaw secured the Net Division ‘B’ honours with a superb 5-under 67, two clear of James Taplin of Prosports International, pictured right receiving his prize, while the Division ‘A’ title went to Aaron Smith after he won on a countback with Dhruv Nair with both players locked on 73.

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Champion Nick Reincke (third from the right) with SGSC Director of Golf Martin Duff (left) and all the evening’s prize winners.

NICK REINCKE GOES FORTH NICK Reincke won the fourth Ramadan Midweek Open with an impressive haul of 38 points, one clear of fellow EGF and SGSC summer member Rob Gayle. Reincke posted nines of 18 and 20 for his total while Gayle was left to rue a shot out of bounds on the last hole which cost him a shot at the title. The no-score meant he stayed on 37 points with the consolation of taking the spoils in Division ‘B’. Adrian Adams of The Els Club won Division ‘A’ with a score of 31 points while Charlie Wilcox won the Gross prize with 29 points. Former SGSC Member Diana Brown showed she’s lost none of her local knowledge as she won the Ladies Division on 32 points, but she did it the hard way, winning on a back-nine countback over playing partner Nicola Milton.

Robert Scott, winner A. E. Ravi, Gary Langthorne and SGSC Vice Captain Jean Pierre Simon.

RAVI BAGS ANOTHER PRIZE A.E. Ravi clinched another win at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club, this time taking the Nine-Hole Ramadan Stableford series with a total of 108 Stableford points from his best ﬁve cards during the month-long series. The impressive haul saw him edge out American Robert Scott who scored 100 points with Gary Langthorne taking third with a countback win over Willy Neilson.

SHARMA FIRES IN THE AUGUST HEAT PRAVEEN Sharma returned to winning ways in the recent Coral Beach Resorts Midweek Stableford by claiming the Overall Winners position with a score of 21 Stableford points.

74 | ArabianGolf - September 2013

In extremely warm and humid conditions it was Sharma who coped the best, opening strongly before consolidating his winning position on the back nine to win by one from Magnus Blomberg.

As a result of missing out on the overall prize, Blomberg won Division ‘2’ ahead of Paul Gledhill while in Division ‘1’ Korea’s Golden Kim topped the pile ahead of A.E. Ravi.

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GILLINGS AND WOOLLER CLINCH THE STABLEFORD A GOOD ﬁeld assembled for the Rivoli betterball Stableford for July and coming out on top in Division ‘A’ with an excellent score of 45 points were Mark Gillings and Phillip Wooller. Finishing just one point further back were two teams and taking second place outright on a countback were Nick Hymas and

Matt Bradly ahead of Mike Ryan and Lynne Wylie. In Division ‘B’ a fantastic score of 47 points saw Stuart Kriskinans and Graham Stanley take the spoils by one point from Jong Hun Mun and Ji Won Bae with Gi-Hun Kang and Mark Pelie a point further back in third place.

HYMAS SEALS THE SUMMER STABLEFORD NICK Hymas scored 41 points to take the top spot in Division ‘A’ of the Summer Stableford to win by two from Masoud Sobati while Darren Schoﬁeld won Division ‘B’ with a 40 point score, one clear of Charles Marsh with Mark Gillings in third place. The Ladies Division saw Ji Won Bae seal the honours with a countback win over Angela Calvert with both players locked on 39 points. Jo Higgens ﬁnished third with a 35-point haul.

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BAXTER SEALS THE US PGA AT THE TRACK ANDREW Baxter secured the honours in The Track’s US PGA Championship after he ‘partnered’ Rory McIlroy to a winning score of 58 points. Baxter shot an individual score of 17 and with McIlroy’s 39 his total earned him a one-point win over Kent Gray. Gray also scored 17 points but his partner, Scotland’s Marc Warren, shot a 38 to ﬁnish one stroke

back. Taking third place was the unlucky Shewak Ramani as he put together an excellent tally of 20 points, only to be let down by his partner Steve Stricker. The American shot a 36 for them to ﬁnish with a 56-point total. The on-course prizes saw Chris Farrell take the Longest Drive challenge and Pedro Codina sealed the Nearest the Pin prize.

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EXPANSIONS AFOOT AS COURSE TOUGHENS UP WORK has progressed throughout the summer months to improve the practice facilities at Abu Dhabi City Golf Club and toughen up the course. A new synthetic practice putting green has been installed to enhance the practice area while new tees have been built on holes 6, 7

and 8 to improve playability and add more ﬂexibility to club oﬃcials who set the course up ready for play. In addition to this a Flightscope Monitor has been set up in the Practice Studio which is able to tell you exactly how far you carry each club in the bag in just one 40-minute session. ArabianGolf - September 2013 | 75

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EXCELLENT SCORES IN THE AUGUST MEDAL MARTIN Uchytil took the honours in Division ‘A’ of last month’s Rivoli Medal thanks to a net 71 over the Earth course which was enough for a single-stroke victory over Ayaz Afridi, who in turn defeated Mike Talbot on a card countback for second place outright. Division ‘B’ was a two horse race between George Erasmus and Darren Jacobs after they both ran well clear of the field. Both came home well under par but it was the net birdie-birdie finish by Erasmus that saw him first past the post with a 64, one clear of Jacobs. In the Ladies Division there was success for Annie Browne and she also won the Ladies Nearest the Pin prize on the 17th while the other Nearest the Pin winners were Martin Grieg on hole 6 and Owen Jones on hole 13.

Ladies Division winner Annie Brown is pictured with her prizes.

HALL, DOY AND WALSH FLY THE FLAG IN THE RAMADAN OPEN

STIRLING SMITH SEALS THE MEDAL NIGEL Stirling Smith sealed the honours in Division ‘A’ the July Rivoli Medal with a solid score of net 1-under 71, two shots clear of Alan Kilminster. Finishing third after losing on a countback to Kilminster was Marco DeBenedictis while in the Gross Division Bilbo Perrot shot an impressive 73 to take the spoils. Perrot began his round with a birdie and although he had a string of bogeys from holes 2 through 4, he fought back

with two birdies in his last 10 holes. In Division ‘B’ Wes Tweedly put in one of the best performances in recent memory as a gross 81 gave him a net 62 to take the title by three strokes from Peter Sharpe with James McGlynn in third on 66. Latrin Wilke won the Ladies Medal with a 76, one clear of Annie Browne while the Nearest the Pin winners on the day were Terry Waite and John Parsons.

THE 2013 Ramadan Open was played over the Earth course recently with Jonny Hall, Graeme Doy and Michelle Walsh coming out on top in their respective divisions with some stellar play. Hall ﬁnishing top of the pile in Division ‘A’ with a Stableford haul of 34 points, one clear of Nicholas Reincke with Alasdair Barber in third after losing on a countback to Reincke. Doy took the spoils in Division ‘B’ after posting an excellent score of 37 despite a shaky start. Doy dropped three shots in the ﬁrst four holes but bounced back to post the best score of the day and win by one stroke from Suresh Shewarakmani with third place going to Steve Ramsden on 35 points. The Ladies title went to Walsh after she put together two consistent nines for a winning tally of 35 while the Nearest the Pin winners were Shewarakmani and Ayaz Afridi and the Longest Drive winners were Glory Xavier and Martin Fernandez.

ArabianGolf - September 2013 | 77

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ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB www.adgolfclub.com

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McILROY, ROSE AND DONALD SET THEIR SIGHTS ON THE ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP WALES’ Jamie Donaldson will face three of the world’s top 11 players and The European Tour’s hottest young talent when he defends his Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship title early next year. World No.3 Rory McIlroy, reigning US Open winner Justin Rose (World No.5), Luke Donald (World No.11) and Abu Dhabi’s record-breaking global golf ambassador, Italy’s Matteo Manassero, have all set their sights ﬁrmly on the coveted Falcon Trophy and the US$ 2.7million prize fund – the richest purse oﬀered on the Desert Swing. “Over the last eight years, spectators at the National Course and those watching around the world have come to expect the unexpected at the Abu

Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, Director, Events Bureau, TCA Abu Dhabi. “Although the Championship is renowned for throwing up surprises, our commitment to delivering a world-class ﬁeld is unwavering. While nothing is certain in golf, we can guarantee the Championship will feature four days of unrelenting on-course drama and a pioneering oﬀ-course village activation led by our unbelievably supportive title sponsor.”

‘ITALIAN JOB’ SECURES THE RAMADAN OPEN ABU Dhabi Golf Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club recently hosted the highly-anticipated 2013 Ramadan Open, proudly sponsored by Cadillac, Taylormade, Cristal Salam Hotel and PIC and coming out on top after an epic 36-hole tussle were the Italian pair of Giorgio and Ornella Parigi with a net score of 87 points. The Parigis won by four stokes ahead of two pairs who had to be separated by a card countback. Taking second place outright were Brian and Robert Mullen as they edged out Patrick and Mary McCarthy, thanks to their superior second day performance.

SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB www.sbgolfclub.ae

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STEVE MARTIN CLINCHES HIS SECOND ROSEWOOD BOWL STEVE Martin clinched the recent Rosewood Bowl to tie Ken Johnstone and Colin Mann as two-time Rosewood Bowl winners. Martin shot a respectable 73 to etch his name on to the trophy for the second time with Johnstone narrowly missing out on a third title with a 74. Finishing in a share of third place on net 76 was Lars Lindskov and John Hartley. “It was great to win the Rosewood Bowl for a second time,” said Martin. “The conditions for the day were good and the oﬀshore breeze helped a lot! I am deﬁnitely going for the hat trick.”

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MILLER AND SNOW PUT ON A SHOW IAN Miller and Wayne Snow took the honours in the 2013 Ramadam Open after a superb haul of 44 points gave them a one-point win over Aaron Schemeck and Simon Sinclair. Finishing in third place with 42 points were Emaunel Ostojic and Kenry Kim while also winning prizes on the day was Nick Lloyd and Yvette Heywood for the Men’s and Ladies Nearest the Pin respectively, and Ostojic and Nicola Milton who won the Men’s and Ladies Longest Drive prizes respectively.

THOMAS ON TOP

Ramadan Open winners with Yas Links Men’s Captain Abdulla Al Marzooqi

THOMAS Kunt returned a fantastic score of 35 points to top the pile in Division ‘A’ of last month’s Etihad Open Stableford, three points clear of John Thompson. Stephen Paul Burnell, a player who ﬂourishes in the Etihad events, beat the heat and everyone in Division ‘B’ with an impressive 38 points. Taking second place was his playing partner David Harvey with 35 points

CONTACT: Tel : +968 2200 5990 E-mail: info@almoujgolf.com

ALMOUJ GOLF www.almoujgolf.com

almoujgolf Overall Gross prize winner Edward Daly and Ladies Net winner Yvonne Welling.

SUMMER OPEN DOUBLE HELD IN GREAT SPIRITS AS part of the ongoing effort to grow the game within the Sultanate, Almouj Golf and Muscat Hills combined efforts to host the first dual club Summer Open. Played in a Stableford format, the participants competed over 36 holes with the first round being played at Muscat Hills and the second at Almouj Golf. Being an ‘open’ event, the Tournament was offered to golfers from within the Sultanate and also to those in the neighbouring Emirates. In an encouraging sign of interest in golf in Oman there were 14 players from a field of 48 who made the trip from Dubai to participate. Taking the honours in the 2013 Summer Open with consistent rounds of 36 points at Muscat Hills and 34 points at Almouj Golf for a welldeserved total of 70 points was 13 handicapper Keith Harvey. Muscat Hills Captain William Welsh was in second place after day one on his home course and he held onto that position after shooting 31 points at Almouj Golf to finishing the outright runner-up. Finishing in third place with a total of 67 was Danny Renihan as he edged out visitor Allan Stanton on a better second round score. Day 1’s on course prizes went to Tom Metzger and Louise Daly for their Longest Drives while the Nearest the Pin winners were Neil Taylor and Yvonne Welling. On day 2 the Longest Drives went to William Welsh and Catherine Shackleton while the Nearest the Pin honours were climed by visitor Dalip Tripathi and Louise Daly.

EDWARD AND YVONNE MEDAL WINNERS EDWARD and Louise Daly teed oﬀ in the opening group of the July Chedi Medal and posted clubhouse targets in their respective divisions but only Edward emerged victorious after the day’s play. Edward posted a gross 77 to win the overall Gross prize while Louise scored a net 78 but was pipped to the Ladies Net title by Yvonne Welling with a 76. In the Men’s Net Division Keith Harvey took the title with a 68, two shots clear of Hugo Fonseca.

MATTHEWS ON TOP THANKS TO GARCIA MAGIC AUGUST’S Chedi Medal was played alongside the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill and coming out on top after being paired alongside Sergio Garcia was Lee Matthews with a 73. Matthews scored a gross 49 for a net 39 and that, added to Garcia’s back nine of 34, gave him a total that was

one-shot better than William Welsh and Aaron O’Hara. Welsh, who also scored a 39, was paired with Matteo Manassero, but the Italian shot a 35 meaning Welsh had to settle for second place. O’Hara shot a 40, and a 34 from partner Phil Mickelson saw him also score 74 but he lost out due to Welsh’s better score.

ArabianGolf - September 2013 | 79

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DIRAB GOLF CLUB www.dirabgolf.com

DIRAB COURSE GETTING READY FOR MENA TOUR VISIT The American Express Dirab Golf Championship, which forms part of the MENA Golf Tour, will take place from September 29 to October 2, 2013, with Pakistani Shafiq Masih set to defend his title on the immaculate Dirab Golf & Country Club course. The tournament is expected to attract professional tour players from the region who will vie for prizemoney totaling US$50,000 and work has begun on making the course as good as it possibly can be for the tournament. The venue is firmly established on the golf map in the Gulf region having hosted tournaments ranging from the 1st National Amateur Championship, the 10th Annual GCC Golf Championship, the BMW World Qualifier Tournament as well as the Dirab Pro-Am Golf Tournament and most recently the 28th Pan Arab Championship.

HOLE TIP by Bouchiab El Jadiani, Golf Professional 9TH HOLE, PAR 5 The ninth is a long and challenging par-5 as it doglegs ever so slightly to the left and is protected by ‘Out of Bounds’ down the right. Getting home in two is tough from the white tees but keep your ball in play to give yourself a chance of birdie from a good lay-up short of the green.

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GARBUTT LEADS THE WAY THE second edition of the AESGC August Night golf series took place with a strong field participating in the event and taking the honours in Division ‘A’ with a score of 22 points over nine holes was Stephen Garbutt. The 6-handicapper played impressively and posted a 1-under-total and won by three points ahead of Nicholas Poisat. Poisat scored well and won on a countback over Eoin Cunniﬀe to take second place outright in Division ‘A’ while in Division ‘B’ the top spot went to the ever-improving Chris Grimshaw with 23 points. Grimshaw won by four points from Chris Emmerson with Ian Horbury in third place on 18 points. Charmaine Bakker hit top form to win Division ‘C’ by one point from Ann Kritzinger. Bakker scored 20 points to defeat Kritzinger while Daniel Whittaker ﬁnished third on 18 points. Nearest the Pin prizes went to Bogdan Schiopu on hole 13 and overall winner Garbutt on the 17th.

80 | ArabianGolf - September 2013

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TELAUMBANAU SEALS THE FOURTH HYATT OPEN ARLIUS Telaumbanau clinched the top honours in the fourth staging of the Hyatt Open at Banyan Golf Club recently after coming out on top in Division ‘C’ (hcp +20) and with the overall lowest gross score of the competition. Winning in Division ‘A’ (hcp 9-0) was Johnny Walker while in Division ‘B’ (hcp 19-10) Graham Haslam ﬁnished top of the pile. A total of 128 players teed it up in the hugely popular two-day event and Banyan General Manager Stacey Walton was delighted with the event. “It’s wonderful to see so many players returning each year to play The Hyatt Open,” said Walton. “It has become one of the key events on our tournament calendar here at Banyan Golf Club Hua Hin and we are delighted to be associated with Hyatt and our other partner sponsors in the event. “We are delighted that the Hyatt Open 2014 has been conﬁrmed and already announced and we look forward to growing the event into one of South East Asia’s premier amateur golf tournaments.” During the prize-giving ceremony, the General Manager of Hyatt Regency Hua Hin, Sammy Carolus, welcomed all players and indicated that 25 per cent of those present had played in all four editions of the Hyatt Open, and that more than 70 per cent were playing at least their second Hyatt Open event.

BUGGY TALK AROUND THE TURN It usually happens “around The Turn” when my buggy partner asks what kind of doctor I am. When I reply, “Family Medicine,” this usually triggers the response, “I’ve been meaning to see a doctor about....” I am then offered a sneaky view of the offending part before arriving at the 10th tee. In the coming months I shall be offering tips (I shall leave the golfing ones to the experts) about common and important medical topics which may afflict golfers both men and women, and can affect their ability to get out on the golf course. Last week, our four-ball was discussing hydration, a very important topic with the hot summer fast approaching. I always bring a coolbox full of cans of rehydration drinks to the course with me. There are numerous commercial brands. They are normally bland flavoured drinks containing sugar and salt which help rehydrate the body. In the golfing “silly season” as I call it (June to October) I drink a can of hydration drink and a bottle of water at alternate holes, totalling about 7.5 litres of fluid for the round. This is the minimum we should all be drinking. I would advise against any form of alcohol while playing in extreme heat. I recall playing with a chap last year in near 50°C heat, who had consumed a couple of beers before starting his round. Playing off a 28 handicap, he started with a blistering 4,4,3. However by the 9th hole he had collapsed in his buggy and took no further part in the round. His partner was not impressed and they lost heavily. We fed him rehydration fluids for the rest of the round and he was recovering by the time we got to the 18th. He was very grateful and said he wouldn’t be doing that again any time soon.

Top Tip for summer golf: Keep well hydrated on the golf course.

Overall winner Arlius Telaumbanau accepts his prizes after winning the 2013 Hyatt Open.

By Dr. Andrew Devine

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Winners of Division ‘A’ and ‘B’ Jimmy Walker and Graham Haslam are pictured with their prizes after play.

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Michael Phelps The legendary Olympic swimmer exchanges the pool for the golf course and find’s it’s not all plain sailing. WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 83

IN N TH HE BA AG

84 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

At 6ft 4in tall ,with long arms and large hands, Phelpsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ping G25 irons were made one inch longer than standard and 3 degrees upright. His grips are 1/32-inch over standard size. Phelps also plays the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s G25 driver (9.5 degrees), 3-wood (15 degrees), hybrid (20 degrees), Ping Tour Gorge wedges and a Ping Scottsdale TR Senita mallet putter .

MICHAEL PHELPS

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MAKING e hung up his Speedos for good following last year’s London Olympics. The question on everybody’s mind was, what would he do to occupy his time after spending so many years chasing and breaking records in the pool. The answer is simple – he’s been hitting the golf course with gusto, on the celebrity circuit!

WWG: Now that you’ve had some time off, have you had any second thoughts about retiring, you’ve not started thinking about Rio 2016? MP: (Laughing) I signed my retirement papers after London. There are no plans to head back to swim in Rio! I did everything that I really wanted to do, and that’s how I wanted to hang my suit up when I retired. So I do enjoy just kind of being on my own schedule and being able to play golf whenever I want and being able to travel whenever I want. It’s challenging. I feel like this is more work than when I was competing, just because I’m never home and I’m constantly living out of a suitcase. But it’s fun. It’s enjoyable.

BELOW Michael Phelps pictured with leading American golf coach Hank Haney.

week. There are a lot of days where I don’t have anything to do. But I just travel so much. So if I do have a day where I’m just sitting around, then I’ll go out and hit some balls. I guess I’m always joking because it’s always hard because whenever I want to go out during the week if I’m home everybody has a job. So it kind of stinks! I try calling or texting somebody to go golf and they’re like, ‘Dude, I have a nine to ﬁve job’. ‘Come on, can’t you just, take today oﬀ’. ‘No, I did that last week so I don’t think I can do it

MICHAEL Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals, including an astounding 18 golds.

this week.’ But it’s always funny. And sometimes I can get people to take a day oﬀ of work to go play with me. WWG: You’ve appeared on the TV show ‘The Haney Project’ with renowned coach Hank Haney this year – where is your handicap now as opposed to a year ago? MP: My handicap still is not very good. Let’s be honest. I mean, I really don’t even have like a real registered handicap. It’s probably 18, 20, maybe. I literally couldn’t even break 110 last year, 115. I could do nothing. I’ve had

WWG: You’ve been kept pretty busy with your various projects and media commitments since retiring – do you get much time to work on your golf game? MP: I try to get out a couple times a WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 85

MICHAEL PHELPS

WORLDWIDE GOLF STYLE

How did the relationship with Ping come about? MP: As soon as I picked up the Ping clubs – I was able to get into a set of G25s – there were no other clubs I was able to get as comfortable with. The other thing that struck me is that they are a very family-oriented company and that is very important to me and I wanted to be a part of that. Other sponsors I’ve had have felt like a family away from home and I like that. When I walked into the headquarters in Phoenix you could feel it the moment you walked in.

also being able to have a couple of good shots in a round. That’s what makes me happy. And the more I can hit back-to-back good shots, the better. That just shows that I’m improving and I’m starting to see that a little bit more.

a couple of rounds in the mid 80s, and so it’s decent. It’s coming around. WWG: You were the best of all time as a swimmer but as we all know, playing golf can be a pretty humbling experience! Is that tough to swallow when you’ve been used to such success? MP: It’s brutal. I don’t understand how it can be that hard to hit this little tiny white ball and hit it straight every time. But it just doesn’t happen for me. But it’s been an eyeopening experience just because I’ve usually been able to pick everything up fairly quickly. And this has been a sport where, when I was with Hank on the Haney Project for six months, we must have hit almost 20,000 balls. And I still have calluses and blisters and have been taping up the hands almost every day. But those are the things that have helped me to really learn how to play this sport and to really try and, I don’t want to say master the sport because the pros, the pros don’t even master the sport, but just to be where I want to be. I have a goal of becoming a low handicapper. For me to do that it’s going to take a lot of time and it’s going to take a lot of frustration. But I’m going to stay with it. I just love being able to be outside. But

BELOW Michael Phelps in action during the 2012 London Olympics where he won four gold medals in what was his last competitive event.

WWG: Looking back on those early days, how do you think your game has evolved since when you first started? MP: I was terrible – the worst. I saw somebody on the plane next to me, and we were looking at a magazine showing my before and after swing. It’s literally night and day. I would just go out and hack around. And

now it’s – I wouldn’t say it’s super consistent, but I do know how to hit all diﬀerent kinds of shots and that’s something that Hank taught me. I can get up and feel conﬁdent about every club in my bag but one – the driver. I can’t stand that thing. That thing is so annoying. Sometimes it’s really good. Sometimes he’s not nice. But I’ve learned the game. I understand the game. Now it’s just trying to, I wouldn’t say “perfect it”, but improve on skills that I don’t have or that I lack. I know just from talking to everybody and from being out here and practicing, it’s going to take a lot of time, but I’m ready. Q

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TRAVEL

OUD FES GOLF CITY

A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE OF OLD AND NEW

es has been made more accessible both nationally and internationally courtesy of its new road and airport, which has quickly made it into a quality tourist destination. Morocco has been investing heavily in tourism infrastructure in recent years and Oued Fez Golf City, the innovative new tourism resort of Medz, is yet another example of the Kingdom’s desire to become a major tourist destination. Sitting adjacent to the King’s Royal Palace in the heart of Fes, this developing tourist resort is designed around the recently-opened Oued Fez Golf Course. The championshipstyle course has been designed by the highly respected architect Jonathan Gaunt, who has been responsible for RNLD NE SGD ƥMDRS OQNIDBSR HM $TQNOD SGD ,HCCKD $@RS @MC Africa. Troon Golf, the world renowned golf course management

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The spiritual capital and senior imperial city of the Kingdom of Morocco, Fes, has an invaluable cultural heritage, with its old-town Medina, ranked as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

company, has been assigned to manage the 18-hole course which covers 73 hectares and is a 6,827 yards (6,243 metres) par-72. It also features substantial range and practice facilities. A well appointed clubhouse is due to be built shortly along with a 5-star luxury hotel, a 4-star business hotel and a 3-star premium hotel, while plots for villas and apartments are already being sold. The golf course design features three main characteristics: woodland, wetlands and grassland. The result is a varied and memorable course which will eventually enhance the views from the new golf villas, apartments and three hotels, which form an integral part of the development. Preserving the natural environment was a key objective with the course and this has been achieved by integrating the existing wetlands and the River Fes into a series of lakes and

low-lying areas which enhance the beauty, provide habitat for the wildlife and present a challenge for the golfer. Oud Fes Golf is easily accessible, close to the railway RS@SHNM SGD 1NX@K /@K@BD @MC HR VHSGHM ƥUD LHMTSDR EQNL SGD Medina, with the airport only 15 km away. The airport is well RDQUDC VHSG CHQDBS ƦHFGSR EQNL L@MX $TQNOD@M CDRSHM@SHNMR @MC QDFTK@Q HMSDQM@K ƦHFGSR EQNL "@R@AK@MB@ V@X EQNL .TDC %DR &NKE "HSX SGD ,DCHM@ NƤDQR LNQD SG@M 200 rhiads (traditional Moroccan guest houses) ranging from the most basic to 5-star luxury dwellings. Coupled with the hustle and bustle of the traditional market places with the wide variety of Moroccan cuisine it’s easy to see why Fes is growing in popularity. The combination of good quality golf and the culture and heritage of one of the oldest Medinas in Morocco makes Fes a fascinating and compelling destination.

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DRIVING RANGE

POWER & PRECISION

SLS 6.3 AMG GT The SLS AMG CoupĂŠ presented in 2009 was the first vehicle developed independently by Mercedes-AMG. The spectacular gullwing model was followed in 2011 by the open-top SLS AMG Roadster as well as the SLS AMG GT3 customer sports racing car. Having secured 26 victories and the FIA GT3 European championship title, the SLS AMG GT3 was the most successful newcomer to the world of motorsport in 2011.

PERFORMANCE The maximum output of the AMG 6.3-litre V8 front mid-engine is 435 kW (591 hp) at 6800 rpm, while the maximum torque is 650 Nm at 4750 rpm. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds, and can reach a speed of 200 km/h in 11.2 seconds.

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SLS 6.3 AMG

DRIVING RANGE

GULLWING Though its sheetmetal and gullwing doors hark back to the iconic 300SL coupe of the 1950s, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT is a thoroughly modern gentleman’s supercar that combines aluminium-intensive construction with unrivalled performance and style.

he new MercedesBenz SLS AMG GT boasts enhanced driving dynamics and even better race track performance. With a maximum output of 435 kW (591 hp), the optimised AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed sports transmission and the redeveloped AMG RIDE CONTROL Performance suspension, the MercedesBenz SLS AMG GT – which is available both as a Coupé and a Roadster – has raised the bar even higher. As a further highlight, the new highquality AMG designo Exclusive STYLE leather is now also available as an optional extra for all SLS AMG models. According to Tobias Moers, Board Member and Head of Overall Vehicle Development for Mercedes-AMG GmbH: “The new SLS AMG GT demonstrates the sort of potential which lies in AMG’s super sports cars. With its even higher levels of performance, the SLS AMG GT excites out on the race track in particular by providing an emotionally enjoyable and passionate driving experience.”

INTERIOR Also now available for all SLS AMG models is a new, highly exclusive optional extra in the form of AMG designo Exclusive STYLE leather. This high-quality extra is available in single RU WZR WRQH ƩQLVKHV DQG comprises distinctive upholstery with a diamond design with contrasting stitching. The lavishly ƩQLVKHG GLDPRQG GHVLJQ features not only on the AMG sports seats, but also on the door centre panels.

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 91

FASHION

Hugo Boss started his clothing company in 1924 in Metzingen, a small town south of Stuttgart in Germany, where it is still based.

ON THE GREENS Boss Green is the golf-oriented sport collection and Hugo is the trendsetting line with avant-garde styles. Since the addition of the Hugo Boss Golf Range (Boss Green) the large Tour-style logo has been seen on the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s professional Tours on players such as the late Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Steve Webster and more recently Martin Kaymer and Henrik Stenson. Boss Green presents golf and sportswear for men that pairs classic cuts with refreshing designs in brand new constellations. The line successfully bridges the gap between NM @MC NĆ¤ BNTQRD E@RGHNM

BOSS Green Jacket: Jamboree Pro- $625 Trousers: Haddys - $215 Shoes: Martyn - $375

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FASHION

BOSS Green Jersey: Paddy - $186 Trousers: Hakan - $186 Hat: Claq - $90 Belt: Taurino - $117 Shoes: Martyn - $375

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 93

STYLE

BEAUTY & GOLF TOUR

PLAYER BENEFITS O Player Entry into a unique golf tournament. O International Fashion Model as your partner. O

Invite to Brunch on the terrace. Invite to the Preview Fashion Show. Luxury gift bag including Golf Clothing and Equipment. 2 VIP Invites to the Cocktail Reception and Evening Banquet. 2 VIP Invites for the Main Fashion Show. A portion of the entry fee will be donated to a local UAE charity.

Ch harritiiess

THE BEAUTY & GOLF TOUR The inaugural UAE event of the Beauty & Golf Tour will be staged at The Els Club at Dubai Sports City on November 20, attracting increasing interest in the unique combination of top fashion models and enthusiastic amateur golfers.

uring each event a “Face of Golf “ beauty contest will be held in conjunction with the golf tournament. The Beauty & Golf Tour provides an entertaining and rare opportunity for golfers to network at both local and international level to further develop their business and client base. Dubai has been selected as a venue as an international lifestyle destination and home to a culturally diverse and dynamic community. The Dubai Round Golfers must ﬁrst register as a participant of the Dubai event, and once the entries close, each golfer will be paired with one of the international fashion models selected by the event organiser, Escape Event Management and a photo gallery of the models taking part in the event will be available on the oﬃcial website. The fashion models will act as

caddies and drive the buggies for their golfing partners. They will be judged at four different points of The Els Course during the event as their partners play an 18-hole Stableford tournament off individual handicaps. The highest scoring model will be named “Face of Golf Dubai” as the most beautiful woman at the event, judged by a panel of experts. There will also be prizes for the best golfer and the winning ‘team’ based upon an aggregate score combining the golfer’s Stableford points and the model’s beauty score. The first event in the series took place at the Astoria Resort, Karlovy Vary, near Prague where 27-year-old Leona Gresakova was crowned the ‘Face of Golf’ while Petr Corfu, Director of G-MAR, and Renata Kohlerova, who attends university in Prague, won the team event with a combined total of 76 points. Professional footballer, Vlastimil Vidlicka and Andrea Kabicka finished

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second with 73 points. All ﬁve will now take part in the Dubai event on November 20. The Dubai round of the Beauty & Golf Tour will take place at the Els Club Dubai which has set a new standard for golf in Dubai and oﬀers players a challenging round accompanied by all the essential facilities that extend beyond the immaculate fairways and greens. Set on undulating slopes of native desert vegetation, the course is a links style layout in a traditional classic design. The course is challenging for the best players in the world but at the same time enjoyable for all golfers. The Els Course also has one of the most spectacular clubhouses in the region. Q

TATANA KUCHAROVÁ FOUNDATION The event is being developed in partnership with Former Miss World, Tatana Kucharová and the Tatana Kucharová Beauty of Help Foundation. In recognition of this partnership Tatana will participate in the event at The Els Club Dubai.

WorldwideGolf - September 2013 | 95

GEAR

AND GADGETS MIURA LIMITED FORGED RGED BLACK BLADE ($275 5 PER CLUB) Finest quality muscle-back e-back blade DS @MC BK@RRHB ENQFHMF ,HMHL@K NƤRDS @MC BK@RRHB design. Appearance, ance, feel and isfy the most performance to satisfy ional and top discerning golf professional ateur players. amateur

STAR WARS STORM TROOPER GOLF BAG ($475) Feel the force on course and stand out from the crowd, also comes in Darth Vader black!

GARMIN APPROACH S3 Rugged and waterproof, the Approach S3 golf watch is another benchmark for GPS innovation. Packed with 27,000+ worldwide courses without subscriptions or fees, S3 displays yardages to the front, back and middle of greens.

STUFF Keeping the fairways fresh, and fun is all part of the modern day game.

LINDEBERG GOLF ($95)

The Slater 40mm belt buckle is the perfect accompaniment to the soft luxury leather belt which features a contrasting coloured belt loop.

HUGO BOSS SHOES: MARTYN ($375)

As the name suggests the Boss Green shoe is one NE SGD Ʀ@F RGHO LNCDKR VNQM AX ENQLDQ 6NQKC No.1 Martyn Kaymer.

The Segway X2 Golf ($8,000) 3GHR FNKE RODBHƥB 2DFV@X @KKNVR ENQ DUDM E@RSDQ QNTMCR SG@M @ B@QS VGHKD NƤDQHMF L@MX NE SGD R@LD ED@STQDR VHSG a range of 14 miles or 36 holes, it’s only a matter of time before it replaces your trusty lob wedge as your favourite OHDBD NE FNKƥMF DPTHOLDMS

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