warm-up STORIES, NEWS, OPINION AND PRIZES... SERVED HOT FROM THE GOLF BUFFET
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WILD THING HITS EUROPE
DALY DOSE OF COLOUR American cuts a dash in rainbow range of trousers
ohn Daly was never going to be a low-key presence on the European Tour. But thankfully he’s hit the headline for the right reasons. As well as playing some very decent golf and showing off a relatively trim figure, Daly has also caught the eye because of his clothes. His funky new wardrobe, courtesy of Loudmouth Golf, has certainly meant locating Daly on the course has been an easy task for the thousands of spectators eager for a glimpse of the 43-year-old ‘Wild Thing’. His European success has been most welcome for the two-time Major champion after a six-month suspension this year from the PGA Tour for bringing unwelcome publicity to the circuit, including spending a night in jail after passing out drunk at a Hooters bar. ‘JD’ has lost nearly three stone since having a gastric band fitted and has earned nearly £150,000 from six European Tour events, including a tie for second at the Italian Open. Here’s our guide to the rainbow wardrobe Daly has flashed around Europe:
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1 A clown’s outfit at the BMW PGA 2 Psychedelic orange at Wentworth practice 3 Relatively solemn stripes in Ireland 4 Looks worryingly like a patchwork quilt on legs in Italy 5 Hint of a draughts board in Spain 6 Flannel sheets get an outing later that week 7 Still at PGA Catalunya, he turns into Tango man 8 Pretty (sort of) in pink at Wentworth 9 & 10 Serious colour clashes in Italy 11 Bad checks and a beer belly back in Italy 12 The worst for last? Hideous orange-based ensemble at the BMW PGA
Issue 258 TodaySGoLFER.Co.UK 13
PRODUCT FIRST LOOK
‘RESCUE’ CLUBS TaylorMade launch super-forgiving putter and driver... Taylormade rossa monza spider Balero £129 TaylorMade’s range of Rossa Monza Spider putters have been popular fixtures in the bags of Tour pros and club players alike since they were launched. The range looks set to continue its success with the release of a new model in the line-up – the Balero. The Rossa Monza Spider Balero is an interesting beast with horns giving it somewhat of a Viking-helmet look – that’s by design rather than accident. According to a study by TaylorMade, amateur golfers aim the putter face poorly 64.4 per cent of the time on putts of 14ft and less – meaning they aim wrongly on nearly two out of every three putts. The Balero is designed to combat that. The unique head features a round hole at the back of the club, which TaylorMade calls its ‘ball-in-cup’ feature and is said to reinforce the practice of rolling the ball into the back of the hole. The hole, as well as the white line on the putter crown, also makes the club much easier to line up on the correct path while the large head and horns deliver increased MOI to keep the club head stable and
provide forgiveness on off-centre hits. The stainless-steel head is a single-piece construction with a soft-polymer AGSI® insert in the face of the club to give a soft feel on the greens. “We’ve spent a lot of time studying putting and the reasons why most average golfers don’t putt as well as the Tour pros do,” said Bill Price, senior director of Rossa. “The Rossa Monza Spider Balero’s easyto-aim shape, forgiveness and smoothrolling AGSI technology makes it a phenomenal putter and absolutely deadly from short range.” n www.taylormadegolf.eu RRP £129
HELP AT HAND The R9 460 has all the adjustability of the original model but also boasts a larger head and deeper club face for a lower CG and a higher MOI.
Taylormade r9 460 driver £299 With TaylorMade’s R9 driver causing such a stir on Tour, it is perhaps no surprise the company has immediately followed it up with a larger and more forgiving 460cc head to cater for mid and high handicappers too . The new R9 460 driver is designed to combine TaylorMade’s Flight Control Technology (FCT) with the forgiveness and power of a larger titanium club head. They have also stuck a longer and more lightweight shaft on it, meaning golfers who love
to swing it hard and fast can have a real go off the tee. The R9 460 is just as changeable as the original with myriad face, lie and loft angles available at the turn of a wrench. However, the larger head, deeper club face and lower and deeper CG help to deliver a higher MOI and higher spin rate so low-spin players can keep the ball in the air longer for more carry and distance. A ladies version is also available from July 1. n www.taylormadegolf.eu RRP £299
Check out 109 other pieces of TaylorMade gear @www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/taylormade 94 todaySGolfer.co.uk Issue 258
NEWS TOUR TEST SHOWCASE STYLE COMPETITION
M FOR ORE R9 GIVIN D G UNV RIVER EILE D
WINGED WARRIOR The Viking appearance and ‘ball-in-cup’ feature help to get you aiming the club correctly and keep the head stable through impact.
PRODUCT
PUTTER PANEL
Our men rate and slate 36 of the latest flatsticks on the market Who? TG equipment editor Jon Greathead (eight handicap) was joined in the test by Belfry professional Chris Chamberlain, who is regarded as one of the best putters at the Midlands facility. Our two amateur testers came in the form of Chris Newnham and Pete Heighway (both 12 hcp).
Pete Heighway TG Tester 12 HCP
T MEETG THE ERS T TES
Jonathan Greathead Equipment Editor 8 HC P
Where? Once again, we headed to the West Midlands to the lovely Belfry near Sutton Coldfield. There, we had access to the quick and undulating 18th green on the sumptuous PGA National course. If you would like further information on The Belfry’s facilities, including the world famous Brabazon, visit the website www.thebelfry.co.uk How we did it? We invited manufacturers to supply us with both blades and mallet-headed putters. When we checked out the putters after they had all arrived at TG, we felt it was worth creating a third category for those clubs which fall in the middle ground between the blades and mallets – a mid-mallet. Our testers rated the putters in five categories – Looks, Sound, Feel and Confidence. We also asked our testers, once they felt confident with each putter, to have five putts from six feet. The amount they scored out of five was recorded then added to the four subjective scores and averaged out to give an overall rating. The test is a great guide to what's out there, but don't forget that a lot of companies now offer custom-fitting for putters and this will give you a very accurate picture of what will suit your own stroke the best. 100 TodaysGolfEr.co.uk ISSue 258
berlain C hris CPhroam Scratch
C hris Newnham TG Tester 12 HCP
The Belfry, Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield, B76 9PR Tel: 01675 470301 Email: enquiries@thebelfry.com Web: www.thebelfry.com
PUTTERS TEST
mallets: aRe tHeY FOR me? Sometimes ugly, always forgiving
It's fair to say mallets aren't universally known for their stunning good looks. These are the heavyweights of the putting world, boasting impressive Moment of Inertia levels and funky, innovative looks and designs. They can be very big and very ugly, however, when they start appearing like a satellite dish on the end of a shaft. Nevertheless, these are ideal if you have a stroke which is essentially 'straight back and straight through'.
S-Blade GreenStreak £128
ram SdX 2 £29.99
nike OZ6 £75
WilSOn 8873 £59
There are big mallets, and big mallets. And then there’s the Greenstreak! It’s a big old boy and our testers thought it was just a little too beefy. That said, Pete thought the alignment aid caught the eye and did the job. It produced decent performance stats too.
As with the Greenstreak, this was let down by its looks with only Pete really giving it any sort of thumbs up. He thought the red-dot alignment aid was good on longer putts and helped to "concentrate the mind". But Chris N wasn’t sure about the weighting of the putter.
Nike have got a lot of wands out at the minute and this is one of the more peculiar shapes. It certainly has the Marmite factor. Jon didn't rate its looks but liked its stability, especially on short putts. Chris C couldn't see past the unusual aesthetics so performed badly with it.
Both Chris N and Pete rated this mallet offering pretty highly, with Pete enjoying the quality of roll he got from the TPU urethane insert. Jon wasn’t as keen but still canned an impressive four out of five short putts in the performance department.
Looks: 1.8 Sound: 2.0 Feel: 1.8 Confidence: 1.5 Performance: 2.3 Rating: HHHHH
Looks: 1.8 Sound: 2.0 Feel: 2.3 Confidence: 2.8 Performance: 2.5 Rating: HHHHH
Looks: 1.3 Sound: 2.0 Feel: 3.0 Confidence: 2.8 Performance: 3.3 Rating: HHHHH
Looks: 3.0 Sound: 3.5 Feel:3.3 Confidence: 3.0 Performance:3.0 Rating: HHHHH
Contact: www.sphericalblade.com 08455 552525
Contact: www.ramgolf.co.uk 01895 813613
Contact: www.nikegolfeurope. com 0800 056 1640
Contact: www.wilsonstaff.com 01294 316720
OdySSey White hOt F7 tWO-Ball £149
riFe 2 Bar £139.99
never cOmprOmiSe X-ray £129
yeS! athena £149
taylOrmade BalerO £129
The Odyssey two-ball has been a TG favourite for years and this latest tweak on a classic performed respectably. Jon scored it highly in all four subjective categories and holed four of his five putts. But Pete didn't like looking at the wings at address.
This could easily have slipped into the mid-mallet category, but impressed in this one nevertheless. Chris N took to the feel of the Rife immediately and also rated the two-bar design combined with the white alignment aid. The black finish had the lads purring.
We showcased this putter in the last issue of TG so were keen to see how our test team rated it. Although a little put off by the very square head, the guys rated its performance and felt the large head added stability especially when faced with those tricky little tiddlers!
Apparently Athena is the Greek Goddess of War and you might make a few enemies using this – it looks pretty ropey but performed superbly. A ball-width cavity behind the face helps to align the ball and the weight distribution made it one of the best on test.
Featuring TaylorMade’s 'Ball in Cup' feature in the back of the head, the Balero performed well, in part because it was so easy to line up correctly. The soft polymer insert also helped to deliver lots of feel and these factors helped give it an impressive debut.
Looks: 2.8 Sound: 3.3 Feel: 3.0 Confidence: 3.8 Performance: 3.0 Rating: HHHHH
Looks: 3.3 Sound: 3.5 Feel: 3.3 Confidence: 3.8 Performance: 3.5 Rating: HHHHH
Looks: 3.0 Sound: 3.5 Feel: 3.8 Confidence: 4.0 Performance: 4.0 Rating: HHHHH
Looks: 2.8 R VE D SIL AR Sound: 3.3 AW Feel: 4.3 Confidence: 4.3 Performance: 4.0 Rating: HHHHH
Looks:2.8 R VE D SIL AR Sound: 3.5 AW Feel: 4.5 Confidence: 4.0 Performance: 4.3 Rating: HHHHH
Contact: www.odysseygolf.com 0800 096 4591
Contact: www.rifeputters.co.uk 01204 494080
Contact: 01420 541709 www.nevercompromise.com
Contact: www.yesgolf.co.uk 0845 601 5778
Contact: www.taylormadegolf.eu 00 800 8624 4653
Read 2009's driver review @ www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/drivers Issue 258 TodaysGolfer.co.uk 101
TRAVEL LISBON COAST
the real portugal The stretch of coast from Obidos to Lisbon offers an authentic Iberian alternative to the well-known resorts of the Algarve by kIT ALeXANDeR
f you want more from a golf holiday than a faceless resort that could be in any country, then the Lisbon golf coast is the perfect destination. There’s no shortage of cracking golf resorts on the Iberian Peninsula, from the Algarve to the Spanish Costas, but visit the area around the capital and you’ll know you’re in Portugal. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing golf at some of the resorts dotted along the Mediterranean. What golfer wouldn’t love being surrounded by so many great layouts in such a small area and having wonderful weather to play them in? But it can sometimes feel you’re simply playing in a British outpost a few degrees warmer than good old Blighty. The golf remains the most important aspect, but it’s not too much to ask to be able to embrace a different culture, enjoy the area’s food and try new experiences at the same time, is it? When you touch down in Lisbon to explore the Obidos region, you quickly realise you will get all this, and more. My first stop was the new kid on the block, Bom Sucesso. The resort sits just an hour along the coast north-west of the capital, near the medieval town of Obidos. The Donald Steel-designed championship course is in its infancy, having opened in September last year, but already looks mature thanks to its predictably clever design. Steel, the only architect to have advised every Open Championship venue, has made the most of some truly spectacular scenery to produce a varied experience that can be enjoyed by golfers of all standards. At 6,811 yards off the tips, it isn’t a monster but the layout forces you to make a decision with almost every shot; you’ll ➤
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