Today's Golfer 314 Sampler

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST-SELLING GOLF MAGAZINE

TODAY’S GOLFER NOVEMBER 2013 (OCTOBER 3-30)

Golfer BOMB Today’s

ALL THE NEW GEAR TM SpeedBlade irons New Srixon AD333 Radical Yonex driver Ping S55 irons

HOW TO...

E DRIVERY FAUVING FIXE LT D!

YOUR DRIVER!

✓ Add up to 41 extra yards ✓ More fairways guaranteed ✓ Best drills to fix your slice

NOVEMBER 2013 ISSUE 314 OCTOBER 3-30 £4.20

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STENSON’S COMEBACK ‘I’ve had some really dark days’

TERs’ Y BET PLA transform three reader

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ETTed.ER TERand CHOOSplaEyedBand BET BUYlasers rat .. , GPS units 71 courses

27 new watches tested and ranked

Golf holidays with a difference

314

WIN! 5 BUSHNELL RANGEFINDERS AND A PORTUGAL BREAK

FIRST TEE THE BIG THINGS WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THIS MONTH

Royal Porthcawl is one of the best links in Britain, and is crying out to host an Open.

Edited by Graeme Hamlett

IS THE OPEN COMING TO WALES? The Welsh Assembly is backing a plan to bring it to Royal Porthcawl Wales is being lined up to stage its first Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl.

The R&A is due to inspect the course this month, to see if it has the infrastructure to stage the event.

The club has been in talks with the Welsh Government to work out how it would cater for the huge crowds – and fund it.

The Assembly recently bought Cardiff Airport, less than 25 miles from Royal Porthcawl, and would be prepared to pay for a new road from the M4 motorway.

“We have already proven that Wales can host top quality, international golf events,” Carwyn Jones, the First Minister for Wales,

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told The Daily Telegraph. “We have the facilities, the venues, the infrastructure and, most importantly, the welcome that all add up to us being a great host country.” Next year’s Seniors Open is going to Porthcawl.

Currently there are three Opens on the future list; Hoylake next year, St Andrews in 2015 and Royal Troon in 2016.

Wales is the only country in the UK not to have hosted golf’s oldest championship – Scotland and England are regulars, while Northern Ireland’s Royal Portrush held the event in 1951.

The R&A’s Peter Dawson called Porthcawl “one of Britain’s finest links courses with a rich

history of staging events at the highest level”.

The club has hosted the Walker Cup, six Amateur Championships, a Curtis Cup and several European Tour events. n Play it yourself From November 1, play Royal Porthcawl for just £60 on weekdays, or £135 at the weekend. The weekday rate includes coffee and a bacon roll on arrival. On weekends during the winter visitors may play twoball golf from noon onwards on Saturdays and from 11am onwards on Sundays. The club also has a winter midweek fourball package from November 1 to February 28; it’s £200 for 18 holes with coffee and bacon rolls on arrival.

THE SMILE IS BACK FOR

HENRIK WORDS GRAEME HAMLETT PICTURES JAMES CHEADLE, GETTY IMAGES

A year ago, the Swede was outside the world’s top 200. Now he’s up to IS SUE 314 TODAYSGOLFER .CO.UK

STENSON

sixth, and in the form of his life. Hang on tight, it’s been a hell of a ride.

COVER FEATURE

EVERY DRIVING FAULT

ROB WATTS

is a European Tour & Regional England coach based at Castle Royal, Berkshire.

FIXED

How good would it be to walk onto every tee and just rip it? Read this and you can!

W O R D S K I T A L E X A N D E R P I C T U R E S B O B AT K I N S

T

here’s nothing quite like smashing a long drive straight down the fairway, bending over to pick up your tee safe in the knowledge that your ball is arcing right down the middle.

It’s a fabulous feeling, when 460cc of titanium hits the ball at 100mph and you know – you just know – you’ve hit a good one. It makes you feel good. It gives you confidence in your swing. It means you’re in play, and a par – or better – is on the cards...

On the flip side, golf can be a deflating experience when you’re struggling with the big stick. It’s no fun playing from the rough, or chipping out of the trees, or hitting hybrids into greens where your playing partner is hitting 7-iron.

That’s why we’ve put together this guide to fixing the most common driving faults, the majority of which are caused by quite straightforward problems. The good news is that

they are simple to fix once you know you’re doing wrong.

TG teaching pro Rob Watts says: “Poor drives fall into six categories – slice, hook, push, pull, ballooned and short. Which of these bad shots you produce gives you a good indication of what you might be doing wrong, and where you can improve.”

Over the next 8 pages, we identify the 16 most common causes of bad drives, categorise them based on the bad shots they can cause, explain how and why they impact on your results and offer some tips and drills to cure and improve every one. Some of the tips have multiple fixes – slicing, for instance, can be caused by a number of swing issues, and there are 12 potential cures. Try them all and see which works best.

And if you haven’t been fitted for a driver, do it – on page 62, we took four readers for a fitting session, and one of them gained 41 yards.

FIND YOUR FAULT... AND THEN FIX IT SLICE The ball curves from left-to-right in the air, with a weak, short flight Use drills: 2 3 4 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

HOOK The ball curves too much from right-to-left in the air, losing distance Use drills: 1 2 3 4 5 7 11 14 16

PUSH The ball starts right of the intended start line... and stays there Use drills: 1 2 3 4 7 9 11 14 16

PULL The ball starts left of the intended start line... and stays there Use drills: 2 3 4 6 7 9 11 12 13 14 15 16

BALLOONED The ball flight is too high, killing any sort of distance Use drills: 2 3 6 7 10 12 15 16

SHORT Poor ball-striking and a lack of clubhead speed causes a lack of distance Use drills: 2 3 7 8 9 10 12 13 15 16

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What would YOU do to play the world’s best muni course?

Bethpage Black lets you walk in the footsteps of Tiger & Co.

BETHPAGE BLACK

Meet the golf nuts who sleep in their cars just to get a tee time Bethpage Black has just been given a Ryder Cup, and you can play it – if you kip in the car park WORDS STUART HOOD PICTURES BEN ROSENZWEIG

T

he first rule of Line Club is everybody is welcome in Line Club. The second rule of Line Club is you must respect the other members of Line Club. And the unwritten rule of Line Club is... “Bring beers,” says Line Club veteran Jesse. “I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t pack at least one or two, and some people drink a lot more than that.”

One parking spot to Jesse’s left, best friends Lou, Rich and Joe fall into the “a lot more than that” category. They have beer, they have music, they have camping chairs, they have cards, they have a portable barbecue, burgers and hot dogs and they are going to make this a night to remember.

“If you have to queue up to play golf you may as well make it fun,” shrugs Rich. “And anyway, no matter how much I drink I’ll still be in far better shape than I was the last time we played the ‘Black’.

That time, I got a cab here from a friend’s birthday party at 4am and was still drunk when we started.

The round didn’t go well.”

Welcome to Bethpage State Park, New York, a world-class golf facility with a difference. And that difference is there are no suits, no ties and absolutely no barriers to entry. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, and no matter how high your handicap, you can play on all five of the park’s courses, including the legendary “Black”, which held the US Open in 2002 and 2009, and has just been revealed as the 2024 Ryder Cup venue.

“This place is known as the ‘People’s Country Club’, ➔

From top: Norman Pryce beds down; the Miller brothers enjoy a beer; Lou Dellafera tries to get comfortable; the first in the queue arrive in daylight.

NEW GEAR FIRST LOOK

HOT NEW IRONS

Revolution and evolution in the latest sets from TaylorMade and Ping Low down

The lowest CG of any TaylorMade iron is designed to increase launch and ball speed.

Deep heat Face saver

A wider hitting area combines with variable face thickness to set up better performance on heel and toe strikes.

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TaylorMade SpeedBlade irons Five years in the making, this iron makes use of some of the company’s driver tech to launch the ball higher and further.

The RocketBladez was the first model to feature the Speed Pocket in the sole to increase rebound effect and launch. But in the SpeedBlade the pocket is longer, wider and handle bar-shaped in the 3-to-7-irons. This allows a large area of the face to flex and rebound at impact, which gives faster ball speed, higher launch and better feel. It also enabled TaylorMade to make the clubheads shallower and more compact. Visually, the SpeedBlade combines a two-tone, satin nickel chrome plating with dark smoke “satin ion plating”. n Details: Available in 8-piece sets (4-AW being the most popular). RRP: £599 (s) £699 (g). taylormadegolf.com

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Reshaped “Speed Pocket” helps deliver power where golfers need it – low in the face.

The TaylorMade viewpoint

By Brian Bazzel Director of iron, wedge and putters development “The Speed Pocket performs where golfers need it most. Our research indicates that 72% of shots by 5-25 handicap golfers are impacted below the centre of the face.

That typically results in low-launching shots of inconsistent distance. The Speed Pocket helps you launch those low-impact shots on a consistently higher, longer carrying and softer-landing flight.”

Driver tech boost Since the Tour Burner, TaylorMade iron engineers have worked with the company’s woods team to understand how to incorporate driver design into an iron. The result is a low centre of gravity (CG) with TaylorMade’s fastest iron face to date. It retains Inverted Cone Technology (bigger sweetspot on off-centre hits).

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Designed for launch Compared to the RocketBladez, the large toe has been removed, the Speed Pocket widened and the face lengthened, giving more face area towards toe and heel. It promotes a higher launch, strong flight and a steeper descent. The Speed Pocket also features an internal cut-through slot for more rebound low in the face.

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Individually-engineered heads The SpeedBlade has progressive shaping throughout the set. A slender topline and sole in the short irons

promote better workability, feel and control. Long irons feature a bigger topline to inspire confidence. The Speed Pocket is cut through the sole and back of the club in three positions to increase face flexibility in long irons.

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Closing the gap TaylorMade says it has engineered the SpeedBlade’s performance to close the gap between the longest iron and the shortest wood in your bag.

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There are wedges, too The SpeedBlade Attack Wedge (50°), sand wedge (55°) and lob wedge (60°) have a classic tour shape and blade construction. Distinguished from the rest of the set by their dark gray finish, each is optimised for feel and performance. The sand and lob wedges feature TaylorMade’s All Terrain Versatility sole to promote feel and spin. Each has a heavier steel shaft for improved consistency.

Soft feel

A new insert in the S55s absorbs more vibration, creating a softer feel at impact that better players crave.

Fly longer

Slightly stronger lofts than the S56 model in the short irons create a more penetrating flight.

Face facts

The head might be fractionally smaller than its predecessor, but the S55 actually offers more forgiveness.

For thousands of golf equipment reviews, visit www.todaysgolfer.co.uk

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Ping S55 irons Ping’s S line of irons (S56, S57, S58, S59) have enjoyed huge success on Tour in the hands of players like Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan and Louis Oosthuizen. So the latest version, the new S55s, don’t radically deviate from that tried and tested formula.

They feature a multi-material construction with a stainless steel clubhead and tungsten toe weights as well as a redesigned custom tuning port that removes mass from the center of the club. The result is a higher moment of inertia and more forgiveness than the S56. Slightly stronger lofts in the mid and short irons improve overall distance.

According to reports, Mahan has been hitting them “a bit longer and higher” than his S56s. n Details: The S55s will be available November 1 in 3-PW. RRP: £115 per club (s), £137 (g).

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The Ping view

By Marty Jertson, Ping Senior Product Engineer “Casting the irons rather than forging gives us design freedom to boost forgiveness with perimeter weighting, but still deliver the workability, sleekness and soft feel that competitive golfers are looking for. Our Tour staff immediately noticed the higher launch and increased distance that we engineered into the mid and long-irons, along with a very penetrating flight in the short irons."

The cavity insert At address, the S55 and S56s look almost identical, but as Hunter Mahan says the S55s “feel” different. That’s because Ping swapped the thermoplastic urethane (TPU) insert used on the S56s for a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) insert, which is a more flexible material that absorbs more vibration at impact. For most, that translates into a softer feel.

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Larger Custom Tuning Port The TPE insert, which Ping calls its Custom Tuning Port (CTP), is also larger in the S55s and sits deeper in the sole, meaning it takes up more space in the head. That frees up more weight which Ping’s engineers could redistribute to the edges, giving them a 0.5 per cent higher MOI than the S56s. That doesn’t sound like much, but a 0.5-inch mishit with a 7-iron will fly two yards further with an S55 than a S56. A thinner face also helps increase ball speed.

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A different centre of gravity The S55s don’t have progressive sole widths. Instead, the long irons have a lower, more rearward centre of gravity and narrower stabilising bars to help you hit them higher. The short irons have a CG further forwards in the head and wider stabilising bar to make them fly a little lower.

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Loft conversion The lofts of the short irons are strengthened about one degree.

Though the lofts of the mid and long irons are relatively unchanged (the S55 6-iron measures 30 degrees, 0.5 degrees stronger, the 4-iron is 0.25 degrees weaker), their lower CG should launch the ball higher for more distance.

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Shaft details The S55s come with Ping’s CFS (Control, Feel, Stability) shaft as standard, but also offer KBS Tour and Dynamic Gold at no extra cost.

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NEW GEAR THE TEST

WHICH DISTANCE DEVICE? Most of us use some kind of GPS or laser, but which is best? We tested 27 to find out W O R D S J O E L TA D M A N P I C T U R E S H O WA R D B OY L A N

Image shot on location at the new Centurion Club in St Albans, Herts. www.centurionclub.co.uk

A few years ago we had to work out distances off a post; now we have this lot.

Stephen compares the yardages of two devices

There has never been a bigger choice.

Getting the distance to hazards off the tee.

You can’t expect to lower your scores if you don’t know how far you hit each club – and how far you need to hit it.

The market for “distance measuring devices” (DMDs) is booming, and there has never been a bigger choice. Do you go for laser, watch or GPS? Do they all give you the same info? Is it worth spending more on fancy features?

Our panel of three testers put 27 DMDs through their paces over 36 holes. In such a competitive market, we were keen to see which would come out on top...

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HOW WE DID THE TEST With the emergence of GPS watches in recent years, we’ve created a separate category for them in addition to GPS devices and range finders.

Two readers joined Equipment Editor Joel Tadman in testing all three types of DMD. We asked all the leading brands to send us the GPS and rangefinders they wanted to submit and all but a handful made the final cut. We didn’t place a limit on

how many they sent in, so some brands have more than one model in certain categories.

To form the assessment, we asked testers to play two rounds to put the devices through their paces on the course. We formed our assessment in a variety of ways: n We noted how each device stacked up against markers on the course. n We used a rangefinder to ascertain the exact distance to the fronts and backs of greens (placing a target in the exact spots beforehand) and noted how the GPSs compared. n We considered things like the speed at which the device picked up the course, switched holes correctly and came to its final yardage. n We assessed the ease of use of each device, and how easy it was to set-up and start using.

All the devices were fully-charged and came pre-loaded with the two courses at Brocket Hall, Herts (where applicable).

THE RATINGS Our testers rated the GPS watches

THE TESTERS Joel Tadman

Age: 26 Hcp: 3 A range finder user, a DMD needs to be accurate and adaptable to different situations.

Stephen Kidd

Age: 34 Hcp: 11 A GPS iPhone app user, Stephen says a DMD should be pleasing on the eye, easy to use, accurate and with a competitive price.

Brian Alexander

Age: 56 Hcp: 18 Looks for a DMD that’s quick and easy to use and displays enough info to navigate his way around unfamiliar courses.

and devices on Ease of use, Functions, Styling, Value for money and Accuracy. For rangefinders, accuracy wasn’t included as we found there was just a yard’s difference between them all. An average was then taken and rounded to the nearest half decimal place to form the final star rating out of 10. We gave a Bronze, Silver and Gold award in each category.

WHERE WE TESTED THEM We conducted our test over the Palmerstone and Melbourne courses at Brocket Hall Golf Club in Herts.

Both were in excellent condition, along with the practice facilities at the Palmerstone academy. To book a tee time, visit www.brocket-hall.co.uk Features glossary CP: Courses come pre-loaded AHA: Auto-hole advance ACR: Auto-course recognition MAG: Magnification For thousands more golf equipment reviews, visit www.todaysgolfer.co.uk

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COURSES REGIONAL GUIDE The testing humps and hollows of Royal North Devon, England’s oldest golf course.

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THE GOLFER’S GUIDE TO...

The West Country

Home to England’s oldest course and the UK’s largest golf resort, four local golfers talk Devon and Cornwall A haven for surfers and holidaymakers, the West Country is also the cradle of English golf with the country's oldest course, seven of the nation's Top 100 layouts and the largest golf resort.

And it was that resort, the Ashbury Golf Hotel near Okehampton, where TG met with four Devon and Cornwall golf fanatics to get their views on exactly where to stay and play.

Where should visitors play first?

Graeme: Saunton’s East Course is the first place I’d play. It’s semi-links, semi-parkland and a fantastic layout.

Chris: I’d say the Oakwood at Ashbury is a great place to start. The front nine allows you to make a good score but the back nine really challenges you to turn that into a good round.

David: Okehampton on the edge of Dartmoor. It’s short with tricky but excellent greens. There are some superb little holes to get started.

John: Exeter Golf and Country Club is very welcoming. The course isn’t the

toughest, but it’s always an enjoyable place to visit as a whole.

TG says: If you’re on your way to Cornwall, Trethorne is just off the A38 and is a decent gently rolling parkland track.

What about the best venues?

Graeme: There’s a lot of choice. Royal North Devon’s links is a must-play for visitors. I prefer a more scenic course but RND, or Westward Ho! as it’s often known, is England’s oldest course and is a unique experience.

David: Saunton East is the jewel in the crown and the West Course is also coming on nicely. Then there’s Thurlestone, St Enodoc, Bovey Castle and Trevose.

John: Launceston is a very enjoyable parkland. I like Saunton but I’m biased because I once won a trophy there! Bovey has a wonderful setting.

TG says: A tough call but the two Saints – Enodoc and Mellion – have got to be the two chief contenders for this accolade.

YOUR GUIDES

DAVID CHAMMINGS Age: 32 HCP: 10 Job: Amenity specialist (fertiliser)

GRAEME SIM

Age: 53 HCP: 12 Job: Tavistock restaurant owner (The East Gate).

CHRIS ACTON

Age: 48 HCP: 24 Job: Day nursery owner and hypnotist.

JOHN STEVENS The superb par-3 3rd on Ashbury’s Kigbeare course.

Age: 78 HCP: 28 Job: Retired property/estate agent.

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Golftrips WHERE TO PLAY, WHERE TO STAY AND WHAT TO PAY

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