TG 311 sampler by Today's Golfer

2 FREE 2-FORE!-1 VOUCHERS £10 OFF IJP DESIGN GEAR

Golfer Up to two free vouchers with your next purchase / When you spend £30 or more

Today’s

WWW. TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK

WEDGE TEST

21RATED CLUBS

ERNIE ELS’ BEST TIPS EVER OPEN EXCLUSIVE

BRITAIN’S TOP VALUE GOLF

100 best 2-FORE!-1 deals this summer

20 TIPS & DRILLS TO...

REVEALED CALLAWAY’S ‘OPTIFORCE’ DRIVER

MAKE MORE PARS ✓ How to turn six shots into four ✓ Seve’s escape secrets

PLUS ‘I’VE BUILT A GREEN IN MY GARDEN!’ > TROLLEY BUYERS’ GUIDE

FIRST TEE

NEW THIS MONTH...

11 Macmillan’s longest day 12 Catriona Matthew Q&A 16 Rory’s PGA preview 20 Nike launches tips app 22 189 holes in a day 26 Win a Tour pro experience

THE NEWEST COURSE IN ENGLAND ➔

NEW ENGLISH COURSES HAVE BEEN

few and far between in the last few years, but a new club in Hertfordshire is about to open. Measuring just over 7,200 yards from the back tees, The Centurion Club boasts a fine set of diverse long and short holes, starting in mature woodland and culminating in a panoramic par 5 which sits below the clubhouse and is protected by a large lake. Some of the numbers involved are impressive – 1,200 tons of sand put in the 80 bunkers; 25,000 new trees planted; 7,000 gorse bushes planted; just under £1 million spent on irrigation and around £60,000 spent to build each green. It will be a private members’ course, and joins a select band of venues that have opened in the last four years. The others include Close House in Northumberland (2011), Astbury Hall, Shropshire (2010) – pride and joy of former Judas Priest co-founder and guitarist KK Downing – and Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire (2009). Situated close to St Albans, Centurion Club gets its name from the fact the town – then called Verulamium – was once one of the major sites in Roman Britain and the scene of the famous Battle of Watling Street in AD 60 or 61. “Some of our friends questioned our wisdom to build and launch an upmarket club in the middle of a recession but it is also a time of opportunity and we are convinced the finished product will attract a huge amount of interest,” said Chairman, Graham Wildish, who will own and operate Centurion Club in partnership with Managing Director, Scott Evans, and two Dutch Partners, Bert Pronk and André Hendriks. “We’ve got a gem of a course and believe the site has huge potential due to its location on the outskirts of north London. We’ve got one chance to get this right and that has certainly focused our minds,” said Wildish. “Our plan is to create a club that rivals the very best for its quality.” There are currently four categories of Membership available; Senate, Centurion, International and Corporate. Details: 01442 510520, or www.centurionclub.co.uk

Varied test: The 6th (left) and the 17th (above) show the changing landscapes the course is plotted through.

TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K ❘ IS SU E 31 1

Inside Justin’s 7

IS SU E 31 1 ❘ TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K

JUSTIN ROSE 5

It’s been his dream to win a Major since he was first able to swing a golf club... Here, in his own words, US Open champion Justin Rose recalls his journey

golf scrapbook 9

➔

I’VE BEEN STRIVING MY WHOLE

life to win a Major championship. I’ve holed a putt to win a Major hundreds of thousands of times on the putting green at home. I dreamed about the moment of having a putt to win. As a professional golfer, this is the pinnacle of the game and to win the US Open is, I guess in a way, very fitting of how my game has been the last couple of years. I felt like this tournament really began to be on my radar as possibly the one Major that would suit me the most. I had always felt good at Augusta, always dreamed about winning The Open, but I thought this one actually might have been my best chance. I know it’s 15 years since Birkdale; at times it feels 25 years and other times it feels like it was just yesterday. There’s a lot of water under that bridge. My learning curve has been steep from that point; I sort of announced myself on the golfing scene probably before I was ready to handle it. And golf can be a cruel game. Definitely, ➔ 1-2 Justin first picked up a golf club when he was just two years old. 3. He practises on the putting green before his first junior competition, at Waterlooville, Hants. 4. Playing in the Carris Trophy, at 12. 5. Washing his clubs in the kitchen sink. 6. With his first trophy, the Monthly Mug at Tylney Park, and the Under-14 title the 1990 Worplesden Junior Open. 7. Waiting to meet Mark McNulty at Randpark Golf Club in his native South Africa. 8. Posing with some of his trophies in 1995. 9. Back to reality at Robert May’s School. 10. Aged 13, with the Junior Open trophy at Bramshott Hill, after a gross 71. 11. Demonstrating his flowing swing. 12. Winning the 1995 Hampshire Hog, aged 14, one of county golf’s most coveted prizes. 13. Walking down the 18th at Birkdale after that pitch-in, for a T4 Open finish in 1998.

TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K ❘ IS SU E 31 1

How hard can it be?

Four everyday golfers take on Wentworth West hours after the last putt in the BMW PGA... off the back tees to Sunday pins. What could possibly go wrong? WO R D S G R A EM E H A M L E T T & K I T A L E X A N D ER P I C T U R E S H OWA R D B OY L A N

KIT ALEXANDER 8 H’CP

GRAEME HAMLETT PRO JOHN COOK 17 H’CP

IS SU E 3 05 ❘ TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K

NEIL COOK 9 H’CP

PRO

AMATEUR

Kit finds one of Wentworth's penal greenside bunkers on 10.

TG looks to emulate Manassero’s approach to 18.

t’s a question we ask ourselves every time we watch golf on the telly – what would we shoot on a tour course? We’re not talking pro-am conditions off forward tees to friendly flags; we mean right off the tips, to the Sunday pins, with slick greens, narrow fairways and deep rough... To try and find out, TG sent a fourball to play Wentworth’s West Course just 24 hours after Matteo Manassero holed the winning putt in the BMW PGA Championship. The Italian shot 69 on that Sunday – to go with two other 69s and a 71 for a -10 total. He said it was “playing easy.” Thanks for the pep-talk, Matteo. TG staffers Graeme Hamlett and Kit Alexander are joined by a pair of readers, brothers John and Neil Cook. The significance of where they are is not lost of them. “All of the player posters and billboards of the Ryder Cup team – Luke, Justin, Sergio, G-Mac, Rory, Westwood, Poulter... to see them looking down at you as you’re driving in knowing you’re going to play the West Course makes it even more special,” says Neil. “This is why golf is so great for normal players like us; imagine playing Wembley the day after the

Neil conjures up some Seve magic to escape the bushes on 15.

Cup Final? Doesn’t happen. But you can get to play courses like this. It’s fantastic,” adds John. Coming to play a championship course throws down the gauntlet like no other golf challenge. There’s the heady mix of wow-factor, excitement, expectation and worries to contend with. Am I good enough? What are my targets for the round? Do I need to tweak the bag? These are all questions that any handicap golfer tackling a genuine championship layout face. Neil and John are both using new drivers and Kit has added a 3-wood to his bag because they know distance is a premium requirement on a course measuring an intimidating 7,281 yards. “If I’d got the choice I’d sooner not play off the back tees,” says John. “But you’re making me! I won’t have played anything like it before. It’s not like going down to my club to play in a fun stableford with mates.” Neil, once a four handicap and winner of scratch titles in Berkshire, adds: “It’s miles longer than courses we’re used to.” Unfortunately the range is closed, so there’s no pre-round warm up for our fourball, but the plush surroundings of the Wentworth bar is the perfect environment for formulating a

Why tour pin positions are so tough One of the biggest challenges we faced during the round was hitting to Sunday’s BMW pin placements. Most were just yards away from the edges of the green (like the 16th and 18th, left), meaning any miscue often left an almost impossible up and down.

West Course set-up

Type of grass: Greens: Colonial Bent Height of cut: 3mm  Speed/stimpmeter reading: 10’   Fairways: Bent, fescue, poa mix  Height of cut: 12mm  General width and contouring: 25 to 35 metres  Tees/collars: Bent, fescue, poa mix  Height of cut: 9mm   Rough: Mainly rye, fescue mix  Height of cut: Semi 30mm, rough 60mm Course overview  Opened: 1926  Designer: Harry Colt, alterations made by Ernie Els in 2006, 2009-10  Matteo’s stats Looking at his Genworth statistics, the 20-year-old ranked quite low for Driving Accuracy, a stat he usually excels in, at 60.7%, and averaged just 261 yards length. But with some superb approach play, he managed to rank 4th for Greens in Regulation, with an average of 73.6% hit, and 1st for Par 3 Scoring at 2.69, plus he dropped the fewest shots.

gameplan. The prevailing feeling is one of “you’re only here once”, so caution will be thrown to the wind and aggression will be favoured in pursuit of memorable birdie moments. We head to the tee of the 473-yard opening hole in optimistic mood. Fortunately, there’s no Tommy Cooper moment – the comic great once quipping: “Tough course this” after topping his opening tee-shot in a proam many years ago. A 3-wood and three drivers are dispatched as we plunge into the task ahead. From the off, the West intimidates. It tests you and demands nothing less than full concentration on every shot. You can’t leisurely play your way into the round. Inevitable poor shots are punished by narrow, tree-lined fairways, deep-lipped and cunninglyplaced bunkers and penal ditches. We’re forced to club up on every shot into the firm greens. The putting surfaces are quick, but very smooth and true. It’s extremely tough to hit fairways, avoid the traps and cope with the firm, fast running conditions, but good shots are rewarded. You’re constantly being asked to hit shots you may only hit just once a year, if at all, at your home club. Or face shots you never get. An eight-foot vertical bunker splash, raking hooks back in play under trees, chips up steep, tightly-mown swales, and putts across triple-tiered greens were all challenges that our foursome took on – with varying degrees of success. It’s so hard to build any momentum, form or confidence when the tests are so relentless and exacting. After five hours tackling the brutal West Course, we’re finally, excitedly heading onto the 18th tee hoping to master what’s become an even greater ➔ TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K ❘ IS SU E 31 1

Turn six into four How to...

Keeping those costly doubles off your card is key to a good score – this is how to do it 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 , H O WA R D B O Y L A N

IS SU E 3 05 ❘ TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K

MAKE MORE PARS

STRATEGY

ow often do you finish a round and think ‘it would have been a good score if it weren’t for those two or three really bad holes’? For many of us, it’s keeping those disaster holes off the scorecard – rather than making more birdies – that is

the secret to consistently improving our scores. Golf is an imperfect game and success often comes from limiting how destructive our worst shots are rather than improving our best shots. In many situations, we can improve our chances of making par – or at

Make notes Drawing target landing areas, club selections and no-go areas on a course planner will help you remember and stick to the plan. Recording your stats – green in reg, sand saves, scrambles and putts – will help you analyse your round.

Have a gameplan and stick to it It’s vital to know exactly how you want to negotiate every round and hole before you start. Note holes that are good birdie opportunities and those where a bogey might be acceptable. The number of each should be based on your handicap so your total target score will bring you in just under handicap. For example, a 14-handicapper could aim to shoot 11 over par; picking a couple of potential birdie holes, six par holes and 10 holes where a bogey is acceptable. Even if you don’t make the birdies, some sensible play will keep you under par. Your specific plan for each hole should be

based on the score you want to make on it. Plan backwards from the hole, identifying the best angle and distance to attack the green from and choosing your tee shot strategy based on positioning yourself for this ideal approach. Favour the clubs you’re most comfortable with and try and give yourself as many shots with these as possible. Finally, stick to the plan. You might be tempted to start chasing if things are going badly or get over-confident if you’re on a good score, but resist the urge to change your strategy and attempt shots you aren’t comfortable with. Stick to the gameplan.

least not running up a damaging double bogey or worse – before we even pick up the club. Making the correct shot choice and sticking to a sensible strategy can save you shots without having to think about your technique.

Lay up with a safe shot

When you lay up, take all the danger out of play. There’s no point trying anything risky if you aren’t going for the green. Analyse your yardages and choose a club that definitely will not reach any hazards, such as bunkers or water, and leaves you a comfortable distance from the hole, preferably a full shot. Above all else, lay up with a shot you’re confident hitting. Pick a specific target spot in the fairway and execute the shot with the same care and attention as if you were playing to the green.

Give yourself a par putt

Missing the green in the wrong place can leave a very difficult recovery. The flop shot has become very popular as an effective way to get the ball close but it is very risky and depends on your lie. The last thing you want to do is dump the ball in the bunker in front of you or thin it through the green, so err on the side of caution. If your chances of success with the flop are less than 80%, take a straighter faced club and chip away from the pin. It’s essential that your next shot is a putt. ➔ TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K ❘ IS SU E 31 1

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Good rhythm and tempo is probably the most talked about aspect of my swing. Whatever your age or handicap, or shape of swing, I think these five pointers will help you establish a tempo that works for youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ernie Els

MY 5 BEST TIPS FOR YOU

Ernie Els shares some of his experience gained from 20 years at the top

WO R D S G R A EM E H A M L E T T & S T E V E N E W EL L P I C T U R E S H OWA R D B OY L A N , V I S I O N S I N G O L F

hen The Big Easy offers and spares his time to let you into some of his swing secrets, you’d have to be a fool not to listen. After all, this is the man who makes golf look effortlessly smooth. It’s the man who has won four Majors, including last year’s Open championship. It’s the man whose very name millions of golfers – including Tour pros like Ian Poulter and Webb Simpson – say in their heads as they hone their timing, tempo and rhythm on the range. “When I’m swinging the club at my best, it’s because I’m not thinking about mechanics at all. I feel like my body is loose.” says Els. “My arms are soft in front of me when I’m setting up, and my chest and shoulders feel as if they can move and turn easily. Then, the swing is a matter of tempo and rhythm. I don’t feel like I’m trying to do anything or force anything. It’s just happening – a chain-reaction sequence. “Those weeks when I’m feeling good, the ball just comes off the club with no effort, and even I’m surprised how far it can go. That’s a great lesson to learn – more effort almost never translates into better results.” A good golf swing is not composed of a backswing and downswing, though that’s how

most golfers tend to think about it. It is in fact a blended, continuous motion; something that is always moving and flowing, which creates rhythm and momentum. Some of the most destructive faults in golf occur in the transition period – casting the clubhead, coming over the top, jerking the club down. The key to a fluid motion is to unwind from the ground up. It is not just a case of pulling the club down. Too many people think that way and as a result lose their power before getting to the ball. A good key thought is to unwind the lower body and resist with your upper body, as Ernie does. This enables gravity to pull the arms down smoothly and unhurriedly – all the speed being saved until the last possible moment. Watch as Ernie changes direction; his lower body rotates back towards the target while his upper body is still relatively closed to the target line; ie aiming to the right. The relative position of his hips (open) and his shoulders (closed) creates a tremendous leverage, which then boost the speed of his arms. If you can develop this synchronised unwinding of the body, in the swing itself your arms will fall naturally into the hitting position, and then it’s a case of the upper body trying to

catch up with the lower body as you rotate and accelerate through impact. The more you exaggerate that feeling of ‘stretch’ at the start of the downswing, the more leverage and clubhead speed you will unleash through the ball. One of the best things about Ernie’s swing is also the most obvious; the poise, balance and weight transfer he exhibits at the finish. This is a fundamental element of every good swing and a useful thought is simply to ‘swing to the finish.’ If you can achieve that you instinctively get away from any tendency to hit ‘at’ the ball (which prevents a good release) and instead round off your swing with a classically poised position, your body relatively straight, head back just a touch, belt buckle facing the target and weight solidly into the left side. To encourage this, imagine that the ball simply gets in the way of a good swing – that focuses your attention on swinging through the shot, and not ‘at’ the ball. As you arrive at the finish, virtually all of your weight should be supported on your left side, your right shoulder should be pointing at the target, your knees touching, left foot flat, right foot up on the toe. Ernie achieves all this and more – as he will explain over the page.

WHAT YOU CAN TAKE FROM HIS ROCK-SOLID FUNDAMENTALS

ADDRESS

Ernie works hard on good balance and alignment. Note how well his feet, knees, hips, shoulders and eyes all run parallel to one another.

TAKEAWAY

Ernie moves the club, his arms and chest away ‘together’ and he keeps the clubhead well outside his hands, all assisting a good turn behind the ball.

AT THE TOP

With a solid knee action, Ernie swings his left arm across his chest to arrive in a compact position at the top, in which his right elbow is well ‘tucked’.

STARTING THE DOWNSWING

As he changes direction, Ernie now exerts his immense power. His body is essentially passive as he begins to unwind, especially the upper body.

IMPACT AND FOLLOWTHROUGH

The key point here is that his arm speed and body turn are perfectly matched, and he plants the clubface squarely on the back of the ball. ➔

TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K ❘ IS SU E 31 1

A green in the

➔

IS SU E 3 05 ❘ TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K

garden

Fed up of mowing the lawn? Get one of these instead... W O R D S S T U A R T H O O D P I C T U R E S H O WA R D B O Y L A N

100 THE TOP

2-FORE!-1 COURSES

Over the next 11 pages, we reveal the very best deals in British and Irish golf WORDS KEVIN BROWN PICTURES GETT Y IMAGES

Turnberry The resort’s Kintyre track has the same dramatic views as the Open venue.

➔

2-FORE!-1 VOUCHERS

have never been more popular, both with golfers who use them and courses which accept them. 2-FORE!-1 now has almost 1,000 courses on its books, stretching from the north of Scotland to the tip of Cornwall – and this is the third time we’ve identified the top 10 per cent of them. From next year’s Ryder Cup course at Gleneagles, to the former WGC venue at The Grove and a wealth of brilliant lesser-known gems, this list brings together the very best green fee deals in golf – and you can enjoy them all right now. It’s never been easier to use 2-FORE!-1. For the first time, you can now use your phone, tablet or computer to get some great deals when you want them. So if you fancy a game on a Saturday afternoon, you can order a voucher that morning. Register at www.todaysgolferoffers.co.uk to buy and receive vouchers instantly. You will be sent a voucher code, which you can print out, or take to the course on a smartphone. To mark this Top 100, you can get up to two free vouchers with your next order – see page 92 for details. You can buy just one voucher for £3.50, or bundles of up to 30 if you use them regularly. Vouchers purchased through the website are valid for 12 months from the issue date, and can be used at all of our Top 100 venues...

TOP 100 2-FORE!-1 COURSES

100

CHURCH STRETTON, SHROPSHIRE Recognised as one of the most scenic and quirky courses in the land, Church Stretton is the third-highest course in Britain and starts with three par 3s... the opener being an uphill 180-yard challenge first up! Green fees: Mon-Fri £20; Sat-Sun £30. 2-FORE!-1: All week. Contact: 01694 722281. ELSHAM, LINCS Often overshadowed by its well-groomed North Lincolnshire neighbour Forest Pines, but Elsham is a fine woodland layout in its own right. Green fees: Mon-Fri £32 a round & £42 for 36 holes. No weekend availability. 2-FORE!-1: Mon-Fri (excluding Thursday PM). Contact: 01652 680291.

Cream cracker West Cornwall is one of the county’s finest.

BREADSALL PRIORY (PRIORY COURSE), DERBYSHIRE The No.1 choice of two 18-hole courses at this popular Marriott venue, the Priory offers a tight and demanding set of holes among undulating parkland. Green fees: Mon-Fri £55; Sat-Sun £60. 2-FORE!-1: Mon-Fri. Contact: 01332 836016.

THORPE WOOD, CAMBRIDGESHIRE This gently undulating Peter Alliss/Dave Thomas parkland course is one of the country’s best ‘pay and plays’ and boasts a superb new driving range. Green fees: Mon-Fri £18; Sat-Sun £24. 2-FORE!-1: Mon & Tues. Contact: 01733 267701.

THE TYTHERINGTON, CHESHIRE Modern American-style layout in the heart of leafy Cheshire, it opened nearly 20 years ago and there are over 100 bunkers and eight water hazards to negotiate. Green fees: Mon-Thurs 7am-1pm £40, 1-4pm £30; Fri-Sun £50/£35. 2-FORE!-1: All week (on highest rates). Contact: 01625 506013.

CARLYON BAY, CORNWALL Impressive clifftop-parkland combination with a stunning stretch of coastal holes around the turn, including a spectacular par 5 from a breathtaking elevated tee. Green fees: £58. 2-FORE!-1: All week. Contact: 01726 814228.

STOCKLEY PINES, MIDDLESEX Formerly Stockley Park, the Robert Trent Jones Snr course has benefited from a

recent major makeover to coincide with its change of name. Green fees: Mon-Fri from £19; Sat-Sun from £23. 2-FORE!-1: Mon-Wed. Contact: 0208 813 5700.

DORSET G&CC, DORSET Home of 27 holes of quality golf in the form of Lakeland, Woodland and Parkland nines, the latter featuring its own Amen Corner. All three loop combinations are excellent. Green fees: Mon-Fri £40; Sat-Sun £44. 2-FORE!-1: All week. Contact: 01929 472244.

PETERBOROUGH MILTON, CAMBS Set in the Fitzwilliam Estate, this mature James Braid course is pleasant and easy walking but no stroll in the park – it provides a serious test of golf, with tree-lined fairways and small greens to contend with. Green fees: £45. 2-FORE!-1: Mon-Fri. Contact: 01733 380489.

WEST CORNWALL, CORNWALL Ancient links (it’s the oldest course in the county) which bursts into life on the back nine with bags of fun including several blind shots. One of the best-value seaside courses in England. Green fees: £37 Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri & Sun; £42 Wed & Sat. 2-FORE!-1: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri & Sun. Contact: 01736 753177.

MEYRICK PARK, DORSET It may be located in the middle of Bournemouth but this is a great test of parkland golf from the moment you tee it up on the demanding 244-yard, par-3 opener! Green fees: Mon-Fri £26.50; Sat-Sun £31. 2-FORE!-1: Mon-Fri. Contact: 01202 786000.

KENWICK PARK, LINCOLNSHIRE One of the county’s finest with a sparkling array of holes, many involving water, and always in really impressive condition at this time of the year. Green fees: Mon-Fri £40; Sat-Sun £50. 2-FORE!-1: Thursday. Contact: 01507 607161.

SIDMOUTH, DEVON A demanding but delightful par 66 which makes the most of the natural contours of the wooded slopes of the Sid Valley. Green fees: £30 a round & £40 a day. 2-FORE!-1: All week. Contact: 01395 513451.

OKEHAMPTON, DEVON Little parkland cracker with great greens and sheltered by the high tors of Dartmoor. Set out as a JH Taylor nine-holer in 1913 but became a full course a decade later. Green fees: Mon-Sat £30 a round & £35 a day; Sun £17.50 a round. 2-FORE!-1: Mon-Sat on day rate. Contact: 01837 52113.

OAKE MANOR, SOMERSET This modern American-style layout is great for matchplay - water comes into play on 10 holes, most notably the par-3 10th, so holes can change hands very quickly! Green fees: Mon-Thur £33, Fri £35, Sat & Sun £38. 2-FORE!-1: All week. Contact: 01823 461993.

WALMER & KINGSDOWN, KENT Perched atop the White Cliffs of Dover, this scenic James Braid clifftop sits on chalky downland turf so is in great nick all-year round. Green fees: Mon-Fri £35; Sat-Sun (after 1pm) £45. 2-FORE!-1: Mon-Fri. Contact: 01304 373256. ➔

W W W.TODAYSG OLF EROF F ER S.CO.U K /TOP100 ❘ IS SU E 31 1

You can’t keep a good man down David Howell tells TG how he is battling back to his best WORDS GRAEME HAMLETT PICTURES GETT Y IMAGES

IS SU E 31 1 ❘ TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K

DAVID HOWELL

here are few players who can say they’ve taken on Tiger Woods down the stretch during his pomp and beaten him. David Howell can. When in Shanghai, November 2005, he outscored Tiger 68-70 in the final round of the HSBC Tournament of Champions to win by three shots, Howell was at the peak of his powers, following it up with a stellar season that included a resounding BMW PGA Championship victory at Wentworth, careerbest world No.9 ranking and starring Ryder Cup role at The K Club. He ended 2006 third on the order of merit and world No.14; the future was bright for Swindon’s star. Only then came a golfing story not unique to Howell; the subsequent fall dominated by injuries, swing revamps, tinkering, loss of form and confidence. Four years later, he was languishing in a career-worst 569th. Having hit rock bottom, he did what all gutsy folk do; rallied, dug deep and cleared the decks of his baggage. So when TG met up with ever-friendly Howell at Wentworth, he’d just been announced as Adams’ new Tour player representative. They’ve picked a fine ambassador. For despite his trials and tribulations, Howell has maintained his popularity among the British public. What’s more, there are very real signs he is on the way back – a T6 in Abu Dhabi in January, T6 in Malaysia and 8th in Morocco during March, not to mention qualifying for the US Open at Merion having earned one of the spots at Walton Heath by birdieing the first play-off hole. The ability to close it out under pressure is still there. So it’s only fitting to begin by asking “Howeller” what his improvement has been down to over the last 12 months. “A combination of many things. A lot of thought goes into what went wrong. I changed coach; Jonathan Willett is my new coach – not a name you’d have heard of – but more than anything he’s been a great sounding board,” he reveals. “We’ve talked for many hours about where I was going wrong and how I was going to turn it around. In essence putting that into practice has meant getting rid of as many thoughts as possible. “It was an uncluttering – a spring clean of my golf brain – a year ago, so I started with a nice clean mind to see if I could build up from a level playing field again and just play golf as David Howell again as naturally as I could for a while. “Obviously I’ve got swing thoughts and technique keys, but I now accept, at 37, that my swing is pretty much going to be my swing. So I am trying to find ways to score as

Changed days Howell is focused now on scoring well, not swinging well.

‘I handled it well... but that was before I’d sunk so low that every straight I hit was a shock’ low as possible, rather than try and find ways to improve my swing; that’s paid dividends in the past year. There’s always an element of technique when you’re a professional golfer; you want that to be heading in the right direction rather than the wrong direction, but too much focus on it can be a negative and I definitely suffered from that for a few years.” After a tremendous 2006, how hard was it to deal with the tough times which followed? “It’s rubbish. I handled it well for a while but that was before I’d sunk so low that every straight drive I hit was a shock. Then you do start to question whether you’re ever going to play well enough to compete again. There’s no joy in that whatsoever. Being a professional golfer is a funny sport; you don’t lose your job straight away, but when you’re going to work every day and you know you can’t do your job effectively, it eats away at you. “If you’re in any other business you’ll be sacked, or demoted, or moved sideways, and eventually that job will be taken from you. ➔

Howell on… n Beating Tiger in China “I reminded myself, ‘Tiger can’t punch me, like in a boxing match and he can’t hit the ball at me like in tennis. He can only shoot a score and I can only shoot a score’. In the end, I shot 68 and Tiger had to shoot 66 to win and he couldn’t. I told him we were all honoured to have the chance to beat him and how privileged we were to be playing in his era. Going head-to-head with Tiger was a little like the FA Cup final for the underdogs. It’s nice having the belief you can stand up against the best player and perform well. I need to tell myself that more often.” n On his BMW PGA Championship win “It’s my greatest win. It beats everything – a million times better than winning in China against Tiger. To win our flagship event supersedes everything. It’s as big as it comes on the European Tour. It was never something I particularly dreamed of, because I guess I never really think great things are going to happen to me.” n The state of British golf “British golf is great and yet, despite it being so strong, we haven’t got the Nick Faldo that everyone is crying out for. Our press would love to have the real big superstar again.” TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K ❘ IS SU E 31 1

INSTRUCTION

The secret to winning David Horrocks reveals how the techniques which led Manchester United to the Premier League title and Mark Cavendish to cycling glory are being used to help golfers. WO R D S K I T A L E X A N D ER P I C T U R E S H OWA R D B OY L A N , G E T T Y I M AG ES

ompetitive sport is all about winning. Whether you’re the world’s best teeing it up in a Major, an elite amateur chasing a career or a handicap golfer playing against your mates or in a Sunday fourball, the goal is the same; make the best score you can and win. Sounds easy. But, of course, it isn’t. Finding the key to winning is not simple. Only one person or team can do so in every competition. Yet, truly elite sports people are able to win repeatedly over an extended period of time. And, since retiring from professional football, sports psychologist David Horrocks has devoted himself to discovering what sets these repeat winners apart from the rest. Through working and researching with former Manchester United player Gary Neville (eight Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and two Champions Leagues) and cyclist Mark Cavendish (three World Championships and 23 Tour de France Stage wins), Horrocks has identified the techniques, thought processes and strategies the majority of elite sports people have in common. The result is a performance philosophy that focuses on replicating these common threads and creating the mindset, lifestyle and work ethic of an elite athlete with every sports person he works with. He is working with emerging European Tour players Sam Hutsby, Tyrell Hatton and Luke Goddard, who have all had an upturn in results and consistency in the four weeks he spent with them. On the European Tour, he has worked with David Horsey, who finished 6th, 2nd and 4th in the three events following his first meeting with Horrocks, and Jaco Van Zyl, who has three Sunshine Tour wins and a European Tour runners-up finish in 2013 that has lifted him into the world top 100. Here, Horrocks shares the key pillars of his philosophy with you. See the perfect round “Mark Cavendish goes on Google Earth and rides every stage in his head so he’s ridden the route four or five times mentally before he actually does it. The split-second decisions – like which side of a roundabout is shortest to go round – have already been made, so the brain doesn’t have to process all that. For golf, I video all my guys playing a practice round on the iPad and send it to them to watch back. They may only have time to play one practice round, but they feel like they’ve played the course five or six times.” ➔ TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K ❘ IS SU E 31 1

NEW GEAR For exclusive gear videos visit www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/gear

OPTIFORCE IS WITH YOU FIRST LOOK

Feel the force The new driver and fairway woods (left) are said to have the best aerodynamics of any Callaway product.

Callaway unveils its lightest and most aerodynamic woods yet ➔

CALLAWAY’S NEW FT

Optiforce driver is made from lightweight forged composite and has been designed with an aerodynamically enhanced head shape to reduce drag by 23 per cent. A 43 gram PX Velocity shaft reduces the weight further. It also features an advanced OptiFit hosel that allows golfers to adjust the loft and directional bias from draw to neutral. “Our tests showed that many golfers struggle to convert their potential added head speed into distance consistently,” Dr Alan Hocknell, Callaway’s Senior Vice President of R&D, told TG. “So it was a balance to get the product absolutely perfect. With a total club weight of IS SU E 31 1 ❘ TODAYSG OLFER .CO.U K

290g, the FT Optiforce is engineered to give golfers the greatest level of consistency to turn a head speed advantage, gained from aerodynamics, into a ball speed advantage and therefore, into distance.” The driver comes in two head sizes, 440cc and 460cc, and also has the option of a heavier 62g shaft. The fairway wood is made from steel and features the same “Speed Optimised Technology” as the driver. It comes with a 53 gram PX Velocity shaft. Details: RRP: £329. 440cc head 9.5° only, 460cc head in 10.5° only. Fairway wood: RRP £179. 15°, 17°, 19°, 21° and 24° (RH). 15°, 19°, 21°, 24° (LH). www.callawaygolf.com

Six things to know... with Dr Alan Hocknell

Origins of the Optiforce concept “We’d developed a prototype head that we had called ‘Falcon’ which had the best aerodynamics of any Callaway driver we’d ever made above 400cc. We realised we could produce a traditional head shape, that doesn’t have any unusual visual features to it, but added head speed at the point of impact, based on the same effort applied by a golfer. We were so excited we decided to see how we could push the concept even further by adding our adjustable technology. We could retain a lot of the aerodynamics, even when we added adjustability.”

1 FIRST LOOK

MACK DADDY 2 WEDGES 2 3

1 The FT Optiforce driver comes in two head sizes, 440cc and 460cc . 2 The aerodynamically enhanced head shape is said to reduce drag by 23 per cent. 3 It has a Forged Composite crown, making it easier to save weight in the overall head.

Why two head sizes? “The larger 460cc head has more MOI, it’s more stable, and slightly more rearward shaped. It also has a slightly higher centre of gravity making it an easy launch club that creates a slightly higher flying shot, compared to the smaller headed option.”

The adjustability “Advanced OptiFit Technology” allows golfers to increase the loft of the golf club for optimum trajectory. “We worked on using the shape of the sole of the club to take it to a point where the changes in face angles, as you change the hosel setting, are almost inconceivable. Therefore, you get a true loft adjustment through the hosel that allows the golfer to leave the product as the stated ‘standard’ loft on the sole or adjust -1°, or +1° or +2° – effectively four settings. “For each of those settings there are two lie settings, standard and upright, which we call the ‘neutral’ and ‘draw’ because the latter one is more upright and tips the head very slightly in favour of a draw bias.”

The lightweight shaft “FT Optiforce uses the lightest shaft we have ever launched in a standard product and at 46in long; it is one of the key contributors to the driver’s overall lighter

configuration. Manufactured by Grafalloy, the Project X Velocity, weighing just 43g, is a slightly modified version (stronger in the tip) of the Project X Velocity 39g shaft that the company has been promoting on Tour.

How it compares to X Hot “FT Optiforce is slightly more forgiving than X Hot, and offers a slightly higher launch. It is certainly easier to get the ball airborne quicker. The FT Optiforce has a Forged Composite crown (X Hot has a full titanium head) making it easier to save weight in the overall head and allowing the centre of gravity to be positioned more effectively to help with a high launch, low spin impact dynamic.”

The verdict on Tour ”It was introduced to Tour at the end of June 2013. Prior to this, we trialled the smaller 440cc head with three of our staff professionals – Tommy Gainey, Andres Gonzales and Trevor Immelman – that are all using X Hot as their standard driver. All three had enhanced numbers with the FT Optiforce 440cc, and it proved to us that the concept is not just for players with below average playing ability, older golfers or generally slower swingers. FT Optiforce genuinely adds performance across the ability range.”

Inspired by Tour feedback, created by Roger Cleveland Wedge guru Roger Cleveland has used feedback from Callaway’s Tour players like Phil Mickelson to create the new Mack Daddy 2 wedges. They feature an aggressive “5V” groove pattern, increasing the surface area and size of the grooves by 39 per cent and creating 25 per cent more spin than Callaway’s previous X-Forged model. A laser-milled, micro-groove pattern increases surface roughness to help enhance spin control. It also pre-conditions the face to add surface roughness after the micro grooves wear off. “These new forged wedges are all about the performance of the grooves and how they manage spin, trajectory and distance,” said Cleveland. “Head shape is also vital to Mack Daddy 2. Each loft option has a beautiful ‘tear-shaped’ tourtested appearance that is as much about function as it is about looks.” Feedback from Tour players is becoming increasingly prominent with launches from manufacturers and the Mack Daddy 2 is no exception. “Phil had a lot of input into the sole design of the Mack Daddy 2 and specifically the version that has a concave appearance, the ‘U-Grind’. He really liked that. In this particular model, the toe and the heel is quite relieved and even though it has a relatively wide sole, Phil is still able to ‘open it up’ without too much heel sticking out and effectively remove the bounce. This makes for a club that is very adaptable, which was really an important feature for Phil.” Details: RRP: £99. Available in 47°, 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°, 64°. U (below left) and C (right) grinds only available in 58° and 60° at present. True Temper S300 steel shaft as standard. www.callawaygolf.com