Today's Golfer Issue 299 Preview

Today’s Golfer SEPTEMBER 2012 (AUGUST 9-SEPTEMBER 5)

3 THINGS YOU CAN LEARN FROM ELS

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SEPTEMBER 2012 ISSUE 299 AUGUST 9-SEPT 5

PING

REVOLUTION

MAKE GOLF

✓ ROUTINE ✓ DRIVING ✓ IRONS ✓ BUNKERS ✓ SHORT GAME ✓ PUTTING

EASY 9 HOLES WITH

TRUMP

Adjustable drivers + Woods + Irons

WHY YOU NEED TO TRY a BELLY PUTTER

5

legendary swings and how they can help your game

CLASSIC COURSES

Once-famous tracks still have loads to offer

FIRST HITS

NEW COBRA WOODS

THIS MONTH'S SECTION

014 2020 vision – what the future of golf holds 016 TG’s Pyrford deal 018 The benefits of using a belly putter 029 Johnny Vaughan

FIRST TEE

PING SPECIAL

ADJUSTABILITY IS THE ANSER

After years of planning Ping unveil their first adjustable clubs with classy Anser range ➔

Ping’s drivers and WOODS

have been nothing short of sensational in recent years, but they have continually avoided the adjustability route favoured by most of their competitors... until now.

The new Anser driver is the company’s first adjustable big dog designed to fine-tune ball flight through a combination of loft-alteration and shaft selection.

Golfers can adjust the loft by half-a-degree up or down using the supplied wrench. Of course, that’s not ground-breaking in itself, but the reason Ping avoided rushing into is su e 29 9 ❘ Todaysg olfer .co.u k

adjustability was to ensure they made the hosel light enough not to affect the performance.

The attention to detail is classic Ping. In fact, such is the neatness of the hosel design, it’s not immediately obvious that the Anser driver is adjustable. Engineers achieved the clean design by using a titanium screw and aluminium hosel sleeve – and the sleekness in this area helps when it comes to the aerodynamics of the driver. The hosel design also allows the club to sit in a neutral position at address, regardless of whether you add or subtract loft. Normally, when you add loft the clubhead shuts slightly

and vice versa when you lower the loft... but this is not the case with the Anser.

But it’s not just a hosel innovation – Ping’s custom-fitting is arguably the best in the business, and now golfers can have the Ping TFC 800, Aldila Phenom, Fujikura Blur red or Mitsubishi Diamana ‘ahina shaft fitted at no additional cost.

The driver features all the usual Ping benefits with a 460cc head (with stunning matt finish) to aid confidence, sole weighting to keep the centre of gravity low for powerful flight and high MOI for lots of forgiveness.

PING

FOUR PAGE ANALYSIS

ANSER CLUBS

Ping drivers have performed very well in TG Tests in recent years with the G5, G10, G15 and G20 all taking gold. In fact, 2006 was the last time a Ping driver failed to win our coveted annual crown.

Naturally, Ping have added an adjustable fairway wood to the Anser range, as well as a non-adjustable hybrid. The fairway features many of the same benefits of the driver, while the hybrid uses both internal and external weighting to progressively locate the CG in the different lofts.

Buying information Driver: £355 (lofts 8.5°, 9.5°, 10.5°, 12°) Fairway woods: £220 (3w, 4w, 5w) Hybrids: £180 (lofts 17°, 20°, 23°, 27°) Visit ping.com for more information and see a ‘First Hits’ review of the range in our October issue, on sale September 6.

Above Ping’s impressive new range with – the non-adjustable hybrid, adjustable 3-wood and adjustable driver.

Right, clockwise from top left The driver’s design means it’s not immediately obvious that it’s adjustable; adjusting the clubs is made easywith the supplied wrench; the 460cc matt black head is stunning and confidence inspiring; the classy black look is carried through to the headcovers.

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I

n the never-ending pursuit of that elusive swing move that will transform our game, it doesn’t take much for our minds to become full of swing thoughts over the ball. When this happens, our swings can turn into an overcomplicated mish-mash of moves that produce shanks rather than a Sunday best.

But forget everything you’ve ever been taught for a moment. What if you could just be presented with a collection of must-haves for

your technique on every area of the game?

Wouldn’t that make the game of golf so much simpler?

Well, that’s what Plane Truth Instructor Kevin Flynn has created here – a set of basics designed to free your mind, simplify your action, and improve your scores in the process.

We accept that every golf swing is different but what is synonymous with all great swings is certain fundamentals that help create a club

that tracks on-plane, on the correct angle of approach, with a square clubface moving at speed. In addition to your full swing, we’re addressing your pre-shot routine, bunker play and short game shots, ensuring you adjust your method to become more successful in these areas. Use them in practice first, get used to how they feel and hopefully, with added confidence in your game, you can use them on the course... and see your scores tumble.

straighter driving club in front of the hands almost every tour pro will tell

you on the range that they’re working on getting the clubhead in front of the hands in the downswing. But what does this mean and why are they striving for this?

Once the club gets in this position, it can simply move into the ball with a turn of the body, without the hands and wrists needing to manipulate the club. The other benefit of this move is that it puts the clubface in a more neutral delivery position, square to the original shaft plane set at address. From this position in the downswing, the clubhead will rotate less through the hitting area, creating a more stable clubface and a tighter, more consistent dispersion for your shots off the tee.

‘a club delivered in front of the hands rotates less’

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SIMPLE TIPS & DRILLS

2

1 3

PRE-SHOT ROUTINE TAKE AIM BEFORE YOU FIRE

1

2

Whether you realise it or not,

every golfer in the world has a pre-shot routine.

There are many different variations out there but all that matters is that you incorporate a couple of key elements and make it consistent for every shot you play. If you have a consistent routine, you have a far better chance of hitting consistent golf shots.

When standing behind the ball (1) it’s not only vital that you visualise the flight of the ball but also that you pick out a secondary target in front of the ball that lines up with the intended target.

When doing this, make sure that whatever you pick is positioned inside your eye line when you look at the ball (2). This ensures that the head doesn’t need to move to look at either the ball or the secondary target – instead you can see them both at the same time which makes it easy to align the clubface. If the head has to move to look at the ball and then the target, then you can’t get both within your field of vision and it’s virtually impossible to see if the clubface is aimed correctly.

Once ready, commit to this target and swing the club with purpose. Remember you can’t deliberately place an object in front of the ball as this would be a breach of the Rules of Golf.

crisper iron play Two keys to good release On all long-game shots i like

the player to feel the face is closing from the top.

If the face is left open for too long on the way down, it must go through too much rotation through impact, which makes it hard to time a square face. As a drill, put your watch on your left wrist and feel that it points to the ground when the hands get below the belt line (1). If it points out in front of you, the club is likely to be trapped behind you and the clubface open to the shaft plane, often resulting in hooks or blocked shots.

Hopefully, we're all aware of how

important it is to hit the ball before the turf with our irons. A downward strike puts pressure into the ball, giving your iron shots pace and purpose.

This drill is devised for those who generally swing too far out to the right, which moves the bottom of the arc more behind the ball and promotes fat and thin shots, with little ball pressure. Address the tee peg or range tee as normal. Try to swing over the top of it and make contact with the ground or mat in front of your left foot, as shown.

This drill will send the direction of your swing to the left and you will find it easier to create a descending blow on the ball. That will help you compress the ball more efficiently. ➔

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OLYMPIC GOLF

DEFINING SHOTS

MASTER THE OPEN’S KEY SHOTS TG’s Kit Alexander attempts the defining shots from the final round at Lytham – with Elite Pro Adrian Fryer’s help 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 G ett y, h o w ard b o y lan

Tiger Woods: Greenside bunker on 6th The former world number one had made five consecutive pars and looked in total control of his game until he reached the long par-4 6th.

His approach looked fantastic in the air but dropped a yard short and plugged in the bunker. This creative shot was his second attempt to get out the bunker. The ball clipped the top of the face and ricocheted onto the front of the green. He three-putted for triple bogey.

Kit discovered just how flexible Woods is as he strained to copy the position the American took up. The shot itself was a real test of handeye coordination – one he failed as the ball thumped straight into the face of the bunker and stayed in the trap.

Fryer’s advice: The biggest mistake most amateurs make when facing an unusual shot like this is not arranging themselves properly and not practising the backswing enough. The practice swings need to be brisk because your body isn’t contributing so you have to use hand and arm speed to get the ball up quickly. In this instance, you need to adopt a weaker righthand grip to really open the clubface up and slide it under the ball quickly.

You should know whether you have the ability to hit a certain shot and once you’ve set up you’ll get a sense of whether you can impact the ball as you need to. If you don’t think you can, go to plan B or C and cut your losses. ➔ Todaysg olfer .co.u k ❘ is su e 29 9

greatest ever

swing?

We asked some of the UK’s top coaches to reveal their favourite swings and what club golfers can learn from them WORDS KIT ALEXANDER PICTURES GETT Y IMAGES

The best ever?

Ben Hogan's gets lots of votes as the ultimate swing.

LEARN FROM THE BEST

Ernie Els

Staying in sync

Mark Bull advocates the motion of the Big Easy

Els' pelvis stays very stable as it rotates in the backswing. In addition, his spine rotates well with minimal stress or excessive bend, so his swing is 'connected'.

Posture perfect Plane and path issues arise from poor postural awareness and thus poor body rotation and control. Getting it right makes for more consistent swings.

Everything Ernie Els does conforms wonderfully well with all biomechanical literature and the fact he has done it over three decades suggests his swing has stood up to the demands of high-level competition.

Many of his peers have suffered from various injuries, but to date, Els has avoided a golf-related injury.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Els has rarely been through a sustained period of poor ball-striking. This is partly down to the quality of his posture, the control of his rotation and the consistency of his movement patterns. From a beautifully-balanced posture at set-up, his pelvis remains extremely stable as it rotates in the backswing. Plus, his spine rotates well with minimal stress or excessive bend being placed through it. This results in his arms keeping connected to his upper torso, allowing for minimal compensations being made with his hands and arms, which creates synergy between body, arms and club. This all leads to good path, plane and retention of compressive power.

During the downswing, his weight loads into his left side and his lower and upper body rotates as he maintains excellent postural control on impact, once more allowing his arms to stay connected to his upper torso, providing ideal club delivery.

Secondly, this is all done with optimal downswing sequencing, (the ability to accelerate the body segments in the ideal order at the ideal time, hips-upper torso-arms-hands-club).

This pattern of movement promotes maximal ability to be efficient, adaptable, repeatable and stress free.

Four Majors show his swing keeps its movement pattern under pressure.

Els illustrates the importance of ideal posture at address and good rotation both in back and downswing. âž” Factfile: Era: Present Professional wins: 64 Majors: Four

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Make practice more fun

Put an enjoyable spin on your practice and you’ll improve faster. Here’s how...

W O R D S J a m e s R i d ya r d P I C T U R E S H o w a r d b o y l a n

1

Be competitive Incorporating an element of competition in your practice creates pressure, similar to what you feel on the golf course.

Change targets This drill involves ever-changing targets for every shot, which makes your practice replicate on-course challenges.

Winners and losers Making practice competitive will help you improve.

practice DRILLS

2

Start small Make the windows larger at first and then make them smaller as you become more proficient at completing the task.

Clubface control You'll soon learn how you need to alter your body shape and clubface at impact to make the ball curve different ways.

I

f something is enjoyable in life the tendency is that not only will we want to do it again but we’ll display some sort of aptitude towards it. Practising our golf game is something we know we should do but don’t necessarily want to, mainly because slugging it out on the range for an hour isn’t always much fun.

But this is why your practice needs to be challenging but enjoyable, to get you excited about your next session on the practice ground. Any of these seven tasks will do just that.

1

Play a game of 21 For this practice match you’ll need a partner and one ball each.

Choose one wedge only. Simply chip to various holes around the chipping green. The nearer ball wins two points, second gets one.

Hole out and you win all three. The winner of the first hole picks the next hole location; the sequence follows from then on. This game not only provides an element of competition and pressure, but also encourages you to be creative in your shot selection as different hole locations will require different types of shot to get the ball close.

‘one of the reasons for tiger woods' success with haney was the nine shots'

2

Smash the nine windows On the range, imagine you are faced with a large, 3x3 grid out in front of you. Your job is to hit the nine different shots that would go through each of the windows at the top of its flight and finish on the target. This means your nine different flights would be low, medium and high fade, low, medium and high straight shot and low, medium and high draw.

This game allows you to experiment with different ball flights and gain a natural, targetoriented understanding of how to

create them by changing your set-up and ball position. Make a record of how many shots it takes you to hit each window and try and beat it next time out. Hank Haney has often said making Tiger Woods practise these shots helped him get his game back on song and gave his practice purpose. It can work for you too.

3

Flight control With the same wedge, practise hitting a variety of chip shots around the green. Start with flop shots and work all the way down to low runners. Rather than ➔ Todaysg olfer .co.u k ❘ is su e 29 9

the king’s

Donald Trump’s sensational new Aberdeen links finally opened in July.

MY GOLFING LIFE

course

We were there – and played nine holes with the outspoken billionaire WO R D S K E V I N B R OW N P I C T U R E S H OWA R D B OY L A N

BUYING

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FIRST HIT

BENROSS QUAD SPEED woods

£89.99 and £79.99 I benrossgolf.com I Tested by David Connor, 10 hcp

EVERY month we get numerous phone calls, letters and emails asking us to recommend various clubs for our readers – and they often come with a caveat that they don’t have a wallet-load of cash to spend.

One of the first names that always springs to mind when value is involved is Benross – a UKbased manufacturer intent on delivering reasonably-priced clubs while still using good components.

The Quad Speed woods are the latest offerings from the company, which has enjoyed a bumper year since making its product available in the multitude of American Golf superstores across the country.

But do they live up to the Benross ethos of delivering performance beyond their price point?

The Aldila Voodoo shafts in both the fairway wood and the hybrid feel stable enough even for faster swingers but are also light enough to suit the majority of golfers.

Personally, I’ve always been a fan of Benross fairway woods in particular. They give a pleasing click off the face when struck well and offer a good deal of forgiveness when not.

The Quad Speed fairway woods are designed with a great head size – not too big to be unworkable and compromise versatility but big enough to inspire confidence.

The slightly recessed crown at the rear of the head also helps to frame the ball very nicely and make the club look slightly more compact than it is.

Off the tee it is in its element because the face is a little deeper than some but this doesn’t mean it compromises greatly off a tight

➔

fairway lie, where it is still easier to get in the air.

The hybrid is definitely larger than the majority on the market and is designed to offer more confidence and a higher ball flight for golfers who struggle with longer irons.

But while this will offer forgiveness to higher handicappers, who they are in truth aimed at, it might well put off better players who are looking for a more penetrating flight and versatility in their longer clubs.

FIRST HIT

£49.99 I benrossgolf.com I Tested by David Connor, 10 hcp ➔

MY ONLY negative...

As you will have read above, I loved these new Benross bats, but there was one thing which didn't suit my eye; the white crown. It is obviously the fashion in golf equipment at the moment, but the finish on the Quad Speed woods is glossy rather than matt and this can be off-putting and offer up a bit too much glare in bright sunlight. A small thing, but didn't suit me.

First impressions

PROS Great price, fantastically versatile fairways and highlaunching, forgiving hybrid.

CONS The glossy white finish is off-putting for me.

BENROSS ZipIt TOUR WEDGES

FOR ME, other than a

putter, wedges are the key clubs – and getting it right is the difference between a par-saving short game and an untidy card.

Benross have recognised that, even for mid-handicap golfers, versatility in a wedge is one of the key factors and they say the new ZipIt Tour groove wedges offer more shot-making capability than their previous options.

Unusually for a wedge, Benross have also concentrated on adding a good amount of forgiveness in the form of a cavity back.

This deepens the centre of gravity and adds perimeter weighting but thankfully doesn’t detract overly from the solid feel of the wedge from the centre of the face – an important factor in judging distance control.

My favourite aspect of the new wedges is the removal of offset we’ve seen in previous wedges and for me this goes a long way to improving their versatility.

This works really well with Benross’ C-grind sole, which offers relief in both the heel and the toe and this makes it easier to open up

and play different shots off a multitude of lies.

They’ve also gone for a much more traditional look with a straighter leading edge – particularly in the lower lofts – and a brushed pearl finish to reduce glare. The coloured bottom groove from previous Benross wedges has also gone.

Another positive aspect, as usual with Benross, is the price.

Less than £50 is great value although they have had to limit loft and bounce options to keep costs down. Subsequently, each loft only has one bounce option available – although Benross have been careful to match the appropriate bounce to the loft.

The head size is on the large side and the topline on the thick side; not my preference but it will give great confidence to many.

First impressions

PROS Great price for such a versatile wedge while the traditional looks are a definite improvement.

CONS Not a huge number of bounce options. That's it!

TECHNIQUE level blow

An angle of approach level to the ground with the putter will help get the ball rolling as early as possible and not bobbling off line.

Shot on location at Mazagan Golf Resort, Morocco.

Visit www.mazaganbeachresort.com for more information.

VARY YOUR ANGLE OF ATTACK different CLUBS REQUIRE DIFFERENT PATHS INTO THE BALL IN ORDER to get the best results, EXPLAINS adrian fryer

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iron down

The ball needs to be compressed on irons shots so the club must be descending into it with impact occuring before the low point of the golf swing.

a different approach The difference with golf compared to many other sports is that we use a different set of implements to navigate the ball around the golf course. Because all the clubs in your bag have different lofts, it means to get the best trajectory, ball flight and roll out of them, you have to hit them on different angles of approach. With a driver, it’s necessary to hit the ball with a more sweeping, upward angle of approach, which reduces backspin and produces a longer carry.

Conversely with an iron, the ball needs to be compressed. This puts more backspin on it, allows the ball to spin up and also enables you to strike the ball correctly from a variety of lies. So the angle of attack will be much more descending. With a putter, our goal is to get the ball rolling along the green smoothly without the ball jumping too much in the air as we strike it. So we need to hit the ball with a level blow. All putts initially skid but a level blow reduces the distance the ball skids and gets the ball rolling truer, earlier.

driver up

A slightly ascending blow on the ball with a driver helps reduce backspin for a high launch and longer carry.

Having the ball forward helps to promote this.

Ball position plays a role Ball position relative to your stance is crucial because it alters the point you strike the ball relative to the low point of the swing arc, which is roughly underneath the sternum. For a driver, the ball needs to be positioned in front of the low point, underneath the lead armpit. On iron shots the ball must be struck before the low point so ensure the hips and hands are ahead of the ball at impact. Just forward of centre with the putter will allow you to get the best roll on the greens.

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PLAYING

Fast start The short par-4 4th is a relief after a tough opening three holes.

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SPAIN

COSTA BLANCA

Quality retreat in the hills overlooking the popular region… ➔

The STRIKING entrance

to Las Colinas Resort is chiselled through a limestone canyon, conveying its standards and sense of seclusion.

Through the canyon you find yourself in a valley of velvet fairways, surrounded by the hills that give the place its name.

Opened in 2010, this Troon Golfmanaged resort has already appeared in sister title Golf World’s Continental Top 100 and been selected for the European Tour’s Q-School second stage.

Designed by Cabell Robinson (La Reserva, Finca Cortesin), the course reaches 7,100 yards at its longest with many Robinson hallmarks – serpentine fairway and bunker edges, geometrydefying green shapes and the feeling that the natural landscape’s full potential has been realised.

Immaculately presented, the course offers great levels of excitement, challenge and playability, while attention to detail, from attentive staff to pyramids of balls on the excellent range, is key.

Twenty minutes from Murcia and 45 minutes from Alicante, the resort is wellserved by the budget airlines. High quality on-site self-catering accommodation and the nearby beaches of the Costa Blanca combine to make Las Colinas an option well-worth considering, especially with Villamartin, Las Ramblas and Campoamor and La Finca nearby.

COSTA BLANCA FACTFILE Green fees: Las Colinas: £48 until Sept 30 and through Dec; Las Ramblas from £29; Campoamor from £28; La Finca from £26; Villamartin from £22.

Give it a try: Three nights in a two-bed apartment at Las Colinas & two rounds for £613 (per property, four adults max).

Call 0034 965 323786 or e-mail reservations@lascolinasresidences.com Todaysg olfer .co.u k ❘ is su e 29 9