Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2022 i Golf Monthly

Kington GF Round: £22-£37; day: £28-£54 At 1,284 feet above sea level, Kington is the highest golf club in England. With panoramic views from the course, encompassing the Brecon Beacons National Park, the Black Mountains, the Radnorshire Hills, Hergest Ridge and the Malvern and Clee Hills, there are few more spectacular settings for golf anywhere in the United Kingdom. The layout has the playing characteristics of a links – firm and fast-running fairways, heather and gorse and tricky, undulating greens. This isn’t a long course and the key to success is keeping the ball in play. Many of the fairways feature slopes, humps and hollows and you must try to use the contours to your advantage. The course was designed by Major Cecil Key Hutchison, who worked with James Braid…

Strandhill GF Round: €30-€100 Strandhill is without doubt one of Ireland’s quirkiest 18-hole links; it is also one of its most scenic and entertaining. The course lies under the gaze of Knocknarea Mountain, with sea pressing in on two sides. The holes keep you guessing all day long and while there are ‘traditional’ links holes here, several others are off the charts for sheer adventure. They almost defy belief because of exuberant terrain (the 5th and 15th) or because there’s no way a hole should be designed like that (like the outrageous 13th). They all add to Strandhill’s infectious charm. There is a central peak to the course (hosting the 13th tee and 15th green) and from here holes slide inevitably down towards the beaches. You play beside the sea…

North Foreland GF Round: £75; day: £100wd; twilight: £40-£50 North Foreland, in the far north-east corner of Kent, boasts two courses, with the Northcliffe a fun par-3 18-holer where the longest hole is 126 yards. The Main course, which plays either side of a road down to the chalky cliffs, is our main concern here, though. It starts out with two short par 4s, then works down to the sea on the linksy-feeling par-3 5th. The dogleg-left 2nd is in range if you can comfortably move it right to left, though attack may not be wise unless that shot comes naturally to you. That 5th hole, and another par 3 down to the cliffs two holes later near the Captain Digby pub, stand out visually. The 7th is a little…

in association with I am full of hope that the positive golfing bounce that came as a result of the Covid pandemic will hold into the future. Our clubhouse is full and member numbers are up. There are lots of new faces about and people of every age, race and gender mixing together. As a club, we’ve had to get up to speed with the World Handicap System, WhatsApp groups for competitions and electronic purses for entry fees. It’s all good, while being very new for some members, but thankfully the changes were brought in slowly, with lots of help at hand so that no one was left behind. The end of the pandemic feels soon and the clocks will spring forward imminently. We’ll be able to fill a full…

What’s been the best moment of your career so far? Getting my DP World Tour card with my family there. What would be your dream four-ball? Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and my brother Lewis. What would you be doing if you weren’t a golfer? Being a country singer in Nashville. If you had to have a fellow tour pro on the bag for a tournament, who would you pick and why? Marcus Helligkilde, he’s a course management genius. Any superstitions? I use a Puma marker to match my Puma outfits on tour. Favourite app on your phone? Instagram. Lowest round away from the tour? 61 (-9) at Glasgow Killermont. You need a night out, which fellow players do you take with you? Connor Syme and Jack Singh Brar. Where would…

Grizzled veteran says Jeremy Ellwood Sport is generally about youth, athleticism and power. The latter two wane as age increases, meaning competitors in most sports have a shelf life. Golf is a little different. While relative youth and power undoubtedly hold considerable sway, the guile, experience and wisdom of age also come into play, further aided by the age-defying benefits of modern equipment. Most weeks on tour, players nudging 50, or even tip-toeing over it, are still going at it hammer and tongs with others still in their teens – an age difference of 30+ years, with players at either end capable of winning. One of golf’s greatest strengths is that you can play from nappy to bus pass and beyond, making victory against Father Time a realistic possibility. This…

Billy Horschel has become something of an adopted Englishman. Ever since high school, the Floridian has held an interest in British history and culture, which is why his victory at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last year meant so much and why he can’t wait to head back there in September. When Horschel was in college, he came across the football hooligan film Green Street and from there his obsession with West Ham United was born. Despite having amassed six PGA Tour wins and earned over £20 million in prize money since turning pro in 2009, the 35-year-old has long battled a sense of underachievement. In 2021, however, Horschel ticked off two big aims from his bucket list – winning the DP World Tour’s flagship event and a WGC…

Your short game is the glue that holds all your rounds together and helps you to make your best scores. On the days when your long game isn’t on, a good short game will help you scramble a decent score. And when your long game is firing, a razor-sharp performance on and around the greens will get you shooting well under your handicap. There can be even greater emphasis on this part of your game for handicap golfers, too. A club golfer could be using their wedge game 14 or 15 times a round, so improving this part of your game will save you a lot of shots. For all wedge shots, it’s important to understand the bounce, which is the back of the clubhead. If the bounce is the…

1 This shot is ideal when the lip isn’t too steep, there’s green to work with and getting the distance will be a struggle with a standard splash using a sand wedge. Stand square, rather than open – not a bad idea for some golfers on all bunker shots now wedges come in all sorts of bounces and lofts. But for this shot, you certainly don’t want to be cutting across it. By squaring up, you are mirroring what you do elsewhere on the course and the ball will release more. 2 With regard to stance width and weight distribution, different players have different approaches that suit their angle of attack. I would keep it simple – shoulderwidth for stability, then secure your feet in the sand without shuffling them…

GM verdict Ping usually works on longer product cycles than most other manufacturers, but it made us wait a whopping four years for the i500’s replacement. The i525 iron occupies the space between the G425 and i210 as a hollow, distance-orientated model in a slimline chassis. On first inspection, it would appear not much has changed. Besides a small textured section on the back, which doesn’t do much for us, the look remains similar to i500 – no bad thing given its visual appeal. That said, the topline is thinner and the hitting area a fraction larger. Testing the i525 iron on the launch monitor hinted that the performance hadn’t moved on a great deal. Ball speed and launch were very similar and the i525 carried one yard further. The…

The TaylorMade Stealth driver was launched with much fanfare at the start of the year as the brand heralded the beginning of the Carbonwood age. So, what is meant by this? TaylorMade is renowned for bringing the buzz to its marketing, but this time it’s different as we take you behind the scenes to give you the background to this claim. To understand the idea of the Carbonwood age, we have to go back in time to when TaylorMade was the pioneer of the metalwoods era with heads made from steel. When the limits of steel were reached, a lighter, stronger material in titanium took over to extend the metalwood era. The goal was always to find materials that were lighter and stronger, and by 2000 TaylorMade decided to look…

PXG 0211 driver £205 You might be surprised to see a PXG driver in our value list, but despite the brand’s notoriously premium prices, the 0211 driver is available for just £205. It’s a compelling prospect given the countless shaft options in five different flexes, as well as the technology, which includes a hybrid-crown design made with a carbon fibre centre surrounded by a titanium skeleton for enhanced ball speeds. The target player sits within a wide handicap range, too, so after a fitting it will compete with your current driver. Inesis 500 driver £149.99 Here’s a driver that has been created in two lengths to meet the needs of 90 per cent of people’s morphologies. It means there are two shaft lengths depending on your hand/ground distance. There are…

Strata 11 Piece £399.99 This is a brilliant package set for golfers looking to learn the ropes without breaking the bank. It’s available as a nine- or 11-club set, with the latter coming in at less than £400. Not only does it represent great value for money, but we were also impressed with the quality on offer. The 460cc driver sits nice and square at address and provides plenty of forgiveness. The irons have quite a thick topline and some offset, so they won’t look daunting for anyone new or returning to the game, and will help those who struggle with a slice. MacGregor DCT3000 £419.99 MacGregor’s ‘ultimate full set for beginners’ comprises 12 clubs for golfers looking to hit the ground running with what is, more or less, a…

Adidas Performance Primegreen polo shirt £30 Not only does this Performance Primegreen polo shirt offer tremendous value, but it’s also been made using recycled materials to create a comfortable garment with stretch and breathability. The design is understated and classy, with the block colour contrasted only by the iconic Adidas logo. There are seven colours available, so golfers have plenty of options to match with other garments. Inesis Men’s Golf longsleeved polo shirt £14.99 This stylish long-sleeved polo shirt is available in three colours – navy, black and dark green – and feels soft against the skin, while the stretch properties also allow for complete swing freedom. It’s a straight fit, meaning we didn’t feel any pinching anywhere and we found it to run true to size. An added benefit…

Durness GF Round: £30; twilight: £20 This nine-hole links is embraced by the awe-inspiring beauty of the Highlands and perched on the most northerly coastline of the Scottish mainland. Durness is relentless in moving you up, down and sideways in a blisteringly adventurous rumble over heaving, rugged dunescapes. The scenery is spellbinding and hitting those shots at distant mountain ranges, towering dunes or beautiful bays takes Durness to a different level. But, for a ‘humble’ nine-holer, this links has so much more. The condition is magnificent, there are 18 different tees and holes constantly keep you guessing. You don’t have a moment to pause for breath. Views are not the only constant: sheep, too, keep you company for your round, giving a relatively young course (1988) a feeling of having…

We are very pleased to present 100 Hidden Gems for 2022 - a fresh look at 100 slightly lesser-known but very engaging designs that we feel represent an extremely strong crosssection of courses of all shapes and sizes in every corner of the UK & Ireland. What is a Hidden Gem? The term ‘hidden gem’ may have become one of golf’s most-used cliches, but we make no apology for using it because it very succinctly sums up exactly the kind of golf course we are very happy to recommend. ‘Hidden’, in that they are not so well-known, and ‘gems’ as they are beautiful and so should be treasured. A great many clubs describe themselves on their website and in their publicity as hidden gems, and we are very fortunate to…

Unfortunately, I was flying back to London during the weather-delayed final round of the Players Championship, so I missed out on watching my compatriot Cam Smith win the biggest event of his career live. Still, I saw the highlights the next day and it was an incredible performance. He’s such a good player and he has the most amazing demeanour on the course – he looks like nothing fazes him and he even found time to sign a young fan’s cap during the back nine while he was in the heat of battle. “There are no airs and graces about Rory at all – he’s a humble, normal guy” He’s a really good kid. If I’m out on the golf course with him, all he does is come over and…

It may not have been on the PGA Tour, but Harold Varner’s triumph at the Saudi International came in a hugely high-profile event against a world-class field. And he won it in spectacular fashion… – On the win itself: “It’s been pretty crazy since it happened. I’m just trying to take it in. Winning never gets old. I know there have been times where it didn’t go my way and thankfully this time it did.” – On that 92-foot putt: “It was awesome. When it went in the emotions came out. I love that. When I play with my boys, that’s the emotion I want to see. That’s why you play. Competition, it’s the greatest thing in the world.” – On beating good friend Bubba Watson: “We see life pretty…

Nothing draws the ire of golf fans quite like the ongoing distance debate. No matter what side of the fence you sit on, it’s a hot topic, and has been for what feels like an eternity. But it’s a very complex issue. On one hand, the governing bodies have a responsibility to encourage newcomers and ensure those already playing remain interested, while on the other, it’s vital that the world’s best are properly tested across every facet of the game. Solving this puzzle is at the heart of ensuring our sport continues to capture the imagination of people at every level. So, with that in mind, we took a trip to The R&A’s impressive equipment testing facility in Kingsbarns to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how equipment rules are set…

The secret to consistent and accurate pitching is getting your set-up right to create the optimum attack angle through impact. The ball position is all about managing the low point of your swing, so you impact the ball at the correct time. You want the low point just after the ball. The low point is directly below the lead shoulder, so the ball position should be a couple of inches before that. This is a little further forward than you might be used to and results in much shallower divots or just grazing the turf. Stand square to your target with a square-to-very-slightlyopen clubface. You should have a narrower stance because there isn’t a big weight shift compared with a full swing – you want stability from the lower half…

One of the most common mistakes I see is golfers not bringing the putter head back far enough, especially on longer putts. Then you have to use the wrists or body to create the speed and the strike and direction suffer. Acceleration is as much of a problem as deceleration. Like chipping, you want the clubhead travelling at a steady speed through the ball and you need to take it back far enough to enable this. Pace is still important on shorter putts, as well. You want the ball to reach the hole at a speed that would take it about ten inches past to carry enough speed to hold its line. Being able to hit this consistent ‘holing speed’ will also enable you to be consistent in reading the…

A trusty fairway wood has many benefits. It can stand in for driver off the tee on wayward days and help you reach par 5s in two. It can even help you get up and down from light rough and tightly mown aprons around greens. But not everyone can hit a fairway wood off the deck, and many older golfers struggle to generate the speed to launch them high enough to stop their balls on greens. If this is you, you might benefit from putting a ‘super hybrid’ in the bag instead – a club that looks and feels like a hybrid, but provides the distance and power of a fairway wood. Callaway has released a new highperformance Apex Utility Wood, which is getting a lot of love out on…

Porthmadog GF Round: £45wd, £50we The two nines at Porthmadog could not be more different and combine to make a most compelling and scenic adventure. Established in 1905, it is home to a remarkably distinctive and varied course. While the front nine and 18th are parkland, the links holes in between are packed with fantastic drama and fun, as well as stunning views as you roller-coaster your way through the dunes. Just north of – and yet remarkably different from – Royal St David’s, Porthmadog opens in a relatively gentle manner, albeit with a tricky stream on the first two holes that demands your attention. You then cross the road to play seven attractive parkland holes. As engaging and enjoyable as they are, they in no way hint at what…

Michael Harris Golf Monthly editor since 2006. A member of four clubs, Michael has played over 400 courses in the UK&I Jeremy Ellwood Jeremy oversees the brand’s courses content and has played over 900 courses including all of the UK&I Top 100 Rob Smith Rob coordinates our course rankings and recently played his 1,150th design, of which 880 are in the UK&I Fergus Bisset Fergus has played more than 150 courses in Scotland and a similar number elsewhere on these isles Kevin Markham Based south of Dublin, Kevin is a successful writer and photographer who has played almost 500 courses…

With all the talk of breakaway leagues and “obnoxious greed”, we decided to canvas the opinion of the public as to whether the best golfers in the world receive adequate compensation for their efforts. And the results speak for themselves. For context, when Tiger Woods turned pro in 1996, the average PGA Tour player made less than $200,000 a year. Fast forward to now, and that number is approaching $1.5m. Even accounting for inflation, Tiger’s impact has been incredible. As Rory McIlroy said ahead of The Players Championship: “We should all feel very fortunate we played at a time when he was around, because we’ve all benefited.” But could it be argued the world’s best deserve a bigger piece of the pie? In this era, those who generate the revenue…

GEAR NEWS ROUND-UP Joaquin Niemann won the Genesis Invitational using a Ping G425 7-wood, iBlade irons, Glide 3.0 wedges and a Titleist Pro V1x ball. Jason Day has signed with Bridgestone to continue using the Tour B X golf ball, joining Tiger and Bryson in the brand’s stable. Rickie Fowler switched into a TaylorMade putter for the first time ever at Riviera, opting for the Spider GT Black along with his TP5 Pix ball. Sepp Straka won the Honda Classic with a TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver and 3-wood, Srixon ZX7 irons and the new Z-Star Diamond ball. Cameron Smith won The Players with a Titleist TSi3 driver, black T100 irons, Vokey SM9 wedges, Pro V1x ball and a Mizuno Pro Fli Hi 3-iron.…

Japanese brand Honma has utilised its club-making expertise and performance materials in the new premium TW757 range of woods and irons, which sits alongside the game-improvement GS line. The range includes two driver models to suit different preferences in ball flight. Both feature Honma’s Carbon-Slot technology – a channel reinforced with carbon to maintain strength. This works together with the lightweight carbon crown to increase initial ball speed and lower the centre of gravity (CG). The impact feel and sound have been improved, helped by two ribs positioned underneath the crown that maintain rigidity around the clubface at the point of strike. The 455cc TW757 S model is suited to more accomplished golfers. It features adjustable front and back 3g and 9g weights on the sole to dial in the…

I’ve been out covering the Players Championship at Sawgrass pretty much every year since 2010, barring Covid, so it was quite weird watching this one from my living room. It was good fun seeing the players struggle with the tough conditions from afar, and I especially enjoyed watching Justin Thomas battle the elements to card a bogey-free 69 when the wind was at its strongest. However, all the weather delays did make it frustrating for everyone involved and I spared a thought for my Sky colleagues. “Fans of any sport want to see the real athlete behind the marketing facade” It’s obviously a great privilege to work at these events, but when no one’s quite sure when the next delay is coming, things can get a bit frantic behind the…

Have you ever been away somewhere or browsed a golf club website, looked at the membership fees and thought, “What the…? I’m paying double that for my subs and this might even be a better course or club. I wouldn’t mind living in this part of the world!” All sorts of thoughts go through your head about such disparities, principle among them whether wages and house prices can really be that different? Of course, there are regional differences (as we’ll investigate in a moment), but it doesn’t go the whole way to explaining why decent clubs, say, in Scotland might only be £600 a year, while comparable clubs in the south-east of England would be twice that. So, what is going on? We take a closer look… Supply and demand…

Professor Steve Otto, chief technology officer for The R&A, tells us what the future may hold… How are the standards decided upon, set and enforced? We’re always looking at how people make things, what they’re making and the direction of travel, which feeds into the setting of standards. But at the core, we have the idea that we want to maintain a level playing field, we want to maintain the balance of skill. We want to make sure that, really, skill is the dominant element in determining success, rather than some piece of technology. But we like innovation, we think it’s very good for the game. So the way that manufacturers innovate products is really productive and very positive for the game. We’re just there to make sure that doesn’t…

Good chippers are able to create a decent amount of clubhead speed while having the ball come off the clubface slower. The slower ball speed gives you touch and control. A lot of amateurs are good at bump and runs, but their thoughts change when they have a more lofted club. Use the same technique as you would for a bump and run and the loft will do the work for you. The technical side of chipping is managing the radius of your swing arc, which basically means being able to return the club and your hands to the position they were in at address. There isn’t one set way to do this – but it’s a combination of wrists and body turn. If you don’t have a lot of…

Brooks, what does your pre-round range warm-up look like? It’s really simple… always start with putting, range, then short game. What’s the goal of your putting warm up? Just get a sense of the speed. It’s way simpler than you all think. Make sure the speed’s right and everything’s good and from there go to the course. Once you get to the range, how do you go through your bag? I know I always want to finish with driver when it’s 25 minutes before I go tee off. That’s the only thing I’m particular about. Other than that, I just work my way up. I hit the same clubs every time: sand wedge, 9-iron, 7-iron, 5-iron, 3-iron, driver. Are you trying to hit specific shots for the course you’re playing…

GM verdict Improving upon a wedge as close to perfection as we saw in SM8 was always going to be a big ask, but Titleist claims its SM9 gets a step closer. The SM9 retains the classic Vokey look at address. When hitting full shots, the shaping and lack of offset inspire confidence, while around the green it looks inviting behind the ball. You could argue the lower-lofted wedges in SM9 have a slightly straighter leading edge, too, which helps with alignment on full shots and the transition from your irons. There are the same six grind options in SM9 – F, S, K, L, M and D – and a total of 23 different models, ranging in lofts from 46° to 62°. Many assume that a middle ground in…

GM verdict Seventeen years ago, Adidas introduced the Tour360 shoe and it has reached iconic status, resonating with thousands of golfers worldwide. The latest iteration for 2022 incorporates elements from the original designs with new technology to improve fit and traction. The overall look hasn’t changed a great deal from the Tour360 XT shoe we saw two years ago – the recognisable three stripes running from top to bottom remain, but you are now getting full-length Boost cushioning along the outside of the feet. It juts in on the instep, which is a little strange, but having it on the outside between your foot and an outsole cleat helps provide stability and grip when your weight is shifting during the swing. The shoe feels lightweight and the fit and feel…

Callaway X Series cart bag £129 For a cart bag, the Callaway X Series is incredibly light, weighing in at just 1.8kg. Clubs are taken care of thanks to the 14-way top with full-length dividers. It has seven pockets that provide lots of space for apparel and any accessories you need, and they all face forward too – so when the bag is on a cart, access isn’t inhibited in any way. MacGregor Mac 7.0 9.5” stand bag £99 Thanks to the four-way top, we were able to fit a full set into this bag, while the seven pockets gave us plenty of storage space. Another thing we were impressed with was the sturdiness of the stand, which helped on slopes. Additionally, two padded straps provide comfort when carrying. Big…

Garmin Approach G12 GPS £129.99 This pocket-sized GPS gives all the crucial yardages. For easy viewing, the Big Numbers mode increases the type size, while there’s even a digital scorecard to keep track of your play. Via the Garmin Golf app, you can access strokes-gained analysis and participate in leaderboards and tournaments. With a battery life of 30 hours, you can play a few rounds without a top up. Izzo Swami Lite Golf GPS £119.99 For golfers seeking simplicity over complicated features, the Izzo Swami Lite is a must-try. Pocketsized for convenience, it provides precise distances to the green, water hazards, bunkers and doglegs. It will automatically detect the course you’re on and move holes with you, plus the scorecard feature and shotdistance measurement allows you to save and review…

Some things you can’t ignore and no one is ignoring Ukraine right now. A lot of things have been put into perspective by what’s going on, which is not a bad thing in itself. So, for example, the friction between established golf tours and the Saudi initiative seems less bothersome now. However, the really trivial stuff can still raise its head and irritate in much the same way as a shaving cut can trump the swollen ankle you’ve hobbled into the bathroom on. In between watching the news with increasingly narrowed eyes over recent weeks, I flicked over to the golf at Sawgrass anticipating a pleasant antidote to the upsetting stuff. We all look forward to the Players Championship. As a trumpet call to the real beginning of the new…