Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 i Golf Australia

THREE years ago the future looked really bright for Sydney’sWarringah Golf Club. The growth of the club has been hamstrung for many years due to its clubhouse being separated from its 18-hole course by one of the busiest arterial roads on the Northern Beaches. Attracting visitors across Condamine St into the clubhouse to spend a few quid was an ongoing concern but the club battled on regardless. Then a solution appeared at hand.The club’s course is on land leased from the local council – a lease which runs out in 2017. With that date bearing down on the club, the then Warringah Council asked for submissions on a masterplan they had for the area known as District Park, which incorporates the golf course, nearby playing fields, the North Manly Bowling…

HIS CONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT PUTTING HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT. BUT SO DOES THE NONSENSE AND NOTORIETY THAT HAS FOLLOWED GARCIA. WATCHING Sergio Garcia on the final day of the 2016 Ryder Cup matches at Hazeltine National, it was hard not to wonder anew why this gifted individual’s 17-year professional career has yet to produce even one major championship victory. In what turned into something of an epic encounter, the 36-year-old Spaniard made nine birdies and nine pars en route to a halved match against Phil (five majors) Mickelson. Perhaps even more impressive was that Garcia made telling putts for birdies on each of the last two holes to stay level with an inspired opponent – the sort of putts you invariably have to make if you are to win…

U.S FANS SHOW NO RESPECT A number of USA fans showed a lack of respect for the USA and European team members at the Ryder Cup. I don’t think they really appreciated how good the golf was over those three days.The coverage was great and the course looked fantastic. The staff and organisers did a great job, I thought. Some USA fans were a real disappointment for the game of golf. I’m looking forward to France in two years. I might even go and watch in person. Vince via e-mail RYDER CUP DISGRACE #1 I think some of these guys thought they should behave as though they were at a College football game! I found it seriously detracted from what was some epic golf. Tezza Pel via website RYDER CUP…

IN MANY WAYS, TIGER IS A VICTIM OF HIS OWN GREATNESS. AS BIG A STAR AS HE WAS, HIS LIFE WAS ALWAYS A BIT ODD. HE HAD TO BE VERY PRIVATE. ONE OF the biggest topics of conversation on the PGA Tour right now is the future of Tiger Woods. Like the rest of the world, we don’t really know whether he is coming back or not. He has always kept his cards close to his chest, even when he was playing regularly. He never gave much away. So, like everyone else, we players are left to speculate. A small percentage of players think Tiger will return to the Tour and start winning again. But that is a diminishing percentage. The majority of guys think he will come back, play…

Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson may have stolen the headlines at The Open, but it was Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston who captured the hearts of the nation. The 27-year-old admits he’s the antithesis of your typical modern-day sportsman, but that didn’t stop him gathering a huge following at Royal Troon – and an invite to next year’s championship at Royal Birkdale. He may look like a lumberjack, complete with a bushy beard and beer belly, but beneath his larger-than-life personality lies a superb golfer. He won his first European Tour title at the Spanish Open in April and followed that up with top-tens at the BMW PGA Championship and then The Open. Along the way, he’s hit a hamburger off a tee, been roared on by his five-year-old niece Summer at…

The score we sign for only tells us so much about how we played. A round of golf is made of drives, iron shots, chips, putts and bunker shots, and a decent score can disguise poor performance in any one of those categories. That’s why we have decided to create for you a total game plan, covering all five key aspects of the game. We want you to devote a week to each part, starting with a quick test to establish your current skill level. Then, spend your practice sessions working on the tips described by coach Scott Cranfield, before returning to the test at the end of the week to chart your improvement. Good luck!…

POUND COIN SET-UP Place a pound coin immediately behind the ball. Address the ball normally, but let the putter’s head rest on the coin. DOLLAR GOING UP The thickness of the coin is useful. It demands a rising arc which will help you strike the ball’s equator from the putter’s sweetspot. That delivers optimal roll. SMOOTHER START You will rest the putter more lightly on the coin than you would on the ground. That takes tension out of your hands, arms and shoulders, helping you make a smoother start. ON THE SLIDE The fact you have metal against metal creates the sensation the takeaway will be smooth; the putter slides freely away from the ball. It means relaxed hands and a fluid, rhythmical takeaway. Now retake the test. How has…

POST IMPACT Take your regular driver set-up, the ball opposite the lead instep. But now position the clubhead holeside of the ball. You are now set up to make a slow-motion throughswing. EARLY EXTENSION Push the club slowly forward, extending it down the target line. Focus on creating a full, wide arc with the clubhead; your body won’t move much at this stage. MAINTAIN THE ARC Move the club forward slowly, its head tracing the circular arc you want it moving on. Feel your body is merely responding to the club’s extension, pulling you through. COMPLETE THE SWING Carry on to the end of the swing, letting the club’s width and direction pull you to a finish. Feel your body rotating naturally, not cramped up but rotating nicely in its…

SAFE TO OVERTAKE You’ll notice your attempts to strike the tee with the leading edge sees the club-head overtaking the hands through the sand. This helps you contact the sand with the sole’s trailing edge. FAST FORWARD Your focus here is to snap the tee under the ball with the leading edge of your sand wedge. This goal helps you shallow your attack and take the right amount of sand. INSTANT FEEDBACK This drill will tell you all about the quality of your strike. Too steep and the club will dig under the tee; too ‘flicky’ and clean and you’ll swing over the top of it. PEG THE BALL UP Find a tee and use it to peg the ball up in the sand. But stick the tee all the…

CLUBHEAD SANDWICH Set up to a ball as normal, but place a second ball behind the clubhead. Keep grip pressure light. As you move the club away, let the slight resistance from the second ball slow the head as the handle moves. HANDLE LEADS HEAD Do this correctly and you will feel the handle move back while the head is briefly retarded. This trains the idea and feeling of the clubhead lagging behind the hands. You’ll need light grip pressure to gain that feeling. REVERSING THE LAG Once you’ve established the feeling of the hands leading the head through soft wrists, you’ll find it much easier to lag the club the other way coming down. This keeps it behind the rotating body, key to good downswing sequencing. CLUB ARRIVES LAST…

WEIGHT CONTROL Hit the shot. You should be able to do so without either coin falling from your shoes. Achieving this shows you have kept body movement and weight shift under control. STABLE CURRENCY When you can keep the body quiet, it helps the arms swing and the club to find a natural arc and smooth rhythm. This will help your consistency, in terms of strike and power. THE MONEY SHOT Find a typical 15-yard chip shot on a level lie. As you set up to the ball, place a coin on each foot as shown. Take your regular grip and stance. DOLLAR SAVER The coin falls off your foot, revealing you’ve overused your body through the ball. This can move the low point of the swing’s arc, affecting the…

MOST club golfers, when they swing, they are thinking they must have a ‘turn the body’ movement. When a player thinks that, they end up getting their arms stuck behind them.The body then actually has to stop to allow the arms to catch up and that’s when people, particularly good players, develop a flip follow-through because they swing into the ball from well inside the target line. However, the higher handicapper making a big body turn on the backswing then comes over the top and swings above a good swing plane. It’s the same backswing movement as the better player, but the better player knows how to manipulate their hands and arms to the inside of the target line on the downswing. The backswing should actually be a body turn,…

WESTERN WONDERS It must be good to be a West Australian! Curtis Luck has taken all before him this year, winning the US Amateur, being part of the Eisenhower Trophy-winning team and then claiming the Asia-Pacific title. No Australian amateur has ever been so successful. Now he’s heading to the Masters, following in the footsteps of another WA player in Oliver Goss. Then, of course, you have Min Woo Lee (Minjee’s brother) who won the US Junior Amateur earlier in the year. He’s also got a big future in front him. Whatever Golf WA is doing they are doing a brilliant job in nurturing their talent for success on the world stage. Keep it up! Terry Gold Hornsby, NSW OUR ‘LETTER OF THE MONTH’ WINNER RECEIVES A DOZEN CALLAWAY CHROME…

 What has been your closest brush with death? ‘I CAN BE STUBBORN AT TIMES. I’M ALWAYS THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE ROOM!’ At funerals, I think. I’ve had a few hair-raising flights where I’ve felt like it has been touch-and-go. One in particular when we were going into Jeju Island in Korea – in the middle of a typhoon. Robert Jan Derksen was sat in the seat in front of me and turned the colour of a Ping golf bag. He was pure white. It was horrible. The engines were screaming. In the end, we turned round and landed in China somewhere.› What is your earliest memory? Falling down the stairs when I was a toddler. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t pushed but I may have been thrown (laughs). What’s…

NICKLAUS’ QUOTE BROUGHT HOWLS OF DERISION AT THE TIME – DURING THE BICENTENNIAL CLASSIC IN 1988 – BECAUSE SOME MEMBERS FELT HE IMPLIED THE COURSE WAS SECOND-RATE. WHEN Royal Melbourne Golf Club celebrated its centenary in 1991 it released a marvellous history written by the late Joseph Johnson. It was and still is, in my opinion, the best club history produced in Australia and comes down from my bookshelf regularly to check a fact, jog the memory or just for the sheer pleasure of holding and reading it. This year the club turned 125 and updated its history to mark the occasion. It was always going to be a hard act to follow, but former club captain Richard Allen has condensed Johnson’s work and added his account of the past…

MARKS OUT OF TEN Gather ten balls. How many can you get to finish within the semi-circle? This gives you a baseline for how good your consistency of touch is. Ideally repeat the test for a more accurate picture. ARC OF TRIUMPH Head to the practice putting green. Place the head of your putter in one of the cups and use its shaft length to peg out a semi-circle behind the hole, as shown. When we three-putt, the blame inevitably turns to the three or four-footer we’ve just missed. Yet more often it’s not getting the first putt close enough that’s the true culprit. That’s why in week one we’re turning the attention on to putting touch. Take the simple test to see how good your putting from range is.…

BASH AND CARRY At the start of the week, your drives should end up in the sand. Try the same test after these drills and you should see some carry it – proof you have gained distance during the week. World No.3 Dustin Johnson last season ranked first on the PGA Tour for driving distance, but 142nd for accuracy. No.1 Jason Day was 14th and 189th. Statistics are increasingly showing that when it comes to scoring, distance trumps accuracy. So with this in mind, here are two effective drills to help you hit the ball further. But first, here is a fun test to assess your progress. Somewhere on your course there is a fairway bunker or hazard you know you can reach but can’t carry. At the start of…

SAND FLY How many balls can you strike within the zone marked by the heads of the two rakes? Do this drill at the start of the week and again at the end to assess progress. Most club golfers can hit a greenside trap shot within five feet for line, but struggle to get it within 15 feet for length. This is almost totally down to an inability to take the right amount of sand, either too much (short) or too little (long). The key to improving your sand contact is to strike the sand with the back edge of the sand wedge’s sole and not its sharper leading edge. For this you need a shallow attack angle. Shortly I’ll detail two drills to help you, but first here is…

SECOND STRIKE At the end of the week, return to the same location – ideally in similar conditions you took the first test. Again, hit ten balls at the same target. BETTER GROUPING Once more pace out the leftmost, rightmost, the longest and shortest shots you hit. Add the figures up. A lower number will show you’ve tightened your dispersion. As well as encouraging clean contact, a downward strike allows the lofted face to compress the ball more, creating ball speed and power. A descending attack occurs when the hands lead the club into impact, and also through moving the body in the right order. You’ll learn drills to train both, but first here’s a test to chart your progress. A great way to rate ball-striking is dispersion; the more…

END-OF-WEEK CHECK As with all the tests in this article, do it at the start of the week and again at the end after the drills. For more accuracy, repeat the test two or three times and average the results. One of the hardest things about chipping is getting the club to move with enough speed and purpose from a short swing. The trick is to quieten your body to let the club move freely, and that’s what’s targeted by both drills here. But first the test. Find yourself a straightforward chip of 12 to 15 yards, allowing a reasonable amount of space to let the ball pitch on the green before running out. Hit ten chip shots. After the tenth, head down to the flag and make a rough…

In general, I don’t like to think about my swing but when I do I try to concentrate on the basics. I like to make sure the basics are good and ensure that not a whole lot can go wrong from there, such as alignment or grip issues. If I had to pinpoint three focal points for my iron play, it would be balance, ball position and tempo. BALANCE Make sure at set-up your weight is not all on your right foot or all on your toes or heels, as you want your weight to be neutral. That’s very important, as a good base is the No.1 key for a good swing and a good result. BALL POSITION For the long irons, I position the ball about two-thirds of the…

IF YOU are having a tough time getting off the tee and failing to hit fairways, it can set you up for a tiresome day. A big key for improving your fairways stats is your ability to maintain your spine angle and swing plane. Generally our swing plane, which is the arc that the clubhead travels around your body, will be about 45 degrees for the driver. As your driver is the lowest lofted and longest club in your bag, you will need to position your ball position more forward in your stance.This encourages a more sweeping action through the hitting zone and will create a strike with more of an upward hit (positive attack angle) and give you a better chance of finding the sweetspot and produce straighter drives.…

HYPERFLEX II Featuring a completely reimagined BioMorph exoskeleton upper designed to mimic the ligaments of the foot, HYPERFLEX II delivers lightweight support, waterproof mesh upper, cushioning and enhanced flexibility to elevate your game to its highest level. Since its inception, the HYPERFLEX family of golf shoes has been worn by several of the world’s best players, including newly crowned PGA champion, Jimmy Walker. SRP: $279.95 with BOA; $249.95 with lace. ICON BLACK ICON Black shoes combine first-class craftsmanship with the finest premium materials to give you a golf shoe that is as timeless as the game itself. Luxurious calfskin leather uppers offer unparalleled beauty, fit and resistance to stretching. Memory Foam is located in the tongue and around the collar, providing a custom fit to enhance comfort. Worn by 2016…

“IT’S EXTREMELY REWARDING... TO GET A WIN UNDER THE BELT, IT’S PHENOMENAL.”– ROD PAMPLING WINNING SCORE: 20-under-par, 264 DEFEATED: Defeated American Brooks Koepka by two shots. DEFINING MOMENTS: The veteran Queenslander dropped two shots early on the back nine of the final round but bounced back with four birdies in his closing six holes, including a 32-foot bomb on the final green, which he triumphantly walked in with his arms raised. WITH THIS VICTORY… : • Pampling broke a PGA Tour winning drought dating back to 2006 when he won Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Invitational. • The 47-year-old is now exempt on the PGA Tour through until his 50th birthday, when he will be eligible to play the PGA Tour Champions. • Pampling now gets a start at the Masters,…

THE COURSE LOCATION: Banks Ave, Pagewood. The club is a 15-minute drive south of the Sydney CBD via either Anzac Parade or Southern Cross Drive. CONTACT: (02) 9349 2101. WEBSITE: www.bdgc.com.au DESIGNER: Lance Giddings & Eric Apperly (1937); Prosper Ellis (1951); Ross Watson (1995 to 2003); Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead (2011 and ongoing). SLOPE RATINGS: Men: 134/128/119; women: 132/128. PLAYING SURFACES: A1/A4 bentgrass mix (greens), Windsor Green couch (tees, fairways and surrounds), Creeping, Sheeps and Chewings fescue blend (rough and bunker lips/ surrounds). COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Justin Bradbury. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Blake Ballinger (golf operations); Dennise Hutton (teaching professional). THE CLUB MEMBERSHIPS: Membership is currently open, with discounted joining fees and annual subscriptions for prospective members younger than 40. Contact the club for full details. RECIPROCAL CLUBS: Federal (ACT); Brisbane, Peregian…

Marc Leishman would like you to know two things as he returns to RACV Royal Pines Resort for his first appearance at the Australian PGA Championship in three years. Firstly, his desire to win at home is stronger than ever (and he’s bolstering his late-year schedule to help make that happen) and, secondly, he’s a man and a golfer with a far heightened sense of perspective than last time he was spotted in Queensland. Now 33, Leishman has spent much of the past few years as the nation’s third-best golfer. Typical of the golfer and the person, he’s done so unobtrusively through a succession of good finishes rather than an array of trophies. Even his most recent title, the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, came opposite last year’s Australian…

1 BLIND PUTT Start by setting up a 20- to 25-foot putt. Read it for slopes as usual, and take your regular address. But before you strike the putt, either close your eyes or pull your hat over them. 2 PERCEPTION VS REALITY Based on your strike, and without looking at the result of the putt, make your best guess on whether the putt went long, short, left or right – for example, “One foot short, six inches left.” 3 ALIGNING FEEL WITH REALITY Having made your call, look at the result of the putt. How close was your guess? The nearer the better; it means your perception was closer to matching reality. 4 CLEARER PICTURE As your prediction gets more accurate, this will fine-tune your learning on how hard…

1 REVERSE GRIP Turn the club upside down and grip it with your trail hand only, just below the head as shown. Of course the club feels very light in your hand. THE SPEED ROUTINE Follow this routine. Make five one-handed swings; then grip the club normally and swing to a tee. Then hit two shots. Repeat this through the week and you’ll feel more freedom and speed in your regular action. 2 SOUND OF SPEED Make a few one-handed swings. As you get used to the sensation, focus on the relationship between the volume of the swish you’re making and the speed the grip’s travelling. 3 THWART TENSION Experiment to see just how loud you can get that swish. You’ll quickly discover that tension mutes the swish, while freedom…

1 LINE IN THE SAND Draw a line in the sand at right angles to your target line. Stand so the line runs up to your lead foot instep The line represents the ball’s position. Grip with your trail hand only. 2 ONE-ARMED SWINGS With a regular stance move up the line, making normal swings. Look for your sand divot to start two-three inches behind the line. When you can do this regularly, introduce a ball. 3 RELEASE ‘UNDER’ Look to release the club ‘under’ the ball, its head and shaft releasing ahead of the hands. This keeps loft on the face and helps the sole’s trailing edge or bounce contact the sand. BAD INFLUENCE The top hand tends to want to pull the butt forward, creating a downward, digging…

PRESET IMPACT Take your 7-iron, and adjust your stance to stage impact. Push your hands forward of the clubhead. Allow your trail knee to kick in towards the target, opening the hips. DRY RUN This lets you feel the lead side-oriented impact position you need to compress the ball. With a good position so fresh in your muscle memory it will help you re-find the position as you hit the ball. COMPACT BACKSWING From this preset impact position, swing back. Try to keep your body as close as possible to your start position. Of course this will shorten the backswing but that’s fine; just try to get the hands to chest height. COMPRESS THE BALL Retaining that impact feeling, swing into the ball. You’ll find it a lot easier to…

1 HIP REPLACEMENT An open stance puts your trail hip in a high position that blocks your arms swinging back. It promotes an out-to-in, steeper swing path which increases the risk of chunking. 2 CLOSER STANCE To beat this, pull your trail foot back so the toe cap is level with the ball of your lead foot. As you do this, you will feel your trail hip move back fractionally inside your target line. NATURALLY SHALLOW ARC With this closed stance, you are partially turned before the club has moved. This makes it easier for your body to respond to the club as it swings back, creating a naturally shallow in-to-in arc. SHALLOWER ATTACK This in turn sets up a shallower attack, which means that even if the club contacts…

EVEN good players go through periods of poor ball-striking. If you are struggling to hit your irons cleanly, try this drill. Place a tee in the ground, three to five centimetres in front of the ball. When you swing, focus on hitting the ball and then hitting the tee in the ground after impact. This will ensure that you strike the ball with a downward blow, thus increasing your compression on the ball as well as promoting a clean strike. Certified Australian PGA professional (Advanced Coaching) PETER SHAW is the head professional at The Range Robina (Palmer Gold Coast). You can book a lesson with Peter on 0403 290 992 or e-mail therangerobina@gmail.com…

MODEL AND SHAFTS PLAYED: Mizuno JPX900 Forged 4-iron to gap wedge, fitted with stiff-flex steel shafts. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I elected to put in a brief range session with all three sets of JPX900 irons before selecting the Forged model for the round. The appearance is classically Mizuno in style; these irons have a refined but uncomplicated look about them, which I like. They feel well balanced and it was easy to adjust to hitting unfamiliar clubs. HOW THEY PLAYED: It will come as no surprise to learn that I found the Mizuno JPX900 Forged to be a classy set of irons. High-quality irons are what the Japanese company is known for and they’ve delivered once again. The Forged models provided a buttery feel at impact on the good strikes –…