Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2017 i Golf Australia

EVERY golfer who sits and watches the Masters onTV drools over the beauty and perfection of Augusta National. The flawless playing surfaces, the bright white sand and the flowering azaleas project an image that screams golfing utopia. And if you’ve never been to Augusta National during tournament week and think it’s television trickery, it’s not. It is that perfect. I walked the course for five hours during the first round this year and spotted one weed … to my horror. Unfortunately this perfection has a flow-on effect for golf course superintendents around the world, who are told by their club committee they want green, striped-up fairways, fast putting greens and white sandy bunkers. It’s called the “Augusta Syndrome”. The reality is superintendents, more than ever, are being asked to do…

AS FOR THIS GOLFING VENDOR, HE HOPES TO FIND A SMALLER PLACE IN THE AREA AND CONTINUE HIS WORK WITH FELLOW VIETNAM VETERANS SUFFERING FROM POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. AFTER achieving the dream of many golfers and building his own course, Greg Carter has put his Cockatoo Rise property near Bairnsdale in Victoria on the market. The retired photographer and Vietnam veteran says the approach of his 68th birthday made him realise that the maintenance of the nine-hole layout was starting to catch up with him and he is prepared to part with it for a price above $2.5 million. The prospect of living on your own golf course brings to mind Alister MacKenzie who built a house on the course he designed at Pasatiempo in California so he could “play…

West Australian Curtis Luck has joined the professional ranks after missing out on low amateur honours at the Masters. The 20-year-old signed for a closing even par 72 to finish nine over, three strokes behind American Stewart Hagestad, the 2016 US Mid-Amateur Champion. Luck got to within one stroke of Hagestad late in his final round after four successive birdies from the 12th hole. But a bogey at the 18th hole, combined with two late birdies from Hagestad ultimately proved the difference. The reigning US Amateur and Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion said he was ready to have a crack at earning some money. “It’s been a long time, I started playing like competitive amateur golf when I was about 14, 15. So, five years, just over five years to here. So…

• Max bench press: 120kgs (single rep). • Best Greek restaurant he can recommend: Stalactites in Melbourne. Open 24/7, where Papadatos assures us that a three-course meal in the early hours of the morning is a hit. • Favourite Greek island: Lefkada • Most fun Greek island: Mykonos. • Go to Mykonos dance move: The Sprinkler, in his words “Always go the safe play.”…

Afraid of catching the ground before the ball on a chip shot, the club golfer typically moves the ball back in the stance and pushes the hands forward, reasoning that a more downward strike encourages clean contact. In fact it promotes the very contact he’s trying to avoid. USE MAKER’S ANGLE Put the club down as its designer built it, the sole flush to the turf, and you’ll see gentle forward shaft lean. At this angle the curved, forgiving part of the sole engages the turf. SEE THE BOUNCE Your wedges were built with a duff safety net – bounce on the sole. It sets the middle of the sole lower than its leading edge, with the club soled in its designed position. Using it means that, even if you…

Club players have been bombarded by the instruction to hit down on their iron shots, to the extent that many overdo it. It creates a weak chopping action, when in fact a subtle descending blow is all that’s needed. Here’s how to get a better understanding of the desired attack angle. NEW APPROACH The alignment sticks illustrate the difference between the overly steep attack and the shallower one. The correct, shallower attack focuses the swing’s low point just after impact. BLADE RUNNER To flatten a steep attack, place the propped-up board six inches behind the ball. Hit 7-irons, picturing the sole of the club tracing the board’s angle into the back of the ball. BETTER BY DEGREES The average 7-iron attack angle on Tour is 4.3º down. To realise how…

Many amateurs fail to tee the ball up in the same position twice in a row – or, for that matter, at the same height in relation to the turf. And when you vary your tee height and ball position, your driving patterns become more erratic. This happens because the club is effectively travelling in a circle, so varying ball positions mean it will ‘collect’ the ball at different heights, on a different path and with a different face angle. Even just an inch of variation can make a difference. Your ideal ball position, in harmony with the design of the driver, places the ball 1-2 inches inside the lead heel. Use this two-stage drill to get on top of this issue. STEP 2: MOVE TRAIL FOOT To create your…

Many of the golfers I coach think delicate short-game shots demand light grip pressure, while powerful full swings need a firmer hold – perhaps because long-game shots require physical force and short-game shots more finesse. In fact they have it the wrong way round… and this is why. LONG GAME: GO SOFT Swing speed equals yards and to create speed in the downswing we must move in a certain sequence, the lower body moving the upper, which drives the arms that deliver the club. SHORT GAME: FIRMER HOLD Around the green, control is key – and that means stabilising the clubface with a firmer grip. A firm hold also quietens the hands, which encourages body rotation to play a bigger role, adding consistency. PICK UP SPEED Soft grip pressure permits…

MODEL PLAYED: #1 with SuperStroke Slim 2.0 grip FIRST IMPRESSIONS: As soon as I put the O-Works putter behind the ball on the practice green I noticed the alignment improvements. Having used the Versa series previously I was familiar with the contrasting black and white colour scheme, but the addition of the red Big-T alignment was a noticeable improvement. The red line running along the top line frames the golf ball perfectly and the sightline helps to confidently align the putter face to the target. The Micro-hinge insert also instantly stood out to me, with the texture and look of the small hinges very intriguing. Overall, the O-Works #1 looks like a classic shaped putter full of technology. HOW IT PERFORMED: When using an Odyssey putter it is easy to…

Who doesn’t love a bargain? We all do, and over the following pages you will discover 100 of them – some are courses you may never have heard of, others are some old favourites that manage to keep their green fees down despite being highly acclaimed. To qualify for our best value list, a course’s most expensive green fee was not to exceed $50. From there, we poured through notes and observations made by Golf Australia editors and judges from our various ranking issues to come up with the courses we believe present great, enjoyable golf at a price that won’t break the bank for an afternoon of fun. The green fees listed are the rack rate for visitors, but there are even better deals available with many courses if…

“THE MAIN CULPRIT IN SLOW PLAY IS THE GOLF BALL AND THE DISTANCE THE GOLF BALL GOES” - JACK NICKLAUS THE PGA Tour is currently trialling rangefinders on three of its tours to assess their impact on pace of play – one of golf’s biggest issues. But golf is a sport that relies on doubt. Club selection and shot selection is what makes it exciting; it’s what makes it impressive. So why would we want to remove any aspect of that doubt? Tour players are averaging 38 seconds per shot and are taking longer than ever to complete their rounds. So the PGA Tour’s decision to trial rangefinders on its secondary tours suggests they believe caddies are taking too long to calculate yardages, but that’s rarely the case. Besides, who…

TEAM NSW MEN (Defending Champions): Josh Armstrong, Harrison Endycott, James Grierson, Isaac Noh, Dylan Perry,Travis Smyth, BlakeWindred, KevinYuan. WOMEN: Doey Choi, Amy Chu, Belinda Ji, Grace Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou, Hannah Park. TEAM NT Teams had not been announced at time of publication. TEAM QLD MEN: Chris Crabtree, Charlie Dann, Louis Dobbelaar, Lawry Flynn, Lucas Higgins, Dough Klein, Jed Morgan, Shae Wools-Cobb. WOMEN (Defending Champions): Lisa Edgar, Gennai Goodwin, Darcy Habgood, Dee Dee Russell, Isabelle Taylor, Sarah Wilson. TEAM SA MEN: Lachlan Barker, Sam Burton, Billy Cawthorne, Joe Hodgson, Jackson Kalz, Matthew Lisk, Andrew Nakone Jnr, Will Somerfield. WOMEN: Ella Adams, Sarah Crocker, Charley Jacobs, Caitlin Roberts, Elysia Yap, Jin-YoungYun. TEAM TAS MEN: Nathan Gatehouse, Richard Kube, Greg Longmore, Andrew Phillips, Samuel Rawlings, Paul Read, Mark Schulze, Mitch Van Noord. WOMEN:…

1. SHIFT THAT SPARE TYRE You don’t have to be ‘The Biggest Loser’. Reducing three to five kilos from around your waist can make a big difference to your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Look for ways to downsize your portions of foods that are high in fat and salt, and if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. A dietitian can help, so talk to your Gs for a referral or visit, www.daa.asn.au 2.YAWNING OR SNORING Chronic snoring and day-time sleepiness are signs of obstructive sleep apnoea. This is a condition where your breathing cuts out while you sleep, interrupting the flow of oxygen to your heart and brain, increasing your risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Visiting your Gs is a great starting point. 3. HEART MOVES…

It was 18 years and 74 major starts in the making but Sergio Garcia can now be finally called a major champion. In lengthening shadows at Augusta National Golf Club, the 37-year-old rolled in a 12-footer for birdie on the first play-off hole to defeat Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose and win the 81st Masters Tournament. He joins his childhood idols and fellow Spaniards Seve Ballesteros (1980, 1983) and José María Olazábal (1994, 1999) as an owner of a green jacket. Garcia finally delivered on the huge promise he showed when he was a runner-up to Tiger Woods as a 19-year-old at the 1999 PGA Championship. After nearly two decades, the golfing world had all but lost faith in Garcia ever breaking through at a major. With so much baggage…

Many amateurs work hard to get their feet, hips and shoulders aiming dead at the target at set-up. The problem with that is that you don’t hit the ball with your body, you hit it with the club – and because we stand to the side of the ball, they can’t both aim at the target at the same time. Follow this guide to easily solve this problem. GO PARALLEL Good alignment, and a better swing path, needs feet, hips and shoulders parallel to your ball-target line. For the right-hander, that means aiming them a little left of the target. AIM THE BUTT Place the club across your chest to find the parallel position with the ball-target line for your feet, hips and shoulders. When you get it right, the…

Most slicers respond to the dispiriting sight of the ball cutting away by closing the clubface. While it seems logical, closing the face only increases the slice. Here’s why… and what you should do instead to cure it properly. CLOSED LOOP Seeing their shots curve away to the right, the right-hander typically reacts by aiming the face further left – as illustrated by the magnetic aim device on the face. It might feel reassuring as you look down, but it actively encourages a slice-inducing delivery of the club. OPEN THE FACE To beat this vicious circle, aim the clubface right of the target at set-up (if you are a right-hander, left if you are left-handed). Yes, this is a leap of faith for any golfer afraid of the ball slicing,…

Playing off a downslope is tricky, yet many club golfers are determined to make the worst of it, catching the ground early when there is no need to. It’s often caused by leaning back and trying to scoop the ball up. Instead, trust the loft to send the ball up and work on your ‘low point’. FORWARD THINKING Off downslopes you must keep the low point of the club’s arc holeside of the ball. That way you can engineer a downward attack angle that allows a clean strike from this lie. A NEW LOW For the hoop’s low point to be ahead of the ball it has to move forward. So you do too: your shirt buttons moving ahead of the ball, creating a forward lean in the shaft. WAY…

MODELS PLAYED: Callaway Chrome Soft and Chrome Soft X balls. HOW THEY PLAYED: In all my time in the golf industry I have never been a one ball player. Whenever a new ball comes out I am always eager to try it and compare it with the other balls on the market, and as a rule I have typically gravitated towards the firmer versions in Tour level balls. Having used the standard Chrome Soft on numerous occasions and enjoyed its combination of soft feel and tour level performance, I was intrigued by the newly released Chrome Soft X. A similar ball, according to Callaway, that had a slightly firmer feel along with lower ball flight and different spin characteristics. With my firmer ball preference I was excited to try the…

“TO BE ABLE TO JOIN HIM (JOSÉ MARÍA OLAZÁBAL) AND SEVE AS MASTERS CHAMPIONS FROM SPAIN, IT’S UNBELIEVABLE.” WINNING SCORE: 9 under par, 279 (won in a playoff). DEFEATED: Garcia defeated Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose on the first playoff hole after going head-to-head the entire final round. DEFINING MOMENTS: Playing the 15th hole on Sunday one shot behind Rose, Garcia nearly holed his 8-iron second shot to the par-5. The Spaniard then made his 14-foot eagle putt to once again draw level with Rose, after the Englishman made birdie at the same hole. WITH THIS VICTORY: • Garcia claimed his first major championship victory in his 74th major appearance on what would have been the 60th birthday of fellow Spaniard, and two-time Masters winner, Seve Ballesteros. • The 2017…

WHENEVER I hear the word “stuffy” applied to golf, I find myself torn. While I acknowledge that the game often lives down to such a description – especially in its dealings with youngsters – there are two sides to every story. Growing up in Melbourne I was happy enough wearing a jacket and a tie in the clubhouse. All I wanted to do was play golf and if that was part of the deal, so be it. I certainly didn’t let it put me off. Albeit unconsciously, I accepted that in every aspect of society lines have to be drawn somewhere. I’m reminded of that every year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The tendency in America is for people to wear caps at golf clubs, inside and out. But not…

SPOT THE BALL WHERE could Dustin Johnson’s ball be in this photo? All you have to do is correctly identify where Johnson’s ball is hidden on the grid, using the letters and numbers (eg. A4, B2 etc). Answer correctly and you could win a dozen Mizuno JPX Platinum and JPX golf balls. The JPX Platinum combines all of Mizuno’s available technologies to deliver a tour feel ball suited to mid and lower swing speeds – up to 90 mph driver swing speed. While the three-piece JPX is designed to deliver increased distance as well as a soft, responsive feel. TO ENTER: Select your grid reference and then go to our website, www.golfaustralia.com.au, to submit your answer. The winner and the correct answer will be published in the July issue of…

WHAT MADE HUTCHEON SO SPECIAL WAS THE WAY HE STRUCK THE BALL ... HIS SHOTS HAD A POWER AND TRAJECTORY ALL OF THEIR OWN WE all have our favourite golfers. As an impressionable youngster I was drawn to Lee Trevino. His combination of constant chatter and consummate shot making was irresistible. Later, as a supposedly impartial journalist, I was one of the many millions who could never get enough of watching the way Seve Ballesteros played golf. But in the period between adolescence and adulthood I had another favourite. During a generally undistinguished “career” as a low-handicap amateur of barely discernible talent (the legendary Gerald Micklem once greeted me with the following: “Hello John, still playing like a prat?”) I had the honour and pleasure of playing both with and…

ADAM SCOTT “I was looking for something special today and it wasn’t even close in all areas. At times I was in position to take advantage, I didn’t, standing in the middle of the 2nd fairway with a 4-iron in and hit a terrible shot. “And then missed a short putt on 3 and my momentum was off to the wrong start. “So I was fighting and it’s hard to feel comfortable all the time out there, especially on a Sunday. So, it wasn’t going my way. “I battled hard and got myself into position on 15 when I had to kind of have a crack, you know, I hit it out to the right and get yourself in a nice position or throw it in there close and make…

Golf, we are often told, is a game of misses – and most of them we can’t be blamed for. After all, the game isn’t exactly easy. However there are some errors that, if we are honest, we really shouldn’t make. Many of us, for example, never tee the ball up in the same position in our stance from one drive to the next. We are also chronic under-readers of putts; and plenty of us are serial duffers of simple chips. These are all simple errors easily avoided – and here, two leading teaching professionals have joined forces to put an end to 10 such Doh! moments.…

Most cups are cut into a slight slope, so have a high side and a low side. The high side is considered the pro side as putts can drop in from there; but most amateurs miss low, giving the ball no chance. This makes our list as it’s such a simple thing to address… and here’s how. 1 - MAKE YOUR READ Head to the practice green and create a 15ft putt with a sideslope. If there isn’t a cup cut in the right position, putt to a tee peg. Spend some time reading the putt, both from the side as well as behind the ball. 2 - PACE AFFECTS LINE Before you pick your line, you must first make a decision if you will die the ball in, or…

The interlocking grip places the index finger of the gloved hand between the ring and little fingers of the lower hand. It’s a good way of uniting the hands, used by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, but if you choose this grip you have to be careful. That interlocking is often overdone… with power and club control taking a hit. INDEX LINKED The key to a better interlock is not to link the hands with the full length of your fingers. Position them so the trail-hand little finger and gloved-hand index finger are only partially entwined. FINGER HOLD Grip the club with this reduced interlock and you will be able to hold the club in the fingers and not the palms – allowing much more wrist mobility and a full,…

Although this is golf ’s most common tip, golfers hardly ever actually lift their heads. If the head level does rise it’s far more likely to be due to issues with flexibility or hitting too hard. But the tip is so ingrained that many golfers still obey it. Alas, it causes only restricted motion and weak shots. Instead, think more of letting your head rotate with the club through impact. LET YOUR HEAD ROTATE Instead of trying to keep your head down, allow your eyes to follow the clubhead. This adds freedom and fluidity to your move through the ball, giving a series of important benefits. IMPROVED ROTATION If your head turns through, you free your chest and shoulders to rotate – note how my sternum faces the clubhead at…