Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i Golf Australia

BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, YOU WILL BE TRAWLING THROUGH GOLF SHOPS TRYING DOZENS OF THE LATEST AND GREATEST PUTTERS TO FIND THE ONE … THE legendary Ben Hogan struggled with the putter in the twilight of his career.The winner of nine major championships grew increasingly frustrated that as the best ball-striker of his time he couldn’t seal the deal on the greens and add to his impressive haul of trophies. Hogan even suggested putting should be eliminated from the game. “Hitting a golf ball and putting have nothing in common.They are two different games,” he said. “You work all of your life to perfect a repeating swing that will get to the greens, and then you have to do something that is totally unrelated. “There shouldn’t be any cups, just…

MISSION accomplished. At the start of the 2016-17 PGATour season my aim was simple. After a previous year in which I hadn’t managed to finish inside the top-150, the target was to get myself fully exempt for 2017-18.To give myself the best chance of achieving that, I had to make use of my one-time “top-50 career-money” exemption. Not ideal, but that enabled me to play pretty much a full schedule. In the end, I cut it fine. It wasn’t until the last regular season event in Greensboro that I clinched my card for next year. Arriving in 125th place on the FedEx Cup points list – in other words, the last exempt spot – I finishedT16 in the tournament and wound up 116th. As you can imagine, the pressure involved…

Has Brendan James gone mad? I’ve just read his feature on Jordan Spieth in the September edition and while he makes some very valid points it is way too early to suggest he could be the greatest ever. Yes, he does have a good start with three majors at such a young age but none of us know what is going to happen in the future Who could have predictedTigerWoods would win 14 majors in 11 years and then none in the next nine? (And, is likely not to add to this total.) Spieth is a fine player but he’s hardly in the same conversation as Woods and the great Jack Nicklaus. [Hi Corey, three things here. I’m not mad … not yet anyway. Secondly, Spieth is ahead of the…

THE PRIZE PACK INCLUDES • Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic Driver • Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic 3-wood • Callaway Steelhead XR 3H hybrid • Callaway Steelhead XR irons (4-iron to pitching wedge) • Callaway MD Forged wedges (56˚ and 60˚) • Odyssey O-Works #1 putter • Callaway Forrester 2.0 cart bag • Callaway Chrome Soft balls (six dozen) • Callaway Tour towel • Callaway 64” umbrella • Callaway Apex Tour glove (six) • Callaway travel cover • Callaway Performance Pro Cap • Callaway XFER Fusion golf shoes • Callaway Divot Tool Custom fitting of all equipment Vote for your favourite courses and, just for telling us, you will go into the running to be fitted out like a Callaway Golf staff professional. To submit your entry SCAN THE QR…

While so many of us draw inspiration from names like Spieth, McIlroy and Day, it’s impossible not to be left impressed after meeting golfers like Stephen Mitchell and Jenny Abela. Sure, McIlroy hits drives well over 300 metres, and Spieth seems to find the hole from just about anywhere – but all of that becomes somewhat less remarkable after watching a blind person play golf. It would be remiss of me to continue without first addressing the obvious question: “How do vision-impaired people play golf ?” Well, apart from players being able to ground their clubs in hazards, there’s really only one major difference from sighted golf, as Stephen Mitchell explains… “It all comes down to the caddy, really,” Mitchell said. “They line you up and tell you how far…

MAKE BALANCE YOUR MAIN FOCUS Of all the swing basics, good posture is arguably the most important. You can compensate for a poor grip or slightly out-of-whack alignment, but if you don’t address the ball in balance and with a certain level of athleticism, you’re never going to generate the power and consistency you need to play well. Stand nice and tall with your knees slightly flexed but not bent and with your weight evenly balanced between your heels and toes. Finally, tilt forwards from your hips – not your waist – to create a nice relaxed angle in your upper back. Remember, tension is the biggest killer of good golf, so make your set-up as relaxed and comfortable as possible. PRACTICE TIP REACH FOR YOUR KNEES! To groove the…

EMBRACE ‘BOUNCE’ IN THE SAND In recent years, there has been a huge change in the way in which the world’s top golfers hit bunker shots. In the past, players would set up with their body and feet aiming left of the target, and lay the clubface way open before making a steep backswing and cutting across the ball through impact. Today, most Tour pros play these shots from a square stance and simply release the club into the sand to maximise the bounce on the sole of the club and maintain full loft on the shot. SET LEFT SHOULDER LOW Many amateurs set up for bunker shots like they do for full shots. Instead, feel that your left shoulder is low at address. This helps you control the shot…

FOCUS ON THE PUTT, NOT YOUR STROKE The best way to make the perfect stroke is not to worry about making the perfect stroke. Too many golfers get caught up with the mechanics of putting at the expense of feel, pace and line. As long as you have read the putt well and set up correctly, trust your instincts. And remember, it’s OK to miss. Putting isn’t a life or death experience. THE PUTTING SET-UP AND STROKE Ever wondered why you can hole putts from anywhere on the practice green, yet struggle on the course? The answer is tension. If you’re comfortable at address, you’ll putt more confidently than if you’re tense and awkward. Having said that, there are some best practices. 1. Get your eyes as close as possible…

THE triangle of truth … no it’s not some sort of superhero device for confessions. It is, in fact, the ideal top of the backswing position that leads to pure, true ball-striking. Here we can see the triangle as formed by Henrik Stenson. Now, some analysts might look at this image and suggest Stenson has a slight flying right elbow – where the right elbow separates from the torso and points to the ground behind his body. Even Stenson’s coach, Pete Cowan, admits his charge lets his right elbow fly a little bit, but his next move into the downswing sees the elbow dropped in towards the hip. Stenson’s swing plane actually mirrors the angle of his shoulder plane so he’s in a good position. All the great ball-strikers –…

THE FINAL MODEL IN THE 718 RANGE IS ALREADY A MAJOR WINNER AFTER JUSTIN THOMAS CLAIMED MAJOR GLORY WITH A SET OF 718 MBS … A TITLEIST IRON FOR EVERYONE THE new line of Titleist 718 irons – featuring the powerful distance and ultra-forgiveness of AP1, the tour-proven consistency of AP2, and the introduction of AP3, the longest, fastest Titleist players iron ever – provides dedicated golfers with the breakthrough technology and proven performance that have made Titleist the No.1 iron on the PGA Tour since 2005. Titleist’s 718 iron lineup offers six models – AP1, AP2, AP3, T-MB, CB and MB – precisely engineered to meet the performance requirements of players at every level of the game. Ranging from the maximum distance and maximum forgiveness AP1 to the classic…

Gone are the days of plain coloured cotton golf shirts that cling to you in the heat and offered one, typically boxy, fit. In addition to becoming an important fashion accessory for some, thanks to an ever-widening variety of colours and styles on offer, men’s and women’s golf shirts are now almost as technologically advanced as new model drivers in a bid to keep you cool and performing at your best. The latest golf shirts from the biggest names in apparel are designed to keep you feeling fresh, cool and protected from harmful UV rays. OAKLEY MEN’S GRAVITY Made from 100 percent polyester and featuring a two-button placket, the Gravity polo offers a tailored fit with ergonomic seams and a vented hem. Designed for natural movement, the shirt’s single jersey…

West Cliffs Golf Links is Portugal’s newest layout and is already being hailed as the best in the country, having opened in July this year. Located less than an hour north of Lisbon (about three and a half hours north of the Algarve) on the magnificent Silver Coast, West Cliffs was designed by Cynthia Dye, from the world-renowned golf architecture company Dye Designs Group. The spectacular par-72 clifftop links has been created over 200 hectares of natural landscape, rolling sand dunes and coastal vegetation, and offers sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean from each hole. Andy Newmarch, editor of the respected Top 100 Golf Courses website, said: “West Cliffs is one of the very best European openings in recent years, if not the best. “It’s exciting and dramatic, with quality…

QUEENSLAND duo Jason Day and Adam Scott will both play in Australia this summer. Day has committed to play in the Emirates Australian Open at Sydney’s The Australian Golf Club, which will be his first tournament on home soil since 2013. That year, he famously won the World Cup alongside Scott and finished T6 behind Rory McIlroy at the Open the following week. When Day tees it up on November 23 it will be just his third appearance in the Championship since turning professional in 2006. The 29-year-old was due to play the Open last year but a back injury forced him to withdraw. Injury also prevented a return in 2014 and the birth of second child, Lucy, saw him stay home in 2015. Scott will by-pass the anticipated shootout…

SPOT THE BALL WHERE could Branden Grace’s ball be in this photo? All you have to do is correctly identify where his ball is hidden on the grid, using the letters and numbers (eg. A4, B2 etc). Answer correctly and you could win two dozen Mizuno JPX-S golf balls.The new JPX-S is a soft compression edition of Mizuno’s three piece ball – producing a balanced performance for a wider range of swing speeds, which also boasts Mizuno’s Dimple-Cluster design for improved aerodynamics. 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 December issue of Golf Australia magazine. AUGUST SPOT THE BALL WINNER & ANSWER Our August ‘Spot The Ball’ competition generated a…

AUSTRALIA’S foremost golf writer, Jack Dillon, was recently inducted into the Victorian Golf Hall of Fame at a dinner hosted by Huntingdale Golf Club. You are excused for not knowing of him because he was born in 1893, retired from writing for the long gone Sporting Globe and Herald newspapers in 1961 and died in 1976. Despite the passage of time and the ease of getting information out with modern technology, no one in the craft disputes that he was and remains our best. His career stretched over 40 years in which time he estimated he walked 64,000 kilometres of fairway. He started as a part-timer with the Evening Sun and then caught the eye of Keith Murdoch, Rupert’s father, by stealing his car so he could get to a…

For the best part of a decade, Travis Smyth has followed the same ritual as most Australian golf fans when it comes to watching the Masters – set the alarm for an early rise and catch all the action from Augusta on the TV. His earliest recollections are of Tiger Woods “doing Tiger stuff … hitting incredible shots and doing a lot of fist pumps.” “I think I started watching the Masters when I was about 12 or 13 and I just remember how beautiful the course looked, how the crowd was and it looked like an exciting way to play golf,” Smyth said. “I’ve always felt I’d like to be a part of that. “In amateur golf you don’t always have a big crowd around but I love the…

Blind Golf Australia employs four sight categories for particpants. B1 For players who are totally blind. B2 Players are able to recognise objects up to a distance of two metres.They see what a person with 20/20 vision would see 60 metres away. B3 These players are able to recognise objects between two and six metres away. Again, this is comparable to what a person with 20/20 vision would see 60 metres away. B4 Players are able to recognise objects between six and 10 metres away. Blind Golf is played in the same way as sighted golf, with two major exceptions. Blind Golfers require a caddy (or guide) to assist them around a golf course.The golfer and their caddy form a ’team’ with the caddy acting as the blind golfer’s ‘eyes’.…

THE PERFECT LAUNCH CONDITIONS The modern driver is much easier to hit than its predecessor. But to take full advantage of this club, you’ve got to launch the ball off the tee with speed. There are a couple of important pointers. First play the ball well forward in your stance. Second, you want the feeling of being well ‘behind’ the ball at address. Make sure that as you take your stance, your right shoulder and right hip are lower than the left. Take a look at the white strip on my polo shirt for an example of how your upper body should be angled. INSTANT A great way to rehearse the feeling of the correct driver set-up is to stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hang the driver vertically…

UPPER BODY CONTROLS THE SHOT If you watch most golfers pitching, you’d think the technique was a very ‘wristy’ affair. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. There are many ways of controlling the distance you hit a pitch. You can choke down on the grip, take a different loft, or simply vary the length of your swing. But for me the safest and most consistent method is to simply vary the pace of your swing. In effect, you’re looking to link the head of the golf club with the turning motion of your body. KEEP YOUR ARMS ON TOP OF YOUR CHEST The secret to great pitching is ‘syncing’ the rotation of your body with the movement of the clubhead. To make it easier for the larger…

IT DOESN’T matter what length putt you are faced with during a round, if you move your head during the stroke you will struggle to hit the putt on the correct line and out of the middle of the putterface. Many club golfers mis-hit putts, especially from close range, because they try to steer the ball into the hole.That generally makes your body come up and out of the right posture, opening or closing the putterface at impact. Doing this will see you miss more putts than you will make. What you need to do is to keep your body square to your putting line and maintain a relatively still head through the stroke. Keeping your head steady starts with also keeping the lower body steady through the stroke. Have…

NOTHING kills a swing quicker than tension. Grip the club too tightly and the flow on effect is tense muscles, hands, arms and upper body, which restricts your ability to generate clubhead speed during the swing. Clubhead speed is the key to distance and your body, hands and arms all need to work together correctly to generate the power and speed to hit longer shots. Your upper body needs to store energy through a complete shoulder turn on the backswing.Then your arms drop and swing around the body in the downswing, before the hands release through the impact zone to create speed. As the arms swing down from the top of the backswing and through the hitting area, the speed of the swing will continue to increase if the arms…

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: When I first laid eyes on the Xfer Fusion it was immediately obvious why Callaway used the word fusion in the name. The shoe blends a modern athletic look with a touch of classical golf shoe styling and mixes the comfort of a spikeless model with the stability of a spiked shoe. HOW THEY PERFORMED: After trying on the shoes and instantly noticing the comfort the Xfer Fusions offered I wore the shoes for the first time during a walking game of golf, something I very rarely do with golf shoes having suffered the ill effects of not breaking in shoes before. Instead of ruefully nursing sore feet and blisters I was excited to emerge completely unscathed and came away extremely impressed by not only the comfort of…

It’s no secret corporate golf days are extremely beneficial for building and strengthening business relationships, both within your own team and with your clients. The nature of the sport allows for extensive communication, participation and teamwork, while hosting a well-organised event leaves lasting impressions. Golf clubs are more flexible than ever these days, and are generally able to tailor affordable packages to suit your needs. Everything will be taken care of – from welcome packs to catering, function facilities, lessons, mini golf and activities for non-golfers. While some clubs even offer on-course accommodation. Take advantage of conference rooms to work through any formalities, before utilising motorised carts and indulging in some of the country’s finest golf courses. Most clubs organise and oversee a format of your choice – including ambrose…

HIS IRONS LOOKED OLD ENOUGH TO BUY ALCOHOL.AS FOR THAT PUTTER, IF IT HAD KIDS, THEY’D BE OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE KIDS OF THEIR OWN. WHAT is it about that grass over there being greener? The other day, I spent some time with Darius Oliver the new Wonderkind of Australian golf course design. He’s got King Island’s Cape Wickham in his credits and is very excited about a new project on Kangaroo Island. He’s spent years writing those Planet Golf books: travelling the world, playing beautiful and obscure courses, taking notes, putting lyrical sentences together with all those envy golf course pictures. It would be fun, but that wasn’t the green grass bit. It didn’t even matter that he’s a considerably better golfer. No, the green grass bit was his…

THE COURSE LOCATION: Golf Avenue, Mona Vale, NSW, 2103. CONTACT: (02) 9999 4266 WEBSITE: www.mvgc.com.au DESIGNERS: Original course (members); Ross Watson (ongoing). SLOPE RATINGS: 135 (black), 131 (blue), 130 (white), 127 (red) and 126 (yellow). PLAYING SURFACES: Kikuyu (fairways), Poa (greens). GREEN FEES: $42 (18 holes Wed-Fri); $65 (weekends and public holidays). School children, Senior and twilight rates are also available. COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Sam Neylon. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Gerard Kelly, Steve Jackson and Josh Lane. THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP: Mona Vale offers a wide range of membership options to cater to all golfers from the limited access Fairway membership to seven-day categories for men and women with pro rata rates available regardless of which month you join. Young golfers are encouraged at the club with seven categories offering varying discounts from…

“I MEAN, I WAS NERVOUS TODAY. I WAS PROBABLY MORE NERVOUS TODAY THAN I WAS AT THE PGA, AS WEIRD AS IT SOUNDS.” – JUSTIN THOMAS. WINNING SCORE: 17 under par, 267. DEFEATED: Fellow American Jordan Spieth by three shots, with Victorian Marc Leishman a further shot back. DEFINING MOMENT: Beginning the day in a tie for the lead with Leishman, Thomas made the turn in four under but found himself trailing playing partner Leishman by two shots, after the Victorian recorded an impressive 30 on the front side. But Thomas held steady as his challengers faltered, hitting wedge approaches close on both the 13th and 15th holes, converting both birdie chances. He parred home – including converting a six-foot par-saver on the 16th – to maintain his advantage with…

PREDICTABLY, the seemingly endless flurry of tributes were all-but unanimous in their obsequiousness. When William Porter Payne announced his decision to step down as chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, his 11-year tenure at the home of the MastersTournament wasn’t quite likened to the sort of statesmanship and wisdom displayed by, say, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, or Abraham Lincoln. But many came mighty close within the unbecoming stampede to hail this supposedly great leader. Conversely, such was the scope of the power and influence wielded by the preening head of the green-jacketed membership, few were willing to emphasise any of Payne’s less-fetching foibles. First though, a sincere acknowledgement. It would be churlish indeed not to concede the positive aspects of “mister chairman’s” time behind the armed-guarded gates that emphasise…

Australia will have six players in the field at the Asia-Pacific Championship, all chasing the dream of a win and spot in the 2018 Masters. As you can see by their results during the past two years, one of them will surely be in the mix on Sunday afternoon. TRAVIS SMYTH (NSW) Age: 22. Home club: St Michaels GC, NSW Best Results: • 2017 Northern Territory PGA Champion • 2017 US Amateur quarter finalist • 2016 Australian Amateur runner-up • 2016 WA Open runner-up • 2015 Riversdale Cup champion HARRISON ENDYCOTT (NSW) Age: 21. Home club: Avondale GC, NSW Best Results: • 2016 Lake Macquarie champion • 2016 Riversdale Cup champion • 2016 Avondale Amateur champion • 2016 South Australian Classic champion • 2016 Porter Cup champion (US) • 2015…

Spring is in the air, the days are getting longer and you’ve just watched the world’s top golfers produce a barrage of birdies during the FedExCup playoffs. Now you can’t wait to head down to your home course and take it apart! As we all know, each summer always starts with lofty expectations. But how many times have you been sharply brought back down to earth in your opening rounds of the warmer months? If you want to play great golf now instead of later, give your game a thorough preseason tune-up. Over the next 10 pages, I’ll take you through all of the key areas of your game and help you with your technique, your course management and your practice. Follow my advice and there’s no reason why 2018…

COMPRESS THE BALL The tell-tale sign of a good iron shot is a good divot. Contrary to what you might think, the divot is taken after you’ve struck the ball. To help deliver the slight descending blow you need, visualise a small tee in the ground on the target side of the ball. As you make your swing, focus on removing the tee from the ground. PRACTICE EXERCISE SWING TWO CLUBS TO IMPROVE YOUR RHYTHM It’s easy to get too body dominant in your swing. Remember, it’s called a golf ‘swing’ for a reason. This drill will encourage the correct arm motion. Holding a club in each hand three or four inches apart, make your swing while maintaining the distance between the clubs back and through. If your upper body…

HOW TO HIT CHIPS THAT CHECK Chunked chips are a common problem. The most common error is setting too much weight on your front foot and playing the ball too far back in your stance. This causes the hands to get too far ahead of the club, which leads to an excessively steep attack into the ball and inconsistent striking. 1 SET UP WITH A NARROW STANCE AT ADDRESS You’ve probably been told you need to play the ball way back in your stance and set most of your weight on your front foot for chipping. As you can see, that’s not the case. Play the ball in the centre of an evenly balanced stance. 2 LET THE WRISTS HINGE EARLY You’ve probably also been told you need to remove…

NOT ONLY WERE THEY FORGIVING ON THE SLIGHT MIS-HITS, BUT WHEN I GOT THE BALL OUT OF THE SWEETSPOT THE FEELING WAS GREAT AND THE RESULTING SHOT WAS LONGER THAN I’M USED TO. MODELS USED: Cobra F-MAX Straight Neck driver (10.5° loft), Cobra F-MAX Fairway Offset (16° loft), F-MAX Hybrid Offset (19° loft) and F-MAX irons (5-iron to sand wedge). FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The way a club looks, before you have even swung the club, is important to me. When I pulled the headcovers off the woods I was immediately impressed. The sleek black shape of the driver, fairway and hybrid was very appealing, while the gold trim added to the classy look. The irons have a similar shape to my current set of irons but the chrome finish, with black…

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I really liked the look of these shoes straight out of the box. I’m not one to be drawn to any sort of golf apparel or shoes that scream look at me, which immediately attracted me to these pods. While the sole is a mix of lime green, white and grey colouring, the upper was simply black with subtle Callaway logo on the side.This low key look was very appealing. HOW IT PERFORMED: Buying comfortable golf shoes has always been a bit hit and miss for me. I have a broad, size 13 foot, which is just slightly smaller than what you might find on a yeti. So, while many manufacturers make size 13 shoes, they don’t always come in a wide fitting so I have often had…

THE COURSE ADDRESS: Phillip Hyland Drive, Yarrawonga, Victoria. CONTACT: (03) 5744 0044; www.blackbullgc.com.au DESIGNER: Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett (2010 and 2015). GREEN FEES: $48 (18 holes), $42 (cart). PLAYING SURFACES: Grand Prix couch (fairways), G2 bentgrass (greens). PGA PROFESSIONAL: James McCully. MEMBERSHIPS: The focus at Black Bull is on public-access play. Only land-owners in the Silverwoods Golf and Lifestyle Resort are eligible to take up membership. Contact the club for more details. ACCOMMODATION: There are a variety of options of places to stay in Yarrawonga. We recommend the Golfers Resort Yarrawonga, which was developed by PGA Professional Glenn McCully and his wife, Jan, to host the Glenn McCully Golf Schools. Today, it is the longest running privately owned residential golf school in Australia. With their quality facilities the resort…