Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2018 i Golf Australia

I’LL confess straight up. It took me a long time to really like Phil Mickelson. When he first started making waves on the PGA Tour back in the early 90s I guess I looked at him as being just another precocious young American with some serious talent. After all, back then, no Australian golf fan would have been cheering for anyone but Greg Norman. But by the time he broke through for his first major win at the 2004 Masters, plenty of golf fans, like me, had started to really warm to ‘Lefty’. I didn’t pity him but I felt he deserved his time in the sun having finished second or third in the majors on eight occasions before finally getting over the line. Of course, he has since accrued…

OPEN Championship venues such as coastal erosion. St Andrews (pictured), Carnoustie and Royal “Only a small increase in sea-level rise Troon could be underwater by the end of the would imperil all of the world’s links courses 21st century if sea levels rise even slightly as before the end of the century,” the a result of climate change, according to a report says. new report. The reports adds that: “more than 450 The Climate Coalition says golf will be one years of golfing history at Montrose is at risk of the hardest hit sports, especially in the of being washed away by rising seas and United Kingdom where hundreds of links coastal erosion linked to climate change.” courses lie on the coast. Research published by Dundee University Last year, the…

RYO Ishikawa has his eye on this bunker shot, but where could his ball be? 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. Entries close 11.59pm on March 21. The winner and the correct answer will be published in the May 2018 issue of Golf Australia magazine. WINNERS & ANSWERS…

Fresh off his maiden European Tour campaign, New Zealand’s No.1 ranked player, Ryan Fox, has his sights firmly set on winning tournaments in 2018. With none higher on his priority list than this month’s ISPS Handa New Zealand Open. The long hitting Fox says he is finding form at just the right time for the event, which will be played in a Pro-am at The Hills Golf Course and nearby Millbrook Resort in Queenstown, from March 1. “I’d like to have a really good week at a New Zealand Open and hopefully get a win,” Fox told Golf Australia. “All the best New Zealand players have won a New Zealand Open and I’d certainly like to be in that category at some stage at the end of my career.” Despite…

10 AUSSIES ROLLED AT ST ANDREWS There is nothing a Kiwi enjoys more than beating an Australian in some kind of sporting pursuit. The feeling is mutual. New Zealand has never won a professional team event like the World Cup of Golf or the Dunhill Cup, the now defunct three-man team match play event that was played annually over the Old Course at St Andrews between 1985 and 2000. New Zealand has been runner-up twice in the World Cup – in 2001 in South Africa and in Mexico in 1967. On that occasion, Bob Charles teamed with Walter Godfrey to finished second behind the US ‘Dream Team’ of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. The Americans would stand in the Kiwis way again, in 1996, at the Dunhill Cup. The team…

For more than 18 years Charlies Golf Tours has been taking Australasians on golfing holidays around the world. Now, it’s sister brand, Golf Encounters, is doing the same thing in New Zealand – enabling people to explore world class course on both the North and South Islands. With a handful of World Top-100 courses in New Zealand, you will not be disappointed – indeed, you will be challenged and taken way out of your comfort zone. And with hundreds more regional and local club courses available all around the country, there won’t be an area in New Zealand where they can’t fix you up with a round or two! Golf Encounters delivers a superbly organised, fun and great value golfing holiday experience for you and your partner, a small group…

766 JUNE 2016 After kickstarting his PGA Tour career with a T5 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in 2015, this is Rahm’s World Golf Ranking (WGR) prior to competing in the 2016 US Open. 551 JUNE 2016 A T23 finish at the US Open at a demanding Oakmont sees him rise 215 places in the WGR. 285 JUNE 2016 T3 at the Quickens Loans National for 14 WGR points sees another colossal jump – this time 266 places. 142 JULY 2016 A T2 finish at the RBC Canadian Open alongside Dustin Johnson and Martin Laird gains him 19.93 WGR points. 120 NOVEMBER 2016 Back-to-back T15 finishes at the Safeway Open and Shriners Hospital for Children Open see another significant rise. 46 JANUARY 2017 Victory at the Farmers Insurance Open…

SO, my wife turns to me the other day and says, “This may sound weird, but I’m insta-stalking Chris Hemsworth and his wife, Elsa Pataky.” “Nothing weird about that,” I replied, thinking if she’s got a thing for Chris Hemsworth, our future might be in trouble because me and Thor are exactly nothing alike. All we have in common is four limbs sticking out of our torsos in vaguely similar places, but even that might be gilding the lily. “They’re in that golden period, you know?” “Uh huh,” I nodded, searching Chris and Elsa on Instagram. It appears the two of them managed to avoid being beaten with an ugly stick by a very wide margin. My wife continued dreamily. “Like, they’re young, they’re beautiful, they’ve got beautiful young children.…

LIKE MOST people in golf, I’ve been watching with interest as the upcoming “refreshing” of the rule book has evolved. Like just about everyone, I would agree that it is something that has been needed for a long time. We started with 10 rules – which was probably about right – but, as humans tend to do, we then started asking questions. And for every answer we got two more questions. Which is why the “decisions book” is now about three-feet thick. One of the craziest aspects of tour golf is that our officials don’t make their on-course rulings out of the rule book. Instead, they consult the decisions book, which is full of weird and wonderful things that have happened in the past. It’s just like the legal system…

The night is only a pup, and the twinkling lights dance and frame the harbour as a crisp sea breeze fills my lungs with salty air. I am sitting outside a lively bar in Auckland – and I can’t wipe the smile off my face. Perhaps it’s because the beer has started to work its magic, or because of the waitress who just poured me another … But I get the feeling it has something to do with the quality of golf that’s on offer in this glorious part of the world. We are blessed with some truly great golf courses in Australia – but our neighbours across the Tasman have plenty to brag about, too. Despite its proximity to home, as well as its prominence on my ‘to-do’ list,…

CHIP IT CLOSE MASTER THE BUMP-AND-RUN My philosophy on the short game is to always pick the simplest shot available. There’s no point playing a flashy flop from the fringe when a simple bump-and-run will do the job nicely. I use this shot whenever I can since the method is easy to learn and repeat. It’s a great shot for amateurs to learn because it gets the ball on to the ground quickly where it can roll towards the hole without too much spin. It’s basically a long putt with an iron. Here’s how to play it. 1 I like to play the ball back in my stance off my back foot and push my hands forwards towards the target. This takes the unnecessary hand action out of the shot.…

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The all black Silencer bag I tested had a sleek, modern look that I would happily use as my own bag, unlike some older, bulky club organising bags of years gone by. On the performance side, I was a little sceptical about the bag’s ability to silence the eternal rattling of clubs that golfers are all too familiar with, until I put my full set in the individual slots and turned the bag upside down and shook it. No clubs fell out, moved or knocked together. HOW IT PERFORMED: During my multiple games with the Silencer, it felt like I discovered a new feature or pocket each time out. Each of the speciality pockets deliver spacious and protective spots for the numerous items golfers carry on them. The…

CHATEAU ELAN AT THE VINTAGE Everything you desire is right here … Boutique accommodation, an exquisite day spa, dining, bars, and an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman. Modern rooms with a touch of French ambience – relax in style by the fireplace or enjoy a glass of wine on your own terrace. The friendly and welcoming staff will add that personal touch to your stay: A luxurious, boutique holiday experience, without the luxury price tag. Find the celebrated fairways of The Vintage Golf Course quite literally on your doorstep. And indulge at the day spa, offering 17 treatment rooms and a hair and beauty salon for much needed holiday relaxation. Chateau Elan & The Vintage is located in the heart of the Hunter Valley, providing a luxury escape…

RELATIVELY MODERN TIMES ACTUALLY THROW UP A SERIES OF CANDIDATES, ALL WORTHY OF MENTION IN THE CONVERSATION. IT’S NOT a debate you hear very often. Unlike its near-neighbour – “who is the greatest golfer never to have won a major championship” – wondering aloud the identity of the best player who won only once at either the Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship or the USPGA is not something that normally energises the minds of many. Well, never fear. That longtime omission is about to be definitively rectified. Ever fearless and informative, this column is here to plug the gap. But where to start? Relatively modern times actually throw up a series of candidates, all worthy of mention in the conversation. Adam Scott (2013 Masters). Jim Furyk (2003 US…

“I THINK LAST YEAR WAS A GOOD KICK IN THE BUTT, YOU KNOW, NOT REALLY BEING TALKED ABOUT – AND BEING TALKED ABOUT FOR THE WRONG REASONS.”– JASON DAY WINNING SCORE: 10-under-par, 278. DEFEATED: Swede Alex Noren and American Ryan Palmer in a sudden-death playoff. DEFINING MOMENTS: Beginning the fourth round three back of overnight leader Noren, Day fired a two-under 70 to hold the lead in the clubhouse. Noren then signed for a 73, after failing to birdie the par-5 18th hole, and a tie at 10-under alongside Day and Palmer. Playing the 18th again, Day and Noren traded birdies, while Palmer made a par five to drop out of the contest. The pair delivered the same result a second time before making matching pars at the par-3 16th…

“SOME MEMBERS BELIEVE THE CLUBHOUSE IS HAUNTED AND CLAIM TO HAVE SEEN A GHOST, ALTHOUGH MOST ARE SCEPTICAL.” ANYONE with a sense of history should get excited when visiting Riversdale Golf Club in Melbourne’s east as it celebrates its 125th anniversary. A plaque on the pro shop wall sums it up well when it says the building dates from 1862 and was formerly the country home of Sir Redmond Barry, the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to hang in 1880 but acquitted the Eureka Stockade rebels in 1855. As well as watching Melbourne grow – the city skyline 12 kilometres away can be seen from the 6th hole – the club has produced more than its share of marvellous golf and golfers. Both Peter Thomson and David Graham, who between…

JON RAHM HAS ALWAYS BEEN DIFFERENT. He was different when he won the Spanish Under-16 Championship by nine strokes when he was only 14 years old. He was different a year later when he won the Under-21 national title by five shots. He was different when he arrived at Arizona State University (ASU) on a four-year golf scholarship barely able to speak more than a few words of English. And he was different again when he started notching up collegiate titles at a rate not seen since Phil Mickelson passed through the very same campus in the late ’80s. Rahm would eventually claim 11 NCAA individual titles to Phil Mickelson’s 16. They call me the best right-handed player in the history of the college,” Rahm says, laughing, as we chat…

MODEL PLAYED: 18° loft, fitted with KBS Tour C-Taper stiff shaft. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The look of the X Forged UT matches perfectly with Callaway’s new forged iron models. The back of the Utility is almost identical to the X Forged iron and at address it looks like a slightly beefed up version, with a thicker topline and slight bulge at the back. Off the clubface I instantly noticed how powerful the X Forged UT felt, with the ball really jumping off the face and the ball flight low and strong. HOW IT PERFORMED: I have always been a fan of utilities and regularly have one in the bag – and this model is right up there with my favourites that I have tried thanks to its powerful flight, which is…