Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Golf Australia

GOLF can be an intimidating game for first-time players, especially women. This might explain why the number of Australian women playing golf is not as high as it possibly should be. But a Golf Australia program for women called Swing Fit is reversing that trend. The program introduces women to the basics of golf in an interactive way, as well as providing simple conditioning and movement exercises. Swing Fit can also help increase your range of movement and flexibility, improve upper, mid and lower body conditioning and even your cardiovascular health. For example, one Swing Fit program being run in Sydney’s southern and eastern suburbs has seen more than 220 graduate and take up the game socially, while nearly 10 percent have gone on to join local golf clubs. Community…

NINE IS JUST FINE THANKS With a typical round and post-round “debrief” taking five-six hours, ‘family friendly’ is not a phrase regularly used to describe golf. I’m passionate about golf, but have only managed a handful of competition rounds in the past few months. A busy job and four children make it hard for me to find the time. Sure, I could probably duck out for a nine-hole social round, but the challenges of trying to improve my handicap and testing myself in a competitive environment would not be there. These things are largely what attracted me to this great game in the first place. So, despite my love of golf, I recently resigned myself to letting my membership lapse at the end of the financial year and racking my…

AS part of our Masters special issue we travel back to 1986, the year Jack Nicklaus stormed to victory to win his sixth green jacket. Can you spot his ball? 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 April 25. The winner and the correct answer…

SERGIO GARCIA The last player to win back-to-back green jackets was Tiger Woods in 2002. The only other player to achieve the rare feat was Jack Nicklaus back in 1966. Given it took the Spaniard 18 years to win his first major at the Masters last year, the historical odds are stacked against him, not to mention the fact that there will be plenty of distractions for the defending champion during Masters week. If he can successfully navigate his way through the functions, Champion’s dinner and media commitments, Garcia has the form and Augusta National experience to contend deep into Sunday afternoon. On the back of winning the Singapore Open back in January, Garcia by-passed the PGA Tour’s west coast swing and began his Masters prep at the Honda Classic…

To understand Tiger’s comeback, you have to understand the history. During the decade he worked with Butch Harmon, Tiger had several swing flaws – a shut face in the takeaway, a bowed left wrist at the top and a rerouting of the club in the downswing that caused his left leg to jump out the way through impact. The volatile transition damaged Woods’ body. Between 2004 and 2010, Hank Haney made wholesale changes to Tiger’s swing that were just disastrous. He taught Tiger to take the club back on the shaft plane then roll and bow the left wrist into the top of the backswing. This move created an array , , a in confidence. While Sean Foley couldn’t undo the damage, Woods found a coach, in Chris Como, who…

It took just a couple of weeks for Titleist’s latest wedges, Vokey Design SM7, to become the most played wedge on the PGA Tour. Legendary wedge designer, and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member, Bob Vokey and his team’s commitment to improving upon the previous SM6 model in three key wedge performance characteristics gives the world’s best players, like Jordan Spieth who uses four SM7s, confidence in the new model. “One thing I know from working with tour players the last 20-plus years is that they won’t put a new wedge in play unless it’s better,” Vokey said. “Every time we come out with a new one, we have to prove it. I can’t tell you how many times over the last couple years players asked me and Aaron (Dill)…

Famed golf course designer Dr Alister MacKenzie once wrote: “A pleasurable golf course is not necessarily one that appeals at first sight, but rather one that grows on a player like good music, good painting, or good anything else”. The man, who designed Augusta National and Royal Melbourne, went on to add: “there are many bad golf courses made in an attempt to eliminate the element of luck – a mistake surely. Luck is the zest of life, as well as of golf.” The Links Lady Bay certainly doesn’t fall into MacKenzie’s category of bad courses. In fact, if MacKenzie were still with us today he would probably cast a wry smile as he looked out over the layout and be moved to say “what a pleasurable course this is.”…

HERE’S hoping you’re not sick of hearing about how far the modern golf ball flies – because things are about to get very interesting. The USGA and R&A have decided that it’s time to dial things back, after their annual driving distance report revealed that the average tee shot has increased by more than three yards across seven professional tours since 2016. Golf’s governing bodies identified the distance issue back in 2002 and came together to draw up a Joint Statement of Principles that would ensure the longevity and integrity of the game. But both Mike Davis (USGA) and Martin Slumbers (R&A) have agreed that things have gotten out of hand. “This isn’t just about the male elite game,” Davis said. “The reality is this is affecting all golfers and…

AT the time of going to press, 13 first-time players had received invites to this year’s Masters. History suggests they are at long odds to capture the green jacket. Only three players have ever won the Masters at their first attempt – Horton Smith at the inaugural tournament in 1934, Gene Sarazen the following year and Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. Of the 13 debutantes, a tick over half are professionals, with the highest ranked players including Americans Tony Finau, Patton Kizzire, Xander Schauffele and Wesley Bryan. There will be plenty of interest from China in this year’s Masters, with World No.40 Haotong Li getting his first taste of Augusta, alongside countryman Yuxin Lin – the big-hitting teenager, who won the Asia Pacific Amateur in New Zealand last October. Lin will…

From Broken Bay at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River to south of Newcastle, the Central Coast includes a mix of bays and inlets, pristine beaches, lakes and lush hinterland. The region is a very popular holiday destination with great beaches, heaps of family friendly activities and a wide range of accommodation choices to suit all budgets. It is also a popular getaway spot for golfers too with plenty of courses to choose from. If you are looking for the highest ranked layouts in the region, you can fill three days of golf playing Magenta Shores, Shelly Beach and Kooindah Waters, which are all in close proximity to each other. It is a weekend I can thoroughly recommend. DAY 1 First stop was the acclaimed Magenta Shores Golf & Country…

There’s something to treasure about that age-old ritual of waking up early, boiling the kettle and turning on the television to watch the Masters. But for those who want a real taste of the action, like any true golf fan would, Australian Tours for Sport can help you join the galleries at Augusta National Golf Club. The Masters title once eluded an Australian longer than any other major championship (before Adam Scott captured the green jacket in 2013). But ATFS is currently offering a range of affordable and all-inclusive packages to the 2019 event, which means you won’t miss a moment of brilliance. The Basic Masters Experience Package costs US$2,750 per person, twin share. It goes from April 9 to 10 and includes: accommodation at The Americas Best Value Inn…

DESPITE describing himself as “just an average bloke” and “average golfer”, Michael Middleton from Orange in country New South Wales is anything but when it comes to his noble desire to help golfers improve. The 69-year-old boasts a background in human movement, a love of golf and inquisitive mind. Drawing on all three, he has poured his energy and money into the development of the ‘StraightShooter’ – a training aid he calls: “a flexible lead arm guide that aims to help golfers to maintain a straighter lead arm during key parts of the swing, while also allowing the arm to fold correctly in follow-through.” Middleton might sound like just another keen golfer with an idea but his background in biomechanics (he now runs his own business working in risk management…

On April 11, 1993, Bernhard Langer, somewhat fortuitously dressed in green pants and a yellow shirt, won his second green jacket and the first major title with a putter bearing Scotty Cameron’s name. The now ultra-famous putter maker had previously made putters for numerous manufacturers before setting out on his own and creating ‘Cameron Golf International’ in 1992, and Langer’s win with his ‘Classic 1’ model at Augusta National began his ascent to the top of his craft. One that has seen Scotty Cameron putters, which became part of the Acushnet Company and Titleist in 1994, earn an impressive 35 more major titles since. Of those major wins, 14 belong to Tiger Woods, who will be celebrating a putter-based milestone of his own at Augusta this year, where Woods will…

1 The foundation of any good golf swing is the address position. A poor set-up leads to a poor swing. Rory’s set-up position is one that should be copied by all golfers. It is a well-balanced, athletic position with good posture angles and a straight lower back, which is ideal for a strong rotation of the torso. 2 Rory’s takeaway is a one-piece move where the clubhead, arms and shoulders move together. His hips have not turned and his knees have hardly moved. When a player turns their hips early, it is near impossible to create the resistance coil, between your hips and shoulders, to generate power in the downswing. 3 This is a position you can aim for by practicing your backswing in a mirror, taking note of your…

It’s not often that the beauty of a golf course can simply take your breath away, or at the very least make you stop for a minute to soak in the scene. If it was by the sea, discard that one because any course or hole, no matter how good or bad, can look world class and amazing with an ocean view. Let your thoughts drift away from the ocean to lush strip-cut and undulating fairways – lined with majestic stands of flooded gums as well as vast areas of sub-tropical forest – and punctuated by white sandy bunkers. In the spring, blossoming azaleas and flowering natives add touches of pink, red, white and purple to the colour palette. If you’re now thinking of Bonville Golf Resort, you’ve been fortunate…

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Canada is -63°C at Snag in The Yukon, February 3, 1947. The Canadian town of Eureka in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of northern Nunavut boasts an average temperature of -19°C. The top third of Canada is within the Arctic Circle, home to polar bear and artic fox, and the sea creature with the horn of a unicorn, the narwhal. Canada is a big snow country. Ice country. “BC IS WHERE CANADIANS GO TO GOLF WHEN THEIR OWN COURSE IS UNDER SNOW. MANY RETIRE HERE. ITS MOST POPULOUS CITY VANCOUVER IS COOL LIKE PORTLAND OR SAN FRANCISCO.” And thus you might surmise that Canada is not overly conducive to golf, at least not for several snowed-under months of the year. And if you talk of The…