Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2018 i Golf Australia

IN the days and weeks after Peter Thomson passed away, the tributes to the great man flowed. It seemed like every Australian who has ever picked up a golf club had a ‘Thommo’ story to tell. One of my favourite yarns dates back to The Open at Royal Birkdale in 1954 and that white jacket he donned for the trophy presentation. Back in those days the championship finished on Saturday with 36 holes played in the day. Thomson carded a 69 in the morning and was locked in a share of the lead with Welshman Dai Rees and Englishman Syd Scott with the afternoon round to play. While Rees and Scott ate their lunch, Thommo ducked back to his hotel to grab the white jacket and a tie for the…

WHAT PHIL SHOULD HAVE SAID – AND WHAT IS SURELY IN HIS HEART – WAS THAT HE HAD SIMPLY HAD ENOUGH. IT is the morning after the day before here on Long Island and I’m still thinking about Phil Mickelson. By now – and certainly by the time you read these words – just about anyone on the planet with even the most tenuous interest in golf will know what the game’s greatest-ever left-hander got up to on the 13th green at Shinnecock Hills during the third round of the 118th US Open. Or should that be Shinnecock-up Hills? While this column is not going to condone Mickelson’s actions – his blatant disregard for both the letter and spirit of the law was hugely disappointing, especially in one so influential…

DON’T LET THE TAIL WAG THE DOG I have read with interest the comments in Golf Australia over the last couple of months concerning driving distances, following the most recent R&A/USGA report. One of the most important and relevant comments came from the great Ernie Els when he pointed out that for the future of golf, the amateur game is more important than the professional game, and consequently no changes should be made that would adversely impact the average amateur. In addition, I believe bifurcation would be a huge mistake. Equipment marketing is significantly built around endorsement from professionals using that equipment – that obviously doesn’t work if we adopt bifurcation. It would also create a material problem in the transition from the amateur to pro ranks. And while a…

TIGER Woods has made light work of this bunker escape. Can you spot his ball flying out of the sand? 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 August 22. The winner and the correct answer will be published in the October 2018 issue of Golf…

When Sarah-Jane Smith shot to the lead at the US Women’s Open a few months back, international media outlets were rushing to learn whatever they could about the 33-year-old Queenslander. That’s not to say they didn’t already know who she was. The World No.97 had played on the LPGA Tour since 2006 and made 222 starts. But she had only posted eight top-10s and had never claimed a title – so her story was seldom told. On May 31 at Shoal Creek, however, Smith had given them something big to report; she had shot a five-under-par 67 and was co-leading the oldest major championship in women’s golf. The following day, Smith fired another 67 and would eventually own a three-stroke lead heading into the weekend. Despite the enormity of the…

2004 PGA Tour Money: $3,724,984 (7th). Worldwide Wins: 2. Best World Ranking: No.9. Worst World Ranking: No.28. Strokes Gained: Putting: .824 (2nd). Putts Per Round: 29.00 (90th). 3-Putt Avoidance: 3.31% (116th). Putting Average: 1.757 (37th). Putting Inside 10 Feet: 88.54% (34th). Average Distance Of Putts Made: 88ft 1in (1st). 2013 PGA Tour Money: $4,892,611 (6th). Worldwide Wins: 4. Best World Ranking: No.2. Worst World Ranking: No.7. Strokes Gained: Putting: -.027 (108th). Putts Per Round: 29.52 (134th). 3-Putt Avoidance: 2.59% (34th). Putting Average: 1.775 (72nd). Putting Inside 10 Feet: 86.62% (107th). Average Distance Of Putts Made: 70ft 8in (113th). 2018 PGA Tour Money: $955,712 (101st). Worldwide Wins: 0. Best World Ranking: No.51. Worst World Ranking: No.79. Strokes Gained: Putting: -.530 (194th). Putts Per Round: 30.46 (201st). 3-Putt Avoidance: 4.94% (203rd). Putting…

I LOVE using a line on the ball in training, although, I do have some students that don’t use any line at all, and that’s fine also, they are intuitively good aimers. For an intuitive player, putting a line on the ball can actually make them worse. The majority, however, are the opposite and putting a line on the ball gives great feedback on the quality of strike. If the line is scrambled when hitting putts (pic 1), I get players to do a putting to nowhere game. With no target and a lined-up ball, hit some 10- to 15-foot putts to nowhere, solely focusing on the quality of the strike and roll of the ball rather than making putts. A good roll will see the line on the ball…

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Range finder technology has come a long way in a short period of time, and the Approach Z80 is a great example of this progression as an all-in-one laser and GPS. I instantly took note of the compact size of the unit, with the box containing the laser, carry case, charging cable and instructions almost the size of some of the original lasers on the market. The unit fit perfectly in one hand, with the three buttons, which make navigating in the menu easy, in perfect position. While the view through the eyepiece was bright and extremely clear. HOW IT PERFORMED: When watching professional golf, it is interesting to hear how much information caddies give players. The Z80 delivers this type of experience, unfortunately without carrying your bag,…

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: One of the things I noticed instantly about the Pathfinder 3 was it came out of the box fully assembled, and was relatively compact in size when folded up, meaning it will fit in almost any car. From an aesthetics perspective, the cart is smart and sleek and the variety of colours – six on offer – allows you to personalise your buggy/ bag combination. While my stand bag fit comfortably on the buggy and the bungee cords and bracket locked it in place once they were adjusted. HOW IT PERFORMED: The first real test for any buggy is how easily it folds and unfolds, as there is nothing worse than wrestling with multiple steps and clasps in the car park before your round. This wasn’t an issue…

DID you hear about the shot clock tournament in Europe recently? It was the Shot Clock Masters in Vienna, won by Mikko Korhonen with a score of 16 under. Basically, it worked like this, the first player in the group has 50 seconds to play their shot, while the rest have 40 seconds. That’s all shots – from the tee to tap ins. Mad. The pace of play was off the charts with rounds taking a little over four hours. And with a winning score of 16 under, it doesn’t look as if the big boys suffered too much. Second place was 12 under – hardly a disaster. And European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said it was a huge success. Dir! What’s not to like? Fast golf is bloody…

TWO of Australia’s most famous tournament venues have won the rights to host the 2020 and 2022 editions of the Australian Open. A strong field of contenders from Melbourne’s famous Sandbelt put their credentials to Golf Australia to fill the “release years” from the current eight-year contract with Sydney. Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt was grateful to all clubs for their enthusiasm in the bidding process, but was delighted to announce that Kingston Heath Golf Club would play host in 2020 and then Victoria Golf Club in 2022. “We were extremely impressed with the level of interest in hosting our men’s national championship from so many clubs in the Sandbelt,” Pitt said. “In Kingston Heath GC and Victoria GC, we know we have two proven venues whose reputations will…

GOLF recently lost one of its most ardent adherents and amazing characters with the death of Oliver Green, a war hero and retired RAF air commodore, a day short of his 98th birthday. Although dismissive of his own ability, he became a scratch player who took his clubs to war and went on to build golf courses in Poland and England and a practice putting green in his adopted Australia. The Polish course was at Stalag Luft III, the German POW camp 160 kilometres south-east of Berlin, where he spent four years after being shot down in his Hurricane fighter near Tobruk in North Africa on July 7, 1941. Beneath this nine-hole sandscrape layout (pictured below) was a network of tunnels named Tom, Dick and Harry used in the Great…

Peter Thomson played in The Open Championship 30 times and missed the cut just four times including his farewell open in ’84. But he dominated The Open for two decades. Between 1951 and 1971, he finished in the top-10 18 times in 21 starts. Perhaps, more impressively was his run from 1952 to 1958 when he collected the Claret Jug four times and finished no worse than tied second. 1954 Becomes the first Australian to win The Open Championship. A miracle sand save on the 70th hole seals the title for Thomson. 1955 Thomson successfully defends his title at St Andrews. His total of 281 sets a new record for an Open at St Andrews, beating Bobby Jones’ old mark from 1927 by four strokes. 1956 With this victory at…

KARRIE WEBB OPEN RECORD: 21 starts. Best finish Won (1995#, 1997#, 2002). The World Golf Hall of Famer has enjoyed Royal Lytham & St Annes throughout her storied career – finishing second (2009), cut (2006), third (2003) and fifth (1998) when the course has hosted this championship. #Webb’s first two victories were before the event was classed as a major championship. REBECCA ARTIS OPEN RECORD: Six starts. Six missed cuts. The 29-year-old is competing in her debut season on the LPGA Tour after spending eight years on the Ladies European Tour. She has never made the cut at this championship – but she has previous experience at Royal Lytham & St Annes, competing here in 2009. HANNAH GREEN OPEN RECORD: Debut. The 21-year-old West Australian has struggled for consistency throughout…

If, like Scott, you haven’t found a comfortable way to putt since the anchoring ban, unanchored putting might be worth a try, but there are a few things to consider before putting the long putter back in play. As Scott himself discovered, there is no right or wrong in regards to technique and club. But as a rule of thumb, former anchored putters will adapt best to a putter of the same length as used previously. However, some will find a shorter putter easier to get comfortable with, and others will benefit from a slightly more upright lie angle due to the handle being held further away from the body. The right hand position, despite being very passive during the stroke, is a case of trial and error. With the…

‘MASTER JUST ONE BUNKER SHOT FOR MOST SITUATIONS’ I have three bunker shots in my repertoire. For a regular shot, I want the ball to run out on landing without too much spin. When I’m attacking a tight pin, or I’m short-sided, I’ll play a spinny shot that flies high and stops quickly. And when I’ve got a lot of green to work with, I’ll play an intentional chunk-and-run where I take more sand so the ball comes out lower and rolls more. But my advice is to focus on the regular splash and get good at that. It’ll help you in 90 per cent of situations. Let me show you how. BUNKER PLAY SUCCESS IS ALL IN THE SET-UP For a standard or spinning splash shot, you want two…

Picking the best wedges for your game is an exciting, albeit sometimes daunting, experience thanks to the range of high quality options available. The bounce and head design are indeed crucial aspects of wedge performance, but the lofts you select and the gaps between them are just as important but are often overlooked by average golfers. With iron lofts consistently getting stronger in recent years, one of the first points of call when setting your wedge gaps is finding out the loft of your pitching wedge, which can vary by as much as six degrees within some brands. It is always best to aim for even gaps between each wedge, preferably between four to six degrees, taking into account your swing type, greenside shots you like to hit and common…

MODEL PLAYED: Cobra King F8 One Length (5-iron to sand wedge), fitted with True Temper XP 90 One Flighted regular steel shafts. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Having tested previous one length models from Cobra, I wasn’t nearly as taken aback by the concept of an extremely long wedge and short 5-iron this time around. Although it did take a little bit of time to once again familiarise myself with the idea of standing closer with the long irons and vice versa with the short ones. From a looks standpoint, the F8 definitely improves on the F7 irons, with the long and mid irons big enough to provide a little confidence, while in contrast the short irons and wedges hide their forgiveness well at address. A refined shape and tidy lines give the…

SUN MOUNTAIN SAYS: The Pathfinder 3 push cart folds quickly and easily in two simple steps and has a small, compact footprint, so it easily fits in your vehicle. The accessory console is designed to secure your cell phone, scorecard, golf balls, tees, keys and more, while the cart also has a mesh basket for additional storage and a velour-lined valuables pouch that is perfect for range finders. Adjustable bungee cords on the upper and lower bag brackets secure any bag in place, and work together with the adjustable, universal upper bag bracket, which works equally well for cart or stand bags. Finally, the tracking system allows easy tracking adjustment. For more information contact Australian Golf Supplies at www.australiangolfsupplies.com.au…

THE COURSE LOCATION: The Parkway, Sanctuary Cove, Queensland. CONTACT: (07) 5699 9000. WEBSITE: www.sanctuarycovegolf.com DESIGNERS: Pines – Arnold Palmer (1989); Palms – Ross Watson (2011). SLOPE RATINGS: Pines –132 (black), 127 (blue), 116 (white), 133 (white women), 126 (red women); Palms –130 (black), 125 (blue), 121 (white), 127 (white women), 122 (red women). PLAYING SURFACES: Pines – Bermuda Tifdwarf (greens), Wintergreen couch (fairways); Palms – Bermuda Tifeagle (greens), Wintergreen couch (fairways). GREEN FEES: Pines – Private course. Member’s guests and Intercontinental resort guests only. Palms – $99 including shared cart. Book via the website www.sanctuarycovegolf.com COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Paul McLean. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Matt Ballard, Michael Jones, Steve Darmody and Terry Price. THE CLUB & RESORT MEMBERSHIP: There are five different levels of membership available. Equity Members enjoy full membership including…

“THAT’S WHY YOU PLAY GOLF, TO HOLE A PUTT LIKE THAT ON THE LAST HOLE. THE ADRENALINE JUST COMES OUT AND I MEAN, IT’S THE BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD” – RUSSELL KNOX WINNING SCORE: 14-under-par, 274. DEFEATED: Kiwi Ryan Fox on the first hole of a sudden death play-off. DEFINING MOMENTS: Six strokes back of the lead beginning the final round, Knox got off to a good start with an eagle from close range at the par-5 4th and a birdie two holes later to make the turn in 32. The Scot added three more birdies and a bogey by the time he reached the 18th tee. Having missed the fairway, Knox managed to find the final green and roll in his 40-foot birdie putt to sign for…

“THERE WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A REACTION TO ERIN HILLS, WHERE THE WINNING SCORE WAS 16-UNDER PAR. THE USGA DOESN’T LIKE TO SEE NUMBERS LIKE THAT IN ITS “NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.” THAT’S JUST NOT ITS THING.” SITTING at home watching the US Open at Shinnecock Hills, the first emotion I felt was envy. I’ve missed the last two championships after playing a ton of them in a row, but 2018 was different from 2017. Apart from a little bit of bruised ego, I wasn’t jealous at all of those who played at Erin Hills last year. It looked like a pretty good one to miss. Not so this year. Shinnecock Hills is a wonderful course and I would love to have been there. Opens at places that are so special…

Peter Thomson had won four of his five British Opens when he took his first paying job as a golf course designer working with British architect Commander John Harris. That year was 1964 and Thomson went on to collaborate with Harris on more than 70 projects throughout the world until the mid-1970s. During his years with Harris, Thomson worked alongside another Englishman, Mike Wolveridge, who had played on the US Tour for several years. When Harris died in 1976, Thomson and Wolveridge formed their own partnership. The boom in golf course construction that gripped Australia and south-east Asia during the mid-1980s kept Thomson and Wolveridge busy creating dozens of layouts. Business continued to thrive, especially in the area of resort course developments, and in 1988 Thomson and Wolveridge invited Ross…

It’s hard to argue against the theory that Adam Scott’s 2013 Masters victory wielding an anchored long putter played a significant role in the R&A and USGA’s decision to ban anchored strokes. The image of Scott, often held up as one of golf ’s poster boys due to his enviable golf swing, draped over what was always considered an ‘old man’s’ club clearly didn’t sit right with the game’s governing bodies. Nor did his steady putting performance, that while not nearly as good as his early days on Tour with a short putter, was good enough to take him to the top spot of the world rankings. Once the poorly worded and slightly reactive rule was written, and a date set for it to come into effect, Scott set about…

HOW to vary the length you hit your putts is often debated amongst amateur golfers, whether they favour varying the tempo or the length of the stroke. To develop good distance control you need the backswing to increase in length to hit the putt the correct length, with the follow through generally slightly longer than the backswing. By doing this, you will develop better distance control through centred contact (pic 1) on the putterface and a consistent tempo. Tour players usually have a tempo around 2.0:1 that applies to all putts regardless of length. This means that from the start of the forward swing till impact should take half the time of the back stroke. On average a Tour player will take between 600-700 milliseconds to complete the back stroke…

NEW BALLS PLEASE You can never have too many golf balls, and it’s always nice to spoil Dad with a dozen premium balls, like Callaway’s Chrome Soft and Chrome Soft X. The X is slightly firmer in feel and designed for swing speeds exceeding 105mph, while the standard will suit a wide variety of players and both models use space-age graphene in the outer of the ‘Dual SoftFast’ core. Known for its strength, graphene allows for a greater compression differential between the two cores and helps deliver softer feel, lower long game spin and increased distance, as well as improved greenside performance. RRP: $64.99 (dozen). Contact: For more information including where to buy, visit www.callawaygolf.com.auor phone 1800 217 777. A BETTER STRIKE A comfortable pair of golf shoes is the…

SUITABILITY: Any player from a low to high handicap looking for a forgiving iron offering increased distance and enhanced feel, as well as a simplified approach to iron play. MODELS: The King F8 irons are also available in a traditional variable length model, while Cobra also offer one length hybrids and utility irons. SHAFTS: Aldila Rogue Pro One Length graphite and True Temper XP 90 One Flighted steel shafts are available in regular and stiff, with lite flex also available in graphite. LEFT HANDED: Both the One Length and Variable length King F8 irons are available in right and left handed. COBRA SAYS: The King F8 irons push the boundaries of innovation through the use of electronically enabled grips in each club, allowing golfers to track their performance like never…