Golf Australia November 2019

If you are reading this post November 4 you already know whether the next 600 words or so of this column is on the mark or fanciful. On that date, International team captain, Ernie Els, and his American counterpart, Tiger Woods will announce their four picks for the Presidents Cup matches to be played at Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Coming up with their final quartet is, by far, the hardest job either captain will have before the Cup is hoisted by the winning team on December 15. Els appears to have the easier task with Jason Day, who finished one position shy of the eight automatic qualifiers, seemingly a lock to take his place in the International team alongside fellow Aussies Adam Scott, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith. With a…

Lying three hours north of Melbourne’s CBD and nearly eight-and-a-half hours south west of Sydney, Rich River has well and truly cemented itself as a destination golf venue and tournament host since opening 40 years ago. The West Course was the original 18 holes on the land situated on the New South Wales side of the Murray River in Moama. However, it is the East Course that opened nearly a decade later that regularly receives higher acclaim. The club hopes the renovation work being overseen by Thomson Perrett Golf Design (TP Golf ) will ultimately return the layout to the Top-100 ranked Public Access Courses in the country. The redesigned East layout and slightly amended West Course are also set to benefit – for the first time in nearly 40…

THE COURSE LOCATION: Twenty Four Lane, Moama, NSW, 2731. CONTACT: (03) 5481 3333 WEBSITE: www.richriver.com.au DESIGNERS: Geoff Parslow (West Course 1979 & East Course 1985); Peter Thomson, Mike Wolveridge & Ross Perrett (1998); Thomson Perrett Golf – TP Golf (ongoing). SLOPE RATINGS: East Course: Black 122, White 120, Blue 116 and Red 121. West Course: Black 122, White 112, Blue 109 and Red 120. (Temporary ratings due to construction work at the time of going to print). PLAYING SURFACES: Wintergreen couch (fairways) and Penncross bentgrass (greens). GREEN FEES: 18 holes $50, 9 holes $30. COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Andrew Johnson. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Richard Caiolfa and Steve Loader. THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP: Rich River offers a range of membership options to cater to every variety of golfer, including full membership for $737, six-day memberships…

IT WAS, amidst many over the years, nevertheless a head-shaking moment of no small magnitude. There we all were, gathered around the 1st tee at Gleneagles, waiting for the opening tee-shots on day one of the recent Solheim Cup. The four players were there. In fact, they had been there for a few minutes, taking in the scene and basking in the adulation of the somewhat raucous but good-natured gallery. It was an encouraging time, one that made me feel good about the greatest game. Then Morgan Pressel had to go and spoil it all. After being announced, the 31-year old American – a veteran of five previous Solheims and, presumably, multiple practice rounds in the lead-up to her sixth – stepped forward and teed up her ball. So far…

Who has the best swing in golf? Adam Scott? Louis Oosthuizen? Ernie Els? Rory McIlroy? If you’re looking for an example of a perfect, textbook golf swing, they’re about as close as it gets. And yet, only one of them is in the world’s top 10 and none of them has won a major in the last five years. Rory aside, even regular Tour wins have been thin on the ground for the game’s most aesthetically pleasing swingers in recent years. Let’s look at it another way. Rather than examining how the players with the best swings are performing, let’s look at how the best performers are swinging. Brooks Koepka is World No.1 and has won eight times in the last three years, including four majors. His swing is hardly…

Wolff lifts the club almost straight up, with the clubhead travelling way outside the orthodox plane. His left heel raises completely off the ground while he makes a huge shoulder and hip turn. At the top, the clubhead is directly above his head, pointing way across the line (right of target). From the top, he shallows the club more than anyone else on Tour, putting it way behind him on the downswing. He rotates hard and has his pelvis almost facing the target at impact. He generates immense speed, reaching 135mph with his driver. “I didn’t try to swing it that way,” he says. “If no one ever filmed my swing, I would think I took it straight back and through.”…