Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 - Issue #381 i Golf Australia

If you have spent the past three or four months getting out on the golf course on a regular basis you will have noticed you’re not alone. Golf participation across Australia is booming. Time sheets at member clubs – private, semi-private and public – have been filling quickly, while new memberships are also on the rise. Long-time devotees of the game have started playing even more, while newcomers and others, who are rediscovering the game after some form of hiatus, have found a love for the game. It is the shining light for the sport in a past 12 months we’d all like to forget. However, with more people squeezing on to our golf courses the inevitable by-product will always be longer rounds. Throw a dozen slow players among a…

There have always been more than a few good reasons to like and enjoy Tom Weiskopf. The 1973 Open Champion is a rare breed, a man willing and well able to speak his nimble mind on any number of golf-related subjects. For decades now he has been one of the two or three best interviews in the game. And for a time he was also one of the most entertaining and informative voices in television commentary. “What’s going through Jack’s mind right now, Tom?” Weiskopf was asked on-air as Nicklaus stood on the 16th tee in the final round of the 1986 Masters the Golden Bear would go on to win. “If I knew that, I would have won this tournament,” was the classic, unforgettable and poignant response from the…

There aren’t many better layouts in world golf than Royal Melbourne Golf Club’s Composite Course and – in February, 2004 – there weren’t many better players on the planet than Ernest Theodore Els. On February 5 of that year, for instance, Els was ranked No.3 in the world rankings behind Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods. But if you were to judge him on his opening round at the Heineken Classic alone, you would struggle to imagine anyone being able to best the big South African. Els, who was the back-to-back defending champion of the European and Australasian co-sanctioned event, returned a course-record 60 after hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation and requiring only 25 putts around the Composite Course, which incorporates 12 holes from Alister MacKenzie’s West Course and…

One of the oldest clichés in golf is that it’s a game of opposites. Higher score is worse, lower score is better. The further you aim left, the further right your ball seems to go. You get the picture. Anyway. One area this cliché rings particularly true happens to involve water. Even people who have never struck a golf ball in their life would understand that hitting your ball into water must be one of the most heart-sinking aspects of our great game. But that’s not always the case. It can also be one of the most exhilarating experiences out there, depending on the situation and your location. Sydneysider Sean O’Reilly has created a completely biodegradable golf ball called the Water Birdie, which is perfect for aquatic practice and fun.…

News that the PGA Tour and the European Tour are going to be working more closely together in the future wasn’t really a surprise. There have always been rumours that the European Tour is very reliant – some might say over-reliant – on the revenue generated by the Ryder Cup matches. And at some point, in order to keep pace with the prize funds expected at the top level these days, the guys at Wentworth were inevitably going to need some help in that department. Some underwriting was always going to be required. In contrast to the European Tour, the PGA Tour is a behemoth. The United States is the biggest commercial market in the world for sport. Everything over there is amazingly well set-up and thought-out. And the PGA…

On weighing his balls “On a 15ft putt, a putt can break up to four inches, based on how you orientate that golf ball. Every single ball that I play with is tested and measured precisely. I put a golf ball into an Epsom salt solution, it starts spinning and gradually slows down until there’s this low side. I mark it on the top and test how much weight I’m going to have to put on to the top so it flips back over. If it’s more than 60 milligrams of lead tape, I won’t play it.” On his thirst for knowledge “If I wanted to learn Arabic or Russian, I could. Or tie my shoes in a new way, I could. Why? Dedication. I’m not really smart, but I’m…

1 KNOW YOUR CARRY Ever noticed how often your drives just about manage to find their way into fairway bunkers? That’s a combination of smart thinking by the designer and poor decision-making by you. If you know exactly how far your drives carry and roll, you can prevent this from happening again. 2 USE THE WHOLE FAIRWAY Most golfers simply aim down the middle without thinking. A smarter strategy is to use the entire fairway. If you draw the ball, aim at the right edge. If you hit it straight, you’re right edge. If you draw it, you’re in the middle, and if you over-draw it you’re left edge. Reverse the concept if you hit a fade. 3 DRIVE TO LANDING ZONES Before you hit your tee shot, think about…

MODELS PLAYED: Big Bertha B21 irons (5-iron to AW), fitted with Callaway RCH 65 Regular graphite shafts. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Using smaller-headed irons myself, the size of the soles and overall appearance of the Big Bertha B21 irons took a little getting used to during my first couple of hits, but the forgiveness and distance capabilities were clear straight away. I found that although not greatly significant, my carry distance increased a little due to the higher flight and forgiveness and during my first round, where I played quite well, when I did miss shots it was typically long of the green. I was instantly impressed with the short irons and wedges from the set, while I took a little while getting comfortable with the longer irons, which was no real…

Cost: $299.95. Tested by: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Writer (GA Handicap 9.4) FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I was struck, upon opening the box of the new Stratos shoes, that there is something quite un-FootJoy about the appearance of the company’s latest model. However, once the shoes were on, the comfort, support and all-round performance indicated they were certainly a product of the famed company. Wearing the shoes for the first time straight to the course for a walking round, comfort was the first feature to standout to me. Initially thinking the feeling could be described as walking on a cloud, I quickly changed my tune, as I don’t believe a cloud would be as supportive as I found the FootJoy Stratos. HOW THEY PERFORMED: With a design focused on comfort, it was…

IT IS one of the most well-worn cliches in sport to take things one week/day/round/game at a time. But for Australia’s highest-ranked male player, Adam Scott, that is just how he will be approaching 2021. “WELL, YOU KIND OF HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN … THINGS ARE CHANGING. EVEN JUST GETTING HERE TO HAWAII, THE PARAMETERS CHANGED LIKE THREE TIMES IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP.”– ADAM SCOTT Beginning 2020 in arguably his best form since winning The Masters in 2013, the Queenslander was victorious at his first PGA Tour start of the year at the Genesis Invitational. That win came just two months after claiming his last tournament of 2019 at the Australian PGA Championship. However, like the entire world, Scott’s year was derailed by COVID-19. The 40-year-old played a…

I really enjoyed reading Brendan James’ column (December 2020) about stepping back in time to play with the clubs of his youth. And I wholeheartedly agree with his comment “I believe there are some things you should hold near and dear and golf equipment you have used to any kind of success over the years fall into that category.”That’s how I started my collection. I collect 1-irons. It started by just keeping the ones I used over the years, even when I moved the rest of the set on to ‘greener pastures’.That left me with 10 1-irons. I now have 26. All are of varying vintages and from a range of manufacturers, with my favourites being a PING Zing Black Dot, a Mizuno MP-14 forged blade and a Golden Ram…

If you have been following our so-called panel of experts via the Golf Australia website (www.golfaustralia.com.au) you might have collected some winnings along the journey. In a COVID-shortened 2020, the quartet of Brendan James (Editor), Jimmy Emanuel (Deputy Editor), Michael Jones (writer) and Rod Morri (columnist) tipped 20 winners between them as well as an incredible 103 top-10s across the main Tours. Here, the foursome looks a little further ahead to reveal the players they think will play well, hoist trophies and grab a few headlines in 2021. Each has selected their player to watch from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, European Tour and the Asian/Japanese Tours. They have also chosen a player to keep an eye on from outside the Top-100 of the world ranking (man or woman), a…

In 2015, DeChambeau won the NCAA Championship and the US Amateur – the fifth player to win both titles in the same year, joining Jack Nicklaus (1961), Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1996), and Ryan Moore (2004). DeChambeau developed his single-plane golf swing after reading Homer Kelley’s famous 1979 instructional book The Golfing Machine. The book was given to him to read by his long-time coach Mike Schy. DeChambeau can sign his name backwards with his opposite hand. He has signed autographs like that for fans since winning the 2015 US Amateur. DeChambeau developed his first set of single-length irons when he was 17. Each iron and wedge is exactly the same length – 37.5 inches – and has the same lie angle of 72º. To achieve a consistent swing…

“If you can’t get to at least 195mph ball speed, the odds are against you,” says Berkshire. “But if you can get between 195mph and 200mph with your current driver, it’s worth pursuing because you’ve got enough speed – with training and time – to get to a competitive level within a year or two. So, assuming you are at that level, my recommendation would be to buy a long drive club with a 48-inch shaft and five degrees of loft. Swing as hard as you can three times a week and once you start seeing 205mph, then you should consider entering some tournaments.”…

It is arguably the most famous lost golf course in the history of the game. Located on a narrow strip of an island just off the coast of New York’s Long Island, The Lido Club was a course before it’s time. The driving force behind its creation was Charles Blair Macdonald (profiled on previous pages), who is generally regarded as the father of American golf course architecture. Having learned the game while a student at St Andrews in Scotland –including being tutored by Old Tom Morris – Macdonald won the first US Amateur in 1895. But it was course design, years after gaining success as a stockbroker, in which he excelled. He based much of his design creativity on courses he had studied and played during his years in Great…

DRIVER: Titleist TSi3 (10° loft), fitted with a Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow 60 shaft. 3-WOOD: Titleist TSi2 (15° loft), fitted with a UST Mamiya Elements Prototype 8F5X shaft. 7-WOOD: Titleist TS3 (21° loft), fitted with a UST Mamiya Elements Prototype 8F5X shaft. IRONS: Titleist U500 (4-iron), Titleist T100 Black (5- to 9-iron), all with KBS Tour 130 X shafts. WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (46°-10°F, 52°-08°F, 56°-08°M and 60°-10°S), all with KBS Tour 130 X shafts. PUTTER: Scotty Cameron Teryllium TFB-1.5. BALL: Titleist Pro V1x (2021).…

Getting better at golf can be a daunting prospect. Lessons, new gear, hours on the range … it all adds up, both in terms of money and time. However, there is another way to improve. The marginal gains theory is all about making small, incremental improvements which, when added together, make a significant improvement. Its pioneer, Sir Dave Brailsford, summed it up as “the one percent margin for improvement in everything you do.” And while Brailsford used it to drive unprecedented success for British cyclists, the principle translates into any walk of life … including golf. Golfers can reassess their approach to their equipment, technique, fitness, strategy, psychology, preparation and more to make a host of small changes that add up to some serious improvement. This feature has been created…

One of the simplest, and easiest, tips you can use to get your chip shots closer to the hole every time is to shorten your choice of club by choking down on the grip. Choking down on a club simply means moving your hands down the grip towards the shaft, just like Patrick Cantlay has done here in hitting a lofted wedge from beside the green. Choking down for a chip or short pitch shot gives you more control over the shot because your hands are closer to the clubface. Also think about the psychology of choking down – most players, for example, feel more confident using the shorter clubs in the bag rather than the longest. So, by simply shortening the club by choking down, you’re tapping into that…

SUITABILITY: Designed for forgiveness and easy launch from any lie, the Big Bertha B21 irons are suitable for mid- to high-handicap golfers. LEFT-HANDED: Available from 4-iron through to sand wedge in left-handed, with a lob wedge option only offered in right hand. SHAFTS: The B21 irons are offered with Callaway RCH 65 graphite and KBS Max CT80 steel shafts as standard. CALLAWAY SAYS: Designed with Big Bertha shaping to deliver a new formula for distance and forgiveness. This is the first time that an A.I. designed ‘Flash Face Cup’ is in a Big Bertha Iron. The unique Flash Face architecture in each iron creates high ball speeds and increased spin robustness for every club in the set. A new ‘Visible Tungsten Energy Core’ (VTEC) deepens the centre of gravity (CG)…

LOCATION: 1910 Donnybrook Road, Yan Yean, Vic. 3755. CONTACT: (03) 9716 3477. WEBSITE: www.growlingfroggolf.com.au DESIGNER: Graham Marsh (2004). PLAYING SURFACES: Santa Ana couch fairways, A-1 bentgrass greens. OPERATIONS MANAGER: Mal Jebb. COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Nathan Turner. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Tim Wood and Jack Cox. GREEN FEES: $50 (18 holes), $45 online. $32 (9 holes). See website for group, local resident and other discounts. GSM season passes $49 enable golfers to access discounted rates at their six courses across Australia. MEMBERSHIP: A number of different season passes are available with an option of monthly payment options. Resident Clubs – Growling Frog GC, Growling Frog Ladies GC and GSM GC. Members pay a small annual fee for golf league affiliation, insurance and club administration and then pay for play with priority tee times. FACILITIES:…

Melbourne-based course design firm OCM has been appointed the golf course architects for the redevelopment of Medinah Country Club’s famed No.3 Course in the United States. Medinah has long been regarded as one of the great golf clubs of America with Course No.3 highly rated as a tournament venue. During its long history, the No.3 Course has hosted three US Opens, two US PGA Championships and the 2012 Ryder Cup. The design company – including Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead – has been busy at home during the past few years with the opening of acclaimed layouts including Peninsula Kingswood’s North and South Courses, the revamped Victoria Golf Club and, more recently, the mouth-watering redesigns of Lonsdale Links and Sandy Links. In the US, the team has also…

Back in 1901, Golf Illustrated magazine asked the leading golfers of the day to give their opinion on the best holes in Great Britain. It was a poll intended to provoke interest, debate and perhaps a little controversy; it ended up inspiring the golf course architecture of an entire continent. Each of the Great Triumvirate of Vardon, Taylor and Braid threw in their two-penn’orth; so did leading amateurs like Horace Hutchinson, Harold Hilton, Herbert Fowler and John Low. Despite the fact there were only about 400 courses to choose from, there was much variation in the responses. However, certain themes emerged. For the one-shotters, the Eden 11th at St Andrews Old and North Berwick West’s Redan 15th emerged as front-runners. Prestwick’s blind-approach Alps hole was a favoured two-shotter, while the…

Aiming at small, very precise targets is something Tour pros do very well, not just from tee to green but also when they putt. You could say they live by the adage: “aim small, miss small.” If you adopt this concept, and apply it to every shot, you will improve significantly over time. Aiming small doesn’t mean aiming at a tree, it means aiming a specific part of the tree. If you’re going to hit your drive in the direction of a fairway bunker, don’t just aim at the bunker, aim at a part of the bunker. Narrowing your focus on a small part of a larger target heightens your awareness of not only your target, but it reinforces your strategy so you can swing with freedom and not second…

KARL MORRIS Karl has worked with multiple major winners. Check out his BrainBooster Podcasts for free on iTunes. themindfactor.com STEVE ASTLE Advanced PGA Professional specialising in finding the right combination of technique, strategy and practice plans. OLIVER C. MORTON 3D biomechanics and junior development specialist, Archerfield Performance Centre, UK. theleadingedgegolfcompany.com STEVEN ORR Director of Coaching, Cranfield Golf Academies. stevenorrcoaching.com CHRIS JENKINS Fellow of the PGA, Essex Elite Squad coach and lead coach to the England East Region under-18 boys squad.…

His consistency can be directly attributed to his ability to maintain his spine angle – first established at address – throughout each swing he makes. Lose your spine angle and you can only guess where your shot is going to finish up. The most common loss of spine angle occurs when a golfer ‘stands up’ just before impact or at impact, which invariably leads to thin hits or, even worse, an air swing. Focusing on staying down on the ball, keeping your spine angle, will help you hit better shots with more power and accuracy. By ensuring his spine angle does not change during the swing, Rahm establishes a vital aspect of good shot-making … reliability. Keeping that spine angle constant leads the clubhead towards the ground, on a good…

LOCATION: 1 Coast Hospital Rd, Little Bay, NSW, 2036 CONTACT: (02) 9311 7422 WEBSITE: www.coastgolf.com.au DESIGNER: Jim Ferrier (late 1930s) and James Wilcher (2007-ongoing). PLAYING SURFACES: Kikuyu and couch fairways; Bentgrass/Poa Annua greens. COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Jordan Roach. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Greg Green (head professional), Sebastian Howell (assistant professional). GREEN FEES: $60 (weekend peak); $50 (weekend off peak); $40 (weekend twilight); $45 (midweek peak); $40 (midweek off peak); $35 (midweek twilight). MEMBERSHIP: Limited memberships available. Seven-day (Restricted) $2,100 joining fee and $1,880 annual subscription plus $22 competition fee for members per comp round.…