Indholdsfortegnelse for Aug 2022 - Issue 399 i Golf Australia

It would seem that in the world of professional men’s golf we are at the point of no return. If the Saudi-financed, Greg Norman-run LIV Golf Invitational series of events sought to gain a global presence in a few short months since start up, and to ruffle some feathers along the way, their job is done. The big-name defections to LIV Golf – including Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau – somehow caught the PGA Tour by surprise, despite the rumblings of start-up golf leagues dating back at least three years. They’re knee-jerk reaction was to slap immediate bans on any PGA Tour member going to play the rebel series. It took a few weeks but the DP World Tour followed suit in sanctioning any of its members chasing…

I get asked this a lot: what exactly is my role within ‘Ogilvy, Cocking and Mead’, the course design company in which I am a partner alongside Michael Cocking and Ashley Mead. It’s an answer that is developing over time. When we get a request for a course proposal – an “expression of interest” – I am involved at that point. Yes, Michael and Ashley handle the business side of things. It goes without saying they are very good at what they do in that area. They are experts at delving into the internet and finding old aerial pictures of the course we have been asked to look at. A great example is the work we are going to do at Medinah in the United States. We were asked to…

Since giving up a promising amateur golf career competing against the likes of Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle, David Cannon has been a fixture at some of golf’s biggest events over the last 40 years, documenting 122 men’s Majors, 72 women’s Majors, 17 Ryder Cups, 17 Walker Cups and 15 Solheim Cups – all through the lens of his camera. Beyond golf, he has covered eight World Cups, four summer Olympic Games, two Winter Olympic Games, Cricket internationals, Wimbledon, the Australian Open, Formula 1 and both downhill and slalom ski racing since joining All Sport in 1983. He was there for 15 years before it was purchased by Getty Images, which is where he has been ever since. Cannon’s portfolio is about as varied as a 28-handicapper’s shot pattern, but…

If you’re lucky enough to watch Tour players practice, you’ll see that many of them spend countless hours working on their alignment. There will be days when you feel uncomfortable over the ball. They are the days when you need to really check your alignment. If you’re not aligned correctly, not only is it uncomfortable, but it wreaks havoc on your ability to make good, consistent golf swings. Most Tour pros, like Will Zalatoris here, use two alignment rods during their practice, even when they’re not working on their alignment. As you can see, Zalatoris has one alignment rod on the target line and the second rod is parallel, which he uses as a guide for his feet. Which brings us to an important aspect of the game – the…

SET IT UP Gather six balls and separate them into two teams of three. You’re going to chip the first three balls with your lead hand (left for the right-hander), the second three with your trail hand. It doesn’t matter which club you use, but make sure it’s the same club – and shot – for both hands. CHART THE RESULTS After completing all six shots, add up the total footage you have left yourself with the three lead-hand balls, and then the total footage for the second group of trail-hand chips. Which group – and hand – wins? Repeat the game a second time, and third. Are you seeing a pattern emerging? Is one hand consistently weaker than the other? STRONG ARM TACTICS One-handed chipping with each hand can…

Cost: $59.99 (dozen). Tested by: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Deputy & Digital Editor. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: This one was an interesting test with the Z-STAR Diamond placed as an in-between model sitting in the middle of Srixon’s Z-STAR and Z-STAR XV. To test out just how it fits in the line-up, and also the performance differences, I set out with some of all three golf balls and went to work before heading out to play with the Diamond having plenty of experience with the other two. The instant feedback was the feel is closest to the firmer XV model, perhaps fractionally softer, while the spin around the greens sits in the middle (not a drastic difference mind you), with the spin higher moving through the rest of the bag, and off…

Curlewis is one of Victoria’s most progressive golf clubs. Located on the north side of the Bellarine Peninsula, the course has cemented a place in Golf Australia’s biennial Top-100 Course ranking after making its debut nearly a decade ago. Now, you can play this highly-acclaimed course, stay on site and wake up with a view of the layout before teeing it up again. Earlier this year, the club officially opened its new clubhouse and adjoining accommodation, which are described as eco-suite installations nestled among the native landscape From $365, the package includes one night in the new luxury accommodation, breakfast for two at French bistro, Claribeaux and a round for two on Australia’s No.49 ranked course. Conditions apply. For more information or to book, visit www.curlewisgolf.com.au or call (03) 5251…

no ROD MORRI Golf Australia columnist & The Thing About Golf podcast host Sure, we all loved the sound of metal spikes on concrete. But is sentiment really a trustworthy barometer of what’s good? Metal spikes might have been great for gripping the ground, but they were even better at ripping it up. For every whimsical memory of the clack of metal on concrete exists a damaged mower blade from a lost spike or some torn up carpet or damaged clubhouse flooring from people walking where they shouldn’t. Every part of the golf course is better served by players not wearing metal spikes, be it walking paths, fairways or – most obvious – greens. Those who grew up with metal often have a romantic attachment to ‘the good old days’…

SEVE THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION Paul Daley Seve Ballesteros was a once in a generation superstar. The charismatic Spaniard did more to grow golf – especially in his homeland, Spain, and Europe – than any other figure in the game. He was a five-time major champion and a European Tour winner on a record 50 occasions, while his leading role as a player and later, captain, for Europe’s Ryder Cup team are legendary. Paul Daley’s latest book, Seve The People’s Champion, is perhaps the most detailed and well-researched tome to cover the life and times of Ballesteros. It follows his early years discovering the game in his hometown of Pedrena through to his European Tour debut and a selection of tournaments on his golfing journey. There are even insights into his…

Old Tom Morris learned the game by chipping corks at the lampposts of St. Andrews’ streets; Ben Hogan loved bunting balls into the famous fireplace at Pinehurst’s Pine Crest Inn; Tiger’s first coach Rudy Duran used their waits on the tee to set up chipping contests around bins or tee markers. Yes indeed, throughout the history of golf, elite golfers developed their first-class short games by playing games. And with good reason. As we get up around the green, the need for power and technical mastery is replaced by other requirements; feel, creativity, resourcefulness, imagination. Games – even apparently daft ones – develop all of these and more. And while there remains a need to adhere to the fundamentals of hitting good golf shots, short-game training presents a terrific opportunity…

SET IT UP Set up two vertical ‘goalposts’. Alignment sticks are ideal, but anything straight will suffice. Keep the gap between them pretty small; the length of your smartphone is a pretty good guide. Take five strides back from the sticks and gather nine golf balls. As you may have worked out, this is a game of clubface control. 1 HOOK With the first three balls, you’re going to draw or hook the ball around the right-hand stick (right-handers). Your goal is to generate enough hook shape for the ball to miss the righthand upright but finish on or across the target line, framed by the two sticks. Award yourself a point for each time you manage it. 2 SLICE You’re way ahead of me! With the next three balls…

STRIKE FORWARD, NOT DOWN Chances are you’ll be tempted to move the ball back in your stance to create a more downward attack and guarantee a clean strike. But chances also are that you’ll discover this doesn’t work. As you get steeper the clubface moves through its optimal striking position faster, making your strike more reliant on perfect timing. Play this game for a while and through necessity you’ll soon find the most effective attack for a chipping strike. SET IT UP For this game, use a 9-iron or pitching wedge. Take five balls into the practice bunker. But instead of making your usual, long bunker swing, play an orthodox chip-and-run shot of 10-20 yards. How many of the five can you strike solid and clean? Note: Thin shots don’t…

The last thing any golfer wants is to play in pain or, worse still, be sidelined with a recurring injury caused by a bad move in your golf swing. Here are three common swing positions that have the potential to cause injury and, if you already identify with what is described here, you should consult your local PGA professional to make some body-friendly swing changes. 1. EARLY EXTENSION Extension involves the arching movement of the back and this can be a dangerous position when it’s performed in the wrong part of the golf swing. Early extension involves your body getting closer to the ball prior to impact and decreases the amount of space your body has to move within. When your body has less space, your lower back can be…

Cost: $499.99. Tested by: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Deputy & Digital Editor MODEL PLAYED: Odyssey Eleven Tour Lined S. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Part of the increasing trend to create mallet putters that perform closer to a blade model, the Odyssey Eleven had my interest piqued from the moment I did some research on its technologies. Having long favoured a blade style but appreciating a mallet may actually suit better, plus offer much more forgiveness, the idea of more feel, feedback and an open and closing head design in a mallet just makes sense. And the Eleven does a magnificent job of blending the two styles. Forgiveness was clear in the form of great stability, the putter face rotated nicely in the stroke and the feel of the White Hot insert was like…

SRIXON SAYS: “By working closely with our global Tour staff, we created the Z-STAR Diamond ball as an enhancement to our premium Tour line up,” Vice President of Research and Development at Srixon Jeff Brunski said. “The Z-STAR Diamond is something of a best-of-both-worlds type product, blending many of the benefits of our two current models. Like the Z-STAR XV, the Z-STAR Diamond produces really good ball speed and distance. But thanks to a slightly thicker cover, the Z-STAR Diamond features exceptional spin and control on approach shots.” With a blend of greenside control and long-game distance, the new Z-STAR Diamond also delivers the unique benefit of increased spin on long and mid-iron shots. The Z-STAR Diamond is the ideal ball for high-speed players looking to hold the green from…

There is almost comfort in the monotony of making a trip you have made many times before. A feeling enhanced when you know there is an enjoyable experience at the end of your journey. Comfort mixed with excitement is precisely what I get every time I jump in the car bound for The Vintage, a Greg Norman and Bob Harrison designed collaboration that has only improved since it opened as something of a brutal test to now sit at No.52 in the Top-100 courses in the country. Make no mistake, the par-71 is no pushover and an examination of driving and short game skills particularly, but the Hunter Valley layout has been made more playable since it opened for play in the early 2000s. Nestled amongst the rolling vineyards of…

For those of you out there who are close to never again reading anything in which the phrase “for the good of the game of golf” appears, welcome to this sharing of your angst. Amidst all the claims, boasts, blatant hypocrisy and self-aggrandising nonsense out there, the truth is that hardly anyone at the sharp end of our sport is actually doing anything that will, in the first instance, benefit the greatest game of all. The sad reality is that – brace yourself folks – self-interest and ill-concealed narcissism dominates almost every agenda. It has long been argued that, to be really successful at golf, you have to be really selfish. And it’s true, especially if recent events and actions are our guides. Let’s start with the subject anyone and…

Corinne Dibnah was just five-years-old when she started swinging a golf club around the nine-hole Bowen course in North Queensland. At 19, she won the Australian Women’s Amateur at Royal Queensland. Two years later, in 1983, she claimed four more big amateur titles here and in New Zealand as well as being a member of the Australian teams that won the Commonwealth Trophy, Tasman Cup and Queen Sirikit Cup. By the end of that year, she was considered one of the world’s best female amateurs and the pro ranks beckoned. But it wasn’t an easy transition to the pay-for-play ranks and it was three years before she broke through for her maiden professional victory, the 1986 Forte Ladies Classic in Germany. By the time she turned her attention toward the…

SET IT UP We are going to hit five balls with three different golf grips – putting grip (reverse overlap), lead hand low, and regular. Use the same club, and hit shots from the same place. At the end of each set of five, add up the total footage you have left yourself to hole out. BODY TALK As you try this grip, you should notice three things: ■ Because this grip sets a more vertical shaft, you’ll need to move the ball closer to your feet. That creates a straighter path to your action, the club moving more up and down the line. How does this affect accuracy? ■ The more vertical shaft also brings the heel of the sole off the turf. Do you find clean contact easier?…

STEP 1 PALM FACES UP Start by allowing the ball to come to rest in a palm that’s facing the sky, as pictured. Take a moment to visualise the throw and flight that would get the ball near the hole. HIGH FLYER Now throw the ball. Of course keep the palm upward through the release, lobbing the ball high towards the hole. Repeat this upward release 10 times. STEP 2 PALM FACES FORWARD For the second part of this game, hold the ball with the palm facing towards the flag. This time, release the ball with the palm facing forwards. Of course the ball comes out lower, lands sooner, and runs towards the hole. Again, throw 10 ‘forward’ releases. WHAT AM I LEARNING HERE? Educated hands can take a wedge…

Odyssey’s 2-Ball putters are iconic in the game of golf. The design part of the mallet revolution and creating an all-new way for golfers to align their putts. And now the brand is blending the 2-Ball with another popular shape, it’s Eleven mallet. (See what we thought of the standard Eleven on page 90). Featuring a high moment of inertia (MOI) design for more stability and putts that stay on line, the Eleven also has a forward CG that also increases inertia and improves speed control, spin control, speed consistency on off-centre hits, plus a much tighter downrange dispersion. The weight positioning additionally making the putter swing more like a blade. A lightweight TPU sole insert improves the sound and feel of the classic White Hot insert, while the Stroke…

ODYSSEY SAYS: The new Odyssey Eleven has completely reimagined performance in a mallet. It combines the legendary White Hot insert, still the No.1 insert on Tour, with major-winning Stroke Lab shaft to improve the consistency in your stroke. This unique head shape delivers the outstanding MOI properties that you would expect from a mallet. However, this shape uniquely combines a more forward CG positioning that delivers the tight dispersion of a blade, for putts that stay on line. All these design characteristics are available in three proven options for better aim: a Tour Lined version, Triple Track Alignment, or a classic, unlined model. There’s an Eleven for everyone. The Eleven shape advances the forgiveness and alignment properties of the major winning Ten model. It’s designed to help you properly frame…

With cost-of-living pressures being what they are at the moment, you don’t need to avoid the golf course to save your pennies. Over the following pages we reveal the best golf you can play throughout regional Australia – including cities with a population under 200,000 – where the green fee presents a real bargain. To qualify for the list, a course’s most expensive green fee was not to exceed $50. From there, we poured through notes and observations made by Golf Australia editors and Top-100 ranking judges to come up with the courses we believe present great, enjoyable golf at a price that won’t break the bank for an afternoon of fun. The green fees listed are the rack rate for visitors and we prioritised the courses in order of…

Adelaide’s most prestigious golf clubs have partnered with four of South Australia’s best wineries and, golf holiday specialist Golf Explorer, to offer the ultimate golf and wine holiday packages. Each package offers rounds at Royal Adelaide, Grange (pictured), Kooyonga and Glenelg Golf Clubs, and at the end of each 18 holes, enjoy a bottle of specially paired premium wine – each bottle valued over $100 – along with a tasting plate sourced from the gourmet producers of South Australia. There are five different packages to choose from, ranging from three to six nights. The six-night Four Reds Vintage Experience, starting from $2,445 per person double occupancy, includes accommodation at the Stamford Plaza Adelaide, a round at each of the aforementioned courses, special food and wine experience at each club, a…

“THE WOMEN’S OPEN AT MUIRFIELD IS SOMETHING OF A CELEBRATION FOR THE CHANGE THAT HAS OCCURRED …” Harry Vardon, James Braid, Walter Hagen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo (twice), Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. These are just some of the names to have won The Open Championship at Muirfield. And this month – FINALLY – a new surname will be added to the venerable list. One belonging to a woman when the course that is home to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers welcomes its first AIG Women’s Open Championship. For the unacquainted, this isn’t just a case of the women’s Tours beginning to play great, historic venues for their big events. (They are and that is to be celebrated in of itself). No, this…