Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Golf Monthly

I’m penning this letter after reading Mark Townsend’s brilliant feature about returning to his first golf club, Wimbledon Park, which you will find on page 50. Mark’s memories of his days as a junior, the experiences shared with his father and friends at the club and of his time spent with Wimbledon Park stalwarts will resonate with any golfer who has enjoyed a long involvement with a club. The emotions associated with Mark’s return to Wimbledon Park, 16 years after his father’s death, are conveyed beautifully by his honest, but measured, words. After taking a moment to reflect, the article has made me realise what an amazing establishment the golf club is. It delivers so much more than simply a chance to play the game we love; it’s a place…

Across 7 R&A secretary from 1999 to 2015 (6) 8 Former US Amateur champion who won two Majors (6) 9 This equipment is a hit (4) 10 Sussex club with courses named Vardon and Colt (8) 11 Winner of four Majors by his 26th birthday (7) 13 Australian Major winner provides fresh angle (5) 15 Emirate hosting two events on this year’s DP World Tour (5) 16 Ernie Els’ nickname (3,4) 18 Under the weather is excellent for a golfer (5,3) 19 Returns to spot where hits balls too high up (4) 21 More an exhibition for 1936 US Open champion (6) 22 Nett result posted in notice to hold flag in readiness (6) Down 1 Equipment selected from drab allocation (4) 2 Wallabies tore about Ardglass’ 9th hole (8,5)…

Branden Grace The South African missed the cut at the Sony Open and could only manage a tie for 33rd in the 38-man Sentry Tournament of Champions. Seamus Power The 34-year-old from Waterford, Ireland moved inside the world’s top 50 (49) for the first time following a T3 finish at the Sony Open. Joel Dahmen Dahmen finished T28 at the Sentry before missing the cut at the Sony Open. As one of 22 signed up by Netflix, he’ll want to get going quickly. Kevin Kisner Kisner started the year strongly with back-to-back top tens in Hawaii. He finished T8 at the Sentry and followed up with a T3 at the Sony Open.…

Lydia Ko The former World No.1 has steadily been climbing back up the rankings and won for the first time in three years in 2021, showing signs she can get back to her glory two-year spell of 2015-16 when she triumphed nine times on the LPGA Tour. Jin Young Ko Despite disappointing in the Majors last year, Ko’s five lateseason wins in the space of four months made her the LPGA’s Player of the Year. Yuka Saso The US Open winner looks fearless at just 20 and has the power and character to remain a force at the top of the women’s rankings for years. One of the longest off the tee, her Major victory at the Olympic Club came in only her seventh event on the LPGA Tour. Leona…

What are your expectations over how your home course is likely to look this April when pristine Augusta National hits our screens and golfers begin eyeing up the new season? By then, the keen TV golf fan will have been fed a steady diet of visual perfection from Hawaii, California, Florida, the Middle East and South Africa, where the climates are more kindly disposed towards course presentation from December to March than within these shores. It’s a completely unfair comparison, but sadly, one that some golfers still make as they head out excitedly once the Green Jacket has been draped around someone’s shoulders. “Augusta does give a false impression,” Lucy Sellick, head greenkeeper at Wenvoe Castle Golf Club in South Wales, tells me. “Temperature-wise it’s hugely different; the inputs and…

Q In a recent four-ball better-ball game, I drove towards OOB, with one of our opponents doing the same – we both hit provisionals. He found a ball, said it was his and played it, while I continued searching without success before playing my provisional. Someone else then found another ball, which turned out to be his. When we reached the one he’d hit, it turned out to be mine! We both picked up, leaving our partners to finish the hole. I did so believing that, as I had played my provisional, it was now the ball in play. But on reflection, would I actually have been allowed to take my first ball back to its original position without penalty? Nigel Coulson-Stevens, via email A Under Rule 6.3, if your…

Callaway Rogue ST Callaway claims these irons are its longest to date, thanks to a combination of high-strength 450 steel and A.I.-designed Flash Face Cups optimised for speed, spin, launch and descent angle. There is also a tungsten weight port that is significantly heavier than prior ranges, which allows for precise CG location and optimal launch throughout the set. Callaway has also improved its urethane microspheres, which are higher behind the face (up to the sixth groove) to improve the sound and feel. There are four models to choose from. The Rogue ST Max iron (£849) has the strongest lofts in the family, suited to a range of players looking for speed, distance and forgiveness. The Rogue ST Max OS iron (£849) is slightly larger, with a higher launch, wider…

FootJoy Pro SL One of the most successful spikeless golf shoe franchises in history has been given a makeover for 2022. The new Pro SL range debuts a streamlined upper pattern, as well as boasting an updated midsole design that features FJ’s StratoFoam compound for softer heel-toe cushioning and greater energy return. The standard Pro SL (£159.99) comes in four colours and there’s a Boa option (£184.99). There are three women’s colours (£134.99) and there’s a junior option (£74.99). For golfers who want more support, there’s the new Pro SL Carbon (£189.99), which features a carbon fibre insert that increases lateral stability and reduces foot fatigue towards the end of the round. It also has the 3D Foamcollar 2.0 and Ortholites Impressions FitBed for additional comfort. It comes in two…

Having gone seven months to May last year without adding a new course to my tally, I managed to add more than 40 during the playing season. Late autumn and early winter then tend to be something of a personal downtime for playing inland golf. The leaves are down and occasionally conspire to steal a Titleist or two, the ground is claggy and the ball somehow sits just that bit lower than you would like. Nonetheless, I enjoyed returning to old haunts such as Pyrford Lakes and The Grove, as well as Royal Mid-Surrey, whose JH Taylor course is a fine test. There, I spent time with host manager Carl Rutherford and fellow guest Stephen Follett, CEO of the London Club. It’s always fascinating to discover just how much clubs…

One of golf’s great holy trinities is the three Ws; West Hill, Woking and Worplesdon. These glorious, timeless Surrey courses are extremely close neighbours in an area that is richly adorned with top-quality golf. Their furthest extremities are less than two miles apart, but they are nonetheless quite different from one another. It is also a matter of endless debate as to which is the best, with plenty of golfers regularly changing their mind. For the record, positioned at 61, Worplesdon is the highest-ranked of the three in Golf Monthly’s UK & Ireland Top 100. The course dates back to 1908 and was a collaboration between two great architects, one not so well known and the other a household name. The layout and routing is the work of JF Abercromby,…

Dying breed? The interview with Billy Foster in the January issue was great. It’s so true that the great shotmakers have been eclipsed by the muscle men. Many of us can recall Luke Donald as World No.1 – a prime example of a truly skilful golfer. Young players should watch any film of his ball-striking at his peak – an education in itself. Harry Lee, Lincoln A shift in mindset I have been playing this wonderful game for 30 years. In that time, I have hit a hole-in-one, won society comps and shot two rounds in the 70s, but I’ve never really felt like a proper golfer. My handicap has fluctuated between 20 something to 12 at my best. No matter how I played, even when things were going well,…

Record-setting Smith victorious in Hawaii ➛ Congratulations on winning the Tournament of Champions and breaking the 72-hole PGA Tour scoring record. How was it? It was intense. Jonny [Rahm] and I played well the whole day. We had Matty [Jones] in the group in front lighting it up as well. It was an unreal round and something I’ll never forget, for sure. ➛ The victory took you into the world’s top ten for the first time, too. How satisfying is that? Yeah, it’s really cool. It took me a while to get into the top 20 and one of my goals this year was to get into the top ten. It’s nice that’s done and dusted and hopefully I can keep cruising up those world rankings. It’s good to tick…

Nelly Korda is coming off a 2021 season like no other. She won four times on the LPGA Tour, grabbed a Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics and captured her first Major at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. It was also a year when the 23-year-old reached number one in the world rankings for the very first time. It has been some rise… But the younger Korda sibling hasn’t just arrived from nowhere to surge to the top of the women’s game; she spent the entirety of the four-month pandemic break at second in the rankings thanks to her fine play in the preceding months. But to have a season like she did last year was certainly remarkable, of that there’s no question. The sporting genes run deep in the…

Stewart Cink won his first and only Major more than a decade ago, capturing the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry in a play-off with Tom Watson – an event that was memorable as much for the person who didn’t take home the Claret Jug as the one who did. It would be even longer before Cink would triumph again at any tournament. Then, he improbably won twice during the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, first at the Safeway Open, with his 23-year-old son Reagan on the bag, then again seven months later in the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head. The victories were the seventh and eighth of what has been an impressive career that has also included reaching as high as No. 5 in the world ranking, along with nine combined…

In a recent industry survey, while common winter turf diseases were still the greenkeeper’s main concern, how they deal with problems such as leatherjackets and worm casts is catching up quickly… Leatherjackets Leatherjackets (pictured) are the larvae of cranefly. With milder winters becoming more commonplace, we’re not getting the cold weather that kills these bugs. Add in that the low-cost insecticide (Chlorpyrifos) used to treat the problem was taken off the market a few years ago due to its damage to the environment, and greenkeepers are now struggling to control the problem. There is just one preventative insecticide still available via emergency approval (Acelepryn). It’s not as effective as the old one and it can only be used once per annum at certain times and across a limited percentage of…

1. Driving To me, it’s mostly in the set-up. If you have a good grip and address position then you have much more chance of making a good swing. But if you’re lacking in the grip department and the address then you’re going to struggle. And it’s going to show more with the driver than with any other club because the driver has the longest shaft and less loft, so it creates more sidespin and the ball goes further. A wedge you hit about 120 yards or whatever, and a driver goes twice as far, so any mistake will show up much more with a driver than with a pitching wedge. 2. Ironplay I think with an iron it’s not how far it goes, it’s how consistent it is. I…

As a player, you are always responsible for playing the correct ball at all times, so it’s good practice to put an identification mark on your ball to make it easier to identify that it is indeed your ball (Rule 6.3a). While it isn’t actually compulsory under the Rules to do this, and there is no penalty for not doing so, being certain that the ball you are playing is yours is always a good thing and it can also be beneficial if trying to figure out relief options for a ball which is visible but perhaps not retrievable. Although adding an identification mark clearly makes the process of identifying a ball easier, Rule 7.2 provides more detail on how this can be done if you haven’t done so. If…

GM Verdict Once again, TaylorMade has deviated from the status quo of driver design with its latest range, fittingly called Stealth. The name likely comes from the more subdued look at address – gone is the chalk white strip at the front of the crown that helped with alignment – but peer round the corner and you’ll instantly notice the red carbon fibre face. It’s a first in golf, has been 20 years in the making and is sure to catch your eye. There are three models – the Stealth Plus, Stealth and Stealth HD. We tested them all against each other and also the outgoing SIM2 models on a Trackman launch monitor at King’s Golf Studio, with Titleist Pro V1x golf balls, to see what you can expect from…

GM Verdict Zerofit is a Japanese sports performance brand dedicated mostly to innovative base layer products. Although its garments are not designed purely for golf, the man behind the company, Koji Higashi, is a single-figure golfer, who became so tired of finding himself cold on the course that he set about creating a technological line of base layers. Sliding on the Zerofit Heatrub Ultimate for the first time it feels noticeably thicker than a traditional base layer, but it is extremely soft on the inside and very stretchy too. It did come up a little small, so you might want to consider going up a size depending on how snug you want it to feel. We were really impressed with how it felt and performed. A good base layer is…

A new set of irons that provides the preferred blend of feel and playability can trigger a switch of mindset, from tentatively hoping to find the green to attacking pins and chasing birdies. The theme late in 2021 and into 2022 seems to be that you don’t need to plump for a large chunk of metal to get off-centre forgiveness. In fact, we’re seeing large amounts of tungsten – a high-density metal – crammed into relatively small clubheads in order to drive stability levels up, while keeping the shape refined and slimline. In fact, the userfriendliness of irons has been upped significantly this year. In turn, so should the consistency of the dispersion of your shots in both directions. This should mean your approaches finish pin high more often and…

Dunstable Downs Golf Club What are the special features of the course? It is set 800ft up in the Chilterns and enjoys stunning views across five counties. Strategically placed bunkers, doglegs, blind tee shots and two-tier greens challenge the best. The putting surfaces are true, quick and with subtle borrows and breaks. Working with the RSPB, we are rewilding to reintroduce the Dunstable lark, orchids are protected by GUR signs and red kites, buzzards and skylarks abound. Why is Dunstable Downs the right club for you? The course is the jewel, but the members and staff just make it such a great place to be. I am never short of a game, whether it’s playing in the winter league, club matches or competitions in all formats. How has the course…

Fraserburgh The club moved to this excellent, rugged seascape from its original home in 1891, but it was not until 1922 that Braid redesigned the course. Protected from the beach by impressive dunes, the par-70 layout had three new holes built in the 1950s, those closest to the sea, and there were more changes 20 years later. The Corbie Hill course is a Braid classic with gently undulating fairways and plenty of variety. This is the seventh-oldest club in the world and it deserves to be far better known. GF: 18 holes: £100 (there’s a reduced rate for Scottish residents) Banstead Downs Braid designed the original course at Banstead Downs, not far from Epsom, in 1890. It is easy-walking for a downland course, but still a demanding test that stretches…

When my son decided he would like to try golf instead of playing football, I panicked because football had always been the language that had bridged generations in my family. But I organised some golf lessons for him and I began learning the game, too. Over the years, we’ve played, watched and talked about golf together for hours on end. My son, now 20, wrote in a card to me recently: ‘Thanks for a great week of golf. I’ll remember it forever.’ I’d like to encourage parents to not just drop their children off at the range or golf club. Instead, why not get involved? Golf is a sport you can take up at any age, and it’s such a perfect game to enjoy with your children. It will help…

Streaming giant Netflix confirmed what had long been rumoured when it announced it would air a new docuseries following some of the game’s biggest names on the PGA Tour. After the success of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, which captured the imagination of a slew of new fans, it’s golf’s turn to experiment with the all-access format that will provide a rare glimpse into the lives of some of the world’s best. So far, 22 players have signed up, with Rickie Fowler reportedly the first to express an interest. The list now includes multiple Major Champions and Ryder Cuppers, as well as some of the sport’s loudest personalities. Joining Fowler are the likes of Sergio Garcia, Viktor Hovland, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. Most…

SOUND BITES “TIGER WOODS IS PROBABLY GONNA BEAT JACK NICKLAUS’ RECORDS AND BE THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME”John Daly was impressed by Tiger’s PNC Championship form and is backing him to eclipse Jack’s Major haul. “I DON’T KNOW, MAN, THEY DON’T LIKE ME I GUESS. IT’S TOO POLITICAL FOR ME. I DIDN’T REALLY CARE, AND I DON’T REALLY GET CAUGHT UP IN THAT”Kevin Kisner hit out at the Ryder Cup selection process on Golf Magazine’s Subpar podcast after being overlooked for a spot on the team. “I’M NOT A POLITICIAN, I’M A GOLFER”Shane Lowry defended his decision to play in the Saudi International. “TIGER WOODS’ SON CHARLIE HAS GOT A LOT OF TALENT, CERTAINLY A LOT MORE THAN I DID AT THE AGE OF 12. IF HE KEEPS WORKING HARD,…

On the eve of the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, Padraig Harrington took to the course late in the afternoon to play a practice round. It was the first time the defending champion had played the layout all week, with speculation rife that the 36-year-old was suffering from a worrying wrist injury sustained hitting balls back at his home in Ireland. So when the news flooded through that he had chosen to walk the back nine – hitting only putts and chip shots around the green – his withdrawal seemed inevitable. “If this wasn’t The Open, I wouldn’t be here,” he told reporters. “Trust me, I would have already pulled out.” Fast forward five days and Harrington is still at Birkdale and still cradling the Claret Jug after returning…

Lower-back injuries are the scourge of many a golfer, but by following these simple drills, you will be in a better position to maintain your fitness on the course… • Cats and dogs How to do it… The wrists should be stacked directly under the shoulders and knees directly under the hips – what we call the all-fours position. Hold in this position for a couple of seconds before slowly working from the tailbone up. As the belly button goes down towards the floor, work on arching through the chest, trying to get as much extension as you can. Hold for a couple of seconds and work from low to high, the belly button going towards the ceiling with the chin tucking in (below left). • How it helps your…

By Top 50 Coach Gary Alliss Try and stay as still as possible inside ten feet – not just your head – while still making a decent follow-through. If your head comes up too early, it’s harder to keep the putter on line and your strike will suffer. It’s easier said than done, and if you keep the head too rigid it can restrict your follow-through. So, to discourage you from dropping your head too much, think of it more as retaining your spine angle, so the back of the head down to your shoulders stays in line. Longer putts To make a full-length follow-through from longer range, your head will want to move a little more after impact. Enjoy it! Allow yourself to be a child again! Don’t get…

Rulings involving a player’s equipment can sometimes seem slightly hard to fathom, given the tight technical restrictions equipment is manufactured to and the fact these rulings are as likely to occur in the clubhouse as on the course. Here, Chris Wallace, Rules manager at The R&A, looks at the case of Rory Sabbatini in the RSM Classic, where some stickers left on a fairway wood proved very costly. Golf’s equipment Rules cover a wide array of comprehensive specifications and guidelines, which help equipment manufacturers, designers, tournament officials and players apply the Rules of the game fairly and properly. Following his first round at the Sea Island course, Sabbatini approached Rules officials to query whether he had fallen foul of the Rules for using a club which had some small stickers…

1 In stroke play, Fergus grounds his putter in front of his ball to help with his alignment. What is the ruling? A There is no penalty. B Fergus gets one penalty stroke. C Fergus gets the general penalty (two strokes). 2 In stroke play, Jezz takes free relief from a sprinkler head but drops at the edge of a two club-length relief area, rather than a one club-length relief area. What is the ruling? A There is no penalty. B Jezz gets one penalty stroke. C Jezz gets the general penalty (two strokes). 3 Before playing from a bunker, Fergus throws a rake which had been lying outside the bunker into the sand. What is the ruling? A There is no penalty. B Fergus gets one penalty stroke. C…

Callaway Chrome Soft The new Chrome Soft ball for 2022 is said to be longer through the bag while maintaining the signature soft feel, thanks to a new Hyper Elastic SoftFast core and a drag-reducing Tour Aero simple pattern. It also benefits from new Precision technology, whereby a 3D X-ray is used to measure every layer exactly, delivering faster ball speeds, tighter dispersion and a more consistent performance. The Chrome Soft ball is designed for a wide range of golfers who want a bit of everything. Then there is the Chrome Soft X, played by Jon Rahm, which offers a slightly firmer feel and is said to provide more distance off the tee. Finally, there’s the Chrome Soft X LS, which has a new cover material that increases control around…

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Which courses that you’ve played have featured the most difficult bunkering? Colin Hendricks, Faversham I’ve played many courses that are prolifically bunkered, but I wouldn’t necessarily describe their bunkering as particularly difficult. Two that do spring to mind, though, are Woodhall Spa’s Hotchkin course in Lincolnshire and Ganton in Yorkshire, where many of the fairway bunkers present a serious obstacle to significant forward progress, and many of the greenside ones demand the next level of skill from the sand. Of our links courses, I think Carnoustie would stand out for the strategic placement of its bunkering, and south of the border, I’ve always felt that Fairhaven in Lancashire is England’s equivalent of Carnoustie in that regard. Finally, after my only round on the Montgomerie course at Carton House in Ireland,…