Innehållsförteckning för February 2018 från Golf Australia

SUCCESS rarely happens overnight. In the case of the Women’s Australian Open, it has been a long and often rocky road for the Championship to reach the point this year where it will be the second richest golfing event, for men or women, contested in this country. Only the Australasian, European and Asian Tours tri-sanctioned World Super 6 Perth with AU$1.75 million outbids our women’s national Open ($1.58million) in terms of total prizemoney. While the quality of the field – with players primarily drawn from the LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and our own ALPG – is likely to be the strongest (based on world rankings) of any golf tournament played on Australian soil this summer. The now named ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open is a remarkable success story that…

IT’S A simple question. But not one that has, at least for this long-time observer of all things golf, never really provided an easy answer. How important is a caddie to a player? I ask (yet) again because of a trend that has gradually developed at the sharp end of the game over the last couple of years. Eschewing the opportunity to employ a gnarled old veteran of the links, a flurry of high-profile professionals are currently walking inside the ropes alongside a relatively inexperienced band of friends and relatives. Rory McIlroy has announced that 2018 will see him continue with best pal Harry Diamond (pictured below) on the bag. Phil Mickelson’s brother, Tim, has resigned as Jon Rahm’s manager to be his older sibling’s on-course confidante. Dustin Johnson shows…

SPOT THE BALL ANGELYIN might be among the international golfers playing in Australia this month. But where could her ball be here? All you have to do is correctly identify where her 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 visit www.golfaustralia.com.au, to submit your answer. Entries close 11.59pm on February 21. The winner and the correct answer will be published in the April 2018 issue of Golf Australia magazine.…

In this era of recognising the need for equality across the sexes, golf is learning all the time and the game is in a much better place than it was a decade ago. At the elite level of the game, there is only one tournament that leads the way globally in terms of equality – whether it is in terms of prizemoney or exposure – and is often held up as the prime example of what tournament golf might, or should, look like in the future. That tournament is the Oates Vic Open, which continues to grow in popularity and prizemoney year-on-year. For the sixth consecutive year, the 36-hole Thirteenth Beach Links at Barwon Heads will host two fields of 144 players in the only tournament in the world where…

1997... AGE 5 9th in Daily Telegraph Qualifier at Wexham Park with gross 111. 1998... AGE 6 Four junior Medal wins at Wycombe Heights GC before his sixth birthday and 18-hole par-3 course at Wycombe with gross 65. 1999... AGE 7 Won with a course record gross 55 in the U12s National Short Course Championships at Gunnersbury Park. 2000... AGE 8 Won five events including the Redbourn Junior Open (U12s) with a new course record. 2001... AGE 9 Won PGA Wee Wonders Qualifier at Foxhills. 2002... AGE 10 Individual winner at BHF team qualifier at Mentmore with 44 points. 2003... AGE 11 Two men’s Medal wins at Harleyford, gross 79 and 81; Wycombe Heights Junior Masters winner with gross 56 and Little Aston Junior Masters (U-14s) nett winner. 2004... AGE…

You mention to Katherine Kirk that you have read a few stories in which she states that she’s the 15th-oldest golfer on the LPGA Tour. You ask her how she knows this. “I went through the player handbook two years ago and just figured it out,” she says with a laugh. “I think some people had asked me, ‘Who was out here when you first started?’ I’m like, ‘Well, a lot of them aren’t out here anymore. I’m one of the old ones.’ So I started wondering, just how old am I?” She pulls out her cell phone and starts rattling off names. “Juli Inkster is the oldest player,” she says of the 57-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer, who is tied with Karrie Webb for seventh all-time in major…

He is the voice of golf for anyone older than a teenager and before that he was a golfer skilled enough to have played – and prospered – in numerous Ryder Cups. But what Peter Alliss will be remembered for more than anything is his wit, his alternative wisdom and his quips. These are his reflections on a unique lifetime in the game... JH: Without dwelling too much on your age, you’ve been around a while and have met so many of the great names. What have been the highlights? PA: About a year ago, I was looking through an old Golfer’s Handbook. I worked out that I have either played with or met all but seven Open champions since 1900. I have seen Walter Hagen. I have seen Bobby…

1 SET UP FOR A SOLID AND NEUTRAL SWING You see a lot of people driving the ball badly because they don’t have the solid base that gives a good and balanced connection with the ground. You should feel like your thighs are engaged and athletic and there shouldn’t be any tension anywhere in your body. The ball is just inside my left heel and my spine is tilted slightly away from the ball so my lead shoulder is higher than the trail one to encourage me to naturally hit up on the ball. The club shaft should be vertical or even leaning back just a little. GRIP CHECK It’s easy to slip into bad habits with your grip, especially if you are trying to fix a bad shot. Regularly…

Now that I’ve got your attention … if your scores suffer because of inconsistent chipping, duffs or chunked chips around the green, the solution is right here. Firstly, most players who are bad at chipping have their feet set too far apart at address. Get them closer together, just like Mirim Lee is as she practices her short game. What else can you notice about her chipping action? The key thing here is that her hands are in front of the clubface into the follow-through.This is a position you should try and copy to ensure you hit solid chip shots every time. To get to this position, simply put the golf ball back in your stance, ensuring your hands are ahead of the ball at address. Now play the shot,…

 MODEL PLAYED: Tour B X, XS, RX and RXS. THE ‘BETTER PLAYER’ MODELS REALLY BIT HARD EVEN ON SHORT CHIPS AND SEEMED TO FIZZ OFF THE CLUBFACE... FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The new Tour B logo looks great compared to the old Bridgestone script and gives the balls a unique look. The side stamp is also nice and simple although a little short for those who use it to line up putts. From my first strike on the chipping green each model impressed with its spin and varied, but soft, feel. The same can be said from the tee where all four balls produced good distance and strong flights with slight differences in feel. HOW IT PERFORMED: Bridgestone is no longer suggesting models from its premium ball range based on swing speed…

…ALMOST IN SLOW MOTION, THIS RANDOM GREEN-CRASHER HIT DALE’S BALL, KNOCKING IT OFF COURSE. I DON’T know how you’d calculate the odds of such a thing. You’d reckon there’d be more chance of a hole in one on a par-5. Even after slewing the ball right, watching it careen off a sprinkler head, bounce off a cart path onto the road, then into the back of a pick-up that hits a speedbump.The ball might then bounce back out of the truck, onto the course, off the cart path onto the green and into the hole. No chance, right? But maybe more chance of that than what happened to my new mate Dale. What luck, or lack of it! To put it in context, I play most of my golf at…

Golf in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne is unrivalled in Australia for both quality and quantity. Sitting just over 30 minutes from the CBD, on the edge of the famous Sandbelt, The Sandhurst Club offers two of the most recent championship additions to the city’s golfing spoils. Built on former cow pastures, both the older North (2004) course and more recent Champions (2008) are the work of five-time Open Champion Peter Thomson and long-time design partner Ross Perrett. In addition to the two par-72 courses, featuring expansive bunkering, rolling fairways and views of the Dandenong Ranges, Sandhurst is an all-inclusive residential community boasting world-class facilities. It’s no wonder the PGA of Australia has called Sandhurst home for more than 10 years. The North course bares all the hallmarks of a…

HE’S BACK HAVING finished a rollercoaster 2017 with a successful return to competitive golf,Tiger Woods recently confirmed in a statement he “would love to play a full schedule in 2018”. Exactly what a full schedule looks like for the 42-year-old, who has played mole than 20 events only once in the last 12 years, isn’t clear but will largely be determined by his fitness and, as always, be focused around the four major championships. “I just have to continue to work on my body and game and see where I pan out,” Woods said. “I wish I knew where I was going to play and when I was going to play – it’s a lot easier to prep for that – but we really don’t know. This is all unchartered…

Across the world of golf at the moment, there is a quiet revolution bubbling under the surface. It comprises of trying to make the sport exciting and more compressed in order to attract new and younger audiences. Intriguingly those directing the dialogue for such change are the game’s new administrators – the likes of Michael Whan of the LPGA, Martin Slumbers of the R&A and Pete Bevacqua from the PGA of America, who are all pushing for a speed up in play and altering of the rules. However, the leader of the movement is, unquestionably, the European Tour and its chief executive, Keith Pelley, who, since coming into office in 2015, has made it his primary objective to innovate the game whilst retaining its values and heritage. “I think the…

BRETT RUMFORD BEST RESULT: Won (2017). Brett Rumford, the defending – and inaugural – champion, was a force to reckon with last year, leading the stroke play qualifiers and claiming the match play for his sixth European Tour victory. Rumford (pictured above) hadn’t won on Tour since clinching the China Open in 2013 – but the West Australian looked unstoppable, and he birdied 31 of the 76 holes he played. His record at Lake Karrinyup should frighten anybody hoping to steal the title from him. The 40-year-old, who won the Australasian Tour Order of Merit in 2017, very rarely misses the top-10 whenever he plays the Alex Russell-designed course. His local knowledge and hometown support should, once again, serve him well. MICHAEL HENDRY BEST RESULT: T55 (2017). Michael Hendry was…

We don’t need a launch monitor to tell us that if we move the club faster, we increase our potential for hitting the ball further. Boosting your speed, though, is not quite as simple as it sounds. Increased speed cannot come at the expense of strike. Move faster at the expense of control and you’re robbing Dustin to pay Sergio. The first thing to establish is that increasing speed doesn’t mean a faster swing; it only means a faster clubhead at impact. The drills here cover elements like timing and sequencing to help you gain clubhead mph at the right time. The second thing is that many golfers think you need strength to move the club at speed.OK, it can help. But increasing club and ball speed is much more…

MODEL PLAYED: 10.5° loft, fitted with Ryoma Graphite Design Beyond Power Plus ∞ (infinity) flex shaft. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The driver’s simple black crown, scoring lines that outline the middle of the face and a topline that seemed to almost roll into the face deliver a classic look that is clearly designed to appeal to the premium Japanese golf market. The combination of the head, which appeared smaller than most well-known models behind the ball, and shaft graphics made the driver feel long to me. This was despite it measuring 46.5 inches, a common length for today’s drivers. The sound off the clubface was loud and powerful and instantly grabbed my attention. HOW IT PERFORMED: As my time with the Ryoma went on, I became more and more used to the…

MODEL PLAYED: 56°-10° S-Grind (Platinum Chrome) and 60°-10° S-Grind (Matte Black), fitted with Dynamic Gold Tour Issue 115 S200 shafts. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Like anyone who has spent a large amount of time around a chipping green, I am very particular about how wedges look. Visually the MD4 is my favourite Callaway wedge released in some time, thanks to a straighter leading edge and more compact head that is closer to the squarer look I typically opt for. The S-Grind was a little low in bounce in the 56° and high in the 60° for my preference but looked comfortable at address and offered an extremely versatile performance from a variety of lies, and across numerous different courses and conditions. I preferred the Matte Black finish over the chrome, even after…

THE COURSE LOCATION: 1 Coast Hospital Road, Little Bay, New South Wales, 2036 CONTACT: (02) 9661 5367 WEBSITE: www.coastgolf.com.au DESIGNERS: Members and Jim Ferrier (late 1920s/early 1930s); Members (1973); James Wilcher (2007). COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Jordan Roach. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Greg Green. SLOPE RATINGS: 135 (Men’s blue tees), 132 (Men’s white tees); 129 (Women’s red tees), 126 (Women’s yellow tees). PLAYING SURFACES: Kikuyu/couch (fairways); poa annua/bent (greens). GREEN FEES: $22 – $55 (depending on seasonal dates and times). $110 midweek for two players and a cart (Monday to Thursday). THE CLUB MEMBERSHIPS: Full seven-day membership at The Coast costs $229 per month – for 14 months – and includes joining fees and yearly subs. Under-30s membership includes the same benefits and costs $92 per month. RECIPROCAL CLUBS: NSW (Coraki GC, Cowra…

DUBAI and its extraordinary golf offering have been recognised by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO), which voted it the Golf Destination of the Year for Africa, Gulf States & Indian Ocean. The award – presented recently at a ceremony in Cannes, France – is testament to the development of Dubai’s golfing landscape during the past 30 years. Acknowledging golf as a key tourism driver has seen Dubai establish one of the most advanced golf tourism programmes, servicing operators and customers with its renowned high standards. One of the most significant recent steps in reaffirming Dubai’s commitment to attracting visitors has been the creation of www.golfindubai.com, a new website which has been designed to enhance awareness of the premium golf destination that convenes everything visitors and tour operators…

THE COURSE LOCATION: 75 Sandhurst Boulevard, Sandhurst, VIC, 3977. CONTACT: (03) 8787 7011. WEBSITE: www.sandhurst.com DESIGNERS: Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett (2004, North), (2008, Champions). SLOPE RATINGS: North: 139 (black), 138 (blue), 137 (white) and 129 (red). Champions: 144 (black), 131 (blue), 128 (white) and 132 (red). PLAYING SURFACES: Legend couch fairways, G2 Creeping bentgrass greens. GREEN FEES: Sandhurst is a private club but access is available to visitors Sunday to Friday and bookings can be made through the club’s online booking system. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Nick Bielawski, Christian Hamilton, Yoyo Han and David Thomas (PGA Centre for Learning and Performance). THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP: Sandhurst offers three membership three levels: Platinum (requires a purchase or lease of shares), Gold and Silver. With sub-categories of seven-, six- and five-day course access…

THE WITHDRAWAL OF EMIRATES MIGHT TURN OUT TO BE JUST THE CHANGE THE TOURNAMENT NEEDS AS IT ATTEMPTS TO RECREATE THE DIZZYING HEIGHTS OF THE KERRY PACKER-BACKED DAYS... WHAT’S IN A NAME? THE MEN’S Australian Open is, for the time being, without a title sponsor after Dubai-based airline Emirates announced in the final days of 2017 that it would not continue as the tournament’s naming partner, a role it held since 2011. The decision came after the company also withdrew its name from the Melbourne Cup, with the 2018 race to be bear the name of car manufacturer, Lexus. Whereas the Victorian Racing Club was quick to secure another major sponsor, the Australian Open’s owner, Golf Australia, is yet to announce a replacement. It has to be said the worldwide…

“IF YOU DO ALL THE LITTLE THINGS BETWEEN SHOTS QUICKLY, YOU CAN ALMOST TAKE AS LONG AS YOU WANT OVER A SHOT AND NOT FALL BEHIND.” THE question before me is simple: what am I most disappointed to see on any golf course? The first is obvious and one that will no doubt resonate with all of you: Slow play. It is the one thing that affects me most during an event. Everyone has a natural pace, so some people are just naturally slow in everything they do. My father is one of those. But even if that is the case, there is – at least to me – little excuse for playing golf slowly. If you do all the little things between shots quickly, you can almost take as…

Tyrrell Hatton knew he wanted to be a golfer from a ridiculously early age. He was born to play, and that’s all he ever wanted to do from the moment dad Jeff first placed a cut-down club in his hands in the back garden when he was still in nappies, a mere 13 months old. He showed promise, and natural talent – plenty of both in fact – and over the ensuing years they were developed by Hatton senior. It was golf, golf and more golf as far as Tyrrell was concerned – he freely admits he didn’t enjoy school and got funny looks when he told teachers he was going to be a pro golfer. He knew deep down they didn’t believe like he believed. Hatton has turned his…

The smile on Karen Lunn’s face said it all. The former Women’s British Open champion, who now boasts the title of Australian Ladies Professional Golf Chief Executive, had every right to feel pleased as two new tournaments for the ALPG Tour were announced. Added to the ALPG schedule is the $350,000 Australian Ladies Classic at the beautiful Bonville Golf Resort near Coffs Harbour from February 22 to 25 – a week after the $1.7 million Women’s Australian Open at Royal Adelaide. The ALPG Tour will then move up the road to Coffs Harbour Golf Club for the $150,000 Women’s NSW Open, which was last played in 2015, to be played from March 1 to 4. Both tournaments have secured government and sponsorship support for the next five years and will…

SURE UP DISTANCE Sureshot’s latest range of lasers, the Pinloc 5000 series, continue the company’s tradition of high-quality, high-performance distance measuring devices offered in varied models to suit any golfer. Three lightweight and ergonomically designed models are water resistant and feature 6X magnification for a clear view of the target that is further enhanced by Sureshot’s ‘Priority Loc’ technology, which ignores background objects like trees beyond the green. The company’s ‘PinLoc’ system helps the laser lock onto targets and displays distances for 15 seconds, while the ‘Scan’ mode allows for a quick check of various distances. The 5000I starts the range before the 5000IP, which adds Sureshot’s ‘Pulse’ technology to alert players when the laser has hit the target. The 5000IPS rounds out the series, adding ‘Slope’ mode to deliver…