Innehållsförteckning för August 2021 - Issue #387 från Golf Australia

David Graham had one hand on the Wanamaker Trophy as he stood on the final tee of the 1979 US PGA Championship. He would soon have the huge trophy in both. The then 33-year-old was seven under par for the day and had not missed a shot in making seven birdies and 10 pars. Starting the final day at three-under-par and four strokes from the lead, Graham dominated Oakland Hills with smooth and effortless swinging. He was poetry in motion and flawless in pursuit of his first major win. One American writer noted: “There have been many fine golfers out of Australia, including Peter Thomson and Bruce Crampton, but I don’t suppose any ever played a more brilliant 17 holes than Graham did Sunday in a major championship. He was…

Looking the part can be a big boost to achieving success on the golf course. Wearing stylish, perfectly fitting and practical golf apparel can be the difference between feeling good and feeling great. With this in mind, Golf Australia magazine has teamed with Australia’s No.1 golf apparel brand, Sporte Leisure, to provide one lucky club with $12,000 worth of apparel to dress their representative teams for success in 2022. Since commencing operations in 1991, Sporte Leisure has remained committed to being the No.1 supplier of quality and value for money golf apparel, whilst aiming to maintain its influence as a creator of lifestyle inspired product for both men and women. Nominations close on September 16 with the winning club drawn and notified on September 30. For full terms and conditions, visit www.golfaustralia.com.au/win/dress-for-success-564181…

In 2015, my team and I sat down and evaluated my whole game. The glaring opportunity for improvement was my wedges. My Strokes Gained stat was 0.09 – very average for the PGA Tour. I didn’t really practise my wedge play – and if I did, it was with little-to-no discipline. Yet my length off the tee meant I was often in the wedge zone. I grabbed the opportunity. Within a year, my Strokes Gained stat had reached 0.35 and I was the US Open Champion. Wedges are all about distance control. If you can pitch pin-high but are 10ft out for line, you’ll have a 10ft putt. With my coach, Claude Harmon, I created a system to improve my distance control. Let me explain. HOW I COVER MY PITCHING…

Sam Snead learned to play golf in the hickory era yet he played steel-shafted clubs most of his career. Known for his easy rhythm and power, Snead was the first player to dispel the myth that long hitters couldn’t be accurate, too. His early experiences with unpredictable hickory clubs would no doubt have enhanced his natural tempo and tempered his aggression in order to control the club. Compared with the twisting nature of the hickory shaft, the stability of the steel shaft allows a strong, athletic swing at the ball. The entire body, hands and arms can release through impact with total confidence. Snead here has slotted the club into the perfect position. The leading edge of the clubface is perfectly parallel to his swing plane, which creates optimum power…

Rory McIlroy’s swing is the one every average golfer (and most of his Tour colleagues) would love to have – it’s balanced, free-flowing and oozes power. But such are the dynamics of his swing, there is little chance you or some of those envious Tour players could replicate his swing from start to finish. The World No.10 blends orthodox technique with his own unique moves, which require great flexibility and strength. However, there are elements of his swing every golfer can borrow from to improve their ball-striking and achieve more distance with every shot. Have a close look at McIlory’s swing sequence here and try to emulate some of the key positions of his swing as you stand in front of a full-length mirror. Get the idea of what the…

Numerous top players have suggested over the years that they could save the average golfer a significant number of strokes per round as a caddie. But fear not, you don’t need to luck into a round with a Tour pro to improve your scoring. Hello Birdie has been established as a connected golf experience for some time, with the system updated in March this year and once again in June, with game planning via a virtual caddie sure to improve players’ decision making. Based on artificial intelligence, the app allows golfers to prepare for their next round at more than 40,000 courses with the virtual caddie that evolves over time to better advise each individual player. Using risk management for the first time, the app now provides aggressive and conservative…

The climax of any major championship is exciting but when the trophy hangs in the balance into extra time, the excitement goes next level. Here is our list of the top-10 most dramatic play-offs in major championship history. 10. BUBBA WATSON d. LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN 2012 MASTERS The sudden-death play-off between Watson and Oosthuizen will always be about THAT shot – Bubba’s massive hooked pitching wedge from deep in the trees on the second extra hole (the par-4 10th) to set up a two-putt par victory. 9. JACK FLECK d. BEN HOGAN 1955 U.S. OPEN The traditional U.S. Open 18-hole play-off rarely produces great theatre, but it did in 1955 at The Olympic Club when public golf club pro Jack Fleck birdied the final four holes to force a play-off with…

Watching the final nine holes of the US Open at Torrey Pines, I must admit to a slight feeling of deja vu. Amidst much carnage over the closing holes, Jon Rahm ended up being the ‘last man standing’ – if that is not too unfair to Louis Oosthuizen – much as I was when I won the same event at Winged Foot in 2006. This year’s US Open was a great tournament, despite the low expectations many seemed to have going in. It was the same in 2008, of course. When I arrived for the last US Open at Torrey, I had high expectations for an unenjoyable week. Not because US Opens are routinely scary. But because Torrey is different from an Oakmont or a Pinehurst in that the PGA…

Pine Valley Shinnecock Augusta National Cypress Point NGLA Oakmont Merion Fishers Island Chicago LA North Sand Hills Friar’s Head Winged Foot (West) Crystal Downs Riviera CC San Francisco Prairie Dunes Seminole Brookline CC Somerset Hills Shoreacres Garden City Southern Hills California Golf Club Ballyneal Camargo Club Winged Foot (East) Maidstone Oakland Hills (South) Quaker Ridge Sleepy Hollow Olympic Club Inverness Club Yale GC The Golf Club New Albany Muirfield Village Peachtree GC Myopia Hunt Club Ohoopee Match Club (All in the USA) Loch Lomond, Scotland Morfontaine, France Les Bordes, France St George’s, Canada Hirono, Japan Ellerston, Australia…

HERE ARE 10 GREAT ‘HARD’ HOLES I’D RATHER AVOID IF I HAD TO MAKE A PAR TO MAKE THE CUT. 16 Royal Melbourne West Course 15 New South Wales 10 Royal Melbourne Composite (12 West, Par 4) 14 Royal Adelaide 5 Barnbougle Lost Farm 8 Barnbougle Dunes 8 Kooyonga 7 Barnbougle Dunes (pictured below) 10 The National Gunnamatta. 16 Kingston Heath. HERE ARE 10 GREAT ‘EASY’ HOLES I’D ENJOY PLAYING NEEDING A PAR TO MAKE THE CUT. All except the 9th at Royal Melbourne West Course are ‘half-par holes’ 12 Royal Melbourne West (as a Par-5) 15 Victoria (pictured below) 16 Yarra Yarra (as a Par-5. It was a Par-4 in the Australian Amateur – in which case it goes onto the other list) 8 The Lakes 9 Royal Melbourne West…

Any swing that delivers the club in a neutral position through the impact area is a good one in my book. Over the past few seasons, I’ve put in a lot of hours on the practice range to iron out the areas that, in the past, made me have to fight hard to get the club square and on the right plane coming into the ball. When I was a kid, I used to have a bit of a loopy draw that could easily get out of control if I wasn’t careful. While I still slightly favour that right-to-left shape, I’m a much straighter hitter now and am also comfortable working the ball the other way. People often ask me if I lose distance when I grip down on the…

The 38-year-old Spaniard reveals three of the key secrets to his enviable short game. How did you develop such a sharp short game? PL: Competitive practice growing up. I got good at chipping fast when I was a kid because there were many good players at my club and we spent a lot of time at the chipping area. I lost lots of money! Being competitive in practice will make you better under pressure. How do you visualise the shot you need to hit? PL: Creativity is key. You have to create shots and see the ball rolling or pitching and stopping the way you want. It’s all about seeing it. You can play the same shot with three or four different clubs, so you have to feel what you’re…

GREG NORMAN FEBRUARY 1987 “Acceleration through impact is as vital to the short game as it is with your longer irons and woods. It is the only way to put proper backspin on these shots, for maximum control.” KARRIE WEBB MAY 2000 “Whatever tempo you adopt for your swing, be sure that you keep it consistent throughout the round from every tee to green. Try not to speed up when the pressure is on.” JASON DAY APRIL 2016 “Wide swings are powerful…moving from a wide position at the top of the backswing to a narrow one in your downswing sends your swing speed off the charts.”…

WINS 1, Wells Fargo Championship DRIVING DISTANCE 318.7 yards (2nd) STROKES GAINED: OFF THE TEE .636 (8th) STROKES GAINED: TEE TO GREEN 1.429 (12th) GOING FOR THE GREEN 70.79% (6th) BIRDIE AVERAGE 4.37 per round (6th) ROUND 3 SCORING AVERAGE 68.83 (8th) DRIVER: TaylorMade SIM2 with 9º loft, fitted with Fujikura Ventus Black 6X shaft. 3-WOOD: TaylorMade SIM with 15˚ loft, with Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei CK Pro White 80TX shaft. 5-WOOD: TaylorMade SIM with 19˚ loft, with Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei CK Pro White 90TX shaft. IRONS: TaylorMade Rors Prototype, 3- to 9-iron, all with Project X Rifle 7.0 shafts. WEDGES: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48º loft), Milled Grind 2TW (56º and 60º). All are fitted with Project X Rifle 6.5 shafts. PUTTER: TaylorMade Spider X Hydro Blast. BALL: 2021 TaylorMade TP5x.…

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Early time with the WATCH GT 2 Pro was primarily using it as a general smartwatch before testing the golf driving range capabilities. I enjoyed seemingly endless time testing out the health aspects like heart rate and other workout modes, the connection to my phone proving itself a real plus having never worn a smartwatch before. The convenience was outstanding. Once testing the driving range mode, it was nice to be able to get some instant, simple to understand feedback when hitting golf balls that can be a source of improvement for some golfers. HOW IT PERFORMED: To briefly touch on the overall performance of the watch, excluding golf-specific elements, the convenience of having everything on my wrist was great. So too were the tracking features like heart…

The once glorious Paradise Palms layout had the final nail hammered into its coffin recently when a legal challenge to a redevelopment of the site was withdrawn and the matter settled. The challenge by nearby residents to the $300 million development began in 2020 when Cairns Regional Council granted approval to rezone the course – once ranked in the top-three resort courses in Australia – which closed in March, 2019, just four years after the current owners purchased the site. The course will now be sub-divided into five lots and there are plans to develop a 330-lot residential subdivision, a Catholic primary school, a tourist caravan park, retirement village and open-space wildlife corridors. It’s a long way from the celebrated tropical golfing jewel that opened for play just 31 years…

It’s one of professional golf’s biggest jokes. Describing the leading practitioners as “independent contractors” is laugh-out-loud stuff, a phrase containing little or no relation to reality. Equally, irony is easy to find at the highest level. In a game packed with those supposedly devoted to right-wing political ideology, players are amazingly quick to transform into card-carrying trade unionists. When it suits them, of course. Originally devised by former CBS commentator, Gary McCord (coincidentally a non-winner in more than 400 PGA Tour events), the all-exempt system followed by every major circuit is but one example of the blatant protectionism that maintains an illegitimate status quo for the average and mediocre. Once in, it’s hard – or at least harder than it should be – to get out. Which is why second-division…

WHEN YOU’RE LATE When your tee time is 10.48, don’t rock up to the 1st tee at 10.49 and keep your playing partners waiting while you find a ball, find a tee, slip your glove on and take two practice swings before even addressing the ball. Get there early! YOU STEPPING ON THEIR LINE Even though spike marks are something from yesteryear, it’s just good manners not to step on your playing partner’s line. AWKWARDNESS AFTER A DUMMY SPIT When you start throwing clubs all over the course, it makes it hard to engage in conversation. It’s like dealing with a toddler who has been told they can’t have an ice-cream. THE 18TH TEE SWING TIP Any player who has had a tough day on the course just wants to…

Which course blew you away visually? Darius Oliver, Australia Cape Wickham – but if not my own work then Lofoten and Ardfin stand out. I could walk either without playing and still be in awe. Jimmie James, USA Kingsbarns is what Pebble Beach aspires to be. Malcolm Baker, England Tara Iti. Mind-blowing view from the clubhouse. David Jones, Scotland Cape Wickham. Dramatic cliffs, golden beaches and crashing surf. Perfect! Which was the most fun? DO North Berwick and St Andrews (Old). Sheep Ranch in Oregon and Carne in Ireland (original 18) are others that you play with a huge grin. JJ The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, despite three scary finishing holes. MB Cape Kidnappers; the sheer drops from the fairway edges is unique. DJ Lahinch. Grinning from ear to…

At many parkland golf courses, you’ll face a lot of putts that are difficult to read. The breaks are often very subtle and seemingly imperceptible to the human eye. How many times have you looked at a putt from several angles and still struggled to figure out which way it was going to move? The problem with reading putts is that your eyes take in a lot of supplementary information that can affect your decision-making. A row of trees or a distant hedgerow, water features and even the shaping of the surrounds of the green can trick your eyes into seeing slopes that don’t exist. You’ve probably seen Tour pros crouching down to read putts with their hands cupped around their face and over the top of their visor. What…

Take a double out of play on a demanding 1st hole POINT 1 The first hole is always important, but especially so when it’s a tough one like Wentworth’s long par 4 here. You don’t want to run up a big score so early, so it’s a good idea to play within yourself. A four is always a good score but a five isn’t a disaster, especially if you get a shot. Use a strategy to help you make a bogey at worst. POINT 2 Hit the tee shot that leaves you the easiest second shot. This isn’t always about hitting it as far as you can off the tee. This hole is a good example. Hit it too far and you can end up on a downslope – not…

Hybrids, like every equipment category, have come a long way in recent years. But fully adjustable hybrids packed full of technology have been somewhat few and far between. Enter the COBRA KING TEC. The new model features adjustable weights and loft, as well as new face technology and a multi-material design to offer reliable and forgiving hybrid option, perfect for tee shots on short, tight par-4s, long par-3s and when approaching par-5s. Utilising the ‘PWRSHELL’ face design of the RADSPEED irons, which features a thin and flexible face insert, the KING TEC hybrid offers increased ball speed across the face for greater and more consistent distance. The latter being a performance characteristic that better players crave in their utility option. Ten grams of weight is saved then optimally redistributed low…

Thornleigh Golf Centre, 35 minutes’ drive north-west of Sydney’s CBD, is home to one of the best golf practice facilities in the Southern Hemisphere. But that’s not all it offers. In addition to its world-class, two-level driving range – which features high-quality mats and balls, 20 auto tees, raised target greens and two Trackman systems – Thornleigh also provides lessons undercover with any of its nine PGA of Australia certified professionals. The centre, which is open to the public, also boasts an impressive range of reasonably priced equipment as well as two 18-hole mini-golf courses, which play host to the annual Australian Mini Golf Championship. Sponsored by Coca Cola, the 72-hole event is set to take place on November 14 this year and will carry an impressive $5,000 prize purse.…

Like Hannah Green, basketballer Chris Goulding is on his way to Tokyo this month for the Olympics where he will represent Australia. Goulding, who has played more than 350 NBL games, loves the game of golf and has achieved a rare feat in the game. What is the thing about golf for Chris Goulding? It is the discipline that you just can’t get a hold of no matter how well you think you’re going, it will humble you. Even the best players in the world, they are always trying to master it and it is a game I don’t think you can. For me, it is a release from my season, get out on the course with a few mates for a few hours at a game I am not…