Innehållsförteckning för December 2021 - Issue #391 från Golf Australia

Last month we brought you news that the Australian Summer of Golf was back with the easing of COVID-related restrictions across most of the country. But as we have come to get used to, living in the midst of a pandemic, few things, especially event dates, are set in concrete. In early October, the PGA Tour of Australasia made adjustments to the summer schedule to provide the best chance of events going ahead with quality fields. Kalgoorlie Golf Course was to serve as the host of the WA PGA Championship to the kick off the summer of golf and the 2021/2022 schedule on November 25. The Tour was due to head on to Royal Fremantle Golf Club for the Nexus RISK WA Open the following week. But with the uncertainty…

Run your finger down the list of Australian PGA Championship winners and you can’t miss the asterisk, and two names, beside the year 2002. That was, of course, when Australian golf history was made when Peter Lonard and Jarrod Moseley were declared joint winners of the $1 million event after their playoff could not be completed because of fading light. Lonard had holed a huge 20-metre birdie putt on the 18th green to force the playoff with Moseley, who had led by five shots at the start of the final round. After the pair both parred the first playoff hole, the 18th, the Australasian PGA Tour’s Director of Tournaments, Andrew Langford-Jones, stepped in to speak to them about their options. It was 6.35pm local time and nearly an hour after…

First things first. When my fellow Golf Australia columnist, Mike Clayton, mentioned to me that we should try to set up what has since become the “Sandbelt Invitational,” we were both aware that this was not a new idea. Many times over the years people have talked hypothetically about how great it would be to have a 72-hole event played on four of Melbourne’s world-famous courses. Which is not to say that Mike was not the catalyst this time round. He was the one who made the initial calls to Royal Melbourne, Yarra Yarra, Kingston Heath and Peninsula Kingswood. He was the instigator. So, he deserves a lot of any credit going for that, as do the clubs for their positive reactions to what we are trying to do. The…

1 ADDRESS At address, the biggest thing we look for and you will see it in this picture, his shoulders can get very rounded. When he gets rounded, he tends to take it away shut. The few things we work on a lot at address are to try and keep his shoulders back and then the other thing is his hands get a bit low at times. If his grip or alignment is out there has to be compensations made. 2 TAKEAWAY Lucas can sway off the ball. He can get too far off the ball and he is quite conscious of that, so then he can go the other way. It’s not something he is poor at, but it is something he is aware of and we often look…

Putters are built with two or three degrees of loft, an important element designed to help get the ball up and out of the little depression it creates through its weight. It does, though, mean that even the purest putt has an initial period of flight and bounce before the ball starts rolling. If you can minimise this and get the ball rolling quicker, it has more chance of staying on line and finding its target. Here are two drills that will help… 1. CONSTANT LEAD WRIST ANGLE At address we create a certain angle between our lead arm and the putter’s shaft. The red tee, sticking out of the butt of the putter grip, illustrates it. If that gap or angle changes during the stroke, we will inevitably add…

One of the key qualities in any putting stroke is a smooth strike that minimises bounce and skid off the blade, helping the ball roll as soon as possible. This strike also helps with distance control because it affords a pure and predictable transfer of energy. To find this more effective strike, picture the way a snooker cue moves through the cue ball. 1. LEVEL STRIKE Just like a putter, the cue needs to drive a stationary ball not up or down, but forward. To apply a pure roll, its movement needs to be horizontal. The long, level cue makes snooker one of the best ways to picture this delivery. 2. HANDLE ABOVE HEAD To create the same smooth roll and efficient energy transfer, the putter needs to pass through…

Cost: $29.99 (each); $96 (four pack). Tested by: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Deputy & Digital Editor FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Spending much of my life in the sun for work and recreation, sunscreen is an important part of most days. Particularly with my fair complexion that has taken a beating over the years on golf courses. So, the chance to try a new, for me, product in the space was more exciting than perhaps skincare should be. And I was suitably impressed. Spray application is a major plus for the Beachfox range when it comes to golf, because there is less of that slipping, greasy feeling on the hands. And the scents/flavours are a nice touch. HOW THEY PERFORMED: First of all, the most important test of a sunscreen is whether it…

In October, one of the most recognisable voices in golf passed away at 82. Laidlaw started out in newspapers before moving up the journalistic ranks and eventually covering 165 majors, as well as being a fixture on Australian TV. Here are his thoughts on the game from his final interview. What is the thing about golf? I think the thing about golf is that as far as I am concerned, as far as my career has been concerned it has got me around the world and I have made so many friends around the world. That’s the thing about golf, I think friendship is the key thing that you get in golf, as well as exercise and all that sort of stuff. You ended up a golf journalist almost by…

With a Centenary year fast approaching, Brisbane’s Nudgee Golf Club is on the cusp of completing what is arguably the most exciting project in their long history. Situated across Kedron Brook to the north of Brisbane Airport and a short distance from the Morton Bay foreshore, the club was established in 1930 and has been a breeding ground for great players ever since. Among its host of champions, Nudgee includes the great Norman Von Nida, who appeared in the club’s first pennant winning team in 1931 at the age of 17, and would later turn professional and claim 48 victories worldwide in a tournament playing career spanning three decades. In recent years, the club has watched with pride as member Scott Hend has won on the European Tour three times…

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When I started working with Lucas at 13 he had a loose country Victoria golf swing that matched up and worked. And I was very mindful to think “If I try and make him an Adam Scott lookalike, he will have no idea what’s going on and he won’t be able to play”. But we had to tighten it up. I talk a lot about parameters, we have got to keep the path, the face, everything within parameters, the length of his swing, his hands at address. I don’t mind them being a little bit low, but there becomes a point where if he goes too low, then it affects things, and he can’t get the club into positions. Everything for 12 years has been him developing an understanding of…

Most golfers only read their putts from down-the-line. This tends to foreshorten the perceived distance. The chances are your eyes won’t actually make contact with the ground until 18 to 24 inches beyond the ball. This confuses your brain and it starts to compute the required distance – MINUS that 18 to 24 inches. When you think about it logically, it makes perfect sense that the resultant putt will probably come up short. But when you look at the putt from the side – especially the low side – it is like looking at the same information but in 3D. Stand far enough back and you can see both your ball and the hole in your peripheral vision. You will see the full length of the putt. You will get…

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With the Queensland border due to open this month, you still have time to take advantage of a superb stay and play experience at the five-star InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort. Fairway Golf Tours is offering a terrific package that includes a round on each of the Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club’s Top-100 ranked layouts as well as a one-night luxury stay in the resort. Your first round will be on the Ross Watson-designed Palms Course, which was ranked No.46 in Golf Australia magazine’s Top-100 Public Access Courses in the country earlier this year. The Palms offers a wide variety of challenges as the holes weave between century old Cabbage Palms, water hazards and strategically placed bunkers. After your round, spend some time lounging by the Lagoon Beach Pool at the…

It seems that every time Marc Leishman plays his way into contention in a tournament, his home town of Warrnambool, on Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast about three hours’ drive west of Melbourne, rates some kind of mention. It’s safe to say the six-time PGA Tour winner has been the seaside town’s finest ambassador for the best part of a decade. And, at the heart of it, is Warrnambool Golf Club, which is no longer the hidden gem it was 15 years ago when Leishman was just starting out in his professional career. Prior to that, of course, he was just the super-talented local kid who was always at the golf course, beating balls or playing holes with his dad, Paul. In fact, it was while playing alongside his father that Leishman…

Meet Ollie Moore. He’s eight-years-old and has been hitting a ball around the courses at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club for nearly two years. But the 27-marker has already done what most golfers strive to do their entire lifetime – make a hole-in-one. That’s right, an ace. Ollie – whose favourite golfers are Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy (both child prodigies in their day – was playing alongside his dad in a men’s competition on Coolangatta-Tweed Heads’ River Course when the rare feat was achieved. The youngster stepped up on the tee of the 176-metre par-3 7th hole and let rip. “I used a driver,” Ollie boasted. “It went like a bullet.” Ollie’s dad, Matt, added: “180 metres is about his max but he absolutely cracked one. “He was actually a…

Bellerive Country Club has been selected to host the Presidents Cup in 2030, making it the seventh American course to host the biennial event. It adds to the list of big events the course in St.Louis, Missouri, has hosted, from Gary Player completing the career Grand Slam there in the 1965 U.S. Open to Nick Price winning his first major title at the 1992 PGA Championship. It most recently held the 2018 PGA Championship when Brooks Koepka held off Tiger Woods and Adam Scott. Bellerive also hosted the 2008 BMW Championship as part of the PGA Tour’s postseason, and a World Golf Championship in 2001 that was cancelled due to the September 11 terrorist attacks. “St. Louis is a passionate and iconic sports town and one which embraces teams and…

“… I THINK IN MY TIME ON THE PGA TOUR, I’VE JUST KEPT GETTING ONE OR TWO PERCENT BETTER EACH YEAR”– CAMERON SMITH Sixty-three. It’s a number you can imagine that Cam Smith ponders many days. But you only know the half of it. You see, it’s one thing to head out on a PGA Tour course and carve out a (likely) nine-under total. But it’s another thing entirely to land a 63kg fish – and when Smith’s not grinding with sticks in hand, he’s hoping desperately with rod in hand to haul in a record-setting Wahoo, among other giant fish off the Florida coast. Now, as the water cools slightly off Jacksonville, it’s Wahoo season – and Smith is pumped. The biggest Wahoo ever caught in Floridian waters is…

Royal Adelaide Golf Club has taken welcoming dogs further than most. The club has started hosting days on which members can bring their canine companions to play – and they have proved a resounding success. “It came about because one of our Captains had been to the UK and saw one there. He thought it was a pretty good idea, so after a little hesitancy, we gave it a go,” General Manager Andrew Gay said. “It was a big success, even more than we anticipated.” The first was held in March 2019 and they’re now scheduled twice per year, in spring and autumn to take advantage of daylight saving. The most recent was held in October this year. Around 50 players are accommodated. “There are no limits on how many…

Dustin Johnson has been one of the best players in the world for the past decade. In that time, he’s won two major titles and six World Golf Championships, all with a unique and powerful action. Watching Johnson make his powerful swing, one thing immediately stands out as being different to most of his Tour colleagues – his left wrist if bowed at the top of the backswing. Compare this position, for example, with Adam Scott’s position (inset) with a copybook flat left wrist (for right-handers) that helps maintain a square clubface at the top. Other great players even adopt a slightly cupped left wrist, which will promote a fade shot shape. Johnson’s bowed wrist at the top closes the clubface while he transitions from backswing to downswing, but he…

Holing short putts is all about face aim, and ensuring the blade is square to your target line at impact. To train this, narrow your target. Set up three balls, each on a high tee peg. From a distance of no more than 2ft, make your stroke and try to knock each one o. in turn. Only a blade square to your target line can achieve it. See how many you can do in a row … then, after missing, keep trying to beat your top score.…

Cost: $309. Tested by: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Deputy & Digital Editor MODELS PLAYED: T22 (54°-12° S Grind & 60°-06° X Grind), fitted with Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: After testing the previous Mizuno T20 wedges, I purchased four of them and have had them in the bag ever since. With the knowledge of what had changed in the T22 I was excited to compare the two models side-by-side to see if there was a noticeable difference. The look of the T22 is certainly an improvement with a thinner topline and what appeared to my eye a more compact address profile. Other standout points from my first strikes were the outstanding Mizuno feel off the face and some serious spin. The new Denim Copper finish is also…

Victoria Park is Brisbane’s only inner-city driving range, and offers plenty of golfing fun as well as the latest in golf technology and equipment. The facility boasts a 300-metre all-weather, two level, floodlit driving range including 53 hitting bays and a grass hitting tee plus four target greens. There’s also an 18-hole mini golf course on site. But Victoria Park is more than just a driving range. It is home to one of Australia’s best golf coaching facilities. The Golf Learning Centre is a double storey studio featuring seven coaching bays equipped with the latest technology including Trackman, high speed cameras, Force Plates and Golf Swing Analysis Software (GASP). The centre also includes putting and golf fitness studios. Victoria Park is home to 11 knowledgeable and experienced golf professionals, so…

From the moment you drive through the gates and ease your way up the long driveway to the clubhouse, you can’t help but be struck by the splendor of the golfing landscape and its surrounds at The Eastern Golf Club. Built on the southern banks of the Yarra River and with the tree-blanketed valley wall of Christmas Hills and the Dividing Range as dramatic backdrops to the north and north west, Eastern is simply a beautiful place to play golf. You can be standing anywhere out on this course and feel a long way from the hustle and bustle of the city and suburbs. Truth is, all of that is just down the road, which is where the roots of The Eastern Golf Club lay. Back in 2008, Eastern’s membership…