Innehållsförteckning för Mar 2022 - Issue 394 från Golf Australia

Bob Shearer was at the peak of his golfing powers in 1982. Having won twice in Europe during his five years on that Tour during the 1970s, the former Australian Amateur Champion headed to the US PGA Tour in the spring of 1976 after finishing co-medallist at the Qualifying Tour school. He enjoyed moderate success for the next few years but then, in 1982, he had an incredible four-week run of form that saw him finally breakthrough with a win on the American circuit and he banked more prizemoney in a month than he had in the previous two years combined. The Tallahassee Open was an event on the PGA Tour for 20 years dating back to the 1960s before it became a fixture on the Nationwide Tour in the…

It is easy to think golfers who find success at an early age have been around longer than reality. And that those players are older than their birth certificate actually states. When you throw in some of the highly publicised highs and lows of Jordan Zunic’s career to date, this feeling is exacerbated, despite the New South Welshman only recently entering his 30s. Hailing from the Illawarra region south of Sydney, Zunic has three PGA Tour of Australasia wins to his name, including the 2015 New Zealand Open, and was almost an Australian PGA champion in 2017. Yet in the game of golf, he has more than half his professional career ahead of him. It was, however, a career that almost wasn’t after an horrific car accident in August 2013.…

MIN WOO’S STATS AT A GLANCE 1 FIRST MOVE If you want to copy the address of any player, you would do well to mimic Min Woo’s set-up. Great posture, his hips are ideally stacked over his ankles and his alignment is spot on. But he’s already moved the club away in this shot I hear you say … yes he has and look, the only thing that has changed from address in the first foot of the takeaway is he has started turning his shoulders. 2 TAKEAWAY Min Woo’s shoulders continue to rotate and set the club on an inside-the-target-line path and on a good plane. A good checkpoint for any golfer at this point in the swing is the butt of the club should be pointing at your…

1. Harness swing length The concept of matching backswing and throughswing lengths to control power is not new. Yet it remains one area that separates elite golfers from club players. The Tour pro routinely practises swinging back to a measurable length – let’s say hands at chin height – and then forward to the corresponding throughswing length. This promotes a regular and repeatable creation of speed through the stroke, just as a pendulum reaches the same swing speed every time. When you apply this concept to three different swing lengths – short, mid and long – and use it with three different wedges, you can create a spread of nine stock distances that cover most approaches to short par-4s. It’s simple and effective … and it’s time you brought it…

Possessing the same technologies as the premium Z-STAR range, the new Q-STAR TOUR from Srixon offers the performance of the balls played by the world’s best but for moderate swing speed players with a softer feel at $46.95. Incorporating a FastLayer Core, Spin Skin with SeRM and 338 Speed Dimple Pattern, the new model features an all-new alignment mark that is longer to aid golfers lining up their putts. Driving soft feel and distance, the FastLayer Core is softer at the centre than the other Tour models and acts as if it was made of thousands of layers. “The new and improved Q-STAR TOUR continues to deliver Tour-calibre performance with a softer feel compared to our other Tour-level offerings,” General Manager at Srixon Brian Schielke said. “This ball provides the…

COBRA first unveiled the LTD range of drivers in 2016, the model proving a popular one with Tour players like Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler. The latest iteration, LTDx, features three models offering varied performance for the wide range of golfers with specific needs and provides distance and forgiveness through a new face technology, multi-material construction and the brand’s ‘PWR-COR Technology’. The PWR-COR is a system taking advantage of internal and external weights made from multiple materials to shift weight low and forward for lower spin and more ball speed, the refined centre of gravity (CG) complemented by increases in moment of inertia (MOI) for stability. Doing away with its E9 face technology, COBRA created the ‘H.O.T Face’. The H.O.T standing for Highly Optimised Topology, with the face featuring visual…

We’re a nation of road-trippers. Driving holidays have long been a part of the Australian psyche, hitting the road with the car packed to the brim ready to discover another corner of this great land. For golfers, there are plenty of great road trips of varying lengths to be found right across the country. There are the obvious ones, like tripping between the renowned Murray River courses or spending a week in Victoria’s Gippsland or South Australia’s Limestone Coast. Then there are the golfing paths less travelled. One of which I recently followed from historic Maryborough, on Queensland’s Fraser Coast, north to Bundaberg and on to Australia’s beef capital, Rockhampton, in the heart of the picturesque Capricron Coast region. It’s a 430km scenic journey punctuated by eight rounds of golf,…

HUNTER VALLEY • NSW It’s hard to escape the references – it’s probably the reason that you’ve come to the Hunter Valley, after all – the approach to the Cypress Lakes Golf & Country leaves you in no doubt you’re in hardcore wine country. Vineyards and cellar doors with familiar names – Hungerford Hill, Tamburlaine, Pepper Tree, Tyrell’s and Brokenwood to name a few – dot the landscape, luring out its own kind of devotees to go from one to the next, as surely as they were going from tee to fairway to green. The references don’t stop when you arrive at Cypress Lakes. There are vines around the layout, not exactly hazards but neither places you want to hit into. In years gone by the tee markers were in…

Of the many ways a movie can be considered ‘bad’, being boring is up there, being offensive is another. But to be both those things while telling a pointless, meandering story starts to be a little bit impressive. The Legend of Bagger Vance is all that and it’s one other thing: surprisingly watchable. Despite its faults, director Robert Redford’s good intentions are evident in every cornball line of dialog and predictable plot point. It is helped by some formidable late 90’s star power in the form of a mystical Will Smith (Bagger Vance), Matt Damon (Rannulph Junuh) playing a young-Redford proxy and the rising star of pre-Monster (2003) Charlize Theron (Adele Invergordon). The movie is adapted from a bestseller by Steven Pressfield which in turn borrowed from the Hindu sacred…

EAGLE CLUB MEMBERS GET ALL THIS! • 24 issues of Golf Australia magazine• One dozen Callaway ay Supersoft golf ballsls• Golf Australia golf shirt• Choose a DVD - 10 golf titles to choose from• Entry in all chance to win competitions The Callaway Supersoft Golf Ball features Advanced HEX Aerodynamics, optimized for reduced drag, higher flight and longer carry distance. After nearly two decades of building upon and improving the original model of the TOUR360, adidas has come back with their all-new TOUR360 22 shoe. Take your performance to the next level in these adidas golf shoes. They’re made with a BOOST midsole for energy return and enhanced comfort. The 360Wrap design locks in and supports your feet through 18 holes and beyond. An INSITE® sockliner offers cushioning for optimal…

Without getting overly technical, we believe there are a few basic fundamentals that should be applied to achieve bunker brilliance. There are no absolutes as everyone is different but having studied and spoken to some of the best bunker players ever, there are definitely certain things they all do. We have spent a lot of time observing, working with and learning from some of the best bunker players in world golf. Anyone who has ever seen Seve Ballesteros play bunker shots would think that his sand wedge was actually an extension of his hands and an integral part of his physical make up. Over the years there have been a lot of good and even great bunker players. There have also been some who fall into the exceptional category. Gary…

In the world of golf equipment we have moved a long way since the days of one size fits all, with custom fitting at the forefront of tailoring equipment to each specific golf swing and golfer. And the models too are now more varied than ever before so each player can find the perfect combination of performance benefits to match their needs and preferences, reflected in the new range of Rogue irons from Callaway that are the brand’s longest irons in its history. Four models – Rogue ST MAX, Rogue ST MAX OS, Rogue ST MAX OS Lite, Rogue Pro – offer a range of options to golfers and are powered by a high strength ‘450 A.I. Face Cup’ that’s never been seen before in the golf industry, while Urethane…

We all know that golf shoes are about so much more than looking good, and adidas have update its popular TOUR360 model that was first released 17 years ago to deliver fit, traction and an impressive style. Worn by major champions like Dustin Johnson and Danielle Kang, and with some significant insight from Xander Schauffele during the design process, the new TOUR360 22 was created on the premise of the brand taking risks to produce the best model in the line’s history. “I got to see first-hand how much detail went into bringing this shoe to life and that was a really unique learning experience,” Schauffele said. “Footwear is so important in the golf swing, but it can also help boost confidence. After spending quite a bit of time testing…

Although technically the recreational player and the Tour professional play the same game of golf, in reality there is an enormous gulf between how the two groups participate in the game. Yet still, the equipment the world’s best players use offers tremendous insight into how we should be going about building our own set. New models come out quickly, and the range of technologies, materials, options immense. But those updates can lead to incremental increases, and Tour players know those tiny improvements can lead to a shot or two, which can mean going from second to first, or making the weekend. Generally, there are some lessons to be learned, with fitting taking top billing. Fitting has come a long way, but the ability to customise clubs to a golfer has…

Randwick Golf Club is a par-59 public access links-style course, which might just be one of Australia’s most underrated short courses. It shares the same stretch of rocky coastline in Sydney’s south-eastern suburbs, with the highly-ranked New South Wales, St Michaels and The Coast Golf Clubs immediately to the south. From the tips, the layout of 13 par-3s and five par-4s, measures just 3,545 metres. But you will go a long way to find a more naturally designed course. Very little dirt (by modern standards) was moved during construction in the early 1960s. There was no attempt to smooth out the natural ripple, bumps and hollows that litter the fairways. Tees and greens were staked out and levelled, and today it appears everything in between was left as the builders…

no JIMMY EMANUEL Golf Australia Magazine Deputy & Digital Editor Despite many others constantly calling for the opposite, this is straightforward to me. There are huge upsides to co-sanctioning for smaller circuits like our own, and even the women’s Aussie Open has proven that when it comes to its alliance with the LPGA Tour. However, in the case of the men’s Open it is a very different beast, at least to this writer’s way of reasoning. The Fortinet Australian PGA will once again be a DP World event later this year as the Tour aligns more closely with the Tour formerly known as Europe, and given it was already the case pre-COVID, it makes sense. The PGA is in its own right a great tournament, and it has been enhanced…

One of the biggest swing faults for amateur golfers, particularly high-handicappers, is the position they think they should be at impact. Some of these players believe their hands should be behind the ball at impact otherwise they will slice the shot. Nothing could be further from the truth. With your hands behind the ball, you put your hands in a weak position as the left wrist is cupped and holds no power. Imagine if you were going to chop a tree down. Would you let the axe get in front of your hands and leave your left wrist cupped without any power? Of course not, it doesn’t make any sense to rob yourself of power. But most get into this position because they try and square the clubface with the…

When Titleist introduced the AVX model in 2018 it was a significant step for the brand, releasing a golf ball at the same price point as its industry changing Pro V1 and Pro V1x with a specific golfer type in mind. That player is one looking for the lowest flight, lowest spin and softest feeling premium ball in the Titleist range, and the brand has refined the urethane covered ball again with those key areas of performance in mind. Softer than its predecessor, the third-generation model delivers increased driver distance and enhanced spin and control around the greens. The AVX in no way just a Pro V1 with different feel. “Flight, Spin, and Feel are three key performance attributes we evaluate during our green-to-tee fittings and golf ball selection,” Director…

Companies have been chasing optimised ball flights with drivers for a long time, the perfect combination of launch, spin and ball speed created with multiple materials, centre of gravity (CG) placement and intricately designed faces. Mizuno is now turning its attention to delivering that optimal performance with greater regularity in the new ST-Z and ST-X 220 drivers via exceptional stability and consistency on off-centre strikes. Three areas of the design of the new drivers offering this improvement to a wide range of golfers delivered this more consistent performance – the sole has seen increase in the surface area of the lightweight carbon by 40 percent and thinning of titanium, while the stabilising back weight has almost doubled. “By early 2021, with the vast majority of Tour players we tested, the…

The NSW South Coast is one of Australia’s most underrated golfing destinations, and its finest layout is the widely acclaimed Narooma Golf Club. Ranked No.18 in Golf Australia magazine’s Top-100 Public Access Courses for 2021, Narooma is set on rolling terrain on a spectacular stretch of coastline east of the town centre. While it enjoys fame for the stunning oceanside holes, it is a layout offering more than a great view for a third of the round. Narooma is an 18-hole jewel that marries the finest and most enjoyable elements of links and parkland golf in a single round. The opening six holes are links style and are played on the cliff tops above the Pacific Ocean before the layout turns inland for the following ten holes which are played…

THE GOLFING GEM OF QUEENSLAND’S FRASER COAST HERVEY BAY Golf Club has a wonderful golf course that is the jewel of the Wide Bay region. The course is well bunkered and is built on generally flat terrain with gentle slopes. The fairways and greens are well-watered with an abundant supply of recycled water. From the back tees the men play a par-70, measuring 5,897 metres, while women play a par-72 measuring 5,217 metres. Social tees are available for both men and women enabling those wishing to enjoy a slightly less testing course. Golfers, and lovers of the outdoors, will be greeted by an abundance of fauna including many bird species, while kangaroos laze in the shade. To score well at Hervey Bay you need to bring your A-game … that…