Innehållsförteckning för Jan 2023 - Issue 404 från Golf Australia

No matter what side of the fence you stand on with your views about LIV Golf and its status in the world of men’s professional golf, you can’t argue with the fact the Saudi-backed league knows how to put bums on seats. World-class golf starved Adelaide has welcomed LIV Golf’s first tournament in Australia with open arms by snapping up tickets, and lots of them, months before the first shot is struck. Nearing the end of November, approximately 35,500 tickets had been sold. More than 25,000 of those passes were gone within 48 hours of tickets becoming available for the event to be played at Adelaide’s The Grange Golf Club, between April 21 and 23. “I knew LIV and the Australian public would just absolutely embrace our platform,” said LIV…

One of the biggest tournaments in the Asia Pacific region during the 1990s and 2000s was the Johnnie Walker Classic The European and Australasian PGA Tour co-sanctioned event, with a $1.5 million prize purse, first arrived in Australia in 1997 having bounced between Hong Kong, Singapore, The Philippines and Thailand in the preceding years. The Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge-designed Links Hope Island, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, welcomed a host of international stars including major winners Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer and the likes of Colin Montgomerie, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke. Australia’s finest, with the exception of Greg Norman, were also on show. Some big overseas names including John Daly, Vijay Singh and Sam Torrance also played but missed the cut. But it would…

Even when I was playing the tour fulltime, the last six weeks of any year was always amongst my favourite period of what was a long season. Competing in the Australian Open, PGA and Masters gave me some of my favourite memories. Now, of course, the Masters is gone. But the other two remain, as well as an event that hopefully has the potential to grow into something special. I’m talking, of course, about the Sandbelt Invitational, which this year will be held in the week before Christmas at (in order) Kingston Heath, Royal Melbourne West, Yarra Yarra and the North course at Peninsula Kingswood. Last year, we were on the South course, so this time will be at least a little different. Our inaugural event in 2021 went so…

Each of the judges, drawn from the large pool of Golf Australia readers/subscribers, was given specific guidelines about how to rank courses, and they could only rank courses they had seen since December 2020. 1. Brendan James 2. Joe Thomas 3. Hamish Walker 4. Felicity Chapman 5. Susan Johnson 6. Lucas Andrews 7. Joseph Baker 8. Nikki Scott 9. Daniel O’Keefe 10. Matthew Greig 11. Jodie Ewart 12. Graham Brady 13. Jack Donaldson 14. Gavin Hill 15. Paul Wilson 16. Toby Greenwood 17. Scott Matthews 18. Terry Anderson 19. Alex Georgiou 20. Craig Smart 21. Nathan Burgess 22. John Blackwell 23. Phil Nicholls 24. Bernard Watson 25. Charles Thomas 26. Richard O’Reilly 27. James Walsh 28. Steven Jeffrey 29. Julian Allen 30. Sam Brooking 31. Joseph Kent 32. Deborah Hill…

Srixon was clearly happy with how its ZX series performed and was received. So much so the brand’s newest models of drivers, fairway wood, hybrid, utility and irons still bear the ZX moniker, just Mk II to signal an update. With ZX Mk II, we’ve built upon the foundation of success with the previous generation,” said Jeff Brunski, Vice President of Research and Development. When it comes to the woods, the internal framework is where the company went to work to improve the ZX5 and ZX7 drivers. Rebound Frame is a unique ball speed system that delivers a pure transfer of energy into the golf ball at impact,” Brunski said. “The result is an entire driver head that works in unison to deliver an unprecedented rebound effect that delivers maximum…

Callaway Golf have added a new range to its current line-up. One with a familiar name to all golfers. The latest Callaway Great Big Bertha family designed to provide actual performance differences in the ultra-premium equipment space. Combining top quality materials and construction, the small and specially targeted range is all about delivering speed and distance. The Great Big Bertha driver is a lightweight, ultra-premium model that creates fast ball speeds. The club is 30 grams lighter than the Rogue ST MAX Driver and is properly matched with best-in-class design features to promote increased distance with a draw bias, especially for moderate swing speed players. A uniquely designed titanium face and body powers the new fairway woods. Titanium provides significant weight and strength advantages over a traditional steel fairway wood,…

Golf is growing in Australia. Participation rates are up, club memberships are up and general interest in the game is on the rise post-pandemic. All of this means, if you’re not a member of a club, that you’re probably already finding it difficult to find a tee time. So, if you’re looking for a course to play where you don’t need to know a member to get a game, or a place where the golf is interesting and fun … a place that will hopefully provide you with a memorable golfing experience. You’ve come to the right place. This presentation of Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses for 2023 is somewhat different to past rankings, with several highly-acclaimed layouts not appearing, some new courses making their mark and a host of…

The ranking of public access courses for 2023 saw 184 layouts from throughout Australia receive votes from our 45 judges. The following courses finished just outside the Top-100 based on those votes. 101 NELSON BAY GC (HOLES 10 TO 27), NSW 102 ANGLESEA GC, VICTORIA 103 MT GAMBIER GC, SA 104 THE SANDS TORQUAY, VICTORIA 105 EAGLE RIDGE, VICTORIA 106 TANUNDA PINES, SA 107 MT COOLUM GC, QUEENSLAND 108 THE VINES RESORT (LAKES COURSE), WA 109 NARACOORTE GC, SA 110 TOCUMWAL G&BC (PRESIDENTS COURSE), NSW 111 MT OSMOND GC, SA 112 WEMBLEY GC (TUART COURSE), WA 113 WOLLONGONG GC, NSW 114 COROWA GC (EAST COURSE), NSW 115 RACV TORQUAY, VICTORIA 116 MORUYA GC, NSW 117 GARDINERS RUN, VICTORIA 118 COLLIER PARK (ISLAND/LAKE COURSE), WA 119 LAKESIDE CAMDEN, NSW 120 CLUB…

If there is one sure way to handicap your short game, it’s by being one-dimensional. Every part-shot we play asks a unique question of us, and it’s only through being creative that we can find the variation and adaptability to match this challenge. Awareness is an important stepping stone towards improving your creativity; once you are aware of slopes, conditions, lie and so on, you can start to see different solutions to the problem you are facing. SHOT LEADS, SWING FOLLOWS This leads us to an important distinction. We tend to think of the swing we make creating the shot we play. If you can flip this on its head – letting the shot you have conjured create the swing you need to make – you will have taken an…

You will know from your own experience how important your state of mind is to the quality of your putting. On days when you holed everything, you felt supremely confident; on less successful days, you stepped into every putt with a sense of foreboding. But what you might not know is that you can take steps to drive yourself towards that more effective mindset. All you have to do is ask yourself the right questions. Question 1 “IS IT POSSIBLE I COULD HOLE THIS PUTT?” Questions hold our attention, and direct our thinking. Good questions, then, move us towards a more desirable mind state, opening us up to the possibility of success. Asking yourself if you think it is possible you could hole this putt is the perfect first question…

History, this column is reliably informed by those in the know, is always written by the victors in any conflict, big or small. If true, that touching little homily must make Greg Norman extremely nervous. And we all know what tends to happen when sharks feel pressure – they go on the attack even when it is obvious, they should not, the end result inevitably bloody. As a player – unfairly or not – this egomaniac is forever notorious for his catastrophic losses more than any splendour emanating from the 89 times he finished first. But to find himself on the wrong side of the ledger as chief executive officer of LIV Golf would be perhaps even more devastating than the myriad chokes that low-lighted Norman’s career inside the ropes.…

Can you imagine how hot it gets in New Delhi, India, in late February? If you guessed 30° or more then you would be correct So, imagine again, how hot Ian Poulter felt in a gold lamé polo shirt during the opening round of the 2008 Johnnie Walker Classic. He would have been roasting like a chook wrapped in aluminium foil. Interestingly, he never wore it in a tournament again. The shirt – part of the Ian Poulter Design range – was at the height of his sponsorship deal with Diageo, the makers of Johnnie Walker scotch whisky. During that time, he tailored his outfits to match the labels Johnnie Walker – red, blue, black and, yes, gold lamé. The things people will do for a quid.…

DESIGN (50%) When ranking a course, judges were advised to ask the following questions to themselves to determine where a course stands in their list. • Is there a good balance of par-3s, 4s and 5s? Is there good variety? • Is risk-and-reward a factor on many holes? • How fair is the course for all players? • Does the design offer a wide selection of shots bringing any variation of wind direction into play? • Does the course set-up (mowing lines, rough) complement the design? • How memorable are individual holes and the course as a whole? CONDITION (40%) Things to consider include: • The overall condition of playing surfaces. Take into consideration elements out of control of course staff like drought, bushfire and flood. • Are the fairways…

Let’s start at the beginning, at least in terms of your television career. When did that kick-off and when did it end? I started at the 1989 Ryder Cup at The Belfry. I worked there for the USA network and my last telecast for CBS was at the end of 2019. It actually happened quite by accident. Until 1989 the PGA of America hadn’t charged a rights-fee for the Ryder Cup in the U.S and, when they did, the major networks all passed on it. They couldn’t make any money from it. USA was a cable network just getting into doing early-round coverage of the PGA Tour. They paid $250,000 for the right to cover the ’89 Ryder Cup. To do that they needed announcers. They had Ben Wright, Gary…

1 ADDRESS This is where Fox’s focus goes when it comes to his golf swing and everything is nice and neutral. “Try and get the setup consistent, I think that is the most important thing in the golf swing, if you get the basics right it’s a bit easier to swing it right. My bad ones I generally get crossed up with something, open setup or closed setup and it is pretty hard to get the club on line.” 2 THE FIRST MOVE Fox’s swing is certainly not something you would find in a textbook, but it is exceptionally effective. At this point though, the Kiwi hasn’t made any errors, the club is moving away with the big muscles of his core and shoulders, that movement has started to engage…

The object of golf is to get the ball in the hole in as few shots as possible. How strange it is, then, that achieving this is so rarely thought about by the world’s golfers. With long game power and full-swing technique dominating the hearts and minds of today’s club players, scoring can all too easily be relegated to an afterthought. That is a shame, because it is here – within 100 yards of the green – that we can really start to express ourselves as golfers. Yes, of course, a base level of technical competence is helpful in scoring; but with elements such as awareness, creativity, course reading and mental state all playing vital roles, scoring is clearly more art than science. In this article you will learn five…

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Sometimes it’s the most left field ideas that create the most enjoyable experiences in golf. That is certainly how a recent “Northern Beaches Golf Gala Day” came to fruition. The genesis of the concept was former Tour pro turned commentator Ewan Porter and his mission to play every golf course in Sydney, his yet to play list mostly comprising public layouts some distance from where he grew up in the Cronulla region. Three of those courses – Balgowlah, Avalon and Palm Beach – on the city’s famed Northern Beaches. You won’t find those course names within the pages of this Top-100 issue, nor are they the sort of track that gets much publicity anywhere. However, they are loved by those who play them, and yet another reminder of the beauty…