Innehållsförteckning för Feb 2024 - Issue 417 från Golf Australia

Where there is smoke there is fire. The rumours began circulating early in the week at the Australian Open that the championship will be heading back to Melbourne in 2024. Only a few weeks later, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reported the NSW Government, through Destination NSW, was negotiating behind closed doors to keep the national championship and would rely on Sydney’s picturesque landscape to help them keep the event. “The NSW Government is a proud partner of Golf Australia over a long period of time and we believe Sydney, as the nation’s truly great global city with all its natural advantages over other capitals, should continue to be the setting for the Australian Open,” a NSW Government spokeswoman told the Daily Telegraph. Good luck! Destination NSW’s once brimming war chest of…

Every time Craig Parry teed it up in an Australian tournament during the 1990s he was one of the fan and bookie favourites. By 1994 he had won four times in Europe, once in Japan and three times on home soil. But it had been nearly 14 months since he had last hoisted a trophy when he arrived at Huntingdale for the Australian Masters, a title he had won for the first time in 1992. A series of swing changes under the guidance of David Leadbetter and Mitchell Spearman throughout 1993 had the then 28-year-old in good form ahead of the Masters. He entered the final round two strokes adrift of leader Ernie Els and quickly joined him at the top of the leaderboard after three holes. The lead see-sawed…

The phrase “more money than God” has been applied in throwaway fashion to Kerry Packer, Gina Rinehart and old mate with the dinosaurs loose in Coolum’s top paddock, Clive Palmer, all of whom are billionaires and all of whom are worth, collectively, the ashtray change of the Saudi Arabian mega-fund known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Consider the apocryphal story of Packer telling a noisy Texan that he’d toss him for his $100 million fortune. Good one, right? Well, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al Saud could toss Packer, Rinehart and Palmer – and you could throw in Rupert Murdoch – for all their money and laugh about it over his breakfast baklava. Which is why sports writers (and mostly anyone, really) with a mortgage, three kids…

With the data showing that higherhandicap golfers drift away from the target more on the backswing, we need to work on a backswing motion that delivers a tighter coil, with a feeling of being more stacked over the ball. These three drills will help. DRILL #1 1 TIGHTER COIL Let’s first give you a strong feel and visualisation for the kind of motion you need to be making. We’ll keep GOLFTEC’s focal point of the tailbone. I’ve placed a vertical stick, running upward from my lead heel. At address we can see the tailbone is around four inches behind the stick. 2 TAILBONE OVER LEAD INSTEP From set-up, your goal is for your tailbone to move forwards, opposite the stick, by the time you reach the top. A good thought…

Have you ever wondered why Tour pros make pitch shots look so damn easy? There are a few aspects of a pitch shot that vary greatly between pros and most club golfers. Posture is one. A lot of club golfers might have good posture with the driver in their hands but as soon they are faced with a short pitch shot, they get all hunched over the ball. Maintaining your posture is very important, especially when it comes to consistently hitting pitch shots out of the middle of the clubface. For me, one of the most important things about hitting good pitch shots is how you use your body and arms. As pitching is such a short motion, people often forget to use the part of their body that is…

Developed following extensive testing with our top tour pros to meet their “must haves” – control and precision – PING’S Blueprint S irons deliver the score-lowering performance demanded by the best players in the world. The compact shape fits the discerning eye with a thin top line and minimal offset. The 8620 carbon steel head boasts a clean cavity design, distinguished by an eye-catching forged textured pattern and hydropearl 2.0 chrome finish. What further sets this iron family apart is the split-set construction technology called ‘precision pocket forging’. This patented forging technique allows PING to forge a pocket into the cavity of the 3-, 4- and 5-iron. The pocket saves 10 grams of weight, which is re-allocated to increase the moment of inertia and optimise the centre of gravity position…

As I suspect it has been for most people with any sort of affection for professional golf in Australia, the last few years have been less than heartening. But, right now, at the end of a pre-Christmas month in which the game in this country has just seen four varied events of real stature and promise, I am encouraged. On one side we saw strong fields at the Aussie PGA and Open, then again at the Cathedral Invitational won by Adam Scott. And on the other, the growth of the Sandbelt Invitational continues to give huge incentive and valuable experience to our up-and-coming youngsters. In that sense at least, the future is bright. It really was a good time to be in Australia. As well as Adam, Cam Smith was…

The data gives a clear indication that as the handicap drops, the golfer creates a steeper tilt in the shoulders during the backswing. Build a similar motion through these three exercises but note that, like all the Skill Separators, you’ll probably need to work your body harder than you are used to. DRILL #1 PICTURE THE PITCH Again, let’s clarify what we are trying to achieve here. I’ve set up a tall stick, a few inches inside the ball. I’ve placed a second ball 12 inches or so outside my object ball. This is a visualisation exercise, but if you have a tall enough stick, place a club across your shoulders and follow these moves. RIGHT ANGLE A well-pitched backswing rotation sees the butt of the grip strike the stick.…

The data here shows how the elite player’s trail shoulder is lower than the lead shoulder at the point of contact – a position that promotes a better path and more power – compared to the typically more level shoulders of the higher-handicapper, which tends to lead to weaker, across-the-line strikes. Develop your impact tilt through the following drills. DRILL #1 ARE YOU A PULLER OR A THROWER? Before we look at a couple of specific movement exercises to develop more impact shoulder tilt, let’s look at a general concept that, once understood, will make a big difference to your ability to find that shoulder tilt. Thrower: Level shoulders We’re looking here at how you move the club from the top of the backswing. Higher-handicap club golfers regularly ‘throw’ the…

If you and your golf buddies are keen to explore more than one golf course on the Bellarine Peninsula, then a two-night package is a great option. Take the ferry over, play three absolutely stunning Bellarine golf courses and stay at the beautiful Portarlington Grand Hotel for two nights. The magnificent and historical Grand Hotel has stood tall in the main street since 1888, and the hotel has now completed a magnificent renovation. The new-look hotel has 18 boutique rooms, several dining spaces and a front bar that is the perfect setting for your post golf wind down where many a tall golfing story can be told. Your trip to the Bellarine starts at Melbourne’s Docklands where you will board a 35-metre fast catamaran for the 70-minute journey to Portarlington,…

There’s an old saying in the ofteninfuriating pastime we Scots long ago bequeathed to the world: “love the game, hate the people.” Now, “hate” is a strong word, as my deardeparted granny used to tell me. But never has our rather cynical aphorism been more appropriate than it is right now, at least where professional golf is concerned. Here’s another axiom, this time from the Dalai Lama: “Greed robs us of our ability to appreciate the simple joys in life.” Has that ever been truer of elite golf than it is right now? Never before has society in its clearly finite wisdom anointed those with an inherently meaningless talent (batting balls around fields with sticks) with such ridiculous financial value. Never before have those blessed with exceptional ability in the…

You never know what’s around the corner, as New Zealander Michael Hendry is well aware. One day, you are breaking through on a tour where you haven’t tasted victory in six years, the next, you are punching your ticket for a third crack at a Claret Jug, and then… You’re hooked up to a catheter and undergoing chemotherapy, fighting for your life against leukaemia. But let’s discuss the breakthrough first. The Kiwi appeared to be reborn with his win in the Victorian Open at 13th Beach in Februrary last year, showing all the signs of a player who has competed at the highest level and proving he was still of that quality. He was clinical in his finish. He headed into the final round with a three-shot lead which was…

Last month, Golf Australia magazine published its ranking of Australia’s Top-100 Courses for 2024. Obviously, some courses – boasting genuine claims to be included among the centurions – had to miss out. Here are the courses, 40 of them actually, that narrowly missed selection in the 2024 Top-100 ranking but are superb layouts in their own right and will certainly be among the contenders for inclusion looking ahead to our ranking to be published in 2026. 101 JOONDALUP RESORT – DUNE/LAKE COURSE Connolly, Western Australia Designer: Robert Trent Jones Jnr (1985). The last of the three course configurations at Joondalup bypasses the excellent Quarry nine but does take in two pretty impressive loops of nine holes. The Dune Course boasts dramatic elevation changes which flow seamlessly into the less penal, lunar…

Ah, a tour-quality golf swing… the stuff of dreams, right? Well, maybe not. U.S coaching company GOLFTEC have been using 3D motion technology to capture and document swings for almost three decades… and with around 20 million in their database, from tour pros to complete beginners, they have formed a pretty sharp picture of how movement changes with ability. Indeed, GOLFTEC has identified six major ‘Skill Separators’ as “Aspects of golf technique that correlate strongly with skill level,” explains Senior Vice President of Player Development, Nick Clearwater. Here, coach Gareth Johnston will take you through the six with drills to move you towards the pro motion; but first, Clearwater explains what they are… and why they matter. The six ‘Skill Separators’ “We wanted to better understand how swing motion changes…

Better golfers have shifted their hips towards the target by impact; higher handicappers have in fact edged them slightly away. Our exercise to promote this positive impact hip sway is a coach’s favourite because it is simple, effective and allows you to hit a ball at full speed. Follow these steps. 1. Use a 7 or 8-iron for this exercise. Tee the ball up if you like. Start at your regular address position, ball just forward of centre in your stance. Make yourself aware of your lead foot position. 2. As you make your backswing, draw your lead foot back towards your trail foot. Obviously you’ll feel a long way behind the ball, and in no position to hit it. 3. Address this with your first move down. Take an…

Better players are leaning back more at the finish, their chest facing more upward, as opposed to the forward or downward-looking chest of the less-skilled player. While this remains a key ability differentiator, it’s important to grasp this position is mostly the result of what has gone before – especially Skill Separators #3 and #5. So use it perhaps more as a reference than something to achieve in itself. DRILL CHEST FACES THE SKY While this finish is the consequence of strong swing mechanics, there are two feels that can help you achieve it: 1. Get your chest facing the sky. Make a series of practice swings. As you swing past belt height on the way through, work on turning your chest through to face the sky. 2. Pull your…

There are few more frustrating things on a golf course than shaving the hole time and time again with putts, especially when you feel like you have stroked the ball well. The answer might lie in your alignment and the best way to fix that is to let your putter dictate your alignment to your putting line. And this is as simple as setting your putter square to the intended line of your putt first, before moving into your putting address position. Sounds like common sense but you might be surprised to learn a lot of club players will put the putter behind the ball and will shuffle about to the point where their alignment changes. Pick a spot in front of the ball, that you believe is on your…

The already scorching summer should be enough of a sign to do all you can to protect yourself from the harsh Australian sun. Visors, caps, bucket styled hats are all better than nothing, but are you actually protected from the brutal UV rays Australians are exposed to? Canopy Bay by Deborah Hutton – a collaboration with Rigon Headwear – offers a stylish range emphasising being adequately protected from one of Australia’s biggest killers – the sun. Deborah barely needs any introduction. She is one of the country’s most loved media personalities, representing many Australian companies such as Foxtel, Channel 9 and Qantas. She also knows first-hand the impact the sun can have on your skin. She survived two serious skin cancer operations following her life in the sun growing up…

The G430 MAX 10K is PING’s straightest and highest moment of inertia (MOI) driver to date, eclipsing the 10,000g-cm2 combined moment of inertia threshold first surpassed by the G400 MAX five years ago. Three main visible technologies and differences distinguish the G430 MAX 10K: A fixed back weight, a larger head profile, and a Carbonfly Wrap on the crown. The fixed back weight allows for the record-setting MOI as it drives mass down and back to increase forgiveness and optimise the centre of gravity position, lowering spin and ensuring ball speed preservation across the clubface for added distance. The heavier backweight (28g) is in part achieved by weight savings of five grams from the carbon crown (13g fully installed) to create a powerful combination of accuracy and distance to meet…

For the accomplished golfer who relies on control and precision, PING’S Blueprint T irons deliver a single-piece, 8620 carbon steel forging that puts a premium on workability, trajectory control and superb feel. A shorter heel-face height allows the hosel transition to blend smoothly into the top rail, creating a clean, distraction-free appearance at address. The narrow soles enable consistent turf interaction from all conditions. Save for the slight moment of inertia boost from tungsten toe screw and tip weights, it’s a purely forged iron, concentrating mass through the impact zone to ensure a pleasing sound and feel with the workability to take on any shot. The lofts match the Blueprint S and i230 irons to allow golfers to create blended sets within PING’s precision iron offerings. In Tour-player testing, Blueprint…

The ChipR Le is a fully engineered short-game solution from PING designed exclusively for women that combines elements of a putter and wedge to help improve performance around the green. It joins the ChipR, introduced in 2022, in PING’s portfolio of clubs engineered to improve the short games of golfers of all skill levels. The investment-cast, 431 stainless steel club is inspired by the PING Chipo, introduced by PING Founder Karsten Solheim in the late 1970s for golfers who lacked confidence with a traditional wedge and frequently struggled around the green. With the length of a putter (34”) and a loft closer to a 9-iron (38.5°), the ChipR Le is designed to be used on shots of 40 yards or less around the green with a putting-like stroke, resulting in…

Everyone has a strange story from their life on tour. What’s yours? There’s so many. Well, something happened to my girlfriend when we were in South Africa a few years ago. A baboon came into the room when she was sleeping. It was, like, a metre and a half from her. That wasn’t a very good morning for her! What has been your closest brush with death? Probably skiing as a kid. One day I broke an arm but I was very close to doing much worse. I was doing back flips and just flying around everywhere. What’s been the hardest day you’ve ever had on the golf course? Probably last year in Sun City. In the second round, I had a putt on No.16 to go second solo. I…