Innehållsförteckning för Aug 2024 - Issue 423 från Golf Australia

The PGA of Australia and Golf Australia have announced their respective commercial operations are combining to “leverage growth opportunities and create operating efficiencies”. Michael McDonald, previously the PGA of Australia’s commercial director, has been appointed as chief commercial officer, with his new role overseeing commercial growth, partnerships, broadcast operations and Australian golf’s two major events – the Australian PGA Championship and the ISPS HANDA Australian Open. Following the development of the first industry-wide Australian Golf Strategy in 2021, golf in Australia continues to go from strength to strength, with unprecedented participation numbers peaking at 3.5 million adult Australians and continued growth in professional golf. At the core of the strategy is galvanising the industry through working together, growing revenue and attracting new fans to the game, something that’s already been…

There is no greater opportunity for a golfer to etch their name into folklore than winning a major championship at the Old Course. Unfortunately, however, the most talented female golfers on the planet have only been afforded that opportunity twice, about to be for a third time. The last time the Women’s Open ventured northeast of Edinburgh, it was an American hoisting the coveted trophy aloft. Stacy Lewis – Team USA’s current Solheim Cup captain, sailed across international waters and claimed the title with closing back-to-back birdies to win by two over Hee Young Park in 2013 – her second and most recent major championship. Although it is fantastic the Women’s Open Championship has its own identity, unlike the men, it isn’t a regulation for the girls to play their…

Golf, by its nature, has always been the most predictably unpredictable sport. However, as the world’s No.1 man won six tournaments in the first half of 2024 (including four wins and a second in five starts) and the women’s world No.1 also rattled off six wins (including five in a row), it seemed for a time to have become unpredictably predictable. Even with the Open Championship for the men, two more women’s majors, a couple of Olympic gold medal events and the FedEx Cup and CME Globe play-offs still to come, it’s almost impossible to imagine Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda not winning their respective Player of the Year titles for 2024. But that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a lot of other historic, momentous achievements. Here is how we’ve…

What to do in the situation 23-year-old Australian star-on-the-rise Stephanie Kyriacou finds herself in, with plenty of green to work with, which can often mean plenty of room for error, especially when slopes come into play. “Stephanie is faced with a very difficult putt, up a severe slope over a distance of what looks like approximately 15 metres”, offers Michael Smyth, a certified PGA professional and teaching pro with Playfair Golf and Goods. “We can see in this photo the ball has started towards the hole and is a long way to the right of the hole, which shows how much slope there is to the left and how fast the greens are. When we face a long putt like this, it is important to read the putt starting at…

New data has pinpointed the best states for a golfing holiday in America, with Florida leading the rankings with a score of 64.42 out of 100. The study, carried out by relocation experts My Baggage, analysed the distribution of golf courses, driving ranges, tournaments, and golf coaches per 100,000 residents in every state, alongside the number of Platinum Clubs. Based on this data, they assigned a score to each location and ranked them accordingly. Florida ranks as the best state for golfers, according to the study. With 1,131 golf courses, the most of any state, it also has the highest number of available PGA coaches, standing at 329 instructors. Florida also boasts the most Platinum Clubs in America, with 12 listed in the 2023-2024 ranking — double that of California.…

If you’ve been wanting to plan a weekend or a whole week’s golfing escape with your mates, or perhaps a cosy getaway with your significant other which allows you to enjoy a round or two while you’re away - but you just don’t know where to start, well, these pages, oh boy, can they help you. Stretched across this wide brown land are some of the finest golf courses in the world. There are also some of the best restaurants you’ll ever hope to see on those courses. The hotel accommodation options attached to them as well are appealing enough on their own even without the lure of cheap or free green fees tossed into their play-and-stay offerings. So don’t let us hold you up. Check out the following pages…

The MLM2PRO™ is the successor to Rapsodo’s original Mobile Launch Monitor, which was designed using radar technology and machine learning to bring pro-level data to golfers so they can analyse their swing by monitoring metrics like distance, ball speed, smash factor with data visualisation, club gapping, shot dispersion, and more. The original model won My Golf Spy’s Best Mobile Launch Monitor three years in a row. It will provide the same industry-leading data with additional metrics to further enhance the user’s experience – such as measuring spin and full golf simulation features. The MLM2PRO uses dual cameras and is compatible with both iOS and Android. With the MLM2PRO, Rapsodo will introduce golf simulation including Rapsodo Range, a virtual driving range, and Rapsodo Courses, which will consist of over 30k courses…

NORMAN VILLE • SOUTH AUSTRALIA One of golf’s most appealing attributes is the unpredictable nature of the game. A small, hard ball being struck into a wide expanse, which can randomly bounce left or right, bound forward or pitch to a halt, depending on the shape and firmness of the terrain, is a variable no other sport can offer. It can bring absolute joy one day and heartache the next. Legendary golf course designer Dr Alister MacKenzie once wrote: “A pleasurable golf course is not necessarily one that appeals at first sight, but rather one that grows on a player like good music, a good painting, or good anything else”. The creative genius behind Augusta National and Royal Melbourne’s West Course went on to add: “there are many bad golf…

If you ever happen to find yourself playing the 18th at Pinehurst No.2 in North Carolina and you don’t intentionally try to land in the greenside bunker made famous by Bryson DeChambeau’s heroics in that now holy piece of sand, and then try to replicate his stunning recovery from there on championship Sunday … you should be banned from the sport, but only for like, forever.. DeChambeau’s epic win over Rory McIlroy was different to many thrilling finishes we’ve witnessed in majors, in that there wasn’t a “finally” aspect upon which to elevate it higher into folklore. He had already claimed a U.S Open title. This time it was more about fulfilling his prediction he’d win a major in 2024. And about paying tribute to his mentor Payne Stewart’s magical…

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“EIGHT-TIME PGA TOUR WINNER BILLY HORSCHEL RELISHES THE CHANCE TO WIN ON SUNDAY.” It can be fascinating studying professional golfers on their mental approach to the sport, especially the ways in which they compartmentalise the pressure of a big tournament Sunday finish. What are they feeling if they find themselves in the lead or thereabouts at the weekend? How is their self-talk? What swing tendencies and rhythm issues come up due to their heart pounding an extra beat? Some have experienced the heat of the pointy end of a tournament before and so have a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, having painstakingly and internally analysed how they have responded in the past. For others, it’s a new sensation and a thrill they can potentially harness into a…

Aussie legend Adam Scott would have been, by now, required to play almost every shot imaginable over the duration of his long and distinguished playing career. You wouldn’t think, though, that even shots like this get any easier no matter how often he finds himself playing them. For us mere mortals, they’re even more of a challenge. So where to begin when trying to extract ourselves from this tricky spot? “With this particular shot type, the first thing we look at is the lie of the ball. Without being able to see the lie of the ball prior to this shot, I would still assume the ball was sitting deeply in the grass on the steep bunker face,” offers Andrew Kloprogge, Australian PGA golf coach at The National Golf Club…

New Zealand boasts some of the most incredible golf on the planet. Within 25 minutes of clearing customs at Auckland Airport, a stunning, world-class golfing hub is at your disposal. With the guidance of Pinseeker Travel, if you would like to experience the best of Auckland golf, just touch down in the city of sails – everything else is organised for you. Turn up and tee up at three of the region’s premier golfing destinations with Pinseeker’s Auckland-specific package. Royal Auckland, Windross Farm and New Zealand’s only Dr Alister MacKenzie-designed layout, Titirangi Golf Club, are highly acclaimed loops in the Auckland region and classed by many golfing purists as must-plays when teeing it up in New Zealand’s biggest city. With the option of staying in the suburbs or central to…

Cost: RRP $999 Tested by: Matt Cleary, Golf Australia senior writer FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Pretty sexy. Mostly black with a lick of blue that’s close to indigo. Always loved a bit of indigo. The land upon which Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie created Augusta National was an indigo plantation. This is probably coincidence, but it’s a very sexy weapon. The words “FORGEDTi-LFS” are on the face. The words “CORTECH CHAMBER” are on the sole near the front. The number 230 is near the heal. Stand over it, the little Mizuno RunBird logo, which “symbolises Mizuno’s belief in the Japanese concept of a universal approach to sports with unlimited space and energy”, shows you where to line up the ball. Thatched design. Black as sin. It looks a serious bit of kit.…

The owners of The Vines have unveiled the next phase of major plans to take WA’s premier golf resort into the future. Initially, this involved the opening of an upgraded 18-hole championship course in May, with plans for a 14-hole short course and state-of-the-art driving range. The revamp and upgrade of the Championship Course has included an $11 million sophisticated reticulation system and other works, which will eventually bring the course up to championship standard. The more efficient irrigation system will result in a 25 percent reduction in water usage. The renovated Championship Course is the former home to the Heineken and Johnnie Walker Classics. The new-look Vines reflects the global trends driving golf course sustainability and design. The proposed 14-hole short course will use nine of the holes on…

For the first time since 2016, The Open Championship is headed back to Royal Troon this year, which had me thinking about my own golfing experiences in Scotland over the years, since my father and I made what was my first visit 30 years ago. We had been to visit my grandmother in Cambridge in England before heading north through Wales to Scotland. Our first stop north of the border was – surprise, surprise – St Andrews. Even as a teenager, I had read all the books I could about the Old Course and the Home of Golf. So that was special. But we stayed in Scotland for another week after that and played Carnoustie, as well as some lesser-known courses. What struck me most was how easy it was…

The Old Course at St Andrews is largely just known as “St Andrews”, certainly in the context of golf, which is certainly the context one might expect to find within the glossy pages of this crackerjack journal. Like hearing “Edna” in the wind, the Old Course is just what many people think of when they hear those deeply seductive words “St Andrews”. They don’t typically think of the greater, rolling, dune-side mélange of seven courses which come under the banner of “St Andrews Links” and include the Old, New, Jubilee, Castle, Eden, Strathtyrum and Balgove courses. No, they do not. “GOLFERS EQUATE ST ANDREWS WITH THE STORIED, FABLED, FABULOUS OLD GOLF COURSE WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1552 – SWEET KING HENRY ON HORSEBACK THAT’S A LONG TIME AGO.” Nor do they…

Back in 1900, golf made its debut in Paris as an exhibition sport in what was just the second of the modern Olympics to be staged. The founder of the modern Games, Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, was initially keen for the first Games in 1896 to be held in his home country, but in the end, Athens was (rightfully) chosen due to its status as the birthplace of the Ancient Games. Fast forward to 2024 and courtesy of their world ranking status, defending gold-medallists Nelly Korda and Xander Schauffele have survived the protracted qualification process to determine who will get to march behind their nation’s flag, before teeing it up at Le Golf National in August. You could also add the word “controversial” to the list of topical adjectives to…

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews’ ticket ballot for The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush is currently open for fans to submit ticket applications. The ballot will remain alive until 31 July 2024, with the results being announced in stages during August and September. The R&A says its ballot approach ensures all fans have a fair opportunity to attend the Championship, which is taking place in Northern Ireland from 13-20 July 2025. The ticket ballot is available exclusively to members of One Club, the free-to-join digital membership programme, designed to bring golf fans closer to the game. Fans can sign up to One Club at any time. They can also upgrade to One Club Advantage for a greater chance of success in the ticket ballot. The Open…

Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast spans 130km along the Great Ocean Road, from Moonlight Head in the south, to the small fishing village of Port Fairy on the north-west end. Everything you might have already heard of this bucket-list tourist highlight region of Australia, especially concerning its stunning beauty, rings absolutely true. The tall and proud 12 Apostles, which number just eight these days because tourists who have stolen some of them (not really, Mother Nature has claimed those) is just one example of several local landmarks which have to been seen in real life to be believed. British navigator and cartographer Matthew Flinders was skulking around these parts long before the courses mentioned here were thought of. However, of the area, he said he had never seen a “more fearful section of…