Innehållsförteckning för March 2020 från Golf Monthly

As I sit here in mid-January typing this welcome, the rain is hammering away at the window and an email from the club has just landed to say the golf course remains waterlogged and is once again not open for play. Judging from posts on social media and the Golf Monthly forum, the ‘course closed’ signs have been going up rather a lot this winter. Talking to a number of course managers and hearing the rainfall figures, it’s perhaps surprising there weren’t more days where golf wasn’t possible. One links course in the south-east had a total of 400mm of rain in the first nine months of 2019… and then almost exactly the same again in the final three. Truly biblical stuff. From a personal perspective, I found that wet…

Both the European and PGA Tours have announced new tougher measures to combat slow play this season, so will we see a real difference in 2020? The subject has been causing headlines for years, but seemed to come to a head last season when Bryson DeChambeau was recorded taking over two minutes to line up an eight-foot putt. This looks to have jolted both tours into action, with the European Tour vowing to rigorously enforce its new timing guidelines – 50 seconds if first to play and 40 seconds for the next players in the group – with an immediate one-shot penalty for players recording two ‘bad times’ during a tournament. But haven’t we been here before? Both tours have had the power to dock shots up until now, but…

Photography: Getty Images 1971: Golf balls hit on the moon As part of the Apollo 14 mission, American astronaut Alan Shepard hit two golf balls on the moon with a makeshift club. Greg Norman’s birthday The Great White Shark turns 65 today 1949: Ben and Valerie Hogan survive crash The couple collided with a Greyhound bus in Texas, which left Ben with significant injuries. Incredibly, he returned to golf later that year and went on to win six more Majors. TaylorMade SIM range goes on sale TaylorMade’s new SIM (shape in motion) range of metalwoods and irons features new aerodynamic and forgiving designs for more clubhead speed and distance. WGC-Mexico Championship The game’s top players head to Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City for the second WGC of the…

This year could be an absolute cracker in terms of top-level competitive golf. On top of the regular season and the always exciting annual Majors, golf fans will also be treated to Olympic golf and the Ryder Cup. Which of these great events might stand out and electrify the sporting world? With a nine-month wait for a men’s Major Championship, since Shane Lowry’s momentous victory at Portrush last July, The Masters will be even more eagerly anticipated this year. The tapestry of colours at Augusta ushers in the golf season and, perhaps more so than any other event, The Masters inspires people to dust off the clubs and head for the fairways. Golf fans know the course so well and every hole conjures memories of historic strokes of brilliance or…

Photography: Tom Miles Driving the ball well is one of the great pleasures golf has to offer. What’s more, if you are able to make a full, athletic swing and watch the ball sail off towards the target, your whole game will get a vital injection of confidence. On the flip side, nothing will undermine your game like consistently missing fairways. In this feature, Golf Monthly has teamed up with one of the most highly respected coaches in the country. Andrew Reynolds is the head professional at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, and his tips and drills will help you set the platform you need to hit the ball further and straighter in 2020. 1 Five set-up keys Let’s start with the boring part – the set-up. You might think…

1 You don’t have to be ultra precise with the clubface to be effective with your chipping. If you use the club correctly and let the sole of the club brush the ground, the clubface can collect the ball at any point during this time – as this drill demonstrates. At impact, my shaft position is fairly vertical, not leaning forward. 2 Place a £10 note on the ground and set up with your feet about the width of the note apart. Practise getting the sole of your wedge to brush the ground. You can see I have bruised the grass, nothing more. 3 The club first makes contact with the ground at the back of the note and it leaves the ground close to the front of it. This…

Q We get free relief from interference by sprinkler heads in the fairway and I think they are classed as ‘abnormal ground conditions’? My playing partner’s ball was three inches in front of a sprinkler head. In all likelihood, he could have hit the ball without hitting the sprinkler head, but it would have definitely been a major distraction when taking his swing. Should he have had free relief or not? IanG, GM website forum A A player is only entitled to relief from an obstruction such as a sprinkler head if there is physical interference to stance or area of intended swing or the ball touches, or is in or on, the obstruction. Therefore, there would be no relief in this scenario. The fact that the sprinkler head was…

TITLEIST VOKEY SM8 Titleist says the SM8 is the most accurate and forgiving Vokey wedge to date. This is thanks to a forward shift of the CG to a position that actually hovers in front of the wedge face. This boosts MOI (up to a seven per cent increase in the higher lofts), producing a more solid feel, improved ball flight and a clubface that wants to square up at impact for more consistent results. This has been achieved by using longer hosels and tungsten low in the toe. The progressive CG system aligned with the impact position we saw in SM7 continues – lower in the low lofts, higher in the high lofts – for better trajectory and distance control. SM8’s patented Spin Milled grooves are cut to the…

Over winter, I took it upon myself to sort through the hundreds of scorecards buried deep in a corner of my loft that I’ve accumulated over 35 years of playing the game. This exercise brought out a mixture of emotions including sadness, for half a dozen were for clubs that have now closed, among them Moatlands in Kent, Willingcott Valley in Devon and Brunston Castle in Ayrshire. Of the 860 courses I’ve played, ten are no longer with us, including a few for which I don’t have a scorecard. I can still recall myself, vividly in some cases, striding along their fairways, never contemplating that a return visit might not prove possible. I played two more nine-holers last year that I fear will not be with us much longer too,…

What can golf course design do to attract more people into golf? Offer design elements so that folk of different temperaments and strengths can find a challenge in a pleasing environment. It is always a help if people love what they see in the golfscape. Get them eager! Should all clubs consider course changes? Everyone should at least review their golf course. It is good to remove unrealistic obstacles; for example, the cutting of grass in certain areas might add pleasure while not making scoring any easier. Not all clubs have courses that need to keep pace with modern championship golf, but all are in the pleasure business. In course design, what is more important: golfing strategy or visual appeal? These are inextricably linked. The land must seduce the player…

For young and old While we are all focused on how to speed up play and attract young players to the game, we should also be mindful of the positive impact the game has on the older generation. Our seniors’ section at the Wychwood Golf Club in West Oxfordshire is large and thriving. We have many in their 70s and 80s who relish regular competition and we recently celebrated the 90th birthday of one of our most enthusiastic golfers. We raise money for good causes and invest heavily in our excellent pro and his team. Golf remains a very popular and healthy pursuit for many of advancing seniority. Let’s celebrate its longevity! Peter Hilling, via email Standing the test of time While cleaning my golf shoes the other day, it…

Sandy Lyle The former Open and Masters Champion received the 2019 PGA Recognition Award for his outstanding contribution to golf. Catriona Matthew The 2019 Solheim Cup-winning captain was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List. She will captain the European side again in 2021. Jordan Spieth Looking to kick off 2020 in style, Spieth had to withdrew from the Sony Open in Hawaii because of illness. Photography: Getty Images Martin Trainer Since winning in Puerto Rico in 2019, Trainer has missed 18 cuts from 23 events. He finished last at the Tournament of Champions, where there was no cut. He shot 18-over-par for the four rounds.…

No says Fergus Bisset The tapestry of worldwide modern pro golf tournaments makes for a compelling year-round narrative. Those who follow the sport come to know the pattern of events, the protagonists, the challenges and the prizes on offer at various levels. For die-hard golf fans, there are always tournaments to watch on TV, but it’s not obligatory to watch them all. Was Tiger’s incredible 2019 Masters win any less exciting because there had already been televised pro events earlier in the year? Of course not. There are multiple pro tennis tournaments played every week, but they don’t make Wimbledon less interesting. Those who prefer to watch or follow only the biggest events in any sport can still do so. But the complexity of the pro game means lesser tournaments…

Illustration: Peter Strain “Jon Rahm is a beast. He has a good chance of finishing 2020 as World No.1” Back in my day, there weren’t that many players who could win regularly. Don’t get me wrong, we all had a chance and occasionally we took it, but most of the time the great players ended up lifting the trophies. Some simply weren’t good enough – I know that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. Seve, Faldo, Langer, Woosnam, Monty, Olazabal and Lyle were the elite players, then you had the likes of Torrance and James the level below them. They were our stars and in a league of their own. Nowadays, however, the situation is completely different. There are so many superstars and a massive number of players who are…

We do a lot of studies and analytics on the potential of players – this guy can get on tour, this guy can win a Major, this guy can get to top ten in the world. With a really good player we would get a factor of 20-25% – say a 20-25% chance of being in the top 100 in the world. Jon’s metric was the highest we had ever seen at the time. If you’re putting your money on a horse, this is the one you want to put your money on! What are the chances of a player getting to World No.5 in his first year? That’s unheard of. Did we expect that? I don’t think so, but he’s a very, very special golfer. Keith Sbarbaro, TaylorMade’s VP…

1 Poor set-up and posture can affect your swing plane and distance from the ball. Find out where you’re making contact by putting a dot or line on the back of the ball just before you hit it. The more upright your swing, the more likely you are to hit it off the toe; the flatter your swing, the more likely you are to hit it out of the neck. But there are many potential causes for toe or heel strikes, so the best course of action is to see your pro. 2 Striking the ball low on the face is often caused by standing up through the ball in an attempt to create power by changing the spine angle. This pulls the chest away from the ball via an…

1 Ormsby has a good, settled address position with the driver. Note how the Australian’s chin is turned behind the ball, which allows for improved shoulder rotation in the backswing. It’s a solid position from which to start the swing. 2 There’s plenty of width created at the start of Ormsby’s golf swing, coupled with an unhurried rhythm. These are key components in allowing the club space and time on its return journey to the ball. 3 A compact, no-frills backswing where the club is well short of horizontal has become more and more popular on tour for the accuracy it can provide. Here, the clubface is square and the shaft is nicely on plane. 4 He has an excellent transition and it is useful to see how stable the…

TAYLORMADE SIM SIM stands for shape in motion, and the asymmetric sole design on the SIM drivers, with a rotated Inertia Generator is said to reduce aerodynamic drag in the crucial last three feet of the downswing. This maximises clubhead speed at the point of impact. The sole also houses a steel weight that moves the CG lower and deeper, optimising launch and increasing forgiveness. There are three models – SIM, SIM Max and SIM Max D. The SIM driver features a 10g sliding weight that can create up to 20 yards of draw or fade bias. The SIM Max driver is more forgiving, thanks to an eight per cent larger face and heavier Inertia Generator in the rear of the clubhead. The SIM Max is also available in an…

ODYSSEY TRIPLE TRACK STROKE LAB PUTTERS This new putter range was inspired by the Triple Track technology first seen on Callaway’s golf balls. The three lines at the centre of each head utilise Vernier Hyper Acuity, the same technology used to land planes on aircraft carriers, to improve alignment. The putters also feature the impressive Stroke Lab shaft, engineered to help improve the tempo and consistency of your stroke. On the face, the Microhinge Star insert creates a firmer feel and pleasing sound, as well as improved roll. There are five shapes, including the ever-popular 2-Ball, Marxman and Ten. KEY INFO On sale: January 30 RRPs: £239 (Marxman and Double Wide), £269 (2-Ball, 2-Ball Blade and Ten) BETTINARDI BB SERIES The next generation BB Series features four models, ranging from…

Driver Ping G410 Plus, 9.75°, Fujikura Speeder Evo 661 TR shaft. Fairway wood Ping G, 15°, Fujikura Speeder Tour Spec 7.2-X shaft. Hybrid Ping G410, 19°, Diamana Tensei HB 80 TX shaft. Putter Ping Vault 2.0 Voss with a Ping PP58 midsize full cord grip and black shaft. Ball Titleist Pro V1x. Photography: Getty Images Irons Ping Blueprint, 3-PW, Dynamic Gold TI X100 shafts. Wedges Ping Glide Forged, 50°, 56° and 60°, Dynamic Gold TI S400 shafts.…

A new decade is upon us and now is the time to replace those dodgy clubs in your bag. Here are five new year’s resolutions for you to consider in 2020. 1. Get your driver retuned It’s only natural for your swing to change over time and bad habits to creep back in. Sometimes, a tweak of the loft, lie angle or shaft spec under the eye of a PGA pro can make all the difference. 2. Say goodbye to your long-iron You’ve been ignoring the fact that your 4-iron goes the same distance as your 5-iron for years. Seize the day and swap out said redundant lump of metal for a shiny new hybrid that will not only better fill the gap to your 3-wood, but also…

Wilson Staff Launch Pad iron It looks like a cross between an iron and a hybrid, which won’t suit everyone, but it feels very light and seemed easy to hit a long way. Price £549 Honma XP-1 driver It’s a lot of money, but it gets the ball in the air easily and offers impressive forgiveness for golfers who struggle to find the centre of the face often. Price £559 Golf Pride Pro Only putter grip It’s traditional in shape and there are three subtly different sizes and weights to choose from. The soft, tacky material enhances the feel. Price varies…

What is the most unusual mode of transport you have taken on a journey to or from a course? Peter Hurst, Liverpool Two journeys to Yas Links in Abu Dhabi stand out – first on a press trip just after it opened via a RIB boat speeding through the lagoons, and last year on a bike as we were borrowing clubs. GM photographer Kevin Murray fell off trying to film the experience and somewhere there is video evidence of the tumble! What’s your view on trees planted in fairways as a hazard? John Slater, Wimbledon These were quite a feature on the now defunct Moatlands GC I refer to elsewhere on this page, and I’ve encountered them at Wychwood Park, St Mellion, Studley Wood and others. For me, it depends…

• Mar Hall Par 70, 6,507 yards This Dave Thomas parkland creation, set over gentle slopes by Erskine Bridge above the Clyde, is now ten years old. The Earl of Mar course, which belies its youth, offers fine views down to the river and across to the Kilpatrick Hills, with several holes flanking the banks, perhaps most memorably the par-5 15th as you play towards the bridge. The hotel is a grand, gothic affair looking out over the course. The building was restored to its former glory in 2004, with many original features retained in its conversion to a five-star hotel boasting 52 rooms and suites. Chandeliers and elegance abound in the high-ceilinged Cristal restaurant, where local Scottish produce is the order of the day. Perhaps best of all, Mar…

With the recent passing of golf course architect Pete Dye at the age of 94, it struck me how designers in the game of golf are underappreciated for the job they do. They create the canvasses for us to play on and yet all too often their names are relegated to obscurity. Dye, of course, was one of the exceptions to this common trend, thanks to several incredible designs that have hosted some of the biggest events in the game. Kiawah Island, Harbour Town and TPC Sawgrass often frequent our television screens and usually create mesmeric entertainment. Indeed, it is fitting that the Ryder Cup in 2020 will head to another of his famous designs, Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. I can only hope the powers that be acknowledge the genius…

1 The 32-year-old qualified for the 2020 Open courtesy of a third-place finish in the South African Open. It was his best result in a European Tour event and it came just two months after he secured a card via Q-School. 2 When he was young, his father came home with a set of clubs that were given to him as payment for a debt. They gathered dust in the garage before one day Armitage decided to fire a shot into a field on the family farm. He left school at 13 after his mum died and from that moment onwards spent all his time practising. He got his handicap down to +1 before he received a single lesson. 3 In 2018, Armitage qualified for The Open. Ten days before,…

THE MASTERS In 2018, Rahm opened with a disappointing 75 before outscoring all the main contenders from Friday to Sunday to end up in 4th place. He also finished T9 last year after four steady days. THE USPGA A mixed bag so far, but he did finish 4th at Bellerive in 2018 for his second Major top-four that year. THE US OPEN His best Major finish to date came at Pebble Beach last year, where he ended up T3 after a closing 68. Several front-nine birdies hinted at a possible charge, but he was unable to make further gains coming home and finished six behind Gary Woodland. THE OPEN Despite his Irish Open successes on the links at Portstewart and Lahinch, The Open is the only Major where Rahm is…

GM: What’s Charley like to manage? VC: She is very down to earth and I would say pretty easy to manage because she’s so straightforward. You ask her a question or ask for a decision and she will make it quickly. She is also a very interested person and she asks a lot of questions. There is never a dull moment with Charley! GM: How good is she? VC: Scarily good. Like she says, she is the only person who’s getting in the way of herself. She has got incredible natural talent and I think it is about trusting that talent. GM: What’s the challenge in managing someone who is so good from such an early age? VC: I think it is really tough for them because there is so…

SIR NICK FALDO Two Major victories in 1990 propelled Faldo to the top of the rankings. After defending his Masters title, Faldo saw off his old rival Greg Norman to win The Open at St Andrews. He spent a total of 97 weeks as World No.1 over four different periods, the longest being 81 weeks. LEE WESTWOOD It was 16 years before England had a new World No.1, as a certain Tiger Woods made himself comfortable at the top. Westwood dislodged the great American, who had spent a record 281 weeks at the summit, and although he was unable to land a Major during his reign (22 weeks combined) in 2010 and ’11, no one was better from tee to green. LUKE DONALD A 33-year-old Donald took over as World…

1 Sometimes the flop shot is your only option to get the ball close, especially if you’ve short-sided yourself. I take a ‘stance of intent’ and flare my left foot, which will help me get the centre of mass into the left side. My knees are 25 per cent more flexed to really help anchor the lower body. The ball position is just inside the left heel to encourage you to deliver maximum loft at impact. 2 Set your wrists immediately in the backswing and get the butt of the grip pointing at the ground. I’m not swaying back in order to help get the ball in the air. When you do that, and the weight goes back, it can lead to thin shots. Remember, you need to stay committed…

TITLEIST T100S & T400 The T400 becomes the longest and most forgiving iron in Titleist’s T-Series, thanks to an advanced split sole, super-thin face and hollow head fortified by extreme amounts of high-density tungsten weighting. A wide body shape, along with the new sole design, provides optimal turf interaction for cleaner strikes, while up to 100g of tungsten in each head creates a low CG. This works with a super-thin forged SUP-10 L-Face insert (5- to 7-irons) to produce explosive launch. The set is also progressive, with blade lengths, sole widths and hosel lengths changing to deliver optimal CG positioning and preferred shaping. Lightweight shafts and grips promote increased swing speeds for longer distances. The T100S iron is a two-degree-stronger-lofted version of the T100 for golfers who like the look…

Dustin Johnson replaced his 3-iron with a TaylorMade SIM hybrid at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Chez Reavie and Jason Kokrak have signed with PXG. The pair will likely have 14 PXG clubs in the bag for the 2020 season. Marc Leishman and Xander Schauffele both put the new Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero driver in play in Hawaii. Kevin Tway has agreed a deal to play Wilson Staff clubs in 2020, including irons and the new Staff Model wedges. Branden Grace won the SA Open with a Callaway GBB Epic driver, Epic Flash fairway, prototype irons and a PXG hybrid.…

How should a perfectly fitted pair of golf shoes feel? AdamW, GM Forum Your golf shoes should feel relatively snug – excessive movement inside the shoe could lead to blisters, a loss of power potential due to reduced traction and the inside of your shoes wearing out quicker than they should. Listen for a ‘whoosh’ sound as you slide your foot in – this is the sound of the air leaving the inside of the shoe and a correct fit. FootJoy offers shoe fittings to help you get the right-sized shoe. I’m looking for a new waterproof jacket but don’t have a big budget. Any recommendations? Jamie23, GM Forum Be careful, as with waterproofs you generally get what you pay for – mostly in terms of durability. That said, FootJoy’s…

• Royal County Down (Championship) The Mountains of Mourne are a breathtaking setting and the front nine has to be one of the best in the world, providing a natural test of golf with a fantastic variety of holes. The course continues to improve in a subtle way and it has to be one of the fairest but toughest challenges on the planet. A real bonus is the work that Martin Ebert has carried out on the Annesley. The new holes around the huge dune behind the 4th tee on the Championship course make this a must play. It was one of the most enjoyable rounds of golf I’ve played in the last ten years and I would happily play it for the rest of my life! • Royal Portrush…

Illustration: Peter Strain “Justin Thomas is the realest of real deals when it comes to whacking a golf ball” In between opening yet another jar of cashew nuts over the hols – I know, but I can’t help it, I am addicted – I cast a critical eye on the golf at Kapalua while wondering idly about what exactly are the ‘cashew apples’ they now grow on Hawaii. To spice things up – the golf, not the cashews – I threw a few pounds on Justin Thomas to win. This is something I do quite a lot as I remain convinced that The Other Wee Man is the realest of real deals when it comes to whacking a ball and behaving intelligently on a golf course. A couple of days…