Innehållsförteckning för May 2020 från Golf Monthly

There have been a number of occasions over the past 14 years as editor where I have sat down to write the welcome letter and felt like there was little going on in the golfing world to inspire me to put pen to paper. Not so this issue, with a host of big storylines currently unfolding. First up is the Premier Golf League and its ambitious plan to establish an elite circuit that would seek to eclipse the PGA Tour in both prestige and prize money. As columnist Wayne Riley says on page 42, it’s not the first time a ‘World Tour’ has been mooted, but it needs the top players to be on board to have a chance. Current World No.1 Rory McIlroy has already come out to say…

1 Born in California, McNealy is the son of Scott McNealy, one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems, a company that sold computers and computer software. His father sold the company to the Oracle Corporation in 2010 for $7.4 billion. 2 McNealy attended Stanford University, where he became the best collegiate golfer in the USA in 2015 and went on to become the world’s number-one amateur. Despite this, he considered foregoing his golf career to follow in his father’s footsteps into the business world. This feeling proved fleeting, however, as he turned pro after the 2017 Walker Cup, where he won four matches and went undefeated. 3 McNealy’s first sporting love was ice hockey and he was a member of the Junior Sharks, a series of youth teams affiliated to…

New for 2020, Japanese manufacturer Honma has introduced a range of drivers and irons called Tour Release, with fairways, hybrids and further iron models expected later this year. Sitting at the top of the range are the two TR20 drivers with 460cc and 440cc heads. Both feature near-total carbon bodies and lightweight titanium frames to help deliver distance and accuracy. The sole features three strategically positioned weights, with five weight options (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15g) to ensure ball speed, launch, spin and swing weight can be optimised. The hosel incorporates the Non-Rotating System to allow for eight possible loft and lie adjustments, with the spine of the shaft remaining in the six o’clock position for greater consistency. The line also includes two new TR20 irons, the V and…

Ireland From €110-€185 per round Par 72, 6,907 yards Today’s beautifully rumpled links on Bull Island represents Royal Dublin’s third home and is accessed via a single-file wooden bridge that adds an element of drama to your arrival. The course is still largely the 1920 handiwork of Harry Colt, with sympathetic alterations undertaken by Martin Hawtree earlier this century. Hawtree’s brief was to ensure the links remained a suitable challenge for elite 21st-century golfers, but he also recontoured all 18 greens and redesigned three holes–the 6th, 7th and 8th. The famous links has hosted six Irish Opens, with Seve triumphing in 1983 and 1985, while the Irish Amateur has visited countless times. The legendary Christy O’Connor Snr joined as professional in 1959 and was associated with the club until his…

Illustration: Peter Strain “If Europe win at Whistling Straits, Paul Azinger will be made to eat his words” As I write this, I’ve just arrived in Dubai after spending a couple of weeks in Oman and Qatar. Although I hear the weather at home may be on the turn, I thought I’d head to Dubai instead for a bit of warm-weather practice. Unfortunately, I came to Dubai off the back of two more missed cuts at the Oman Open and Qatar Masters. It’s one of those situations where if you look at my scorecards, it doesn’t look fantastic, but I feel I’ve been a touch unlucky with some of my shots and when I’ve had bad ones, I’ve ended up making double-bogeys. I obviously put a lot of work into…

Is there a better feeling than watching your ball head towards the target on the perfect trajectory? Toptracer has made it clearer for us to gain a better understanding of ball flight. Rarely, it seems, do the pros lose control of their ball, with those coloured lines angling in towards the pin. As Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach Ged Walters explains, the key to improving your game is to develop your ball-flight knowledge. There’s only one thing better than executing a perfect iron shot–understanding how you did it… 1 Clubface position The clubface is the biggest determinant of where your golf ball goes and it becomes more influential the lower the loft on the club. The ball will start closest to the direction the face is pointing to at impact–so…

1 Set-up is key. Keep your stance narrow and have the ball a little back, with a bit of forward shaft lean at address. On longish chips I would recommend a hinge and hold approach rather than a rigid, wooden technique, so set or hinge your wrists a little bit on the way back, as here. This will also help you generate the clubhead speed you need. Once you’ve created that hinge, feel as though you’re holding on to that angle on the way down, particularly in the right wrist. 2 Despite holding the angle, there is still some release through impact allowing the clubface to rotate a little. You need a little bit of wrist movement for feel–it’s a bit like painting a picture. You never see an artist…

GM Verdict The Mavrik range could well comprise one of the most complex design concepts we’ve seen in recent years. It features two oversized models and a more compact Pro version aimed at the slightly lower handicapper who still wants good distance in a more refined package. The set-up of the iron range is a little strange–it is actually the standard model that has the strongest lofts (the 7-iron is 27°), whereas the Mavrik Max iron is more traditional at 30°, but with a longer shaft. Consumers would be forgiven for thinking it was the Max that provided the most amount of distance, but the difference in loft meant it was a good five yards behind the standard Mavrik iron, based on our testing on the Foresight Sports GCQuad using…

With all the rain we’ve had, the chances are–if your course has been open–you’ve been forced to carry your clubs rather than use a trolley. If you’ve neglected an upgrade for a while, perhaps your current bag has left you high and not very dry. But carrying needn’t be a chore. In fact, modern stand bags not only look great but also come packed full of useful features, making the task of manually transporting your golf clubs and other kit around the course as seamless as possible. “Today’s stand bags will last you a number of seasons, so skimping on storage or features to save money may cost you in the long run”Joel Tadman, technical editor Of course, the differences in design mean that some will be lighter than others…

Photography: Kevin Murray, Rob Smith General manager, Effingham Golf Club Did the recent, comprehensive course upgrade at Effingham please all the members? I would say that the phased renovation became infectious year on year, leading to a real enthusiasm to finish the project ahead of time. As our members began to see the finished article unfold, so they became truly engaged. The vast majority are pleased and proud of the work. Do we have too many golf courses? The statistics seem to suggest this. However, I would prefer that we focus on modernising our thinking and, through this approach, improve our facilities and service to create ‘must visit’ leisure locations. Just losing golf clubs but not changing our thinking will not lead to a greater participation in our sport. What…

Illustration: Peter Strain Crikey, there’s been a lot of rain. You may have noticed and I suspect many of you feel hard done by while gazing both wistfully at your clubs and frustratingly at the email warning that the course is closed. Again. Well, if you have felt a growing frustration at not been able to play you’re not alone, but whatever you feel, it’s nothing compared to what our greenkeepers have been going through. Greenkeeping is the most challenging role at any golf club as well as the most important; it’s even more vital than how well the beer is kept, although probably only just. At a pinch you could do without a secretary/manager, a club professional, even the nice, attractive woman or man who serves you the beer,…

An example to us all When thinking about the fundamental principles of honesty and integrity in golf, which have been much discussed of late, I take comfort from what happened with Darren Clarke at the Nissan Irish Open in 2006. He was leading by two strokes in the final round and on the 9th hole his wayward tee shot ended up in deep rough. Heavy rain meant the course was becoming waterlogged and it was at this point that officials decided to abandon play for the day. The klaxon sounded and Darren duly marked the position of his ball. When he returned the following day, he discovered that his ball was now in an area of flattened grass and in a lie which meant he could now realistically go for…

Photography: Kevin Murray…

Motocaddy M5 GPS £749.99 The new M5 GPS features a hi-res 3.5” LCD display that incorporates a fully integrated GPS with yardages of over 40,000 pre-loaded courses. Front, middle and back distances are visible, and you have the ability to move flag positions on the screen and check for hazards. When connected to the free Motocaddy GPS app, golfers can also receive smartphone notifications for missed calls, text messages, emails and a range of app alerts, including WhatsApp. The M5 GPS is powered by a 28.8V drive system–also found on every new M-Series model–to enhance efficiency. The compact, lightweight and waterproof lithium battery can be charged on board, so it doesn’t have to be removed for transport and storage. When folded down, the M5 GPS takes up minimal space and…

9 1941: PGA establishes Golf Hall of Fame Then PGA President Tom Walsh announced the creation of the Hall of Fame, with Bobby Jones, Francis Ouimet, Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen the first to be inducted. Photography: Getty Images 20 1851: Young Tom Morris born The first golf prodigy, Thomas Morris won four Open Championships in a row before sadly dying at just 24. 27 2016: WGC-Match Play moves to Austin Country Club Jason Day won the first WGC-Match Play hosted at the club. This year’s event starts on March 25. 9 The Masters A year on from Tiger Woods’ victory, the golf world descends on Augusta National for the first Major of the year. 10 1924: USGA legalises steel shafts On this day, the USGA legalised steel shafts, but The R&A continued to ban…

“I think the European Tour is doing a good job with it. Is it a problem? No”Erik Van Rooyen “It’s impossible to play at the speed that they did before”Rafa Cabrera-Bello “There’s no question that it’s been too slow on tour”Henrik Stenson These are turbulent times for golf. Forget about the Premier Golf League and USGA/R&A Distance Insights Project, one of the game’s most contentious issues continues to rumble on–slow play. It’s long been regarded as ‘the scourge of golf’ at club level, but in recent times it’s tour pros who have come under fire. These are the players who should set a proper example, right? Well, last August, the European Tour announced its four-point plan to tackle slow play, and at the start of the year tougher measures were…

Jon Rahm had Seve on his mind for much of the final round at the DP World Tour Championship last year. No one else from Spain had ever been crowned Europe’s number one golfer–except, of course, his idol. The genius from Pedrena announced himself to the world at the 1976 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. He was a precocious talent, the type of which the game had never seen before. Glory eluded him that year, but the titles came soon enough. Thereafter, Seve would dominate the golfing landscape for the best part of 20 years. He was first crowned European number one in 1976 and three years later won the first of his Majors. In 1980, he became the first European to win The Masters. It paved the way for…

1 The key to getting the most out of your driver is to work on your angles at set-up. Power potential can be dramatically hampered before you even start the backswing–simply because you’re not in a good position at address. With a couple of simple changes, you may find your game gets a significant distance boost. 2 A lot of amateurs tend to set up with the driver like they do with their irons. A neutral spine angle will promote a downward strike–which is not what you want. This creates spin and you’ll lose distance because of it. 3 Your spine angle should point to the ball position. This will give you a bit more weight on the right side and promote an ascending strike. However, you don’t want to…

1 Chipping A lot of amateurs struggle with the strike; they try and lift the ball up. Try practising without a target, so you’re more focused on technique. The most important thing about chipping is that the movement is going down. The lowest point has to be after the ball. I pay a lot of attention to the sound of the shot, too. You can hear when it’s delivered properly. Focus on that rather than whether the ball went close. 2 Increasing power This sounds simple: you have to hit the back of the ball. A lot of players swipe across the ball and slice it, which means losing distance. You can adapt Tiger’s gate drill from putting. To hit the back of the ball, the club has to be…

GM Verdict When you have one of the most popular wedges on the market in the Vokey SM7, it would seem prudent not to make wholesale changes when replacing it. From SM7 to SM8, the same address looks, signature feel and excellent spin control remain, but Titleist claims some subtle tweaks to the design make SM8 more accurate. The proof is in the pudding, so our initial introduction to SM8 was via a custom fitting. Hitting shots to a flag 80 yards away with SM7 and then switching to SM8, we saw immediate changes in the ball flight. SM8 seemed to fly two to three yards higher, confirmed by Trackman, and our grouping around the hole also got tighter. Perhaps we were getting more used to the shot, or alternatively…

News round up Viktor Hovland tweaked his Ping G410 Plus driver to a more upright lie angle and it helped him win the Puerto Rico Open. Sungjae Im won the Honda Classic with a full bag of Titleist clubs, including the TS3 driver, T100 irons and SM8 wedges. Sami Valimaki recorded his first European Tour victory with a full TaylorMade bag, including a SIM driver and P750 irons. Rickie Fowler put a multi-material LA Golf putter shaft on his Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter in play at Bay Hill. Jorge Campillo won the Qatar Masters with a full Callaway bag including the Rogue driver, Mavrik SZ fairway and Jaws MD5 wedges. SPOTTED ON TOUR Surprise switch Justin Rose changed into a TaylorMade SIM driver at the Honda Classic and then played the…

Performance averages (from the deck)…

Golf means different things to different people. The game has been a huge part of my life for nearly 40 years, providing me with an inordinate amount of pleasure, the chance to travel the world and, for over a quarter of a century, my source of income. But above all that, I believe that the golf course has become my natural habitat–the place other than my family home where I am most at home. As someone who is, if not shy, then certainly not naturally gregarious among strangers, the golf course is the place where I can get to know people most easily, bringing out a side in me that you wouldn’t see at a party or wedding when I’m among people I don’t know. Put me on the golf…

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers recently suggested golf clubs need to fundamentally change to encourage more people to become members. He highlighted the success of facilities offering non-traditional forms of the game with no dress codes and more family-orientated amenities. There is no doubt golf needs to diversify to keep pace with modern life, but do we have to rip up the members’ club model? Many clubs are working really hard to modernise their offering and, as our feature on page 72 highlights, this doesn’t have to mean a radical change of approach to succeed. There are several tweaks that can be made that have proven very fruitful in attracting new members in recent years, with course improvements and modernising practice facilities still at the top of most golfers’ wishlists.…

Graphics provided by…

No says Fergus Bisset Thinking of golf’s biggest events, try to recall Open and Masters winners by year. Most golf fans in this country will be able to go well back. Many will also be pretty sharp on recent US Open champions. But a quick attempt to remember USPGA winners is more challenging… Jason Dufner won at some point, and Keegan Bradley? But where and when? The USPGA feels too much like another PGA Tour event, albeit one with a very strong field. There’s nothing to particularly define it and, certainly for players from outside the US, it’s viewed as the ‘fourth Major’. This year, the Olympics will provide a once-in-four-years chance for players to secure a Gold Medal. After watching Justin Rose claim that prize in Rio, many of…

Illustration: Peter Strain “The PGA Tour is a juggernaut. Anyone who goes against it has a hell of a battle” People have been discussing the potential for a World Tour since Greg Norman tried to get one off the ground in the 90s, but I first started hearing whispers about this new Premier Golf League around the start of the year when some suggested it was why Phil Mickelson signed up to play in Saudi Arabia. It’s been out there for a little while and is certainly no secret anymore, though how it will look and if it will ever get off the ground remain unclear. It’s certainly an interesting development. There were many conversations about it in Abu Dhabi in January and they have certainly multiplied since then. While…

European Tour • Immediate one-stroke penalty applies to anyone who incurs a second ‘bad time’ in a tournament (not within a round as previously planned) • Players who exceed time limits while being ‘monitored’ incur a ‘bad time’ • A player can call a ‘time extension’ (40 seconds) for any stroke once in a round • When players are out of position, their time allowance is 50 seconds* for the first to play and 40 seconds* for the second and third • Time allowed to play a shot when being monitored in position reduced by 15%, from 100 and 80 seconds down to 85 and 70 seconds respectively for first and second/third to play *Extra 10% allowed, but ‘bad time’ applied for players with third time in this allowance PGA…

THE STATS *2019 European Tour 70.9 Stroke average 66% Greens in regulation 300.8 Driving distance (yards) 28.9 Putts per round 1 With a mid-iron, Jamieson has the ball just forward of centre. He has an athletic posture, which is what we tend to see nowadays, and he hinges from the hips perfectly, which keeps his back nice and straight. He’s tall, and he uses that height well. 2 As the shoulders start to turn, there’s a slight hinging of the wrists. If anything, he’s swinging slightly above plane. Imagine an optimum plane line from the address position; he’s kept the club out in front nicely, which provides plenty of width. 3 Having just completed the backswing, you can see he’s made just over 90 degrees of shoulder turn, with his…

Ten years ago, golf changed forever. Little did we know that at the start of the 2010 Masters, the popularity of cleated shoes would begin to dwindle and in its place a new category of golf footwear would be born. Step forward the hybrid or spikeless shoe. Freddie Couples had been wearing Ecco shoes since 2006, and had won three times in his debut Champions Tour season prior to the start of the 2010 Masters in Ecco’s Golf Street shoe, the first golf shoe that featured tightly packed traction bars instead of cleats or metal spikes. But when he got into contention at Augusta wearing his favoured deep brown pair, people noticed something was different. While he didn’t win, sales of Ecco’s first hybrid shoe went through the roof. In…