Innehållsförteckning för January 2023 från Golf Monthly

Lydia Ko landed the biggest payday in the history of women’s golf as she birdied two of her final three holes to capture the CME Group Tour Championship. In tricky conditions, the New Zealander began the final round tied for the lead with Leona Maguire and was locked in a tussle with the Irishwoman, before eventually sealing an emotional two-shot victory and the $2million first prize. To put it into context, Ko received $200,000 more than Minjee Lee got for winning the US Women’s Open and nearly double what Ashleigh Buhai pocketed for her AIG Women’s Open triumph. Ko held a one-shot advantage heading to the par-5 14th but gave her opponent a lifeline when she followed her into the hazard with her second shot. However, she extended her lead…

SOUND BITES “WHAT I DON’T LIKE IS THE WAR THAT IS HAPPENING BETWEEN LIV AND THE PGA TOUR. GOLF IS TOO GOOD” “I’VE PLAYED AT PRETTY MUCH ALL THE MAJORS FOR THE LAST 12 OR 13 YEARS. I’VE HAD MY CHANCES. OBVIOUSLY, I WANT TO PLAY THEM, BUT I’M FINE NOT PLAYING THEM” “I LOOK LIKE I’M 20 AGAIN, NOT 35. I ATE THINGS THAT WERE NOT GREAT FOR MY SYSTEM THAT I WAS VERY SENSITIVE TO AND ULTIMATELY IT GOT TO THE POINT WHERE IT WAS A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH” “I THINK GREG NEEDS TO GO, TO EXIT STAGE LEFT. HE’S MADE HIS MARK, BUT NO ONE IS GOING TO TALK UNLESS THERE’S AN ADULT IN THE ROOM WHO CAN ACTUALLY TRY TO MEND FENCES” BRIEFS Golfers complete…

Glide, don’t dig Many golfers push their hands forward at address, creating shaft lean and presenting the club as a digging, rather than gliding, tool. That’s more likely to get the ball skipping and skidding than spinning. Most pros now use a wider, shallower swing to create a shallower angle of attack that uses the bounce to get the club gliding through the grass. Correct set-up Set your balance on the inside of the left foot, your sternum over the middle of the ball and your feet narrower than for a full swing. Don’t think about releasing the shaft or the clubhead, but rather pivoting around your central balance point and letting the club do what little release comes naturally as you turn to face the target through impact. Lower…

The relentless nature of the professional game means there’s never a shortage of talking points, but two recent winners have really stood out for me. First up was Lydia Ko, who triumphed at the CME Group Tour Championship, taking home her third win of the year and with it the biggest cash prize in women’s golf. Ko’s story fascinates me. It feels like she’s been around forever but she’s still only 25. When she burst onto the scene at 15 it felt like she would dominate the sport for years to come, but, as we know, it doesn’t always work out like that. There are countless examples across all sports of teenage prodigies emerging, only for injury or loss of form to derail them. The pressures on a 15-year-old who suddenly…

Sky commentators Mark Roe and Jay Townsend were in complete agreement – the 5-iron Guido Migliozzi fired to the 72nd green to set up his French Open triumph was the best shot seen on the DP World Tour in 2022. Roe, who made more than 500 appearances on the European circuit and bagged three victories, went even further. He reckoned that because the 18th at Le Golf National in Paris is “one of the hardest par 4s in the universe” – with water in front of the green, behind it, and to the right – plus the fact that the tournament was on the line made it one of the greatest shots ever seen in Europe. High praise, but fully deserved. Migliozzi’s approach from 192 yards was nothing short of…

On aglorious day in mid-October, the 13th annual charity day for Help For Heroes organised by the Golf Monthly forum took place over the first-class links at Hayling Golf Club in Hampshire. Here, a field of almost 90 keen golfers from near and far enjoyed perfect weather and a very fine course presented in tip-top condition. Normally, wind is a key factor on Hayling Island, but happily, for two-thirds of the round, it was remarkably benign. The cloudless sky meant that sunglasses were an essential item of kit for many. The day began with a hearty cooked breakfast in the art-deco clubhouse, with its panoramic views over the course and out to sea. Following a trip to the warm-up range, it was then out to the allotted tee for the…

1. Your yardages Many of us should use our rangefinders more. We’re good at using them for approaches but don’t do it enough off the tee. Check how far those bunkers are and be sensible about your chances of clearing them. Hit the club that frees you up the most, not one that creates any indecision. Pay attention to what’s gone on before in the round, especially if you’ve hit a good shot. If an 8-iron has gone 145 yards, write it down – where it pitched, where it ran out to, where the wind was. Give yourself better information as to how far the ball is going on a certain day. 2. Nutrition If I’m off in the morning, I make sure I have something quite substantial and always…

Vega VDC iron This one-piece forged iron is unquestionably a looker. It boasts an intricate circular milling on the back inside the two cavities, which bolsters its premium appeal. At address, it is compact with barely any offset but with a midsize topline to boost confidence. Dense but springy, it has the feel and sound of a blade but the energy of a cavity-back iron. The consistency of both ball speed and distance is amazing once you get your swing in the groove. £1,645 (4-PW) Ping SensorDry 2.5 Graphene jacket Ping has incorporated a graphene print into the inside of the fabric, which helps to conduct and retain heat. It’s an incredibly lightweight waterproof jacket that is supremely comfortable, with a good amount of stretch plus adjustable Velcro cuffs making…

Words JEREMY ELLWOOD Farnham Golf Club, just east of the Surrey market town, celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2021 having started life as a nine-holer in 1896. Jack White then assisted in the extension to 18 in 1904, the same year he triumphed in The Open Championship. In this part of the world, good courses can sometimes get a little overlooked such is the sheer depth of quality nearby, and that has perhaps been the case for Farnham. It shouldn’t be, though, for this is a fine and varied layout, partheathland, part-parkland in nature, with a number of good and at times intriguing holes. The club is currently undertaking significant work to restore more of the layout’s heathland character through various woodland clearance and heather regeneration projects. Give and take…

My‘Open career’ started out unwittingly in the mid-1980s when my two golfing pals and I ventured down to Sandwich to take advantage of a ’27 holes and brunch’ offer at Prince’s Golf Club. I knew very little about golf history back then and certainly had no idea about the club’s 1932 Open Championship heritage. I have since played its three nines – Shore, Dunes and Himalayas – scores of times and stayed in the Lodge, which opened a decade ago, on many occasions. Even those with a half-decent knowledge of Open history sometimes forget that Prince’s too is an Open venue along with neighbouring Royal St George’s and Royal Cinque Ports. Gene Sarazen introduced his new-fangled sand wedge to the world here en route to lifting the Claret Jug 90…

You know those moments on a golf course when the weather turns the evil side of bad, the waterproofs can’t handle it and, as the club slips in hands shaking from the cold, another shot crackles into the jungle. You look at your companions and one of them says, ‘Shall we call it quits?’ Of course you do. There’s rain and then there’s rain, the torrential variety, that seeps into your soul shortly after it leaks into your socks. Shall we agree, it’s awful. Well, that happened to me a few weeks ago at Old Thorns in Hampshire. I like the place. It’s fun in an open-minded, laid-back sort of way, but as my four-ball reached the halfway point, it was time for a reappraisal of what the heck we…

Common sense prevails It was good to see that golf’s rulemakers have come to their senses about the unfairness of what happened to Rickie Fowler in the 2019 Waste Management Open, when his ball, after coming to rest initially, rolled back into the same penalty area from which he had just dropped costing him another penalty shot. There can’t have been a golf fan watching who didn’t think that was grossly unfair, so it’s great that from 2023 there will no longer be a penalty. I like to think it was karma that allowed Rickie to go on to win! Andrea Waters, via email A tarnished legacy As a one-time huge fan of the Great White Shark, I have to say how disappointed I have been in Greg Norman since…

What’s your dream four-ball? Serena Williams, Tiger Woods and Brad Pitt. Funniest person on tour? Charley Hull, but she doesn’t even try to be, she is just naturally funny. Best swing tip in a sentence or less? Just swing it easy. How would you rate your career out of ten? I would say eight. I’m very happy with it, but there is room for improvement. You can only play one golf course for the rest of your life. What is it? St Andrews. You miss the cut and need a night out. Which three players do you take with you? I’d probably say Charley Hull, Nelly Korda and Hannah Green. Favourite app on your phone? Instagram. What would you be doing if you weren’t a golfer? I would want to…

Yes says Fergus Bisset Fairway mats in the winter are a staple in the north of Scotland where I live. St Andrews introduced them and saw the obvious benefits, and other courses followed suit. It’s a straightforward concept. During the winter, the grass doesn’t grow. If you continue to play from the turf, all divot holes created will remain there until the temperature warms to a point where the grass will grow again. On a busy course, over a full winter, that could be thousands of divot marks, destroying fairways. Yes, the fairways will recover eventually, but how much of the regular season will have passed before they do? And if they are subjected to a battering winter after winter, fairways may struggle to ever reach peak condition. If mats…

Mizuno RB Tour & Tour X balls £50 The new RB Tour range went through 99 prototypes and three years of player testing to ensure improved all-round performance and durability. GolfBuddy Laser Atom rangefinder £279.99 Small enough to fit in your pocket, this sleek device offers faster measurement speeds courtesy of Zero-Second Technology (ZST). GolfBuddy Aim Quantum rangefinder £299.99 Also pocket-sized and also featuring ZST, the Quantum offers 7x magnification and a green/red LED light to indicate if ‘slope’ is on. Golfstream Blue electric trolley £469 No screen and no complicated tech. This model is lightweight and easy to set up, and comes with an 18-hole lithium battery. PowaKaddy rain cover £39.99 This durable waterproof bag cover has been crafted to keep your golf bag and equipment dry.…

Lost in the depths of the dunes on the 8th hole of Carne’s Wild Atlantic Dunes course, you will glance upwards and realise you are utterly surrounded. It is a telling moment on a course that boasts the biggest dunes of any links you’ll play. Reaching up to 500 feet above sea level, they are home to 27 holes cascading through a wild and mesmerising terrain on the very west tip of Ireland. The original 18 holes were designed by the legendary Eddie Hackett in 1995, while the new nine were created by Ally McIntosh in 2013. The Wild Atlantic Dunes course combines the best and the wildest that both men could produce. There is no such thing as level ground here and holes steer you in every direction to…

We all know it’s easy to write headlines for Ryan Fox when he’s playing well, as he has been fairly often of late. He’s won twice this season, finished runner-up four times, 3rd once, and placed in the top ten on three more occasions – all of which has helped him to amass the tidy sum of €3.3 million. Having started the year just outside the top 200 in the world, by mid-October he had soared to a career-high 23rd. Until this year, Fox’s only victory on the DP World Tour had come Down Under, at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth in early 2019. This season, however, the Kiwi has taken his game to a whole new level, and the two further titles that he’s added to his…

My less-than-textbook swing has attracted countless quips over the years, from ”more planes than Gatwick” to “lead boot” on account of my static right foot at impact. Despite this, I got down to single figures in the mid-1990s and have stayed there ever since, mostly between 5 and 7. I didn’t miss many fairways, had a decent short game and usually putted well. I broke 80 more often than not and enjoyed sometimes beating those with infinitely better swings. I’d always brushed off those mostly good-natured swing ‘observations’ and let my scores do the talking. But in early 2022 my scores weren’t doing much talking, and it dawned on me that I was in grave danger of finally losing my single-figure status. Perhaps the most alarming decline was in my…

The golf ball Given the durability of the modern golf ball, any time you see one become unfit for play, particularly during an event or competition, lots of questions and opinions circulate as to how damaged a ball has to be before it can correctly be switched out. In this article, Chris Wallace, Rules manager at The R&A, looks at the different times when players are entitled to substitute their ball during play. Once a player has started their round, there are only specific times when they are entitled to change the ball they are playing with. It goes without saying that you can always use a new ball when starting play of a new hole, but what about substituting a ball while playing a hole? Generally, the Rules require…

Should you ever adjust your driver? Tom Sullivan, email Probably not, especially if you have been customfitted for it. Adjusting your driver requires a certain level of knowledge around how loft, lie angle and face angle are affected by any changes, although there’s no harm in making some tweaks and seeing what happens on the range. Moving weight is a slightly easier concept to grasp and could be utilised if a course demands a certain shot shape or trajectory. How do you choose the right golf ball? Harry Randall, email I’d always start with price. Consider what is a comfortable cost based on how often you need to buy balls, and explore the options. Then think about what area of the game you prioritise, if any. Each golfer has different…

Finding the right push trolley to suit your needs and budget can be a tricky task. So, we’ve tested the latest models to help you find the perfect one. Assembly Size, weight and ease of use are often the most important factors when it comes to choosing a push trolley. Aside from pushing the trolley, transporting and assembling it are also key considerations, so having a quick and simple mechanism is vital. There are quite a few interpretations on the folding system in modern push trolleys, but all are quick and convenient. Models like the Motocaddy Cube, Bag Boy Nitron and PowaKaddy Micra fold up into a compact, boxy shape that is great for storage, while also collapsing up and down with just one click. “PUSH TROLLEYS HAVE NEVER BEEN…

Simply the name of the course begs attention. It is derived from the jagged coral which lines the shore immediately adjacent to seven of the holes, and which proved problematic in the creation of this bucket-list course back in 1971. The resort itself covers 7,000 acres and is home to 90 holes of golf, as well as a hotel, a marina, beaches, restaurants and bars and many other sporting and recreational pursuits. Enhanced even further by a comprehensive upgrade in 2005, this is a quite breathtaking golf course that is so attractive it becomes all too easy to forget about your golf. The front nine runs in a clockwise loop to the east of the clubhouse, with the opening four holes all slightly inland. This means you get tempting glimpses…

What are your reflections on winning the DP World Tour Championship for the third time? Because of Covid, I never got a chance to defend my 2019 title and even though I decided not to come last year, I came with the mentality that, well, nobody beat me in the last two years, so they are going to have to beat me again. I came in with that confidence. I like this course and this course likes me. I hope this is the third of many more. How would you assess your 2022? Hopefully people can stop telling me that it was a bad year! Three wins worldwide, three wins in three different continents. Yeah, there wasn’t a Major, but it’s still a really, really good season. I had a…

The golf Par 72, 6,844 yards There are two golf clubs named Bowood – the other (with a ‘Park’ suffix) is in Cornwall. Tee-times at the Wiltshire one – no relation – are on the hour and every ten minutes after, so if those arriving announce they have a tee-time ending in an odd number of minutes, it’s the first sign that they have booked at the wrong club – it happens a bit apparently. The course was laid out by Dave Thomas through a Capability Brown-designed parkland. Having been flipped in recent years, the two nines have reverted to Thomas’ original routing, so the best holes are once again the par-4 8th and 11th, both pretty doglegs from an elevated tee. Scoring well requires you to avoid the deep…

It’s been a tumultuous year in professional golf for reasons I don’t need to go into again, so it was great to see such a riveting climax to the DP World Tour season. At the end of round three on Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth course, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton – five players you feel are virtually nailed on to make the 2023 European Ryder Cup team – were either leading or right in contention heading into Sunday. It was a dream finish for the DP World Tour and another example of top players stepping up when everything was on the line. “I’m telling you right now, Jon Rahm will be World No.1 at the end of next year” Let’s talk about Rahm first.…

As a golf journalist of nearly 20 years, I hadn’t played a round using hickory-shafted clubs until October. Opportunities had arisen, but for one reason or another (maybe because of my innate fear of making a fool of myself) I hadn’t done it. Prestwick Golf Club, over the original 12-hole course on which the first Open was contested in 1860, seemed a pretty good (if exacting) place to make my hickory debut. When I received an invitation to do just that, I jumped at the chance. This year saw the playing of the 150th Open Championship over the Old Course in St Andrews. It may have been 162 years since the first Open was played at Prestwick in 1860, but a couple of missed years in the early days, the…

There is a wealth of data to absorb and digest, but beyond Arccos confirming that my individual club distances are roughly what I would expect and fairly well sequenced, here are three key takeaways so far… DRIVING The Arccos data shows I’m longer than with my previous driver. I’m now averaging 239 yards off the tee, with an average dispersion of 17 yards. Nearly 50% of my drives are classed as ‘centre’ with, perhaps crucially, 36% down the left and only 15% to the right. Although some of the left misses were quite big initially, largely eliminating the weak, high-right drive has no doubt contributed to these distance gains. My conclusion is that my driving isn’t really holding me back. APPROACH PLAY The stats show that I’m reassuringly accurate on…

1I suggest popping a few alignment sticks down to help. The red alignment stick is the club’s face angle, pointing at the target. I have placed the yellow alignment sticks parallel to each other, both pointing left of target. The furthest yellow stick from my body represents the desired swing path, and the one closest to me demonstrates how I want to align my body. The reason for standing and aiming left with the body open is that you want the club working across the target line. This weakens the contact on the ball, which means you can be more aggressive to create more spin and more height. It also prompts a steeper swing into impact. Weight forward Nothing too drastic, otherwise you’ll encourage a digging action – but about…

Ping i230 iron £180 per club GM verdict Ping’s i series of irons is aimed more towards the better player, and the range has been newly expanded with the addition of the latest i230. This new iron, along with the recent i525 model, has a fairly broad appeal in terms of its target player. Compared with the i210 that it replaces, which was launched four years ago, the i230 is said to be faster, fly higher and offer a better feel. The long-irons have also undergone a significant change. Our major gripe with the i210 was that the long-irons were too large and offset, but in i230 these have been slimmed down to appeal more to the eye of the better player while also improving club delivery. At address, the…

By Joel Tadman Ease of use The flag is almost immediately picked out from a busy background from up to 600 yards away. Confirmation comes via a flashing red ring in the display plus a burst of vibration. GM verdict First impression on the Pro X3 straight out of the box was that this is a substantial unit. Weighing 340g, it feels heavy compared to other leading rangefinders. This will certainly make it more stable in the wind but some would prefer a lighter feel for sure. If the extra weight comes courtesy of the rubber-armoured metal housing that makes it fully waterproof, or the chrome detailing that bolsters the premium look, you could argue it’s worth expending the extra energy when using it! Rather than using a button on…

The idea of a combo or combination set is to have different types of iron to help provide particular performance attributes where they are needed. Typically, you would see this in the form of slightly larger, more forgiving long irons or more feel-orientated short irons. I opted for the latter. The thinking at the time was that my ball-striking was at a level where I could get away with less forgiving short irons and that the reward would be more consistent flight and distances, as well as a softer feel with more control. In reality it hasn’t worked out. Why? It turns out my ball-striking with my short irons isn’t as accomplished as it should be. As a result, I often come up frustratingly short with my pitching wedge, 9-iron…

Hallamshire This excellent club dates back to 1897, and its delightful course was given a substantial overhaul and redesign 40 years later by Harry Colt and his colleagues. Despite its proximity to Sheffield, its elevated, out-and-back configuration is beautifully peaceful. Better still, it is full of interesting and memorable holes, with a strong opening before a hat-trick of crackers from the 6th. Highlights on the way home include the par-4 10th played over a valley and the wonderful par-3 17th in the quarry. While playing the closing hole, I bumped into former Golf Monthly columnist and TV presenter Dan Walker, who was out practising his short game. He is a member here, as are US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and his brother Alex. The club has engaged Clayton, DeVries &…

Lingfield Park This enjoyable and at times quite demanding parkland course has less interaction with the racetrack than our other selections. You cross it at around the five-furlong marker in order to play a strong sequence of holes from 12 to 16. It opened for play in 1987, since when a large hotel with spa has been added. There are plenty of attractive and interesting holes, such as the pretty par-3 6th over a pond and the sweeping par-5 15th. The par-4 17th has an extremely tricky approach to a green surrounded by danger. GF: £30 Mon-Thu, £35 Fri-Sun The picturesque par-4 13th is on the far side of the racetrack and works its way from right to left, down a slope and over a stream. It’s a great hole.…