Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2015 i Golf Australia

In the past two years I’ve been lucky enough to be in Augusta for the tournament but I really enjoyed getting back into the habit of setting the alarm and desperately waiting to see the leaderboard for the first time in the telecast. This year I had the added joy of sharing the lounge with my eight-year-old son, Jackson. He was not interested in the slightest three years ago.That is no longer the case. He ventured out of bed in time to see Jordan Spieth making a birdie on the 9th hole of his third round.While Jack is still getting his head around the difference between bogies and birdies, he already has an eye for talent. After giving him a brief bio on Spieth, he fired back with “he’s pretty…

WALKING past the range or the practice green at a tournament,it isn’t often I stop for more than a second or two but there are exceptions. If Rory Mcllroy is hitting balls – especially with his driver – I’ll take a few minutes to enjoy his swing. He is so impressive with the longer clubs in the bag. His shots make “that noise”, the distinctive crunch that confirms proper contact between club and ball. When I was a kid growing up in Melbourne I attended maybe 25 events in which Greg Norman played. In probably 10 of those he was still using wooden woods. I would sit at the back of the range and watch him hit. No one else’s shots sounded like his.They were just different. If I close…

One Direction band member Niall Horan probably shouldn’t give up his day job after caddying for Rory Mcllroy in the Masters Par 3 Contest and stumbling on the pine straw.What do you think? Submit your caption, on the entry form found on our website (not in the comment box), for the accompanying photo and the best entry judged by Golf Australia editors, will win a pair of 2015 adidas Tour 360X shoes, worth $149. The new Tour 360X shoes continue the evolution of the Tour 360 family. With its tour proven performance and stability unquestioned, the new model features increased cushioning and comfort. For more information visit the website www.adidasgolf.com  or call 1800 700 011 TO ENTER: Visit www.golfaustralia.com.au and click on the ‘WIN’ icon to submit your…

30 YEARS AGO Hale Irwin had weekend rounds of 68-67 to win the Memorial Tournament by one stroke from Lanny Wadkins. It was a win to savour as it was another five years before he won again, when he claimed the 1990 US Open in a play-off. 20 YEARS AGO Vijay Singh went 22 holes without a birdie but then made a 12-foot putt on the fifth playoff hole for his first of the day to beat Doug Martin at the Buick Classic. It was his second win in the event in three years and his 18th win worldwide. 10 YEARS AGO A second round 72 left Tiger Woods at one over and ended the longest streak in PGA Tour history as the World No.1 missed the cut for the…

TIGER Woods changed the game in April 1997 when he went out in 40 on the front nine on Thursday, came back in 30 and won The Masters three days later by 12 shots. No one was under any illusion he was a transformative player and after years of America yearning for ‘the next Nicklaus’ they found one. Jordan Spieth broke almost every Masters scoring record except Woods’ 72-hole total, which courtesy of a missed short putt on the final green, he equaled. Many, it seems, are eager to anoint the 21-year-old Texan as the next great player and anyone who saw him play the incredible final day 63 in the Australian Open five months ago witnessed probably the best round ever played in this country. No doubt he is…

CHIPPING yips are a common problem for a lot of players, not just club golfers, as we have seen with Tiger Woods in recent times. Any player who suffers from the ‘chip yips’ will tell you they are either trying to hit down on the ball, they’re trying to hit the ball first before hitting the ground or they’re trying to take a divot after the ball. This means they are not using the bounce of their wedge and will always dig into the ground with the leading edge of the club (pic 1). But if you use the bounce of the wedge correctly (pic 2) you actually create a greater margin for error with the chip shot. The fact of the matter is if you use the bounce of…

“There are two mutually exclusive explanations for ‘choking’,”says Dr. Fran Pirozzolo, a neuropsychologist who coaches Hunter Mahan,Jason Dufner and Bernhard Langer.“The first is that players become overly focused on swing thoughts. “They focus intently on the consequences of their performance, which inhibits their ability to perform to the usual standard in a competitive situation. “They can also fail because,in a feverish attempt to think of everything that might go wrong,they provide the brain with too much information, causing an overloading of the circuits that normally perform out of our awareness.A novel situation,such as being in the running for a maiden win, can cause both. “In my opinion,most players who fail to achieve their true potential do not train for the conditions they’ll face in a tournament. “An example might be…

My philosophy is that you should leave the technicalities of your stroke on the practice green before you head to the first tee, leaving you free to focus purely on speed and line on the course. Having said that, I have a couple of alignment keys that I focus on. First I like to be relaxed and balanced.You can’t putt well if you feel awkward or cramped at address. I like the ball just forward of centre in my stance so that I can impart a good clean roll, and I like my eyes as close as possible to directly over the ball. It’s not essential that they are right over the ball, but guard against setting your eyeline outside the ball/target line as that can cause you to take…

What can Quintic measure? Quintic ball roll software can chart the movement of the putter and the ball separately, and the interaction between the two. For the putter, it measures clubhead speed, face angle, its rate of rotation, path, acceleration and attack angle. For the ball, spin, speed and time to true roll are all measured. A broader version, using six more cameras, can also monitor body motion during the stroke. It’s a technical system that produces lots of data, but Hurrion is an expert at quickly and accurately interpreting the numbers to identify your faults and suggest simple improvements.…

STACY LEWIS (World No.2) “AimPoint is now a huge part of my game and it has changed the way I look at greens, even the way I approach greens and the strategy for shots. Everything I do on the golf course now revolves around it. “In terms of strategy, I’m trying to always leave myself an uphill, straight putt so Aimpoint has helped provide that insight.” ADAM SCOTT (Masters Champion) “The impact this has had on my putting has been huge. “I use Express reading which is a quicker way of finding a read than using all the charts and all the info that AimPoint gives, but it’s the same result. “The system is so easy I could read putts blindfolded ... anyone can.” STACEY KEATING (Two-time LET winner) “Aimpoint…

The best putter on the PGA Tour in the 2013/14 season was Graeme McDowell, who gained 0.93 strokes on the field per round. The best putters from inside six feet last season were Richard H Lee and Greg Chalmers, who gained 0.38 strokes per round. Adam Scott was the best long putter (outside 22 feet) with a gain of 0.34 putts. Eight PGA Tour pros have completed a round in just 18 putts. The most recent was Blake Adams at the 2010 Verizon Heritage. Kevin Streelman (left) won the 2014 Travelers Championship thanks to one-putting the final 10 greens – the last seven of which were for birdie. The most one-putts consecutively came from Cameron Tringale, who nailed 19 in a row during the 2012 Northern Trust Open. The longest…

Many of the most famous holes in golf are par-3s.They can be the most picturesque and in many cases they can be the most difficult holes. A par-3 has a start and a finish that can be covered in one shot, which makes them the most playable for all golfers from 27-handicappers to the best pros. Some might argue that playing a good one-shotter is the most fun you can have playing the game. With that in mind, we asked some of our Australia’s Top-100 Courses judging panel to cast their votes on the best par-3s in Australia. We received votes for more than 55 holes, but we narrowed down the list to the leading 20 plus a list of 10 honourable mentions. BARNBOUGLE DUNES 112-metre, 7th hole Many believe…

Taking a drop is inevitable while playing golf along the Murray River yet not every drop needs to be cause for disappointment. Three places to sample the best the Murray River wine region has to offer include Morrisons Winery at Moama, plus All Saints Estate and Campbells Wines outside Corowa. After tapping in on the 18th green at Rich River, venture towards the river to Morrisons Riverview Winery and Restaurant for a sample of the area’s leading wines and a meal to savour. With a range encompassing Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay to Shiraz and Muscat, Morrisons adds substantially to its wine selections through the restaurant’s a la carte (pictured top) and platter menus. Why not let a few hours slide by in this stunning setting with a Gippsland lamb rack,…

MASTERS CHAMPION WINNING SCORE: 18 under par, 270 DEFEATED: Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose by four strokes. DEFINING MOMENTS: Having slept on the lead every night since round one, the golfing world was wondering whether the pressure of going wire-to-wire would get to the 21-year-old. It wasn’t until the 16th hole of the final round that a glimmer of hope was given to his nearest pursuer,Rose.The Englishman, who was four behind at that stage, had just birdied his last three holes and hit his tee shot on the par-3 to 15 feet, leaving a good birdie chance. Spieth’s tee shot bounded over the green leaving a difficult chip and the possibility of a two-shot swing against him. Spieth chipped onto the slippery surface, leaving a difficult eight footer for par.…

This hole proves a par 3 doesn’t have to be 220 yards for it to be a good hole. It plays very tough and there’s a lot of strategy involved. I tend to like holes that are fun to play and look pretty to me – they don’t necessarily have to be the toughest. It can be really difficult with the wind. It can play tricks on you and the green’s really exposed, so if you don’t hit it solid the wind really eats the ball up.The toughest wind would be an into/left-to-right because the green would accept a little draw better because it’s hard to get that ball working and holding it into the wind. Downwind and pin at the front, it’s not too much of a 9-iron. Into…

WHAT a game? Sorry. Should I have said what an industry? In this day and age of media coverage (saturation) do we, as golfers, have to believe all we read when considering the future of this great game? Let me remind you that golf has been played for hundreds of years on patches of turf owned by groups of people who enjoyed each other’s company, we called them golf clubs. It is a fact that recent time has seen the introduction of a new type of golf course, those owned by people whose intent has been to bring golf into the 21st century. Golf is a business; it has to be run professionally if it is to survive without going broke.Without disputing the inherent truth my question is: Which came…

WHEN players with eccentric swings are discussed, the first name to come up is usually Canadian Moe Norman.Arnold Palmer rates a mention for the distinctive flourish at the end of his follow-through and Ted Ball was noted for a backswing so fast that it was almost indiscernible. To my list was recently added the name of Robert Grant, president of the Wattle Park Golf Club in Melbourne’s leafy eastern suburbs.At first glance, the 62-year-old left-hander does not do much out of the ordinary, apart from chipping and putting right-handed. It would be an easy mistake to put this down to the yips. Brett Ogle tried to play in the 1996 Australian Open at The Australian GC with a broomstick eight iron but was warned by officials shortly before he hit…

In these days of political correctness, stage-managed press conferences and the secretive and monosyllabic example set by long-time world number one Tiger Woods, the unvarnished truth can sometimes be more than hard to reach.Which is understandable.Wary of the garish headlines, unnecessary hassle and unwanted publicity straight-talking can so often bring, modern golfers can hardly be blamed for invariably taking refuge in cliché, banal sound-bite and down-the-middle quotes. Which is why, in answering the following 25 questions, all 40 of the European Tour professionals involved were guaranteed complete anonymity. Freed from the shackles of seeing their names in the first paragraph, the vast majority participated with relish and, on some occasions, no small amount of glee. Whatever their reaction, however, what follows is a reality not often seen or heard out…

I’ll tell you why putts go in,” said 1959 US PGA champion Bob Rosburg.“Because the old National Open Champion in the sky puts ’em in.” Dr Paul Hurrion would beg to differ. Since 1997 – when he found time between getting down to scratch to complete a PhD in sports biomechanics – the 42-year-old has dedicated his life to proving there is a bit more to holing a putt than divine intervention. His application of science to a subject matter often associated with luck and superstition has led to golf’s most sophisticated putting analysis software, Quintic Ball Roll Technology, and a better understanding of what makes a putt run true. It has seen him lecture the game’s foremost minds on what actually happens when putter meets ball. Hurrion’s work and…

BY DAVE PELZ World-renowned short game coach According to statistics, club golfers spend just three per cent of their practice time on the short game. That is laughably inadequate. Putting – and the short game as a whole – needs specific work. You cannot expect to become a better putter if you don’t put the time and effort into improving. Here are some areas you should work on the next time you’re on the putting green. Do the work and more putts will drop and your scores will tumble. 1. Freeze the spine for a consistent stroke path The putting stroke is a rocking motion of the arms and not one conducted by the muscles along the spine. People tend to turn their spine too much during the stroke, which…

1 Use weight distribution to gauge the slope Stand a pace behind the ball with your feet slightly apart so you can judge which foot carries most of your weight. Focus on the horizon and feel your weight distribution. Give the amount of slope you feel a grade between one and six – two is about average. Repeat this process halfway towards the hole for greater accuracy on longer putts. 2 Line up your fingers to find the AimPoint Return to your spot a pace or so behind the ball to decipher a precise point on the green at which to aim. This is done using the grade of the slope and your fingers. Stretch your arm out in front of you and hold up the number of fingers that…

All golfers are far too familiar with the golf gremlin, which lurks inside their head ready to sabotage their game. Here are some tips to quieten the gremlin and teach you how to play golf out of your mind. Discover the five common mental errors every golfer makes so you can learn how to relax and play “in the zone.” Golf is different in that you are given an opportunity to take time before each shot, to narrow your focus and to think about what you’re actually going to do. Although time to think may seem to make the game more elementary, it actually creates an opening for a series of diversions that contribute to the complexity of the game. As you are standing over the ball, the slightest distraction,…

HAMILTON ISLAND WINTER GOLF ESCAPE • Five nights’ accommodation in a Reef View Room • Two rounds of golf at Hamilton Island Golf Club • Shared golf cart per round • Club lunch on both golf days • Whitehaven Beach adventure COST: $1,236 (per golfer). - Valid for travel and booking until August 14, 2015; Based on twin share per room; Accommodation upgrades to higher room categories available; High season surcharges apply. MORNINGTON PENINSULA GOLF PACKAGE • Three nights’ accommodation at Peppers Moonah Links • Breakfast daily • One round of golf at The Dunes Links course • Two rounds of golf at Moonah Links Golf Club COST: $698 (per golfer). - Valid for travel and booking until November 30, 2015; Based on twin share per room; Accommodation upgrades to…

• At 2,508 kilometres, Murray is the 15th longest river in the world (when its tributaries are calculated). It is the world’s third-longest navigable river, after the Nile and Amazon rivers.• For the portion of the Murray that forms the border between New South Wales and Victoria, the river itself is entirely within NSW. The border is the southern bank of the river, so should your golf ball splash into it, you’ll have made NSW minutely larger.• The river provides domestic water supply for more than 1.5 million households.• The Murray is home to the world’s largest flat-water canoe race each December.• A total of 37 golf courses are located along the total length of the Murray.…

LONG REEF GOLF CLUB COLLAROY, NSW RANKING: Long Reef sits 31st on Golf Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses list, a dip of three places from the 2013 edition. That ranking makes it the eighth-best public-access course in New South Wales and the third-best in Sydney. THE DEAL: Green fees are $50 on weekdays and $60 on weekends. GOOD TO KNOW: The Long Reef course traverses a rocky peninsula jutting into the Pacific, a location that is fantastic for ocean views but favours strong wind players from a golf perspective. The ability to punch shots low into a headwind or through crosswinds is a handy addition to any golfer’s arsenal here. ANECDOTALLY: The club bills itself as “Sydney’s finest beachfront course” and Peter Thomson, who had a hand in redesigning several…

THE COURSE LOCATION: Banks Ave, Pagewood.The club is a 15-minute drive south of the Sydney CBD via either Anzac Parade or Southern Cross Drive. CONTACT: (02) 9349 2101. WEBSITE: www.bdgc.com.au DESIGNER: Lance Giddings & Eric Apperly (1937); Prosper Ellis (1951); Ross Watson (1995 to 2003); Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead (2011 and ongoing). SLOPE RATINGS: Men: 134/128/119; women: 132/128. PLAYING SURFACES: MacKenzie Bentgrass (greens), Windsor Green couch (tees, fairways and surrounds), Creeping, Sheeps and Chewings fescue blend (rough and bunker lips/surrounds). COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Justin Bradbury. PGA PROFESSIONAL: Blake Ballinger. THE CLUB MEMBERSHIPS: Membership is currently open, with discounted joining fees and annual subscriptions for prospective members younger than 40. Contact the club for full details. RECIPROCAL CLUBS: Federal (ACT); Brisbane, Peregian Springs, Sanctuary Cove (Qld); Glenelg (SA);Tasmania (Tas); Kew, Riversdale,Thirteenth…

MARCH PHOTO CAPTION COMPETITION We had plenty of witty entries to our photo of Robert Allenby looking like he is seeking divine intervention. The best entry according to our judges came from Ashley Hansen of Denmark, Western Australia, with:“Allenby hires tallest man in the world to be his caddy,‘7-iron please Tiny’!” Congratulations Ashley, you win a pair of adidas Tour 360X shoes worth $149. ANZ STADIUM MEMBERSHIP WINNER All subscribers to Golf Australia magazine were entered into a draw to win an ANZ Stadium membership for them and a friend valued at $3,980.The winner was John Air of Thirroul, NSW. golf Australia We’re on Facebook. Like us and get news updates and the chance to win prizes at www.facebook.com/ golfaustralia Follow Golf Australia on Twitter @GolfAustMag www.golfaustralia.com.au…

CRAIG Perks couldn’t stop shaking his head in disbelief. And you couldn’t blame him having chipped in twice and holing a long birdie putt,not just in the final round to win the 2002 Players Championship,but in the last three holes. It was,arguably,the most dramatic finish seen at golf’s unofficial‘fifth major’. The then 35-year-old Kiwi had never won on the PGATour before and with three holes to play he was one stroke off the lead.Then the fun began. On the par-5 16th hole,Perks’second shot finished in the thick greenside rough just beyond the fringe to the right of the green. “I really never thought it was going in until it disappeared…,”Perks said of the eagle chip,which moved him to seven under and the leader by one stroke. “The shot,the chip-in on…

MY group and I were recently the penalised under the auspices of Rule 6-7 Undue Delay,Slow Play. My club, under the rule, has set a guideline that competition rounds should be finished in about four hours, which is reasonable I believe. The group due to tee off from the 1st tee in front of us didn’t show so there was an appreciable gap between our group and the one in front. It was a gap we were not able to narrow.We tried various methods to catch them but to no avail. We did, however, complete the round in the time frame stipulated by our local rule guideline under Rule 6-7. We were penalised for not keeping up with the group in front.As I said, we finished in the allowed time…

WHEN you do what I do for a living – and yes, I know how lucky I am – the same questions come up a lot.“What was Seve really like?’ is popular. So is,“Will Tiger come back?” But one keeps cropping up: “what is your favourite tournament?” Sad to say, 30 years of scribbling about golf has created a certain level of cynicism in even this inveterate fan. For example, I’ve been to the Masters umpteen times now, often enough that the level of excitement has been overtaken by disdain for much of what goes on at Augusta National.The daft rules. The rampant xenophobia so evident in the galleries.The reminders of the Old South every time I look at the black waiters and waitresses in the clubhouse.Those sorts of things…

Slow play … every golfer hates it, but there are few among those playing 1.2 million rounds of golf annually in this country that would put their hand up to confess being a slow golfer. Time, in this day and age, has become a treasured thing that most of us complain we don’t have enough of. So, when it takes more than four, or even five, hours to play an 18-hole round of golf, it puts the game on the nose as far as attracting new people into the sport.Then there are the established club golfers who are finding it harder to devote enough time to fit a round in on a regular basis. Pace of play is the basis of a report commissioned by Golf Australia (GA), which is…

Because I grew up playing on the slow Bermuda greens of Louisiana, I needed a long, ‘armsy’ stroke to get the ball to the hole. Although the technique I developed has won plenty of admirers over the years, I can get a little ‘handsy’ at times. If your hands get too active in putting, it leads to inconsistencies in blade aim and contact. In turn, your accuracy and distance control suffer. Whenever I feel my stroke getting handsy, I switch to the SuperStroke grip for a few weeks. Then, when I feel I am arm-swinging it again, I revert to my regular grip. My feeling is that my distance control is a little better with a regular handle; that’s why I tend to go back to it. But this combination…

Golf’s best putting stroke “David Howell’s. For his consistency of set-up, his stability, and his ability to aim the face. We were able to work on his stroke for three months straight in 2005 after he popped a rib swinging Vijay’s weighted practice club.” And its worst “Well actually I wouldn’t say worst, but Steven O’Hara has struggled to keep his card despite regularly being near the top of the greens-in-regulation stats. We did some work, and he never did the same thing twice. I think that’s a lesson for young golfers.” The anchoring ban “The ruling bodies haven’t gone far enough. I believe they should have passed a very simple rule – to make the putter the shortest club in the bag. Matt Kuchar’s stroke is still a mechanical…

GLARE RESISTANT GHOSTS TaylorMade Golf’s new Ghost Tour Black Series putters have been updated with a new deep-milled aluminium insert to deliver an aesthetically pleasing,Tour-validated line-up – offering the perfect blend of performance and craftsmanship in each piece. Comprised of two blade styles: Daytona (pictured left) and Indy, as well as two mallet styles – Maranello and Monte Carlo (pictured right) – each beautifully designed to deliver the sound and feel demanded by the game’s best players in traditional putter shapes. Ghost Tour Black putters feature a rich, dark glare-resistant PVD coating, designed to deflect the sun’s rays and deliver a visually attractive design to complement the line’s performance features.The contrasting white line on the trailing edge forms an alignment aid and race car-inspired paint schematics add a sleek, fast…

Thurgoona Country Club Resort offers golfers a mat›re Championship golf course located only 10 minutes from Albury NSW, an easy 3 hour drive from Melbourne and a brief 60-minute flight from Sydney. Designed ed by Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge, Thurgoona presents a fair challenge to golfers of all abilities. Beautifully covered couch fairways invite your approach to large bent grass greens with subtle slopes, strategically placed bunkers and enough water to make even the most experienced golfer think twice. The 18-hole championship course plays to 6372m, par 72 for the men and 5480m, par 74 for the ladies. Thurgoona is a semi-private facility offering great membership packages as well as lots of availability for visitors and stay and play groups. Our on-course accommodation features a 26 room motel bordering…

WHAT OUR TESTER SAID: MODEL AND SHAFT PLAYED: Callaway XR 10.5° driver, fitted with a stiff-flex graphite shaft. The OptiFit hosel was configured to add two degrees of loft with the lie angle kept neutral. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: You don’t see much of the clubface, which makes them look a little closed at address. I do like the matte look over the shinier finishes of other drivers. VERDICT: The Callaway XR was a good driver to hit. I didn’t find it outstandingly better than any other new driver I’ve hit but it was comparable. For the purpose of the exercise, I dropped a wedge for the round and alternated between the XR and my driver to compare the pair. I tried to put the same swing on both of them but…