Golf Monthly September 2015

My name is Michael Harris and I'm addicted to golf shoes. At last count, I am the owner of 38 pairs. From classic styles with wing tips and brogues to modern sporty designs and plenty of the popular spikeless shoes that I wear both on course and around the GM office, it would be fair to say I'm somewhat of an enthusiast. Fortunately I know I'm not alone. From meeting lots of golfers over the years and reading discussion threads on the Golf Monthly forum, I know there are many others out there who share the same interest as me. I think I inherited my passion from my uncle, the person who got me into the game some 30 years ago. He kept all his golf paraphernalia in his study…

In Tips from the Tour - the third in our Ultimate Sport Series of instruction manuals designed to get you playing your best golf - we have collated the views of 24 of the world's best players from the past two decades. The 148-page guide offers practical recommendations from those who have reached the pinnacle of the game, ranging from swing fundamentals and coping with pressure to driving and putting. It is on sale now from all good newsagents, and available to download for a number of digital devices at golf-monthly.co.uk/the-ultimate-sport-series…

Photography Getty Images Letter of the Month will receive a year’s supply (six dozen) of the best Titleist golf ball for their game Outdated coverage Many congratulations to Zach Johnson for winning a pulsating Open Championship. St Andrews provided us with the most intriguing final day and, for once, the event was truly ‘open' with amateurs and the shorter hitters having as much chance as the ‘big bombers'. My only complaint was the TV coverage. At any given time we had 18 holes to choose from, but the coverage seemed to focus on a player and his caddie pondering for what seemed an age over the yardage. We read all the time about slow play – viewers should be watching shots being hit, not a five-minute discussion. Finally, while I…

Letters The Editor, Golf Monthly, 7th floor, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU Email golfmonthly@timeinc.com Twitter @GolfMonthly Facebook facebook.com/  golfmonthlymagazine Golf Monthly forum golf-monthly.co.uk/forums Google+ +golfmonthly YouTube youtube.com/GolfMonthly Vine vine.co/Golf.Monthly Instagram instagram.com/  golfmonthly All contributions must be original, not copies or duplicated to other publications. The editor reserves the right to edit letters. Time Inc. (UK) Ltd or its associated companies reserve the right to reuse any submission sent to these pages of Golf Monthly, in any format or medium.…

On the road Ireland is renowned for its links but is also home to some rather splendid parkland courses. Twelve members of the forum embarked on a voyage of discovery playing six rounds in four days covering Druids Glen, Carton House O'Meara and Montgomerie and K Club Smurfit and Palmer. The format caused confusion for some with a team event blended with an individual competition, match play running alongside stroke play and a Russian Stableford pairs competition thrown in for good measure. Although there were a large number of opportunities for mini victories on offer, the main event was clearly the team competition with bragging rights neatly aligned to a requirement for the losers to buy the winners' lunch on the last day. Despite playing up their chances as the…

Foliage Finder I'm all for it. As a new player I'd like to have a handicap that means something. Pin-seeker If I couldn't get down from a 28-handicap reasonably quickly I'd have thought that maybe golf wasn't for me. jamielaing I know my frustrations when I had a net 63 only to be beaten by a net 59. I couldn't imagine how I would feel losing to net 49s! ArnoldArmChewer Male golfers should not receive more than one shot per hole. drew83 As a 28-handicap I would like it to be higher to give me more of a chance but there would be no incentive to get better… duncan mackie There is a huge issue with seniors dropping out because they can't enjoy even slightly competitive golf, except small closed…