Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i Golf Monthly

I have a confession to make: I don’t read all the instruction articles in Golf Monthly. This might sound like sacrilege and I should obviously qualify the above revelation by saying I do of course look at them in my job as editor, often irritating my colleagues by asking for a headline to change or for pictures to move around. But as a golfer, I don’t religiously read them to try to pick up tips, learn new techniques or find a fix for one of my numerous swing faults. I have never been, and I suspect I never will be, a particularly technical golfer. I reckon I play my best when I just stand there and hit it with a swing thought that amounts to little more than “look at…

On balance, we believe that England Golf’s apparent decision to abandon plans for its ‘Independent Golfer’ scheme, which would allow non-club members to join a virtual club and hold official handicaps, is a sensible move. While it could conceivably encourage non-members to perhaps play more golf and become more actively involved in the competitive side of the sport, the greater concern is that it could prove one more thing that reduces the appeal of becoming a golf club member. Photography: Getty Images Prior to coronavirus, there were more clubs struggling on the membership front than really flying. The one hugely welcome, if slightly unexpected, positive to emerge from the last few months has been the shot in the arm that golf club membership has enjoyed, as furlough and members-only restrictions…

1 Golfers often forget to stick to their pre-shot routine on the 1st hole, sometimes stemming from a desire to get off the tee as quickly as possible. This is setting yourself up for failure. It’s especially important to slow things down and follow your routine on the tee of a tough hole. Pick a target, make a smooth swing and don’t rush! A wild swing will bring the water into play. 2 The fairway is narrow, so you want to maximise your chances of hitting it by selecting the right shot shape. The short grass is angled from left to right, so hitting a draw reduces your fairway-finding prospects. Instead, try a gentle fade, and if the ball doesn’t move from left to right, the left rough isn’t the…

Mizuno has replaced its popular JPX919 range with a quartet of JPX921 models promising across-the-board improvements. The biggest change can be found on the JPX921 Forged, which integrates the chromoly 4120 we saw on the previous Hot Metal model into a full-body forged iron for the very first time. This allows for a clubface up to 0.5mm thinner, which along with stronger lofts in the 4- to 8-irons delivers the fastest ball speeds Mizuno has ever produced from a full-body forged iron. Additional perimeter weighting with toe bias aids performance from off-centre strikes, while a 6.4 per cent wider CNC back-milled slot further increases stability. Despite this, the JPX921 Forged iron offers a sleeker, more compact profile, with a shorter blade length throughout than the previous version, a bevelled edge…

Illustration: Peter Strain After such a long break enforced by our unwanted visitor, we are back in business. Going up to Newcastle for the British Masters was such a strange feeling, having not been out of my Berkshire base to go anywhere for so long. Getting there was a bizarre experience and testing was stringent to say the least. Home testing was the start, then another one on arrival at the course – a guy with a stick as long as a 7-iron putting it up the nose. I’m sure there was a porcupine on the end of it when it came back out! It was brutal. Okay, so maybe I’m embellishing slightly, but it was uncomfortable to say the least. Masks had to be worn at all times in…

The last few months have seen something of a mini-boom in golf. Courses and ranges up and down the land have been full to bursting as the country emerged from lockdown with limited leisure options available. But with the shackles being loosened every few weeks, how does the sport capitalise on the current situation and turn some of the new recruits into full-time golfers? Ben Sharpe, president of Toptracer, thinks he has the answer. You may be familiar with the brand from seeing its ball tracking on TV or visiting a driving range which utilises its technology. Either way, it is a growing presence in golf and Sharpe believes it can help introduce a new generation to the game. “Golf is faring really well since coming back,” Sharpe says. “It’s…

Photography: Kevin Murray. Shot on location at La Cala Resort, Spain We all seem to live ever-fuller lives, such that finding time to prepare properly ahead of a competition round can often get edged out in our busy schedules. But if your golf is important to you, preparation is key. We’ve all heard the saying “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”, and that is eminently true in golf. Screeching into the car park with seconds to go and running to the tee before you’ve even tied your shoelaces will rarely, if ever, allow you to perform to your potential. Here, Paul Foston, who has coached five players to European Tour victories, highlights how best to use your range time – ideally ahead of every round but certainly…

1 People try to hit it too hard and end up actually changing their swing and losing control. It’s better to create the adjustments at address, then maintain spine angle over the ball to clip it as well as you can. 2 Swing more upright to increase the angle of attack. This often means you’ll cut across the ball a touch, so open your stance and aim a little left of target to compensate for this ball flight. 3 Sometimes you may have to go with the direction of the divot (yellow stick), even if it’s not quite pointing at the target (red stick), as it will make clean contact easier than if your club is moving across the divot line Don’t force it: The temptation is to gouge at…

On tour, ultra-traditional shoes like the FootJoy Icon remain among the most popular, but this year we’re seeing more products that fit into the sporty side of the golf-shoe spectrum. Increases in street influences, off-course trends and out-of-the-box thinking continue to shape golf shoe design, meaning the choice for golfers has never been so varied. One of the best examples is Puma’s new RSG shoe. Based on the popular RSX trainer, it breaks new ground in the category, blending street and sport culture with golf performance. The reaction on social media tells us it is one of the most polarising shoe launches in recent times. If you’re young (or young at heart) and/or in to your vintage trainers, the chances are you’ll love what Puma has created. But if you…

FootJoy HydroKnit pullover PAUL MURRAY Seaham, Durham Handicap: 10 Why did you decide to buy the product? I was looking for a new waterproof and had a search online. I read a few reviews and it was only after reading the product information I realised it has a dual purpose in dealing with the wind and rain. How has the product been performing? Straight out the package, the HydroKnit was soft to touch and looked to have high-quality workmanship on the seams and zips. The fit was excellent – plenty of room and no restrictions playing full shots. It’s more than just a waterproof top and I would thoroughly recommend it. Cobra King MiM wedge HAMISH GRUNDY London Handicap: 22 Why did you decide to buy the product? As a…

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Stay De Vere Selsdon Estate, South Croydon This large, characterful hotel dates back to Victorian times and is perfectly placed for the courses featured here. There have been extensive renovations to the 200-room accommodation and facilities, and better still, the estate is home to its own JH Taylor course. Eat/drink Botley Hill Farmhouse Beautifully situated high up on the North Downs Way, this historic country inn sources its meat from local farms and has its own herb garden. There is an imaginative menu and it is the home of the Titsey Brewing Company. Also play The immediate area is packed with variety, including the Top 100 Harry Colt design at Tandridge, further Colt courses at Coulsdon Manor and Limpsfield Chart, the three loops of nine at Farleigh and Shirley Park.…

One of precious few things I purchased during lockdown was a book entitled Forgotten greens: the abandoned golf courses of Scotland in which Harry Ward catalogues well over 500 Scottish courses that didn’t stand the test of time. A large percentage disappeared during World War I, but relatively few had 18 holes. Most had nine, but a noticeable number had five, six, seven or whatever they could squeeze into the available space. Today, there are several clubs throughout the UK and Ireland that have a veritable feast of golf holes, none more so than the Manor House and Ashbury Hotels in Devon, which boast an incredible 99, none of which I’ve yet played. I have played most or all of the holes, though, at several other establishments such as Gleneagles,…

The Vale Resort, Glamorganshire Lake Course: par 72, 6,017 yards Wales National: par 73, 6,608 yards The Vale Resort is situated just to the west of Cardiff and boasts not one but two full-length layouts. Happily, they are remarkably different from one another, together offering a fantastic alternative to the more famous and traditional links of South Wales. The Lake course was the original design and features water on no fewer than 12 holes. Here, accuracy is far more important than length. Opening in 2003, the Wales National is a more modern-looking and dramatic course. Words: Rob Smith Photography: Mark Alexander, Jason Livy, © Crown copyright (2010) Visit Wales, all rights reserved The hotel has 143 rooms and a variety of dining options, including the AA rosette-winning Vale Grill, which…

Illustration: Peter Strain There are more important things to worry about at the moment, but I must admit I am fretting a bit about Baron DeShampoo. You may know him better as Bryson DeChambeau. You’ll also know that the Mad Baron returned from lockdown wearing a different body. Bulked up, filled out, muscled top to toe, he is now not so much the elephant as the gorilla in golf’s biggest room. He hits the ball a zillion miles. And straight. He swaggers around the course snorting at the puny challenges set in front of him, his one-size-fits-all golf clubs carefully arranged in a certain way in his bag so as to maximise some mystical input of ionised air. Or something like that. “Bryson DeChambeau has turned golf’s rapier into a…

End of an era I’d like to pay tribute to the golfing inspiration that is my dear old nan, Rene Fairbrother. Last year, she reluctantly hung up her spikes because getting around the links had finally become too much for her since turning 91 (ninety-one!) in the spring. Having enjoyed the first half of her golfing career at Wallasey Golf Club, she relocated to Harlech and joined Royal St David’s in 1984 where she remains today. Altogether, she played competitive golf for a total of 71 years. With a dresser and drinks cabinet full of crystal to show for it, she was a keen competitor and a proud winner. She retired with the same hickory shafted putter she bought second hand in 1948. I hope to put it in a…

1 Paratore was born in Rome, Italy, and was first inspired to pick up a club by a family friend at the age of eight. He took to the game quickly, first shooting under-par at the age of 13. Then followed a stellar amateur career which included a Gold Medal at the 2014 Youth Olympics, two Junior Ryder Cup appearances and victory at the 2014 Portuguese Amateur Open. 2 He first earned a European Tour card aged just 17 at 2014 Q-School – he was the youngest player in the field. He has since earned a reputation for being one of the fastest players on tour. 3 In 2015, Paratore had one of the most unusual rounds in the history of golf, scoring a four on every hole during the…

Illustration: Peter Strain After a long hiatus, the European Tour finally resumed with the British Masters at Close House and I can now talk to you about some actual golf! That said, the first week back was more about getting used to the way things are now and ensuring the tour’s safety protocols worked and were followed. I think the tour did a very good job. It was all pretty strict, but they don’t have much of a choice – if they want events, that’s the way it has to be. Under the circumstances, it went pretty well. And the testing wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I wasn’t looking forward to that too much given the reports, but I think my tester took it…

1 So often, a push shot – one that starts right of target and stays on that line – can be attributed to a poor set-up. Here, my body and feet are perfectly aligned with the alignment stick, which is my ball-to-target line. If you’re pointing right of that, it’s going to encourage an in-to-out swing path – the result of which is a shot to the right. 2 An alignment stick used in this way can help you to groove the right takeaway. Here, my swing plane is too much in-to-out. As the hands go in, so does the club, which opens the face – as shown below. This sets you below the plane on the way back, which is where you’ll tend to stay on the downswing. From…

1 Beating a slice Strengthening your grip a little is one obvious way to improve things a bit. Beyond that, it’s important to complete your swing so try to really think about following through to a full finish, rather than thinking too much about just impact. That could really help get your club travelling on a better line through the ball. 2 Reading greens If you’ve got time, then always read putts from the other side of the hole too. It’s hard to always see it from 30ft away, but going round to the other side, where you can get a good look from perhaps ten feet, can really help you see what happens in that critical final six feet, and help you work out where the ball is going…

Q In a recent round, my drive headed towards the long grass so I took a provisional. I hooked this towards a thick clump of bushes, so I played a second provisional straight down the middle. My companion and I walked towards the first provisional, the closest ball, but could not find it. The next closest ball location was my original drive, so we headed for that, and after a minute found it. I hit my second shot back on to the fairway and picked up the second provisional. Was that right? DavidEJM, GM website forum A At any time, if a ball might be lost outside a penalty area or be out of bounds, a player may play another ball provisionally under penalty of stroke and distance. If that…

GM Verdict Perhaps a brand that often gets overlooked, Yonex has made some impressive clubs down the years and the Ezone GS iron continues that trend. Built for the game-improver, it prioritises distance and forgiveness in equal measure and our testing showed that it delivers. The wide sole with gentle camber increases the margin for error on the strike, helping you get away with a slightly heavy contact, while well-struck shots are rewarded with a strong, powerful ball flight. The 7-iron loft is 29°, so fairly strong, resulting in our carries averaging 185 yards with the Nippon NS Pro 950GH steel shaft. But Yonex does excel in the graphite shaft category, so pairing this head with its own stock 53g EX-330 graphite shaft (£839) will undoubtedly help most golfers increase…

Gear News Round-Up Tony Finau switched into a 7.25° Ping G410 Plus driver at the Memorial, reaching ball speeds of up to 198mph in testing. Rory McIlroy switched into the new TaylorMade P-7MB irons at the Memorial in 3-PW with Project X 7.0 shafts. Brandt Snedeker has split with Bridgestone after 15 years, opting for a Ping G410 Plus driver and i210 irons at the Memorial. Dustin Johnson won the Travelers Championship with two TaylorMade SIM Max rescue clubs in the bag. Sergio Garcia put two Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges in the bag at the Memorial to replace his Ping Glide Forged models. SPOTTED ON TOUR Woodland’s new woods Gary Woodland has been using a Wilson W|Labs driver and fairway wood recently, with weight ports in the sole. In Truss…

Photography: Getty Images 1 Cleveland RTX ZipCore wedges on sale Replacing the RTX-4 model, Cleveland’s new wedges have been designed for better players who seek feel, versatility and spin control in a traditional look. 2 1990: Nick Faldo reaches top spot In a year in which he won The Open and The Masters, Nick Faldo wrestled the World No.1 ranking off Greg Norman for the first time. 13 1912: Ben Hogan is born The legendary American golfer won nine Major Championships, six coming after a near-fatal car accident in 1949. 29 1996: Tiger makes professional debut Tiger Woods played in the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open, four days after winning his 3rd US Amateur title. He finished in a tie for 60th. 4 Tour Championship A bizarre PGA Tour season comes…

Photography: Tom Miles FIRMER GRIP You want the wrists to feel a bit stiffer during the swing, so you get a less ‘laggy’ sensation and more of a sweeping action to pick the ball off the sand. I’ve got an 8-iron here, enough loft to clear the lip, and I’m not leaning back to try and get the ball up as this tends to lead to thin strikes. REDUCING THE ARC WIDTH Gripping down the handle will also help you to avoid digging into the sand, so you get that slight bruise rather than a big divot. It’s the same reason why I stand a bit taller at address; I’m raising that swing arc away from the sand. SET-UP BASICS If you come into the ball too steeply, the club…

France GF: €43-€77 Par 71, 6,390 yards One of the beauties of northern France is that, thanks to Eurotunnel, golfers in southern parts of England can access its eclectic mix of courses just as easily as certain UK golfing hotspots. This northern stretch boasts more than its fair share of links layouts, with the handiwork of some of the most favoured British architects of the last century on display, among then Harry Colt, Charles Alison and Horace Hutchinson. Golf de Belle Dune, at Fort-Mahon Plage half an hour south of Le Touquet, is a more recent addition. It opened in the early 1990s and offers an absorbing mix of woodland and pure links holes. It starts with a cracking uphill dogleg to the left, with the holes weaving through the…

Iron play has always been the weakest part of my game. Even when I was as low as a 6 handicap, ball-striking was my achilles heel. A lack of consistency manifested itself in weak shots that often leaked out to the right and I was hitting far too many tops for a single-figure golfer! For a long time, my short game got me out of jail and meant I could turn a blind eye to my iron play. When my short game blew up then I really was in trouble and it was no surprise that my handicap got up to 10. Over the past two years, I’ve been having lessons focusing on iron play and one thing that became apparent to Martin Smith, my PGA pro, was just how…

1 Some players like to die the ball into the hole; others prefer to hit the back of the cup with more aggression. There’s no right approach – the key is to match speed with read. Set a series of tees up around a ‘ghost hole’ – or a similar moveable putting aid – from approximately four to 12 feet. Putt three balls from each station and try getting one to finish a foot past, one two feet by and the other three feet past, while also making sure you roll it over the hole. 2 Amateurs tend to miss the majority of breaking putts on the low side. Think of the centre of the cup as always being six o’clock, which is where I’ve placed a tee peg. With…

1 This is a very conventional address position. You can always tell a player by their hands – Erik’s are like porcelain on the club. He actually reminds me of Rory in many of his positions. In terms of alignment and posture, this is as good as it gets. 2 He tends to set the shaft plane a little steeper in the backswing, which is common. His hips initially start turning until he gets his hands about hip high, and then they stop. It’s all upper body rotation. He does sway his upper body, so his spine tilts a few inches right. 3 This is a model position at the top. From here, his shaft plane lowers – he kind of ‘corrects’ it to get him back on track. The…

GM Verdict Tour-calibre balls need to do a lot of things well, and having tested Callaway’s latest Chrome Soft ball, we can confirm that it ticks all the requisite boxes. Off the tee, it provided a strong and noticeably stable ball flight in crosswinds, helping to maximise distance and accuracy. It was comparable to our current tour ball in terms of total yardage and we’re also confident it’s marginally longer than the previous version. Into greens, well-struck short-irons stopped to attention, allowing you to be aggressive with your lines. As the name suggests, this will be one of the softest-feeling, tour-played offerings on the market, along with the Srixon Z-Star. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but the Chrome Soft X is an equally impressive alternative for those seeking a…

GM Verdict Many golfers choose a GPS watch for at-a-glance simplicity, but there is nothing basic about the LX5. It is a shrunken down version of the impressive handheld SX400 and SX500, cramming in an enormous amount of detail and features into a wearable device. The stand-out feature is the touchscreen. Bright and crystal clear, it is easy to read in different conditions and without having to hold it close to your face. From the main Big Numbers screen, which displays bold front, middle and back distances, you swipe in different directions to see the hole map, hazard list, enter your score or measure your shot distance. The definition on the hole graphics is truly stunning, allowing you to see every detail of what lies ahead. Moving the crosshair is…

TaylorMade SIM Max £229 Loft: 19° Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7-S (76g) LOOKS 8 It’s a little shorter from front to back, less rounded and much more modern and busy in appearance. The chalk-white strip above the face assists with alignment FORGIVENESS 8 A very solid, stable rescue, but mishits felt a little harsher than they did with TS2. It still offers ample assistance to correct the flight, notably the Twist Face and Thru Slot Speed Pocket. BALL FLIGHT 8 Shots flew on a very similar height, although the SIM Max had a tendency to turn over a touch more from right to left. The slightly longer and lighter shaft made clubface control trickier VERSATILITY 9 Very playable from the tee and turf, the ground interaction from the deck felt…

Typically, hybrids are designed to help the higher-handicap player hit better approach shots from long range. But with Dustin Johnson recently winning at the Travelers Championship carrying not one but two hybrids, their potential benefits for every level of golfer have been thrust back into the limelight. It firstly highlights that sometimes, one hybrid isn’t enough. Between your fairway wood and longest iron, you want around 4-5° loft gaps between your clubs. So if your longest iron is a 5-iron, you might need two hybrids to plug the holes in distance. More and more golfers are switching out long irons for hybrids because of how much easier they are to launch, opting for combination sets that make the hard shots easier to execute. Hybrids come in a wide variety of…