Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i Golf Monthly

To outsiders, golf can seem like an overly serious sport with complicated rules and an involved etiquette, played in an arena where the silence wavers between respectful and deafening. As golfers, we know that although there is some truth in these views, rules and etiquette are common sense and good manners and the silence rarely lasts for more than a few seconds – golf is very sociable with a lot of room for laughs. Some of my most vivid memories from 30 years-plus playing the game centre around amusing on-course occurrences. My favourite came on May 8, 2004 on the par-3 7th tee at the stunning Southerndown GC in Wales. It was the penultimate round of my annual golf tour, a trip in which a lot of money can be…

Yes No Poor pace of play is one of the biggest issues our sport faces and methods to make improvements in ways that don’t fundamentally alter the sport should be embraced. It’s clear to me after a couple of months of post-lockdown golfing that leaving the flagstick in is significantly expediting play. For that reason, I believe it should now remain in for good. On each green, the need to ask for preferences, remove and replace the flag (perhaps on multiple occasions) has gone. As a result, minutes are being saved and golfers across the country are enjoying shorter rounds. Further time is being saved as leaving the flag in more effectively facilitates ‘ready golf’. People are simply putting when the opportunity is right to do so, even if a…

Illustration: Peter Strain The first Major of the year has come and gone and it was a big hit all round, with high viewing figures, widespread praise for the course and a remarkable young champion. Collin Morikawa is a born winner and someone who has made that art look easy in his fledgling career. Having played professional golf, I can tell you it’s anything but, and not just the Majors but the regular events too. While watching the young maestro saunter to victory at TPC Harding Park, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own career and the times I got over the line… My first time as a winner of a professional event came at the age of 22 in the Victorian PGA Championship, beating 1991 Open Champion Ian…

Whose idea was the weight loss? He came over for a boot camp just as Covid was about to kick off. I said, “There are two things you can do. One, you can sit and wait and wait, or two, we can be fairly proactive and maybe find those areas where we need to improve?” Technically, how do you teach someone who has won 57 times? But physically there would be things. How did he go about it? I said, “We’ll keep it really simple. You eat less and move more, and don’t worry about carbohydrates and proteins – just eat 1,000 calories.” And he did. He shredded a lot of weight very quickly and started to go to the gym and do some walking and cycling. Was the excess…

Len Goodman really loves his golf, not just the playing bit – which he does a fair bit of – but everything about it. He’s an avid spectator – “what a three-ball that was,” he says, referring to the recent grouping of Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Tiger Woods at The Memorial – and any mention of a Sunningdale or Royal Lytham makes him weak at the knees, more so than a perfectly executed foxtrot. It’s one of the reasons why the former head judge on Strictly Come Dancing is the perfect captain for the Variety Club Golf Society – a role he’s thoroughly enjoying. The Variety Club of Great Britain Golf Society (now Variety Golf) was formed in 1965, with the objective of raising money for the purchase of…

1 We often talk about ball-striking in the long game, but rarely on the putting green. Given the size of the hole, it’s actually incredibly important that we get a good strike on the equator of the ball with the right part of the putter face. These drills will highlight if you’re hitting up or down too much and striking it too high or low, or how centrally you’re striking your putts across the face. Any errors will affect the way the ball rolls. 2 The string drill is for those who lift up a little through the ball. Focus on retaining your posture so you can take the putter back and through nice and low without touching the string. The bottom drill is great if you tend to strike…

GM Verdict Cleveland now offers three wedge models, with the RTX ZipCore the one designed for the lowest handicaps. It boasts a muscleback design and consequently offers the softest feel, with the repositioning of the CG ensuring it still feels solid and stable. At address, we certainly noticed the two extra grooves on the face and if anything, this enhanced our confidence and alignment. The raised section at the top of the wedge is well hidden, so it still displays a thin topline that better players will enjoy. We tested a couple of different options, but it was the 54° in the Mid sole grind that really stood out. It has the trailing-edge relief that allowed us to manipulate the face to produce different flights while keeping the leading edge…

SPOTTED ON TOUR Mr 59 goes old school Scottie Scheffler shot a 59 at The Northern Trust with a Nike VR Pro Limited Edition fairway wood in the bag. G whizz Images of three new Ping G425 drivers were recently put on the USGA conforming list. New wood for Reed Patrick Reed has replaced his Ping G400 driver for a TaylorMade SIM. He first put it in play at the Wyndham Championship. Gear News Round-Up Brooks Koepka switched back into his TaylorMade M5 driver for the USPGA, replacing his Callaway Mavrik SZ Triple Diamond. Phil Mickelson has put an older, bladed Odyssey White Hot XG putter in play with a Super Stroke Pistol GT Tour grip. Matthew Fitzpatrick put a Ping G410 7-wood and 9-wood in play at the USPGA…

What’s your view on thick rough under trees? Alan Matheson, Truro I appreciate golfers may have encountered a bit more of this of late where clubs have focused on essential maintenance, but in general, I think it’s unnecessary and unhelpful. If you’re in the woods, your ‘punishment’ should be a tree on your line or an impeded swing, not a lost ball and long walk back. Keeping rough short under trees allows sensible escape options and keeps play moving. What makes a good opening hole? Toby Allinson, Devizes One that excites visually yet doesn’t overly test you – certainly in terms of accuracy – on the opening blow. Doonbeg in County Clare, with its impressive amphitheatre green, springs to mind. It gets the blood pumping for the round ahead. The…

Rory’s struggles I have to confess I’m a little concerned about Rory McIlroy following his recent comments that he may not be as good as he used to be. We’re not used to seeing this downcast outlook from McIlroy, but the truth is he’s struggled since lockdown. What’s more concerning is the fact he hasn’t won a Major since the 2014 USPGA. McIlroy has extraordinary natural talent, but I wonder if he’s as obsessed and driven as the likes of Nicklaus and Woods. He’s an incredibly rich man and he’s been on tour for well over a decade now, so perhaps he’s not willing to dedicate his entire life to golf. This is speculation, and such is his ability that no one would be surprised if he won the US…

Is this the most competitive era in the history of men’s professional golf? Dustin Johnson’s staggering 30-under-par total in The Northern Trust, combined with Scottie Scheffler’s 59, helped emphasise the astonishing standard at the top of the professional game. After all, TPC Boston is a golf course that features five par 4s over 450 yards and three par 3s over 200 yards. What’s more, of the 12 sub-60 rounds in PGA Tour history, six have come since 2016. With his victory, Johnson moved back to World No.1. He is the fifth person to have that title so far in 2020 – the most in a calendar year since the inauguration of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986. Currently, there are less than four world ranking points between Johnson and…

Photography: Getty Images FLEXION IN LEFT WRIST At the top of the backswing, he gets a lot of left wrist flexion – or bow, as it’s sometimes referred to. I like this and believe it’s one of the reasons why he’s such a consistent driver of the ball. When the wrist moves to maximum flexion, he can achieve the same top-of-backswing position time after time. ADDING SPEED You could say his action is slightly more upright compared with most players. However, this helps him with speed, because it creates width and a dynamic wrist action. IMPACT AREA In theory, the wrist flexion makes the clubface stronger and allows him to shallow the club more. It helps rotation through the ball and keeps him solid through the impact area. At this…

Illustration: Peter Strain Well, it continues to be a strange time for professional sport and a strange time for the world in general. I’ve only played twice since I wrote my last column, in the Hero Open at the Forest of Arden and the Wales Open at Celtic Manor. Honestly, I don’t remember too much about the Hero Open. I didn’t play well on the first day and was struggling with the experience, so I withdrew before the start of the second round. I had issues with my game, but it was also the bubble protocol – it was fine at Close House, but the reality of the situation really hit home at the Forest of Arden. After that, I didn’t play for a couple of weeks. I arrived at…

1 A simple sheet of card – preferably laminated for durability – is an ideal prop if you tend to hit the ball heavy. Set it in the ground behind the ball, as here, and focus on keeping the club close to it on your takeaway. This encourages a low, wide move away from the ball (inset). You must then miss the sheet at impact (main photo). You can vary how far behind the ball you place the sheet as your striking improves. 2 Another simple exercise for heavy strikers is to think about shifting your right knee across towards the left at the top of the backswing. This will improve your weight transfer and help to shift the low point of your swing arc forward, which will boost your…

1 Greenside chips Take a light grip. If you lift the club up, someone should be able to take it out of your hands – so try that. The moment you start strangling the grip, that’s when you start getting quick. Let the club just sit in your hands so it feels nice and lazy. 2 Increasing power I’ve been lucky with speed and strength. I’d say the harder you swing on the range, the more that’s going to let your body loosen up. When you’re warming up, go as full-on as possible for a few to get those fasttwitch muscles going. 3 Reading greens You’ve got to understand that if you’re picking a line, the speed has to match it. Make a note of where you’re missing it and…

GM Verdict For golfers short on space but who still want in-built GPS functionality, the CT6 GPS provides the ideal solution. The compact-folding nature of the frame provides a clear point of difference with the flagship FX7 GPS. The new design ensures this trolley takes up surprisingly little space when folded down, and golfers now have the option of inverting the wheels to reduce the footprint even further. The simplicity of the folding process will also surprise you. It has been made significantly easier and has been helped by the integrated carry handle and the new battery design, which now has a top-mounted on/off switch and a quick-release latch. The other impressive feature is the colour display. At 2.8”, it isn’t as large as the screen on the FX7 GPS,…

It’s a question I’m sure many of you reading this often ask yourself, and recently, Neil Tappin and I did some testing around this theme. We compared drivers from different eras to modern-day models to see how they stacked up and when an upgrade would have a real impact. Neil tested four Titleist models ranging from 2006 up to the current TS3, while I tested two Callaway drivers from 2015 and a Cobra King F7+ from 2017. Size is the first main reason to upgrade – Neil’s Titleist 905 driver is 400cc and fairly intimidating behind the ball. While he was able to swing the smaller head faster, he was losing out on forgiveness purely because of the 60cc smaller head size. Adjustability is another factor. Such drivers are versatile…

Performance averages (7-iron)…

My club, Liphook, has recently re-opened the full 18 holes after remodelling and we are behind in submitting cards for the new handicap system, so I decided to mark a supplementary handicap card and play the new 18-hole layout for the first time. On the par-4 2nd, I hit a good 6-iron while my partner missed the green. As we approached, there was no ball on the putting surface, and after I looked around the area, I checked the hole and there it was! I was over the moon. Buoyed by the excitement, I walked on to the tee on the par-3 3rd and hit an 8-iron, which my partner said was right down the throat of the flag. Once again, no ball was visible as we approached the green,…

1 The state of Texas has played an important role in Scheffler’s life. He was born in Dallas and attended the University of Texas at Austin, playing for the Texas Longhorns golf team for four years before graduating with a degree in finance. He turned professional in 2018 and was named Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year in 2019. 2 So far in his career he’s had five holes-in-one and in August he shot the 11th 59 in PGA Tour history at The Northern Trust at TPC Boston. This included 12 birdies and six pars. He also finished T4 at the USPGA, only his second Major start. 3 One of his other main hobbies is basketball and he continues to try and play as much as he can despite…

What Callaway’s Dr Alan Hocknell doesn’t know about golf club design isn’t worth knowing. The man with a rather appropriate PhD in Collisions has been with Callaway for 22 years and is now the head of product development for clubs and balls. His team of 120 skilled engineers is now responsible for creating some of the most innovative products to make their way on to the course. Hocknell is also one of the driving forces behind Callaway’s groundbreaking use of artificial intelligence, which is employed to great effect in the latest Mavrik range of woods and irons. It’s just another example of the brand’s out-of-the-box thinking, which allows it to make some of the best-performing products on the market. What made you go down the route of artificial intelligence when…

Photography: Tom Miles EDDIE PEPPERELL WITH NEIL TAPPIN Shooting lower scores is as much a test of your strategy and mental approach as it is an examination of your technique. By devising a smarter gameplan that allows you to play to your strengths, any golfer, no matter what their handicap, can build momentum during a round and return scores that are consistently lower over time. In this exclusive feature, Eddie Pepperell reveals some of the thought processes that enable him to compete at the highest level. Over the following pages, he talks through how he plays a par 3, 4 and 5 at his home course, Frilford Heath, providing some insights into his game that should also help improve your strategy.…

EDDIE SAYS “This is a short par 5, so it’s all about getting your drive away. I have always liked the visual of this hole because I can tee it low and then hit a fade.” 1 Staying in rhythm I don’t often think about my rhythm because I rarely try and change it. The best thing you can do is hit the centre of the clubface – it’s always more important than speed. If you swing 5mph faster and hit it much more out of the heel or toe, you are actually going to lose distance despite all the forgiveness. 2 Fairway finder When I really want to try and hit a low cut – whether it is into the wind or a tough tee shot like this –…

Caution: You’ve missed and the ball trundles on… don’t turn away in disappointment. You’ve got a free read for the putt coming back so stay focused. 1 I’ve set up three ‘gates’ to putt through – I’m using balls, but you can put tee pegs down – which simulate the break and help me to practise sloping putts. The first gate is about six feet away, and then I have one in the middle and one at the end. You may have to move the gates around; then it’s about rolling the ball through each one. Observe the break and what happens at the hole. It’s a satisfying exercise to work out the break and successfully roll the ball through the gates. 2 Once you’ve worked out a line, try…

1 Set-up wise, MacIntyre is very well balanced and neutral at address – it all looks solid. From down the line, he appears to be aiming at the right side of the fairway, with his lower body open a touch and his shoulders fairly closed. 2 As he moves into the takeaway, his left elbow doesn’t really stay with the turn – his left side is working quite high. He gets the club a little bit outside and the shaft plane gets relatively steep. From side on, you can see the weight moving on to his left side. 3 Although the left side does go quite high in the takeaway, by the time he gets to the top he’s neutral again and everything is well balanced. This is a classic…

Looks The added black paint fill on the back bolsters the shelf appeal. It is noticeably more compact than the old JPX919 version, with a thinner topline, reduced offset and a slightly shorter blade length. GM Verdict Mizuno claims the new JPX921 Forged iron will offer the biggest improvement in performance over the prior generation out of the four new models. The lofts have been made one degree stronger in the 4-to 8-irons (the 7-iron is 31°) to accommodate the new design. We tested it with the same Dynamic Gold 120 x100 shaft as the previous version to see how the new iron compared. This iron has bundles of shelf appeal from every angle, with the smaller profile likely to attract the lower handicapper, even if the stronger lofts don’t.…

GM Verdict This shoe comes in at Skechers’ customary less-expensive price point and delivers that spongy feel you come to expect when sliding your feet in for the first time. It’s an overused phrase, especially when describing Skechers’ golf shoes, but these really do feel like a pair of slippers. Soft, supple and very lightweight, comfort levels are through the roof, assisted by the plentiful padding around the ankle. The cleated outsole ensures you have that golfspecific grip when you need it during the swing and it delivered from a variety of lies. The dial lacing system on top of the tongue works well enough, although it’s quite a loose-fitting shoe – you might find when trying to create a secure fit by tightening the dial that the upper material…

I’m struggling on the greens – should I try the armlock method? Terry Roberts, via email I have to say yes, because I recently dabbled with it myself. Given Bryson’s success, I thought it was worth a go. I found a Bettinardi Armlock putter in my garage and it felt strange at first, but with time, I found it to be especially effective on short putts. Unfortunately, I really struggled with pace on long putts, to the point where my distance control got so bad I had to revert to a conventional style. That’s not to say you’ll have the same experience and there is certainly merit in the method. Should I have more offset on my irons? Jason Clark, via email It depends on your miss. If it tends…

ou may think upgrading your set of wedges is a straightforward task, but there could be some factors you haven’t previously thought about that might affect your decision. All modern wedges spin really well, but the level of forgiveness and spec options will vary from brand to brand. The most important first step is to consider the type of shots you hit with each wedge. The higher lofts are usually employed for shorter shots where more variety in flight and spin is required, so you’ll need a sole shape that provides versatility. The wider the sole or the more bounce (the angle created between the leading edge and the lowest point of the sole) it has, the more user-friendly it will be from sand or wet turf conditions. A fitting…

Many new courses opened to great fanfare in the 1990s, and one of the most eagerly awaited round my way was Chart Hills, near Biddenden in Kent. This was primarily because it was the first European design project for Nick Faldo, still at the height of his powers. The course opened in 1993 early into my career in golf, and I was fortunate enough to play it that year. It was magnificent and quite unlike any inland course I’d played before, with vast acres of sand adorning fairways and greens. Sadly, on my most recent visit in 2013, it was a shadow of its former self – in poor condition with several bunkers seemingly abandoned and gradually grassing over. Now, though, it is set to rescale the heights following its…

Illustration: Peter Strain It’s an old clubhouse question, a cliche really, but it shuts most people up for a few minutes while they carefully consider their answer. The question, of course, is: if you could only play one course for the rest of your life, what would it be? Answers are as varied as they are to the other showstopper query, the one that wonders who you would like to be going home to if you weren’t going home to your present wife/husband/partner. The difference is the answer to this question must never be revealed outside the small group considering it. Anyway, back to the golf course poser. Like most of us, I have a handful of places I especially love, courses that offer a challenge that is embraced by…