Innholdsfortegnelse for Open 2025 i Golf Monthly

2,200 World ranking of Palmer Jackson when he won the HotelPlanner Tour’s Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge by six in the Czech Republic TOP TEN EUROPEANS ON THE ROLEX WOMEN’S WORLD GOLF RANKING AS AT MID-JUNE 4 Play-off holes to separate Ryan Fox and Sam Burns in the RBC Canadian Open 182 DP World Tour events for Connor Syme to finally win in June’s KLM Open $1,243,034 Most PGA Tour prize money per event in 2025 up to Travelers Championship (Rory McIlroy) 286 Length of Patrick Reed’s albatross hole-out on the 4th in round one of the US Open 291 Kristoffer Reitan’s world ranking climb after a fine run in the spring – 392nd to 101st 232 Average yardage of Oakmont’s four par 3s in round four of the US Open WORLD…

It’s been an eventful few years for Laurie Canter. The Englishman tied for 2nd in the 2021 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, but less than a year later he was playing on the LIV Golf tour as part of the initial wave of professionals to move over. In 2023, he lost his full-time status and played as a reserve for Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks GC and also for Majesticks GC. At that year’s Promotions event, he lost in a play-off and was left without a LIV roster spot for the 2024 season. However, he was able to take up a last-minute spot in the DP World Tour’s Mauritius Open in December 2023 and finished 2nd. Since then, he hasn’t really looked back. In June 2024, he ended a 13-year wait for…

OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER There are certain shots all golfers struggle with, even low-handicappers. Take bunker shots up to 50 yards – a scratch golfer gets up and down 37% of the time and a 25-handicapper just 10%. In both cases, there’s plenty of room for improvement. It’s really useful to know your own stats, which is why many people use shot-measuring technology and distance-measuring devices. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses helps you identify where to focus your practice, plus it’s very rewarding to see improvements. Don’t worry if you’re not sure where you’re leaking shots, – we’ve seen all the stats. We spent a day with Top 50 Coach and Shot Scope ambassador Peter Finch talking through the shots golfers most struggle with. It’s time for you to get to…

Shot on location at La Cala Resort, Spain 1 Reading a green starts way before you reach the putting surface, as there is so much information you can take in from the walk towards your ball. In the image below, I am looking for a few things but initially I want to find the high point. Once I can see the highest point of the green, I should be able to work out the direction that water would run. Here, the water would drain from the top right to the bottom left, so I already have an idea as to which way my putt could break. 2 Analysing grain around the hole can provide key information. In the two images here, you can see one side of the hole has…

Despite releasing the majority of its Square 2 Square putter range towards the back end of 2024, Odyssey has just extended the family with the most stable model yet. The Ai-One Square 2 Square Max 1 is one of the largest putters on the market, but does its size equate to it being one of the most forgiving putters money can buy? The centre-shafted design and onset nature of these putters certainly take a little getting used to, and the Max 1 raises eyebrows even further due to its branding iron shape, which, it has to be said, resembles that of the popular L.A.B. Golf DF3 putter. The head itself dwarfs the ball a little, but the single sightline at the front really helped me set the putter up precisely…

I’ll be honest, I’ve not tested many MacGregor clubs over the past few years, perhaps categorising them as a brand from yesteryear in my mind, played by some of the historical figures in the game. However, MacGregor has been quietly ticking along, producing equipment aimed more at the value end of the market, and I wanted to see what its latest distance iron had to offer. My first impression of the MT-86 OS was fairly positive overall. It offers a confidence-inspiring aesthetic with a slightly larger profile than its sister club in the MacGregor iron family, the MT-86 Pro. Down in the playing position, it presents a pretty clean yet substantial look, which provided me with a nice, reassuring sense of confidence from the start. I don’t love the shiny…

The players' distance iron category is a very interesting equipment space where all manner of different player types seem to converge. Whether you are someone who has traditionally played compact forged irons but now requires a gentle power boost without compromising on looks, or you are someone who has been using more game-improvement-style irons but your ball-striking is on an upward trajectory, there are many models to consider in this genre. I have rigorously tested a multitude of different iron models over the past few months and have split my favourites into categories to help you narrow down your options. Looks The visual appeal of an iron is a critical component that can often be the deciding factor for many when deliberating over a purchase. Even the very best-performing clubs…

Essentials Rest Bay, Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan, South Wales, CF36 3UW Stats: par 72, 6,580 yards GF: round: £250 There cannot be many countries which boast a healthy number of excellent golf courses but where one name is seldom disputed as the nation’s number one. Wales is home to around 180 in total, including three in the Golf Monthly UK and Ireland Top 100 course rankings and a further nine in the Next 100. At the apex sits glorious Royal Porthcawl, host to countless prestigious championships and home to 18 scenic, challenging and endlessly varied holes of golf. A rich heritage Situated around midway between Cardiff and Swansea on the South Wales coast, the club dates back to 1891. Its original nine-hole course was laid out by a Scot, Charles Gibson.…

For many, the par 3s are the real stars of the golf course show, and very often the most memorable holes as a result. I’ll admit that, over the course of the years, I have probably written “a fine quartet of short holes” or “a cracking collection of par 3s” a few too many times for literary comfort, but in my defence, it is precisely because they are so often a course’s most memorable holes. They come in all shapes, lengths and sizes, from the well-protected to the seemingly defenceless, boasting targets that range from large and inviting to virtually invisible. Yet despite their 1,001 different guises, the scoring prospects generated by good or bad tee shots on the most cleverly designed par 3s can be poles apart. Strike it…

Did you make it through to the end of the US Open? I did, finally making my way to bed shortly before 2am. No-one was more surprised than me that I hung around to complete this golfathon. What a contest that was. Chaotic, challenging and unmissable, it bookended McIlroy’s Masters brilliantly. While Augusta 2025 was about one man’s wobbly and occasionally brilliant journey to embrace triumph, Oakmont saw every single one of the world’s best players coming to terms with a course that challenged their patience, tenacity and ability to accept misfortune and move on. Too many of them failed the test. We know Oakmont is a permanent beast of a course and that it doesn’t take much for the USGA to further tweak it into an even more monstrous…

Bandits at three o’clock In response to the letter from Stuart Mather (Your View, June issue) on bloated handicaps, I couldn’t agree more. My son (handicap 4) and I (12) were having a break in Scotland recently and played Troon’s Old course on a windy day. We were paired with two strangers who suggested we “play for a little something”. So, a tenner per player was the agreed stake. They announced their handicaps as 18 and 25, and the 18-handicapper then knocked it 30 yards past me down the middle on most holes! His playing partner off 25 really excelled, parring three or four holes in succession, including the famous 11th – ‘The Railway’ – meaning we needed birdie on each of those holes for a half! Just a good…

After a gruelling four days of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Minjee Lee emerged the winner at Fields Ranch East in Texas to claim her third Major title. The Australian began the day with a commanding four-shot lead following a bogey-free 69 on Saturday. Jeeno Thitikul, who led at the halfway stage, endured a far more difficult day with a damaging 76. However, she still entered the final round as Lee’s nearest rival, with Hye-Jin Choi, Miyu Yamashita and Lexi Thompson seven back of Lee. While that appeared to leave Lee with one hand on the trophy, within six holes she was three-over-par for her round after bogeys at the 3rd, 5th and 6th. That allowed the chasing pack the chance to drag themselves into contention, and one of them,…

Portugal GF: €127-€192 (including buggy) Stats: par 71, 6,345 yards The Algarve has long been richly blessed with fine courses, but Ombria, just 30 minutes from Faro airport, is a mere babe having opened in 2023. It’s the handiwork of Jorge Santana da Silva, a Portuguese architect who cut his design teeth under the mentorship of Robert Trent Jones Senior in Madeira in 1981. The layout is a sensible length for holidaying golfers, set out in two loops either side of a residential development. The back-to-back par 3s at 4 and 5 will catch your eye, while the short, downhill par-4 18th will bring hopes of a closing birdie if you can safely avoid the sand. Surrounded by rolling hills, olive groves and beautifully clear streams, Ombria has earned GEO-certified…

There was more than a hint of irony in the fact that the golfer they call ‘The Chef’ had to take down the real Scheff to prove he has the recipe for PGA Tour success. The man with the culinary nickname is, of course, Min Woo Lee. And the popular Australian acknowledges it as a career-defining moment when he proved that he could handle the heat as Scottie Scheffler caught fire in his own kitchen. Lee, who was in danger of becoming better known for his social media prowess rather than his golf, held his nerve for a dramatic one-shot victory at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. The Aussie hotshot, whose catchphrase is ‘let him cook’ – a line borrowed from the popular video game Call Of Duty, and one…

The handicap system in golf is what makes ours such a universally enjoyable sport. Elite golfers can play with, and compete against, relative novices thanks to their golf handicaps. Players of all standards can win club tournaments when the handicap system is being used. With the World Handicap System (WHS) now in operation, players from all over the globe should be able to compete against one another on a fair footing. The WHS is the culmination of a centuries-long evolution in golf handicapping, as individuals, clubs and then governing bodies have sought to introduce, adapt and improve various systems to deliver the most equitable method of levelling the playing field. Here, we trace a brief history of handicapping and ponder which system has been the best. Surely it’s today’s WHS?…

Shot on location at La Cala Resort 1 One of the main things that many club golfers get wrong with the golf grip is the positioning of the club in the hand. Ideally, I want to see the grip of the club sitting in the fingers (as indicated by the green lines on my golf glove in the inset image) and not in the palm. The green dot on my glove should then sit on top of the club. This allows the wrists to control the club better in terms of an effective release, but it also allows you to set the wrists more efficiently from a power perspective. 2 When looking down at the golf club from a standard set-up position, you should be able to see the creases…

1 LINE UP BETTER I play with so many amateurs who are not aiming in the right place. They might be hitting it great, but they don’t know where they’re lining up. I always stand directly behind the ball, walk in and pick a spot three feet in front of it. Then I’ll draw a straight line through it in my head. Sometimes on the range I’ll just put a little marker or coin a few feet in front of the ball. It’s far easier to line up with a marker that’s three feet in front of you than a flag 200 yards away. Tiger does this all the time and you could always see him glancing at a spot just in front of him. It’s a very simple thing,…

Stewart Golf has been mastering the art of designing and engineering remote golf trolleys for over 20 years. In that time, we’ve been introduced to the groundbreaking ‘follow’ technology of the Q Follow and the more recent remote updates in the Vertx. In the new V10 Remote, the brand has delved into its rich history for its design cues. Ultimately, this trolley has been launched to give golfers a more entry-level route into the rapidly growing remote electric trolley market. Using a chassis design inspired by the old X Series, which is built around the very latest technology that powers the excellent Vertx model, Stewart Golf has added another strong remote trolley to its arsenal. The first thing you are likely to have noticed is just how big the V10…

When I received an invitation to check out the Arabella Golf Resort Mallorca, I was intrigued, especially as Mallorca is somewhere that I had heard good things about, but never before visited. Despite only being a small island, there are 24 courses at your disposal here, with three of those falling under the Arabella Golf Resort Mallorca umbrella, which also boasts the nine-hole Palma pitch-and-putt as well as two stunning hotels – Castillo Hotel Son Vida and Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel. After the 15-minute journey from airport to hotel driveway, I was greeted by the beautiful 13th-century castle-style Castillo Hotel Son Vida, which is set on a hillside overlooking the bustling capital Palma. Its five-star accommodation has hosted royalty and numerous celebrities, with the hotel boasting 164 rooms and…

Congratulations on winning the US Open at Oakmont. How were you able to get the job done? I just tried to commit to every shot and continue to dig deep. I’ve been doing it my whole life. I think that’s been the biggest difference this year. Fortunately, I dug very deep on the back nine and things went my way. It’s just perseverance. This is a pretty all-time high for me. Can you talk us through that amazing putt on 18? I didn’t look at the scoreboard. Based on the crowd, I felt like if I two-putted, I would probably win, but I didn’t want to look because I didn’t want to play defensive. I didn’t want to do anything dumb. At my first PGA Tour win in Texas, Scott…

“I CERTAINLY HAVE TO TAKE A PRETTY HARD LOOK AT WHAT’S BEST FOR THE TEAM”Keegan Bradley still says he is undecided on being a Ryder Cup playing captain, but his win at the Travelers ‘changes the story’ “WE’RE TRYING TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO WATCH WOMEN’S GOLF AND SET-UPS LIKE THIS DON’T HELP US”Stacy Lewis said the conditions at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship made the world’s best ‘look silly’ “I THINK ANYONE ELSE WOULD TURN UP TO WORK SICK IF THEY COULD MAKE A QUARTER OF A MILLION”Harry Hall had to fight illness at the Travelers, where he ended up finishing T9th “THE SEARCH GOES ON, I GUESS. WHEN IT HAPPENS, IT WILL BE VERY, VERY SWEET”Tommy Fleetwood was philosophical after his heartbreaking PGA Tour near-miss in Connecticut…

It was only a matter of time before TaylorMade became the latest brand to launch a zero-torque putter. It’s been in the hands of tour players for most of the year. The latest addition to the Spider family of putters, Spider Zero Torque (ZT) is designed to give golfers of all abilities increased stability and consistency on the greens. It boasts a high-MOI design, multi-material construction, onset hosel configuration, extreme perimeter weighting and precise CG placement. When designing Spider ZT, engineers positioned the CG 25mm behind the face. This allowed them to bore the shaft directly in line with the CG with 1° of onset. This orientation not only reduces the amount of face twisting during the stroke, but also positions the shaft in a forward-leaning position at address. True…

The R&A, in collaboration with the golfing associations of GB&I, recently launched a social media and e-newsletter education campaign to address concerns about handicap manipulation under the WHS. The two-pronged campaign offers guidance to both players and handicap committees on their respective duties under the Rules of Handicapping. It comes after feedback from GB&I golfers raised concerns that general play scores allowed too much scope for manipulation and that committees needed more power to deal with it. As executive director of governance at The R&A, Grant Moir has been spearheading the campaign. He is aware of the specific concerns around the system and particularly the perception that a small minority of players are manipulating it. “Even if a small number are doing this then it can impact on the enjoyment…

What is my best option when I face a tight greenside lie? By Top 50 Coach Anders Mankert Stand fairly close to the ball in order to get the handle more vertical, so that only the toe end of the sole is in contact with the ground. Doing so will aim the face slightly right, so aim everything else – your feet, hips and shoulders – left, and get more of your weight onto your lead side. Using a sand or lob wedge, play the shot along the line of your feet (out to in), and without much wrist action. The toe end just picks the ball off even the barest of lies an absolute treat. How do I know if I’m swaying? By Top 50 Coach John Howells Turn…

NO RELIEF AT THE US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP The 107th US PGA Championship saw the current World No.1 golfer triumph at Quail Hollow in North Carolina. Scottie Scheffler finished ahead of a star-studied field with an impressive score of 11-under-par. It was a tough test, on a golf course that was playing long after heavy rain during the Championship week. The rain meant softer conditions on the course and that led to an interesting ruling on the 8th hole during the second round. Shane Lowry struck his tee shot and the ball landed on the fairway, bounced and rolled a short distance forward before coming to rest in another player’s pitch mark. Lowry called for a Rules official, and Robert Moss of The PGA of Great Britain and Ireland was on…

The zero-torque putter category seems to be perpetually building momentum, and PXG is the latest brand to add to its offering in this niche market. The Bat Attack ZT putter offers the brand’s popular winged mallet shape in a zero-torque design. Because of the unique hosel arrangement, this putter boasts a rather unfamiliar look at address, and I think that is amplified via the 5° of loft the putter has as standard. The shaft lean combined with the forward-press grip then allows you to set your hands in the correct position, so the putter then actually plays closer to 3°, which is the standard loft on most traditional putters. After rolling a few long-distance efforts, I loved how soft the ball felt off the face, even when I had to…

Aberdour GF: 18 holes: £60wd, £70we As golfing counties go, Fife might just be Scotland’s equivalent of Surrey; packed with quality and quantity. Founded in 1895, Aberdour is one of its less well-known clubs, moving to its current home on the northern shore of the Forth in 1905. Seemingly of modest length, the underlying reason is that there are six varied short holes offset by a lone par 5 at the 13th. Unusually, the layout is bookended by par 3s, with the 1st a chance to get off to a flyer if you can ride the wind without falling off! The 11th is both beauty and beast, skirting Barnhill Bay at the far end. Abbeydale GF: 18 holes: £80 Also dating back to 1895, Abbeydale, south-west of Sheffield, moved to…