Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2015 i Golf World

In the rarefied atmosphere of elite professional golf, the balance of power can change very quickly. A little over a year ago, Rory McIlroy had just blitzed the final two majors of the season, romped home in the WGCBridgestone Invitational and steamrollered Rickie Fowler 5&4 in an embarrassingly one-sided Ryder Cup singles match that helped set the stage for another European victory at Gleneagles. In pretty much everybody’s eyes, Rory was the premier golfer on the planet and ready to dominate the sport for the foreseeable future. Twelve months on, however, McIlroy finds himself ranked third in the world – overtaken by both Jordan Spieth and Jason Day – and fielding questions about his putting, his application and his consistency. There’s no doubt that, in winning two majors, the Tour…

Tiger Woods Over the past 18 years, there have been many grumbles about Tiger receiving special treatment from the game’s ruling bodies, but perhaps the loudest came at the 2010 Open, with play suspended soon after Woods began his round, and the 2013 Masters, when he was not disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. Jack Nicklaus Many great players have received special exemptions into the US Open, but no one has had as many as Jack. Back in 2000, former USGA Executive Frank Hannigan accused his successors of opting for “cheap popularity over fairness” when they handed the Golden Bear a fifth free pass in a row (and eighth in total). Lexi Thompson On the LPGA Tour, if you are good enough, you are old enough. When Lexi Thompson won…

$22,030,465 His PGA Tour earnings for the 2014/15 season, including the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus. That’s over $16 million more than 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus earned in his entire career. $881,219 per event $259,346 per round $13,908 per hole $3,623 per shot 5 Spieth is the youngest player to win five times in a season since Horton Smith in 1929. 15 Spieth’s total number of top-10 finishes is four more than any other player this season. He played 25 events. 4 The number of players who finished above Spieth in a major this season. Zach Johnson (Open), Louis Oosthuizen (Open), Marc Leishman (Open), Jason Day (US PGA Championship) 667.31 The total number of world ranking points he earned from the start of 2015 to the Tour Championship. Rory…

YES STUART HOOD CONTRIBUTOR I love golf. I love playing it, I love talking about it and I love relaxing on the sofa watching it. So what is there not to like about the PGA Tour extending its season so we can watch more of it? Wraparound season critics usually piece together two arguments. One is that a longer off-season would get people more excited about the big summer events. The other is that PGA Tour events after the Tour Championship don’t attract enough quality players. The longer off-season argument is easy to counter, given that even if the PGA Tour did shut down, professional golf would still be played on other tours around the globe. The strength of field point is not as easy to counter, but the PGA…

ORR STRUCK I am writing in regard to the Steven Orr ‘Learn a Simpler Golf Swing’ instructional article in your September issue. I am currently the Director of Golf at a private club in Idaho, USA and have been a club professional for the last 50 years. Steven’s ‘circle swing’ is something that is key to my instruction and additionally, his article is the best instruction article (and least damaging) I have ever seen in any publication. Combine his ‘free whirling’ circle swing with a proper grip, posture, ball position and level of tension and you have a golf swing that is not only simple but repeatable. The average club golfers that I teach are initially sceptical but quickly amazed at the simplicity of the circle and how quickly they…

2006 Winged Foot (West) Private/Traditional (1923) Davis’ debut saw graduated rough introduced and different teeing grounds. The first cut (3.5in) was 20 feet wide before the second cut (5.5in) started. Half the greens were enlarged to allow new hole locations. 2007 Oakmont Private/Traditional (1903) Designed by Henry Fownes as a links-style course, Oakmont’s many trees were removed at Davis’ behest to try and restore the course to its original state. Different teeing grounds and graduated rough – a success at Winged Foot – were again a focus. 2008 Torrey Pines (South) Public/Traditional (1957) Under the guidance of Davis, Rees Jones gave the spectacular course a major redesign. As well as length (at 7,643 yards, it was the longest course in US Open history) he widened four fairways, and moved three…

In the golf record books, you’ll often see an asterisk alongside Byron Nelson’s name in 1945 – the season during which he won 18 times, including every single one of the 11 tournaments he entered between March 11 and August 4. So why is the asterisk needed when no player in history has ever come close to replicating that achievement? It’s almost as if, because Nelson was so dominant, people had to provide an explanation as to how he did it. The way they did this was to claim that fields weren’t as deep as they are today, the competition not as strong, and many of his fellow competitors were away fighting a war. While it is true that Nelson – a haemophiliac – was rejected for military service on…

There are things that get your attention in life and the Ryder Cup always got mine. I was so proud to be there and share that time with guys I respected and knew so well. You always learned something new about them, maybe a like or dislike. But we even shared our griefs together. I wish I could have played on more teams. But after ’91 at Kiawah I’m not sure I could have handled any more of those. Having said that, my 1990 US Open and 1991 Ryder Cup victories were two of the greatest highs anyone would want. You’re lucky in your career if you get one of those and I had two of those career-defining moments. What I remembered most before the Sunday singles was captain Dave…

The 19 players who could call themselves the best in the world. (As of Sept 28, 2015) Adam Scott (11 weeks, 2014) The Australian looked set to challenge McIlroy at the top; putting woes have seen his countryman Day go past him. Martin Kaymer (eight weeks, 2011) Coming off the back of his 2010 US PGA win, the German did well in WGC events in 2011 to take over. David Duval (15 weeks, 1999) Not a huge amount in and of itself but it’s a measure of how well he played in 1999 that he was able to dislodge Woods. Ernie Els (nine weeks, 1997-98) Unfortunate to be vying for number 1 with Woods, he is the player with the second-highest number of weeks in the top 10 with 788…

I play with my father (Jose Maria is a five-time European Tour winner who played in four Ryder Cups) as much as I can when I’m at home because I still learn from him. He’s amazing to watch and still a superb player at 68. He sees the game differently and visualises shots that I don’t see. For instance, he’ll always hit at the danger and shape the ball away, whereas I prefer to aim away from the trouble. We get into arguments now and then about the best way to play which can be fascinating. He looks at things the old way and doesn’t rely so much on the information we get from computers now. He accepts that perfection is impossible while pros today search for the optimum figures…

1. GRIP THE CLUB LIGHTLY A grip that is too tight is going to lead to tension. Tension inhibits acceleration of the clubhead through impact. And when that happens you’re going to struggle to get out of the sand first time. Even if you do get the ball out, distance control is all but impossible. So hold the club lightly. That will encourage you to slide the club under the ball and eliminate any tendency to hit down too steeply. 2. CONTINUALLY REFINE YOUR SET-UP If you are in the wrong position at address, it is tough to make the right swing. Keep things simple and do not exaggerate anything. While an open stance at address is generally part of good bunker play, standing too open is going to cause…

Featuring a compact head and a longer face than most hybrids this tour-inspired hybrid has been designed for better players and looks more like an iron than a wood at address. The Apex also boasts Face Cup Technology and a lower CG than other Callaway hybrids to help generate a higher flight and more backspin for extra stopping power on the greens. The Internal Standing Wave positions the weight where better players need it for versatility. It’s available in 18°, 20°, 23° and 26°. Price: £189…

Cobra King Ltd Though lighter and with a lower CG than previous Cobra drivers, King Ltd didn’t feel or perform that differently for us from existing models like the Fly-Z. The biggest change is of course the removeable space port. It’s certainly a point of interest, and its 16g weight plays a role in lowering that CG; but as it offers no adjustability in itself, it feels something of a red herring in a competent driver. What we liked: Excellent off-centre strike performance, great smash factor, simple to set up and use. What we didn’t: Higher spin on faster swing speeds. www.cobragolf.co.uk Callaway Great Big Bertha Apart from the limited options for the hooker, not one tester had a bad word to say about this driver. Form and function were…

The modern trend in drivers has been to move the centre of gravity further forward in the head and closer to the face. This creates faster ball speeds and more distance off the sweetspot but reduces the forgiveness. Great for tour pros and better players, but tougher for mid and high-handicappers who hit the ball all over the face. Now, a new manufacturer called Knuth Golf has created a driver with the CG further back from the face that is specifically intended to deliver greater forgiveness and consistency for mid and high-handicappers. The CG of the High Heat driver is 45mm from the face – compared to an average of 36mm from the leading manufacturers and is also lower in the head than the current industry average. It has Fire…

TAYLORMADE M1 430CC HEAD I love this head and it seems to perform much better than the 460cc. There’s nothing on the market as quick off the face. It’s consistently 6-9mph quicker than anything else and that’s from my in-the-flesh testing – not off a press release. That’s huge. TITLEIST 716 IRONS I spend a lot of time working out how we can apply new club technologies to help golfers play better and the consistency in the evolution of the Titleist irons makes this simple. The new AP1 also looks a lot better; this will help me fit the performance benefits into more – and better – golfers. PING AFTER-MARKET SHAFTS It’s great that Ping are scrapping the upcharge on four after-market iron shafts – the Nippon Modus3 105, True…

IRONS Titleist 714 CB “I have X-100 shafts from 4-iron to PW. They are half-an-inch longer than standard and D3 swing weight. I’ve had them for about a year and I like them a lot. They’re almost blades but not quite, just a little bit more forgiving.” DRIVER Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 – 10.5 degrees “I’ve had this club since January, and it’s set at 10.5°. I drove poorly last year, missing too many fairways. This club gives me more spin than I had before and so more control as a result. I’ve driven much better this year.” HYBRIDS Wilson D-200 “I have a 19° that is the equivalent of a 2-iron and 23° that is my 3-iron. Both are much easier to hit and more versatile than irons…

1 Egypt is one of the most historic modern countries in the world, arising in the 10th millennium BC as one of the first nation states in the world. 2 Spanning the north-east corner of Africa and south-west of Asia, courtesy of the V-shaped Sinai Peninsula (which Sharm El Sheikh sits at the tip off), it is the world’s only contiguous Europe-Asia nation. 3 Most of Egypt’s territory of 1,010,408 square kilometres lies within the legendary Nile Valley. 4 With a population over 89 million, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab World, the third-most populous in Africa (after Nigeria and Ethiopia), and the 15th most populous in the world. 5 The majority of Egypt’s population live near the banks of the Nile River, where…

El Gouna has a real sophisticated charm and feeling of elegance about it. Relaxing and picturesque, the upmarket Red Sea resort is situated on a series of islands connected by lagoons and bridges. A championship golf course on the edge of the Red Sea, set amid a multitude of lagoons, forms the centrepoint of this exclusive and unique resort. Steigenberger lies on a peninsula with a turquoise-coloured lagoon and a private beach. The hotel is 10 minutes from the city centre with its miles of shopping, restaurants and bars. THE COURSE The magnificent championship course – voted the most environmentally-friendly destination in Egypt – will quicken the pulse of every golfer. Designers Gene Bates and Fred Couples have routed it skilfully so that it appeals to both professional and beginner,…

Subscribe to Golf World Enjoy Golf World in print, digitally, or both for 13 issues from just £37. Plus you’ll receive a dozen Srixon Z-Star balls worth £45. For full subscription options, please turn to page 30. Golf World on the go Get GW through the Apple Newsstand for iPads and iPhones, Google Play for Android devices, Barnes and Noble for the Nook e-reader and Kobo newsstand for Kobo devices. See page 26. facebook.com/  golfworld1 For regular updates, behind-the-scenes pictures and expert insights into the world of golf, become a fan and follow Golf World on Facebook. @GolfWorld1 Keep up to speed with Golf World’s take on the game by following us on Twitter – tweet us your views and they could end up in the…

Danny Willett The Englishman has hit new heights this year, with victories in the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Omega European Masters, and top six finishes in the Open, WGC-Cadillac Matchplay, Irish Open and Italian Open. Louis Oosthuizen The main bulk of Oosthuizen’s 2014/15 earnings came during a golden summer that saw him finish runner-up in the US Open and The Open. Has been hampered by a hamstring injury in recent months. Justin Rose Rose performed brilliantly in this year’s majors: T2 in the Masters, 4th in the US PGA, T6 in the Open. He recently declared there was much to be positive about but would love to finish it with a big win. Branden Grace After a relatively poor 2013/14 season, Grace bounced back with wins in his home country…

Peter Alliss The BBC’s ‘Voice of Golf’ first commentated on The Open in 1961. Critics say he waffles, fans claim he brings a pedestrian sport to life. Now 84, 2015 has proved to be his last Open. Butch Harmon The insight from the Sky Sports pundit is unsurpassed, largely because he coached Tiger Woods in his prime and still oversees the swings of several of the world’s top 20. Brandel Chamblee Golf Channel studio analyst made headlines through his criticism of Woods’ swing. His in-depth research into golfers’ statistics enables him to highlight strengths and weaknesses.…

The good news is that 16 European golfers finished in the top 125 of the PGA Tour’s 2014/15 FedEx Cup standings. On the flip side, five high-profile Europeans, including four members of the 2014 Ryder Cup team, finished outside the top 125 and didn’t make the end-of-season play-offs or retain their PGA Tour cards. Golf World believes it to be evidence of two worrying trends. A couple of established European names fail to find their A-games in America each season, while two or three up-and-coming European stars struggle to make the transition to the PGA Tour. This season, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell were the established stars who lost form and proven European Tour winners Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano failed to live up to lofty expectations. The…

The Machrie, on the Hebridean island of Islay, has long been an essential pilgrimage for links connoisseurs. Laid out in 1890 by Willie Campbell, the pro at Bridge of Weir, legend has it he stood on the dunes overlooking Laggan Bay and announced “this place was made for Gowf”. But the remote location that lends The Machrie such a mystical quality is also a drawback. The effort required – using planes, ferries and cars – to get there, meant golfers had not of late visited in sufficient numbers. Lack of investment on and off the links had inevitable consequences and the future for arguably Britain’s most magical golf retreat looked bleak in 2011. The Machrie found an unlikely saviour in a former BBC chairman and a one-time diary secretary to…

THE SPIRIT OF THE SPORT? I am alone in thinking that Suzann Petterson (below) has been unfairly treated in the aftermath of ‘gimmiegate’ at the Solheim Cup? When looking at the Sky coverage live, I felt that a gimme was appropriate. But I’ve since changed my mind. On hearing an explanation from the match referee the following day, a different camera angle seemed to show that the ball was further from the hole than it had first appeared and looked like a minimum of two feet (anyone remember Craig Stadler missing from 18 inches at The Belfry in the Ryder Cup?). The referee spoke to all the players and their caddies and the only person who thought the putt had been conceded was Alison Lee – and even her own…

Isn’t it strange how golfers come in threes? Nicklaus, Palmer and Player. Hogan, Snead and Nelson. Vardon, Taylor and Braid. Isn’t it also strange how much difference a year makes? A year ago, there was not even a debate about who was the best player in the world. Rory [McIlroy] had just won the final two majors of the year, not to mention a World Golf Championship in between, and looked to be so far ahead of the rest of us that he was disappearing over the horizon. Twelve months down the road and Jordan Spieth and Jason Day have claimed a bunch of PGA Tour victories each, and won three of the four majors this year. What’s more, both have enjoyed the view from the top, having reached the…

Billy Horschel “A lot of the players, and I’m one of them, have lost some respect for the USGA and this championship this year for the greens. And not only the greens. The viewing is awful … when you’re not able to get up close and watch championship-calibre players play a golf course, it’s disappointing.” Sergio Garcia “I think a championship of this calibre deserves better green surfaces than we have this week but maybe I’m wrong! If my problem is saying what everyone thinks but doesn’t have the guts to say, I’m guilty of that for sure.” Ian Poulter “They were simply the worst, most disgraceful putting surfaces I have ever seen on any tour in all the years I have played golf.” Henrik Stenson “It’s borderline laughable at…

Byron Nelson (1945) Eighteen victories is five more than anyone else has ever achieved. And for that alone Lord Nelson deserves to be at the top of the pile. A stroke average of 68.33 underlines the fact that this was as near-perfect golf as you are likely to see. Legend has it that the Texan didn’t miss a single fairway all season. Bobby Jones (1930) In terms of major championships, this was the only season which comes close to overtaking Nelson. Jones broke through the ‘Impregnable Quadrilateral’, winning the Opens and Amateur Championships in both America and Britain. Like Nelson, he retired soon after, having achieved everything he could, before going on to found Augusta National. Ben Hogan (1953) Four years after the horrific crash which almost killed him, Hogan…

“On the Sunday night, I was walking back from the evening function shoulder to shoulder with Payne Stewart. Suddenly Payne goes way up in the air. I look to my left and Ian Woosnam had come up behind Payne, stuck his head between his legs and lifted him on his shoulders. Up Payne went. It showed that after all was said and done, we were friends who got along well. For some reason that just defined the moment for me. It was a week of great camaraderie. People often talk about how maybe it was all too militaristic that week, that there was too much ‘War on the Shore’ but all of that hype came from the press, not from the players. In fact, I was upset with the media…

1. World Ranking points for each player are accumulated over a rolling two-year period. 2. Any player competing in any eligible event is awarded points based on their finishing position. 3. A player’s ranking is calculated by taking his total points earned in two years and divided by the number of events played (min 40, max 52). 4. Field strength affects points available. A WGC event with the world’s top 50 players will be allocated more ranking points than a Sunshine Tour event. 5. The majors are rated separately to reflect the higher quality of the event, with any player completing all four rounds getting points. 6. Points awarded remain on a player’s record for 13 weeks to reflect current performance. 7. During the other 91 weeks of the rolling…

For many club golfers, bunker shots are the ones they dread the most. If you’re one of these players, hitting your ball into the sand is no better than finding water. You resign yourself to scrambling for a bogey at best and live in fear of the next time your ball finds a sandy grave. But you don’t need to be afraid of bunkers if you understand how to play them. The fear comes from not knowing how to play the various bunker shots you face and a lack of practice. But once you know how to alter your technique to play from the sand and practise your execution, you’ll enter bunkers with the skills and belief to save par. Splash it close from greenside sand The most common bunkers…

Scotty Cameron has been pushing the boundaries of futuristic mallet putters with his Futura X line for two years and the latest two models feature a high-tech, multi-material construction that improves stability, alignment and feel. The Futura X7 and X7M both have a dark aircraft-grade aluminium face-sole core and a silver precision-milled stainless steel frame. The heavier steel perimeter and lighter aluminium face and centre section delivers greater MOI for improved stability and forgiveness and the softest sound and feel of any putters in the Futura X range. The X7 is large wingback mallet that is approximately 10% bigger than the Futura X5 head, which increases the size of the sweetspot. The white horizontal and vertical sight lines help the golfer square the club at address. The X7M is a…

Globalisation means most equipment launches these days are worldwide and we get our hands on new product at the same time as America. But a quick glance across the Pond will reveal a new ball already on sale that won’t drop in the UK until next year. Titleist’s DT TruSoft has been available in America since October. It features a fast, very low compression core and soft pure ionomer cover. They work together to provide a soft feel and sound on every shot, while delivering very low spin in the long game for consistently long distance and reliable short game spin for playability into and around the green. A 376 tetrahedral dimple design aids a consistent flight. The DT TruSoft will replace the DT SoLo and offer improved performance. “It’s…

Tam Arte Quam Mart – as much by skill as by strength. It seems an appropriate motto for a club whose course incorporates the shortest hole on The Open rota. Yet Royal Troon is not all it seems. It does have the shortest hole yet also for a while possessed the longest (and may do so again). And while its front nine can be a birdie-fest for Tour pros, not even the elite relish the relentlessly arduous inward half. It is accused of being flat and bland, yet for much of the front nine the views surpass most among Open venues. The truth is, it’s very easy to get Troon wrong. It may lack the obvious visual appeal of Turnberry but neither is it anything like as enclosed as, say,…

Offering stunning views of the sea, mountains and beautiful landscapes, Madinat Makadi is an ultimate leisure complex on the shores of the Red Sea. This fashionable new destination midway between Hurghada and Safaga was built in 1998. Its immense natural attractions are backed up by a myriad hotels, a superb spa, tennis courts plus the “Souk” Makadi, consisting of a variety of shops, world class restaurants as well as entertainment outlets. THE COURSE Designed by John Sanford, the Madinat Makadi is a championship course while there is also a nine-hole par-27 Short Course to enjoy. Overlooking the Red Sea coast, it extends to 7,500 yards – one of the longest in the region. It is surrounded by lagoons, beautiful scenery and three salt water lakes that are connected by two…

LUXOR The ancient city of Thebes has sometimes been called “the world’s greatest open-air museum” and includes the ruins of Karnak and Luxor within the modern city. On the opposite side of the Nile lies the West Bank Necropolis, which includes the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. One of the famous tombs there – which are carved into the mountains for security – belongs to Tutankhamun. SAQQARA Including the world’s oldest standing step pyramid, this burial ground 15 miles south of Cairo was the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital Memphis. GIZA Fifteen miles south west of Cairo is the site of some of the most impressive and oldest ancient monuments in the world, including a complex of ancient Egyptian royal mortuary and sacred structures, including…

It’s just a great turning point at a vital time in the round. A lot can happen because of the water and the shallowness of the green. If you hit a good approach shot you’re probably going to have a pretty good putt at eagle, but you can easily make a double bogey if you get wet. It’s a big opportunity and you never know what’s going to happen on this hole on Sunday afternoon at the Masters. You’ve got to hit your tee shot down the right side with a driver. It’s not a terribly narrow hole but it’s a challenge because of the trees that creep in on the left. You have to be aggressive with the second shot towards the green and make a good strike. You’ve…

The rules are clear. According to the membership criteria of the European Tour, the DP World Tour Championship must be a golfer’s 13th event if he is to qualify for the Race to Dubai and its final event. Towards the end of August, Rory McIlroy realised he was unlikely to make the required number of appearances. This left new European Tour CEO Keith Pelley with a sizeable conundrum. Should he enforce the rules and threaten to disqualify the Tour’s prize asset from its grand finale, or decree an injury exemption that allowed Cinderory and his recently recovered ankle to go to the ball? Unsurprisingly, he chose the second option. “I have taken this situation and the resulting decision very seriously,” Pelley declared in early September. “I’ve spent the last two…

Taking in my first European Tour victory I will never forget this trophy. The 1995 Turespana Masters was my first victory on the European Tour. In this picture I’m feeling a bit of disbelief, some shock and a lot of relief. I had five caddies over the course of the week. The first, my friend Peter, sprained his ankle during the pro-am. I had two the next day, one for 13 holes and another for the last five, when the first had to go and work for his regular man. Then, over the weekend, I had one for each round. That evening went well too. As the next event was also in Spain, all of my compatriots stayed on, so we had a good night. But, being Swedish, all we…

Embrace the States “America is a completely different world. The food, roads and people are all different. You have to embrace the differences and lifestyle rather than fight against them.” Nail it from 175-225 yards “We play a huge number of long par 3s and long par 4s each year, so if you’re not good from this distance, you’re going to make a lot of bogeys. Having hybrids in my bag has helped me because they’re just so easy to hit 200 or 225 yards.” Manage your emotions “I’m a big believer in consistency. Obviously, the physical part of hitting the ball is important, but so is the mental side. If you want to be consistent you need to manage your emotions.” Par can be a good score “Doing well…

1 Jaidee’s set-up position is quite unorthodox. The way you stand to the ball at address greatly affects the swing and he stands very erect. When the eyeline is level to the ground like this it encourages the shoulders to work in a shallow fashion. 2 Here is the evidence of that set-up position influencing his movement. His shoulders are working in a very horizontal way, which has thrown the left arm away from the chest and outside the line of his toes. There must be a compensation later. 3 We see a very good compact position at the top of the backswing, which matches a player of his stature. His left arm is a little higher than the plane of his shoulders, which is unsurprising given where it was…

CANDID CASEY Thanks John Huggan for a superb interview with Paul Casey. Indeed, thanks most of all to Casey himself – his candour and modesty were as refreshing as unexpected. I hope he can make up for lost time. Guy King, Email RISING STARS Your rising stars of British golf feature was an excellent read and the illustration highlighting the 20 Brits in the world’s top 100 gives hope that a good few majors will be heading back to Blighty in the not-too-distant future. Bring them on! Sue Soames, Email…

Golf, we are repeatedly and consistently told, is a game in which the rules are sacrosanct. So it is that deliberately breaking any of the myriad regulations represents a crime punishable by something close to death, or at least permanent estrangement from those saintly souls who would never dream of indulging in such an unthinkable breach of the sport’s much admired honour code. Well, that’s the theory anyway. But based on what we all witnessed at the recent Solheim Cup – when America’s Alison Lee picked up her ball on the 17th green before Suzann Pettersen of Europe had conceded the next putt – golf stands accused of rank hypocrisy. On one hand, we are all supposed to unquestioningly accept the authority of the rulebook – the policy followed by…

The average number of three-putts per player in US Opens between 1997 and 2014 was 4.84. That figure rocketed to 8.58 at Chambers Bay. The problem arose in the autumn of 2014 when the fine fescue greens were invaded by poa annua. This can actually be maintained as a putting surface – as witnessed at Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach. The problem comes when you mix poa annua with fine fescue. “We had about 20% poa in many greens,” says Darin Bevard, director of championship agronomy for the USGA. “The problem is that the poa and the fine fescue grow at different rates. In the mornings the poa tends to stand up tall and so the surfaces become very bumpy. Then, the sun and breeze makes the greens firm and…

Harold Lee McSpaden famously once said to Byron Nelson, “If you wouldn’t have been born, I’d have been known as a pretty good player”. McSpaden didn’t win in 1945, but he did finish second 13 times, most of the time to Nelson. Like Nelson, McSpaden was rejected for military service on medical grounds (asthma). Between 1942 and 1944, the pair played 110 exhibition matches with most of the proceeds going to the Red Cross and the War effort. The two players finished first and second so often they became known as ‘The Gold Dust Twins’. McSpaden could never recall when or why he was first called ‘Jug’, but he was an unusual man who learned to fly his own plane, almost always wore sunglasses and changed his clothes three times…

1 Get a shallow attack for more distance If you can hit the ball a long way, you can gain a significant advantage. I’ve never been a ‘big hitter’ because my natural swing has tended to involve hitting down on the ball, which is great for the irons but not so good for launching the driver with the high launch and little spin that you want. Bubba Watson’s attack angle is +4°, while I’m nearer -3°. Sergio Garcia is about the only great driver who hits down on the ball. I’ve been working with Mike Walker for four years and he’s helped me to understand my swing much better. He gets me to do this drill a lot with the driver to help me shallow my swing and get closer…

What technique do you typically employ on a straightforward greenside bunker shot? Ball position is always the number one key for me. I like it to be just inside my left heel. That sets my hands just a little ‘behind’ the ball, leans the shaft slightly towards my right side and allows me to take advantage of the bounce on my sand wedge, the clubhead sliding under the ball. If my hands are ahead of the ball the leading edge of the club will tend to dig too deeply into the sand, which is the last thing you want. Think ‘slide’, not ‘dig’. I prefer my stance to be only a little open, the same with the clubface. If you open the face too much, the leading edge will be…

TAYLORMADE M1 Head material: Carbon composite crown, titanium body Technologies: CG and shot bias adjustability through T Track system; 12 hosel settings; lowered CG through multi-material construction The M1 is the only one of the three drivers on test to allow you to customise CG location, thanks to a 10g weight slider on the back track. TaylorMade say the track lets you add or subtract up to 300rpm of backspin and 0.8 degree in launch. OUR TEST SAID... As CG moves forward a driver’s head tends to lose forgiveness, and TaylorMade’s policy of a forward CG has at times come close to falling foul of this. But even on the forward setting M1 seemed reasonably forgiving and spun the ball enough to create a good flight. That said, shots struck…

FootJoy DryJoys Select The most technologically-advanced waterproof jacket FootJoy has ever produced is constructed from a hi-tech Japanese material that is cool and breathable while remaining waterproof. Bonded seams, laser cut pockets, FJ’s Xtreme DWR finish and Aquaguard zippers ensure you stay completely dry as you play in rainfall. The StaDry collar has been shaped and heightened to ensure it doesn’t interfere with the swing and stops rain dripping down your neck. Price: £295 Web: www.footjoy.co.uk ProQuip Tour-Lite ProQuip’s lightest ever rain jacket weighs just 277g and packs down smaller than a winter golf mitt. It’s the first to be developed using a knitted waterproof outer fabric, which is extremely soft and stretches in four directions. Other features include an innovative rear pocket located above the golfer’s lower back, an…

Choice is a great thing. It gives us the freedom to shop around and find something that suits all our requirements within an affordable budget. It creates competition amongst manufacturers that keeps prices competitive and forces them to keep pushing technology forward to create better clubs. And it creates a path that takes you from beginner, to leisure golfer and on to serious player. Sadly, there isn’t as much choice when it comes to golf clubs as there used to be. Yes, there’s plenty of options at the entry level with a plethora of branded box sets with a bag and even a trolley available at a very affordable rate for beginners. And I know the top six or seven manufacturers are producing clubs at a faster rate than perhaps…

“Some people said low and forward CG isn’t good for all golfers – even though it produces more distance. It was extremely important for us to recognise that some golfers are willing to give up a couple of yards to gain some ball speed protection and the Back Track allows us to do this. “We deliver optimum performance on centre strikes with a low and forward CG with the weight all the way forward in the Back Track or create more forgiveness and a higher flight for golfers willing to give up a couple of yards by putting the weight back. The interesting thing is that moving the weight back actually makes some golfers longer on average if they hit the ball all over the face because it protects your…

Where to play El Prat realclubdegolfelprat.com +34 937 28 10 00 Sant Cugat golfsantcugat.com +34 936 74 39 08 Terramar golfterramar.com +34 938 94 05 80 Lumine lumine.com +34 977 12 90 70 Bonmont bonmont.es +34 977 81 81 40 Where to stay Barcelona caters for every pocket and taste. But if you want to stay on site, it is very easy to do so. El Prat has a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel adjoining its 45 holes while Lumine works with hotels in Salou to offer play-and-stay packages. The H10, for example, is a four-star hotel just half a mile from Lumine’s courses. See lumine.com for great deals. When to go A typically Mediterranean climate with warm summers, mild winters and low rainfall. But it’s not the scorching heat of…

THE CLIMATE Year-round sunshine, with mild winters and warm summers. Daytime temperatures average mid to low 20s in winter and low 30s in summer. Dry desert winds keep humidity levels low and maintain maximum mean temperatures so it is comfortable all year round, especially in the Hurghada area. January’s average temperature is 14°C –the lowest of the year. But by April it is up to a delightful 22°C. After a summer reaching a scintillating but never steamy average of 28°C, it then drops to a fabulous 23°c in October and a still impressive 19°C in November a gorgeous 25°C. HOW TO GET THERE Flying to Egypt is now very easy by virtue of a wealth of flights from UK airports, ranging from the largest right down to smaller regional airports.…

harm el Sheikh is possibly the best known of all of the Red Sea resorts and for good reason. With glorious year round temperatures, idyllic beaches, luxurious hotels and the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea on your doorstep, Sharm el-Sheikh is an ideal destination for all. The Jolie Ville course enjoys panoramic vistas of the surrounding Sinai Mountains. Its central location at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula makes it an ideal point of return from other trips in Egypt. THE COURSE The Jolie Ville course can be used by guests of all Sharm hotels and is one of the best in Egypt. Opened in 1997 the track stretches to 6,623 yards and its lush green fairways contrast dramatically with the rugged desert and the clear blue…