Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 434 i Today's Golfer

I love this time of year. Apart from the time off work and the festivities, there's a feeling of anticipation for the year ahead; and a bit of reflection on the year that's just passed. This year has been memorable from a golf point of view; some great rounds, more terrible ones; some new courses visited (Berkhamsted stands out) and new experiences enjoyed (playing with Matt Fitzpatrick at the BMW Pro-Am will go down as a career highlight); TG's growing, and next year will see more people join the team as we accelerate our digital growth. But we've also said goodbye to old friends, as courses editor Kevin Brown retired after more than 30 years on the magazine. So what's in store for 2023? More golf, I hope, with more…

If you are worried about Europe's chances in the Ryder Cup, next month's Hero Cup should (we hope) offer some encouragement, as well as some clues as to Captain Luke Donald's thinking. The three-day event in Abu Dhabi will follow the format of the former Seve Trophy and pit Great Britain & Ireland against Continental Europe. As in the Ryder Cup, foursomes, fourballs and singles matches will be the order of the competition, which kicks off the DP World Tour season on January 13. Europe's three biggest stars, Rory, Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick, are likely to be absent (two players have yet to be confirmed), but Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari have been named as playing captains and Donald has been influential in choosing both teams, which feature a…

DAN BRADBURY On just his sixth pro start, the 23-year-old from Yorkshire secured his DP World Tour status for the next two seasons with a three-shot victory at the Joburg Open. He also booked his ticket to The Open next July. LYDIA KO After reviving her career last year, the new World No.1 won for the third time in 2022 at the Tour Championship to claim the LPGA's Player of the Year award, and the richest prize in women's golf a cheque for $2 million. STEVIE WILLIAMS Tiger's ex caddie is coming out of retirement and will reunite with Adam Scott for a select few events in 2023. One more Major win and Stevie will tie Tiger's tally of 15. They still count as his, right? J.LINDEBERG We were excited…

Looking back over the last year, I've had some real golfing highlights. I was lucky enough to play Loch Lomond and also experience my first taste of links golf at Castlerock in Northern Ireland. I started a fitness regime which I've actually stuck to, giving me about 10% extra distance on all my clubs. I hit my longest ever drive (314 yards – I think it carried about 200 of them) and made consecutive birdies for the first time. I started co-presenting Beef ‘s Golf Club, a new golf podcast with Beef Johnston, and there's also the small matter of taking him on over nine holes and shooting my best ever score in an unlikely victory! Also, I think my miss is getting better. (I did have a brief flirtation…

At TG, we understand that ultimately we all want to enjoy the game as much as possible. We also understand there are few more enjoyable experiences in golf than playing well. How good it would be to take your game to the next level in 2023. But where do you start? This apparently tough question has a simple answer: you start by taking double bogeys and worse off your card. Data from shot tracking specialists Shot Scope shows us that an 8-handicapper averages 0.8 birdies a round, while a 20-handicapper averages 0.2 – basically just half-a-shot difference. But when it comes to doubles or worse, the 8-handicapper averages 1.9 while the 20-handicapper typically makes 5.5. Even if they are all just double bogeys, that's a difference of more than seven…

One of the fastest ways to rack up a big number is to leave your ball in greenside sand; according to Shot Scope, 22% of golfers make this mistake. Your bunker technique need not be fancy but it does need to be effective… and one of the simplest approaches is to play the shot as a deliberate duff. 1 Practise your duff We all know the feeling of catching the ground before the ball. While such contact is, of course, unhelpful on dry land, it is basically what we are looking to do in sand, where we take the sand from under the ball. When you think of a bunker shot as a deliberate duff, it feels a lot easier. So before you step down into the sand, find some long…

I've chosen this essential exercise because it directly addresses the two things golfers most often complain to me about… not hitting the ball far enough and battling a slice. Often, we can trace the technical causes of these issues to a physical limitation. Working on that limitation needs no special equipment, and you can do it anywhere there is a wall. Get into the habit of working on it every day for five minutes or so; it will bring you longer, straighter shots. Always consult your GP before adopting any new fitness regimen. 1. Double whammy Here is the downswing golf coaches see every day… golfers trying to rotate and clear their hips, but in doing so, unwinding their upper body too. A stiff back denies the hips and shoulders…

Whether we are working on long or short games, we can split practice into two categories: ■ Training a new movement pattern or technique. ■ Testing ourselves through some score/pressure-related challenge. If you want to become a better practiser, you need to find the discipline to keep the two apart. If you are worried about shot quality while training a new move, you will fall back into your old patterns. Similarly, if you are thinking technically while trying to score, your performance will suffer. So in 2023, make sure every ball you hit falls into one of the following three categories: you can even split your balls into groups to mark when you switch from one mode to another: 1 TECHNICAL MODE In technical mode you are working repetitively, to…

Next year promises a lot – and not just because we've got the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup taking place just five days apart. The Walker Cup is coming back to St Andrews and forms part of another bumper UK Swing, featuring to events across an 11-week stretch next summer. To help you keep track of it all, we've mapped out the key dates here – including all nine Majors in the men's and women's game – so you know which days to book off work… MensMajors WomensMajors Biennialevents AbuDhabiGC, UAE YasLinks UAE EmiratesGC UAE BayHill Florida TPCSawgrass Florida AustinCountyClub, Texas AugustaNational Georgia TheClubat Carlton Woods, Texas MarcoSimoneGolf & Country Club, Italy OakHill New York LosAngelesCountry Club, California BaltusrolNew Jersey…

There is a prevalent school of thought out there that argues you should have a positive mindset when you walk onto the green… that you should believe you are going to hole the putt you're facing. But, does being positive really work in the long term, week after week, round after round? Let's take the imaginary example of golfer Joe. Joe has just read a good book on ‘being positive’ and he decides he is going to go out on the course believing he is going to hole everything. So he is on the first green and he has a 6ft putt. He tells himself, “This is going in.” He fills his mind full of positive statements about what is about to happen. He then hits the perfect putt at…

One of golf's most common miscues, the pull is a shot that flies straight left of target for the right-hander. There is little curvature: the ball starts left and stays there. Almost invariably, we can trace this shot back to the first move away from the ball… which feeds through to impact via the chain reactionnature of the swing. But the first step to curing this shot is understanding it… and that's where we start. 1. Understand the shot For a shot to start left of target and fly straight along that path, two impact elements must be in place: ■ The swing path must be leftward of target. ■ The clubface must be square to that swing path – i.e. closed to the target. There is a common takeaway…

The first time I saw the dunes bordering Richard Sattler's utterly unremarkable paddocks (paddocks, he assured me, grow magnificent potatoes), it was obvious that here was a place idea! for golf. The dunes separating the farm from the sea were narrow and long, but wide enough for two broad holes. Anyone who has worked in the course architecture business has walked dream sites which either went to someone else or never happened at all. Sometimes it's hard to know which is worse. It was clear Bridport was a problematically remote place to build golf courses and have them work economically. All except the locals, who already had their own course, would have to travel a long way to get there. Launceston was more than an hour's drive away and the…

THE US COURSES Pine Valley Augusta National Cypress Point National Golf Links Shinnecock Oakmont Merion Fishers Island Chicago Los Angeles North Sand Hills Friar's Head Winged Foot (West) Crystal Downs Seminole Riviera CC San Francisco Prairie Dunes Brookline CC Somerset Hills Shoreacres Garden City Southern Hills Cal Club Ballvneal Camargo Club Winged Foot (East) Maidstone Oakland Hills (South) Quaker Ridge Sleepy Hollow The Olympic Club Inverness Club Yale The Golf Club New Albany Muirfield Village Peachtree Myopia Hunt Club Ohoopee Match Club REST OF WORLD Loch Lomond, UK Morforrtaine, France Les Bordes (Old), France Les Bordes (New), France St George's, Canada Hirono, Japan Ellerston, Australia…

St Francis Links in George, South Africa, was so very close to being in this 100. This Jack Nicklaus design, which opened in 2006, sits in high-roiling dunes overlooking St Francis Bay and the Indian Ocean. It impresses with its variety and the common theme is its super greens complexes – including a Redan-style green in the dunes on 17. Of the other – literally hundreds – of contenders, Bandon Dunes (Old Mac) in the US, The National (Moonah) in Australia, England's Burnham & Berrow, and Durban in South Africa were all very much in the mix.…

As well as email (editorial@todaysgolfer.co.uk) and post (Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA), you can contact us using any of these social platforms… @Thetodaysgolfer @TodaysGolferBauer @Todaysgolfer @Todaysgolfer PING LETTER OF THE MONTH WINS… A BRAND-NEW PING PUTTER RRP £250 GREED FEES It appears many golf clubs are increasingly out of touch with what is considered a ‘reasonable’ fee for a round of golf. My friends and I have been lucky enough to play some amazing venues, including Formby, North Berwick, Western Gailes and Royal Liverpool. But the sharply increasing green fees, especially in the summer months, make it harder to justify the costs. There are a few what we'd consider ‘OK’ courses now charging £100 a round and more. We appreciate maintenance costs for clubs have increased massively over…

NATALIE LOWE TPI Level 3 trainer and UKSCA Strength & Conditioning coach, owner of Manchester-based Pro-Fit Golf Conditioning www.pro-fitgolfconditioning.com GARETH JOHNSTON PGA Head Professional at Bishopswood GC, Hants www.garethjohnstongolf.com STEVE ASTLE Advanced PGA Professional at Morley Hayes, Derby, and Head of Coaching at East Midlands Golf Academy KARL MORRIS Karl has worked with multiple Major winners. Check out his BrainBooster Podcasts for free on iTunes www.themindfactor.com GAVIN DEAR A former Walker Cup player who saw off Brian Harman in the singles, Gavin is Shot Scope's Chief Commercial Officer ADRIAN FRYER solidgolf.co.uk Fellow of the PGA based at Liverpool Golf Centre liverpoolgolfcentre.co.uk SIMON PAYNE UKCC Level 3 coach and PGA Fellow pro at Cowglen GC, Glasgow CHRIS RYAN Founder of the HIT Golf Academy, based at Forest of Arden chrisryangolf.com…

Grip, aim, posture, ball position. They are the foundation of every good golf swing… and if you want to play your best golf in 2023, you can't afford to take your eye off them. Here are some simple checks you can perform regularly throughout the year; I'd advise at least once every couple of weeks, because no matter how good your intentions, it is easy to slip into bad and costly habits. GRIP The quality of your grip defines the quality of your golf. A sound hold not only helps you deliver the face square to the back of the ball; it also allows power to flow from your body into the club. Make these two checks a habit. LEAD HAND: Club support In a good lead-hand grip you should…

Practise what you're bad at We all gravitate to what we're good at, what we enjoy. But if you're serious about improving, make 2023 the year you work on your weaknesses rather than indulging your strengths. Use a pre-shot routine on every shot Most club golfers have some form of routine, but typically flit in and out of it. Adopt this simple discipline on every shot and you will improve your aim, focus and score. Work on your flexibility Tight hamstrings and hip flexors are the hallmark of today's sedentary golfer. It makes it hard for you to maintain posture as you swing and also makes you more prone to injury. Make regular, professionally advised stretching a part of your game in 2023. Drink more A 5% loss of hydration…

Percy Boomer is a name littleknown outside Sunningdale, where he served as professional in the first half of the 20th century. But he was a pioneer, recognising the dangers of‘paralysis by analysis’ and ushering his pupils towards a more instinctive approach. “What you need to learn are not the technical or mathematical details of a good shot, but the feel of it,” he once said – and his most famous lesson, detailed in his 1946 book On Learning Golf, is the perfect example. 1 On the slide A prolific teacher, Boomer grew to realise just how many golfers struggled with the rotational nature of the swing. He would regularly see his students slide laterally during both the backswing and the downswing – moves that compromised the swing's arc, path and low…

Picture a golf swing where your hips and shoulders rotate exactly the same amount back and through. You can instantly see how you would struggle to create balance, co-ordination and power with such an action. To make a correctly sequenced golf swing we need the ability to create some separation between hip and shoulder rotation – and that demands a certain degree of mobility in the spine. Here is a quick and simple exercise you can do anywhere that trains this freedom into your back. As always, work gently against your limitations. Always consult your GP before adopting any new fitness regimen. 1 Take your golf stance but stretch your arms out in front of you as shown, wrists at shoulder height. Without allowing your hands to move, rotate your…

YOUR COACH 1 While it may not happen as often as we'd like, we know when we've made a good swing. Perhaps the overriding sensation is co-ordination, that wonderful feeling our body parts are moving in sync and in sequence. In contrast, a poor swing feels awkward and unco-ordinated. Key to both feels is how well we blend the flowing swing of the arms with the rotation of the body. 2 The biggest problem we face here is a lack of buy-in from our core. If the swinging momentum created by the hands and arms is not supported by a central rotation from our torso, we cannot find an effective path and plane on which to swing the club. The swing tends to get narrow and steep and we will…

TOP 10 FORGIVING DRIVERS Callaway Rogue ST Max £479 TG VERDICT Outstanding within the forgiving driver category. The ST Max was our pro's longest forgiving driver by 5 yards, but it's not just raw power with no forgiveness. It tied second fastest for ball speed and third best at protecting carry distance drop-off (9 yards/3.2%), which helps when it comes to on-course consistency and driving reliability. And we love the touch of draw bias. Ping G425 Max £450 TG VERDICT While the G425 Max has never quite been fastest or longest in testing, it always delivers on forgiveness. Our pro saw a 6-yard (2 yards better than any other driver) loss hitting shots away from the centre of the driver face, which considering the G425 Max was also our third-longest…

■ After helping the US team to victory in the 2019 Walker Cup, Ogietree won the US Amateur and finished T34 at the 2020 Masters to win Low Amateur honours. ■ Soon after turning pro, in late 2020, he spent six months on the sidelines with a torn labrum and then failed to secure any guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2022 season. ■ He was suspended from playing in PGA tour-affiliated tournaments until 2023 after signing up to play in the first LIV Golf Invitational at Centurion. He finished last on 24-over-par out of the 48-field event, yet still received $120,000 for his efforts. ■ The 24-year-old Mississippian shot a final-round 62 to claim his first professional win at last month's International Series Egypt on the…

Mark Hubbard was booted out of the Houston Open for having too many clubs in play. A rookie mistake, you might think, except the act was deliberate. According to a PGA Tour official, his Callaway driver wasn't spinning enough, so he “knowingly” added a Ping driver at the turn and used it several times, thinking he would only be hit with a four-shot penalty. Rule 4.1b states that if a player adds excess clubs during a round, those added clubs must be taken out of play and they must not be hit. The American was disqualified following his second-round 74, though he would have missed the cut anyway.…

Milled putters cost a fortune, but Cleveland are bucking that trend in 2023. Each of the faces on the 10 models in their new HB Soft Milled line (Speed Optimised Face Technology) have been designed with a unique milling pattern to optimise roll on off-centre hits. In other words, they're rather useful if you've got a shaky and inconsistent stroke. And at just £199 (£249 with a UST shaft), they cost half that of many fully-milled putters, thanks to using a more cost-effective cast stainless steel body. The technology is so advanced that there are a variety of head shapes, alignment options and a fitting system to match every stroke type. You can consider this your ultimate upgrade for 2023! clevelandgolf.co.uk…

LETTER OF THE MONTH After seeing so many articles about your Drive for Defibs campaign, I now owe my life to my club's very own defibrillator. In fairness, I was also very lucky to have been in the expert hands of a local AED consultant, who was having lessons with the pro when I collapsed on the 11th hole. He points out that it was so easy to use – just wire it up and off we go. It essentially takes the decision to shock based on its analysis. I would encourage all likely users to familiarise yourselves with this piece of kit. Take it from me, there is so much to be said for a confident user! I would like to pay thanks to the team at North Oxford…

Shot Scope identify a specific golfer most at risk here: a 12 to 21-handicapper who drives the ball between 240 and 270 yards. This golfer lacks some control and has the power to find the neighbouring field. They will drop on average four shots per round due to lost balls/out of bounds from tees shots, and see plenty of doubles on the card. Straighter driving is about aligning face and path to take curvature out of the shot. This plan will help. PATH 1 Retrain your attack Among club players, by far the biggest path error is across the ball from outside to inside the target line. Of course, it leads to slices and pulls. So work on this by developing an in-to-out path. Use sticks, tee pegs, balls or range…

OK, we understand some of you switch off at the mere mention of the word: you don't play this game to crunch numbers, right? Fair enough. But with users of data capture systems such as Shot Scope reporting an average of just under three shots cut from their handicap, the value of keeping some figures cannot be ignored. Whether you use our system or not, make 2023 the year you track these three elements. They will give you the biggest benefit for the time spent. 1. Track your three-putt percentage Minimising how often you three-putt is one of the easiest ways to improve your score. This can, of course, be done through Shot Scope but you can also just asterisk three-jab holes on the scorecard to build a record. 2.…

Watch hundreds of video tips at www.todays-golfer.com HERE TO HELP YOU SAVE SHOTS QUICK TIP TIME FOR A TAKEAWAY Set up two sticks or shafts behind the ball. Place the first behind the ball, running straight back from the ball-target line; put the second on your toe line, parallel to the first. The gap between them represents the channel the club should move through during the first part of the backswing. Make a couple of takeaways, letting your eyes follow the movement of the clubhead. An on-plane motion sees your clubshaft pointing at the stick/shaft behind the ball during the takeaway. Note how the clubhead tracks the stick naturally when your hands and wrists are quiet. A good first move keeps the shaft quiet and stable; if your takeaway is…

BirdieView Putting Aid £109.99 Rest in peace the humble chalk line. These days, if putting coaches want a straight line they use lasers… Designed by Derbyshire-based coach Aaron Holtom, BirdieView is a camera-like tripod onto which you fix a Perspex arm, with a magnet and smartphone holder. Fixed to the magnet, the laser points downwards, creating a sharp green crosshair on the ground – at the centre of which you place your ball. Raise the arm to give yourself a clear look at the ball and crosshair, or lower it to horizontal, place your phone in the holder – directly between your eyes and the ball – and watch/record your stroke through your phone's camera. A third option lets you fasten the laser to the shaft of your putter. While…

NEW EQUIPMENT The P-Series irons have played a critical role in establishing TaylorMade as a credible forged iron brand on tour. Having to satisfy the ballstriking prowess of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, DJ, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood from a single iron family heaped pressure on TaylorMade's designers, so what they've achieved in a few years is quite remarkable. With the P7MB, P7MC and P770 irons now well past their second birthdays, the time has come for an update, and for inspiration TaylorMade sought the input of former Open Champ Morikawa – the player on TaylorMade's staff who holds the strongest views about how equipment should look, feel and play, He's also highly sensitive to the tiniest changes, so designers knew if any new model could seduce the two-time Major…

INSULATED JACKETS Abacus Elgin £109 We've not come across Abacus too much before, but from what we've seen recently, the Swedish brand's latest ranges are more than a match for the very best winter wear on the market. The Elgin is a modern hybrid puffer jacket, with an insulated body and soft waffle fleece sleeves that trap warm air and help circulate it inside to keep you toasty. Every UK golfer needs an insulated jacket in their wardrobe. We'd be delighted if this cosy number adorned ours. Galvin Green Dexter £169 Galvin have been the kings of golf insulation since they conquered the waterproofs market and then looked to diversify into other performance garment arenas. The Dexter's stretchy waffle-fleece design traps body heat to keep you warm, while also remaining…

WORLD TOP 100 WORLD PUBLIC ACCESS COURSES THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE RANKINGS IN THE GAME WELCOME Ranking the World's Top 100 courses is a tough task when few people can agree on the 1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4-5 of the courses in only one resort. That is the case at two US resorts here, so when there is barely agreement on just one property, widening the debate to the whole world seems preposterous. A bit of me thinks it's crazy to attempt this task, but I'm really glad we started a World list two years ago (and also that we made It public access-only). I'm glad the cream of our own courses appear in this company in such numbers, and that somewhere such as unassuming Silloth gets its due credit. I'm glad to…

I was born in poverty in the piney woods of East Texas. I was the fourth child born to my single mother. I attended segregated public schools until the fourth grade. During my early childhood we lived in a wooden, tin-roof shack with no electricity nor plumbing. For the first seven years of my life, everything we ate we either grew, raised or killed. After those seven years we moved to the city and went from dilapidated house to dilapidated house, always infested with rats and ‘roaches. Golf played no part of my childhood. I remember seeing an interview with Jack Nicklaus when I was around 10 or 11, but I followed and played American football instead. I was the first in my family to graduate from high school and…

Nestled on the western shores of Yas Island, Abu Dhabi's landmark entertainment destination, every hole at Yas Links boasts fabulous views of the Arabian Gulf… with eight running right along the coastline. Despite the name, it is not the authentic seaside experience we cherish in Britain and Ireland, but Yas is nonetheless a high-class course that headlines a trip to Abu Dhabi (which has Saadiyat Beach and Abu Dhabi National as two excellent complements) and is the Middle East's No.1. Yas is a beguiling course visually, whether you enjoy views across sparkling water or take pleasure from rippling terrain and roughedged bunkers. Only Al Mouj in the Middle East comes close to such aesthetic appeal and, by way of useful comparison, few in continental Europe do. The 17th, a par…

BARE MY SOUL What's your funniest pro-am story? When a guy came up to introduce himself at Bay Hill and said, “How do you grip the club?” I was like, “Oh, are you having problems with your grip?” To which he replied, “No, no, you don't understand. I've never played the game before, show me how to hold the club!” What was your first car and what do you drive now? My first car was a yellow Ford Escort that I bought with my own money. Now, I've been with Mercedes for many years, and I'm driving a GLS 63. When was the last time you broke a golf club? I haven't broken one that I can remember, but I once threw a club and that stopped me ever doing…