Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 441 i Today's Golfer

Features Editor Michael Catling was enjoying a day off for his birthday when his mobile rang and he was given the shock news, which he immediately relayed to me. “Have you heard,” he shouted? “The PGA Tour and LIV have done a deal to merge!” He could barely believe it; neither could I. After a year of bitter backbiting, courtroom dramas, polarising opinions, Ryder Cup snubs and players coming to blows on social media, Jay Monahan's US circuit was taking the Saudi cash after all. We tweeted a video of him bringing up 9/11, stoking more division between the two tours. Yet now he was saying, “It's in the best interests of the game if we work together”. An astonishing validation that, when all was said and done, it was…

“There was the fruitcake story in the World Matchplay. Seve swallowed a piece of fruitcake and started coughing at the top of Nick Price's backswing. He duffed the shot. We got to the green and Nick had a 10-foot putt and I said, ‘Seve, give him the putt.’ He said, ‘What, are you crazy? I said sorry to him on the fairway.’ I told him that it would be the right thing to do to avoid any controversy. But Seve wasn't having it. Thank goodness Nick made the putt.”…

John Robins is a comedian, BBC Radio 5Live presenter, co-creator of YouTube channel Bad Golf (youtube.com/badgolf) and co-host of Beef's Golf Club podcast. Follow Bad Golf on Twitter and Instagram (@BadGolfChannel), John (@nomadicrevery & @nomadic_revery), and Beef's Golf Club (@ beefsgolfclub). Read more on John's quest to improve at todays-golfer.com My trusty chipper has been the subject of much talk since I added it to my bag. I maintain it is the most important club I own, but still amateur golfers (and Beef) take issue with it. And with that, I have an issue, because it highlights a problem with golf that exists at lower levels: ego. It's that extra element we bring to the course that derails so many rounds. How many players pull a driver out of the…

YOUR COACH GARY NICOL Archerfield GC. TrackMan master Gary runs TPEGS, a coaching system designed to offer the ultimate tour-based coaching experience tpegs.com There is a narrative in golf that suggests our score is pretty much down to how well – or how badly – we swing the golf club on the day. We need to see beyond that. After all, during 18 holes of golf, it's not just our technique that is being tested. Pressure, setbacks, swings of fortune, the physical challenge, even slow play… all these and more have the power to affect our emotional state, our confidence, our golfing IQ and ultimately our performance. Delving into the emotional, unique and often unexpected elements that make up every round of golf, this article is designed to help you…

It represents the most stunning deal in the history of professional golf. The decision to merge the PGA Tour with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) caught everyone off guard – including the players – and sent shockwaves through the sport. The new agreement will see the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf come together to form “a new, collectively owned” entity exclusively funded by the PIF, ending a tense conflict which has lasted the best part of two years. But how did a merger that seemed almost impossible actually happen and what does it mean for the future of the three tours involved – and the Ryder Cup? The following pages will answer all your burning questions about the PGA Tour's U-turn, the controversy of the PIF,…

Driver: Titleist TSi3 (9°, Fujikura Ventus Black) 3-wood: TaylorMade M4 (15°, Accra Concept series 380 shaft) 5-wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max (18°, Accra Concept series 380 shaft) Hybrid: Wilson Staff C300 (17°, Accra Tour Zx Hybrid M5 shaft) 4-iron: Wilson Staff FG Tour V5 Utility (Accra Tour Zx Hybrid M5 shaft) 6-PW: Wilson Staff Model Forged irons (KBS Tour-V 125 TX shaft) Wedges: Wilson Staff FG PMP Putter: Wilson Infinite Ball: Titleist Pro V1…

1 Everyone is talking about Rose Zhang A win on her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open in June confirmed what we already knew: Rose Zhang is a future star of women's golf with a swing to die for. The 20-year-old has been rewriting the record books for a while now and has already drawn praise from – and comparisons to – Tiger Woods after eclipsing his winning record at Stanford. Her humility makes her easy to root for and a victory at Walton Heath would make her the youngest Women's Open champion in history. 2 Jin Young Ko is the favourite Before injury wrecked her 2022 season, the South Korean was dominating in a way we hadn't seen since Annika Sorenstam. This year she's been back to her…

Launch monitors have shown us the importance of the aim of the clubface at impact – indeed with the straighter-faced clubs it dominates the ball's starting line. But often, we can trace problems with clubface aim back to a poor swing path. If we swing excessively across the ball, we will instinctively open or close the clubface to compensate… and that can mean big hooks and slices. Here is an excellent feedback drill to check the path of your golf swing. You can do it with or without a ball. Find an old bench or simply a length of wood, anything with a longish, flat surface that you don't mind marking slightly. Tilt it on its side, allowing its length to form your target line. Set up square to it,…

The draw (right-to-left for the right-hander) may be the traditional shape of the better player; but in recent years we have seen quite a comeback for the fade, with golfers including Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Collin Morikawa favouring this soft, left-to-right shape. These players prove that a cutting shape doesn't have to come from a weak, high-spinning, downward chop; a low-spinning sweep can also deliver that soft, fading shape while still offering plenty of power; and even better, it promotes much more control. Keep this principle in mind as you work through this simple three-step plan. SMART PLAY: USE THE FULL FAIRWAY When you're playing the power fade, aim up the left hand side of the fairway (right-handers). This gives you a full 25-30 yards of fade-spin…

Two decades ago, I co-designed a course with Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in Southern California, called Rustic Canyon. ‘Fun’ was our operative word in laying it out since this would be a public course in an area where several ‘championship’ courses were also being built at the same time. When Rustic opened I heard the same refrain uttered hesitantly and with a shred of disdain: “Oh, it's a fun course”. Not fun as in, ‘I-can't-wait-to-lace-upmyshoes-and-play-it-repeatedly’. But fun as in, ‘Eh, nice, but no US Opens could ever be played there and that's a shame’. Shocking as it may seem, not long ago the word ‘fun’ was a back door insult for characterising a course of character that was incapable of stopping a low score from being posted. Rustic continues…

We've all been there. You're swinging it well, playing with confidence, making a score… You've just smashed another tee shot right down the middle, but your 9-iron approach has drifted on the breeze into a bunker. And as you walk up to your ball, your heart sinks – it's plugged. Five shots later, you walk off the green with a triple on the card. Your confidence has taken a hit, and more mistakes follow. A promising score has evaporated… As golfers, we all need to get out of trouble – some of us more than others! It keeps big numbers off the card. But more importantly, making a par or bogey while staring disaster in the face gives you a huge confidence boost. That's why TG's team of pros have…

In normal circumstances, a downhill pitch out of rough would not present too many problems; you'd just chop the ball out and let it release down to the green. But sometimes, as in this case, a hazard in front of the green takes this option away from you. Now you have to carry the ball all the way to the green, and that makes things much more awkward. To make your best score from here you need a special blend of strategy and technique. Follow this plan. Three more: a great score With the ball running more, the temptation is to flirt with the hazard at the front of the green – be it water or sand – to get the ball close to the pin. But if you are…

If we all played at Augusta National, where the edges of the bunkers are crisp and razor-sharp, this sort of thing wouldn't happen. But on many courses, especially sand-based ones, the bunker borders can be much less defined. There are times when, although the ball is clearly not in the trap itself, it is lying on the sandy earth that surrounds it. How you approach such a shot depends on the ground beneath the ball. Follow this process to select the right shot… and to execute it successfully. KEY THOUGHT: FIRM CONTROL In this situation, the technique you use must be governed by the ground itself – specifically its firmness. So begin by making a practice swing, far enough from the ball not to disturb it but close enough to…

WYNDHAM CLARK A true underdog story. Clark beat Rory to the US Open title despite having never finished higher than T75 in six Major starts. He also only won for the first time on the PGA Tour back in May. PABLO LARRAZABAL The Spaniard is playing so well right now that Jon Rahm has already messaged him about playing together in Rome. The way he celebrated his fourth win in 14 months at the KLM Open suggests we may have found a replacement for Sergio. COLIN BOBOWSKI Tasked with hitting tee shots all day in a charity scramble event, this 15-year-old aced the same par 3 three times from 145 yards at Aston Oaks in Ohio. Maybe practice does make perfect. LEE WESTWOOD The former World No.1 had hoped to…

WORDS OF WISDOM ■ Sun protection is recommended between March and October. The sun is strongest between 11am and 3pm so, if possible, look to book a late tee time, particularly on clear, sunny days. ■ Apply a broad spectrum SPF30+ product 20 minutes before exposure, paying attention to areas prone to burning. ■ Once applied to the skin, reapply sunscreen every two hours, or more often if you are prone to excessive sweating. ■ Wear clothing that protects arms and legs; ideally choose garments with a tight weave as these offer the best protection. ■ Eyes are vulnerable to UV light so wear a pair of sunglasses, ideally wraparound, which offer the best protection. ■ Keep hydrated and if possible, seek shade or push up an umbrella while waiting…

I was playing golf with Rick Shiels at Gullane when news of the PGA and DP World tours merging with the PIF broke. Rick looked like he'd seen a ghost and, like the rest of the golf world, we felt like we had whiplash from the shock. It was one of the biggest moments in the history of the game and no one saw it coming. The fact that the players were so blindsided by the announcement created a feeling of discomfort, uncertainty, and instability on the PGA Tour. How did Jay Monahan go about making such a huge decision without consulting the people he'd been leaning so heavily upon for such a long period of time? It is bemusing, and there has been no explanation of why it had…

GET IN TOUCH 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 THE WRONG TARGET I have to take issue with Mike Bessell (Issue 439) on the question of ball modifications for everyone to reduce driving distance. England Golf have quoted an average handicap index of 17.1 for males and 27.2 for female golfers in England, and a Google search suggests about 50 percent of golfers have an index above 14. Other surveys suggest a third of members are aged over 61. By all means sort the tours out, but it would be barmy to do it for the…

We golfers have good days… and of course, we have bad days. In many respects, this is beyond our control; even a tour pro can have it one day and lose it the next. But entirely within our grasp is our ability to respond to whatever we have in the right way. Here, in truth, is one of the key differences between the professional and the club golfer. They have the ability – and the appetite – to wring every drop out of what they've brought to the course on any given day. In contrast, the club golfer is typically far more likely to be blown off-course by those on-course winds. Let me introduce you to three words that, if you'll let them, have the power to revolutionise your ability…

Not long ago, an experiment was done with a stimpmeter rolling balls to a hole from around 10ft. The green was smooth, and the putt was level. You'd think every ball would drop from this automated, consistent ball roller, one after the other. But no; some dropped, and some lipped out. There was no explanation why. However much we yearn for control, luck will always be a part of the game. A perfect drive ends up in a deep divot; a beautifullystruck chip takes an awful kick. And unless we are prepared for it, it can derail us. Bad luck obviously has the power to put us in a foul frame of mind where we're just itching to throw in the towel; but even an excess of good fortune can…

A banker by trade, his Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan can now be considered the most powerful man in the sport, chairing the board of golf's new world order. Principally, he serves as a confidante and right-hand man to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who made him the Governor of the country's Public Investment Fund in 2019. The 53-year-old has advised the Saudi Government since 2015 and his influence is far-reaching. For seven years he sat on the board of directors at Uber, overseeing the PIF's 3.75 percent stake in the ride-hailing service, before quietly stepping down earlier this year. He currently juggles multiple jobs as the chairman of Ma'aden, Saudi Arabia's largest mining firm, and Aramco, the oil giant which sponsors the LET and is valued at $2.1 trillion. He also…

Competitor. Winner. Captain. Role model. Ambassador. National treasure. Summing up the impact of Padraig Harrington's professional career in so few words is an impossible task. Since turning pro in 1995, the Stackstown star has represented Europe with esteem around the world playing golf; his unrivalled work ethic squeezing every last drop of talent out of a game that continues to compete with the very best the sport has to offer. In 2024, one year shy of his 30th season as a leading professional, Harrington will officially enter the World Golf Hall of Fame. It's just reward for his accomplishments on the fairway, and further recognition for the glowing example he's become even without clubs in hand. The word legend is bandied about in sports pages and on social media far…

A Women's Open on a heathland course? We can already hear the dissenting voices among you, except there is precedent for taking the final women's Major of the year inland. Unlike its male counterpart, the Women's Open has never adopted a links-only policy and has previously done the rounds at Woburn and Sunningdale, among others. Now it's the turn of Walton Heath in Surrey, which will welcome the world's best golfers in the women's game for the first time in its history. Besides creating a composite course for the occasion, they've built a festival fan village, booked a music act for Saturday night, and extended an invite to the LPGA rookie everyone is taking about. It's all shaping up to be a must watch and the perfect appetiser for the…

While it's possible to play solid golf from a range of top-of-the-backswing positions, we cannot afford to be too cavalier about the backswing motion that takes us there. If it is to set up the downswing effectively, the backswing still needs work within certain parameters in terms of rotation, weight shift and lateral motion. We'll learn what these are in this article, and while we can broadly apply these elements to different skill levels, my advice is to work on all three. Put together, they will help you build a stable and reliable backswing that puts you in your best possible shape to attack the ball effectively, and with confidence. YOUR COACH www.garethjohnstongolf.com BREAK 100 Take control of lateral motion In terms of the golf swing, lateral motion is basically…

All great golf swings are based around a central, solid rotational pivot. To create this pivoting motion we need mobility through the core… and if you sit in front of a computer for long periods, this can present a problem. If you're stiff through the hips and pelvis, you'll tend to remain side-on to the target on both sides of the ball… shortening your range of motion and forcing you to rely on your hands and arms to slap at the ball. While stretching and general conditioning can remain a long-term goal, here is a workaround that can help you instantly. 1. The classic stance Here is what we might call a regular or normal address-position stance – my feet are just wider than my shoulders and my toes are…

PXG have built their reputation on premium forged hollow body irons since it was founded in 2014. So it was a bit of a surprise when they unveiled the new 0311 GEN6 irons in March – and the usual threemodel family had shrunk to two. Their explanation was that where the P (players’ distance iron) and XP (mid-handicap iron) were still positioned to hit their target audience, the company were still working on something a little different to replace the T (tour) players’ iron. That something different turned out to be the one-piece, forged cavity back 0317 CB iron, which breaks well away from PXG's roots. While every iron in the company's back catalogue (bar a few muscleback models) has come with a hollow body, the construction of this 0317…

PXG's all-new 0311 GEN6 drivers missed out in our giant drivers group test earlier this year as they launched too late to be included. It was disappointing, because the brand believes this model is the one that will take the driver fight to the likes of TaylorMade, Ping and Callaway. Now they're on sale, we wanted to see how the 0311 GEN6 and GEN6 XF drivers compare to their rivals, so we handed both to TG Test Pro Neil Wain to find out. First, let's meet the models… 0311 DRIVER RRP: £469 Lofts: 7.5°/9°/10.5° Stock shafts: Project X Cypher, Project X Riptide CB, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue, Mitsubishi Diamana S+, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White, HZRDUS Smoke Yellow The low-spinning 0311 GEN6 to has a traditional teardrop shape and…

Srixon Cabretta £14.99 Srixon might have made waves in the golf ball, iron and driver markets recently, but they've been recognised as the makers of the best value for money leather glove on the market, too. Expect super soft leather and a comfortable fit. And if you buy on a multi-pack deal, your wallet won't take a pounding. GFore Collection £25 GFore are a brilliant option if you want to personalise colours or design. Expect 16-plus different colour combinations. They're not the cheapest option but you do get a lovely feel from the AA cabretta leather. For the best golf equipment coverage online visit www.todays-golfer.com PXG Players £25 PXG have their fingers in all sorts of pies nowadays and their AAA leather players’ glove is one of the best we've…

Choosing new grips can be really confusing, with so many options to choose from. There are soft ones, firm ones, sticky ones, super-sticky ones, fat ones, thin ones… and everything in between. Market leaders Golf Pride make 21 different grips alone, so they have simplified the process by using a football formation; and 4-4-2 is a simple way to settle on your favourite grip. This is how it works… CHOOSE… What you want from your grips SIZE If your middle finger is just touching the pad of your thumb when holding the grip in the glove hand, that is the perfect size. CONDITIONS If you often play in rain or get sweaty hands when it's warm, you may need to factor in more moisture management. SURFACE TEXTURE Do you like…

Escaping from trees is all about clubface control. The clubface's aim at impact is responsible for up to 90 percent of the ball's starting line, so to hit the gap you have chosen, it's essential you have the face looking in the correct direction as it strikes the ball. Let's look at the key changes you need to make to your technique to harness that face – and avoid that ominous ‘clunk’… Weigh up your options Whenever we find ourselves in the trees, it's incredibly rare that we have only one option. Typically, the more up the fairway we look, the tighter the trunk gaps become. As we start to look more sideways, the gaps become a little wider and a little more friendly. Look up as well as forward…

It's a common predicament for anyone who plays on a tight or tree-lined course. Your drive on a long par 4 or par 5 has tailed off the fairway, not far enough into the trees to block you out but enough to get in the way of that nice, full backswing you'd ideally make. While you will probably have to accept some loss of yardage over a free swing, there are ways of generating distance even when your backswing is restricted. Follow this plan and you can advance the ball a decent way up the fairway… maybe even all the way to the green. KEY THOUGHT: CREATE POWER WITH THE BODY, NOT THE HANDS AND ARMS In my experience, club players go about this shot the wrong way. Sensing the restriction,…

Another green missed at Turnberry's stunning King Robert the Bruce layout; and my chances of pitching back to the pin are hindered by a prickly and uncompromising gorse bush blocking the path of my backswing. In circumstances such as these you could alter your aim line to clear a backswing path, but that would mean hitting away from your target. However, with some simple and effective alterations, you should not have to… POWER THROUGH ANGLES On ordinary, unrestricted swings we talk about building speed and power through creating width and coil in the swing. Obviously, this is not an option here. We have to look at secondary power sources… and the key option here is your wrists. As well as creating speed, an aggressive cocking and uncocking of the wrists…

It's fair to say that for most club golfers, the biggest fear around the green is duffing the shot – catching the ground before the ball. With the clubhead moving so slowly, early ground contact is usually pretty fatal. And when your approach shot holds up on a downslope -as mine has here, right of the 9th green on Turnberry's King Robert the Bruce course – the sight of the higher ground behind the ball only increases that anxiety. So let's look at how to adapt your set-up and swing to ensure sweet, solid contact… even from steeper slopes. WORK HARDER TO CREATE A SQUEEZING STRIKE From level terrain, the ideal chipping strike comes from a slightly downward attack angle. It promotes clean contact and impact in the correct part…

When your ball gets held up in long grass on a downslope around the green, you're left facing a very tricky shot. In addition to simply keeping your balance, the skill here is adapting your set-up to neutralise the effects of the slope so you can use as close to your regular swing as normal to play the shot and get the ball safely on the green. Let me show you how… Look for loft Open the face of your most lofted club as much as you're comfortable with as the ball will launch lower off a downslope. It will still come out quite hot and release more because it won't spin much from the rough. Stay steep Hitting down makes the ball go up, so keep your backswing relatively…

Every so often, we run up against a bunker shot where the slope of the sand sets the ball higher than our feet. As we know from above-ground shots, this is what we would call a ‘hook lie’ – the slope wants to flatten the plane of the swing and encourage more rotation, both through our core and in the clubface. This would create a lower, more running shot with an element of right-toleft shape for the right-hander – and for a shot where we typically need the ball to be quick to rise and quick to stop, this is far from ideal. You can still find a more orthodox higher, spinning flight from this lie – and here's how… SWING INTO THE SLOPE, NOT AROUND IT On a shot…

I remember telling Tiger that for all his fame and money I would never want his life. We were walking through the crowd from the clubhouse to the first tee (at the Presidents Cup), about a 200-yard walk, and all the fans were screaming at him. He had pen marks all over him. We got to the first tee and I said, “That reminds me of working for Seve Ballesteros, but on speed.” I said to him, “You could be a multi-millionaire, have any woman you want, you could be the best golfer that has ever lived, but I wouldn't swap your life.” He said, “Billy, that's why I don't play so much.” I got it. You almost felt sorry for him. Tiger's manners were impeccable. Please and thank you…

NAME: ROSE ZHANG AGE: 20 COUNTRY: USA WHO IS SHE? The most decorated player in women's amateur history, Zhang held the No. 1 spot for a record 141 consecutive weeks, dating back to September 2020, and became the first player since 1951 to win on her professional debut on the LPGA Tour, beating Jennifer Kupcho on the second play-off hole at Liberty National last month. SHE'S PRETTY SPECIAL THEN? There hasn't been this much clamour since Michele Wie first burst onto the scene. She's the reigning Augusta National Women's Amateur champion and has already signed sponsorship deals with Callaway, adidas, Rolex and Beats by Dre, among others. In two seasons at Stanford, Zhang won 12 titles in 20 starts. That's better than Tiger's record of 11 wins from 26 starts…

LETTER OF THE MONTH Should clubs be doing more to spot that not so rare beast, AKA ‘The Bandit’? I have submitted more than 50 cards in the last 12 months, so I'd like to think my handicap is accurate. However, in a recent club knockout, I faced an opponent to whom I gave a significant number of shots. A check on the England Golf app afterwards revealed my opponent had only submitted eight cards in the same period as me. Clearly, he was a far better player than his handicap alluded to and was one of those not so rare beasts! Surely it is easy enough for clubs to identify those who seek to avoid submitting cards by happily donning the Zorro mask? It would be nice to see…

We are going along beautifully, when out of nowhere we catch a regulation pitch shot very heavy. Shocked by this sudden miscue, we lose our focus. Suddenly, on a hole we felt we were in control of, we've thrown in a ‘snowman’… and that super round we were building is ruined. Unfortunately, this is a pattern every golfer is familiar with. Our chief weapon against one bad shot becoming a card-ripping event is to pay more attention to what happens to us in the aftermath of the shot – the so-called ‘post-shot phase’. If we are honest with ourselves, we know how a poor reaction to a bad shot can bleed into the next shot… and the next. Surprise, embarrassment, anger, frustration, poor body language, a lack of acceptance it…

The Public Investment Fund (or PIF for short) is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, with at least $600 billion in assets. The PIF currently employ 2,000 staff and have a portfolio of investments covering some of the biggest – and most high-profile – companies in the world. They currently hold stakes in Disney, Microsoft, Amazon, Uber, Tesla and Boeing, to name just a few. A big part of the PIF's focus now is on driving Saudi's Vision 2030, which aims to reduce the country's reliance on oil by using sport to boost their global economy. That all sounds very sensible, but then you dive into the world of politics and the alleged human rights abuses committed against its citizens and those who have criticised the Kingdom. In…

How do you reflect on your victory on Muirfield and the effect it had on your confidence? I think it just gave me the extra belief in myself. I needed to know that I could win in the biggest pressure situation and get the job done. I had won on the LET multiple times, but I had not quite crossed the line on the LPGA. Winning in the fashion that I did kind of just sparked something in me. Then I went down to Australia and won the Australian Open; again, coming down the gun on the last few holes. Then I went back to South Africa, because my goal then was to hold three National Open titles at the same time. I think that was the most pressure I…

We have dedicated this series to misconceptions because time and again in our coaching, we see golfers held back by misunderstanding. This month we will tackle one of the most common examples of this – the widespread belief that your impact position should be a facsimile of your address. As you will discover, pursuing this errant goal robs your action of power, rhythm and consistency. You will also learn the key difference between the two, and discover the best way to implement it. But before we get started, you first need to give yourself permission to free up your motion. Attempts to refind address are typically rooted in a desire for control; but as the saying goes, if you want to find control, you have to start by giving it…

This is the world's first touchscreen remotecontrolled GPS trolley, with the lightest lithium battery on the market; nothing sits above it within PowaKaddy's product family, and it showcases all the tech on offer from the brand. It instantly locates the course you are playing and delivers fast and accurate distances to the front, middle and back of the green, plus hazards. The RX1 GPS will automatically advance from hole to hole and shows both men's and women's stroke indexes. Active Green View updates the shape of the green on your screen and you can drag and drop the flag to give you even more accurate yardage data. Thanks to the remote control, the RX1 can be directed from up to 50m away from the palm of your hand, and you…

GOLF WORLD TOP 100 FUN COURSES BRITAIN & IRELAND THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE RANKINGS IN THE GAME WELCOME I intended to write here that a course being deemed ‘fun’ was now a badge of honour rather than being described in a slightly dismissive way as ‘holiday golf’. However, the leading American writer Geoff Shackelford has done that in such an eloquent and insightful way that it renders my contribution superfluous. I'd mark his column on page 117 as essential reading. It is part of a wide spectrum of brilliant contributors within this Top too – from tour pros and eminent writers to architects and a multiple Ryder Cup player who is now as big a name in the media and a student of course architecture. In fact, this Top 100 is…

BARE MY SOUL What's the best thing about being a Masters champion? To me, it is the ultimate golf tournament. As a kid growing up in Augusta, Georgia, if I could win anything that would be it. So, to go back there every year is the best thing. But it's also the recognition and the opportunities it brought, like the Ryder Cup. You know, the tournament was very rewarding financially, so that was good as well. Do you have a picture of that chip on display in your house? It did get shot of the year in 1987, so I've got a portrait of me chipping it, holding my finish. That hangs in the hallway where our bedrooms are. And of course, I've got it on video, the whole tournament.…

I'm on the opening hole of Turnberry's King Robert the Bruce layout here, and I've already found sand. It's left me with a decision to make. The lie is good, the green just too yards away… but if I get greedy, that lip will be more than happy to dribble the ball back to my feet. This is why your first job in this situation is always to make a clear and honest appraisal of your skill set, and curb your ambition accordingly. Your first objective here is to get the ball out and up the fairway, and if that means taking the green out of play, so be it. Select the appropriate club… and use these tips to make your best possible contact… One for the road If you…

Summer is a time for smooth greens, clipped fairways and – yes – thick, deep rough. From distance, the shot becomes a simple mission of hacking the ball back on to the fairway; but around the green, we can become just slightly more ambitious. While getting the ball out and on to the putting surface remains the primary goal, the right technique gives us the opportunity to retain an element of control over the shot and flight, and perhaps even give ourselves the chance of a one-putt par save. Follow this advice to give yourself your best chance of success… MAINTAIN FACE LOFT When the grass gets long, it affects not just the clubface, but also the hosel and lower portion of the shaft. This extra resistance around the heel…

As we know too well, our ball has a knack of finding a poor lie just when we don't need one. Consider this scenario – a shortish pitch over water from the semi-rough. From a decent lie we could just slide the club under the ball and float it up on to the green. But what if the ball is nestled, or on a bare, muddy bit of ground? With heavy contact a far greater possibility, suddenly that water gets a lot bigger. Here I will show you a simple technique that spells out the changes you need to make when you find yourself in a similar, awkward spot. KEY THOUGHT: PRIORITISE SOLID CONTACT, PLAY THE PERCENTAGES Before you even start to think about technique, your first job is to be…

Miss the green with your approach and there are no guarantees your ball will end up on a nice cushion of grass. Many courses have firm, bare areas around the putting surface, most commonly in areas of flora where either planting or lack of light creates hard, bare zones. Such lies rob us of the chance to slide the sole of our wedge comfortably under the ball. A new technique is needed, one that delivers a clean and solid strike from this intimidatingly scalped surface. Fortunately, once you know how, this shot becomes relatively simple. Toe forgiveness Examine the sole of your wedges and you will see the toe area has an increased amount of bounce. In other words, the back edge of the sole is set further below the…

Upslope bunker lies are not as bad when we are tight to the green's edge and don't have so much distance to cover. But things get more complicated when you find yourself 15-20 yards or more away from the flag. How do you create the extra yardage from a lie that wants to pop the ball up in the air? There are two possible answers. The first – taking less sand – puts you in grave risk of catching the ball clean and sending it flying over the back of the green. The second – a much safer and more reliable option – means changing your clubbing, your address position and the amount of sand you take. Here's how that all fits together… KEY THOUGHT: CLUB UP The big advantage…

It is fair to say a plugged lie under the lip of a steep-faced bunker is not something that happens every day, or even every week. It is, however, a situation that has the capacity to ruin a tidy strokeplay round or cost you the hole in matchplay, so it's important you know how to deal with the shot as and when it arises. As with all escape shots, the foundation for success lies in creating an address that promotes the needed delivery of the club. Get that right and your swing largely takes care of itself. Use this method and you won't just get the ball out… you should be able to leave yourself a makeable putt. KEY THOUGHT: DIG DEEP- WITH SPEED There are two elements to this shot…