Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 459 i Today's Golfer

I played ping-pong with Bryson DeChambeau a few years ago, at a party during the Open. This was when he'd just joined the PGA Tour, and he was a fascinating, funny, competitive character who came across as someone who just loved golf. But as his career took off, things started to go awry. He became a bit of a… well, a Bryson. An arrogant know-it-all who wore a flat cap and had an opinion on just about everything… and was never afraid to share it. He rubbed other players up the wrong way (hey, Brooks), and as he added bulk to hit it further in 2022, he lost fans in the process. Then the reinvention began. He left the PGA Tour and became a poster boy for LIV. He lost…

Potty-mouthed tour golfers have made plenty of headlines recently, with Tyrrell Hatton and Bob MacIntyre drawing ire for their repeated profanities at the Dunhill Links Championship. The presence of hot mics at every tour event means most golfers have been captured cursing on the course in recent years. And even if you don't catch the profanity live, the rise of social media means any major meltdowns are quickly clipped up and shared with the world, whether it's to draw laughter or to encourage offence. Certain players are repeat offenders. While Hatton and MacIntyre have drawn attention, Ryder Cup team-mates Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry are just as renowned for their love of an f-bomb. At the same time, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have never been shy of ‘expressing' their…

If there is one thing golf needs right now, it is probably a new world ranking. But while ours doesn't claim to solve the issues at the top end of the game, it will make you wiser about the men and women who are making the biggest waves in the golfing world right now. When we started planning this Top 100 list back in August, we spent several hours over a number of days debating (and arguing over) who should make our shortlist. First, we needed to agree on what constitutes ‘influence'. Is it having a million subscribers on YouTube? Is it building an indoor golf course or setting trends in club design? Is it winning five times in a row or captaining a team to victory in the Solheim…

Martin Slumbers is already “counting down the days” until he hands over the reins to his successor Mark Darbon. For almost 10 years, the Englishman has served as the head of the R&A and presided over some of the biggest – and most significant – changes to golf and the governing body in the modern era. It started just two years into his tenure when he led the merger with the Ladies' Golf Union, bringing the Women's Open under the R&A's control for the first time. A complete modernisation of the R&A's activities followed soon after and included the biggest rewrite of the rule book in 68 years, plus the introduction of new international amateur championships for women and golfers with disabilities, and the rollout of the World Handicap System…

“Golf,” quipped American scribe Jim Bishop, “is played by 20 million mature American men whose wives think they are out having fun.” It may have been tongue-in-cheek – and it may have been nearly half a century ago – but this commentary returned to haunt me recently when I attended a top amateur event. Here was an opportunity for some terrific golfers to display their skills on a stunning course, on a beautiful day… yet the contestants took to their task with all the joy and enchantment of a migraine. Fraught fellows scrutinised fairways and yardage books, frowning faces tackled swing-training exercises. Here, indeed, were Bobby Jones' “dogged victims of inexorable fate”, apparently destined not to enjoy golf but to endure it, each one hilariously clad in bright, cheerful shirts.…

Ashton-in-Makerfield member Michael Howlett on a remarkable Top 100 generation game Michael Howlett has just completed our GB&I Top 100, keeping up a fine family tradition. Why did you start the Top 100 quest? It all started with my father, John, who completed the same quest as me 15+ years ago. As my father's passion grew for completing the 100, it meant family trips were organised round these courses, which is how I began to play them. It was never my intention to complete the list, but as my father continued ticking them off, so did I. The importance of it grew for me, especially after my father died. I knew I had to follow in his footsteps. What was your first Top 100 course? Royal Dornoch. We played with…

We love a good golf collaboration, and the one between the Red Bull F1 team and TaylorMade is as slick as you'd expect from two titans in their respective fields. The Pursuit Collection includes clubs, balls, clothing and accessories, all given the full Red Bull treatment. Our pick of the range is the P790 irons (£1,499 a set), which feature a black Nippon shaft, blue custom Golf Pride grip and colour details. The Milled Grind wedges (56° and 60°, £399) share similar looks, with the tungsten toe weight painted in the team's trademark red. A black and blue Spider Tour putter (£379) features a KBS Black PVD shaft, red sightline and red face insert, while the heel and toe weights nod to the distinct look of a race car's tyres…

PING LETTER OF THE MONTH WINS… A BRAND-NEW PING PUTTER RRP £250 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 LETTER OF THE MONTH THE WHS CHANGED MY LIFE I can't help but notice how your letters page usually features at least one complaint about the WHS system. I have to say this modern approach to golf has changed my life. As a young teen, adult golf membership was prohibitive and stuffy. A handicap of 18 was miles beyond me, and playing with a member to be allowed to join was intimidating beyond belief. So I didn't. Years later, in my 50s, I thought about golf again…

Measuring individual influence in the golf industry isn't easy. Sifting through hundreds of worthy candidates and ranking 100 people is even harder. Like every other year, this global list is based on who influenced ‘your game' and ‘the game' over the last 12 months. You will recognise many of the names included. There will be some you have never heard of and others who may not be household names, but they play a crucial role in your enjoyment of the sport. There are leaders from the world of course design, coaching and equipment, as well as CEOs, players, YouTubers and even an NBA great. We measured their influence across eight categories, which were then marked by a panel of 10 industry experts. YOUR GAME Equipment design (maximum of 10 marks)…

100 MOST INFLUENTIAL Did you really expect it to be anyone else? Well, we'll let you into a secret. Before we started the process, every single member of our panel expected Bryson or Donald Trump (yes, really!) to be No.1 on this year's list until we actually rated Tiger's impact as a golfer, businessman and negotiator for the PGA Tour. Ultimately, why Tiger came out on top boiled down to these 10 reasons – and in the end, it wasn't even that close! 1. THE LEGACY If you grew up in the nineties and noughties, the chances are you were inspired to pick up a golf club by Tiger Woods. His style, look and athleticism single-handedly changed the perception of golf, and his legacy has been the catalyst behind the…

To hole short putts on a regular basis, we need the AA – Accuracy and Assertiveness. This month's challenge delivers an enjoyable way to work on both together, giving your putting stroke the levels of precision and authority you need for confident holing out. And it couldn't be simpler. YOUR COACH 1. Set it up Find a straight putt on the practice green, 3-6ft in length. Place a ball a few inches short of the hole – it could be dead in line with the cup, or a little to one side. Now return to your ball and take your regular address position. 2. The Challenge: Pot white For this Challenge, you are going to use the ball you are hitting to knock the one just short of the hole…

Galvin Green Armstrong £299.99 There are a bunch of golfer-friendly features packed in here, including an adjustable chest width, handy front pockets, elasticated cuffs and shaped sleeves for added range of motion. The high-tech Gore-Tex Paclite fabric maximises freedom of movement without compromising on the essential protection from the elements you'll inevitably need. Ping SensorDry S2 Full Zip £129.99 The lightweight S2 is designed to appeal to a lot of golfers and versatile enough to look the business off the course, too. Ping's SensorDry fabric is waterproof to 10,000mm and breathable to 10,000g/m², so you'll receive robust protection from the wind and rain, without any overheating issues. J. Lindeberg Theo £249 A fusion of modern style and weather-resistant practicality, the Theo has a sleek and understated design which really delivers. It…

Steve Slinger, Secretary at Hayling GC in Hampshire, addresses the big green fee questions Are green fees at GB&I Top 100 courses at a fair level? There are so many different angles to it. Are they fair to the ‘nomadic' golfer? Not necessarily. Are they fair to the club member? Necessarily, yes. Green fees have risen far higher than inflation. Why? The last four years have been ‘exceptional' because of Brexit, Covid and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It has made for a complex tapestry and golf clubs have felt associated pain and gain. The Brexit and Covid cocktail saw clubs shut for seven months but then we were fortunate to be one of the few industries to open again. That drove tremendous interest. I've never seen course roundage levels as…

By former club secretary Stuart Gillett, who is now an advisor to golf clubs through Legacy Golf Advisors Do you feel that green fees at GB&I Top 100 courses are fair? Yes. The quality of the offering has improved, alongside demand. A five-hour ‘leisure' experience comes at a significant cost and one can correlate this to green fee rates. The experience is key – a quality experience on and off the course comes at a cost. Green fees have risen far higher than inflation. Why? Demand. Golf has grown in popularity and there is a younger audience with more disposable income who are prepared to pay for a quality experience. One could argue green fees have risen at a slower rate than some of the new equipment that comes out…

The 2024 DP World Tour season will be remembered as one of the most remarkable in recent history, not just for the exceptional level of play but for the deeply personal, inspiring stories that defined its winners. In a year filled with hometown heroes, underdog triumphs and emotional victories, the Wentworth-based circuit has reminded us of golf's power to inspire, bringing fans closer to the players than ever before. Let's start with one of the season's most recent winners, Paul Waring, who claimed his first Rolex Series title in Abu Dhabi in November. In conditions where I genuinely thought my commentary kit might melt as temperatures hit 37°C, Waring stayed cool and held off world-class competition in the final stretch. Though he'd won once before – six years ago at…

With thanks to North Foreland GC, a beautiful and historic Fowler/Simpson creation on the Kent coast. Visit northforeland.co.uk Soggy fairways, clumpy rough, slow greens, heavy sand, windy approaches. Yes indeed, golf courses are different places between October and April, and ask different questions of us all. But with just a few simple changes, you can adapt your game to meet the challenges of off-season golf. In this article we'll take a look at five situations where a simple tweak to your approach can yield big rewards. They will also give you more options when the better weather returns. We begin on the tee, with an easy way to stop those wet and heavy fairways costing you distance… YOUR COACH 1. TEE SHOT: INCREASE CARRY, INCREASE YARDAGE Let's start with a…

When we examine the statistical performance of club players, we see the most common approach shot miss is short and right of the green (right-handers). A simple target adjustment to the back left portion of the green can be an effective short-term solution, but there are also technical reasons for this frustrating shot pattern. Let's take a closer look. Lead foot position If we set our lead foot in a square position at address, we can easily lock up the knee and hip above… and that compromises throughswing rotation. If we can't turn through, it becomes harder to accelerate and rotate the clubface. That means short, right shots. So to beat this, fan your lead foot by pivoting it around the heel location. Opening up the knee and hip joints,…

The new Man of the People “I'm a completely different person than I was back at Winged Foot. I've still got a lot of the same cells, but I'm definitely different in the brain, for sure.” Those were the final words of Bryson DeChambeau before he teed off his campaign to become America's Champion Golfer of the Year for a second time. Bryson had reluctantly accepted that ‘boring golf' was his only play for being competitive that week, although the thought of swapping out driver for 6-iron off the tee still didn't sit well with him. But his ‘different brain' is his overriding voice now, and for the most part across the next four days, it was listened to. Come 6.16pm, Bryson found himself as the last man standing –…

PLAY BETTER | PRESENTED BY Shot Scope For the vast majority of club golfers, the main issue from this awkward shot length is distance control. Most of us can hit a wedge reasonably straight, but knocking the shot pin-high on a regular basis? That's a much tougher ask. So in this article we will target distance control solutions for the game improver, the regular golfer and the accomplished player. As you will see, much of distance control comes down to our ability to harness flight… but strike quality is of course also pivotal. Whatever your level, focus on these twin elements to improve your performance from this range. YOUR COACH BREAK 100 Strengthen your strike For the beginner or game improver, the best way forward here is to make your…

PLAY BETTER | PRESENTED BY Shot Scope There are lies and there are damned lies… and grass growing in the opposite direction to your chip shot definitely falls into the latter category. Either through instinct or experience, we know that the quality of contact – and by extension, how fast the ball emerges – will be a lot harder to predict. The typical response is to play these shots without commitment or a real plan… and results inevitably suffer. While there is no technique that can guarantee good results in this situation, there are things you can do to stack the odds in your favour. Use this formula the next time you're chipping into the grain. KEY CONCEPT: MINIMISE GRASS CONTACT! These shots are so problematic because the grass, growing…

BIG LAUNCH Almost two decades after its scooped-crown original, Cleveland is reintroducing the HiBore driver. Back in the autumn of 2006, when the first HiBore hit the shelves and earned praise across the board, the model put Cleveland on the map. With a distinctive ‘scooped' design, Vijay Singh immediately added it to his bag. In fact, 11 players at the PGA Tour's season-opening Sony Open played or were dialling in HiBore drivers in 2007; a far cry from today. Cleveland have had a change in direction in recent years and their goal (apart from their tour-level RTX wedge franchise) has been to create great performing equipment for sensible money in a bid to attract golfers who aren't that fussed about which brand they play. While the new HiBore XL doesn't…

L.A.B. GOLF DF 2.1 TOTAL: 35/40 Looks, sound and feedback We're under no illusion that for most people, this is a hideous-looking putter! But while we're not going to say we love the design, it definitely grows on you. When we first picked it up, we expected quite a low thud. Instead, it sounds high and almost tinny – definitely not what you expect. One thing you can't criticise is its feedback – the ultra-thin face feels soft at impact. 7/10 Distance control and roll Gauging distance is incredibly easy with the DF 2.1 because of how well the ball rolls off the face every time. Lag putting has become so much easier. The positive roll comes from the fact that it creates forward spin. And the fact the ball…

David Jones, @UKGolfGuy on X, is a master planner of trips for his own fun and for groups of golfers through Outpost Overseas ‘Supply and demand' is used to explain rising green fees – do you see demand reducing any time soon, or in fact going the other way? Supply is actually being constricted. Many of the top courses have decided to reduce the number of visitor times but charge more. Demand at the top end seems just to keep going and this new move of reducing the number of tee times is likely to lead to green fees continuing to rise above inflation. Could some clubs charge even more and find people would still pay it? The evidence suggests absolutely so. In 2024, the top 25 clubs in the…

Ian Poysden completed the GB&I Top 100 earlier this year. This is his take on value, price hikes, and what it's cost him… Why did you start the Top 100 quest? I hadn't thought about it and then I looked to see how many I had played and I had about 35 left. I started plotting my way round after that. I finished all the Open courses to start with and finished the 100 at Gullane. Which was your first Top 100 course? Unknowingly, the Old Course at St Andrews in my mid 20s. My brother lived in St Andrews and I was lucky enough to play it quite a few times as he had a links ticket. The first time I played it I holed a four-foot putt to…

BARE MY SOUL What was your first car and what do you drive now? It was a Peugeot 206. I ended up blowing the engine up. It was completely my fault, I kept bouncing it off the red line in second gear to show off, as you do when you're 17. I've now got a Range Rover SVR, a little bit of an upgrade. What was your first job? It was actually roofing when I was 15. That was awful. Lugging tiles up and down a ladder was shite. Did you not get a job at Asda? That was the next one. I was doing internet shopping orders. Honestly, if there wasn't an item there, you could just put in what you wanted. It was brilliant. No garlic bread? Ali…