Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 460 i Today's Golfer

There are pros who can play, and there are pros who can teach. But just occasionally, we come across one who can do both. Steve Tiley turned pro in 2007 and spent the next 16 years competing on the DP World and Challenge Tours. But last year, he decided to put his experience of elite golf to good use by becoming a full-time coach - and he is eager to share what he has learned with TG readers. “When you are competing with the best in the game on a daily basis, you cannot help but gain an amazing insight into how top players approach the game,” says Steve. “In particular, there are four parts of the game where tour pros are always strong. Almost by definition, these elements are…

When we think of the differences between the tour pro and club player, we tend to think of power and finesse. But right in between, the 140-160-yard approach is an equally important differentiator. The tour player hits to around 25ft on average at this range; the 15-handicapper is around four times worse, at 90-100ft. Given the number of these shots all levels of golfer play every round - and the massive scoring benefits of tightening performance - the 150-yard shot warrants a closer look. 1. FIND THAT TOUR PRO IMPACT FORM Tour pros all have the same impact look - weight forward, lead leg braced, shaft leaning forward, handle leading the clubhead. It all adds up to a clean, controlled and compressing strike. Here are three things you can do…

You don't need me to tell you that one of the biggest differences between pros and amateurs is consistency. Of course practice and technique have much to do with this, but there is one area where there is nothing stopping you matching a tour pro's levels: Routines. Consistency starts with taking a regular approach to every shot we play. It's not hard to see how taking different levels of time, focus and care into every shot might hinder consistency… and how regulating your thoughts and actions going into to every shot might increase it. A consistent and well-executed routine cannot guarantee a successful shot, but it can ensure we are giving ourselves the best chance of a positive outcome. Here are just five of the ways it can help: ■Allowing…

In this article, I've taken you from the first tee shot to the final putt. We've looked at tips and drills for the four key scoring skills - Driver distance, 150-yard approaches, greenside chips and 6ft putts - and gained an insight into how a tour pro thinks and approaches the game. I hope you've found it interesting and useful. While the idea of playing like a pro may seem far-fetched, I hope you'll see that there is nothing here that is beyond any club player. We play the same game as you, struggle with the same issues, and need the same solutions. I've seen the best players in the world use every drill I've laid out here… and I've seen their games improve as a result. I've no doubt…

“I have been excited about the TGL since it was announced. Many of my fondest memories in golf have been playing in team competitions. With the players who have already been announced, along with the names and stature of the ownership groups and investors, the league is in a position to showcase our sport in a cool format to a new group of viewers and fans.” Tommy Fleetwood “The more I talked to the other players involved in TGL, the more I wanted to be a part of the competition. This is a great opportunity to move golf forward, providing something for our core fans while also showcasing our sport in a new, tech-forward, prime time and more digestible format.” Patrick Cantlay “I'm a firm believer that TGL is going…

The average handicap for male golfers is 16 in the UK and 14 in America, according to data from England Golf and the USGA. Let's tally those and say the average male golfer has a handicap index of 15, which is what you'd call a “mid-handicapper”. Most of us play golf courses that are somewhere between 6,000-7,000 yards in length. On a course of that standard length, a 15-handicap golfer averages 20.3 over par. (If you think the maths of a 15-handicapper averaging 20.3 over par doesn't add up, remember: your handicap is meant to be you on a good day, not an average of all your rounds.) But what length would a par-72 course need to be for this typical mid-handicap player to have a scoring average of level…

Watch hundreds of video tips at www.todays-golfer.com HERE TO HELP YOU SAVE SHOTS QUICK TIP BOX CLEVER It's time to dig out that old shoe box you have in the back of the cupboard; it makes a fantastic training aid. Place the box on its side. Check its length is parallel to your ball-target line. Now position a ball, close enough to the box so there is only a golf ball's width between the box and the toe of your club. Hit balls from here; a sound, neutral swing path means the toe of the club never gets closer to the box than it was at address. But swing excessively across the target line through the impact zone and you'll get some instant feedback as the toe crashes into the…

Hitting balls down at the range is great… but with every lie and stance perfectly level, it tends to give us a false representation of the game. Out on the course, that lovely level stance is often replaced by the ball sitting a little higher or lower than our foot level… and unless we make the correct allowances, even a subtle sideslope can compromise results. Unfortunately, either because they are in the habit of hitting shots from a level stance or are unaware that changes are needed, many club players take their regular set-up and swing into a sideslope shot. So here, let's take a closer look at the problems this causes, before detailing the adjustments you need to make to get on top of these tricky shots. YOUR COACH…

TAYLORMADE P790 TOTAL: 38/40 Shape, profile, looks Merging the looks of the best player's irons with slightly more forgiveness, playability and stronger lofts in a forged head, the P790 remain aspirational (and very playable) for many mid-handicappers. The heads look beautiful and inspire confidence at address. 9/10 Feel and feedback The P790s don't have a solid, one-piece forged head like the P7CBs, so it would be unfair to expect the pair to sound and feel the same. Yet in any blind test our pro says he'd struggle to identify which is which. We've scored the P790 a point higher here because we know what's inside and what the tech does in terms of performance; features that aren't present in the Kirkland. 9/10 Tech and components The internal construction is very…

For most club players, it's what their driver has: for the tour professional, it's a way of life. In my experience, the willingness - and ability - to adjust is one of the key differences between a pro and an amateur. Contrary to popular belief, tour pros don't always play great golf. We can get out of bed on the wrong side like anyone else, feel stiff on the range, struggle with our ballstriking, lose form suddenly mid-round. We can find ourselves hitting a draw when we were fading it yesterday, or hitting it five yards shorter for some unaccountable reason. But when these things happen, a willingness to adapt kicks in like a reflex. We will adjust our shot selection, our clubbing, our targeting, to accommodate whatever is going…

Most club golfers can hole a three or even four-foot putt on a fairly regular basis. But add even a few inches on to that sort of distance and the picture changes rapidly. We can expect to face plenty of 5-7-footers in a round of golf; and while the tour player hoovers up most if not all with relative comfort, the amateur typically leaves the course with a series of opportunities missed and a feeling of what might have been. Let's change that picture. HOLE MORE 6FT PUTTS: MATCH THE STROKE UP Watch tour pros putt and the strokes invariably look smooth, silky. A smooth stroke is a huge part of six-footer success because to hole putts, we need to the ball to roll smoothly off the blade, hugging the…

January 7 New York vs The Bay January 14 Los Angeles vs Jupiter Links January 21 New York vs Atlanta Drive January 27 Jupiter Links vs Boston Common February 4 Boston Common vs Los Angeles February 17 Atlanta Drive vs Los Angeles Atlanta Drive vs The Bay Boston Common vs The Bay February 18 Jupiter Links vs New York February 24 Los Angeles vs New York Boston Common vs Atlanta Drive February 25 The Bay vs Jupiter Links March 3 The Bay vs Los Angeles New York vs Boston Common March 4 Jupiter Links vs Atlanta Drive March 17-18 Semi-finals March 24-25 Final series…

Greenside chips that don't quite hit their mark, misjudged long first putts, decent bunker shots… there are so many ways to leave yourself a putt in the 6-8ft range, and your success here makes a massive difference to the score you will eventually post. The first thing to note is that even tour pros miss three out of every 10 six-footers they face. At club level, a holed putt is definitely a success and a missed putt no failure, so adjusting expectations will help you keep the pressure off and make a smoother stroke. But whatever your skill level, there are measures you can take to increase your chances and improve your stats. Let's get into it. YOUR COACH DARREN PARRIS Darren Parris, North Foreland, Kent. PGA Professional for more…

If you are one of the legions of golfers who struggle to make the right sort of contact in greenside sand, try picturing the ball lying in the centre of a shoe insole. An insole is the perfect length and thickness to represent the sliver of sand you should be looking to take from under the ball… 10-12 inches long and shallow. Imagine yourself taking the insole from under the ball and you create the correct intentions for the execution - a more level attack angle taking a longer, shallower divot. Just make sure that when you're picturing the insole, the ball remains opposite your lead instep and at the lowest point of the swing arc. YES: Rear-sole ‘Skidder’ To find that shallow sand divot, picture the trailing edge of…

There's a big buzz around putters that resist twisting through the stroke right now, and this is the newest model from one of the pioneers of the idea. L.A.B. Golf - who brought us Lie Angle Balance (L.A.B.) technology - have just revealed the OZ.1 collection. It was developed with 32-time tour winner Adam Scott. The partnership began in early 2023, with Scott sharing personal design goals that guided the development of OZ.1's half-moon, solid-body construction. “We've always challenged ourselves to develop putters that resonate with world-class golfers while retaining all the performance benefits of Lie Angle Balance,” says Sam Hahn, CEO of L.A.B. Golf. “Collaborating with Adam was an inspiring and rewarding process for our team, and it provided invaluable insights into the nuances of shape, feel, sound and…

Name: Kiradech Aphibarnrat Nationality: Thai Age: 35 Tour: DP World / Asian Pro wins: 12 We've heard you're a car nut. What are you driving right now? A Porsche Cayenne is my everyday car. But my favourite car is a Ferrari F12. How many cars do you own? Oh, a lot. I don't know. I've never counted. There's over 10. What would you have been if you were not a pro golfer? I love racing, so I would have tried to become a racing driver. Your closest brush with death? Ah, it was actually a car accident. We were flipping around like three or four times and I hurt my hips. It was a good lesson because I didn't have a seatbelt on and I was laying down in the…

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 A FLAWED SYSTEM LETTER OF THE MONTH Recently, I almost joined a golf club in north Leeds. I'm aged 29, and I expect all golf clubs to offer some incremental discounts for junior golfers, all the way up to the age of 30. This club offered the same… or so I thought. The reduced price (by only £200) was for a six-day membership. And if I wanted the full seven days, I had to pay full price. And for those over 30, perhaps you're thinking, “So you…

I totally understand that not every club player has the time - or even the facilities - to warm up before a round. Tour professionals obviously enjoy a privileged position in both areas. This said, there are plenty of amateur golfers who do not give pre-round preparation the respect it deserves. ■ Even a few swings can get your golfing muscles firing and sharpen your ability to ‘find’ the ball. ■ As well as being great for performance, this can also help you avoid injury. ■ Pre-round shots allow you to identify how you're feeling and swinging on the day, reveal what today's tendencies are, and allow you to then make the appropriate allowances. For these reasons and more, warming up is a non-negotiable for every elite player. If you…

The ability to turn three shots into two around the green is the hallmark of the tour professional. Obviously putting plays its part in this - and we'll look at that shortly - but you don't get up and down on a regular basis unless you are a tidy chipper. Here, I've identified three things the tour pro does that most club golfers do not. Work on them to sharpen your short game. 1. PICK A LANDING SPOT In my time on tour, I became known for using one of golf's stranger training aids - a metal light switch blank. I would place it on the green, a few yards away, and practise trying to land the ball right on to it. I'm not sure where the idea came from,…

There aren't many people in the world who need to build an extra trophy cabinet in the garage because they've run out of space in their house. Annika Sorenstam is one of them. Between 1993 and 2008, the now 54-year-old was the Tiger Woods of the women's game. She won 10 Major Championships and another 88 tournaments, placing her first on the all-time LPGA money list with a 23.5% winning record. She even became the first - and so far only - female to break 60 in competition. It earned her the nickname ‘Miss 59’. Her success paved the way for future generations, many of whom have benefitted from the tournaments, awards and foundation that bear her name. Ahead of hosting The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican on the…

Of course, we would hope that divots would be replaced… and most are. But the sight of your ball winding up in an untended one remains part of the game, especially on courses with sloping fairways and gathering points. The technique you are about to learn will help you make the best of the situation, and can be applied to any lie where the ball is nestled. Obviously there is less certainty about how the ball will come out, so lower your expectation, choose a target with more margin for error… and put these three tactics into play. KEY CONCEPT: DIG FOR VICTORY Success from divots is all about finding the right angle of attack. With the ball below ground level, we have to dig down to get to the…

Tiger or rabbit, we all have one thing in common: we have just accumulated a fresh 12 months of golfing experiences. Your golf may have been brilliant in 2024; you may have stunk the place out for most of it. More likely you had a few poetic days woven into a more prosaic backdrop. But whatever your personal picture, you can use it to improve your play in 2025. How can you do this? By thinking of your last year of golf in terms of a relationship with the game. We are all accustomed to the concept of relationships: with our partner, our parents, our children, our boss or staff. We know these relationships have their ups and downs. We also habitually spend time considering the circumstances that see these…

Garmin have stepped up their golf tech offering with a new, all-in-one launch monitor and simulator. Approach R50 is a portable launch monitor that provides up to 15 club and ball metrics, indoors or out on the range. And when you get home, it turns into a fully integrated simulator that comes pre-loaded with more than 43,000 courses. Three cameras capture each shot in high resolution, frame by frame, so the system can track both the club as it goes through the impact zone and the ball's flight. It will then give you stats such as ball speed, spin rate, launch angle, spin axis, carry and total distance, all displayed on a screen that can also replay impact videos. On the range, the 10-inch colour touchscreen makes it easy to…