Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 461 i Today's Golfer

This is the time of year when tour pros share their goals for the season ahead. Justin Thomas is perhaps the most high-profile player to share his, and winning a Major and making the Ryder Cup team appear along with lots of statty targets, such as hitting 60% of his fairways. So what are realistic goals for an 11-handicapper like me? ◼ Book a short game lesson; that's where the biggest improvement will come. I am fed up being greenside in two and walking off with a bogey or worse, after duffing one a foot or knifing one over the back… That makes the game hard. ■ Spend an hour a week practising that chipping; my short game confidence is at an all-time low, and improving it will have a…

As the 2025 women's golf season looms large, the five Major championships are set to define the year in thrilling fashion. With Nelly Korda leading the charge in a new era for the LPGA, the stage is set for another season of high drama and excellence. Here's a look at the five Majors and my thoughts on who will take the title at each one. 1. The Chevron Championship My winner: Nelly Korda Scheduled for April 24-27 at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, the Chevron Championship is the first Major of the year and a golden opportunity for World No.1 Nelly Korda to hit the ground running. Having secured this title in 2024 - her second career Major - Korda will be eager to set the…

TAYLORMADE Qi35 MAX £529 Stock shafts: Two The ‘Quest for Inertia: 10,000' – Qi10 – is a selfexplanatory name for those who've been following the trends. Qi35 doesn't stand for 35,000 MOI. It's not actually 35 but a three and a five. The three refers to the key tenets that TaylorMade are abiding by in 2025: form, function and fit. The five relates to the five different models in the family: Max, Core (standard), LS, the new Max Lite, and a SelectFit head. The Max is the true 10K model. It features the biggest head of the family, something done in an effort to create space for that CG to be moved backwards, but with the new finish it's still a sleek-looking design. The goal with Qi35 is to still…

Choosing the right fairway wood for your game is one of the trickiest club choices in golf. They are typically the clubs we hit least often, but when we do, we expect to have full confidence in them. Whether it's finding the fairway on a tight tee shot or getting greenside in two on a par 5, a trusty fairway wood plays a crucial role in helping to lower your scores. Our advice (as always) is to get fitted, to take advantage of all the options on offer this year. Scan this with your phone to access more details, pictures, videos and verdicts, or just visit www.todays-golfer.com TAYLORMADE Qi35 MAX £309 Lofts: 3(15.5°)/5(18.5°) /7(21.5°)/9(24.5°) Stock shafts: One Like the Qi35 Max driver, the fairway comes in slightly higher lofts to…

CALLAWAY ELYTE £167 per club (s), £175 per club (g) Stock shafts: Two Best suited to golfers looking for distance, consistency and control. A new Speed Frame construction allows for extra urethane microspheres to deliver better sound and feel while the Ai10x face adds ball speed and tightens dispersion. An all-new tri-sole design has a sharper leading edge and trailing edge chamfer to allow for efficient entry and exit through the turf, while the mid-section offers enhanced forgiveness. You've never had it so good if you're considering a new set of irons this year. It doesn't matter if you're an accomplished, single-figure ball striker who likes to draw a mid-iron into a tight left flag, or a 25-handicapper who just wants help to get the ball airborne, the class of…

Wedges are like putters in that really personal pieces of kit. Their shaping, looks and groove configurations play a huge part in building confidence in the club – and as we know, confidence is king when it comes to a solid short game. Single wedge models are available in multiple options, with a choice of grinds, finishes and head shapes, so it pays to find a model that really suits your eye. Scan this with your phone to access more details, pictures, videos and verdicts, or just visit www.todays-golfer.com CLEVELAND RTZ £159 (RTZ Tour Rack: £169) Lofts: 46°-60° in 2°increments Grinds: LOW, MID and FULL, plus ADAPT (full-face grooves) Cleveland have made some of the best wedges for years – but even they're excited about the RTZ. It's made from…

For the best golf equipment coverage online, visit www.todays-golfer.com YOUR COACH HOLE MORE SHORT PUTTS Most modern putters have effective alignment aids built in, and for good reason: we know that face aim at impact dictates the ball's direction, so the ability to aim it well at set-up becomes a key part of holing out. However, if we over-focus on the face itself during the stroke, we can run into issues. Let's take a look at why… and what you can do about it. Wristy business If you set out with a goal to control the face, you quickly establish that the quickest and easiest way to manipulate the blade and its aim is via the wrists. Hinge them back and the putter moves backwards; hinge them forwards and the…

Four wins, four runner-up finishes and a sixth Race to Dubai title. By anyone else's standards, 2024 was a season to savour and celebrate. Except, Rory Mcllroy isn't like any other player. It's coming up to 11 years since his last Major Championship success, an incredible return for a player who won four of them during a dominant three-year stretch. Losing the LIS Open last summer was the latest in a long line of setbacks and has led many to question whether he will ever be able to shed the scar tissue that has built up between his ears. The weight of expectation forms the basis of a number of intriguing interviews, as well as a new Sky Sports documentary, in which Rory recaps the most eventful and difficult period…

It's not quite true to say Andrew Coltart was born into golf, because the game was part of him even before he entered the world. His dad and grandad were so keen that he take up the game that membership was taken out at Thornhill when his mum was three months pregnant. And sure enough, it wasn't too long before the pre-school Coltart was straddling the golf bag on his dad's trolley and being pulled round the course in the town close to Dumfries in the south of Scotland. He and his dad Robbie would also have putting competitions in those early days, with the shaft shoved up underneath the enthusiastic youngster's armpit. Coltart got very good, very quickly, but golf was fighting for his attention with rugby and especially…

This is the famous ‘doughnut' bunker on the par-5 10th hole of Turnberry's Ailsa layout. While its penal design is unique, its purpose certainly isn't; many longer holes have bunkers around 80-120 yards short of the green, usually to pose a risk/reward question for the second shot but also sometimes as a visual trick to foreshorten the approach. Whatever their purpose, they can mean big trouble for the scorecard if we fail to negotiate them. Use these tips to limit the damage. KEY CONCEPT: STRONGER CLUB, STANDARD TECHNIQUE When things get tough, the best course of action is invariably to keep things simple. And the best way to keep this shot simple is to employ the same, trusted technique you use around the greens and simply use a less-lofted club…

1. INSURANCE VOW I know I've bored you with this before, but October showed why. I returned to my parked car to find a crack in the front grille. There's a bit of hassle with the forms but the £452 is deposited in my account within eight weeks. No excess. When the renewal comes in from icarhireinsurance.com, I click on it instantly. The £65 is worth every penny. 2. EXCESS ALARM If you take my advice and get your own insurance, be aware of the limit you need on your credit card when using it to guarantee the excess and save taking out their daily insurance. It used to be around £500, but I've been experiencing £2,200 – and if you don't have the full amount, you're snookered. 3. FLIGHT…

While it's been talked about for years and become a real focal point since the rumours started with ‘HatGate' in Rome, I don't think I ever believed that it would become a reality. The PGA of America have said every American player who makes the team for the match at Bethpage later this year will receive $500k, $300k of which will be donated to a charity of their choice. They also said that they'd made the decision without any of the players asking to be compensated. If that's genuinely the case, why do it? If the players don't want the money and are happy with things as they are, why would you give it to them? I don't think many American players genuinely want to be paid to play the…

POWER: THREE EASY WAYS TO GAIN DISTANCE For the vast majority of club golfers, hitting the ball further has little to do with trips to the gym or speed training programs. Instead, with so many players operating well below their distance potential, it is a question of making a few targeted tweaks to improve your motion and optimise both your ability and your driver's performance. Here are three that are easy to execute and quick to deliver. YOUR COACH 1. ENSURE YOUR GRIP CHANNELS SPEED Strong hitters create powerful lag during the downswing – a sharp angle formed between the lead forearm and the clubshaft that can be released like a whip crack at impact to create huge speed. This powerful lag and release is created by good body motion…

Hybrids used to be like-for-like replacements for hard-to-hit long irons. Not any more. The latest Ping G440 and TaylorMade Qi35 Max Lite come in a 7-iron loft, while several brands offer oversized head shapes and different centre of gravity locations to cater for players who need more help to hit it higher and further. We've also included Srixon's new utility iron here – another more forgiving alternative to those tricky long irons. Scan this with your phone to access more details, pictures, videos and verdicts,or just visit www.todays-golfer.com CALLAWAY ELYTE X £299 Lofts: 3(18°) /4(21°)/5 (25°)/6(29°) Stock shafts: Two The Elyte hybrid is best suited to golfers looking for a semi-draw flight in an oversized profile It has a taller face for more forgiveness and Callaway say it pairs perfectly…

1. HIT IT THE RIGHT DISTANCE Ultimately, our ironplay needs to deliver two things: ■ We need to hit the ball the right distance. ■ We need to hit the ball to fly on the right line. Overleaf, Steve Astle will take you through some key accuracy essentials, but for now, let's focus on the distance element. At club level, this means improving the quality and consistency of our ballstriking to deliver regular and predictable energy transfer from club to ball. Follow this plan. Sharpen your posture Great ballstriking begins with sound posture. Standing to the ball well doesn't just improve your balance, which is of course a key element of ballstriking; it also sets the ideal tilt and plane for your action – equally vital for finding the sweetspot…

1. MASTER THE ‘HOP-AND-STOP' All the face spin and friction technology in the latest wedges is at its most effective when the club is new, clean and sharp… which makes it the ideal time to develop the so-called hop-and-stop. This is a shot that combines a fast, low flight with masses of spin – the ball takes a hearty first bound before settling impressively on the second and third bounces. It is a great option when you need to carry the ball all the way to the green, but have plenty of green to work with. Here's how it works. YOUR COACH Set-up: Preset launch and spin We add spin by increasing the differential between attack angle and face loft…. In other words, hitting more downward with more loft. Promote…

January 14 Leading by one with one to play at the Dubai Invitational, dunks his tee shot in the water on 18 and makes bogey. Tommy Fleetwood birdies the hole to snatch victory. January 21 Successfully defends the Dubai Desert Classic despite trailing by 11 shots on Saturday. April 12 Falls short in his bid to claim the Career Grand Slam, tying for 22nd at the Masters. April 28 Teams up with Shane Lowry to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a playoff. He celebrates by performing a rendition of Don't Stop Believin'. May 8 Announces defeat in his bid to return to the PGA Tour Policy Board as a player director after Tiger, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth block the move. May 12 Beats Xander Schauffele by…

Watch hundreds of video tips at www.todays-golfer.com HERE TO HELP YOU SAVE SHOTS QUICK TIP WEDDING WRING A sound grip knits the hands together, encouraging them to work as a unit. This leads to greater clubface control, more accuracy and improved consistency. To develop this, grab your bag towel. Hold it loosely in your hands. Feel both palms are under the towel, facing the sky, with your arms relaxed by your sides. From here, imagine the towel is soaking and you are going to wring the water out (inset). You would do this by twisting both hands inwards, thumbs moving towards each other. When you do this: ■ The Vs between thumb and forefinger become stacked, lead hand over trail hand. ■ The palm of the trail hand feels lightly…

It hangs around the game like a bad smell. This absurd notion that your muscles are somehow able to remember and forget stuff gets trotted out by commentators, coaches, sometimes even tour pros. It may seem a harmless misconception. Believe me, it isn't. It's wasted the time and effort of more golfers than I care to recall… and it's high time we put it to bed. Many of us were fed this ‘wisdom' from a young age. I for one can look back on the days where I swallowed the idea that if my muscles were asked to repeat a movement for enough reps, they'd begin to remember it. All it did was give me heartburn. I tried to beat my muscles into submission by the number of balls I…

In case you don't have a calculator handy, 131ft equates to about 44 yards. This is leaving us plenty of work to do even to get down in three more shots; not great on shots averaging 125 yards in length. Compare this figure from shot-tracking specialists Shot Scope (shotscope.com) to the average proximity of 64ft from the fairway – a figure that will put you almost exactly twice as close to the hole every time. The data is clear: fairway sand is a real weakness for the average club player. There are two things you can do with this information: 1. Use it as an incentive to improve your fairway bunker play. 2. Pay more respect to fairway bunkers on the tee, adjusting your targeting to take it out of…

Name: David Howell Nationality: English Age: 49 Tour: DP World Pro wins: 7 What was your first car and what do you drive now? Austin Allegro was the first and now it's a Volkswagen Sharan… I haven't really made much progress. What was your first job? I did cladding and guttering. Apart from a house or car, what's your most extravagant purchase? I bought a watch in my first year on Tour for £1,500. It was way too extravagant, and I wished I hadn't bought it! What's the most money you've ever gambled on the course? The most I've lost is about £300, so not huge. When I'm playing at home, win or lose £200 is about my level, nothing more than that. What did you spend your first golf…

@Thetodaysgolfer @TodaysGolferBauer @Todaysgolfer @Todaysgolfer HANDICAP MANIPULATORS Although I believe general play cards give more opportunities to get your handicap down, we all know there are some golfers out there who play the system to push their good scores out the other end quicker, so they get more shots back again. I believe the best way to counter this is for England Golf to think about making your handicap index eight from 50 rounds, rather than the current 20, so those who post a bad run of results aren't rewarded with a few extra shots, ready for when their form returns. It's either that or reducing the soft and hard caps down further. Peter Brown, email NEW YEAR, NEW PERSPECTIVE As the new golfing season begins, I think we should all…

Accurate driving does not mean hitting fairways – it means keeping the ball in play. The big numbers crop up when we miss our tee shots really wide; it's the lost balls and OBs, hack-outs and penalty drops that really cost us. For so many club golfers, reigning in driver dispersion is a matter of tightening up the basics, so it's here we'll focus. YOUR COACH 1. TIDY UP YOUR ADDRESS Four checks that will take the shape out of your drives Ball position: inside lead heel With the club swinging on an arc, the ball's position can affect swing path at the point of contact, and ultimately, accuracy: ■ Too far back promotes an in-to-out impact path ■ Too far forward establishes an out-to-in impact path. To get closer…

1. USE IT LIKE A PUTTER Of course, the hybrid is first and foremost a long-iron replacement; but its versatility means it can also be put to great use around the green. The club's 20 or so degrees of loft are perfect for generating the scooting, chasing flight this shot needs, while its forgiving, rounded edges help avoid heavy contact. YOUR COACH Address: Set up for control Basically, we are going to use our putting set-up, but with two key changes: ■ Grip down the rubber to ‘shorten' the longer hybrid. ■ Play the ball a little further back in your stance – around centre – to promote clean contact. Otherwise, use your putting grip and arch your wrists to ensure the clubshaft and forearms form one line. The ball…

Hitting the ball straight is all about creating a compatible relationship between the clubface and the swing path; and while it is possible to match the face up to a path that swings across the ball, you are more likely to achieve consistency through uniting a squarer face with a more neutral path. Use this three-stage plan to do just that. STEP 1: ALIGNMENT Use a near target Perhaps the biggest alignment trap is aiming at the target itself instead of parallel to the ball-target line. This creates a closed stance. Your best defence against this is picking a near target on the ball-target line – just a couple of feet in front of the ball. Picture the line between the ball and your near target, and arrange yourself parallel…

ODYSSEY Ai-ONE £289 Models: Four New head shapes for 2025 are the Wing Back mallet, 24 mallet, 2-Ball Jailbird and 2-Ball Jailbird Cruiser. The multi-material construction includes unique contours on the back of the face that minimise ball speed losses on off-centre hits and increase the sweetspot. Odyssey's urethane insert delivers more consistent ball speeds, even from off-centre hits, leaving putts up to 21% closer to the hole. Finding the perfect putter for your game is hugely important, given it's the club you use more than any other. Choosing the right one comes down to many factors, including price, head shape, which alignment aids suit your eye (if any), whether you have a straight or arced putting stroke, whether you prefer a firmer or softer feel, the length that suits…

Who will win the Masters? Who will win the US PGA? Who will win the US Open? Who will win The Open? Scottie Scheffler. He's the boring but obvious choice as an Augusta specialist and a serial contender whenever he tees it up. He has nine wins, two seconds and eight other top 10s in his last 22 starts. I rest my case. Rory does have a ridiculous record at Quail Hollow, but so does Max Homa and I'm resigned to the fact that Rory will never win another Major. Homa will be the people's champion of 2025. By law of averages, it's got to be Xander Schauffele, right? He's had seven top 10s in eight US Open starts. Rory has had six in six, so I expect Schauffele to…

It's not a sliced drive, a duffed chip or a missed three-foot putt, but misuse of practice time could be the biggest crime of the lot. Almost every club golfer I meet tells me how much they'd love to have more time to work on their game… which also tells me that what practice time they do have is valuable. Yet so many fail to make the most of these precious sessions, meaning their games stagnate or, in some cases, actually get worse. In this article I'll explain what I see as the biggest and most common waste of practice time, before detailing a couple of options that will help you form new, more effective range habits. Put them into practice – literally – and your game can start to…

Okay, hands up if you can tell me what's missing from this main image. If you said ‘tee peg', try again. This image is all golf club and no golfer for a very good reason: club golfers up and down the land spend far too little time thinking about the former, and way too much time thinking about the latter. Let me explain. The image shows a 7-iron in its perfect impact position: the shaft is leaning a little forwards, the clubface is square and the ball is centred on the clubface. Apply the club in this position and you can't help but produce a sweet, straight golf shot. But when we talk about the quality of our impact position, we don't really mention the club. Instead, we tend to…

Also inside The Top 50 year-round resorts plus the Top 20 areas BRAND-NEW RANKING THE WINTER SUN INDEX We've ranked the best 100 courses you can play in shorts, skirts and a polo all year round – from Belek to Morocco and Dubai to Sotogrande WELCOME TO THE TOP 100 WINTER SUN COURSES My idea with this ranking was to provide some escapism in the depths of the British winter, to give some food for thought for those thinking about a last-minute break, and offer some information for those making plans for autumn-winter of 2025/26. There is probaoly never an optimum time to run this Top 100, but there are a few bad times; I reckon there are golfers booking winter sun trips all year round, bar perhaps the middle…