Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 462 i Today's Golfer

I am currently driving it as well, if not better, than at any time in my life. If the rest of my game was even half as consistent, I’d be delighted! But let’s not dwell on making double from 100 yards in the middle of the fairway… The improvements have come about since a custom fitting at PXG, and the addition of Fujikura’s Ventus shaft, a Black one no less – the same shaft Rory McIlroy uses. This is a true low-launch, low-spin shaft designed to help high-spin players like me find more distance and more fairways; and there’s no doubt that’s been the case. This month sees the start of our 2025 equipment tests, and we’re kicking off with the new drivers. Yes, there are big differences in looks…

Before I get into this week’s column properly, a quick injury update. My hand’s gone again, unfortunately, and as I type, I’m about to get off to the airport to fly to Singapore and see a specialist doctor out there again -so fingers crossed it’s not too bad. Right, so what are we talking about this month? I see the topic of slow play is in the news again. At Torrey Pines, they were racking up six-hour rounds, which led to Dottie Pepper calling it a “respect” issue – not only for fellow players, but for broadcasters, for fans, for everyone. In response, Rory McIlroy has come out and said we need smaller fields. And the PGA Tour are now saying they’re going to allow rangefinders. I’ll come back to…

There are somewhere in the region of 3,000 golf courses in Great Britain & Ireland, which is far too many to play in a single lifetime. In truth, not all courses are created equal and not all of those courses are worth your time or your money. But here’s an idea: this year, why not focus on quality over quantity and play the very best courses GB&I has to offer for under £110? We’ve highlighted the 10 cheapest green fees at venues listed in our Top 100 GB&I ranking – all of which turned out to be in England, Scotland and Wales. Combined, they will set you back £922… which is still less than the most expensive green fee at Trump Turnberry.…

Let us define the basics of golf as grip, aim, stance and posture. There are two huge myths about this quartet of fundamentals. The first is that they are for beginners. The second is that, once you’ve learned them, you can move on to more sophisticated techniques to do with movement and speed. Both statements could hardly be more wrong… and for the best evidence of this, we only have to spend five minutes on the practice grounds of the world’s tours. Here we will find the best golfers in the world checking their aim, refining their hold sharpening posture and ball position. They appreciate that the efficiency of everything that follows comes from how they stand to the ball and hold the club. In fact one of the easiest…

YOUR COACH Any foundation for sustained golfing progress simply has to include some form of physical conditioning. Fitness – in a golfing sense – allows a golfer to improve technically as well as building in a natural resistance to injury. We can include aerobic fitness, strength, the ability to move dynamically and mobility within the parameters of golf-specific fitness. But for the purposes of including golf conditioning within a simple blueprint for long-term progress, I’d urge you to focus on mobility. ■ Stretching out typically needs no special equipment or gym membership; you can do it on the range, at home, at the course, even during the round! ■ It needs no base level of athleticism. ■ It is something almost everyone can improve. ■ A bigger, easier range of…

Any fool can tell you that the object of the game is to hit the golf ball straight. The one problem with this apparent ‘given’ is that, in fact, nobody actually does. Not even the very best. Jack Nicklaus liked to move the ball from left to right. Rory tends to shape it the other way. Throughout his career, Tiger increasingly mixed it up. There is a good reason for this: a straight shot demands such a precise blend of swing path, face aim, attack angle and impact location that delivering it on a regular basis is just not possible or practical. That’s why even the best prefer the option of what is effectively a controlled miss, fading or drawing the ball on to the target. In the face of…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH Last year’s driver launches saw some of the biggest innovations the industry has seen in the last decade. With several models boasting the highest levels of forgiveness ever seen in a golf club, moment of inertia (MOI) took centre stage. So the big question for 2025 was always going to be how designers could improve them… and now we’ve found out. This is the most comprehensive drivers test we have ever done. We’ve used the same pro (Neil Wain), the same shaft (Fujikura Ventus Blue), the same ball (TaylorMade TP5) and the same launch monitor (a Foresight GCQuad) to get a comparable set of data for each of the 25 heads tested in three categories – low spin, core (models that offer a bit of everything), and…

What’s the story behind the hat? There was a guy who played at West Cornwall Golf Club 100 years ago, Jim Barnes, who won four Majors wearing a similar hat. I like to tie that into the story, but the real reason is I just like wearing it. What was university like in Las Vegas? Not as good as you might think because it’s the strictest place in the world. The drinking age is 21 and even if you have a house party, it gets shut down pretty quick. But then it was probably good for my golf. Where are you a member of now? In Vegas, I’m a member at Spanish Trails, TPC Summerlin and I’ve been playing Shadow Creek for the last four years. You must tee it…

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 @Toaysgolfer AN INCREDIBLE HAT-TRICK LETTER OF THE MONTH After watching Charlie Woods’ hole-in-one at the PNC tournament, it reminded me of the bizarre events that occurred during our annual Captain’s Away Weekend at Stoke by Nayland last September. Playing in fourballs, we had a three-day singles competition, mixed with team comps, that helped to raise a few thousand for the Disabled Golf Association. The most unique part was that each day a different player celebrated a hole-in-one. The chances of this happening, according to my friendly AI, are 12,500 to one for a golfer to get an ace… or 336,700…

Think back to the last time you felt real confidence out on the golf course. For some of you, that might be a while ago! But remember that day and you will also recall its positive impact on performance: you felt relaxed, calm, capable, clear… qualities reflected in the score or result you achieved. Sadly, for the vast majority of club golfers, confidence is a fleeting thing. To discover why that is, we need to think about what gave us that moment of confidence in the first place. Almost always, it is the quality of our golf. We started finding the centre of the face, hitting good shots, and our inner belief bloomed. But, as we know all too well, our golf is not consistent: we have good days and…

Launch monitor technology has given us access to levels of information we could not have dreamed of at the start of the century. While I would argue that the vast majority of it is far more useful to the coach than the pupil, there are a couple of significant exceptions. Let’s take a closer look at them… and learn why they should form part of a long-term improvement plan. ! Commit to driver swing speed and iron-by-iron distance as your key principles for knowing your game. This keeps a potentially confusing information overload at bay, while allowing you to target important performance influencers. 1. Know your driver swing speed The average male club golfer swings his driver at around 95mph impact speed; for a female it is in the upper 70s.…

Watch hundreds of video tips at www.todays-golfer.com PRESENTED BY Shot Scope QUICK TIP SLICE KILLER An alignment stick or clubshaft is all you need to eradicate one of the chief causes of the slice – the steep downswing that leads directly to an out-to-in impact path. Start by holding the club out in front of you, shaft vertical, and placing the stick or club in your crooked elbows. Make sure the stick is horizontal. From here, turn carefully to find a top-ofthe-backswing position, keeping the stick nice and level (inset). The key move now is to shift forwards and unwind while getting the stick to tilt backwards, the end behind you moving downwards and the end in front moving upwards (main image). You will feel how much shallower your downswing…

This is the stunning 16th on Turnberry’s famous Ailsa, a hole defined by the hidden burn fronting its sloping green. Depending on wind direction and tee choice, this medium-length par 4 can leave a relatively short approach if you get a good tee shot away, but because the hole runs parallel to the coast, the approach is very much at the mercy of crosswinds, meaning we need to keep the flight strong and purposeful. This is where a controlled, three-quarter motion really comes into its own. By limiting clubhead speed and aggression, we can keep height and spin off the ball’s trajectory… helping it to carry dangerous hazards and find its mark. Let’s take a closer look. ! KEY CONCEPT: SHORTER SWING, CRISPER RHYTHM The three-quarter shot begins with choosing…

Come with me, if you dare, to the scariest tee shot on the golf course. Maybe it’s a par 4 flanked by jungle, or a par 3 surrounded by blue, wobbly stuff. Whatever the hazards, the fear they invoke can cause us real problems through their ability to assault the all-important mind/body connection. Physically, the most obvious effect is tension – that horrible tightening that makes us feel we are swinging a lead snake. But less clear to us is the mental havoc being wreaked. The fearful, negative perception of the task in front of us prompts the infamous fight/flight/ freeze response. In this state, the part of our brain that holds all our learning and understanding of movement patterns goes offline. Ultimately, we are putting ourselves in our worst…

The P790 is the gift that keeps giving for – and from – TaylorMade. Now into its fifth generation since launching in 2017, the model continues to go from strength to strength. Every generation has been an award winner here at TG and the latest version doesn’t let the side down, prioritising speed, looks and feel in an almost perfect player’s distance package. There’s a real beauty in how, from day one, the model has been designed to be a timeless classic. It means there aren’t huge changes from generation to generation. But for 2025, the P790 gets perhaps its biggest upgrade yet, with a new face material and sleeker looks. “We’re very proud of the P family and everything that it offers players,” says TaylorMade’s iron supremo Matt Bovee,…

Mizuno have brought a completely new concept to the table with their latest range of M.Craft X putters. The models let you tailor your putter to fit your exact stroke, with three different back shapes, three varying neck styles and an array of interchangeable weights. Whether you play a blade or a mallet, you should be able to find a combination that works for you within the new M.Craft X family, because they’ve been designed to feel like a blade while having the forgiveness of a mallet, thanks to a shallow centre of gravity that replicates the swing dynamics of a traditional blade. The family offers a seamless blend of Mizuno’s heritage of precision forging and modern performance tech. The sleek design and fully adjustable features provide golfers with a…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH ‘BASED ON THE KEY TECH WE’VE SEEN, THIS MIGHT WELL BE THE YEAR OF LOWER SPIN’ Last year saw some of the biggest driver innovations for a decade as brands really focused on forgiveness. Increasing the moment of inertia (MOI) delivered more stable clubheads, which boosted distance and accuracy on off-centre strikes. So if 2024 was the year of MOI, what is the theme in 2025? Based on the key technologies we’ve seen, this might well be the year of lower spin. Callaway’s Elyte family and Titleist’s GT series use thermoform carbon crowns to reposition weight and lower the centre of gravity (CG) to decrease spin. TaylorMade’s Qi35 drivers use a blend of premium materials to retain forgiveness while bringing down CG to the lowest it’s ever…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH PING G440 SFT £575 Lofts: 9.5°, 10.5° Stock shafts: Ping Alta CB (counter-balanced) Blue 55 (SR, R, S), Ping Alta Quick 35/45 (HL build only) What we say: Ping make smart decisions, and the SFT is an example of their thought process. With an incredibly highforgiveness driver in the Max, choosing to dedicate a driver to a draw bias set-up means that you have an option for everyone. As our test pro misses out towards the toe, he wasn’t able to get the most out of this head for ball speed, but it produced plenty of height. Those who strike the ball from the heel side (i.e. lots of us!) will no doubt see even bigger benefits. What our tester says: A perfect option for golfers who…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH We’ve added some new data to the testing categories this year, so we thought we’d give you a quick explainer… Clubhead speed: How fast the driver is travelling (in mph) at impact Ball speed: How fast the ball comes off the driver face (in mph) Carry distance: How far the golf ball travelled through the air before hitting the ground (measured in yards) Total distance: How far the ball travelled both through the air and with the predicted roll-out (measured in yards) Spin: The number of times the ball completes a full turn around its centre over a set amount of time (measured in rotations per minute) Launch angle: The angle the ball left impact in relation to the ground (measured in degrees) Height: The highest apex…

LOCKER ROOM CHAT How do you reflect on your results last season? I had a mediocre season in 2024, that’s for sure. I got a win early but I struggled during the whole year. I played absolutely nothing consistent. A lot of that is down to breaking my club in Miami. I have a lot of drivers but there’s always one you like a lot, one that really matches your game. These last few months I’ve been searching for a new driver and it’s impacted the rest of my game. How much are you enjoying playing on LIV? I love it. I’ve played new golf courses and in places I’ve never been before. With the quality of players on the tour, LIV is very competitive and you have to play…

I have two different warm-ups. For a morning round, it’s a little bit shorter. Usually it starts 75 minutes before my tee time with my physio, just to get my joints moving and iron out any kinks in my back or hips. From there, I have 15-18 movements I do to warm-up, ending with some ballistic stuff like a kettlebell clean or a med ball throw to get the system firing. Then I move on to putting, focusing on more technical stuff for 10-15 minutes. That’s usually followed by range work, where I’ll be hitting anywhere from 40 to 60 balls. I’ll start out with 40-yard shots, then I’ll go through lob wedge, gap wedge, 8-iron, 6 and so on. Sometimes I might do odd numbers, but it depends. I…

Long drivers enjoy a special reverence in this great game of ours, but squeezing a few extra yards out of your driver will do a lot more for you than massaging your ego. Consider this hat-trick of stats from leading performance trackers Shot Scope: ■ When a 15-handicapper makes birdie or better, their average drive is 225 yards: when making bogey or worse, it’s 197 yards. ■ From 200 yards out, a 15-handicapper’s average approach ends up 41 yards from the hole; from 180 yards out, that figure plummets to 30. ■ A 15-handicapper hits one in four greens with a 7-iron, but one in three with a 9-iron. It’s the kind of data that confirms what we already suspected: that even a relatively modest distance gain can make a…

Contrary to popular belief, there is no mystery to how to get better at golf. When asked about how they got so good, every tour professional this magazine has ever interviewed has outlined the same approach: sound advice, leading to the adoption of a handful of simple principles, followed by an unwavering, sustained commitment to them as their game and skills developed. Neither is there much doubt about what leads to stagnation and frustration. Fundamentally, it’s the polar opposite: no foundation, no commitment, just plenty of turmoil as we sidetrack and switch our way to a standstill. Almost always, we end up exactly where we began. Yes indeed, if we want to progress in this game, we need to create a simple and effective foundation; one we can believe in…

Okay, not everyone is turned on by the idea of charting performance. I would argue, however, that a blueprint for long-term improvement should include some form of data collection. Why? For the same reason weight watchers need scales and an athlete needs a stopwatch. You need some record of your weight or speed to appraise your current situation, and to understand how well – if at all – the changes you are making are working. Data gives us the truth, and the truth gives us motivation. It also allows us to measure ourselves against others of similar age or ability, and check our performance against expectation – another massive benefit in any long-term quest for improvement. Data collection can be detailed, or it can be simple. But to make it…

Wherever you are in your golfing journey, a seriously strong chipping game is both massively beneficial and completely achievable. A sound, solid greenside chip needs no special athletic ability and with its capacity to turn three shots into two, it is one of the most effective weapons in your armoury. At all levels, probably the biggest error club players make with their chipping is overcomplication, typically an overuse of the hands and wrists. It leads to inconsistency of strike and general loss of control. So make simplicity the theme for your new chipping approach; whether you are hoping to break 100 for the first time or aspiring to shoot in the 70s, this idea will repay you a thousand times. YOUR COACH BREAK 100 Let the club set the approach…

Yes indeed, this month’s Big Number is a little number. Just 0.27 doubles or worse per round for the scratch player equates to once every four rounds, or around 2% of the holes they play. Compare this figure from shot-tracking specialists Shot Scope (shotscope.com) with the 6.66 doubles or worse per round registered by 20-handicappers. Even 10-handicappers make double or worse almost three times a round on average (2.88). Of course, keeping a big number off your scorecard is easier said than done, but the data shows just how important it is for bringing your scores down. To keep your round going and your scorecard in one piece, pay closer attention to your play on these holes. TRY THIS You’ll benefit from keeping your own ‘double data’. When you post…

You are out on the course, enjoying a perfectly acceptable round of golf, when out of nowhere you suddenly slice a drive out of bounds. Obviously it’s annoying and inevitably, you find yourself asking that age-old question, “What the (insert rude word here) happened there?” Easy. You cut across it. Or perhaps you spun out of it a bit. Or you started down with your shoulders. Or you struck it out of the heel. Or you were misaligned. Or you were carrying some extra tension, meaning you failed to release the club. Or there was some moisture on the clubface. Or you reverse pivoted. Or you tried to hit it a little harder, throwing your timing out. I could go on. Apologies for that paragraph. But it is of course…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH CALLAWAY ELYTE TRIPLE DIAMOND £599 Lofts: 8º, 9º, 10.5º Stock shafts: Aretera EC1 Blue 65g (S, X), 75g (S, X), Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1k Black 65g (S, X) and 75g (S, X), True Temper Denali Charcoal 50g (6.0-S) What we say: The Elyte Triple D is a seriously fast driver, up near the very top performers in the game. What we like in particular is that swapping the front and rear weights creates tangible differences in ball flight without affecting distance. We saw more spin and height from the heavier weight in the rear over the front position, but with only four yards of distance loss. What our tester says: I love the framing of the driver, it sits very cleanly. While I prefer the matt finish…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH CALLAWAY ELYTE £569 Lofts: 9º, 10.5º, 12º Stock shafts: True Temper Project X Denali Charcoal 50g (5.5-R, 6.0-S) and 60g (6.0-S, 6.5-X), Mitsubishi Chemical Vanquish PL 40G (R2) What we say: The Elyte has been unlucky in this test; if it wasn’t for one other model, it would’ve taken a clean sweep of the Core category – and deservedly so. It’s consistent, powerful, and we think it’s a driver that will work for a very wide variety of golfers. What our tester says: The finish on the crown is superb. From the face, it’s fast and feels forgiving if I do mishit the club. Callaway have been making great drivers for a while now, and this shows why they are one of the market leaders. WILSON STAFF…

1 WILSON ARE MAKING A STATEMENT WITH THE DNAPWR RANGE Of the five settings we tested the DYNAPWR models in, three options made up the top three for left-right dispersion, with a fourth not far behind. The LS created solid carry and less spin. The Max, while at the short end for distance, was incredibly easy to hit. And the Carbon came first and second for carry distance in the Core model options. Seriously impressive stuff from what many have seen as underdogs over the last few decades. 2 TITLEIST AREN'T JUST FOR THE BEST PLAYERS While the GT1 came out too late for us to include it, Titleist offer a seriously impressive range with the GT2, 3 and 4. We’ve obviously been impressed with the performance of our Best…