Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 468 i Today's Golfer

I’ve been using a ball with a stripe on it for years now. It just gives me an extra shot of confidence when I stand over a putt. Lots of tour players have a line on their ball, too, with one notable exception. Scottie Scheffler’s decision to ditch his line coincided with his switch to TaylorMade’s Spider Tour X putter – and he’s dominated the putting stats ever since. He finished all four rounds at Royal Portrush ranked second in the field in Strokes Gained Putting. He had 63 putts inside 10 feet during the week – and made 59 of them. But his putter switch was allied to a major change on his ball, too. He stopped putting a line on it. He said it was leading to a…

THE FORMAT Amateur golf’s Ryder Cup is a two-day matchplay affair that pits the 10 best male amateur golfers from Great Britain & Ireland and America against each other. The first day consists of four foursomes matches and eight singles; the second day features another four foursomes matches and 10 singles. With 26 points available, GB&I must secure at least 13.5 points to win the match outright. As defending champions, USA can retain the Cup by securing 13 points. THE FORMER STARS Tiger. Rory. Scottie Scheffler. Phil Mickelson. Jordan Spieth. Justin Rose. Bryson DeChambeau. Pick a big golfing name from either side of the Atlantic and the chances are they will have cut their teeth in this event. “The Walker Cup was a big part of my career,” admits Jack…

People think it’s awesome being a tour player, but the actual stuff we do in our practice, day in and day out, is so boring. A lot of the time it’s five shots at different paces. And then we’re always working on our posture, set-up, and alignment. As Tiger said, it’s the fundamentals you have to work on first. Everything follows on. Posture is such an important aspect of the golf swing, yet so many amateurs don’t bend enough from the hips. The triceps, knees and balls of the feet should be aligned so your weight is completely centred, 50/50. Once you’re balanced and have that feeling of being grounded, then you can start working on your swing. But if you haven’t got the basics right, you can’t work efficiently…

To perform any motor skill, it’s vital we have a clear mental picture of what we are trying to achieve. When we have that clear image, the movements needed to execute it present themselves. Consider, for example, banging in a nail with a hammer; the image is so clear that the motion takes care of itself. But when it comes to hitting a golf ball, this vision is usually distorted. The various technical aspects of the golf swing, coupled with the language used to express them, tend to create more confusion than clarity; and they create the common swing flaws coaches see every day. I believe, though, that there is simpler way. When you picture the swing as a circle, so many of the technical issues that plague the club…

So far we’ve learned about the concept of the Circle Swing, developed a better understanding of timing and put some posture/balance foundations in place. Now it’s time to start creating some new movement patterns that will help you build momentum into your action, and start getting your swing to flow again. This starts with the trail shoulder – right for the right-hander. Start by taking up your address position. Let your trail arm hang in front of you. From here, swing your arm back till the hand is around hip height. But DON’T allow your shoulders to turn; the movement should feel more side-to-side than around you. The swing of the arm will come instead from the shoulder joint, which you will feel rotating and opening in its socket. Now…

As mentioned at the start of this article, the 21-day Challenge is designed to help you develop new movement patterns that will see you reinvent your swing inside a month. So far, we’ve focused almost exclusively on new concepts like the Circle Swing and timing, and freeing up the trail shoulder to develop more functional motion. We finish by blending in the lead side to those new movement patterns. Do it in two steps. Gap drill In this clubless exercise, take your address position with palms just a few inches apart and facing each other. Your goal here is to make a three-quarter swing back and through, keeping the gap between the palms constant. This is an effective way to allow the trail arm and shoulder joint to perform their…

Of course it doesn’t need to be water; cavernous bunkers, expanses of gorse, knee-deep rough – all these and more have the power to add considerable stress to what should be a relatively straightforward assignment… with tension typically rising and focus falling. Getting on top of this shot, then, is as much about improving your mental approach as your technical one. The technique I will show you here will blend the two to ensure you are not making this shot any harder than it needs to be. It will also plumb a slightly more safety-first feel into your motion to promote that all-important clean strike and help you build confidence. Follow this simple plan. YOUR COACH KEY CONCEPT: POSITIVE FOCUS We would not be human if we did not run…

Famed putter designer Sean Toulon has unveiled a new 2025 collection with a focus on an even softer feel and an enhanced stability line-up for the benefit of every golfer. “Every radius has been reimagined, every edge has been rethought, and every top line refined,” Toulon told TG. “Our goal was to make a beautiful design even more striking and perform at a higher level.” Falling in line with the new look is a new material to match. Toulon has used 304 stainless steel to provide lower vibration levels. As well as being easier to machine and mill during manufacturing, the 304 helps with consistency. There are 10 models in the range, from the high-MOI Las Vegas to the Hollywood blade, each with a deeper face milling and a dark…

GRAND DESIGNS News of two brand-new courses - plus Paul McGinley’s special overhaul THE BEST OF IRELAND Two new entries and some headline movers – notably in the top 10 – in our refreshed ranking PLUS THE 80 GREATEST COURSES IN WALES 1 ROYAL COUNTY DOWN (CHAMPIONSHIP) NEWCASTLE, DOWN Has fallen from our GB&I and World No.1 – to No.2 – only because it does not score especially highly for Playability. Otherwise, the most complete course imaginable, in my view. 2 ROYAL PORTRUSH (DUNLUCE) PORTRUSH, ANTRIM An incredibly strong No.2 and these two are clear at the top in Ireland – as befits two of the top six in GB&I. Portrush is at its magnificent best these days and there are memorable holes throughout for a links that really has no weakness.…

We love a limited edition club at TG, especially when they look as beautiful as these stealthy new Vokey wedges. The Black Vapor finish on SM10 wedges brings a premium look to the PGA Tour’s most-played wedges. A new Titanium Carbide Vapor finish is applied through a PVD treatment for maximum durability, while an FPP coating creates a smudge-resistant effect on the clubhead. Completing the Black Vapor look is a custom black-and-silver Golf Pride grip and a Dynamic Gold Onyx shaft. “A player has to love their wedge when they look down at it, and finish plays a key role,” says Bob Vokey. “Having confidence in your wedge at address is hugely important.” Every loft, bounce and grind combination in the Vokey Design SM10 line, in both right- and left-hand…

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 TG'S NEWEST SUBSCRIBER! LETTER OF THE MONTH I have three golf mad sons, aged nine, 13 and 15. We can now play a family fourball and I’m fast becoming the worst player among us. My wife has to suffer a house full of golf shoes, tees left in pockets, grass in the kitchen, and the dishwasher filled with golf balls to be cleaned! I came home from picking the boys up from golf last week to discover that we now have another golf nut in the family – unexpectedly, Sammy, our two-year-old Cocker Spaniel! He is the one male…

Hopefully the idea of the swing as a circle has set up a new and clearer way for you to picture an effective motion. In Stage 2 we build on this idea by getting to grips with how to get the club to flow properly within that circle. For this, we need an equally clear concept of how the various segments of our body interrelate and move during the swing. 1. Going the distances Consider these three elements of your swing: The clubhead (outer zone). Your hands (mid zone). Your chest and shoulders (inner zone). All three need to move during the swing. But they all move massively different distances: The clubhead moves around 30ft from start to finish. The hands travel around half that distance, 15ft or so. Your…

In the next stage of the 21-day Challenge, we build on the idea of getting that trail arm to swing by asking you to throw a ball. It’s amazing how your throwing motion echoes your hitting one; and because throwing a ball encourages us to focus more on movement patterns than finding positions, it’s an excellent way to train the weight shift, momentum and release we need in a free-flowing golf swing. Try this: Hold a ball in the fingers of your trail hand. Tuck your lead arm out of the way and take up your address position. Start by repeating the halfway back-and-through move as we learned in Stage 4, but don’t yet throw the ball. Use the range of motion in your shoulder joint to gradually let the…

The seven Stages detailed in this article form the basic structure of the 21-day Challenge. Hopefully by now you have seen that we are dealing not so much with traditional swing coaching and positions, but more with movement patterns – replacing cramped, awkward, powerless motion with width, flow and easy motion that works in harmony with our anatomy. In a nutshell, the Challenge asks you to: 1. Reimagine the golf swing as a circle, a simple image uniting mind and body. 2. Develop a clearer picture of timing, and how an understanding that different segments need to work at different speeds underpins a well-timed and powerful swing. 3. Refine posture and balance to lay the guidelines for a more flowing, more confident swing. 4. Retrain the trail arm and shoulder…

Watch hundreds of video tips at todays-golfer.com HERE TO HELP YOU SAVE SHOTS QUICK TIP CENTRAL STATION At the heart of every great golf swing is a great pivot, the torso rotating back and through fully and consistently. Containing the shape of your motion and creating speed, the pivot is in fact the engine of the swing. To train a better pivot, position two alignment sticks or clubshafts between your feet as shown – a ball’s width either side of the ball. Criss-cross your arms to pin a club against your shoulders. Turn back until your head is near enough over that trail stick and the shaft across your shoulders is parallel to it. Now turn your chest through to face the target. Again, check your head is over or…

We all know the qualities of a great golf swing – rhythm, power, coordination, balance, timing. But for so many golfers, these qualities seem almost impossible to find. Why? Because more often than not, the pursuit of the positions that are supposed to deliver them jams us up instead. What we often need is a less technical, more instinctive way of training great mechanics… and thanks to the concept of swinging a rope, we have one. Picture swinging a club-length of rope around you… or better yet, find some rope and cut it to size. The simple intention of creating speed and momentum in the swinging rope will develop a range of benefits: ■ Overuse the hands, arms and wrists and the rope goes slack. You are forced to engage…

In yards, the distance advantage of a scratch player's full-swing sand wedge over a 15-handicapper's. According to the latest figures from performance-tracking specialists Shot Scope, a scratch golfer averages 105 yards with a full sand wedge while a 15-handicapper manages just 84. Now of course we would expect the better player to hit it further… but a 21-yard advantage from a club with 56º of loft? That suggests something other than pure swing speed at play. The most likely answer is compression; better players squeeze the ball with short irons, presenting a delofted and stronger face to the ball. As the handicap rises, compression generally drops off as an unhelpful combination of poor concepts and dodgy techniques sees more of a loft-adding, face-weakening flick through the strike. If the midhandicapper…

Lots us struggle around the greens, especially when we can’t reach for the putter. Duffed or thinned wedges and misjudged bump-andruns are commonplace at golf courses around the globe. While good wedges and lots of practice will help, for some golfers it’s just a challenge too far. That’s why Odyssey have developed their new Chipper. This isn’t a first for the brand, with the previous X-Act and X-Act Tank proving a godsend for players who lack confidence when trying to get up and down. But Odyssey say the new model, which is available in men’s and women’s specs, is their best yet. Here’s why… ODYSSEY CHIPPER £149 Loft: 37º Standard shaft: Odyssey Stepped 2.0 Chrome Steel (35.5in) USE IT LIKE A PUTTER The club, which has the same Odyssey Stepped…

POWAKADDY CT10 GPS £1,029 TG verdict: In our opinion, the best PowaKaddy trolley on the market – there isn’t anything else we’d want from our wheels. It might not have as big a screen as the CT12 GPS, but for the price, we would much rather opt for the CT10. The 3.5in portrait, full-colour touch display is an absolute game-changer, an innovation that has us asking, “Why aren’t all screens portrait? ” It has Full Hole View, the GPS – pre-loaded with over 40,000 golf courses – Advanced Active Green View, Active Hazard View, Drop Flag Technology and Directional Attack Feature, and all are used regularly over the course of a round. And on top of all that, the CT10 GPS is so small and compact, it’s so easy to…

The Ireland Top 100 is one of the most stable lists I compile. The key reason for that is that right from the start, we have had a panel that has played every course on the island. But a mark of Ireland’s refusal to rest on its collective laurels is the fact there is a fair bit of movement in this year’s list, because clubs are doing significant work to their courses. Allied to a new course that is maturing as nicely as I expected it to, you’ll find plenty of interesting moves within this Top 100. I’m already counting down to the days to my trip to Ireland in September to play two courses that have undergone notable work – Royal Portrush and Portstewart – as well as a…

■ Galgorm Collection will shortly begin phase one of a major, multi-million pound development that will see two new links courses created in Northern Ireland. The links courses at Bellarena and near Cushendall will be the first built in Northern Ireland in more than 100 years. Phase one also includes, and will be led by, the remodelling of Roe Valley, outside Limavady. This will be done by European Golf Design, who are currently working at Portstewart. There are also plans for evolution at Galgorm Castle, where the vision is to expand the golf offering. ■ Balmoral GC, founded in 1914, will be moving to New Grove Estate, in south Belfast, where a new course by Paul McGinley Design is planned. Similarly, there is an expectation that Clontarf GC will be…

Michael Whitehead spent two and a half years playing his way around Wales for the latest edition of his Golf Lover’s Guide series. Here’s what he learned… How do Wales’ courses typically differ to those in Scotland and England? What sets Wales apart are its courses set on top of and around the hillsides and mountain ranges. Take Welshpool, for instance. When you reach the plateau by the 4th green and take a long look at the panorama, you couldn’t be anywhere else but Wales. When you reach the 12th tee box at Cradoc, you’re staring straight at Pen y Fan, and you can’t take your eyes off it. The same sentiment hits you at locations such as Harlech, Conwy, Nefyn, The Monmouthshire or Vale of Llangollen, where you’re surrounded…

With thanks to Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel and Country Club in Ware, Hertfordshire. For more details, visit marriotthanburymanor.co.uk YOUR COACH How would you describe a great golf swing? When I ask golfers this, the same adjectives pop up time and again -‘flowing’, ‘confident’, ‘effortlessly powerful’. But when I ask them to describe their own swings, I get a very different list! There’s no question the typical club player struggles to find the freedom, timing and coordination that appear to come so easily to the expert. We could spend all day debating why that is; but for a better use of our time, let’s focus on what we can do to get those desirable traits into your action. My 21-day Challenge offers just that. It’s a chance for the struggling golfer…

There are of course several swing foundations, including grip, alignment and ball position. But because the 21-day Challenge is primarily about building a natural and powerful momentum into your movement, we will focus here on its two most pivotal contributors: posture and balance. Stand upright. At this point, your belt line should be pretty much horizontal. Picture your pelvis as a vessel containing water. I’m holding a cup of water by my trail hip to represent that. As we stand upright, the belt line level with the ground, the water is contained. Unlock your movement: Hip hinge The golf swing asks us to rotate on an angle. That’s not the simplest movement pattern, but it becomes far more achievable when we set our hips properly at address. Setting the right…

We are most of the way through the 21-day Challenge now, and yet the focus remains on the trail arm. I make no apology for that. It’s the unlocking of that trail shoulder that allows you to create the correct speed ratios we learned in Stage 2, and helps you fire great timing into your swing. But it’s high time we brought a club back into the equation. Build on Stages 4 and 5 with this trail arm-only exercise. Address: Grip just below the handle When you get your trail arm to function well, you will start to develop the definite sense that the club is part of the arm. Indeed, the club will feel almost weightless because your forearm and shoulder joint are contributing to its movement. To develop…

Jason Day is leaning back in his chair, cradling a golf club wrapped in a towel and admiring the fruits of his endeavours. “This is my barn,” he says proudly, referring to a sprawling estate in Ohio that serves as his own private golfing sanctuary. Behind him, there’s a kitchen and a gym, as well as the Full Swing simulator and a shape-shifting green. Outside, it gets more impressive still. Three practice greens sit alongside a 160-yard par 3 and five bunkers that simulate different types of sand. The one nearest to him is modelled on Augusta National, while the one at the back is inspired by the revetted-style bunkers of an Open Championship course. It’s a magnificent space with reminders of his greatest achievements stacked up on a five-tier…

Seven Olympics games, two football World Cups, nine Ryder Cups, five Solheim Cups, 24 Open Championships. A total of 32 years at the BBC, including becoming one of the few – and the first Scot – to host the iconic Grandstand, interviewing a cast list that extends from Sir Alex Ferguson to Tiger Woods and Bill Clinton. Dougie Donnelly has had an extraordinary career in broadcasting – especially when you consider he studied for a law degree that he has never used. Instead, via being the social secretary at Strathclyde University, he entered the media with Radio Clyde before becoming one of the BBC’s most prominent sports broadcasters. Golf has been part of Donnelly’s life from childhood, was a key part of his yearly schedule when at his absolute peak…

One of the biggest problems for the club golfer is the ‘over-the-top’ downswing, the club attacking the ball from outside the target line. ‘Over the top’ is always represented as the flaw, the bad move; in reality, the move results from your brain trying to work out a compensation for problems that have gone before it. Most common here is an overly flat backswing, the shoulders turning on too flat a plane. Physically this is an easier rotation to make, so it’s easy to fall into this habit, but if we were to swing through on this same shallow plane, we’d swing miles over the top of the ball! We have to steepen the downswing to get back down to the ball, and this is where that over-the-top move shows…

Generally, a sound technique is also the most anatomically correct. Golfers who report pain from swinging a golf club are almost always finding positions that do not make for solid golf shots, and the ‘sway’ is a good example. We can define the sway as a backswing slide, laterally, away from the target. In technical terms it’s a far cry from the more centred and rotational motion we would look for in the backswing; and besides causing a range of striking issues, it puts unwanted and dangerous strain through the trail hip and lower back. Here is an exercise that will help. Always consult a qualified physician before starting any new fitness regimen, and stop at once if the exercise is causing you pain. Very much a lateral drift, the…

It’s fair to say that the way we practise golf gives us an inflated idea of our form. It’s not just the fact the range serves up a never-ending nirvana of level stances and clean lies; it’s not even the fact that the next ball is only ever 30 seconds away, allowing any half-decent player to latch on to a rhythm that sends out a succession of decent shots. More than anything else, it’s the fact that the shot you are hitting doesn’t really mean anything. There is no consequence. If you don’t quite get it right, you can make adjustments on the next one. Or the one after that. Generally, we can all end up hitting a shot we find acceptable. And we go home feeling we have made…

Callaway’s new addition to the Apex Ai family is set to push their technology to the limit in an effort to produce a player-oriented iron – one that still offers cutting-edge performance benefits. After the successful entries into the Apex franchise with the Ai200 and Ai300 irons last year, Callaway are now turning their attention to a new model, one that still offers the benefits of AI-driven technology, but appeals to the more advanced player. It’s called the Apex Ai150, and its appeal goes well beyond its head-turning looks. Callaway started this journey by looking at one of the most popular irons they’ve produced in recent years – the Apex TCB. Hard to get hold of for both pros and amateurs, the TCB featured outstanding feedback for those lucky enough…

Callaway ORG 14 £229 The Org 14 combines clever design with modern functionality to create a cart bag that suits just about any golfer. It’s not the lightest out there, but its Lowrider technology ensures seamless compatibility with most modern push and pull trolleys, offering a secure and balanced ride. Eleven front-facing pockets make accessing your gear quick and easy. PowaKaddy Edge £219.99 PowaKaddy are trolley experts, and their expertise is very evident here. If you already have a PowaKaddy trolley, the Edge is a no-brainer; the Mag-Lok base system locks it in place perfectly. The pocket layout is excellent, with 10 compartments that are easy to access, including a brilliant magnetic front pocket that quickly feels like an essential addition. Motocaddy Protekta £289.99 The Protekta is a brilliant cart…

County Donegal is home for me. I lost my mum 18 months ago and my dad is not very well at the moment, so what I’m doing at Donegal Golf Club is really from the heart and trying to promote Donegal as best I can. I’ve got a very nice golf design business with a partner, Joe Bedford. We’ve done a lot of really good work already, and we think we’ve got an amazing canvas at Donegal (below). They don’t have the money to close it down and do it all in one year, so we’re having to do it over a four-year period. We’ve just completed year two; we’ve done 2, 3, 4, 5, 16, 17, 18 – so seven holes now, with 11 more over the next two…

Name: Mackenzie Hughes Nationality: Canadian Age: 34 Tour: PGA Pro wins: 4 What was your first car and what do you drive now? A 2000 model Toyota Avalon. It had 200,000km on it and was my mum’s old car. I bought it off her for 2,000 Canadian dollars. I currently drive a Ford Explorer 2020 and I’ve had it for five years and only put on 25,000 miles. It’s a very seldom driven car. I actually won it at the Waste Management. They had a competition for the closest to the pin combined over two rounds. I hit to 12ft the first day, 8ft the next day. That was good enough to win a car. What was your first job? My oldest sister owned a flower shop in our hometown.…