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 EDITOR
Brendan James bjames@golfaustralia.com.au
WRITERS Jimmy Emanuel, Michael Jones
ART DIRECTOR Allan Bender
GRAPHIC DESIGN Oliver Barles
COLUMNIST-AT-LARGE John Huggan
COLUMNISTS Mike Clayton, Andrew Daddo,
Brendan Moloney, Geoff Ogilvy
34 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Matt Cleary,
Mike Cocking, Dale Concannon,
Andrew Marshall, Rod Morri, Rick Weber
CONTRIBUTING PGA PROFESSIONALS

CONTENTS
Steve Aisbett, Matt Ballard, Daniel Blackwell,
Brad Hughes, Mark Officer, Lorien Scott,
Christian Small, Anthony Summers
PHOTOGRAPHY Getty Images,
JULY #353 Matthew Harris, Gary Lisbon, Mark Newcombe
EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES
34 FROM BENDIGO TO THE BARRY BURN PH: (02) 9901 6142 golf@golfaustralia.com.au
Lucas Herbert has made a knack of putting himself in contention at
the biggest events in Australian golf – and he will be hoping to do
the same as he makes his Open Championship debut this month, A D V E R T I S I N G
writes Jimmy Emanuel. HEAD OF SPORT – SALES
Adam Jackson ajackson@nextmedia.com.au
PH: (02) 9901 6109; M: 0431 212 504
40 THE BARREN YEARS
The Claret Jug has eluded the kiss of an Australian for 25 years. Can NATIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER
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capture golf’s most prized piece of silverware? M: 0412 327 886
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44 PADRAIG HARRINGTON Joel Benbow jbenbow@nextmedia.com.au
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50 CARNOUSTIE: BACK TO THE BEAST
The golfing world turns its attention to Scotland this month with
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Hamish Bayliss
The Open Championship set to make its return to the most
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 106

CONTENTS JULY #353

F E AT U R E S 118 CLUB OF THE MONTH: KOOYONGA GOLF CLUB

Adelaide is often overshadowed by Australia’s larger capital cities. But
56 BUNKERS 101 when it comes to golf it certainly packs a punch – and Kooyonga
Bunkers are not intended to make your life a misery. Golf Australia
remains one of the finest courses in the nation, writes Michael Jones.
Architecture Editor Mike Clayton details their purpose and their worth.

INSTRUCTION
62 A GOLFER’S LIFE PETER LONARD
Jimmy Emanuel chats with the two-time Australian Open champion 69 HIT YOUR TARGET
about his injuries and illnesses, anchored putting and the responsibility Hitting fairways and greens is the bedrock of a solid score. Here are
of Australian players to the game in their home country. eight simple steps to keep your ball away from the trees and hazards
that can ruin your scorecard.
88 SWING SEQUENCE: MARC LEISHMAN
Warrnambool’s favourite son has one of the most fluid swings on the 78 WE CAN ALL BE MORE ACCURATE
PGA Tour. Here’s what you can learn from his unique movements. PGA Tour stats expert Mark Broadie explains why your mid and short
irons are the most important clubs in your bag; hit these well and your
T R AV E L & C O U R S E S scores will plummet.

10 COURSE REVIEW: COMMONWEALTH GOLF CLUB 82 RICKIE FOWLER: HIT MORE GREENS
The simplest values of strategic course design are being rediscovered
The American superstar is one of the most consistent players on the
by one of the star courses of the Melbourne Sandbelt and the golf is
PGA Tour. Here, he explains his relationship with Butch Harmon and
more interesting for it, writes Brendan James.
reveals his approach play secrets to help you find more greens.

106 CITY LIGHTS: MELBOURNE 4 UNEVEN LIES

The Victorian capital is one of the world’s great golfing destinations.
PGA Professional M tes how training from uneven lies
Here are 12 of the best courses that can be found within a 45-minute
g
drive of Melbourne’s GPO.

96 DO
114 A GREAT WEEKEND IN CAIRNS Your eye pos
If you are looking to play some mid-year golf in short sleeves look no
further than Cairns for a terrific three-day golfing getaway.

8 TEEING OFF: BRENDAN JAMES

14 HUGGAN’S ALLEY: JOHH HUGGAN
EQUIPMENT
17 AROUND THE TRAPS 100 PLAYING WITH
28 IN MY OPINION: GEOFF OGILVY ODYSSEY EXO PUTTER
We test two of the newest
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122 GETAWAYS: GOLF TRAVEL Jimmy Emanuel discover
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130 GOLF IS GOOD: ANDREW DADDO

6 JULY 2018 | golf australia

Engineered
for birdies.
 TEEING
OFF BY B R E N DA N JA M E S | G O L F AU S T R A L I A E D I TO R
PGA TOUR’S $2 BILLION DEAL. WAS IT ENOUGH?
IF you have spent any time watching a
pay-TV service you will be familiar with
the Discovery Channel. You know the one
… documentaries on animals, space and
lots of other scientific marvels.
Well, Discovery is no longer just a channel.
It is a massive company now known as
Discovery Inc. and, as a golf fan, you will
be hearing more about Discovery in years
to come.
Here’s why.
Discovery recently struck a $2 billion
deal to acquire the international television
and streaming rights to PGA Tour golf
through to 2030. The move is the latest
high-profile sports agreement for the
factual giant, following its successful
Olympics debut earlier this year through its
Eurosport division.
The deal gives Discovery online and
TV broadcast rights to more than 140 golf
8 JULY 2018 | golf australia
tournaments a year including around 40 PGA
Tour events. The deal begins in January
2019 and covers all territories outside of the
United States.
It is expected to stream many events on
a new PGA Tour-branded OTT service. An
OTT service refers to content providers that
distribute streaming media as a standalone
product directly to consumers over the
internet, bypassing any television platforms.
At the same time, Discovery CEO David
Zaslav noted that the “total flexibility” of the
deal could also allow the partners to launch a
new portfolio of golf-centric channels around
the world.
He added that there was a potential future
audience for the PGA Tour of four billion and
Discovery will become the “new global home
of golf.”
So what does this all mean for you, the
Aussie golf fan who may
or may not subscribe to FoxSports? Well it’s
all a little unclear at this stage but I suspect
it’s going to get a whole lot easier to access
golf on your phone, tablet or computer
without being a FoxSports subscriber.
And what does it mean for the PGA Tour?
It means a lot more money…serious
money…steadily flowing into the coffers.
But I can’t help but think they might have
undersold their product.
In 2015, the AFL inked a broadcast
rights agreement of $2.508 million for six
years and the latest figures available show
approximately 7.8 million Australians watch
the AFL on TV every year.
Compare that to $2 billion for a potential
audience of 4 billion globally … Discovery
might have just made the deal of
the century.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Huntingdale Golf Club is located in the heart of Melbourne’s world famous ‘Sandbelt’ region and is one
of Australia’s premier championship golf courses. Host of the most major tournaments in Australia.
Huntingdale Golf Club welcomes golfers from interstate and overseas clubs
and is ideal for your next corporate golf day.

Email: info@huntingdalegolf.com.au
Phone: (03) 9579 4622
www.huntingdalegolf.com.au
 COURSE REVIEW

GOLF CLUB
S O U T H OA K L E I G H • V I CTO R I A

10 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 The simplest values of strategic course design are being rediscovered by one of
the star courses of the Melbourne Sandbelt and the golf is more interesting for it.
WORDS BRENDAN JAMES PHOTOGRAPHY NICK WALL/AIRSWING MEDIA

W
hen the modern bible of golf
courses and course design –
The Confidential Guide to Golf
Courses – was published in the mid-90s it
became an immediate hit simply because
its author, Tom Doak, didn’t hold back
any punches.
Today, Doak is one of golf’s most sought
after course designers. His theories on
course design all revolve around building
courses that make golf interesting, which is
no doubt why his creations have become so
popular … just like his original book, which
could set you back $600-$700 (or $1,200 for
a signed copy) these days.
Dozens of Australian courses were put
under the microscope by Doak, and some
with big reputations were deflated by the
blunt writings of the American.
Not Commonwealth Golf Club.
Doak included the Melbourne Sandbelt
course in his list of 31 courses “among the
first I would take a good friend to see.”
He added: “The genius of Commonwealth

golf australia | JULY 2018 11

 The short 9th hole is one of
the best par-3s to be found
anywhere in the Sandbelt.
is its adherence to one simple rule – that each
green should be oriented or tilted in such a way
that it cradles an approach from one side of the
fairway and shoulders away shots from the
incorrect line of approach.”
And that’s the way it has always been at
Commonwealth, thanks to its long line of
knowledgeable course designers.
It is just on 97 years since the first rounds
were played on the current site of the
Commonwealth Golf Club.
The club was constituted in 1920 and land,
regarded as scrub country and comprising only
89 acres, was purchased near Centre and
Warrigal Roads, South Oakleigh – right in the
12 JULY 2018 | golf australia
heart of the region now known to golfers
worldwide as the Melbourne Sandbelt.
The course was extended from 12 to 18 holes
in 1926 after the club’s devoted captain, Charles
Lane, travelled to Great Britain to study the
design work of legendary course architect
Harry Colt. Lane spent several weeks in
the company of Colt and returned to
Commonwealth to put the finishing touches on
the greens and bunkers based on what he had
learned, often taking to the course with a shovel
in hand to do the work himself.
This design was completely changed in 1938
– all 18 greens were rebuilt, fairway bunkers
added and tees altered – under the charge of the
The expansive bunkering is one
of the outstanding highlights of a
round at Commonwealth.
club’s long-time secretary manager
Sloan Morpeth, a former New Zealand
amateur champion.
In subsequent years, additional purchases
of land and changes to the course layout
were made, including the lengthening of
several holes.
In more recent times, excess trees have been
removed, all the fairways and greens surrounds
were converted to Legend Couch grass, while a
43 megalitre dam was also built to address
water management issues.
Commonwealth is no diferent to its
neighbouring Melbourne Sandbelt courses in
that the bunkering here, particularly greenside,
is brilliant. The bunkering combines well with
the beautifully contoured green surrounds and
tilted putting surfaces – designed, as Doak says,
to dictate that an approach must come from the
correct spot in the fairway – to create a stern
challenge. This is best seen on
Commonwealth’s wonderful collection of
par-4s, particularly its short two-shot oferings.
The round opens with one of the heaviest
bunkered holes on the layout but, played well,
the 294-metre dogleg right can ofer players the
chance to get of to a quick start. The key here is
the club selection decision to be made for the
opening tee shot. Short and safe will leave a
longer approach and a likely par but an
aggressive play, in the right conditions, with a
tee shot blasted over the fairway bunkers can
create an easy birdie opportunity.
The 339-metre 4th hole is another classic
short par-4 where there are a variety of
diferent ways to play the hole. The hole bends
 A lake stretching the length of
the dogleg left par-4 16th tempts
you into playing high risk shots. FACT FILE
THE COURSE
LOCATION: Glennie Ave, South Oakleigh,
Victoria.
CONTACT: (03) 9575 0444.
WEBSITE: www.commonwealthgolf.com.au
DESIGNERS: Sam Bennett (1921); Charles H.
Lane (1926); Sloan Morpeth (1962); Kevin Hartley
(1992); Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Clayton, Mike Cocking
& Ashley Mead – OCCM (2006 and ongoing).
SLOPE RATINGS: MEN: 132 (black), 131 (blue),
126 (white); WOMEN: 138 (white), 129 (red), 127
(green), 118 (gold).
PLAYING SURFACES: Legends couch fairways,
bentgrass greens.
GREEN FEES: $250. Members of golf clubs within
Australia who hold a Golf Link number will
receive a 20 percent discount.
PGA PROS: John Wade and Sandy Jamieson.

THE CLUB
DOAK INCLUDED THE MEMBERSHIP: Membership at Commonwealth
is quite exclusive, however the process of joining
MELBOURNE SANDBELT COURSE is not overly onerous. New member intakes are

IN HIS LIST OF 31 COURSES “AMONG approximately quarterly. These intakes will be

subject to field sizes and player comfort, aspects
THE FIRST I WOULD TAKE A that the Committee monitor very closely.
In addition, all new members commence in
GOOD FRIEND TO SEE.” the six-day category (excludes Saturday),
and upgrading to seven-day playing rights is
subject to player comfort which is reviewed
regularly. Benefits include: Access to the course,
slightly to the right and the best angle into this down a steep greenside slope. competition golf, course swap opportunities
tilted green is from the right half of the fairway, For mine, the most significant improvement with other Sandbelt clubs, reciprocal rights
anywhere beyond the fairway bunker cutting Commonwealth has made in recent times is to
with international and interstate clubs, practice
into the right edge of the fairway. The green address issues of overgrown trees, Ti-tree and
facilities including grass tee driving range and
here slopes markedly from left to right and an thick undergrowth.
discount on non-golf events.
approach from the conservative left half of the An extensive tree planting program during
For more information, contact the Membership
fairway brings a bunker short left into play and, the 90s ultimately saw playing lines narrowed
and, in some places, turf quality sufer. But the Coordinator on (03) 9575 0444.
in trying to avoid that, your shot can run
through the right side of the green leaving a decision to undertake a program of opening the RECIPROCAL CLUBS: NSW – Newcastle GC,
diicult chip shot. course up by clearing away unnecessary trees New South Wales GC, Manly GC; Queensland
Any essay on the best of Commonwealth and shrubs has certainly had a positive impact, – Royal Queensland GC, Indooroopilly GC;
would not be complete without mentioning the which is far more complementary with the SA – Kooyonga GC; WA – Royal Perth GC,
diminutive par-3 9th hole, which many regard vision of its various designers … and what Lake Karrinyup CC, Cottesloe GC; ACT – Royal
as one of the best short one-shotters on the impressed Doak most. Canberra GC.
Sandbelt. Measuring 133 metres from the tips,
the strategy required from the tee is dictated by
the pin position of the day. Laid across the
highest point of the course, the wind is often a
factor here but standing on the sheltered tee
further complicates the club and shot selection.
The shape and dramatic slopes on the green,
which is protected by two deep bunkers right
and another to the left as well as steep closely
shaved slopes of the back, turn a straight-
forward short par-3 into an interesting and
fun challenge.
Another of Commonwealth’s very good short
par-4s comes within view of a return to the
clubhouse. The 307-metre 17th is a terrific
short par-4 that, like the 1st hole, will inflict as
many bogies as it will reward with birdies.
Approaching this green is best from the right
half of the fairway to avoid playing a blind
approach over trees. Good club selection will The opening hole is one of
ofer a real birdie chance but a slight mis-hit, several very good short par-4s
right or wrong club choice, will see shots kick at Commonwealth.

golf australia | JULY 2018 13

 HUGGAN’S
ALLEY BY J O H N H U G G A N | G O L F AU S T R A L I A C O LUMNI S T AT L A R G E

MAJOR WINS ARE A LOPSIDED

MEASURE OF GREATNESS
IN 1987 Ian Woosnam to Peter Alliss. In his considerable pomp
won the Jersey Open, – before the putting yips set in – the man
the Madrid Open, the Scottish Open, the who would become golf’s finest
Trophee Lancome, the World Match Play commentator was a brilliant
Championship, the Hong Kong Open, the ball striker. Tee-to-green, few
Sun City Million Dollar Challenge, the were better than Alliss, who
World Cup individual and team (alongside was good enough to beat
David Llewellyn) trophies and was a star Arnold Palmer then halve with
performer in the European Ryder Cup side Tony Lema at the 1963 Ryder
that won for the first time on US soil at Cup in Atlanta. But, like Coles,
Muirfield Village. By almost any measure, Alliss never played in either the
the then 29-year old Welshman was the US Open or the US PGA. And
best player in the world that season. only twice did he compete in
And yet. The following June, when Curtis the Masters.
Strange defeated Nick Faldo in a play-off for This inequity continued into the
the US Open title, Woosnam was watching next generation. Who doesn’t think
at home on television. No, he hadn’t missed the likes of Mark James, Ken Brown,
the cut in America’s national championship; Howard Clark and Sam Torrance are not at
he simply hadn’t met any of the exemption least the equals of, say, Bob Tway, Larry Mize
criteria through which he could have gained and Jeff Sluman? Yet the Americans will all
entry to the starting line-up. Unbelievable. be remembered as major champions, the
These days, such blatant point-missing/ winners of events the British quartet hardly
xenophobia/bias – call it what you will – is ever played in.
less common. But until relatively recently A quick comparison between, say, Clark
the three American majors were far less and Tway, is revealing. Clark played in 27
accessible to players born without an Uncle Grand Slam events but only four in the United
Sam. When Seve Ballesteros became the States. Tway was in the field for 71 majors,
first player from the Old World to win the 55 of those on his home ground. Who was
Masters Tournament in 1980, only four the better golfer? Clark, at least in the realm
Europeans were in the field. And one of of ball-striking. But history will no doubt take
them was an amateur. That same year, a different view. Because Tway is forever a
Peter Oosterhuis (who missed the cut) was “major champion.”
the only man from the eastern end of the Perhaps the most egregious victim of
Atlantic Ocean to compete in the US PGA US bias is South Africa’s Bobby Locke
Championship at Oak Hill. (pictured). Again, the record books will
And yet (2). While it is happily true that suggest that the best players in the
golf’s four most important events are world during the late 1940s were Sam
today more enlightened when it comes to Snead, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson
deciding who plays and who does not, major – all American and all multiple major
championship performance continues to play a champions. But here’s the thing. Locke
large part in historical measures of quality – or played in the US for two and half years at
otherwise. Which is nonsense. that time, winning 11 of the 59 events he
Take Neil Coles, a man who never once started and finishing in the top-three more
played in either the US Open or the US than half the time. He would also go on to
PGA and withdrew from his only Masters in win four Open Championships between
1966. Yes, the now 83-year old Englishman’s 1949 and 1957.
reluctance to fly has much to do with the Such a record clearly had the Americans
paucity of his appearances stateside. But, worried. Spuriously citing his failure to show
no matter, his inability to regularly tee-up up for a couple of minor events, the US
alongside America’s best has harmed Tour suspended Locke. At least that was the
his legacy. public version. Privately, as former Masters
Which is crazy. Does anyone who saw champion Claude Harmon was moved to
Coles in his prime really think this beautiful admit, “Locke was simply too good. They had
golfer was in any way inferior to the likes of to ban him.”
Dave Stockton, Lou Graham, Gay Brewer, So there you have it. Next time you hear
George Archer, Bob Goalby and Don January? Jack Nicklaus was a better player than Tiger
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

All of those guys won major titles during Woods because he won more major titles,
Coles’ peak years. take a closer look at the evidence. Often
The same argument can easily be applied enough, all is not what it might seem.

14 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 The Golfer’s Club. Located in the heart of the Sandbelt.

Located 20 mins from Melbourne’s CBD in the heart of the Sandbelt,

Commonwealth is a spectacularly presented and highly rated championship course
and a must play destination for all golfers.
Gree Fee play available to Interstate, International and Corporate Guests.
www.commonwealthgolf.com.au
 The Federal Golf Club

All of your preconceived ideas about Canberra

will be left at the front gate.
When planning your social group’s golf trip, a round at Canberra’s
Federal Golf Club is a must.

*For booking details e-mail operations@fgc.com.au or go to www.fgc.com.au

Follow us on
AROUND
THE NE WS
TRAPS

BRITTANY
TO TAKE ON
THE BOYS
THE next instalment of a top female player
taking on the men in a PGA Tour event
is set to be played out this month when
Brittany Lincicome tees it up in the
Barbasol Championship.
The Barbasol is the alternate event to The
Open Championship so the field may only
feature a handful of male players ranked in
the top-100 in the world, which makes it an
interesting prospect for the eight-time LPGA
Tour title winner.
The 32-year-old will take up a sponsor’s
exemption to play in the event joining the
likes of Annika Sorenstam, who famously
played the PGA Tour’s Colonial Tournament
15 years ago and just missed the cut.
Michelle Wie has played against the men
several times, while the legendary Babe
Didrickson Zaharias was the first to do so
in the 1938 Los Angeles Open. Dame Laura
Davies played against the men in a 54-hole
no cut European Senior event in Denmark
last month and finished T44, a shot ahead
of Jose Maria Olazabal. It was her second
start against the fellas, having played
the European and Australasian Tour
co-sanctioned ANZ Championship in 2004.
None of the aforementioned women have
made the cut with their appearances, a factor
not lost on Lincicome.
“I’m already nervous,” Lincicome said. “I
feel like every time I walk by one of those
guys they are going to look at me like, ‘Why
the heck are you here?’ Hopefully they are
really nice. If the tours think it’s OK and there
really is no negative side to it, I guess the
worst I could do is miss the cut.”
Indeed. But with few, if any, expectations
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Lincicome is the kind of player that just

might snap the missed cut streak.

golf australia | JULY 2018 17

 AROUND
THE 19TH HOLE A ND YOUR SAY
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TRAPS

WHO WILL FLY THE AUSSIE FLAG?

THE World Cup of Golf is fast approaching
and Australian golf fans are still in the
dark about which two players will be
representing them in Melbourne … Not
that there’s anything wrong with that.
The tournament dictates that, “the top
ranked player of each qualified country may
pick any player from the same country
within the top-500 on the Official World
Golf Ranking.”
So, with that in mind, Jason Day – who at
the time of writing is ranked No.8 in the world
– should receive that honour when the cut-off
date arrives on September 13.
The 30-year-old won the Cup in 2013
alongside his fellow Queenslander Adam
Scott. So he might therefore be inclined to call
upon the 2013 Masters champion to partner
him at Metropolitan Golf Club.
But Day’s own involvement in the World
Cup is under a cloud of uncertainty. His
wife, Ellie, has fallen pregnant and will be
due around the time the event kicks off
in November – and after their devastating

18 JULY 2018 | golf australia


Follow Golf Australia on
Twitter @GolfAustMag
miscarriage last year, there is very little
chance he will want to leave her side at such
a crucial time.
If the former World No.1 does decide to
stay home in Ohio, Australia’s World Cup
responsibilities would then fall to Marc
Leishman, who is currently World No.16.
The Victorian said during a teleconference
earlier this year that he would “probably go on
form” or the next highest ranked player when
hypothetically selecting his playing partner.
“You would probably go for the next in line,”
Leishman said. “But if someone’s been hot
and had a really good playoffs or something
like that, or one of us wins a major … It would
be hard not to choose someone who had won
a major. Hopefully I will be worrying about that
in a few months’ time.”
If that turns out to be the case, Leishman
will most likely be phoning Cameron Smith,
who has risen to World No.43 off the back of
multiple top-10s on the PGA Tour this season.
IF THE FORMER WORLD
NO.1 DOES DECIDE TO
STAY HOME IN OHIO,
AUSTRALIA’S WORLD
CUP RESPONSIBILITIES
WOULD THEN FALL TO
MARC LEISHMAN ...
“I have spent a fair bit of time with Cam,”
Leishman said. “He’s such a good player …
He’s got one of the best wedge games I have
seen.”
However, like Day, Leishman has played
frequently alongside Adam Scott – including
the 2016 World Cup at Kingston Heath – and
seems to have built a solid partnership with
the 37-year-old.
The man from Warrnambool could also
turn to a youngster like Lucas Herbert, who
would bring a certain degree of enthusiasm
that might be lost on one of the more
experienced campaigners.
Herbert, 22, has risen more than 100 spots
in the world ranking this year and – at the time
of writing – was set to make his major debut at
Shinnecock Hills before travelling to Carnoustie
for The Open Championship.
So although we are no closer to knowing
who will be heading to Melbourne for the
World Cup, the number of players who could
potentially fly the Aussie flag at Metropolitan
is surely a good sign for our chances in the
storied event.
– Michael Jones
Want to get something off your chest? Let us know your opinion via e-mail to:
golf@golfaustralia.com.au or send your letter to: Letters to the Editor, Golf
Australia magazine, Level 6, Building A, 207 Pacific Hwy, St Leonards NSW 2065.
LETTER OF
THE MONTH
SNAKES ALIVE
I was playing my first round of golf recently
at Paradise Palms near Cairns when my
son, Cameron, hit his tee shot into a creek.
When we approached, this is what we
saw. He didn’t want to get his ball back
and I’m not sure if he will search for lost
balls again.
Mark Collins
Cairns, Queensland
[To make up for your lost ball and, no
doubt, the fright you got, there is a dozen
Callaway Chrome Soft balls and a cap
coming your way Mark.—Editor. ]
YOUR SAY
LANGER COMES CLEAN arguably from the effort of keeping
“Langer Comes Clean” said the headline in it pinioned.
your May edition. Really? Instead of heading off prematurely into
The article said that illegally ‘anchoring’ questions of players’ intentions, shouldn’t
a putter occurs when the club, the gripping the next question have been: “What do the
hand or the forearm is held against the rule-makers have to say about the forearm
body. It went on to say that Bernard Langer against his chest?”
claims compliance by moving his top hand Now that Adam Scott has picked up the
away from his chest as he’s about to putt. long stick again and Webb Simpson won
The EuropeanTour’s Chief Referee The Players anchoring the club to the inside
jumped in to say that we have to take of his arm, isn’t it time to prevent all future
Langer’s word that he does that. circumvention of the ban by simply ruling
But the article itself had also spoken of that the putter must be the shortest club in
anchoring via the forearm. And the R&A’s the bag.
explanation speaks about the banning Langer can learn to swing a three-metre
of indirect anchoring points, the forearm iron if he wants.
being the main one. Peter Swinton
The article even has a photograph of Carlton, NSW
Langer with his forearm muscles bulging,
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golf australia | JULY 2018 19
 AROUND
THE NE WS
TRAPS
GOING THE DISTANCE
NOTHING is being left to chance when it
comes to the distance debate, with the R&A
and USGA launching ‘The Distance Insights
Project’ – which will effectively, “analyse
distance in golf and gather perspectives
from the worldwide golf community.”
The joint effort is being heralded “a multi-
pronged approach,” meaning focus groups and
discussion forums will join forces with those in
charge at golf’s governing bodies to come to an
agreement regarding the distance the modern
golf ball travels.
Stakeholder groups invited to participate in
the project range from players and worldwide
professional golf tours to golf course architects
and equipment manufacturers.
Both the R&A and USGA will be seeking
distance-related opinions and data on pace of
play, golf course construction and maintenance
practices, the evolution of equipment, golf
20 JULY 2018 | golf australia
course design and player enjoyment
and participation.
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The
R&A, said: “Distance in golf is a complex
issue which is widely debated at all levels of
the sport. It is important that we collate all of
the relevant data and hear the many different
perspectives on this issue that exist in the
international golf community.
“We intend to conduct this process openly,
comprehensively and promptly and will work
with all of the key stakeholders to ensure we
have a fully rounded view of distance and
“WE BELIEVE THAT NOW IS THE TIME TO EXAMINE
THIS TOPIC THROUGH A VERY WIDE AND LONG
LENS, KNOWING IT IS CRITICAL TO THE FUTURE OF
THE GAME.” – MIKE DAVIS, USGA
its implications.”
Meanwhile, Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA,
said: “The topic of increased distance and its
effects on the game have been discussed for
well over a century. We believe that now is the
time to examine this topic through a very wide
and long lens, knowing it is critical to the future
of the game.”
The governing bodies will continue to meet
with golf industry stakeholders throughout
2018, with the vision of delivering their findings
during 2019.
Anyone interested in the topic can provide
feedback by visiting randa.org/distanceinsights
or usga.org/distanceinsights or by emailing
either organisation directly.

PLAY NINE GAINING MOMENTUM
THE R&A recently published figures
suggesting there has been a substantial
spike in participation for shorter formats
of the game; most notably, an increase
in competitive nine-hole scorecards
being submitted.
These findings were to be expected,
however, with various national bodies –
including Golf Australia – introducing new and
exciting ways to play the game in order to
attract time-conscious people.
Last year, for instance, the inaugural “Play
9” initiative gave club golfers the chance to
tackle the back nine holes of The Australian
Golf Club during the Australian Open. It
attracted 163 clubs and nearly 2,500 entries.
The Play 9 competition has already opened
for 2018 – and 24 lucky players from around
the country will experience nine holes at
The Lakes Golf Club on November 17 (day
three of the Aussie Open). Winners will
also receive two nights’ accommodation
in Sydney, an invitation to the Champion’s
Cocktail Function and a gift pack.
Golf Australia is hoping to reach more
than 350 clubs and 10,000 players – and
is currently in the process of providing
marketing materials to clubs and facilities,
including posters and videos.
“Essentially, I see nine-hole golf as a lever
through which the sport can: One: Help
reduce membership attrition, especially
during family years, by changing the
prevalent, ‘If I can’t play 18 holes regularly, I
might as well give up,’ mindset. Two: Attract
new people to golf who want to take up
the game, but currently see time as the
major barrier,” said Golf Australia Marketing
Director, Danny Bowerin.
Entry is simple. All you have to do is
find one of the many clubs participating in
the competition and submit a nine-hole
scorecard through Golf Link, remembering
you will need an official Golf Australia
handicap to compete.
For more details and a list of participating
clubs, visit www.golf.org.au/play9.
WOMEN’S CHARTER
LAUNCHED
The R&A has unveiled a new
Women in Golf Charter as part of
the organisation’s drive to increase
the number of women and girls
participating in golf and to encourage
more opportunities for women to work
within the golf industry.
The Women in Golf Charter aims to
inspire an industry-wide commitment
to developing a more inclusive culture
within golf around the world and
to enable more women and girls to
flourish and maximise their potential at
all levels of the sport.
Adoption of the Charter will also
require national federations, like Golf
Australia, to build on current initiatives
and develop new projects that will
focus on encouraging more women
and girls to play golf and stay within
the sport as members of clubs, while
also empowering women to enjoy
successful careers working within the
golf industry.
R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers
said: “We are asking the golf industry
to recognise the real importance of
increasing the number of women and
girls playing golf and empowering more
women to enjoy successful careers at all
levels of the sport.
“The Charter is a strong statement of
intent from the golf industry that it has
to change and a commitment on behalf
of all of us to take measures designed
to achieve positive change for women,
girls and families. This is crucial to
growing participation in the sport in the
years ahead.
“The R&A plans to increase our
overall investment in women’s, girls’
and mixed golf to £80 million over the
next ten years, a clear indication of our
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES X 3
determination to develop the game in
this area.”
golf australia | JULY 2018 21
 AROUND
THE
TRAPS WINNER’S CIRCLE
“… AFTER THIS WIN I THINK
I’LL BE THINKING ABOUT THE
RANKING AND TALK ABOUT
THAT, BUT I EVEN WANT TO BE
NO. 1, I WANT TO INSPIRE ALL
THE KIDS IN THAILAND.”
– ARIYA JUTANUGARN
22 JULY 2018 | golf australia
ARIYA
JUTANUGARN
U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN
WINNING SCORE:
11-under-par, 277.
DEFEATED: Hyo Joo Kim in a four hole playoff.
DEFINING MOMENTS: Jutanugarn looked
almost impossible to beat as she made the
turn in the final round, having added five birdies
and a lone bogey to extend her overnight four-
shot lead to seven with just nine holes to play.
But with Kim playing steady bogey-free golf and in possession of a
hot putter, Jutanugarn began to feel the pressure and opened her
back nine with a triple-bogey seven, before a bogey at the 12th hole,
where Kim, playing in the group ahead, had holed a 40-foot birdie putt.
Kim added another improbable birdie from off the green at the
15th hole, which Jutanugarn matched with a birdie of her own at the
par-3 16th to reach 13-under and lead by two.
However, the 22-year-old dropped shots at the final two holes to
sign for a back nine 41 and 11-under total, tying the Korean and
forcing a two-hole aggregate playoff.
When Kim rolled in a birdie at the 14th, the first playoff hole, it
looked like Ariya had let a golden opportunity for another major title
go by. But a bogey at the 18th from her opponent allowed Jutanugarn
to take the playoff into sudden death with an up-and-down par.
The combatants returned to the 14th, where Kim nearly repeated
her efforts, her birdie putt just missing, while Jutanugarn made par
from the greenside bunker to extend the match once again.
With both players facing greenside bunker shots as they played
the 18th for a third time, the former World No.1 delivered the
knockout blow, splashing out to 18-inches to secure a par and the
73rd US Open.
WITH THIS VICTORY… :
: Jutanugarn claims her second major title and becomes just the
fifth player to win both the US Women’s Open and Women’s
British Open, which she won in 2016. Joining Annika Sorenstam,
Karrie Webb, Se Ri Pak and Inbee Park in the exclusive club.
: The first ever US Open champion from Thailand takes her career
earnings beyond $6 million on the LPGA Tour and becomes the
first multiple winner of 2018.
: Jutanugarn rises to No.2 in the world ranking having dipped as
low as 9th since claiming the top spot for the first time in 2017.
EQUIPMENT CHOICE
TaylorMade AeroBurner with 15˚ loft, fitted with Mitsubishi
3-WOOD
Chemical Kuro Kage shaft.
TaylorMade Tour Preferred UDI (2- and 3-iron), with Mitsubishi
Chemical Kuro Kage shafts, TaylorMade RSi TP UDI (4-iron), with
IRONS
Accra iSeries shaft and Titleist 716 AP2 (5-iron to pitching wedge),
with Aerotech SteelFiber J108 shafts.
Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (50˚, 56˚ and 60˚), with True Temper
WEDGES
Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts.
PUTTER Odyssey Works Cruiser V-Line.
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 AROUND
THE NE WS
TRAPS
HICKORY RETURNS TO ROYAL MELBOURNE
The 24th Australian Hickory Shaft
Championship is set for an historic inaugural
visit to Royal Melbourne in September.
It is the first time the championship has been
played outside New South Wales and organisers
hope the tournament, to be played on Royal
Melbourne’s West Course on September 11,
will be the first of many played at different
venues around the country.
The history of the Australian Hickory Shaft
Championship began in 1995 when the Tom
Moore-led Australian Golf Heritage Society
organised the inaugural event at Rosnay Golf
Club in Sydney’s western suburbs.
In the ensuing years, it has been played at
diverse venues – The Coast, Cronulla, Georges
River, Carnarvon and Long Reef – and seen
many notable winners, including Peter Read
(seven-time winner) and two-time winners Perry
Somers, Alan Grieve, Derrin Morgan and Darron
Watt. In the ladies’ event, Shuri Yasuda-Hines
(six), Jane Buckley (three) and the late Margery
McWilliam (two) have been multiple winners.
Royal Melbourne’s West Course is generally
acknowledged as one of the best works of golf
24 JULY 2018 | golf australia
course architect Dr Alister MacKenzie – and
is consistently rated No.1 in Australia. This
wonderful opportunity will hopefully be followed
in future years by rotation of the event between
states, and – where possible – at prominent
venues aligned to historically significant events.
By way of example, plans are in place to hold
the Championship at the Royal Queensland
Golf Club in 2020 and at the Long Reef
Golf Club in 2021 as part of their respective
centenary celebrations.
The event is open to all Australian golfers
with a GA handicap with scratch and handicap
events for both women and men. The cost per
head will be $135 including light snacks after
golf when the presentations take place.
The legendary Ivo Whitton set the initial
course record of 79 at Royal Melbourne so the
challenge is on to try and beat his score.
The event will be played to AGHS
Conditions of Play to ensure the past event
PHOTO: SUPPLIED; BRENDAN JAMES
results are consistent with this event.
Visit www.australiangolfheritage.org.au/
hickoryconditions.html to ensure your clubs
satisfy those conditions of play.
fijiinternational.com #Fijiintl
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SANCTIONED BY
 AROUND
THE COMPE TITIONS & WINNERS
TRAPS

SPOT THE BALL producing a balanced performance for a

TO celebrate this month’s Open
Championship we take you back to a
light-hearted Nick Faldo moment. Where
could his ball be in this photo?
Correctly identify where Faldo’s ball is
hidden on the grid, using the letters and
numbers (eg. A4, B2 etc) and you could win
two dozen Mizuno JPX-S golf balls.
The new JPX-S is a soft compression
edition of Mizuno’s three piece ball –
wider range of swing speeds, which also
boasts Mizuno’s Dimple-Cluster design for
improved aerodynamics.
TO ENTER: Select your grid reference
and visit, www.golfaustralia.com.au,
to submit your answer. The winner and
the correct answer will be published in
the September issue of Golf Australia
magazine.

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

WINNERS & ANSWERS

Our MAY ‘SPOT THE BALL’ competition attracted
a heap of entries trying to locate Rory McIlroy’s ball
coming out of the azaleas beside the 13th green
during this year’s Masters.
The grid reference was L 13 and the first correct
entry drawn was from Stephen Wallace, of Valley
View, South Australia. Congratulations!
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26 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 E X C L U S I V E

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 IN MY
OPINION E XC LU S I V E BY G E O F F O G I LV Y | G O L F AU S T R A L I A C O LUMNI S T
WHY ONLY THE GREATS WIN AT CARNOUSTIE
I PLAYED in my first Open Championship at
Carnoustie in 1999. I was pretty excited. I
had failed to qualify a couple of times while
I was still an amateur, so it was special
for me to make my Open debut during my
first year as a professional. I had performed
really well in the qualifying and was really
looking forward to playing a course I had
been to and really enjoyed a couple of
times before.
Sadly, that feeling didn’t last. It ended up
being – still – one of the most disappointing
weeks I’ve had in my career. And it remains,
by a distance, my least favourite Open. Only
a couple of holes into my first practice round,
I sensed something was wrong. I’d seen
enough Opens on television over the years to
know the course set-up was far from normal.
There was rough everywhere.
When I got to the famous par-5 6th – known
as Hogan’s Alley – I didn’t know whether
to laugh or cry. (In passing, I find it hard to
28 JULY 2018 | golf australia
believe Ben Hogan ever drove between the
out-of-bounds fence and the bunker. Too much
risk). The area we were being asked to lay-up
into wasn’t much more than an arm-span in
width. Maybe ten yards. And on both sides
of those ten yards it was a lost ball, the grass
was so long and thick.
The whole thing was so discouraging. I
shot 81-78 and only missed the cut by five
shots. I was far from alone in struggling.
Sergio Garcia left the course in tears. He had
just won the Irish Open and he shot 89-83.
Seve Ballesteros also didn’t break 80 in either
round. Neither did Sandy Lyle. Nick Faldo
(78-79) wasn’t much better. Nor was Tom
Watson (82-73). My fellow Aussie, Rod
Pampling, got round in 71 on the opening day
and led the field. Then he shot 86 and failed to
qualify for the weekend. Amazing stuff.
Thankfully, I can’t remember too many
specific shots from that week. But I do recall
being in the rough and not even thinking
about where the green was. My only concern
was finding the shortest route between
my ball and the fairway. Two yards was
probably doable. Ten yards was no certainty.
Sometimes I was just trying to move my ball
into the least amount of rough so that I might
have a chance with the next shot. It was
carnage and, it almost doesn’t need to
be said, hardly the best way to identify the
best players.
All in all, I quickly realised that scoring well
wasn’t going to have much to do with how I
played. I would have to get lucky and change
my mind-set completely. But it isn’t easy
to adjust from trying to shoot under-par to
thinking 78 is a good score.
The most annoying aspect of the whole
week was that Carnoustie is a fantastic
course. But it was too narrow. And the rough
– although not that long by links standards
– was thick and dark green. It was US Open
rough but 12-inches high, or six inches longer
The rough for the 1999 Open
was simply diabolical ... and
wrong.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES X 2
 “IF THE QUALITY
OF A COURSE CAN
BE MEASURED BY
THE QUALITY OF
THE PLAYERS WHO
HAVE WON THERE,
THEN CARNOUSTIE
HAS NOTHING
TO PROVE.”
than even the USGA likes to see for its
championship. It was basically impossible.
The lasting memory of the event for every
golf fan is, of course, what happened to Jean
Van de Velde on the final hole. Needing only
a double-bogey to win, he made a triple and
lost the play-off to Paul Lawrie. But what went
on was so appropriate. It was always going to
end up with something stupid. If you want to
sum up the whole week, all you have to do is
watch Jean play that hole.
Anyway, eight years later I was back and in
a whole different frame of mind. I had won the
US Open the year before and thinking I could
win more majors. I didn’t play well though. I
was spraying the ball too much off the tee to
do that. But that fact was all my fault. It had
nothing to do with the course. The Carnoustie
I played that week is basically how Carnoustie
should be. The rough was certainly a lot
more playable.
The great thing about Carnoustie is that you
change direction constantly. That is always
challenging on a links. I love the Old Course
at St. Andrews, but it can get a bit tedious
playing out in a constant left-to-right wind
for two hours, then turning and playing for
another two hours in a right-to-left breeze. You
wouldn’t build the Old Course that way if you
didn’t have to.
Carnoustie isn’t like that though. It is – along
with Muirfield – the best ball-striking test on
the Open rota. You can see the trouble. You
Not quite singing in the rain in
know the shot you have to hit. You just have to 2007 but at least my scoring was
summon up the guts to hit it. You just have to my fault, and not the course.
do it, which is, I think, why the ultimate
shot-maker, Hogan, did so well there during likes blind shots but that one is thrilling and into play. If anyone needs a four to win the
his only Open in 1953. so much fun to hit. The 15th is one of the Open and makes it, he will have earned his
No one ever describes Carnoustie as best par-4s on the course. The 16th might be victory. There is no faking it there.
“pretty.” But it ticks all the boxes. And it the best long par-3 in the world. The 17th is Indeed, if the quality of a course can
asks all the questions. It has the railway line weird but good. The approach to that green be measured by the quality of the players
running behind the 9th green and alongside is wonderful. who have won there, then Carnoustie has
the 10th fairway. (A links isn’t a real links Then there is the 18th. In truth, it is way nothing to prove. Tommy Armour and Henry
without a train). It has some blind shots, most too hard. But, like the Road Hole on the Old Cotton were genuinely great golfers. So was
memorably over the “Spectacle” bunkers at Course, if you play it as a three-shot hole it Hogan, maybe the best ever. Gary Player. Tom
the par-5 14th. And it builds right from the 1st is an easy five. It should be easy for every Watson. Paul Lawrie – one of the best links
hole, which is pretty straightforward, to an professional in the field this year to have a players on the European Tour during the past
amazing finish. putt from less than 15-feet for par. Every 25 years. Padraig Harrington, in the year Rory
The last six holes are universally brilliant. time. If that is your mentality. Where it gets McIlroy won the silver medal as the leading
The par-3 13th is a little beauty. And the “interesting” is when you try to have a birdie amateur. It’s an impressive list. You clearly
Spectacles is a genuinely great hole. No one putt. That’s when all kinds of numbers come can’t win there unless you are great.

golf australia | JULY 2018 29

 THE
WANDERING
BY B R E N DA N M O L O N E Y | G O L F AU S T R A L I A C O LUMNI
GOLFER
INGLIS’ VISION 30 YEARS ON
IT IS hard to accept that 30 years have
passed since the Bicentennial Classic was
played at Royal Melbourne and few of us will
ever see another tournament as good.
It was staged in 1988 by the late David Inglis,
founder of the Australian Masters, who also
brought Jack Nicklaus and Robert Trent Jones
Jnr. to Australia to design the Heritage and
National courses respectively. Inglis felt golf was
not doing anything to mark Australia’s 200th
birthday so he attracted the majority of the
world’s top 50 players to Royal Melbourne with
prizemoney of $1.5 million.
By today’s standards, the money does not
sound a lot but at the time it was the biggest
purse ever seen in Australia. Back then The
Age newspaper cost 40 cents and $1.5 million
would have bought 600,000 papers. Today the
cover price is $3, so on this comparison the
prizemoney in 2018 would be $11.25 million.
To find the next biggest purse we have
to go back in time, not forward. It was 1934
when Victoria celebrated its centenary and the
government appointed tennis great Norman
Brookes to stage a series of sporting events
including a tournament at Metropolitan Golf Club
with a purse of £2,000 ($4,000). At the time a
20-day cruise from Sydney to Noumea cost 30
guineas ($63) so the winner could have taken it
and invited more than 60 friends.
The money attracted a team of America’s
best pros led by Gene Sarazen while the Hon.
Michael Scott, winner of the inaugural Australian
Open in 1904, turned up with the British
Amateur team. It was won by American Jimmy
30 JULY 2018 | golf australia
Thomson, who was accompanied by his wife,
the beautiful movie star Viola Dana, whom he
kissed before sinking the winning putt. The next
week General Harold Grimwade, a friend of
Brookes and patriarch of a very wealthy Victorian
family, put up enough money for the field to play
at his club, Peninsula, in Frankston. A ditty at the
time ran:
Frankston is a pretty place,
Full of shady nooks,
Where God knows the Grimwades
And the Grimwades know the Brookes.
Despite views to the contrary, I was
not around for this event but was at the
Bicentennial Classic and remember it as a
fabulous time in Australian golf. The previous
week Mark Calcavecchia won the Australian
Open and $63,000 at Royal Sydney and the
week after, also at Royal Melbourne, they played
the World Cup.
Inglis’ dream of honouring his homeland with
the Classic was not immediately embraced by
all. During the Masters at Huntingdale, ABC
broadcaster Graeme “Smokey” Dawson got
up in the press tent at 2.30 p.m. on Monday
November 21 and declared that if it went ahead
he would walk the length of Bourke Street
naked. It was a big claim so I wrote it down
and got him to sign it while Rob Grant from
AAP was a witness. Inglis, who died of motor
neurone disease in 2003, had it framed on his
office wall and left it to me. Dawson claims he
made the walk, a distance of two kilometres, at
midnight but I don’t believe him.
Part of the Classic hype was Nicklaus arriving
Your correspondent with
David Inglis at the launch of
the Bicentennial Classic.
in his private jet to play oyal elbourne for the
first time. He caused a fuss when he innocently
described the layout as a “good members’
course” but the abiding memory was the press
conference he did at Essendon Airport. It was
the last airport arrival that journalists of my era
can remember covering. It marked the end of a
tradition as old as newspapers which included
‘Argus’ golf writer Jack Dillon meeting Alister
MacKenzie on the ship in 1926 when he came
to design Royal Melbourne’s new course.
At the Classic, Peter Thomson, writing for The
Age, tipped Jumbo Ozaki and Ben Crenshaw
as the best chances while I suggested Greg
Norman and Calcavecchia, as likely winners.
Jumbo caught the eye of all by hitting 50 balls
from the range onto the roof of the maintenance
shed, a carry of 275 metres, while the others
couldn’t even reach the wall with their best
drives. Thomson was a far better judge, with
Jumbo only a shot behind Fred Couples after the
first round. Crenshaw shot 65 on the second
day to lead Couples and Rodger Davis by two.
In the end it came down to a shoot-out
between the latter two, which Davis won with
a par on the second extra hole after tying on 17
under. A shot behind was a kid by the name of
Brett Ogle and a further shot back were Hale
Irwin and Crenshaw.
Davis walked away with $500,000 and
handed $50,000 to his caddie Max Cunningham.
Couples had to console himself with $165,000
and Ogle, 24, probably thought he was set
for life with $90,000. Will we ever see the like
again? Will an experienced writer bemoan a
caddie earning more in a week than he would
make in a year? It is highly unlikely.
Inglis is gone and the Grimwades give their
spare money to charity these days. Kerry Packer
put a huge amount of money into golf but he’s
gone too. Bill Hamel, the boss of Holden, and
PHOTOS: BRENDAN MOLONEY
Bob Mansfield, who ran Optus, were keen
golfers and hands-on at the tournaments they
sponsored. One can only hope we find another
known to God before too much longer.
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34 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 FROM
BENDIGO
TO THE

Lucas Herbert has made a knack of putting himself in

contention at the biggest events in Australian golf and
the long hitter will hope to do the same on the world
stage this month, as he makes his first ever Open
Championship start at Carnoustie.
WORDS JIMMY EMANUEL PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES

T
he Victorian town of Bendigo has a
strong sporting history primarily
rooted in Australian Rules football
and cricket, with AFL’s Selwood brothers
among the town’s most famous exports.
However if Lucas Herbert’s form of the past
two years – where he has risen from outside
the top-1,000 in the world ranking to as high as
No.143 and earned two major championship
starts – is to continue, Bendigo could become
equally famous for its golfing pedigree.
Interestingly, the 22-year-old admits now he
originally planned to take the well-trodden path
into a team sport with dreams of donning an AFL
jumper or a baggy green cap.
“If you asked me in winter, it was I wanted to
be a Brownlow medallist and the captain of the
Western Bulldogs. And if you asked me in summer
it was I want to be the captain of the Australian
Test team,” Herbert says of his sporting
aspirations growing up.
“Then I think I made the junior primary
school’s team in grade four and I’d always kind of
played golf because mum and dad and everyone in
the family sort of played it. And I had good hand
eye co-ordination.
“But then I really enjoyed playing the
tournaments I guess, and I was always kind of a

golf australia | JULY 2018 35

 small kid, so I was always going to struggle playing
footy just because I was going to get knocked
around … so golf was just going to be a bit easier on
my body that way and I think just the individual
aspect of it.”
The decision to hang up his footy boots
and focus on golf was a good one for Herbert,
as he prepares to take part in the 147th Open
Championship beginning July 19 having made his
major championship debut at Shinnecock Hills
last month.
Herbert first rose to prominence over a
couple of fairytale weeks in 2014, starting at the
Australian Masters, where he finished T11 as an
18-year-old amateur.
Firing a course record third round of 65 at
Metropolitan Golf Club then leading the likes
of Adam Scott at one point on Sunday, before a
double bogey at the 72nd hole cost him a spot in
the following week’s Australian Open.
Not to be deterred, and showing the exuberance
of youth as well as the endless dedication of
parents, Lucas, father Lyndon and mother
Meredith piled into the family car and drove
through the night to Sydney, via Bendigo, for
Australian Open pre-qualifying.
36 JULY 2018 | golf australia
Having slept the whole way, a somewhat
refreshed Herbert repaid his parent’s eforts
by firing a 67 to earn one of the final places in
the field at The Australian Golf Club, where he
finished T23.
The Victorian’s 2014 performances ofered a
window into his future as a big event player – a
characteristic which has improved through his
work with mental performance coach Jamie
Glazier, who has brought structure to a sometimes
intentionally unstructured player.
“I started working with Jamie pretty much as
soon as I turned pro, that was the end of 2015,”
Herbert said.
“I’m pretty relaxed, so trying to keep structure
is really hard for me, I tend to free wheel it a little
bit and maybe not quite to the intensity it needs
to be, so he’s been really good in putting enough
structure in there for me, because too much
structure I kind of … it’s almost to the point where
if I’m supposed to be putting at 10 o’clock I’ll do
anything other than putting at 10 o’clock just
because I can’t stand working to a schedule
like that.”
Herbert’s relaxed attitude is indeed one of his
greatest assets, and was on full display at last
year’s Australian Open playing alongside Jason
Day over the weekend.
Fresh of a runner-up finish at the NSW Open,
and later confessing to being “nervous as hell”
at the prospect of playing with Day, Herbert
performed admirably and took more positives
than negative from his tie for sixth, despite
missing one of three spots in The Open. An ability
he acknowledges was lacking in his early days as
a professional.
“As much as I was nervous and whatnot playing
with him, I actually thought there was maybe a
couple of things mentally that I thought I did a
little bit better, that maybe might have had half
a shot or one shot diference coming down the
stretch on Sunday,” he said. “Obviously, I think he
had me covered in a lot of diferent areas, but it
was good to see, in person as well, how he hits
the ball, what sort of ball flight he takes, what
sort of shots he is picking for all sorts of
diferent situations. I really liked that side of
the experience.”
And it didn’t take him long to apply what he had
learned from Day, earning his place alongside him
at Carnoustie through a tie for eighth in January’s
Singapore Open, won by Sergio Garcia, who the
 Herbert earned his Open
start with a high finish at the
Singapore Open.
I’VE HAD THE YARDAGE BOOK OUT FROM
CARNOUSTIE WHEN I PLAYED THERE A COUPLE
OF YEARS AGO AND SORT OF HAD A BIT OF A FLIP
THROUGH IT A FEW TIMES NOW …
– LUCAS HERBERT
Victorian also teed it up alongside at the 2017 some stage at Carnoustie. Something that has
Australian PGA Championship, where he shared surely entered his mind, despite trying to keep a
seventh place during his breakout summer of golf. lid on his excitement.
Two European Tour top-fives since have “I’m trying to sort of not get too hyped about it,
further elevated Herbert’s standing as he prepares just because I know that week is going to be pretty
for his first Open on a familiar course and for a taxing on me mentally, in the way that I’m going to
style of golf he understands and believes will suit be so hyped up that it’s going to be hard to keep all
his power game. the emotions as dull as possible and try and treat
“I played a UK summer with the amateur it like another event,” Herbert said.
guys back in 2015 so I played Carnoustie, played “But yeah, from a young age obviously you want
Panmure, which is right next to Carnoustie, it’s a to obviously win major championships … I’ve had
very links golf course as well, played St Andrews, the yardage book out from Carnoustie when I
I played Troon and I played Birkdale whilst I was played there a couple of years ago and sort of had
over there, so sort of got enough experience to a bit of a flip through it a few times now, it’s sort of
kind of see what links golf is about,” Herbert said. sitting next to my TV just kind of there for me to
“I’d watched British Opens beforehand and keep an eye on.”
you’re seeing guys putting from like 50 yards of Glazier will certainly be working hard with
the green and I just couldn’t understand and I was Herbert to keep things under wraps in the lead
like why don’t they just pitch it like a normal shot. up as part of ‘Team Herbert’ that also includes
But then once you get over there you realise why Lucas’ long-term coach Dominic Azzopardi, who
they’re doing that and how everything’s played so has already made a reconnaissance mission to
diferently over there.” Scotland with his lone student.
Herbert’s experience in the game’s home “Me and Dom are obviously really good mates,
and habit of putting his best foot forward on so I think that’s probably the main reason why our
the biggest stage, means it wouldn’t come as a relationship works really well and I don’t think
surprise if his name was on the leaderboard at he’s really got a lot of interest in coaching three or
four or 10 other guys anywhere. He enjoys doing
what he does because we get to hang out, it’s not
so much because he absolutely loves coaching,”
Herbert said.
Watch Glazier, Azzopardi and the others
around Herbert that he refers to in the Jordan
Spieth manner of “we” and it is clear they all enjoy
working with him, even with the regular barbs
between the group, who the Victorian plans on
utilising even more after his recent addition to the
Golf Australia Rookie Squad – a group designed to
deliver Australian major champions.
“It’s a massive one, my team that I’ve got
around me they get a lot out of coming to
tournament weeks, so that GA funding just allows
them to get to more tournaments and be able
to do more work with me,” Herbert said of the
cash injection that also allows him to employ an
experienced caddie.
“My caddie’s done three British Opens I’m
pretty sure, he said try and play at least one of the
practice rounds with the more experienced guys.
They’re going to know the places to hit chip shots
from around the greens and they’re going to know
the putts you’re likely to have, the pin positions
that are likely to be there, the winds that are likely
golf australia | JULY 2018 37
 IT’S ALMOST,
PEOPLE HAVE
TO REMIND ME
SOMETIMES THAT I’M
IN THE PUBLIC EYE
A LITTLE BIT MORE
THAN JUST YOUR
AVERAGE PUNTER
OFF THE STREET. BUT
I’M JUST A KID FROM
BENDIGO ...

that either of us are right, I just like being able to

Herbert
confessed
playing
alongside
Jason Day
was nerve-
wracking.
to come up through the week.
“I would love to go and play a round with,
whether it was Scotty or J Day, or any of the other
Aussies that are going to be there, and try and find
out as much as I can of them.”
And while he is a fast learner who is likely to
quickly adapt to major championship golf, it is
worth remembering that Herbert is still learning
the ropes of professional golf and all that comes
with it. Something that has become apparent
through his use of Twitter, which he managed to
successfully use to campaign for an exemption
into the Australian Open in 2016 and where
he has gone head-to-head with some industry
heavyweights.
“It’s almost, people have to remind me
sometimes that I’m in the public eye a little bit
more than just your average punter of the street.
But I’m just a kid from Bendigo, who still has his
own views,” Herbert said.
“I want to show that I’m just a normal person,
I don’t think I’m anything special and I don’t
think that I should be treated any diferently just
because I’m good at my job or anything like that.
And a lot of the stuf with someone like ‘Clayts’
(Mike Clayton) is pretty good banter, I’ve got
a diferent opinion on the issue and he’s got an
opinion on the issue, I hope I haven’t really said
have the argument.”
Although forthright at times and perhaps
overly passionate in the past, Herbert’s interest
in and views on the game’s future are to be
commended and displays his maturation into one
of the best Australian golfers over a short period.
“I don’t think golf’s in as bad a shape as what
everyone makes it out to be but it would be
awesome if someone came through like what
Shark did, and really made everyone love golf
and really want to turn on the TVs and watch golf
again,” he said.
Herbert has an opportunity to be that person if
he exceeds his “vague goal” of a top-25 and joins
Ben Hogan and Tom Watson as Open debutants
claiming victory at Carnoustie.
An achievement which, after a long pause
and with clarification, he admits he would now
prefer over the Brownlow he once pined for as a
youngster in Bendigo.
“Obviously I’m going to say the Claret Jug
aren’t I, but everyone sort of talks down a
Brownlow as well because it’s a team sport so
everyone wants to spur the individual accolades.
And a Brownlow Medal is votes from an umpire
whereas a Claret Jug is earnt from quality of golf
shots you hit out on a course and I think it’s a little
bit more, not that there is a hell of a lot of politics
that go into the votes for a Brownlow medal, but I
guess you can say the wrong thing to an oicial in
golf and still win the tournament,” he shrugged.
And as someone not afraid of speaking his
mind, Herbert appears certain to still win plenty
of golf tournaments and perhaps even Australia’s
next Claret Jug.

38 JULY 2018 | golf australia

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 1993–2018

BAR R EN
YEARSIt has been 25 years since Greg Norman won
The Open at Royal St George’s. There have been
close calls since but the claret jug continues to dodge
Australian hands. Will one of the seven Aussies
heading to Carnoustie end the drought?
WORDS MICHAEL JONES

T
wenty-five years have passed since
Shane Warne delivered the ball
of the century to Mike Gatting
and Paul Keating won the ‘unwinnable
election’. Australia’s population was still
under 18 million and Allan Border was set
to become the greatest run scorer in the
history of Test cricket. It has also been 25
years since an Australian was triumphant
at golf’s oldest and most celebrated
tournament; The Open Championship,
which was won in record fashion by Greg
Norman in 1993 at Royal St George’s.
Australians have found more success at the
Open than any other major championship – but
the coveted Claret Jug has now eluded the kiss
of an Australian for longer than any of the game’s
four most prestigious trophies.
Jason Day hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy at
Whistling Straits in 2015; Adam Scott famously
donned the Green Jacket in 2013; and Geof
Ogilvy won the US Open at Winged Foot in 2006.
The last time Australia experienced such an
extensive drought at the Open came between
Peter Thomson’s fifth victory in 1965 and Greg
Norman’s maiden major title at Turnberry
in 1986.
That’s not to say there haven’t been cases of

golf australia | JULY 2018 41

 Ian Baker-Finch claimed the
Claret Jug ahead of fellow
Aussie Mike Harwood.

Craig Parry (above) made a run at the title

in 1999. Elkington and Stuart Appleby made
it to the play-off at Muirfield in 2002.

Steve Elkington was only a few

shots shy of the play-off at St
Andrews in 1995.

near misses for men from Down Under; on the
contrary, there have been plenty of ‘what ifs’ and
if onlys’ since The Shark broke – what was, at the
time – the aggregate scoring record.
Those close calls began with Steve Elkington
at the Old Course in 1995. The New South
Welshman, who now resides in Texas, was three
shots of the lead heading into the final round
but shot two-over 74 to finish two shots out of
the playof. Brett Ogle, Greg Norman and Robert
Allenby also finished within a handful of shots of
making the play-of.
Craig Parry then came painfully close to
having his name engraved on the Jug in 1999 at
Carnoustie – rocketing to the lead with seven
holes to play. But the popular ‘Paz’ immediately
made triple-bogey and finished tied-fourth.
“The golf course was eventually going to get
everyone, and it got me on the back nine … I felt
like I threw it away,” Parry said.
Then, in 2002, Australia had two chances of
seizing back the trophy when both Elkington
and Stuart Appleby joined Thomas Levet and
eventual champion Ernie Els in the epic four-
way, four-hole play-of at Muirfield. But it wasn’t
to be, as both of our players failed to fire.
“As an Australian, we have certainly had an
ailiation with this tournament for many years,”
Appleby said. “We probably have a stronger hold
outside of the Europeans with the British Open
as anybody.”
Ten years ago, Greg Norman became the
oldest player in championship history to hold
the lead heading into the final round. The then
53-year-old was two strokes clear at Royal
Birkdale – but he shot seven-over 77 to
eventually share third place.
“Obviously I’m disappointed,” Norman said.
“That would be an understatement if I didn’t
say I was disappointed. But it was a tough day
today. I think at the end of the day, a lot of people
should take stock that no matter how old you are,
if you really want to chase something and chase a
dream, you can go do it.
“Even though there’s failure at the end of it for
me, I still put myself in position to really show a
lot of other people that you can go do something if
you really want it.”
The following year, in 2009, Matthew Goggin
was one shot of the lead on Sunday morning at
Turnberry. But the Tasmanian carded three-over
73 to finish two shots out of a play-of.
“I mean, it’s the best I’ve played in a major,”
Goggin said. “It was a great day and a very
disappointing day.”
Adam Scott then famously collapsed at the
2012 championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes,
surrendering his four-shot bufer and losing by
one stroke to Ernie Els after bogeying each of his
final four holes.
“I can’t justify anything that I’ve done out
there,” Scott said. “I didn’t finish the tournament
well today. But next time – and I’m sure there will
be a next time – hopefully I can do a better job
of it. I don’t think I’ve ever played this well in a
major championship, so that’s a good thing for me

42 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 Scott went
close again
in 2013 when
Phil Mickelson
surged to
the title at
Muirfield.

Marc Leishman’s bid at St

Andrews in 2015 was thwarted
by a drive finishing in a divot.

A dejected
Adam Scott
after four
bogies in the
final four holes
cost him the
Open in 2012.

moving forward.”
Scott finished four shots of the lead the
following year at Muirfield and tied for third
place, before sharing fifth with Marc Leishman at
Royal Liverpool in 2014.
Leishman continued that good form the
following year at the Old Course at St Andrews.
In fact, with the final pairings within view of
the Auld Grey Toon Leishman, Scott and Jason
Day occupied three of the top four spots on the
leaderboard. Surely the drought would be broken.
But it wasn’t to be.
Vital missed putts from Scott and Day late in
the round sealed their fate. Leishman also had
his chances to win the Championship outright
but ended up in a three-way play-of against
Louis Oosthuizen and eventual champion Zach
Johnson. When the big Victorian’s tee shot on the
first extra hole rolled into a divot, his run at the
Claret Jug was all but over.
“I’m obviously pretty disappointed at the
minute, having a chance to win it and not being
able to take it, but that’s golf, unfortunately,”
Leishman said. “I’m happy. Don’t worry about
that. I’ve just finished second in the Open. Yeah,
I could have won it, but look, my perspective is
quite good at the moment.
“I can go home tomorrow and hug Audrey and
the boys and celebrate a little bit, I guess. It would
have been nice to have a Claret Jug to drink out of
to celebrate, but I’ll find something else.”
Last year, at Royal Birkdale, Leishman was the
highest-finishing Australian and tied for sixth
place, having signed for the best score of the
weekend (nine-under 131).
“Considering I made the cut on the number,
it turned into a good week,” Leishman said.
“Take that 76 out Friday and it could be a
diferent story.”
It has certainly become a frustrating case of
near misses for Australians since Greg Norman
found success at Royal St George’s.
But, thankfully, the Aussie contingent heading
to Carnoustie this month is one of the strongest
we have assembled in quite some time – and it
presents a very realistic chance of ending the
barren years before they extend beyond the
quarter-century mark.
Day and Leishman are both firing on all
cylinders; Scott always seems to find his best
in time for the championship; Cameron Smith
is already one of the finest young talents in
the world; Brett Rumford and Matt Jones are
now both experienced Open campaigners; and
Cameron Davis and Lucas Herbert have both
shown a liking for links-style golf.
There is nothing to suggest that any one of
those players won’t join Peter Thomson (5), Greg
Norman (2), Kel Nagle (1) and Ian Baker-Finch
(1) in becoming an Australian Champion Golfer
of the Year.
Australian golf fans have waited patiently for
the past 25 years. Here’s hoping one of our boys
will repay the favour and reignite our love afair
with an event Norman once described as: “The
Open Championship of the world.”

golf australia | JULY 2018 43

44 JULY 2018 | golf australia
 ON
PAST CHAMPI

Padraig
The Irishman has endured a series of incredible highs and
lows on the course since he claimed the Auld Claret Jug in
2007. Here, he reflects on how he tamed Carnoustie and how
it ultimately proved to be the turning point of his career. Ź
WORDS JACK MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES

golf australia | JULY 2018 45

 A
t 46 years of age and struggling to
pull up any more trees, Padraig
Harrington now often finds himself
looking back rather than forwards.
But with an illustrious 22-year career yielding
three majors, 12 European Tour wins, three PGA
Tour victories and six Ryder Cup appearances, it’s
not hard to see why he afords himself the luxury
of reminiscing.
Certainly, the Irishman sits in with the legends
of the game. Though sometimes it is easy to forget
his ascension into golf’s history books was
kick-started by the tense Open Championship
victory in 2007 at Carnoustie, the setting for this
year’s oldest major. With very fond memories,
Harrington recollects that week when his career
suddenly skyrocketed to new heights.
“When I holed that winning putt on the fourth
play-of hole it was a little surreal,” Harrington
says. “I asked myself ‘have I actually done it?’. Yes,
it was a dream come true but there was a huge
sense of relief. This was what I needed to do
for myself.
“If I hadn’t won a major in my career it would
have been hugely disappointing. Going into 2007,
I was being touted as one of the best players not to
46 JULY 2018 | golf australia
win a major. With that win, I had finally done it
and my standing in golf had changed forever.”
As he mentions the play-of you should begin to
recall that victory was not plain sailing for
Harrington, even though it really ought to have
been. Heading to the final hole of regulation play
he only needed a par or, as it turned out, a bogey to
win The Open. But the Dubliner contrived to
make a double-bogey six, which allowed Spaniard
Sergio Garcia, who had led for the first three
rounds, to force a nail-biting play-of.
Most golfers in that situation, with a major title
having seemingly slipped through their hands,
would be completely dejected and in a muddle
mentally. So how did Harrington manage to regain
his composure and belief to go and play four
more holes?
“There was a lot going through my mind,”
Harrington said. “When I tapped in for six on the
final hole, I felt like I had lost and was in despair. I
thought I had thrown it away. But as I walked of
the green, Patrick, my four-year-old son at the
time, ran towards me and jumped into my arms. It
was so important because I got this distinct sense
from him that in his eyes I was a champion and
not a loser. This changed my mind-set entirely
ahead of the play-of and helped me to go on
and win.”
Eleven years on, Harrington will arrive at
Carnoustie a very diferent player to the one who
won his first major. Today he is in the twilight of
his career hoping to rekindle past glories, but back
then, Harrington was at the peak of his powers
and in terrific form, having won his national Open
only two months earlier.
However, at the same time, although he may not
be the force he once was, he has not forgotten the
formula needed to win in the small Scottish
seaside town, as he begins planning for his return
to the 168-year-old course.
“Carnoustie is not a tricky golf course,”
Harrington said. “It’s a solid one which rewards
great ball striking. You could say that you need to
avoid the treacherous bunkers at all costs,
because there is no way you can reach the green
from any of them.
“But, on the other side, you can’t lay up and be
too defensive of the tee as, ultimately, you will
find it hard to reach the green. That means you
just have to play extremely well and hit your spots
on the fairway. That’s what I did in 2007.”
In fact, after Carnoustie, Harrington went on to
hit a lot more spots in the following 13 months as
he added two more majors to his CV – retaining
the Claret Jug the following year at Royal Birkdale
and winning the US PGA Championship in
Detroit, four weeks later.
Harrington, who is at peace with what he has
accomplished, notes that his mental approach
was the key to success but also pays homage to the
great start he had to his European career, which
saw three top 10s and a Spanish Open win within
his first eight events.
“I get more satisfaction now than I did at the
time,” Harrington said. “You realise how hard it is
to win a major, especially as the time gets longer
since my last one. Sometimes, when I’m at home, I
look at other great players, who haven’t won three
majors, and the enormity of what I’ve achieved
suddenly hits me.
“If you want to be a great pro, you definitely need
a strong start to help you believe that you belong.
Luckily, I got that. I’ve seen many other good
golfers get of to a bad start and found it hard,
thereon in, to show their quality. For the first 10
years playing professionally I always thought if I
took my foot of the pedal this life could all be gone
tomorrow. There was a fear there. I’m older now,
SOMETIMES, WHEN I’M AT HOME,
I LOOK AT OTHER GREAT PLAYERS,
WHO HAVEN’T WON THREE MAJORS,
AND THE ENORMITY OF WHAT I’VE
ACHIEVED SUDDENLY HITS ME.
– PADRAIG HARRINGTON
but, in some ways, I wish I still had that fear as I
was motivated by it.
“Ultimately, there are a million components
that go into success. But I do think it was
self-confidence and belief. I never went out there
thinking I can’t do this or can’t do that. Sometimes
when I spoke to other great Irish golfers they
would believe that somebody from Ireland can’t
win majors. I didn’t ever think like that.”
After claiming the last of his three majors,
Harrington rose to a high of No.3 in the world
ranking. As mentioned, fighting fit and in the form
of his life, the golfing universe looked to be at his
feet with most predicting that two or three more
majors would follow.
All of a sudden, however, a change of swing at
the end of 2008, in an efort to improve his game
further, led to declining form as he went seven
years without a win on the European or PGA
Tours. It’s often suggested that the decision to
tinker with his swing efectively ended his
competitive career. Yet Harrington rejects that
notion entirely.
“Well, statistically I played my best golf in
2009,” says Harrington, with an air of irritation.
“And from tee to green my best golf in 2012. I did
lose the putter a bit, but I had got plenty of wins in
that period in other countries.
“I set myself high standards after the three
majors, I accept that, and people like to pull out Ź
golf australia | JULY 2018 47
 statistics following the change of my technique
but, at the end of the day, golf is highs and lows. If
it wasn’t, the same golfers would be winning for
40 years. It’s hard to keep playing at the top of
your game consistently.”
For somebody who began playing Gaelic football
and did not start fully concentrating on golf until
he was 14, Harrington has certainly forged a
fantastic career. But, as he points out, his
achievements over the years have not come lightly
as, in his late teens as an amateur, when he was
still not even sure if he was good enough to pursue
golf, he had to balance his accountancy studies at
night with practice in the afternoon.
It was not until he reached 24 when he turned
professional that he says his confidence elevated
and he began to think he could go far. Being so
committed to his game over the last two decades
and playing all over the world, you do wonder,
though, if he ever feels regret having been away so
much from his wife, Caroline, and two sons,
Patrick and Ciaran.
“Yes, absolutely, it’s the only drawback of my
career,” says Harrington, with a little hint of
sorrow in his voice. “I’ve talked to older pros about
it and they often feel the same. Luckily my two
sons have only known the life I live, so it’s not like
a businessman suddenly going away for a few days
here and there, which can be a lot harder.
“I think my family recognise that we have all got
a good life out of golf. And the way I try to look at it
is that in life nothing is free. There is always a
sacrifice. But there’s no doubt that sense of regret
is always on my mind.”
With his playing career winding down,
something else that is surely on his mind is the
Ryder Cup and the possibility of being European
captain in 2020.
As Harrington rightly identifies, it is not an easy
role to assume. However, being a European icon
and having already served as a vice-captain under
the last two captains, Paul McGinley and Darren
Clarke – and will be one of five assistant captains
to Thomas Bjorn in France later this year – he
must be encouraged about his chances.
“If I’m honest, yes, I’d love to be Ryder Cup
captain,” Harrington said. “I’m at that stage of my
career now where it doesn’t look like I can qualify
for the team, so I’ve got to start thinking of putting
my name in the hat, for sure, but it’s not a foregone
conclusion at all. It’s diicult to get selected.”
Playing professionally over three diferent
decades, it is safe to say, Harrington has seen all
there is to see in golf. But with the game
innovating to attract new audiences, the Irish
stalwart is keen to try out tournaments with
diferent formats.
For instance, in April, he played alongside
compatriot, Shane Lowry, in the Zurich Classic in
New Orleans – which the PGA Tour changed to a
two-man team event last year. So, with hindsight,
what did he make of it?
“I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I think the field
there told the whole story. Two years ago, the
tournament had the worst field on the PGA Tour.
But this year it had 10 of the top 14 players in the
world, as well as all four of last year’s major
champions. And that hasn’t happened for years.
“I think golf needs to innovate to prevent the
game from being perceived as boring. The way I
look at it is that we have the four majors, and they

48 JULY 2018 | golf australia


IF WE GET THE BAD CONDITIONS –
REALLY STRONG WINDS – I FEEL LIKE
I CAN COPE WITH IT BETTER THAN
OTHER PLAYERS. PUT IT THIS WAY IF
I AM GOING TO WIN ANOTHER MAJOR,
THIS WOULD BE IT.
should be always the traditional 72-holes along
with the national opens. But we’re in the
entertainment business, so diferent formats
should be tested in the other events.”
Harrington’s embrace for anything that goes
against the norm should hardly come as a surprise
considering, as a man of small margins, he once
used a spirit level at Augusta to measure the
gradient of a slope on one of the greens. Indeed,
clearly, he is hugely studious about the game but
perhaps that has been his undoing in recent years.
Yet, it must be said, his attitude and unshakeable
belief in his own ability was undoubtedly the key
to his major wins. Hence, as you would expect,
when finally asked if he thinks he can win the
upcoming Open and what his plans are for the
future, his response embodies his optimistic and
eccentric character.
“Yes, I do think I can win at Carnoustie,” he
concludes. “I do have an advantage on links
courses. If we get the bad conditions – really
strong winds – I feel like I can cope with it better
than other players. Put it this way if I am going to
win another major, this would be it.
“I’m still fascinated by golf. I think I will be
involved in golf until my last day. While I’m
competitive, I’ll keep playing on the American and
European Tours. The next step will be to go onto
the Champions Tour. Then, if somebody wants to
carry me out at 80 years of age to wave to the
crowd at some golf resort around the world, I’ll be
there. This is who I am.”
golf australia | JULY 2018 49
 THE COURSE

CARN
back to the beast

50 JULY 2018 | golf australia

OUSTIE
The golfing world turns its focus to Scotland this month with the 147th Open
Championship set to make its return to the most challenging layout on the
rota, Carnoustie – a small town course, which has played a significant
role in the history of the game globally.
WORDS BRENDAN JAMES PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID CANNON / GETTY IMAGES

A view of the 5th green and

its surrounds down to Hogan’s
Alley on the par-5 6th.

golf australia | JULY 2018 51

 C
arnoustie is not a name that
immediately jumps of any map
of Scotland.
In fact, it’s a ‘wee’ seaside town of about 11,000
people, which lies on the east coast beside the
North Sea about 70km from the outskirts
of Edinburgh.
While it is a ‘wee’ place that most outside
Scotland and the game of golf may never have
heard of, there is no questioning its massive
impact on the development of golf globally and, in
particular, Australia and the United States.
Between 1898 and 1930, nearly 300
Carnoustians left their home to seek their
fortunes abroad and in doing so took the game
around the world. Known as the ‘Sons of
Carnoustie’, they played a major role in pioneering
professional golf and course design in the United
States, across Europe, India, China, South Africa,
New Zealand and Australia.
Three Sons of Carnoustie – Carnegie Clark,
Dan Soutar and James Herd Scott – arrived in
Sydney in 1902 and would ultimately change the
52 JULY 2018 | golf australia
game here forever. The trio became good friends
during their caddying days at Carnoustie and, as
teenagers, had competed against each other. In
1898, Clark and Soutar played in the final of the
famous Dalhousie Cup at Carnoustie, with Soutar,
then an apprentice carpenter, winning the
match 2 & 1.
Clark and Soutar dominated the Australian
Open Championship for many years and when
they were not making clubs and giving lessons out
of the workshop at Royal Sydney Golf Club they
were advising other clubs on course design.
When their playing days were behind them
Clark, Soutar and Scott – all long-time club pros
– were well sort after course designers and much
of the inspiration for their creative work had its
roots back in Carnoustie.
Today, the Carnoustie Golf Links is far
more familiar to golfers as a host of The Open
Championship and will host the 147th edition
this month.
There are few courses on this planet that you
can walk away and say it has no weakness, but you
can do that at Carnoustie.
Each hole’s characteristics difer from the
next. At no point during the round do more than
two consecutive holes head to the same point on
the compass. The problems of club selection or
judgement of distance complicated by the wind,
therefore, are ever-changing adding to the terrific
challenge and fun of playing this great course.
The first real golf course at Carnoustie was
planned and laid out in the early 1830s by Robert
Chambers, a publisher from Edinburgh. But it
was Alan Robertson of St Andrews who, in 1850,
designed the basics of the Championship course
that is in play today, while Old Tom Morris
redesigned and extended it to a full 18 holes in
1867. In 1891, Arthur George Maule Ramsey, 14th
Earl of Dalhousie, sold the links to the town on
condition it would be maintained for all time as
a golf course. A three-day bazaar was held
in Dundee, which raised enough funds for
the purchase.
The legendary James Braid put his stamp on
Carnoustie in 1926 and while the members were
 The penal ‘Spectacles’ bunkers
en route to the green on the
par-5 14th hole.

pleased with Braid’s work, they felt the finishing The infamous ‘Island’ fairway
holes were a bit weak. Leading into the 1937 on the 17th hole has killed many
Open dreams.
Open Championship, the closing three holes were
rebuilt by local architect, James Wright, who
created what is regarded by many as the toughest
closing three holes in golf.
Having notched up some high numbers on
these holes I can vouch for their strength. That
said, Jean Van de Velde made the 18th hole look
much harder than it really is … even from the
back tee.
The natural feature that ramps up the diiculty
of the dual par-4 closing holes is the snaking
Barry Burn, which shot to worldwide fame with
Van de Velde’s 72nd hole meltdown in the 1999
Open Championship. When the Frenchman
clambered down the mossy stonewall, with
shoes of and trousers rolled up, ready to play his
ball from the cool clear water, he wrote his way
into Open folklore. For most golfers who play
Carnoustie, thoughts of Van de Velde undoubtedly
cross their mind well before reaching the 18th tee.
Carnoustie has hosted the Open just seven

golf australia | JULY 2018 53

 Jean Van de Velde had a final
hole meltdown which cost him
the Claret Jug in 1999.

Padraig Harrington also tangled

with Barry Burn before winning
in a play-off in 2007.

The dynamic
duo – the 17th
fairway (right)
and the 18th
hole, will be the
scene of plenty
of Open drama.

times and the club warmly embraces each one of
its Opens like a member of the family. Some day
there will be a plaque to commemorate Van de
Velde’s calamitous eforts. In the meantime, there
is a plaque out by the 6th tee commemorating Ben
Hogan’s play on the par-5 en route to winning the
1953 Open Championship. The ‘wee ice mon’ took
the tight driving line between fairway bunkers
and the out-of-bounds fence on all four days,
two of those in a stif left-to-right crosswind.
Standing on the tee now, and looking at Hogan’s
tight driving line … its shake-your-head-in-
amazement stuf.
Players in the field of this year’s Open will find
a tough but fair layout – nothing like what was
ofered in 1999 when some of the world’s best
golfers could not break 80 in the opening round.
Unlike a lot of ‘ancient’ courses in this part of
the world, Carnoustie reveals itself from the tee
on every hole. There are no blind shots or hazards
hidden beyond dunes. What you see is what you
get and, to be frank, Carnoustie doesn’t need
sleight of hand tactics to be tough.
This year’s championship will see the course
ofer a tale of two nines. The outward nine will
see a plethora of red numbers and anything
gained heading out, will need to be banked and
held onto for the inward nine and, in particular,
Carnoustie’s closing trio of holes.
The 245-yard par-3 16th hole generally plays
into a headwind so it shouldn’t surprise that all
THERE ARE
FEW COURSES YOU
CAN WALK AWAY
FROM AND SAY
IT HAS NO
WEAKNESS, BUT
YOU CAN DO THAT
AT CARNOUSTIE.
the trouble is short of the green. There are four
bunkers – three right and one left – that all lie well
away from the tiered putting surface, which is 46
yards from front fringe to back. It is the devilish
bunker short left that complicates the tee shot
here and contributes to the hole playing more
like a par-3.5. During the 1975 Open, Tom Watson
couldn’t par the 16th in five attempts through four
rounds and then the play of, which he won over
Jack Newton.
The original ‘Island’ hole presents on 17 – a
461-yard par-4 where Barry Burn twists its way
down the edge of this hole. The drive must be hit
onto the island fairway to leave a long diicult
approach to the green. Any tee shot hooking
slightly left of the fairway will find the burn. In
1999, Craig Parry’s run to win his first major
championship came to an abrupt end with a
double-bogey six. He birdied the 18th hole to
finish a shot out of the play-of.
The diiculty of Carnoustie’s closing hole is
well-documented on the back of Van de Velde’s
meltdown in 1999. But consider this also.
In 2007, Padraig Harrington made four birdies
and then eagled the 14th and was obviously
playing well when he reached the 18th hole. The
499-yard par-4 features Barry Burn again and is
in play to the right and left of the hole and also
short of the green. Fairway bunkers encroach
from the right and it was here that Johnny Miller
lost the 1975 Championship when he took two
shots to get out of the bunker. Harrington almost
did similar when he finished with a double-bogey
six leaving Sergio Garcia needing a par to win.
The Spaniard took a bogey. When the play-of
returned to the 18th, Harrington made a bogey but
it was good enough to claim the Claret Jug from a
desperate Garcia, who could not make the birdie
needed to keep the play-of alive.
This year’s Open promises to produce the same
drama coming down the stretch. The R&A has
overseen only minor tinkering of the great layout in
the lead-up with the 3rd fairway widened and two
fairway bunkers repositioned while the 9th tee has
been extended. Doing any more than that would be
like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa.

54 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 BUNKERS101
Believe it or not, bunkers are not scattered across a golf course
simply to make your life a misery. The great designers used
them to improve the strategy of their creations, but, as Mike
Clayton points out here, not all bunkering is good and often it
can be misplaced to make a hole more difficult. Ź
WORDS GOLF AUSTRALIA ARCHITECTURE EDITOR MIKE CLAYTON PHOTOGRAPHY GARY LISBON

56 JULY 2018 | golf australia

golf australia | JULY 2018 57
 A
mongst the great architects who
worked before World War II, the role
of bunkers wasn’t much debated.
They moved the game away from a penal era
of architecture where designers, very often
golf professionals, positioned bunkers with
the aim of merely catching poor shots.
Alister MacKenzie, Harry Colt, Tom Simpson,
George Thomas and their contemporaries
determined their bunkers would be used for
dramatic efect as carry hazards and to enhance
the strategy. It was Thomas who called strategy
‘the soul of the game.’
Their bunkers were placed exactly where
players wanted to go and thus to capture the
almost perfect shot as opposed to the simple bad
shot. MacKenzie reasoned those hitting bad shots
were likely having a hard enough time of it already
without him adding to their struggle.
They rarely bunkered the outside edges of a
dogleg, instead preferring to guard the shortest
line to the hole and leave open the wide route
for the weaker players or those eschewing the
challenge of the hazards and the subsequent
reward of a better line into the green. Nor were
they much for ‘framing bunkers’ or what is
colloquially known these days as ‘eye candy’.
Many golfers however come to the conclusion
bunkers are simply there to make their life a
58 JULY 2018 | golf australia
misery. Related is the commonly held view
bunkers should only afect ‘good players’ and
should never be placed where a short hitter
might go.
If players accept bunkers are placed to make
the game more interesting, then why not place
bunkers at random distances so occasionally the
shorter hitters face the same decision a longer
hitter finds on another hole? Either not building
bunkers or removing bunkers likely to catch
a shorter hitter, under the guise of them only
afecting bad players, surely treats those with a
sporting instinct with a level of contempt?
Why should ‘good players’ be the only ones
dealing with the hazards?
Greenside bunker shots are the one shot in the
game impossible to play with a bad grip and the
resulting bad technique. You can occasionally hit
a decent drive or an acceptable iron with a poor
grip but there isn’t a chance of playing an
efective shot out of the sand. The consequence
is golfers complain constantly and endlessly
about the condition of the bunkers rather than
blaming, or even understanding, their own
technical inadequacies.
They erroneously think bunkers should be
‘consistent’ when every single superintendent in
the country will tell you it’s a near impossibility
to make the sand in every bunker the exact same
depth and texture and every lie flat and ‘fair’.
The wind blows sand around. Some parts of
a sand-based property are likely to have parts
where the native sand is more abundant than
others. There is way more sand in the bunkers
built into the dune at Kingston Heath’s 14th hole
than there is on the flatter and heavier ground
where they built the 5th green.
Rain leaves sand moist and ‘heavy’ and long
periods of dry weather has the opposite efect.
Some bunkers get more water from greenside
irrigation sprinklers than others. Bunkers in
shade dry out slower than those exposed to
full sun.
They are never going to be consistent.
They never have been and thoughtful players
understand they are hazards made to diferentiate
the skills of those capable of understanding the
question each lie and stance asks and those who
do not.
The theory of bunkers is one part of the
discussion but as important in the debate are
examples of bunkers and the varying roles they
play in the game.
The most famous is the Road Hole bunker, a
tiny pot cut right into the edge of the 17th green
at St Andrews. It’s penal but the irony of the most
strategic holes is they often rely on a penal hazard
for their interest. The Road Hole, arguably the
 The famous Road Hole on the
Old Course at St Andrews.
MANY GOLFERS HOWEVER COME
TO THE CONCLUSION BUNKERS ARE
SIMPLY THERE TO MAKE THEIR LIFE A
MISERY. RELATED IS THE COMMONLY
HELD VIEW BUNKERS SHOULD ONLY
AFFECT ‘GOOD PLAYERS’ ...
best strategic hole in the game, is made by the
bunker, an out-of-bounds line hard up against the
right edge of the fairway and a road behind the
green for its interest.
This bunker is one dominating the shot to the
green and a bunker anyone who plays the Old
Course with any regularity is bound to find often.
Another greenside bunker refusing to be
ignored is ‘Big Bertha’ at the front left of Kingston
Heath’s great par-3, 15th hole. It’s brutally diicult
to play from and a great example of a hazard
showing of the principle (as does the Road Hole
bunker) that not every shot on a very playable
course has to be playable for everybody.
The 17th on the West Course at Royal
Melbourne is the quintessential dogleg left par-4
with the bunker on the inside of the dogleg and
a huge greenside bunker guarding the right side
of the green to make the approach more diicult
for the ‘timids flying right’, as Peter Thomson
once referred to those avoiding the challenge of a
hazard on the left.
It is one of the best examples in the country of a
bunker catching the ‘almost perfect’ drive.
Centre-line bunkers on modern courses are
almost always controversial yet they are the
basis of many holes at St Andrews and it was
The par-3 15th at Kingston Heath
with the Big Bertha bunker in front.
MacKenzie who argued so long as there was room
to play short, over, left or right they added much to
the game. Many though who think a ‘perfect drive’
is one well hit, straight and with a good flight
detest it when their ‘perfect drive’ finishes up in
a bunker.
It’s a failure to understand that he measure of
the worth of a shot is its position in relation to the
one following – and unless you prefer to be in the
bunker how can it be a perfect shot?
Peter Thomson built a few at Moonah Links
as we copied the principles of the bunkers in the
middle of the 12th at Kingston Heath at Royal
Queensland’s 7th hole.
They are not to be overdone but well placed
they make for endlessly fascinating golf for those
who understand their point. For those who don’t
they are sure to be just a pain.
As much can be learnt from badly placed
bunkers as well placed ones and at Killara in
Sydney there are two par-5s – the 9th and 10th
– showing of how not to bunker a hole. The
Legends Tour for the over 50s play the Dave
Mercer Pro-Am there every year to honour one
of the nicest men in the game. And it’s a brilliant
day but two holes there drive me completely crazy
when I imagine just how much better they would
golf australia | JULY 2018 59
 The fairway bunker left of the 17th
fairway on Royal Melbourne’s West
THE MOST Course is part of the hole’s strategy.

FAMOUS IS THE
ROAD HOLE
BUNKER, A TINY
POT CUT RIGHT
INTO THE EDGE OF
THE 17TH GREEN
AT ST ANDREWS.
IT’S PENAL BUT
THE IRONY OF THE
MOST STRATEGIC
HOLES IS THEY
OFTEN RELY ON
A PENAL HAZARD
FOR THEIR
INTEREST.
be if the ofending bunkers were only filled in. purpose, I’m never sure because if you are left of from Pine Valley and Muirfield, Shinnecock
The 9th is 425 metres but at some point it was it by 10 metres you are stuck behind the trees on Hills, Merion, Swinley Forest and the rest of the
presumably deemed to be ‘too easy’ and bunkers the left. more than 50 percent of courses in the world’s
were added on both sides of the fairway with a gap It’s a pity because a couple of days with a Top-100.
at its narrowest point of about 10 metres in order machine filling them in and they would be two of Any essay on the worth of bunkers would be
to make it a ‘harder’ hole. Maybe it is harder but the best holes on the course. The course would, incomplete without mention of the great 3rd hole
it’s not a principle ever shown of at a great hole. of course, be ‘easier’ and likely the objection at Royal Adelaide. It’s one of MacKenzie’s great
Lest you think they do something to solve a to filling them in. One assumes those arguing holes made by the uncertainty of a blind tee shot
boundary problem it’s a rare hazard on the ground the 9th would be too ‘easy’ would argue just as over a ridge, a wild dune bordering the right side
that does anything to stop a big high hook. vehemently it’d be ‘too hard’ if it was just made of the hole and a gnarly diagonal ridge protecting
Then at the next, a par-5 playing over a perfect a par-4, which at 425 meters is what it is. Or the left side of the long and narrow green.
piece of undulating land for a long two-shotter, a par-71 would be unacceptable because what So vexing is the question MacKenzie set, he
there is a blind bunker over the hill. For what course worth anything isn’t a par-72? Well, aside understood there was no need for a bunker.

The 3rd at Royal Adelaide is proof

that some well-designed holes do
not need to be bunkered.

60 JULY 2018 | golf australia

36 Holes. 2 Championship Courses.
1 Great Club.

With 36 holes, 2 championship courses and home to the Oates

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The Beach Course, designed by Tony Cashmore, opened in December 2001

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designed by Cashmore in conjunction with 6 time major winner Sir Nick Faldo,
opened in 2004 and is a wonderful complement to The Beach Course. This
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A modern clubhouse, bar, restaurant and driving range accompany these two
award winning courses. Open to members and visitors alike, 7 days a week.

13th Beach Golf Links | Barwon Heads Road, Barwon Heads, 3227 VIC | t: (03) 5254 2922
e: info@13thbeachgolf.com | w: www.13thbeachgolf.com |
 A GOLFER’S LIFE

The two-time Australian Open champion heads to St Andrews

for the 2018 Senior Open this month in the hope of recapturing
the form that saw him finish third in the championship 12
months ago. Here, one of the hardest working players of his
generation discusses his globetrotting career, injuries and
illnesses, golf after 50, anchored putting and the responsibility
of Australian players to the game in their home country.
WORDS JIMMY EMANUEL PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES

62 JULY 2018 | golf australia

golf australia | JULY 2018 63

Lonard was
a broomstick
putter user
and he says
the authorities
stuffed up the
rule change.
T
he Senior Open was a nice start. I
suppose there is a great advantage
when you’re 50, if you’ve been playing
the whole way through. I was lucky enough,
my back didn’t go till I was about 41, then I
had to take a year or so of. Then I was lucky
I had enough money to have little certain
exemptions that I could play the Web.com.
Obviously, I didn’t have the firepower
to play that good on the Web.com and they
definitely didn’t play courses that suited my
sort of game. But you know just the fact that
I kept playing all the way through, once I got
to the seniors, it wasn’t a tough ask. Because
I hadn’t had six years of like some guys had.
My back’s shot, if I didn’t take anti-
inflammatories every day I couldn’t play more
than two rounds in a row, which I suppose most
of the guys are like. But I’m in reasonable shape.
I’m a bit overweight and all that but of course
if I manage to get my senior tour card then I’ll
knuckle down again.
It’s one of those fine lines, I want to go play
because I love playing golf and I love playing
tournament golf. Money I’m reasonably ok with
because I was reasonably careful with my money
when I won it. So it’s not about money, but also I
know that I’ve been on the road for 30 years and
if my worst case scenario is relax in Australia
64 JULY 2018 | golf australia
and give a few lessons or something, and go to the
footy every weekend well I’m ok with that as well.
It’s not like some guys, it’s like their lives depend
on it. I’m a 50-50, but I was like that the whole
way through.
There is something incredible about
playing tournament golf. I’m not a great
student of the game or anything like that.
I sort of know how my swing works and
that sort of business, but I just love playing
tournament golf. My whole life I practised a
lot, and it’s just a lifestyle. Up until recently
it was very normal I’d spend all day at the
golf course just hitting balls and chipping
and putting, and chipping and putting and
hitting balls. But that’s what I have done
since I was 19 years old.
When I was 18, I was a trainee, I never
realised how hard you had to practice, and then
somewhere along the line I went I’m not very
good, and then the more I practised and the more
I practised the right things, the better I got and it
fed of each other, and so it became a lifestyle. It’s
like you either practise all day or you sit on the
couch and do nothing all day really if you haven’t
got a job, so it’s just what I’m used to and I like
doing it. And there is nothing better than having
to hit a quality golf shot under the pump. There is
Lonard was a regular winner on
the Australasian Tour including
the Masters and PGA.
no better feeling than that.
If I play continuously, I know I’ll have
probably one week where I can’t play or
I’ll just chip it down the fairway and can
barely walk and all that sort of stuf. But
I’ve learnt to look after my back far better
than I used too. Every night I’m lying on
ice. Every morning I’ve got a heat pack on
the way to the golf course, I’m taking anti-
inflammatories, I’m stretching, I’m doing
all these exercises, at the end of the day I’m
going to have days where its crap and days
when its ok, but to me it seems like the more
I play, as long as I don’t over stress it, the
better I am. I get worse if I have time of.
As it (his battle with Ross River Fever)
unfolded, strangely, it’s like if I had of stayed in
Europe and not done any good that would have
killed my career. Because the Ross River stopped
it all together, and I was lucky enough to go back
to Oatlands Golf Club, where I’d been a junior and
all that sort of stuf, and I knew all the members,
I did a traineeship there, and I was lucky enough
to have a committee that let me go and play a bit.
So, it just gave me time to put my health back
together, and with the help of some good
doctors etc. it all came back together and I
started playing great.

You know if the committee said, “No, you can’t
play”, well then I was stufed anyway, I wouldn’t
have been able to play, so the fact that they let me
play and then I had a few lucky bits and pieces
here that kept me going and of we went … so that
probably made me better in my 30s than I would
have been perhaps, but you just never know.
I was a big practicer and when I went to
Europe it was difficult to find somewhere
to practise on your weeks of and diferent
weather. So as far as practise goes, I did none.
If I had a week of I just didn’t play. I might
go down to the local golf course down the
road and buy a bucket of balls and hit balls
of the cement and that was it, in the rain or
whatever. Once I moved to America, I bought
a house in a golfing community. You back the
I KNOW WHETHER I PLAY
OR NOT IN AUSTRALIA MEANS
BUGGER ALL NOW, BUT IN THE
OLD DAYS, YOU’RE AUSTRALIAN,
SO YOU PLAY IN AUSTRALIA.
– PETER LONARD
golf cart out in the morning, chip for two or
three hours, then I would go home and have
breakfast or something then I would go and
hit balls for two or three hours then I would
come home and jump in the pool and have
a sandwich. Then go out and play 18 holes.
Because I loved practising, it was so good,
you can’t not play well.
Every week you go to a tournament so
prepared to play and then of course you go to
the tournaments, particularly in America,
where they look after you so well, the
conditions are so good, I just loved it. And
I was lucky I got of to a good start, made
a lot of cuts and it just snowballed into all
of a sudden I didn’t believe you could miss
a cut. I got there at the perfect time and
the snowballing of somewhere to practise
Lonard hits his final tee shot en
route to his breakthrough PGA
Tour victory at The Heritage.
continuously, it all sort of came together.
Once they decided they were going to make
anchored putting illegal, I just went to the short
one. I used to use some short ones and some long
ones and mixed and matched, the one win in
America I won with the short one, there was two
others in Australia that I won with the short one.
And with the short one, I was far more erratic but
when I was good I was really good and when I was
bad I was really bad. Whereas the broomstick I
was very consistent.
As far I was concerned, they’d made it illegal so
I’ll just use the short one. But I never grasped the
concept of guys still using it with such a hairline
gap between legal and not illegal. Does it touch
their bodies? Do we have to stand there all day and
look at them and go it did or it didn’t? And then
golf australia | JULY 2018 65
 they go it’s not my intent.
I think at the end of the day they stufed the
rule up, I think that’s the only basic way you could
say it. To me they’ve either got to make up their
minds and say do what you want or it’s got to be
the shortest club in your bag, and then it’s all over
and there is no grey area, and there is no carry on
about it brushed his shirt.
I’ve taken the broomstick out a couple of times
just to fiddle with it after seeing a few of the other
guys. To be honest with you I’d never watched a
senior event in my life, so when I got to the Open
event and everyone’s using them, I was like wow.
So, I used to rest my forearm against my left
breast basically, so the club never really touched
my body but my forearm did, which is illegal. But
you can get the same feel by just having the hairs
on your arms touching your shirt. Like it’s a very
similar feeling. So to me it’s a bit cheeky.
I know whether I play or not in Australia
means bugger all now, but in the old days,
you’re Australian, so you play in Australia.
To me it’s a no brainer, you know “I need
a rest”, like it’s three weeks of the year
for God’s sake and the really good players
probably play 20 times a year, so you know,
how rested do you need to be?
I used to love coming back, the courses are
more the style of golf that I like to play. In the
old days in particular, they were firmer and
bouncier and you had to control the bounce
of the ball and that’s the sort of golf that I
love to play, but if you’re Australian you play
In action
during the
Senior Open
Championship
in Wales last
year.
66 JULY 2018 | golf australia
Rubbing shoulders with great
players at the Presidents Cup
was a highlight for Lonard.
in Australia. To me that’s a no brainer.
The sports psychologists and that tell
them you can’t play more than three in a row
or your head will fall of, or your legs will
fall of or whatever it is, but before sports
psychologists and all the other experts, guys
would play nine in a row and you wouldn’t
even think about it. And life in those days
was far tougher than it is now. So I think the
most important thing you’ve got to teach the
Australian kids is you play in Australia.
I think I was proudest that I managed to win a
tournament every year over a fair stretch of time,
and I played pretty consistently in between that
I played a lot of golf.
he ’97 Australian Masters was big for me,
use I had actually decided that I wasn’t
ng the club job (at Oatlands Golf Club) unless
n a tournament. Tiger Woods was playing
t week, it was like the second time he had
n to Australia, we were all playing for second
ce according to everybody and I thought there
nly one more tournament left in the year, so if
n’t win the next one I’m in deep trouble. So,
course to win that was fantastic for me and it
as great for my club that had been so good to
me as well.
Presidents Cups were incredible, just
ubbing shoulders with the greats. Gary
Player was our captain, Jack Nicklaus the
S Captain and it was interesting to have the
reats of the game just being there and you
know some were nice, some were a bit rough
ut it was just an incredible experience.
would be nice (to play well after 50), I
t think my life depends on it. I’d love to
y well in those (Senior Tour events) but I
ld also love to be able to come back and
be competitive in Australia. The last few
s I’ve sort of finished mid field in most
em, because probably my short game’s
bably not good enough and I’m definitely
r 30 yards shorter than I used to be, not
I was a long hitter in the first place. I’d
to give a couple of kids a bit of fright
ing down the last few tournaments some
before I pull the pin. But sometimes
dream a bit too beyond your means, but
knows.
WOMEN
IN SPORT
SUMMIT Melbourne Cricket Ground
21 - 23 August

Featuring Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt, the Women in Sport

Summit brings together General Managers, Marketers, Commercial
Managers, Participation Managers and athletes interrogating how
sports organisations can drive participation, equality, and grow their
businesses with increased female engagement across the board.

KEY BENEFITS OF ATTENDING:

Ŏ Cultivating grassroots participation and engagement

Ŏ Boosting the female athletic talent pool
Ŏ Realising equality in professional sport
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t o l e a r n m o r e a n d s e c u r e yo u r s e a t t o t h i s s e m i n a l eve n t
 HOMEOF
AUSTRALIA’S
2NDDEADLIEST
CANCER
 IT Y
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away f just eight st

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fair wa om hitting m s
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greens re

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itting fairways and greens is the

H bedrock of a solid score; you’ll never
score well if you’re constantly chipping
out of the trees, or trying to get up and down for
par. In this article you will see a phrase – ‘stable
TEXT & IMAGES: © BAUER CONSUMER MEDIA LIMITED

clubhead’ – make a regular appearance. That’s

because delivering the clubhead with stability at
impact is at the core of accurate golf. In terms of
direction it refers to keeping the blade squarer for
longer, increasing your margin for error. For
distance control, a stable clubhead relates to the
consistent transfer of energy from club to ball. I’ll
guide you through eight steps to work on both, and
we’ll round things off with some strategy advice. Ź

golf australia | JULY 2018 69

 #1 Hit shots with split hands
Add stability to the clubface, and gain control
SPREAD YOUR HANDS
Start this drill by separating your hands on the
handle; keep your gloved hand in its regular
position and move the trail hand down to the
bottom of the grip. Waggle the clubface and feel
how, with the hands spread, the face feels less
lively and more controlled.
BACK FACE CHECK
Take your 8-iron, tee up a ball
and take your regular stance.
Make a half backswing, and
stop to check the position of the
clubface. By adding stability
to the shaft and head, the
split-hand grip limits excessive
face rotation; the leading edge
should match your spine angle.
70 JULY 2018 | golf australia
TRAIN THE FEELING
This drill helps you
experience a stable shaft and
face, and how they contribute
to the controlled face rotation
that boosts accuracy. Work
on it to groove those feelings,
before returning to you
regular hold and trying it with
a full swing.
THROUGH FACE SQUARE
Now swing through; look to hit the
ball only about 80 yards. Again the
split-hand hold fights any tendency
to flip or rotate the face, but you
can assist the motion by trying to
keep the face looking at the target
through impact. Hold your finish and
inspect the face position (like this).
#2 Clap for accuracy
Feel how to limit forearm rotation and deliver a square clubface

ADDRESS PALMS FACING AT THE TOP PALMS ‘CONNECTED’

With the focus on rotation in the golf swing, it’s easy to overdo rotation in the Now make a backswing with your trail hand and arm only; leave your lead or
hands and forerarms. To feel a more efective move, leave the club to one side. gloved hand in its address position. As you swing the arm back, maintain an
Take your regular set-up but leave your hands an inch or so apart, palms facing. intention that you will bring the hand back down to ‘clap’ the lead hand.

DOWNSWING OVERCOOKED ROTATION IMPACT SMACK THE GLOVE

With that intention – which parallels the ideal delivery of the clubface – the Now swing the trail hand back down to clap the gloved hand. Repeat this drill a
notion of rolling the forearm open is alien. Yet this is the motion many club few times to feel how the trail palm feels “connected” to the lead palm throughout
golfers make in a misguided quest for rotation. its journey. Finally take a club and look to feel the same trail arm rotation. Ź

golf australia | JULY 2018 71

 #3 Face
twist
#4 Improve your pivot
Your body pivot is what holds the clubface
square. Splay your feet to feel how this works
Build awareness, boost
face control
BETTER PIVOT = STRAIGHTER SHOTS
To help you keep the face squarer for The three steps so far have all focused on the
longer, improve your feel for the face and clubface – and when it comes to direction
what it’s doing. You can achieve this by accuracy you have to start here. But during
the swing, your rotation back and through
taking a 7-iron and turning the club makes a big contribution to holding the
through 90 degrees (1, below), so the face square.
length of the blade looks at the target.
Move the club back (2). The new angle of
the head will feel unusual to you, which
improves your awareness of it. It also
puts the club’s mass along the target line.
In this position its face is more reluctant
to rotate. This helps calm any tendency
to roll the forearms through the first part
of your swing. Give this drill some focus
by tapping a ball forwards. Of course
don’t worry where the ball goes. But note
that to strike the ball in this position the
face must avoid rotation through impact
– this is another good habit to get into in
your quest for accuracy.

1 WRONG POWER SOURCE

If you are not powering your
swing through the rotation
of your body, you will end up
trying to create speed with your
hands and arms. This inevitably
creates excessive forearm
rotation, the clubface opening
and closing rapidly. Your
directional control will suffer.

FOOT FOCUS
We tend to see the pivot
2 as an upper-body action,
because the shoulders make
the biggest turn. But in reality
your ability to pivot comes
from your feet. They push
down, against the ground, to
generate the twisting force
that delivers the pivot.

72 JULY 2018 | golf australia


BACKSWING PUSH OFF
To feel how this all relates to a better body
pivot, turn the toes of both feet out to create
a splayed stance. Hold a club against your
shoulders. Push your lead foot instep
against the ground to rotate your hips and
chest back.
THROUGHSWING
TRAIL FOOT PUSH
Now return the favour, pushing of with
your trail foot instep to initiate your
forward rotation. When you’ve developed a
feel for how your pivot is initiated from
your feet, return to the golf club and
make practice swings, looking to repeat
the feeling. Ź
FEEL THE GROUND-UP PIVOT
To feel how this works, place a
ball in your trail hand. Throw it
forwards and up, as if to mimic
the release of the golf club. Note
that the power in the throw does
not come from the hand and arm;
it radiates upwards from your
planted lead foot, which supports
your rotating core.
CREATING YOUR
GROUND FORCE
Note too that when you plant
that lead foot, it is relatively
splayed, the toe turned out.
When you turn your toes out
it allows your hips to turn,
whilst keeping them stable.
This increases the coil effect
and helps you to pivot back
and through.
golf australia | JULY 2018 73
#5 Imagine the club has no loft
Hitting irons straight is just the start... hit them the right distance, too
Now we move into distance accuracy – and to approach shots “pin high”. It shows they are stability through impact. It’s this stability that
understand this, we need to look at the golfers in control of the direction and distance of delivers consistent energy transfer from club to
who have mastered it; Tour professionals. We’ve their irons. ball. Picturing no loft is one of three ways you
often heard in commentary that a player is really The Tour pro averages a 4-5° downward blow, an can improve your own attack angle... and
on their game when they’re hitting their angle that allows them to maintain clubface distance control.

TRY THE PUTT CHIP

PUSH THE SHAFT
FORWARDS The sight of loft on the face – and the fact we
To grow this feeling of know the ball needs to rise – can lead to a
hitting forwards and scooping impact that creates no compression,
not up, place a club on no club stability and no distance consistency. To
the ground, its shaft
pointing down your grasp how this might have got into your game,
target line. Address the take a putter – ideally an old one! – and chip a
butt end. Now, simply few shots with it, perhaps 40 or 50 yards.
focus on pushing the
clubface into the butt With no loft and no expectation of height,
to send the clubhead any scooping action feels inappropriate.
towards your “target”. Instead, you will simply focus on driving
the ball forwards.

SHAFT LEAN CHECK

As you do this feel how
your hands naturally move
forwards, ahead of the
clubhead, to create that
force through the shaft. You’ll
create some forward lean in
the shaft – a key indicator of
applying the correct, slightly
downward attack angle.
#6 Feel a ‘pressure impact’
Learn an easy way to feel how you need to apply the club to the ball
TEE PEG OBSTRUCTION
Find a long tee peg and stick it deep into
the ground. Leave just the thicker top
part above the turf. Take your 7-iron and
set up to the tee. Place the leading edge
against it.
PUSH AGAINST THE TEE
The key to this drill is to apply
pressure against the tee
through the club. Providing the
turf is firm, the peg provides
enough resistance for you to
build up quite a lot of force. You
will quickly feel that to push the
club harder against the tee, you
need to push off through your
back foot.
NOW BURST THROUGH!
Keep pushing until the club bursts
through the tee peg. Allow yourself to
flow into your followthrough. See how,
with that correct pressure creation, you
are able to extend down the target line
after “impact”. Look to recreate this with
a ball. Ź
KEEP THE PRESSURE ON
The technique you are using
to apply pressure against
the tee is exactly the one
you need to compress the
ball correctly during the
full swing. Keep pushing
until you can feel the shaft
starting to bow, and absorb
the sensation of downward,
forward pressure.
golf australia | JULY 2018 75
 Blend your
#7 transition to
create ‘lag’
It adds face stability & distance control
Lag can be roughly defined as the
angle between your clubshaft and
wrists. Create this angle and you
can release the club downwards,
into the ball. Without it, your
attack angle will tend to be too
shallow. To learn what lag should
feel like and how to create it, focus
on your change of direction. Take
your 7-iron. Turn it upside down
and grip it by the head, with
your trail hand only. Make a
three-quarter backswing (1). The
angle between your arm and the
shaft should be just short of a right
76 JULY 2018 | golf australia
#8
angle. Now start forward by
feeling your lead knee and weight
move to the target. As you change
direction, allow your wrist to
increase its cock while the arm
pretty much holds position (2).
Now you have the “head” in a
position where it can lag behind,
arriving later and with more speed
and compression. Work on this
with the club inverted. When the
motion starts to come more
naturally groove the feeling with
the club the right way round,
though keep it trail-hand only.
Plan the shot better
These seven steps will go along way to improving your technique – but
that counts for nothing if you don’t have an effective plan for the shot.
Focus on these five areas to ensure your strategy matches your swing

TAKE YOUR TIME
When you’re faced with
a tough shot, the huge
temptation is to get it over
with. But rushing the shot
brings disaster. Instead, take
your time. Stand directly
behind your ball target line
and absorb the entire scene,
hazards and all. Realise the
fairway is wide; you could
probably fit 1,000 balls across
it, and you only need one of
those. Above all, prove to
yourself that while the shot
is tough, a good outcome
is a possibility.
LOCK ON TO
YOUR TARGET
Dangerous hazards like water
have an ugly habit of grasping
your attention. You can’t ignore
it, but you can release yourself
from its hold by picking your
target and committing to it
throughout the planning stage.
The clearer you define your
line, the easier this comes, so
pick an intermediate target to
help you. Drum this line into
your mind’s eye and you’ll
be better able to resist that
last-second doubt that breeds
a ‘safety’ adjustment… and
usually disaster.
KEEP AWARE
Some tees have mower stripes
that may – or may not – point
you down the fairway. It’s
important you become aware
of these lines and how they
relate to your chosen shot
path because it’s easy to
be subliminally influenced
by them. Similarly with the
tee markers; they will not
necessarily line up square to
your shot. The bottom line is to
use these elements to help you
aim… and ensure they don’t
use you.
MIND YOUR BODY
LANGUAGE
Be aware of how you stand,
move and breathe. Simply
standing tall with good posture
can help give you a feeling of
confidence. Take this feeling
into your practice swing. Hold
a balanced finish, looking
down the fairway; try to look
as composed as possible to
any onlooker. Moving like
this helps you feel confident
and committed, and helps
you ward off feelings of
twitchiness. A deep breath
also helps slow your heart rate
and keep you calm.
GO WITH WHAT
YOU KNOW
Your best chance of pulling
the shot off lies with hitting the
shot you are most comfortable
with. It’s important you don’t let
the hazards or the hole force
you into using a club – or a
shape of shot – that makes
you anxious. That can mean
playing for a left-to-right shot
even if the hole bends the
other way, or changing clubs
if you think it will help you
commit with a confident swing.

golf australia | JULY 2018 77

 WE CAN ALL BE MORE

ACCURATE... AND THIS IS HOW

PGA Tour stats expert Mark Broadie reveals why your
mid and short irons are the most important clubs in your bag
WORDS STUART HOOD

78 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 ammering a 300-yard drive might
H make you feel like a pro, and curling
home a 20-footer might give you a
massive rush of adrenaline. But when it comes
to consistently lower scores, the area you really
need to focus on is your iron play.
“If you study the 10 shots that separate a
golfer who regularly shoots 80 and a golfer who
regularly shoots 90, you discover that between
40-45 percent of the scoring diference comes
from the quality of their approach play,” reveals
leading golf statistician Professor Mark Broadie.
“A lot of people find this surprising, but it is
the same throughout all the skill levels. Whether
you are a top Tour professional or someone who
shoots 100, the area that has the most impact on
your average score is not your driving, short
game or putting. It is your shots into the green.”
2017 Open Champion Jordan Spieth is a great
example of this. Yes, he never seems to miss an
important putt. Yes, he has a stunning short
game. And yes, he is a fantastic course manager.
But if you delve into his statistics you so
discover that the biggest change betwee
his OK-but-not-fantastic 2016 and his
Major-winning 2017 was the standard o
his iron play.
Get shorty
Get to love your
7-iron down,
because they are
key to scoring well.
“THE AREA THAT HAS THE MOST IMPACT
ON YOUR AVERAGE SCORE IS NOT YOUR
DRIVING, SHORT GAME OR PUTTING. IT IS
YOUR SHOTS INTO THE GREEN.”
– MARK BROADIE
In 2016, he gained 0.145 strokes per round
with his approach shots and hit 63.52 percent of
greens in regulation, to lie 87th in the PGA
Tour’s Strokes Gained with Approach Shots
category and 145th in the PGA Tour’s GIR
statistic. Last season, he gained 0.906 strokes
er round with his approach shots and hit
70.01 percent of greens in regulation, to
ank 1st in the PGA Tour’s Strokes Gained
ith Approach Shots category and
rth in the PGA Tour’s Greens in
gulation statistic.
his is one of the biggest things Jordan has
d around and it follows the statistical
of previous seasons,” Broadie tells us.
never you compare the earnings of top-10
golf australia | JULY 2018 79
 Average distance from the hole from 150 yards
This is why your 7-, 8- and 9-iron approaches are so important...

90
Top shooters
pros

21’ 56’

100
shooters

Average
70’
pros

23’

80
shooters

42’ Stats familiar?

Improve your
approach, improve
your score.

Greens hit from

100-150 yards
You’re up to three times
more likely to miss
than a Tour pro 100
shooters 90
shooters
35% 47%
I 80
shooters

The 63%
worl
gun H
asto
from
PGA
Top
Stenso Tour pros
125-1
TEXT & IMAGES: © BAUER CONSUMER MEDIA LIMITED

80% 80%
Fr
more
often

80 JULY 2018 | golf australia


players in the PGA Tour’s Strokes Gained Driving,
Strokes Gained with Approach Shots, Strokes
Gained Around the Green and Strokes Gained
Putting categories, you always find that the leaders
in the Strokes Gained from
Approach Shots statistic have “IF YOU WANT TO
taken home the most money.”
So does this mean the
CUT YOUR HANDICAP
whole ‘putt for dough’ adage YOU NEED TO DIAL
is a myth? Yes. Well. Um. It’s IN YOUR 7-, 8- AND
complicated, so we will let the 9-IRONS”
professor explain. “In general,
golf tournaments are won by the player on the
leaderboard who putts the best,” says Broadie. “But
to get your name on to the leaderboard you need to
be hitting your approach shots well. And this is why,
if I had to give a mid or high-handicap golfer one
piece of advice it would be to work on becoming
more accurate from 100-150 yards.” That’s right,
folks. Forget chipping from dawn until dusk or
beating balls with your metal woods, hybrids or
long irons. According to golf’s leading data expert, if
you want to slash your handicap quickly the clubs
you need to dial in are your 7-, 8- and 9-irons.
“The diference in golfers’ average performance
statistics from 150 yards is astounding,” adds
Broadie. “From this distance in the fairway, the best
pros put half their shots within 21 feet of the hole,
average professionals put half of their shots within
23 feet of the hole. Golfers who average 80 put half
of their shots within 42 feet of the hole. Golfers who
average 90 put half of their shots within 56 feet of
the hole. And golfers who average 100 put half of
their shots within 70 feet of the hole. These are
enormous diferences that ofer a big opportunity. If
you can get your 7- or 8-irons 10 to 15 feet closer to
the hole, then you can
quickly take a couple of shots
of your game.” While
extremely exciting, the above
is perhaps a tad labour
intensive for some weekend
golfers. Thankfully, Professor
Broadie has an alternative
performance metric for those who aren’t salivating
at the prospect of continually pacing out the
distance from their ball to the cup.
“Work on hitting the green in one shot from
between 100 and 150 yards,” advises Broadie. “The
And if you do miss the green…
Professor Mark Broadie on the short game shots that’ll benefit you the most
“A former PGA Tour
professional recently asked
me to research how many
short game shots the average
90 shooter faces from 60
yards or less in an average
round. It turned out the
answer was 13, and that these 13 could be split
into the following five categories: 0-20 yards on
the fairway; 0-20 yards in the rough; greenside
Big strength
Jordan Spieth was
No.1 in the PGA Tour’s
Strokes Gained from
approaches in 2017.
data I’ve gathered on shots hit from the fairway
between these distances shows the following.
Golfers who average 80 hit the green 63 percent of
the time. Golfers who average 90 hit the green 47
percent of the time. And golfers who average 100 hit
the green 35 percent of the time. Again, these are
huge variations that highlight the major scoring
improvements you can make by hitting just two or
three more greens.”
Got that? Great, then what are you waiting for?
Grab your clubs, get out there, dial in your mid and
short irons and prepare to give yourself a chance of
winning this weekend.
■ Mark Broadie is a professor at Columbia Business
School, the man behind the PGA Tour’s strokes
gained statistics and the author of the best-selling
book Every Shot Counts (everyshotcounts.com).
bunker shots; 20-60 yards on the fairway; and
20-60 yards in the rough. I quickly discovered two
things. First, the key to gaining strokes in all these
areas is getting the ball on the green in one shot.
And second, the short game shots that cause
higher handicappers the most problems are:
20-60 yards from the rough; greenside bunker
shots; and 0-20 yards in the rough. So, if you’re
looking to improve your short game these are the
three areas you should focus on.”
golf australia | JULY 2018 81
HIT MORE
GREENS
BY PGA TOUR WINNER
RICKIE FOWLER
The American superstar reveals his
approach play secrets
WORDS CAMILLA TAIT PICTURES ANDREW REDINGTON / GETTY IMAGES
rom growing up on his local
F driving range in California to
becoming one of the most
consistent players on the PGA Tour,
Rickie Fowler puts a lot of his more
recent success down to working with
coach Butch Harmon for the past
four years.
Since Fowler hired Harmon in 2014,
the 29-year-old American has won six
tournaments across both European and
PGA Tours, including his victory at the
Players in 2015 – but it hasn’t all been
smooth sailing.
In 2014 Fowler finished in the top five
of each of the four Majors, but by the end
of 2016 he had hadn’t managed better
than T33 in all four Major-starts, and
failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup
play-ofs – so Harmon told him he
needed to take his golf more seriously.
“We had a big conversation at the end
of the year last year, and he didn’t like
it,” Butch told Sky Sports. “I said, ‘You
gotta decide are you going to be a
Kardashian or are you going to be a golf
pro?” You’re the king of social media,
you’re all over these Snapchats and all
82 JULY 2018 | golf australia
these things. You need to reach down
and grab your ears and get your head out
of your you know what and get back to
work, get your body in shape. He’s got a
trainer he works out tremendously with
and he’s worked unbelievable with
his golf swing. He’s gone back to
winning tournaments again – get rid
of those Kardashians.”
Since then, Fowler has refocused and
with two victories and eight other top
five finishes in 2017 he was ranked in
the top five on the PGA Tour for scoring
average, total driving, strokes gained
and sand saves.
We caught up with Rickie at the
2017 Scottish Open at Dundonald Links,
where he told us that working on the
fundamentals and staying consistent
in practice is the key to accuracy on
the course.
You have some of the best
performance stats on the PGA Tour,
what do you think has helped you
become a much more accurate and
consistent player?
I’ve been playing well this year,
 ‘Butch and I go
back to basics.
Alignment,
posture, swing
length and
contact will take
care of a lot’

golf australia | JULY 2018 83

 A
Rick
bal
weig
laces
from
everything has been trending in the
right direction. I feel like I’ve done a
really good job of continuing to
work on the little things and the
fundamentals, making sure that
I’m not too far of of where I
want to be swing wise, so Butch
and I are always staying on top of
that to make sure it’s in the right
spot and right tempo. His son Claude
helps me out a bit, too, and then I’ve
got my caddie Joe, who has a great
eye, so I feel like I’ve got a great group
of people who help keep me in line.
You have one of the best scoring
averages on the PGA Tour; is
there a secret to how you
practise?
Right now, I really don’t spend a
whole lot of time on the range. I much
prefer spending my time playing and
putting myself in real situations. If I
find something that’s feeling a little
bit of, or needs work, or if I’m not
84 JULY 2018 | golf australia
playing well, I’ll work on that either and too fast. To keep my backswing nice and
after the round or the next day for compact, I try to feel width – that my hands are far
30 minutes to an hour. It’s not away from my body. Wide swings also tend to be
GREENS IN about the amount of time you put shorter and smoother.
REGULATION in. It’s the quality of it.
How do you stay consistent when you’re on
And if something is a bit of, the course and not feeling on your A-game?
67.74 how do you go about sorting I don’t try and change much, I usually just try to
8th on tour
that? adjust and let it happen. The more I force it, the
Butch and I typically go right back to more it can all go wrong so I really just try not to
basics with everything and then try to force it then I’ll go and work on it after the round.
come up with the answer.
(APPROACHES)
STROKES
Alignment, Does where you are on the leaderboard
GAINED
posture, swing determine how aggressive you are?
length and contact Yes, I definitely play the course diferently
will take care of depending on where I am on the leaderboard.
TEXT & IMAGES: © BAUER CONSUMER MEDIA LIMITED
a lot. Depending on the situation, there are times where
your position allows you to play a course or a hole
What do you more aggressively.
work on a lot?
Tempo, timing. How do you approach strategy on the course
0.732 Nothing ruins and decide those percentage plays into
your timing like greens?
bringing the For me, distance is a huge advantage out there, but
8th on tour
club back too far being in the short grass is key. There are definitely

times I will take less club of the tee to make sure
I’m in the fairway, to avoid hazards, but sometimes
the gamble is worth it to push it a bit further up
so then I’ll go for it. I’d never want to be too far
back, though.
Do you change strategy when you play
diferent courses?
A little bit. When I play over here on links courses
I really just try to avoid bunkers of the tee, as it
can be close to being a one-shot penalty. I’ll try to
play to a wider part of the fairway or try to take out
the hazards. Sometimes you might have a harder
or longer shot into greens, but the last place you
want to be is in the bunker of the tee.
You were ranked first for sand saves on the
PGA Tour in 2017; what is your key to getting
it close from the bunker?
I’ve put in a lot of work with Butch over the last
few years. There are a handful of keys that I have,
like making sure I have a really solid stance. I think
everyone has a bit of a diferent technique, but it
all comes down to the main fundamentals,
confidence and just really working at it.
To help amateurs improve their
accuracy, what would you
suggest?
Getting out there and playing is key.
But if they are looking for accuracy,
they’ve got to practise from inside 150
yards. That’s where they tend to lose
shots (and that’s where stats guru
Mark Broadie says we lose shots;
see page 78).
Is there a diferent preparation
for you mentally for Majors, or is
it just the same process?
I think a lot of guys possibly make it
diferent. But myself and my team
try to make it as normal as
another event. I feel like guys
will spend some more time on
the golf course or more time
than they would at a normal
Tour event. So I’ve gone to trying
to play nine holes Monday, nine
holes Tuesday and 18 holes
Finish
Like all great players
Rickie finishes in perfect
balance, his lead leg
supporting his weight
and his belt buckle facing
the target.
Wednesday. Just like I would a normal
125-150 YARDS
event; you play a pro-am Wednesday
APPROACH
and lead into the golf tournament. For
FROM
me, getting potentially, nine, nine, 18,
it gives me a chance to figure out what
I want to do on the golf course and not
worry about my swing or what I need
to work on there.
You’ve won the Scottish Open and
finished second in the Open, so
21”0’ why do you think your game suits
links golf so much?
12th on tour I grew up on my local driving range at
home and it was just a flat piece of
land with some built-up mounds and
flag stuck in the middle. I had to use
my imagination and just hit shots,
GREEN OR since there wasn’t really much to
FRINGE IN aim at; it’s not like there were
REGULATION trees out there or bunkers to try
73.75% and hit shots to pins or anything
8th on tour like that. Then typically the wind
would blow a little in the afternoon,
so I learned how to play in that, too.
golf australia | JULY 2018 85
 Rickie’s green-hitting keys
Four things Fowler does that you can add into your game

MY SWING
THOUGHT
I can get a little bit quick,
so one of my main focuses
before a shot is I just have to
make sure I complete my turn
with my shoulders and to make
sure there’s not a quick
change in direction
at the top.

MY No.1
ACCURACY KEY
One of the big things is making
sure I’ve got a good rhythm and
tempo, really trying not to get too
quick. Getting a little bit quick at
the top is one of my tendencies,
so I’m always working on
that with Butch. WHAT I
WORK ON…
Keeping a good tempo. I’d also
say the grip is a huge thing for
me at the moment to try to get
consistent, so that I’m able to
start the ball off in the right
position and make it do
what I want it to do.

WHEN TO BE
AGGRESSIVE
It really depends on what my
position is. You want to be in the
‘Getting
short grass off the tee, but I tend a little bit
not to be as aggressive at the pin
with a longer club as I am quick at the top
with a 9-iron in my hand. is one of my
tendencies, so I’m
always working on
that with Butch’
86 JULY 2018 | golf australia
88 JULY 2018 | golf australia
 NCE
G S EQUE
SWIN

ARC
M MAN
LEISH d rou g
e P G A T
rc L ei sh ma n
our, Ma pturing two
a
ht on thlayers in 2017, c Meda l. Now
a five -year win world’s best p Greg Norman his unique golf
After ged as one of claiming the he tees it up, as remained
re-emers on the way to rly ever y time rnambool and hf the Year in
victorie favourites nea e wind of War our’s Rookie o swing.
he th T n’s
among tas developed inhe was the PGAm the Victoria
o
swing wthe same sinceou can learn fr
mostly . Here’s what y
20 0 9

golf australia | JULY 2018 89

 1 At address, Marc is perfectly balanced in an athletic
posture with multiple features of his golf swing
pre-set before he has taken the club away. Even with
an iron Leishman’s, head is behind the ball and his
right forearm is slightly above his left to deliver the
path required to hit his reliable power fade.
BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP
Marc Leishman’s soft knees and bent left
elbow at the top of the backswing give his
swing a casual and smooth look that makes
average golfers jealous. However, the
flowing motion belies the significant power
he possess, which he generates from the
ground up.
Although not as obvious as players like Bubba
Watson and Justin Thomas who get right up on
90 JULY 2018 | golf australia
2 As good as it gets! Look at the logos on Leishman’s
shirt to see what has initiated the club moving back
into the start of the backswing. Marc’s upper body is
turning, while his arms maintain the triangle they formed
at address. The slight head turn away from the target is
reminiscent of the way Jack Nicklaus started his swing.
their toes during their swing, Leishman loads
his weight into the ground on the way back
before his legs straighten at impact, giving him
an appearance as if he is almost pushing of the
ground. This leg action together with Leishman
clearing his body to the left, makes the space
that allows him to straighten his arms and
deliver the club at serious speed.
While the speed he creates through his use of
3 Leishman is doing a great job here of keeping the
club in front of his body, rather than whipping the
club to the inside – a move that is common among
so many amateur golfers and is almost impossible to
recover from.
the ground helps the Victorian hit the ball a long
way, another of his fundamental moves you can
copy is also key to his good driving that he
admits was the backbone of his outstanding
2017.
“If you’re driving the ball well, then you’re
giving yourself more opportunities to fire at
flags and hopefully in turn more opportunities
to make – or give yourself makeable putts. At the
 The hips are joining the upper body now to
4 maximise the rotation and load Leishman’s weight
into the ground, which he will use at impact, while
the right arm has folded and as a result if you draw a
line down the shaft from behind it will dissect the ball,
showing that his swing is on plane.
Marc’s arm plane is slightly higher than his shoulder
5 plane courtesy of his bent left arm and the clubface
is open, this is a perfect position for any player looking
to hit a fade. Notice from front on how much weight is
loaded into the right hip, the toe of the right shoe has
even lifted slightly. There is lots of power stored up.
The start of the downswing starts with the lower
6 half as Leishman shifts his hips towards the target
in a textbook move and begins to push off the ground, not
leaving any of the potential power he has created in the
backswing behind.

HAT’S IN THE BAG UTILITY: Callaway X Forged UT with 21˚ loft, with
Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 130X shaft.
end of the day you’ve R: Callaway Rogue with 9˚ loft, with
IRONS: Callaway X Forged (4-iron to pitching
still got to make the putt a Speeder 757 Evolution IV X-Flex shaft.
wedge), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour
but I feel like the driver OD: Callaway Rogue with 15˚ loft, 130X shafts.
was the start of that,” Le jikura Motore Speeder VC Tour Spec WEDGES: Callaway Mack Daddy Forged (54˚-10˚
Leishman’s head rem aft. S) and Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (58˚-04˚ L Grind),
throughout the swing an OD: Callaway Rogue with 21˚ loft, with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 130X shafts.
impact, helping to shallo jikura Motore Speeder VC Tour Spec PUTTER: Odyssey Versa 1W.
his extremely consisten aft. BALL: Callaway Chrome Soft X.
the tee.

golf australia | JULY 2018 91

 7 Here, Marc is doing a tremendous job of
maintaining, and if anything increasing, the angle
in his wrists to create lag. This move allows him to
lead the club into impact with his body and arms
rather than the other way around, which is a sign
of a major power leak.
OWN YOUR SWING
Developing his game in windswept
Warrnambool, Leishman had to learn to
control his golf ball to play well and has said he
does so through the use of his hands. This
‘handsy’ action has made the 34-year-old one
of best wind players on the planet and in
addition to some unique footwork makes
Leishman’s action unlike any other on the PGA
Tour and something of a throwback to the
92 JULY 2018 | golf australia
8 From behind, you can see Leishman’s legs and arms
have almost completely straightened as the force
of the ground pushes him up. He makes room for
this powerful move by clearing his hips left and
maintaining his spine angle.
swings of days gone by.
Leishman transfers plenty of weight into his
right side at the top of the backswing, with a
significant hip turn and his left knee flexing
more towards the ball than many other modern
players, who restrict their hip rotation against
their upper body turn.
A classic shift of the hips towards the target
starts his downswing, but it is after the ball is
gone where the three-time PGA Tour winner
makes multiple moves that really set his golf
9 The ball is gone but Leishman’s head is still behind
the impact point – a key component in his improved
driving – while his left arm and left leg form a
straight line which he will continue to rotate around,
giving a terrific example of the phrase “hitting into
your left side”.
swing apart.
As the club passes his body and releases
down the line, Leishman’s left foot almost
follows it. The turning out of the left foot is
followed by his right knee dipping after impact,
both of which are to counteract a lack of
mobility in his left hip and results in both feet
pointing down the fairway like a runner
preparing to start a 100-metre sprint.
While Leishman’s swing might look diferent
to most of his competitors, it is extremely
 Unlike many other players of today who create a
10 left-to-right ball flight by pulling the club low and
to the left post impact, Leishman employs a full
release down the line that puts on full display his
‘handsy’ method of controlling the ball flight.
Look at Leishman’s left foot, it has turned almost
11 90 degrees from where it started at address to
compensate for a lack of mobility in his hip and his hands
have finished high – a position that is rare in modern
swings but gives his action a timeless look and one that
is all his own.
Even though Marc has taken his right hand
12 off the club in the top image, he is completely
balanced and has wrapped the shaft around his back.
Although a little different to some, there is no wasted
energy in this swing.

C LEISHMAN’S 2018 NUMBERS

STARTS: 15 (PGA TOUR). SCORING AVERAGE: 70.482 (33rd).
-25S: 6. STROKES GAINED TOTAL: .829 (42nd).
ANCE: 297.1 yards. STROKES GAINED OF-THE-TEE: -.147 (145th).
RACY: 58.88%. STROKES GAINED TEE-TO-GREEN: .570 (53rd).
G: 217 (124th). BIRDIE AVERAGE PER ROUND: 4.15 (13th).
GULATION: 67.20% (74th). CLUBHEAD SPEED: 115.54 miles per hour.

golf australia | JULY 2018 93

 PGA
PERSONAL E XC LU S I V E BY P G A O F AU S T R A L I A P R O F ES S I O N A L M A R K O F F IC E R
LESSON
PRACTICE FROM UNEVEN LIES
HITTING ball after ball from the perfect lie
on the practice fairway is the most
common form of practice but fails to
reproduce the challenge of the golf course
where lies are rarely perfect.
Sloping lies can be difficult to find on a
driving range but if you do get the opportunity
to hit balls from them it can be extremely
beneficial to develop an understanding of how
the ball is going to react when the ball is
above your feet, for example.
Generally the tendency is that the ball being
above your feet is going to draw and the ball
below your feet is going to fade. An upslope
means your body slows down and your arms
go past your body causing a draw shot that is
also shorter. A downslope results in hitting the
94 JULY 2018 | golf australia
2
ball lower, flatter and a little longer as it’s
easier to get the body out of the way.
While knowing there is going to be
common results for shots hit off slopes on the
golf course is a good start, knowing how
much it is going to change your carry distance
or the amount of curvature it will cause is
also extremely beneficial and practicing on
sloping lies can even be helpful for players
with certain types of swings trying to
implement changes.
For a slicer, it’s a huge advantage to be able
to hit practice balls with a ball above their feet
(pics 1 & 2) because, as we know, the ball
will tend to go left because the lie angle is
actually facing left. With a ball starting left and
curving further left, if you continue to hit shots
off that slope you will realise there is no need
to swing the club to the left, one of the most
common causes of a slice.
If you were to hit 30 or 50 balls with the ball
above your feet, the swing path and plane will
start to change to straighten out the ball flight
and you will get an understanding of the feel
you are after in a normal swing.

GREG NORMAN
PRACTICED
JUST THAT FOR
A SUMMER IN 3 4
THE 1980S AFTER
REALISING HE
WANTED TO
HIT MORE OF A
DRAW SHOT ...
Greg Norman practiced just that for a
summer in the 1980s after realising he wanted
to hit more of a draw shot, hitting balls above
his feet to flatten out his swing plane to achieve
his desired ball flight.
Hitting shots from a downslope (pic 3) is
useful for someone who doesn’t transfer their
weight well. Downslope lies are going to help
get your weight off your right side and towards
the target (pic 4) in the forward swing. Force
plates and balance plates show people who hit
shots on a downslope get their centre of
pressure trace going more directly towards the
target, which is important and helps with swing
path direction.
There is even some benefits to hitting some
shots on an upslope (pic 5) if you struggle with
the timing of your arm swing and body turn. If
your body gets out of the way faster than your
arms in your normal swing it might be
beneficial to hit shots on an upslope where
your body is going to slow down and your arms
are going to catch up and you will find it easier
to hit a draw, something players whose bodies
get ahead of their arms can struggle with.

MARK OFFICER has been

an Australian PGA Member
for more than 30 years and is
advanced coaching certified.
He owns the Perfectstroke Golf
Training Centre at Molendinar
PHOTOS: BRENDAN JAMES X 5

on Queensland’s Gold Coast and is available for

lessons covering all aspects of your game. Visit
the website www.perfectstroke.golf

golf australia | JULY 2018 95

 PGA
PERSONAL E XC LU S I V E BY P G A O F AU S T R A L I A P R O F ES S I O N A L M AT T B A L L A R D
LESSON

DON’T LET
1
YOUR EYES
FOOL YOU
VISION is the first port of call in a putting
lesson. Golf is played side on to the ball
so our vision is always distorted as we
stand over the ball.
How many times have you stood over the
golf ball and looked at the hole and thought
this isn’t exactly where I am aiming or it
doesn’t feel right?
To analyse someone’s vision, I put an
alignment stick down six feet from the hole
and line it up dead straight, standing directly
behind it looking towards the hole we both
agree that it is lined up straight (pic 1). Then
we walk in over the putt and I ask them to
simulate their golf posture and then run their
eyes along the stick and tell me if the stick is

HOW MANY TIMES

HAVE YOU STOOD
OVER THE GOLF
BALL AND LOOKED
AT THE HOLE AND
THOUGHT THIS
ISN’T EXACTLY
WHERE I AM
AIMING OR IT
DOESN’T FEEL
RIGHT?

pointing at the hole or not. Nine out of 10

people say no.
It’s either left edge, outside left or right,
and this has everything to do with where
your eyes are situated at address.
I will then ask the question, “Are you
happy that you see left?” because if you
see left there is every chance you are going
to aim left (pic 2). And if you aim left a good
athlete will have some stroke compensation
for what their brain is telling them through
their vision.
I have seen numerous players who are
holding on and opening the putterface
through impact but they don’t know why. It’s
because going right back to the start, how

96 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 2 3

PHOTOS: BRENDAN JAMES X 16

4 5 6

golf australia | JULY 2018 97

 PGA
PERSONAL E XC LU S I V E BY P G A O F AU S T R A L I A P R O F ES S I O N A L M AT T B A L L A R D
LESSON

they stand over the putt, they see left, aim

left and have to hold onto the putterface.
ARC STRAIGHT
To get the player into a position where
they actually see straight (pic 3) will mean
a change in posture, either getting further
away or closer, standing taller or bending 7 12
over more, or just a simple change in neck
position. All of which will change their eye
position and their perception of what they
see as straight.
Once we make that adjustment, I
encourage players to find a position that is
comfortable and helps them see straight,
so they can then get into a habit of getting
into that position at setup all the time.
Once you take the alignment stick away
and you line a ball up to your hole, it is a
matter of trusting your new vision and that 8 13
the line is pointing straight to your target.
It’s difficult to trust this smaller line, so
getting into that position where you know
you see straight helps a player develop
trust that the line is towards their target.
Sometimes just fixing the vision of a
good putter will make them even better
without even touching their stroke.
Getting into a position – whether it is
further or closer to the ball, putting your
eyes inside, over or outside the target line
(pics 4, 5 & 6) – to see straight can affect
the stroke and might even require an
9 14
equipment change.
Typically, if you have moved further away
it is going to produce a more arcing stroke
(pics 7 to 11) and it might require a bend
in lie angle or a slightly longer putter. Move
closer and the putter will go more straight
back and straight through (pics 12 to 16).
Too many people try and fight the putter
design, which will always win. I see a lot of
golfers with manipulated strokes trying to
fit a putter that doesn’t fit them.
As I deal with vision first and foremost, 10 15
and then factor in the range variables in
different golfers be they shorter, taller, left
or right eye dominant, I don’t try and push
anyone into any one particular stroke or
putter type.

MATT BALLARD is an
advanced coaching certified
PGA professional, who
specialises in short game
11 16
instruction and has worked
with several high-profile
Tour players including Adam Scott, Michael
Sim, Sam Brazel and Adam Bland. To book
a lesson with Matt at Sanctuary Cove on
the Gold Coast, visit his website
www.mattballard.com.au. For free tips,
checkout his facebook page @mattballardgolf

98 JULY 2018 | golf australia

Magnolia Lane Luxury Apartments
On he Sunshine Coast
2 Nights, one course $330 ppfrom

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7 Nights, ive courses $980 pp

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With views over the 9th green of the

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spacious 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments
are the perfect place for your next goling
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our recommended courses on the Sunshine
Coast and still have time to enjoy the
relaxed beaches and shopping close by.

Visit our website www.magnolialane.com.au for further details or Ph: (07) 5448 8777

ODEL PLAYED :
Indianapolis, with SuperStroke
Mid Slim 2.0 grip.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: After
seeing multiple pictures of the
Exo range before getting them
in my hands, the putters
looked noticeably better in person, with the
all-black finish on top of the Indianapolis giving it
a stealth-like look that made the white sightline
really standout.
HOW IT PERFORMED: As an unabashed fan of
the original White Hot insert, I wasn’t particularly
confident that Odyssey could recreate the same
feel with the addition of its Microhinges to the
face. But as soon as I hit my first putt with the
Exo, the feel reminded me of my old White Hot
100 JULY 2018 | golf australia
l, Golf Australia Writer (GA Handicap 9.4)
Rossie that still occasionally makes its way out of
the cupboard and never disappoints.
If anything, the Exo actually improved upon the
old favourite in my opinion due to a slightly more
solid feel at impact. And when hitting putts
side-by-side with the old insert and the new, the
Microhinges seemed to get the ball rolling faster
off the putter face and unquestionably produced
a more consistent roll across the face, improving
my distance control on lag putts – a benefit which
far outweighed the slight reduction in feedback
on toe and heel strikes.
As you would expect of the largest mallet in
the range, the Indianapolis is extremely stable
and when combined with the standard
SuperStroke grip feels almost automatic on short
putts – a trait that made the Indianapolis grow on
me more and more throughout my time with the
putter as someone who occasionally has trouble
knocking in the short ones.
Although its unique head shape certainly isn’t
for everyone, the Indianapolis doesn’t feel nearly
as bulky as some other high moment of inertia
(MOI) putters I have tried in the past that can be
awkward and clunky when making longer strokes
and from off the green. And the Exo version
seemed a better fit for me than the Toulon Design
version of the same model I tested previously.
Based on the extremely stable performance of
the Indianapolis head design alone, the Exo range
ranked highly in my estimations but the
re-creation of the feel of the White Hot insert
with the addition of improved roll took the Exo to
another level.
olf Australia Editor (GA Handicap 8.4)
S, since there has always been one constant – the
m Odyssey White Hot insert.
The White Hot insert offers the kind of feel I
like in the putter and I thought I could be content
er using a putter with that insert for the rest of my
ter golfing days. But the new incarnation in the EXO
putters is even better.
While the insert material is seemingly no
different to what can be found in recent
Odyssey models, the difference is Odyssey has
combined its Microhinge technology with the
White Hot elastomer insert and the combination
is an absolute winner. Not only do you get the
soft feel of the White Hot but I found the
Microhinge eliminated those two out of three
putts (especially from distances beyond 15 feet)
that seem to skip after impact. The roll with this
putter was outstanding, which ultimately
boosted my confidence in controlling the speed
of my putts.
The only drawback for me was the weight of
the putter. I found it a little on the heavy side,
which is understandable given nearly all the
weight is around the perimeter and the red
aluminium centre must weigh almost next to
nothing. That said, once I got used to the overall
weight of the putter I found the EXO Rossie
very easy to use.
golf australia | JULY 2018 101
 PRO SHOP

UPGRADE YOUR GEAR

Titleist’s brand promise of “innovation,
performance and quality excellence” extends
well beyond its popular golf balls and clubs, with
the company’s new 2018 gear range of golf bags,
headwear, gloves, accessories and travel gear
some of the latest products delivering all three.
The new Club 14 Cart Bag is designed for use
on golf carts and buggies – with ease of use and
maximum storage front of mind – and features a
14-way top with dividers that extend all the way
to the bottom of the bag to keep clubs organised
and separated, while abrasion resistant materials BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
provide outstanding durability.
Golf is a game of distance and precision, and the Garmin Approach Z80 integrated laser
Forward facing pockets, including a magnetic
range finder with GPS offers both in one unit.
valuables pocket, are all accessible when the bag
Accurate to 10 inches from up to 320 metres, the laser easily locks onto the flag
is sitting on a cart and provide maximum room
thanks to image stabilisation that reduces shakiness, while the Z80 also overlays full
for everything golfers could ever need on the
colour 2D ‘Course View’ and ‘Green View’ displays on the viewfinder to provide GPS
course, despite the bag’s slimmer design.
distances to the front and back of greens, hazards and layups for over 41,000 courses.
SRP: $399.
In addition to the distances provided, the Z80 uses its ‘Arc’ feature to illustrate an arc
Contact: To find your nearest stockist and see the
on the area of the map where the laser is measuring, showing what hazards are in play.
entire 2018 accessories range from Titleist, visit
The Z80 also incorporates Garmin’s ‘PlaysLike’ distance, which factors in the effect of
www.titleist.com.au or phone 1800 660 535.
uphill and downhill slopes, and ‘PinPointer’ technology that illustrates the direction and
distance to the centre of the green on blind shots. Both of which can be switched off to
make the unit legal for tournament play.
RRP: $849.
Contact: To purchase and to find out more about the Approach Z80, visit www.garmin.com.au

A BETTER PATH
Weighing in at just 7.3kgs and folded and unfolded in two easy steps, the new Sun
Mountain Pathfinder 3 push cart makes walking a golf course a breeze – and the
smaller size and lightweight design means the new model is easily moved in and out of
any car.
Despite being smaller than the company’s popular Speed Cart, the new model
features an adjustable upper bag bracket and adjustable bungee cords, which secure
your bag in place and allow the Pathfinder 3 to comfortably carry a wide range
of both cart and s
Available in six
needs during the
balls, tees, score
much more, in a
console, with a m
velour lined valua
additional storage
RRP: $329. Availabl
Contact: To find ou
available colours, v
 GOLF MADE SIMPLE
mplicity and golf are not commonly linked. But the new Garmin
pproach S10 GPS watch delivers simple, easy to read distances and
oring to your golf game.
Featuring a 3.3cm high-resolution sunlight-readable screen, the
pproach S10 automatically selects courses from over 41,000 around
e world based on its GPS location and transitions the display to the
ext hole as golfers make their way from the green to the tee.
Offering distances to the front, middle and back of greens as well
hazards, doglegs and layups, the Approach S10 allows players to
ack their total distance covered and time spent on the course in
dition to keeping their score conveniently on their wrist.
With 12 hours of battery life in GPS mode between charges, the
0 lasts for multiple rounds, or is a perfect everyday watch thanks to
comfort, clear display and 5 ATM water rating.
RP: $199.
ntact: To find out more about the Garmin golf range and to purchase, visit
ww.garmin.com.au

Cobra’s King Forged Tec Black and King Forged Tec Black One
Length irons utilise a multi material construction to produce a
combination of distance and forgiveness, in both variable length
and single length sets with a stunning black finish.
The use of 4140 Chromoly steel, chosen for its high strength to
weight ratio, allows the forged face to be thinner to increase ball
speeds, while the ‘Technology Enhanced Cavity’ (TEC) features a
carbon fibre medallion to dampen vibrations for improved feel.
To increase forgiveness and optimise ball flights throughout the
set, which like all 2018 Cobra King equipment includes the Cobra
Connect System powered by Arccos, high density tungsten is
placed in the heel and toe of each iron to precisely place the
centre of gravity (CG) low and towards the centre.
In addition to reducing glare and delivering a unique
appearance, the new Diamonized Black Metal finish offers
increased durability.
RRP: $229 per iron (steel); $249 per iron (graphite).
Contact: To see the entire Cobra King range and to find your nearest
A WHEEL IMPROVEMENT
stockist, visit www.cobragolf.com.au or call 1800 053 16 Australian company Concourse Golf has developed the world’s
first self-contained, remote controlled drive wheels to upgrade
push buggies into motorised units, allowing golfers to make their
way around the course easier and increase focus on their game.
Recently awarded a Good Design Award, the Smart Wheels
communicate wirelessly with one another more than 50 times per
second and use a one-click attachment to replace most push
buggy brands’ current wheels.
Each lightweight wheel contains its own motor powered by
rechargeable lithium batteries, which can easily handle 18 holes
covering hilly terrain and feature cruise control to maintain speed
as well as the ability to be set to freewheel mode.
Designed and manufactured in Australia, the Smart Wheels aim
to keep more golfers walking rather than riding and take only
three hours to be fully charged, which can even be done while the
wheels remain in the carry case.
RRP: $1,399.
Contact: To learn more about the Smart Wheels and to locate your
earest stockist, visit www.concoursegolf.com or phone 1300 650 059.

golf australia | JULY 2018 103

 P L AY I N G W I T H . . .

COBRA KING F8 DRIVER

Cost: $599. Tested by: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Writer (GA Handicap 9.4)

MODEL PLAYED: King F8, high on the face and towards the toe. With the produced a slightly louder sound and what I
fitted with Aldila NV 2KXV F8, these strikes resulted in a ball flight that was would describe as a firm feel off the face when
Blue 60 Stiff shaft. very similar to shots hit in the centre of the face compared with some other drivers, it was not
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The in terms of distance and accuracy, and only significantly different or unpleasant in any way.
grey ‘Nardo’ finish and CNC produced a slight difference in feel. And the Making changes to King F8’s loft sleeve and
face milling of the King F8 same was true for my rare heel strikes, which weights had a noticeable effect on the ball flight,
made it instantly grab my were more noticeable from a feel perspective with the adjustment of the driver to its
attention from a visual standpoint and while but only faded fractionally and seemed to stay in maximum draw settings producing some of the
visually bigger than some other drivers in the the air a little longer. most impressive results during my testing.
market, the shape when compared to some of Having not tested a driver with a milled face Making multiple swings attempting to produce
Cobra’s older models is an improvement to previously, I was intrigued to see if there was a fading ball flight, I was surprised to look up
my eye. any discernible difference in every time and see a dead straight trajectory
Easy to align and appearing to carry less loft regards to feel d drawing significantly,
than stated on the MyFly sleeve courtesy of the the different ded or sliced despite
contrast of the black clubface and grey crown, manufacturing tempts.
the F8 produced a high and strong trajectory technique. And all, the F8 impressed in both
that didn’t seem to spin too much, even in while the F8 eness and distance, and
heavy winds rs a unique look and slightly
HOW IT PE ferent feel that makes it
Armed with and out from the crowd.
knowledge t And while the lower
the King F8 pinning F8+ suits my game
built for etter, the standard F8’s
forgiveness, rgiveness and consistently
I was
pleasantly
surprised
when multip
of my early s
bested my o
current drive
distance wit
straight ball
found my op
driver’s forgi
while the dis
my own cur
My typica

FACTS AND FIGURES
SUITABILITY: With eight loft settings and
two adjustable weights, as well as a range
of shaft options, the King F8 suits low to high
handicappers looking for increased forgiveness
on off-centre hits.
MODELS: In addition to the standard model, the
King F8+ offers reduced spin, lower launch and
increased workability in a more compact head
shape preferred by better players.
SHAFTS: A range of premium aftermarket shafts
in a variety of weights and ball flight profiles
are available, including the Mitsubishi Chemical
Tensei CK Blue 50, Aldila NV 2KXV Blue 60 and
Aldila NV 2KXV Green 65.
LEFT HANDED: Both the King F8 and F8+ are
available in right and left handed.
COBRA SAYS: Cobra’s thinnest and lightest driver
face is produced through the use of CNC milling,
which delivers more precise face thickness
controls in comparison with hand polishing, and
incorporates the company’s ‘E9’ technology, a
variable thickness design with elliptical pattern
‘Sweet Zone’ for increased ball speed, distance
and accuracy across a larger area.
The King F8’s oversized profile raises the moment
of inertia (MOI) for added forgiveness, while the
adjustable weight system offers both higher ball
flight and draw bias centre of gravity (CG) settings.
The driver’s lightweight 8-1-1 titanium body and
ultralight, 5-ply carbon fibre crown save weight
to move the CG lower and deeper for higher
trajectories and further increase forgiveness.
And to improve drag reduction, ‘360 Aero’
technology incorporates aerodynamic trips that
are strategically positioned around the perimeter
of the face of the King F8 driver, which like
the entire F8 family, boasts the Cobra Connect
Powered by Arccos connected golf system.
For more information and to find your nearest
stockist, visit www.cobragolf.com.au

THE VERDICT: The F8 impressed in both forgiveness and distance, and offers a unique look and slightly different feel…

104 JULY 2018 | golf australia

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 CITY LIGHTS

The Victorian capital is one of the world’s great golfing destinations. Do you
need any more proof other than knowing all 12 courses showcased here have
cemented a place in the ranking of the nation’s Top-100 Courses and can be
found within a 45-minute drive of Melbourne’s GPO?
PHOTOGRAPHY GARY LISBON / GOLF SELECT

ROYAL MELBOURNE WEST COURSE

106 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 ROYAL MELBOURNE GOLF CLUB
1 (WEST COURSE)
Golf is a truly unique sport in that it allows
its devoted followers – no matter how good or
bad their swing is – the opportunity to try and
emulate the champions of the sport on the finest
arenas the game has to ofer.
The finest arena we have in Australia is Royal
Melbourne’s West course. It set the benchmark
for golf course design in this country when it
opened for play in 1931 and, to this day, it still
inspires the modern course designers to try and
emulate the strength of its simple strategies and
bold bunkering into their own creations.
The West course was created by the best
design team ever assembled in this country. The
Royal Melbourne club paid Scottish architect
Dr Alister MacKenzie 1,000 guineas to travel to
Australia in 1926 and suggest major changes to
their existing course at Black Rock.
MacKenzie was joined on site at Royal
Melbourne by Alex Russell – a member of the
club and a former Australian Open champion,
who was well read on MacKenzie’s design
principles. Completing the team was Mick
Morcom, Royal Melbourne’s head greenkeeper.
Morcom, who was also well read on course
architecture, was described by MacKenzie as the
best greenkeeper he had ever encountered.
Having finished his design work on paper,
MacKenzie left Melbourne having only seen
the par-3 5th hole completed. The Scot had the
utmost confidence that Russell and Morcom
would be able to correctly interpret his notes
and sketches. The fact that Royal Melbourne’s
West course remains entrenched among the
top-10 courses in the world suggests Russell and
Morcom did a brilliant job.
Green fee: $300 (Interstate guests). Must have
a Golflink handicap less than 27 for men and 36
for women.
golf australia | JULY 2018 107
 KINGSTON HEATH GC
KINGSTON HEATH GOLF CLUB
2 Kingston Heath is well-established
among the best courses in Australia and is
Melbourne’s second-highest ranked course in the
World’s Top-100.
The ‘Heath’ has been squeezed into a small area
and across relatively flat terrain, yet its design is
so impressive despite covering almost half the
amount of land of most modern layouts.
Sydney-based professional and course designer
Dan Soutar routed the original layout in 1925
and created the entire course starting from the
outstanding 130-metre par-3 10th hole that lies
right at the heart of the property. The genius
of Soutar’s routing is that seven other holes
surround this diminutive ofering, a factor which
has undoubtedly led Kingston Heath to become a
popular tournament venue for spectators.
The creativity and strength of Soutar’s routing
in such a confined space is only outdone by the
bunkering, which was added to the layout by Dr
108 JULY 2018 | golf australia
Alister MacKenzie and masterfully constructed
by Mick Morcom, the course superintendent who
brought MacKenzie’s Royal Melbourne sketches
and masterplan to life.
MacKenzie thought Soutar’s layout, although
long for the time at 6,200 metres, was excellent
but suggested one important change – that the
then blind par-4 15th be turned into an uphill
par-3 with bunkers covering 75 percent of the
route to the green. MacKenzie’s addition is today
regarded as one of the finest, if not the finest,
one-shot holes in Australia.
Green fee: Upon application.
ROYAL MELBOURNE GOLF CLUB
3 (EAST COURSE)
Dr Alister MacKenzie had long gone from
the Royal Melbourne site and construction of his
design was in full swing when the idea of a second
course wad first mooted.
The concept was raised when two plots of land
east of the main Black Rock site became available.
The membership decided to go ahead with the
second layout, to become known as the East
course, and Alex Russell was given the task of
designing the layout.
Covering three parcels of land, the East course
is played in a single loop away from the clubhouse
and demands that golfers cross several roads
during the round. This is one factor that led to the
formation of the first Composite course in 1956,
combining 12 West course holes and six from the
East. All 18 holes of the original, and subsequent
incarnations of the Composite, are played within
the boundaries of the ‘home paddock’.
The East course doesn’t have the beautiful
rolling terrain that is a highlight of the West
course and over the years the encroaching of
suburbia to the edges of the eastern property
have marginally detracted from the visual
pleasure of Russell’s design. The simplicity of the
risk-and-reward options is text book MacKenzie

but the routing and use of the land is first class
and stamps this as one of Russell’s finest works.
In recent years, American course designer Tom
Doak has advised the club on changes to the East
Course and these have generally been really
well received.
The seven East layout holes contained
within Royal Melbourne’s main property are
the highlights of the round. They cover the best
terrain and Russell’s creative touches here have
produced some world class holes. These holes,
combined with the remainder of the East course,
would be far more acclaimed if it was the only
layout here. As is the case with the New course at
St Andrews in Scotland, which sits alongside the
famed Old course, the East is not rated as highly
as it possibly should be simply because the layout
next door is so damn good.
Green fee: Green fee: $300 (Interstate guests).
Must have a Golflink handicap less than 27 for men
and 36 for women.
ROYAL MELBOURNE EAST COURSE
VICTORIA GC
VICTORIA GOLF CLUB
4 Victoria is acclaimed worldwide as a
fantastic shot-makers course where
strategy always wins out over brute strength.
This is probably why the club has produced so
many fine players over the years including Peter
Thomson, Doug Bachl and Geof Ogilvy.
Who actually designed the course was a
mystery for many years. For decades it was
thought the driving force behind the formation
of the club, William Meader, and the founding
captain, Oscar Damman, were solely responsible
for the creation of the course, which opened for
play in 1927. They did lay out the holes across the
beautifully undulating terrain but the bunkering
plan was undertaken by a third party – one Dr
Alister MacKenzie.
MacKenzie was working on the design of
Royal Melbourne’s West course across the road
when approached by Meader to have a look at
the Victoria layout. Impressed by what he saw he
recommended a few hole changes and drafted a
plan for the bunkering. An aerial photograph of
the layout taken in 1934 shows the magnificence
of MacKenzie’s bunkering work, which sadly
became obscured or lost over the decades because
of overplanting, the extensive spread of Ti-tree
and growth of huge Cypress Pines.
In 1995, the club recognised the course had
lost some of its star quality because of overgrown
areas across the layout and Mike Clayton was
commissioned to consult the club on recapturing
the essence of the original layout.
Today, much of the original design that was
lost after World War II, was recaptured with
the Clayton redesign. There are now classic,
memorable holes scattered right across the layout
but the greatest concentration of exciting golf is on
the back nine where the undulating terrain gives
rise to a fantastic variety of shots and strategies.
Green fee: Upon application for interstate and
overseas guests.
golf australia | JULY 2018 109
 METROPOLITAN GC
5
METROPOLITAN GOLF CLUB
Metropolitan is the second-oldest golf club
in the Melbourne Sandbelt having been
established in 1908. While the course has changed
dramatically during the past 110 years, the layout,
in all its incarnations, has never been short of
plaudits from here and abroad.
J.B Mackenzie was one of the founding
members of the club, most of which came from
Royal Melbourne, and he laid out the original
course across relatively flat farmland. Thousands
of native Australian trees and shrubs were
planted beside the fairways in those early years
and many of those first plantings remain, adding
to the undeniable character of Metropolitan.
Dr Alister MacKenzie made improvements to
the bunkering and some of the greens during a
visit in 1926 but the biggest alterations came in
1960 when the state government forced the club
to sell part of its land for the construction of a
school next door. American designer Dick Wilson
was then commissioned to create seven new holes
and over the years they have easily blended with
the original mix of holes.
Further alterations were made to the layout in
2006 with Mike Clayton rebuilding the 12th, 13th
and 14th holes as well as making modifications to
a further six holes. More recently, Neil Crafter and
Paul Mogford (Golf Course Strategies) oversaw
110 JULY 2018 | golf australia
work on the par-4 10th hole and had involvement
in upgrades to various holes and their surrounds.
Today, the design is revered and is only outdone
by the global reputation Metropolitan has for
having arguably Australia’s best playing surfaces,
which will be on display to the world later this
year when the club hosts the World Cup of Golf.
Green fee: Upon application for interstate and
overseas guests.
6
WOODLANDS GOLF CLUB
Since 1917, Woodlands has had a
reputation as one of the finest courses in
the Melbourne Sandbelt.
This reputation is starting to spread as
Woodlands emerges from the shadows of its more
famous neighbours.
Just before the outbreak of World War I,
the then named and newly formed Mordialloc
Golf Club commissioned Royal Melbourne’s
greenkeeper, Mick Morcom, to consult on the
construction of its greens. Three years later,
professional golfer, Sam Bennett, laid down the
remaining nine holes to complete the course.
The original course did not have any bunkering
and few trees but all this changed in 1921. The
club’s secretary at the time, Hunter Rogers,
took an aerial survey of the layout noting all the
topographical features and approaches to each
green – a first in Australian golf. The bunkers
were then constructed and hundreds of native
trees, most of which were Flowering Gums and
Wattles, were also planted.
By Sandbelt standards, the greens are small.
However, they are generally hard and fast as well
as being surrounded by sand, hollows and humps.
While most of the fairways are generous in width,
it is not hard to feel you have to work your ball
around the layout to avoid fairway bunkers or an
encroaching tongue of rough. This is certainly not
a layout where you can just simply bang away with
your driver all day.
Green fee: $150 (manager introduced guest from
Interstate); $80 (member’s guest).
7
COMMONWEALTH GOLF CLUB
There have been significant upgrades to
the Commonwealth layout during the past
decade, all of which have lifted the quality of the
layout to become one of the nation’s best.
The removal of excess trees and the conversion
of all the fairways and greens surrounds to
Legend Couch grass are just some of the measures
undertaken to improve the course, which is fast
approaching its centenary year.
Risk-and-reward is a strong aspect of the
Commonwealth design and there is no greater
example of it than on the 364-metre 16th hole,
 one of the most photographed holes on the course.
The fairway doglegs left around a lake and some
players might be tempted to blast their drives over
the water to chase a simple approach and possible
birdie. The conservative play can also reap a birdie
but the longer approach must be left below the hole
on what is a steep sloping putting surface from
back to front.
Green fee: $250 (Interstate guests).

8
YARRA YARRA GOLF CLUB
Yarra Yarra Golf Club is arguably one of
the least celebrated layouts of Melbourne’s
famed Sandbelt region, but not for much longer.
Wisely, the club plans to embrace its glorious
rich history to build the foundations of an exciting
future. And the major focus of this plan is an
extensive renovation of its course to return it to the
design concepts of its acclaimed original designer,
WOODLANDS GC
Alex Russell.
The club has appointed the Tom Doak-led firm,
Renaissance Golf Design (RGD), to oversee the
extensive changes to the East Bentleigh course,
which Russell created in 1928. Russell, the 1924
Australian Open Champion, was the Australian
design partner of the legendary Dr Alister
MacKenzie and had worked with him at Royal
Melbourne during the doctor’s famed 1926 visit.
A significant number of changes have already
been made to the layout this year, including the
decluttering of many holes on the front nine,
the removal of superfluous bunkers and the
adjustment of mowing lines to create more
playing lines.
This embracing of its past glory is sure to
produce something special when the restoration
is complete.
Green fee: Upon application for interstate and
overseas guests.

9
SPRING VALLEY GOLF CLUB
The early days of the Spring Valley Golf
Club are not dissimilar to many clubs that
now call the Melbourne Sandbelt home.
Spring Valley began its existence outside the
Sandbelt and, like the founding members of several
nearby courses, the fledgling Spring Valley turned
to Vern Morcom to create its course, which opened COMMONWEALTH GC
for play in 1951.
While the routing has remained the same over
the past 67 years, all of the holes have undergone yarra yarra gc
some form of modification under the guidance of
Mike Clayton,
In the 18-hole redesign, Clayton revamped
Morcom’s bunkering, new greens were built and
tees repositioned to maximise the strategy of
each hole.
The changes went a long way to raising Spring
Valley’s profile and reputation as one of the finest
PHOTO: NICK WALL /AIRSWING MEDIA (COMMONWEALTH GC)

courses of the Sandbelt.

It is an easy-walking course where the terrain
doesn’t fluctuate much during the round. The
377-metre opening hole is a good medium length
par-4 turning from left-to-right. The tee shot must
follow the left side of the fairway. The Morcom
bunkering becomes immediately apparent as you
head towards the green that features a large and
dramatic bunker guarding the front left of the green.
One of the best short par-3s in the Sandbelt
opens the back nine. The 134-metre 10th has been
criticised by some as being too severe because of

golf australia | JULY 2018 111

 HUNTINGDALE GC
the shape and size of the putting surface as well
as the severity of the deep bunkers that ring the
green. But there are far more penal par-3s to be
found elsewhere and this ofering, for such a short
hole, simply rewards the player, who hits a good
tee shot, with a birdie chance. The bad tee shot
makes bogey more than likely.
Green fee: $70 (member’s guest); $100 (visitors).
10
HUNTINGDALE GOLF CLUB
Huntingdale – Royal Melbourne and
Kingston Heath aside – is arguably the
112 JULY 2018 | golf australia
most famous of Melbourne’s Sandbelt courses due
to it being the home of the Australian Masters for
three decades.
A parade of the best players in the game
through that time including Greg Norman,
Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold
Palmer, Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer and Seve
Ballesteros all trod Huntingdale’s fairways in
pursuit of the Masters’ gold jacket. Norman, the
unoicial King of Huntingdale, proved the most
successful in winning the event six times.
As a result of its Australian Masters history,
SPRING VALLEY GC
there is more to a round at Huntingdale than
simply pitting your skill against the course, which
has been remodelled by a host of course designers
during the past 20 years, with Englishman
Martin Hawtree consulting to the club in more
recent times.
Hawtree was an ideal choice for that job as he
is well-read in the design theories and practices
of Huntingdale’s original designer, Charles H.
Alison, and has advised on some positive changes
to the course including the clearing of Ti-tree and
overgrown trees encroaching on playing lines. The
clearing of some areas has exposed some typical
sandy wasteland found throughout the Sandbelt.
There are plenty of memorable holes to
experience at Huntingdale but the first par-3 on
the back nine, the 161-metre 12th, is one you will
never forget. Lined by tall trees along both sides
for the first 100 metres to the green, getting a
read on the breeze can be tough here, making club
selection very important. The subtle undulations
of the putting surface are an oasis compared with
what awaits when missing the green as there are
seven bunkers surrounding the putting surface.
Green fee: Upon application. Limited tee
times are available for Interstate guests who are
members of a registered golf club.
11
SANCTUARY LAKES CLUB
To gaze out upon the links-style layout
at Sanctuary Lakes is to witness a
 SANCTUARY LAKES CLUB

modern marvel of golf course design. the expanding housing estates of Dandenong. showcased here) but it presents many of the same
Back in the mid-90s, a visionary developer It is nearly 65 years since Cranbourne Golf attributes of those courses found in the nearby
purchased 445-hectares of land at Point Cook, Club opened for play and chances are, if Berriman Sandbelt. Rolling couch fairways, punctuated
most of which had been home to the Cheetham was alive today, he might not recognise his layout. by creative and strategic fairway bunkering and
salt works for more than 100 years. Over its first two decades, course superintendent large, subtly sloped greens generally surrounded
The design pairing of Greg Norman and Bob Gordon Black transformed the landscape by by sand are the order of the day here.
Harrison might have thought better about the planting thousands of trees, which now frame Complementing Berriman’s evolved design is a
commission to design a world class golf course every hole. He also established Cranbourne as a high standard of conditioning throughout. Of note
on the salty plain. But they took up the challenge beautifully maintained layout, a legacy that still is the set-up of the layout with the well-manicured
anyway and the result, nearly two decades stands today. couch fairways and bent greens being trimmed to
after opening, is a layout the sits comfortably Cranbourne might lie on the outskirts of the the edges of the many bunkers throughout.
in the Top-100 in Australia. And, in case you Sandbelt (and is the furthest course from the GPO Green fee: Upon application.
hadn’t noticed, it is the only Melbourne course
showcased here that is not in the famed Sandbelt. CRANBOURNE GC
Green rolling fairways defined by long, wispy
golden rough grasses and big, sloping greens
surrounded by equally large cavernous bunkers
now cover the landscape.
At 6,456 metres from the championship
markers, Norman and Harrison created a lengthy
excursion that also places demands on your
ability to plot a route around trouble and deal with
the consequences when you stray from the ideal
playing line.
Green fee: $69 (weekdays), $89 (weekends).

12
CRANBOURNE GOLF CLUB
A decade after curator and course
designer Sam Berriman oversaw the
construction and completion of Huntingdale, he
was commissioned to design a new course near

golf australia | JULY 2018 113

 Paradise Palms’ 18th hole is not
only testing but is one of the
most picturesque on the course.

114 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 IN…
KEND
WEE
A G R E AT

If you are looking to

play some mid-year
golf in short sleeves
look no further than
Cairns in tropical North
Queensland for
a terrific three-day
golfing getaway.
PHOTOGRAPHY BRENDAN JAMES

P
laying golf in the winter months in
the southern states can certainly
test your love of the game. Frosty
early morning tee times, two or three layers
of clothing, biting winds and then, of course,
there is the rain.
With the warmer weather a few months away
it can be very tempting to store the clubs away
for a while. But it doesn’t have to be, as Far North
Queensland during winter ofers perfect golf
weather – average temperatures in the mid- to
high-20s, and it’s drier than you will find it
back home.
Cairns is the gateway to the region and the
first thing you have to do when you walk out of
the airport terminal is take your jumper of. Pack
it away because you won’t need it until you
head home.
The tropical sun on your face will have you, as
it did me, enthused for a hit and – after an easy
25-minute drive north of the airport to Paradise
Palms – we were quickly checked into our rooms
adjoining the course. Golf gear on, we headed for
the pro shop.
There are few more beautiful settings in
Queensland for golf than what you will find at
Paradise Palms. Heading to the 1st tee, the
rainforest covered Great Dividing Range towers
above the course to the right and, on most days,
there will be a hint of breeze in your face. The
majestic mountain range provides a stunning
backdrop to most holes on the layout, which
features rolling fairways, lined predominantly
by stands of eucalypts and dense outcrops of
tropical vegetation. Six man-made lakes and
several creeks that dissect the layout add to the
challenge and beauty of a round here.
It’s diicult to imagine this site was once
covered by acres of sugar cane. In fact, when the
former design team of Graham Marsh and Ross
Watson were shown the site by developers back in
the early 1990s, sugar cane was all they saw.

golf australia | JULY 2018 115

 Palmer Sea Reef offers a links
golf experience in the tropics.
Paradise Palms has had its ups and downs
during the past decade but it is now in the best
condition I have seen it in for many years.
It’s no coincidence the rising standard of
presentation has accompanied new owners who
took over in 2015 and have since transformed the
layout, including the redesign of several holes.
What was the course’s signature hole, the
downhill par-3 7th, and the adjoining driving
range were taken out of play a few years ago
WHERE TO STAY
PARADISE PALMS RESORT
The on-site resort at Paradise
Palms has a range of short stay
packages with accommodation
in a resort room or one- or two-
bedroom apartment. There are two
swimming pools, 18-hole mini golf,
and children’s adventure playground.
Guests also have access to a
restaurant and conference facilities.
www.paradisepalms.com.au
116 JULY 2018 | golf australia
and an access road built to the first residential
development area of a luxury unit development.
The course has also been reconfigured to cover
the loss of the 7th hole with a round now starting
from the original 10th tee. The old par-5 1st hole,
has been reduced to a par-4 and plays as the new
10th hole with a new green built just beyond a
water hazard that cuts the fairway in two. The
new 11th hole is a par-3 with a tee constructed
behind the new 10th green and play is to the
original 1st green. The round concludes on the
original 9th hole, which has always been a strong
par-4 but its role as the closing hole gives it even
more punch.
There were no winners or losers on the course
after the opening round of our weekend trip, with
a dozen skins left hanging after the tough 9th
was halved in bogies. It was decided the skins
would be put up for grabs on the mini-golf course,
which lies between the course and the resort,
and our lone ‘lefty’, appropriately nicknamed
Phil, scorched around the first nine in 14 putts
and hung on to win all the cash with an ace at the
second last hole. Dinner was on Phil.
It was an early start to day two as we ventured
40 minutes north along the Captain Cook
Highway to Port Douglas for a round at Palmer
Sea Reef. I hadn’t played the course since
businessman/mining magnate/car collector/
dinosaur aficionado/politician Clive Palmer
bought the layout a few years back and was
pleasantly surprised at how good it looked.
Covering 73 hectares of land once covered
by cane fields, it has all the elements of a links
course – large greens, pot bunkering, devilish
mounding, humps and hollows. What sets this
place apart is the rainforest that cuts through the
middle of the property, not to mention the signs
warning of estuarine crocodiles near several
of the course’s water hazards. Despite our best
eforts, we didn’t see any crocs, although Phil
reckoned there was one in a water hazard left of
the 9th fairway but we put it down to bloodshot
eyes from too many reds the night before.
Designed by Peter Thomson, Mike Wolveridge
and Ross Perrett, Sea Reef opens with my
favourite hole on the course. It is an imposing
par-4 that stretches to 380 metres from the tips.
The prevailing breeze is into your face standing
on the tee where you can see the fairway winding
right around a bunker, a pond and a clump of
rainforest. The rolling multi-levelled green is
typical of many of the putting surfaces at Sea
Reef – protected on most sides by hillocks and at
least one bunker. However, being true to all links
courses, there is a massive opening at the front

of the green to play a bump shot in underneath
the wind.
Mick, who plays every shot cross-handed and
is a burglar of a 15-handicap, had three four-
pointers in the round and was rolling in our cash
as we balanced the accounts over a beer on the
deck in front of the clubhouse. Instead of feeding
us that night, he blew his small fortune on half a
dozen Port Douglas T-shirts being peddled by a
hippie backpacker in a main street shop.
Sunday morning sleep-ins are one of life’s
little luxuries. But sleep would have to wait this
particular Sunday as our flight back to reality in
Sydney was departing at 12.40, which is why we
were bound for Cairns Golf Club at 6.30am.
There wasn’t a hint of chill in the air as we hit a
few practice putts before hitting of. It was, in every
sense of the word, a ‘perfect’ morning for golf.
The Cairns course, a humble nine-holer when
it opened in 1930, is today a very good 18-hole
layout that was extensively redesigned in the
early 90s by Ross Watson.
Watson’s changes dramatically improved the
variety of holes on the course, which is laid out
amidst tropical and native landscaping against
an ever-present Great Dividing Range backdrop.
Watson created fairways, for the most part, with
plenty of width, which plays into the hands of the
player who likes to give his driver a rip whenever
possible. But the key to good scoring here is to
find the correct side of the fairway to leave the
best approach into the angled greens, most of
which feature bunkers and mounds around their
surrounds – another aspect of Watson’s redesign.
The conversion of Cairns’ greens from
Bermuda to Novotek in recent years has
taken the layout to another level in terms of
its presentation.
The sun sets over the pretty
Cairns Golf Club course.
THE CONVERSION
OF CAIRNS’ GREENS
FROM BERMUDA TO
NOVOTEK HAS
TAKEN THE
LAYOUT TO
ANOTHER LEVEL
IN TERMS OF ITS
PRESENTATION.
There are some quite memorable holes on
this par-72, but, for mine, one of the impressive
features of the layout is the quality of the
par-3s. The 210-metre 5th hole is the hardest
of the one-shotters and for good reason. Most
players will be using a long iron or wood here
and the entrance into the huge putting surface
is relatively narrow, between two bunkers, for
those wanting to run their approach onto the
green. Phil wasn’t so lucky with his tee shot
here and he found the front right trap. But when
he holed his bunker shot for a birdie two and
five points on the hole, he collected the first of
several big skins on the day.
We halved all the holes through to the par-5
18th. I noticed the friendly banter had gone a
few holes earlier and the boys were putting their
heads down to win the remaining skins. Cairns’
18th is a narrow excursion of 462 metres, with
the only real trouble coming in the form of four
bunkers approaching and next to the green.
Cross-handed Mick played a lovely 3-wood into
the neck of fairway between the bunkers and
pitched to just under three feet from the cup. The
rest of us made it onto the green in regulation
but the closest, outside of Mick, was Phil and he
was at least 30 feet away. After two long range
misses it was up to Phil to make his putt and
square Mick. He rolled it in like we were back
at mini-golf. It was enough to rattle Mick, who
pushed his short putt so badly it missed the hole
completely and the pot went to Phil, who kindly
used some his winnings at the airport to buy
Cairns fridge magnets for each of us.
golf australia | JULY 2018 117
 CLUB OF THE MONTH

Kooyonga GOLF CLUB

L O C K L E Y S • S O U T H AU S T R A L I A

118 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 Adelaide is often overshadowed by Australia’s larger capital cities. But when
it comes to golf it certainly packs a punch – and Kooyonga Golf Club
continues to present one of the finest courses in the nation.
WORDS MICHAEL JONES

F
or all the skill that’s required to play
golf successfully there will always be
the exciting – and sometimes
frustrating – concept of luck; the notion that
good shots can be punished, and bad shots
can be rewarded. Some golf courses
successfully capture and embrace that side of
the game better than others – and Kooyonga
Golf Club’s very creation was a fortunate
stroke of serendipity.
The year was 1922. The Great War had ended
and the Great Depression was still seven years
away. Herbert “Cargie” Rymill was on his way
home from Adelaide’s CBD to Henley Beach
before his journey was interrupted by a train
strike. Enter Lady Luck.
Rymill had no choice but to take an
alternative route via tram – which just so
happened to pass by the parcel of land known as
“May’s Paddock”.
The vast landscape stole his attention, so
when he noticed a ‘for sale’ sign he decided to
disembark the tram and take a closer look. The
52-year-old climbed over the fence and

The short dogleg par-4 18th can

tempt long hitters to take on the
bunkers to reach the green.

golf australia | JULY 2018 119

 The approach to the 4th green
is best made from the right half
of the fairway.
walked across the sizeable property. He noted
the quality of the sandy soil and the natural
bumps and hollows and knew he had found
something special: it was the perfect canvas for
a golf course.
After purchasing the land and establishing
the Kooyonga Golf Club – with the help of
numerous acquaintances – Rymill had
designed and built nine holes within 12 months,
which opened for play in July, 1923. The
remaining stretch of holes were completed in
1924 and Kooyonga (which Rymill mistakenly
believed to be an Aboriginal term for ‘plenty
sand, plenty water’) was up and running.
Eighty-four years have since gone by but the
layout has stood the test of time, recently – and
very successfully – hosting the 2018 Women’s
Australian Open won by South Korea’s Jin
Young Ko.
Water covers the front right part
of the 17th green, which can be
reached with a mid to short iron.
120 JULY 2018 | golf australia
The design firm currently employed by
Kooyonga (Crafter + Mogford Golf Strategies)
understands and respects the origins of the
course, and has essentially been asked to
identify and enhance the unique landscape
components of the property.
“The main task has been the creation and
implementation of a Landscape Enhancement
Plan (LEP) for the course,” said Neil Crafter,
who grew up caddying and playing at Kooyonga.
“This has involved selected tree and bush
removals to widen playing corridors and
create vistas, along with the creation of
extensive fescue and native grass areas
across the course.”
The recent removal of trees and scrub has
exposed natural sandy areas and has allowed
the layout to breathe better – but it has also
helped the course reach even greater heights in
regards to conditioning. The Lockleys club,
which has long been renowned for the quality of
its playing surfaces, has rarely presented better
and will only continue to improve under the
LEP in place.
“The land is undulating without being hilly
and its sand base allows the preparation of the
high quality and well-draining turf surfaces
that Kooyonga has been renowned for over
many decades,” Crafter said.
The team is also completing a greens
replacement program, which has seen the
reconstruction of one green per year and will
continue until the Women’s Open returns
in 2021.
“Some of the greens that have been rebuilt in
recent years have had their contours retained,
with some subtly modified, while others have
been totally redesigned,” Crafter said.
THE COURSE
CONSTANTLY
CHALLENGES THE
GOLFER TO PLAY
THEIR BEST SHOTS –
AND A WIDE RANGE
OF SHOTS ARE
NEEDED TO PLAY
KOOYONGA WELL.
– NEIL CRAFTER

The wind blown par-3 14th has a
sheltered tee, and an exposed green,
making club selection difficult.
One such example comes at the 355-metre
4th hole – where the green has been slightly
enlarged and reshaped to become more
receptive to balls that used to frequently run of
into bunkers.
Crafter and Mogford were responsible for the
construction of the temporary 19th hole, which
is located between the 2nd and 11th holes and
compliments its fellow par-3s very nicely.
Indeed, the one-shotters at Kooyonga are highly
revered and deservingly so. Each hole possesses
its own unique character and demands diferent
shots to be played – and that’s a very pleasing
and deliberate theme that will continue
throughout your round thanks to Rymill.
“The course constantly challenges the golfer
to play their best shots – and a wide range of
shots are needed to play Kooyonga well,”
Crafter said.
The 14th is considered the track’s signature
hole and is one of South Australia’s most
celebrated par-3s. The 145-metre challenge
presents players with an elevated green – which
is guarded by deep bunkers and is subjected to
the elements – and a tee box encapsulated by
trees, meaning club selection becomes very
diicult. Anything long will run down the steep
slope behind the putting surface, while any
other missed shot will generally find sand.
Speaking of bunkers, Crafter and Mogford
PHOTOS: BRENDAN JAMES X 2; SUPPLIED X 3
have reshaped numerous traps around the
course and built some of their own at two of the
par-5s (1st and 16th holes).
“The bunkering has been unified in terms of
its character and appearance, while a number
of fairway bunkers have been added to selected
holes,” Crafter said.
That theme of strengthening the golf course
is one that can be found the world over as the
ball continues to fly further and further. But
Crafter and Mogford – together with those in
charge at Kooyonga – clearly value and want to
protect the history of the club.
“It was very well routed by its founder and
original architect Cargie Rymill and the course
today closely follows his original routing,”
Crafter said.
The train strike that steered Rymill towards
the vacant land on which Kooyonga Golf Club
now stands was certainly very fortuitous. It was
a series of events that ultimately led to the
creation of one of the nation’s finest golf
courses. But the reason why Kooyonga is so well
entrenched within Australia’s Top-100 Courses
at No.25 has nothing to do with luck – rather,
the skill and dedication required to conserve its
original design.
FACT FILE
THE COURSE
LOCATION: May Terrace, Lockleys, South
Australia, 5032.
CONTACT: (08) 8352 5444;
(08) 8443 6162 (pro shop).
WEBSITE: www.kooyongagolf.com.au
DESIGNERS: Herbert L. Rymill (1924); Martin
Hawtree (2008); Neil Crafter and Paul
Mogford (ongoing).
COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Richard James.
PGA PROFESSIONALS: John Corbett, Susie
Mathews and Duard Nel.
SLOPE RATINGS: 137 (Men’s black tees), 136
(Men’s blue tees), 134 (Men’s white tees); 137
(Women’s red tees), 130 (Women’s yellow tees).
PLAYING SURFACES: Santa Ana couch
(fairways); Bentgrass (greens).
GREEN FEES: $220 (18 holes for Golflink
card holders).
THE CLUB
MEMBERSHIPS: Kooyonga offers a wide
range of memberships to allow everyone
the opportunity to access the club. Junior
memberships do not have an entrance fee and
incur an annual subscription fee of $1,184.70.
Category two memberships cost $3,159.20 per
year with a $6,800 entrance fee, while category
one memberships cost $3,949 per year with an
$8,500 entrance fee. For more information, visit
the website: www.kooyongagolf.com.au
RECIPROCAL CLUBS: ACT (Royal Canberra
GC); NSW (The Australian GC, Concord GC,
Killara GC); QLD (The Brisbane Golf Club);
TAS (Launceston GC); VIC (Commonwealth
GC, Kingston Heath GC, Metropolitan GC; WA
(Cottesloe GC, Lake Karrinyup CC).
WEDDINGS & CORPORATE GOLF: From intimate
gatherings to celebrations of grand proportions,
Kooyonga creates the perfect backdrop for any
occasion. Its magnificent views and superb
cuisine combine with the modern clubhouse and
experienced events team to ensure your function
or wedding is completely spectacular.
Packages booked during winter, 2018 start at $99
per person. Contact the Clubhouse Operations
Manager, Anna Fontaine, for further details:
(08) 8352 5444 or anna@kooyongagolf.com.au
The bunkering is a
memorable feature of the
179-metre par-3 3rd hole.
golf australia | JULY 2018 121
 G E T A W AY S

PUT YOURSELF IN THE These packages reflect the knowledge that

watching the world’s best players grace the
fairways of Augusta is the trip of a lifetime for

MASTERS PICTURE every golf fan. Every detail has been taken
care of to ensure every guest’s Masters
dream comes true.
Ask any true golf fan what they will be doing at Augusta in time to watch the traditional For more information, full itineraries and
during the first full week in April and the Par-3 Contest. Badges to Thursday, Saturday to book, visit www.thefanatics.com or call
answer will always be the same: Watching and Sunday are also included. 1300 326 284.
the Masters.
But if you’ve grown tired of the early
wake-ups, the theme music and the clichés
provided by the telecast, perhaps it’s time to
experience the tournament for yourself.
The Fanatics, which has been running
sports tours since 1997, can guarantee entry
through the gates of Augusta National and
understands and respects the traditions of the
illustrious club.
Masters tours with the Fanatics
include: Accommodation at hotels within
walking distance of Augusta, Masters
badges, transfers to and from the course
and the services of the company’s
highly-experienced guides.
There are a number of packages currently
available for the 2019 Masters – which range
from two nights and one day at the Masters
(starting at US$1,990), right through to nine-
night tours or full-week tournament access.
The nine-night tour, starting at US$8,990,
begins in Los Angeles and includes golf at
Aviara Resort and Torrey Pines before arriving

122 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 DOWN BY THE RIVER
The charming towns flanking the mighty Murray
River are home to some of Australia’s most
popular layouts. And one of the best on offer is
Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Resort; home to the
nation’s largest public access golf course.
Boasting 45 holes, the resort also presents
guests opportunities to watch the latest films
in its luxury movie theatre, workout in the gym,
swim in the solar-heated pool or simply relax on
the balcony of one of the self-contained rooms.
The Murray Course – ranked No.95 in
Australia’s Top-100 Courses in 2018 – was
designed by Peter Thomson and Michael
Wolveridge in 1991 and offers terrific playing
surfaces. So too does the Lake Course and the
nine-hole Executive Course, which are both
held in high regard.
There is a wide range of options for spacious
on-course accommodation – which will suit
everyone from solo travellers to families and
large groups. Details and prices can be attained
by contacting the resort.
For more information, including current
rates, visit www.yarragolf.com.au or call
(03) 5744 1911.

CHASING THE SUN

The Sunshine Coast is one of Australia’s top holiday
destinations – and it doesn’t take long to discover why.
Its pristine beaches and national parks combine with
exquisite eateries to deliver an ideal escape.
There are also a number of highly-regarded golf
courses waiting to be played, which can all be
accessed with affordable packages offered by
Magnolia Lane Apartments.
Overlooking the magnificent Twin Waters Golf Club,
the four-star luxury apartments are the perfect place for
your next getaway.
PHOTOS: BRENDAN JAMES X 2; GETTY IMAGES X 2; SUPPLIED

Packages can be tailored to include accommodation

and rounds of golf at: Twin Waters, Noosa Springs,
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Various packages are available and start at $330 per
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For more information, including personally-tailored
quotes, visit www.magnolialane.com.au or call
(07) 5448 8777.

golf australia | JULY 2018 123

 TO ADVERTISE IN GOLFER’S MARKETPLACE CALL 0412 327 886

G O L F H O L I DAY S

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G O L F H O L I DAY S

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 ET P L AC E
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G O L F H O L I DAY S / S E R V I C E S

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 ET P L AC E
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 TO ADVERTISE IN GOLFER’S MARKETPLACE CALL DAVID MULLINS ON 0412 327 886
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IS GOOD E XC LU S I V E BY A N D R E W DA D D O | G O L F AU S T R A L I A C O LUMNI S T

BLACKY & HIS DAMNED TRADITION

IT’S 7:48. Cold. Windy. Threatening skies The three of them had me circled. “But it’s And it was. Buoyed with Dutch courage and
and talk of pulling out, but only if things a tradition! Birdie gets a slug of the unflappable self-belief I pulled the Maltby
proceeded from the potentially bleak we good stuff!” and swung like a man who meant business.
had to properly bleak. Our first hole was “Yeah,” chimed in Lovey. A sadly familiar code was entered into
the par-5 9th, gettable in two given the “Tradition’s tradition, Daddy. Same as not the scorecard.
mild hurricane up our clackers. clearing the ladies tee buys a round of drinks. Bogey. Double. Double. Bogey. Not until
Driver high off the toe and it ran like it was Last in the group to three putt buys a round, the taste of those Sixteen Men had cleared
being chased past the bunkers into the land too. Last man in a bunker is straight to the my throat did good golf return, and by then
of the reachable. bar as well. Everyone knows this stuff.” it was all too late.
There was a funny feeling about today. I’d There was much to reconcile in my head. Damn you, Blacky. Next time I’d have to
ditched a conventional big brand technology I’m one under after one and staring down save the birdie for the end of the round.
hybrid to welcome back to the bag a Maltby the barrel of the greatest game of my life and
2-iron; Ralph not Roger Maltby. He is my a new future in another country and this
yoda. Almost everyone laughs at this club, but happens. “I really don’t drink brandy, or
it works well enough. rum. Not unless it’s really late and I can’t
The ball soared, just making the edge of bear the thought of another beer.
the green. A two-putt birdie was the But even then …”
second-best way I could think of starting this Blacky puffed up
golfing day. A one-putt eagle would have been like a rooster. “It’s
better, obviously, but a three-pointer to kick single malt scotch,
things off should put the curse to rest. Maybe mate. Glenmorangie.
even get the wheels rolling toward the From the Highlands,
fantasy of some kind of representative roll for matured and distilled
the club. Maybe a Vardon. Maybe a spot on in Ross Shire.
the Senior Tour – here first, then Europe. And Perfected by the
why not America? The Champions Tour, with Sixteen Men of Tain.
Gowie, that’d be a cack. Ten years old. It’s
Birdie it was (funny that the greens never good. From the
feel as fast as the practice green). The boys country that invented
were rapt. golf comes the rich
“Loosen the cap, Blacky,” says Lovey. reward for playing it
“Patience, Lovey. Patience,” says Blacky. well. Every birdie gets
And honestly, he did sound just a little like a slug. Tradition.”
Thurston Howell the Third talking to his wife, So, I took the hip
Eunice: affectionately known as ‘Lovey’. Only flask amid the rich
our Lovey is more a nickname than a term of imagery of a man like
endearment. His last name is Love, so being me on the links in the
Australian he becomes Lovey. Black becomes homeland. Who was I
Blacky. Ford becomes Fordy and so on. kidding? This could
Fordy said, “On the tee, Blacky. Loosen the be the start of
cap on the tee. He’ll need a bit of help with something special. I
the hardest hole on the course.” The 10th is a smacked my lips and
brutal 217-metre par-3, uphill with a wildly tried not to wince as
sloping green. It’s rarely fun, but on this day, the labours of the
maybe it would be. Sixteen Men of Tain
Blacky went back to his scorecard burned down my
scribbling and nodded. On the tee he came at throat and warmed
me with his mighty paw extended. It looked my gut. “Best get
as if he was holding some kind of trophy. another birdie,” I
Having never won anything, I’ve got a bit of a said to nods from
thing for trophies, and this was gorgeous and the group. “That’s
gleaming and silver. Once in focus, I realized all-bloody-right.”
it was actually a hip flask.
It wasn’t even 8am.
“What’s this?” But even through the “I’M TRYING REALLY
freshly cut grass and the hint of linament oil
I’d applied in lieu of a warm-up, I caught a
HARD NOT TO DRINK
whiff. Hard liquor. BEFORE 8AM ON
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

“Call me weird,” I offered. “But I’m trying

really hard not to drink before 8am on
WEEKDAYS. WEEKENDS,
weekdays. Weekends, too, if I’m honest.” TOO, IF I’M HONEST.”

130 JULY 2018 | golf australia

 C F D
G MP M M
HA O W
RA IO E EN
AN

D NS N
ED H
R O

IP
Ninth Annual Golf Classic
29 October – 1 November 2018

PORTSEA FLINDERS

THE DUNES MOONAH LEGENDS

Play 4 top Mornington

REGISTER NOW!
Peninsula courses in this fun, FIELDS This is going to be a sell
friendly and great value FILLING out tournament.
individual stableford tournament FAST! WEBSITE:
www.golfmorningtonpeninsula.com.au
Early Bird Entry Fee $695* includes: EMAIL:
r Welcome Dinner r 4 days of golf rCarts at 3 courses r Daily lunches info@golfmorningtonpeninsula.com.au

r Presentation Dinner r Daily and overall prizes r Souvenir polo shirt PHONE:
Pamela McDermott,
r Morning or afternoon fields r Partner’s tickets available (additional costs)
Marketing Manager on
r Optional golf (additional costs) r Refer other golfers to win prizes! 0439 396 617
Discounted Accommodation offers available
*Register and pay on or before 9 July 2018 A golf extravaganza on
the Mornington Peninsula
.QRZWKHGLVWDQFHZLWKLQWHOOLJHQFH

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