Written by Adrian Fryer on Wednesday 11 December 2019
There are nine strategy mistakes we all make on the golf course: Here’s how to avoid them We all have ideas about how we play the game, and where we lose shots… but how accurate are they? Thanks to modern shot data technology, we now know. Leaving approach shots shy of the green may be an accepted, common strategic error, but...
Tuesday 26 November 2019
Use these eight quick pieces of advice to help improve your mental game on the golf course As part of our fast fixes series, we asked the Mind Factor’s Dr Karl Morris to give us his most simple and effective tips to help improve your mental attitude. Here, he talks us through eight quick mental strategies that alter how you react on...
Tuesday 26 November 2019
Get better in a hurry with our hand-picked selection of simple and effective tips and drills… for your swing, your brain and your golf bag It’s generally accepted that in golf, to make genuine strides forward with your game you have to invest a huge amount of time, effort and expense. Nonsense. Any coach will tell you that five minutes...
Written by Rob McGarr on Saturday 9 November 2019
Avoid embarrassment and costly mistakes as a beginner with our invaluable guide to becoming a fully fledged golfer. So you want to take up golf? Good for you, and welcome to a lifelong relationship with a sport (and before you say it, yes, golf is a sport, it’s in the Olympics and everything…) that will bring you joy and despair, highs...
Written by Oliver Morton on Wednesday 6 November 2019
Get on top of bunkers once and for all with this targeted five-point plan. According to the statisticians, bunker shots constitute a relatively small proportion of the total shots we play during a typical round. But this doesn’t tell the full story. The mere sight of a heavily-trapped green or a particularly deep bunker can strike fear into the poor sand...
Written by Gareth Johnston on Tuesday 5 November 2019
Discover the preparation, strategy and skills that will take your par 3 performance to the next level Check the stroke indexes on the scorecard of your home course and you’ll likely find the par 3 holes are ranked among the easiest. It seems logical; after all, the shorter the hole, the fewer opportunities it gives us to mess it up. RELATED: Me And...
Monday 30 September 2019
Inside the European Tour’s fitness and wellness truck When the European Tour’s physiotherapy unit was first founded in 1992, the idea of warming up, working out, and devoting half an hour to recovery after 18 holes was little more than an afterthought for most golfers. “When I first turned pro, I was the only one in the gym, except Vijay [Singh],” Tiger...
Written by Michael Catling on Monday 23 September 2019
Lucas Bjerregaard reveals his time-saving tips for better ball striking Lucas Bjerregaard knows better than most how unpredictable golf can be. Tipped for big things after beating Tommy Fleetwood to win the European Amateur in 2010, the Dane had just three Nordic Golf League titles and two missed cuts from three Major appearances to his name in the seven years that...
Monday 19 August 2019
For anyone who’s sliced it OB, three-jabbed from nowhere, duffed a chip or left a bunker shot in their own footprints, this is for you… It won’t have escaped your notice that not all of golf’s crimes carry equal punishment. We might not enjoy a necky drive that cuts off into the rough, but when you compare it to the big yahoo...
Tuesday 16 July 2019
Royal Portrush Head Professional Gary McNeill shows you how to play the Key Shots players will need at the Open this week From how to hit a stinger to the bump and run with a seven iron and finding the fairway off the tee, learn the key shots players will need this week from Royal Portrush Head Pro Gary McNeill. How to…...
Monday 24 June 2019
Zen Green Stage: The first computer controlled putting green If you’re serious about your putting, you need to get yourself on one of these. Unlike those lightning-quick putting mats in American Golf or the miniature versions from Argos, Zen Green Stage can recreate real-world putts at just the touch of a button. In a matter of seconds, you can tilt the stage...
Monday 24 June 2019
Yip, Yip, Hooray: You don’t have to suffer in silence any more If an attack of the shanks doesn’t get you, the yips just might. In 2016, Ernie Els considered quitting the game when he six-putted the opening hole at Augusta. “I couldn’t get the putter back,” he said. “I can’t explain it.” Not many people can, which is why it largely goes...
Monday 24 June 2019
The X-Factor: These five players had it, and are considered among the best putters of all-time Brad Faxon The man who recently advised Rory on his stroke once had the best putting season ever, averaging 1.704 putts per GIR in 2000. When Faxon putts there are no technical thoughts; he creates a picture in his mind and uses that image to tell his...
Monday 24 June 2019
Warm Up: Arriving early will give you a head start on the greens Sorry to disappoint you but dropping a few balls down five minutes before your tee time isn’t a warm-up. You might as well keep munching on that bacon butty instead, because you’re never going to learn anything about the pace of the greens without a little bit of application...
Monday 24 June 2019
Why visualising can help with your success on the greens When you give your brain a clear picture of what it is you are trying to achieve, it can get to work on creating the appropriate movements to deliver success. This is why visualising is such a potent weapon on the greens. Here are two ways you can improve your own ability...
Monday 24 June 2019
Understanding your stroke will help you putt better Watch the best golfers in the world and you will quickly see that some favour a straighter stroke, in which the putter tracks up and down the ball- target line, while others prefer more of an arcing motion. Both can be effective, and it is one of those areas of putting that comes down...
Monday 24 June 2019
Tempo: Why it matters, and how to groove yours Tempo has been defined as the total time your stroke takes from start to finish. It often gets confused with rhythm, but as this definition shows, tempo is more about the speed you swing the putter – slower, or faster. That said, tempo has a direct impact on rhythm. Good tempo evens out back/through...
Monday 24 June 2019
Why include the Spider X within an A-Z of putting? Well because it, and its predecessor the Spider Tour, are he putters convincing tour pros in their droves to switch from blades to mallets. Ten years ago when TaylorMade launched the first Spider putter, 75 per cent of tour pros used blade putters. A decade later, 60 per cent now use...
Monday 24 June 2019
The importance of green reading: You will never hole putts unless you know how to assess greens properly One of the biggest mistakes club golfers make is under-playing break and missing on the low side (the amateur side). Do that and gravity dictates that the ball never has a chance of catching the edge of the hole and going in. Instead, you...
Monday 24 June 2019
A stimpmeter is used to measure how quick the speed of the green is The speed of greens is a talking point from Tour events to weekend medals. Speeds are measured with a device known as a Stimpmeter, an aluminium bar which is raised to an angle of about 20 degrees so a ball can run down its length and along...