Written by Joe Downes on Monday 29 February 2016
“Every year I’m determined this is going to be the year when I get much better,” says actor James Nesbitt. The 51-year-old actor from County Antrim is golf-mad, but his busy working schedule doesn’t allow him as much chance as he’d like to hit the links. Do you play golf with many other actors? There weren’t that many keen golfers on the...
Written by Stuart Hood on Monday 29 February 2016
Darren Clarke was horrified when he saw a picture of himself playing in the 2013 Dunhill Links Championship. “I thought, ‘Christ, I’m fat,’” he recalls. The following week, he started working with Dublin-based fitness guru Jamie Myerscough. Within a couple of months, Clarke had lost two stone and within nine months he declared himself “four stone lighter, twice as strong and mentally...
Written by Hans Seeberg & Joe Downes on Friday 26 February 2016
Earlier this week, we brought you an interview with Ian Poulter’s caddie, Terry Mundy, lifting the lid on exactly what life is like as a caddie on tour. During that interview, Mundy also offered some tips that he insisted would help amateurs save several shots per round. Now, we’ve decided to take things one step further and put him to...
Written by Rob McGarr on Friday 26 February 2016
The Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship sees 3,400 golfers compete to become world champion. Our man was one of them… It’s not every day you find yourself up against 3,399 other golfers, from 34 countries, over 72 holes. Nor is it that often you get to compete for the title of “world champion”. Winning the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Championship...
Written by Joe Downes on Friday 26 February 2016
Former Formula One world champion Damon Hill talks about playing golf with Seve Ballesteros, managing his overswing, and how golf, like racing, runs in the family… When did you take up golf? I started playing golf when I was about 10 or 11. It runs in the family. I’ve got a photograph of my granddad playing golf in the 1920s when he...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 25 February 2016
You probably know that Rory McIlroy hits it further than you, but do you know how many fairways the average PGA Tour pro hits – and how that compares to golfers of your standard? Stat-tracking device GameGolf analysed 170,000 rounds from golfers of all abilities, so now you can see how your scores and stats compare to the pros, and to...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 24 February 2016
Should golfers lift weights? It’s a debate that’s been around for years, brought back into the spotlight recently when Brandel Chamblee voiced concerns about the type of physical training Rory McIlroy has been doing. “I think more than anything of what Tiger Woods did early in his career with his game was just an example of how good a human being can...
Written by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional and coach to Francesco Molinari and Ross Fisher on Friday 19 February 2016
Golf stats have evolved from the early days of fairways hit, greens in regulation and number of putts. The sophisticated and comprehensive stats on offer these days play a huge role in influencing the way Tour pros practise, strategise, and play. The PGA Tour uses ShotLink to track every shot hit during their events. Players use this data to analyse how...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 18 February 2016
Getting custom fit for golf clubs is a bit like upgrading to Sky HD from the standard resolution. Everyone who has done it will tell you that the difference is remarkable, it’s well worth the money, and that once you’ve done it you’ll never be able to go back. But when you’re sat there, watching the perfectly acceptable standard definition, it...
Written by Chris Jones on Thursday 18 February 2016
Has there ever been a better time to be a golfer? The game is buzzing right now. With the new ‘Big Four’ doing battle on tour, golf’s imminent return to the Olympics and a Ryder Cup on the horizon, there’s lots to get excited about. Whether you’re a golfer like me who’s constantly battling to improve his (now 11) handicap,...
Written by Stuart Hood on Thursday 18 February 2016
How do you get a golf handicap? “Our official system is run by The Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU),” explains Gemma Hunter, Handicap and Course Rating Executive for England Golf. “Members of affiliated golf clubs can gain a CONGU handicap by returning either three 18-hole or six nine-hole cards that have been signed by someone the club deems to be...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 18 February 2016
According to the AimPoint website, 45,000 amateur golfers, 5,000 juniors, 200 tour pros and 250 instructors are using the unique green-reading system to, as AimPoint put it, “make everything!” Some – including some of the world’s best golfers – swear by it. Others dismiss it as a gimmick. Zimbabwean pro Tony Johnstone, who won six times on the European Tour,...