Written by Courses & Travel Editor Kevin Brown on Friday 10 February 2017
There’s no need to pack those clubs away and leave them gathering cobwebs in the garage until the new season finally arrives: not when there’s 44 cracking year-round courses around like those listed below. They’re all in excellent condition whatever time of the year you pitch up and play with no mats and temporary tees and greens in sight. So...
Written by Courses & Travel Editor Kevin Brown on Thursday 9 February 2017
Winter can be a wonderland for golfers with many courses, specially those by the sea, in excellent condition and playable for considerably less money. Here are some of the very best deals around whether you just want to play 18 holes, have a round with some food thrown in or enjoy a stay and play winter break. The choice is...
Written by Kevin Brown on Wednesday 1 February 2017
MEET THE CADDIES Dermot Byrne: Caddies for: Shane Lowry. Started caddieing: “In 1996; this is my seventh year with Shane.” Worked for: Peter Lawrie and Steven Gallacher Adam Marrow: Caddies for: Thomas Pieters. Started caddieing: “This is my 12th year.” Worked for: Ross Fisher and Lucas Bjerregaard. Cliffie Botha: Caddies for: Miguel Angel Jimenez. Started caddieing: “In 2002, with 13 years on the European...
Written by Graeme Leslie on Tuesday 31 January 2017
A club golfer who plays 38 rounds of golf in a year, registering an average score of 79, hits about 3,000 golf shots. That’s a truly valuable data sample, containing a wealth of useful information about how he plays the game. Hidden in there is the data that can tell him how destructive a driver he is, which iron is...
Written by Michael Catling on Tuesday 31 January 2017
Imagine being able to get a game using one of the European Tour’s top caddies. He could help you plot your way around a course. He’d advise on the best strategy for a particular hole. And he’d probably talk you out of hitting that hero shot with a hybrid from the rough behind the trees… If you’re fed-up of making stupid...
Written by Michael Catling on Monday 30 January 2017
Paul McGinley underlined his captaincy credentials once again after leading a team of professional golfers to a resounding win over a celebrity all-stars team at the 2017 Abu Dhabi Invitational. The Irishman, who famously led Europe to victory in the 2014 Ryder Cup, beat celebrity captain and Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel 3&2 to add gloss to a scoreline which read...
Written by Kevin Brown on Monday 30 January 2017
Former England football captain and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney joins TG to discuss his love of golf, the weaknesses in his game and his golfing goals. Wayne Rooney has just broken Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time goal-scoring record for Manchester United, with his 250th strike for the club. “Obviously it is a proud moment,” Rooney said. “It is a bit of a...
Written by Darren Parris on Monday 30 January 2017
Footballers can practise on the pitch, and snooker players on the table. But when we golfers want to practise, we are forced off our playing arena to a wide expanse of nothing that bears little relevance to the challenges of the game. But it doesn’t have to be this way! You can work on your game in the arena where you...
Written by Michael Catling on Saturday 28 January 2017
Paul McGinley has played down Thomas Pieters’ chances of becoming the first rookie since Fuzzy Zoeller to win the first Major of the year at this year’s Masters. Pieters made an inauspicious start to 2017 by missing the cut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship last week and McGinley believes the Belgium has struggled to recapture the form that saw him...
Written by Edward Colman on Friday 27 January 2017
TaylorMade’s 2017 M1 and M2 drivers have arrived in the UK, so here’s everything you need to know about TaylorMade’s newest M-series. Along with the TaylorMade M1 and TaylorMade M2 drivers, TaylorMade have launched several other products – and we’ve reviewed them all. The TaylorMade Fairway Woods, TaylorMade hybrids and TaylorMade M2 irons are being put in to play this year by...
Written by Edward Colman on Friday 27 January 2017
The Callaway GBB Epic and Epic Sub-Zero drivers have arrived in stores across the UK. The two drivers that utilise Callaway’s ground breaking Jailbreak Technology have an RRP of £469 and are now available for the first time following January’s launch. Callaway GBB Epic Drivers The face of both the Epic and Epic Sub Zero is made more efficient by Jailbreak Technology that...
Written by Kevin Brown on Thursday 26 January 2017
Golfers can enjoy 36 holes and an overnight stay in the New Forest with The Bell Inn’s new ‘Stay & Play for £99pp’ offer. Under the same family ownership, The Bell Inn is also home to Bramshaw GC which boasts two contrasting 18-hole courses – the undulating fairways of the Manor course and the open heathland of the Forest Course, Hampshire’s oldest...
Written by Kevin Brown on Wednesday 25 January 2017
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, here are some suggestions to ensure you’re well and truly in your other half’s very good books…. Great golf and sensational Spas. The best of both words. Paradise. What more can you ask for? Stoke Park, Bucks Stay and play venues simply don’t come any better than this iconic venue which boasts 27 holes of quality Harry Colt...
Written by Kevin Brown on Tuesday 24 January 2017
QHotels, the UK’s largest golf resort operator, is offering visiting golfers the chance to double their enjoyment with a BOGOFF offer – Buy One Get One Fourball Free – at each of its 10 outstanding venues. Until March 31, golfers booking a fourball at any of QHotels’ venues will receive a voucher entitling them to another fourball visit, with the only...
Written by Michael Catling on Monday 23 January 2017
Tommy Fleetwood was in danger of becoming golf’s forgotten man. That was until he ended a 1,247-day wait for a second European Tour title by winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He has since followed that up with a second-place finish at both the WGC Mexico and the Shenzhen International which has resulted in his best ever World ranking of no.29. In the past three seasons, he’s ranked...
Written by Kevin Brown on Friday 20 January 2017
The 45th US president plays it hard and fast. Golf that is. Well, that’s the way it was when I joined Donald Trump for a game following the official opening of his spectacular Trump International Golf Links just outside Aberdeen. Trump loves golf with a burning passion – virtually everything about it – and just as much as he does making...
Written by Kevin Brown on Friday 20 January 2017
As you would expect, President Trump freely and frankly offers his views on why golf is great….and how it can be even better. The exclusive interview took place in the summer of 2015 at The Donald’s beloved Trump International Golf Links just outside Aberdeen. TRUMP’S OPENING DRIVE…GENERALLY-SPEAKING Firstly, let me say I think I like everything about the game of golf and overall...
Written by Kevin Brown on Friday 20 January 2017
The new US president has a passion for golf. He owns some of the best golf venues on the planet including three in the UK and Ireland. Not even Donald Trump’s unveiling later today as the 45th president – and arguably the most powerful man in the world – will stop him from getting a round, or three, in. Once...
Written by Edward Colman on Thursday 19 January 2017
Stephen Gallacher has joined an exclusive club at Abu Dhabi Golf Club by becoming just the 32nd player to play 500 European Tour events. The former Ryder Cup player becomes the fifth Scot in history to reach the milestone, following Sam Torrance (706), Colin Montgomerie (605), Gordon Brand Jnr (597) and Paul Lawrie (591). TOP STORIES Reader Test: Cobra’s new CobraCONNECT grip When should...
Written by Kevin Brown on Wednesday 18 January 2017
Greece’s no.1 golf resort – Costa Navarino – is getting ready to host the first Messinian Pro Am on February 21-24. Top professional and amateur players, celebrities and special guests from all over the world will compete on the award-winning Dunes and Bay courses, the only signature courses in Greece. Basketball legend and accomplished golfer Joe Arlauckas, along with Tino Schuster, member...