Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday 14 June 2016
On most golf courses, finding an old car bumper or some discarded cereal packets would be cause for concern, but at Junkyard Golf Club in Shoreditch, London, it’s all part of the charm. The three nine-hole courses put the ‘crazy’ in crazy golf, with slides, jacuzzis, pool tables, doghouses and treadmills to navigate. The emphasis is on fun, with four on-site bars...
Written by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional, tour coach and Sky Sports pundit on Tuesday 14 June 2016
As feelgood stories go, Danny Willett’s victory at the Masters was about as good as they get. He had two days to prepare, no major pedigree and was still embracing fatherhood when he landed in Georgia, against the advice of his manager Chubby Chandler. All signs pointed to a missed cut, and yet he somehow managed to achieve the improbable...
Tuesday 14 June 2016
Watching the world’s best players, we could all be forgiven for thinking their swings are based on covert techniques we amateurs don’t get to hear about. But that’s just paranoia, right? Well, perhaps not. While an elite technique is built on the same basics any golf swing needs, there are a series of thoughts and moves...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 13 June 2016
We’ve all tried it when messing around with mates, but could the Happy Gilmore swing actually be a secret weapon in competition? Using three-time major winner Padraig Harrington and launch monitor TrackMan, scientists have calculated that a properly struck drive using Happy Gilmore’s famous technique will travel 10% further than a ball hit with a standard swing. That means Harrington can...
Written by Rob McGarr on Friday 10 June 2016
If you’re looking for more reasons to be jealous of multi-millionaire, award-winning Hollywood heart-throb Mark Wahlberg, take a look at his back garden. The 45-year-old posted this picture of his new back garden practice facility on Instagram. The facility is made entirely of artificial grass, meaning 5-handicapper Wahlberg can practice all year round to his heart’s content. For many years, Wahlberg said he...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 2 June 2016
Rob McGarr is trying to get from a handicap of 10, which he’s been stuck on for a while, to scratch. Previous articles: Part One: How hard can it be to go from 10 to scratch? Part Two: I’m trying to get from 10 to scratch, and now I’m off 11… Part Three: My first cut and two costly missed tiddlers _______________ I should be off...
Written by Michael Catling on Thursday 2 June 2016
Fed up of playing five-hour rounds? SPRINT6Golf – a new quick-fire, shorter format of golf – has been launched to help speed up the game. SPRINT6GOLF is played over just six holes and utilises a free mobile app with a 30-second shot clock to ensure a continuous pace of play. Designed to attract players of all ages and abilities, the format typically...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 1 June 2016
Many golfers wouldn’t be seen dead using a pink plastic castle tee. They are often seen as the reserve of lesser golfers. Any decent golfer uses proper wooden tee pegs, don’t they? Well, consider this… Golf, as we know, is a game of very fine margins. The difference between a perfect strike and a disastrous mishit is is less than an inch. When...
Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday 31 May 2016
Golfers at Buffalo Creek Golf Course have one more hazard than usual to contend with, as the Florida course is home to a gigantic alligator. This video, captured by a golfer called Charles Helms, has garnered hundreds of thousands of views in just a few days. Rather than putting people off, the monster alligator has actually turned into one of Buffalo Creek’s...
Written by Michael Catling on Monday 30 May 2016
As a nation, we do love to complain about on-course conditions, so the thought of a weather-independent golf centre is enough to set pulses racing. But what may seem like a fantasy could actually turn into reality. Indoor Golf Solutions is currently seeking an investor to build the world’s largest indoor golf centre. Ambitious? You bet! But there’s something weird and wonderful about...
Written by Michael Catling on Friday 27 May 2016
We would all love to own our own golf course, but you can now get two for the price of one, plus the third largest hotel in the Bahamas all included. The Grand Lucayan Resort has recently come on the market and is home to the signature Reef Club Golf Course, which is regarded as one of the best on the...
Written by Michael Catling on Friday 27 May 2016
When it comes to the most elusive accomplishment in golf, the UK performs better than any other country in the world. That’s according to data compiled over three millions rounds of golf by Hole19 – the GPS and scoring app – which found that the UK is responsible for the most aces on the golf course. Between April 2014 and January 2016,...
Written by Michael Catling on Friday 27 May 2016
We all appreciate the art in designing a truly great golf course. But seeing one exhibited at a gallery or museum has always seemed beyond the realms of possibility. Until now. Visitors to the New Art Exchange in Nottingham are being offered the chance to immerse themselves in some artistic culture by navigating a miniature golf course, designed and made by...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 25 May 2016
Previous articles: Part One – How hard can it be to go from 10 to scratch? Part Two – I’m trying to get from 10 to scratch, and now I’m off… eleven?! Two feet. It’s not a lot, is it? It’s the height of a slightly above average newborn baby boy. It’s the length of a baguette. It’s the length of two putts...
Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday 24 May 2016
A worrying number of tour pros have elected not to play in this year’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, but when it comes to the Celebrity Pro-Am, the organisers had no shortage of willing participants. Watching famous faces chop their way around Wentworth is a lovely appetiser before the real action starts on Thursday, and the start sheet also allows us...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 23 May 2016
You can’t expect to stroll straight from your car to the first tee and play your best golf. The world’s best golfers arrive 50 to 90 minutes ahead of their tee time and undergo a comprehensive warm-up routine before starting their round. If you want to play your best, you should follow their example and make sure every aspect of...
Written by Rob McGarr on Friday 20 May 2016
Most golf clubs want more members and visitors. They bring in money that lets the club invest in the course, keeping it in top condition and attracting even more people to visit or join. But not all of them are doing enough to help themselves. Branston Golf and Country Club in Burton upon Trent is doing its bit to get more...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 19 May 2016
The worst part of Muirfield’s decision not to allow female members, from our point of view, is that we weren’t even surprised. One pleasant surprise was the immediacy and certitude of the R&A’s response to the decision, announcing that Muirfield would no longer be considered as an Open venue until its policy on women is readdressed. “The Open is one of the...
Written by Ronan Keating on Wednesday 18 May 2016
Irish pop star Ronan Keating, an ultra-keen golfer, is still on cloud nine following his first-ever visit to the US Masters accompanied by his wife Storm. Here’s the full story – and photos – of one of the best weeks of the Boyzone singer’s life. So much so that he cried tears of joy…. “I am a lucky man, no doubt...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 18 May 2016
Many of golf’s big names will be teeing it up at Wentworth next week for the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth (although the likes of Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen and Sergio Garcia will not). Many of the world’s best golfers will battle it out from Thursday to Sunday, in front of a live audience likely to exceed 100,000, with...