Golf Monthly

I first saw Rory McIlroy playing golf in a practice round for The Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2007; an event in which he finished as leading amateur. I knew he was a promising player, so GM’s Fergus Bisset and I followed the bouncy, floppy-hai

I was disappointed to hear Sergio Garcia’s outburst at the Wells Fargo Championship when he was, admittedly incorrectly, penalised for failing to find his ball in the allotted time. I know he was frustrated in the heat of battle, but expressing his d

Somehow I just had so much belief on 17 that I could make it. I just forced it in, which was incredible. It’s been a tough few years, so yeah, it’s very special. It was amazing. From Thursday on, they supported me the whole way around, even though I’

Schauffele and Cantlay set a new 72-hole scoring record in the pairs event on 29-under-par. They opened the tournament with a 59 in Thursday’s four-ball and beat the 54-hole scoring record by a whopping six shots.

It’s safe to say the new Saudibacked LIV Golf Series has split opinion among the game’s biggest names. For the most part, the inaugural season appears set to be a place for golfers in the twilight of their careers to cash in. But the prospects for th

For good or for bad, it’s the story that continues to dominate the world of golf. But at least we are nearing the start of the new Saudi-backed breakaway circuit. With a number of players confirming they have requested releases from either the PGA or

What’s your best moment in golf? Winning my own state open in Queensland, Australia. What would be your dream four-ball? Tiger, Dean Martin and the third can change anytime. What would you be doing if you weren’t a golfer? In the Air Force as a dog h

Jordan Spieth is the fifth player to win 13+ PGA Tour titles including three Majors since 1940. The others: Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Highest percentage of rounds 65 or lower on the PGA Tour since 2019: Webb Simpson,

Renowned Welsh golfer Clive Brown has been announced as the new captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. The traditional driving-in ceremony will take place on Friday 23 September. A host of celebrities were in attendance as 11 categ

Swaying your upper body off the ball rather than turning is a major cause of poor contact. It shifts your weight away from the target, and if you don’t then move it back across, you’ll hit the turf - or in this drill, the towel – early. It’s far bett

Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond S, 10.5°, Fujikura Pro 63 X shaft. Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond, 15°, Fujikura Ventus Red 7 Xshaft; Callaway Epic Speed, 18°, Fujikura Ventus Red 8 Xshaft. Callaway X Forged UT, 24°; Apex TCB (5- to 7-iron) and Ap

The prior generation was one of the very best players’ distance irons of its competitive set, but we’re glad to see the new version slimmed down slightly, while the new X model caters for the more inconsistent player. Cobra Golf has launched its four

The first official season of the European Tour, now known as the DP World Tour, took place in 1972. ‘Tiger slayer’ Y.E. Yang was born in 1972. His greatest moment came in 2009, when he defeated Woods at Hazeltine. The Titleholders Championship, a wom

Skechers is renowned for its diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, and since making its move into golf in 2015, the brand has brought the same innovative technologies to the course. The headline technology in the latest Go Golf range i

Quinta do Lago in the Algarve turns 50 this year and the resort and its three courses have never looked better. In the early days, you would only visit Quinta if you played golf; now there are a multitude of reasons to go – five-star accommodation, s

As I write this, I’m in the middle of a three-week stretch on the road in America. I’m always asked what my weekly routine looks like when I’m covering the PGA Tour and if my job is as great as it seems, so I thought I’d answer those questions in thi

With the spectre of the Saudi Golf League hanging over the game, it’s hard to look elsewhere for stories at the moment, but one thing that grabbed my attention recently was Rickie Fowler putting in a decent performance at the Wells Fargo Championship

Since 2010 On Course Foundation has been supporting the recovery of wounded, injured and sick military veterans through golf, both by playing and by highlighting opportunities for employment in the game. Since its inception, the charity has helped so

Golf is a game of fine margins; of countless possible scenarios and outcomes. As such, it’s one of the most unpredictable sports there is. One wayward strike or one stroke of genius can totally change a round or competition. Players can come back fr

Scottie Scheffler’s speedy ascent to World No.1 has taken many people by surprise. However, those who know the 25-year-old best all talk of a young man who has always been quietly focused on making it to the very top. Even when he was ten years old h

O verthe last year, it feels like I have ceased being a golfer. This is not to say the game has left me; on the contrary, it has become more all-consuming than ever. Every morning, lunchtime and evening when I’m at home, I head outside, through a gat

“seve and I left the putting green seven minutes before our tee time. The walk to the 1st tee would have been 50 yards, the ropes were really narrow, there were lots of people left and right and everybody was shouting ‘U-S-A, U-S-A’. As we neared the

Driving women’s and girls’ participation in the game is a subject that has long been discussed within the golf industry. In May 2018, it became a big deal when The R&A, golf’s governing body, made a serious commitment to advance change in the women’s

1Sometimes, when trying to hit it as far as possible, people forget to finish the backswing. They don’t fulfil the torso turn, which then doesn’t fulfil the hip turn, and they’re back into the ball way too early, most likely too steeply and across th

By Top 50 Coach Ged Walters When you chip, your hands should move gently inside, back to impact and gently inside on the way through. Many club golfers don’t move their hands on this arc when they chip. We tend to see lots of scooping and stabbing at

1For full pitches, hold the club close to full-length for a fullish swing, but for the half pitch, grip down an inch or so (then even more for shorter pitches). The half-pitch swing should be roughly the same back and through – maybe shoulder-high to

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last year – or more likely just not watching any top-level professional golf – you will have seen more and more players wearing a new, swanky band on their wrists. Whoop is a revolutionary fitness tracker

After a solid drive down the par-5 10th at Doha Golf Club, Matthew Jordan looked to be in a commanding position to extend his two-shot lead as he headed into the final nine holes of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. But it didn’t pan out that way, a

Each month, the readers whose queries are featured will receive a small trifold bag towel and a leatherette putter cover, both with St Andrews branding. Q When I was watching some golf the other day, one of the players putted on the 18th green withou

Foursomes comes to prominence every time a Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup or Presidents Cup is played. It is a pairs format (also known as ‘alternate shot’) in which two partners compete as a side by playing one ball in alternating order on each hole. While

1 In stroke play, while Jezz sweeps some loose impediments from his line using his putter, he accidentally damages the green. He repairs the damage and holes the putt. What is the ruling? A There is no penalty. B Jezz gets one penalty stroke. C Jezz

The laser distances stacked up with those from other premium brands, as did those on the H4 GPS. They updated quickly when we reached our ball. To get fully set up with the Pro LX+, you need to screw the tags into the tops of all your clubs. They’re

The new sensors track your play more accurately while the putter sensor has been made smaller. Enjoy colour hole maps and smart notifications. It also tracks shots when paired with CT10 sensors. This hybrid laser integrates GPS distances and hole gra

The S1 folds up and down with the press of just one button. The chassis arm folds into two sections when flat and you can also invert both wheels to make the S1’s overall footprint even smaller. First introduced in 2006, the S1 trolley from Motocaddy

Cleveland has added another model to its impressive wedge line-up, with the CBX ZipCore joining the CBX Full-Face and CBX 2. It is a cavity-back wedge and, as such, arguably doesn’t look as good in the bag as the others. However, that’s all forgotten

One of the most technologypacked spikeless golf shoes we’ve tested this year, the Ecco Biom C4 seriously impressed us with its overall comfort, grip, style and breathability. It builds nicely on the foundations of the excellent Biom H4, which carries

The Go Golf Drive 5 is also a highlight of the 2022 collection The Go Golf Pro 5 Hyper headlines the 2022 shoe range S kechersis a brand renowned for golf shoes that offer out-of-the-box comfort, superb underfoot cushioning and excellent traction. Fo

Simon Shanks, via email I’m sure everyone has their quirks and superstitions here – Imark my ball with a UAE Dirham coin, which I think is worth about 20p. I’ve had it since 2010, when I landed my first job there straight out of university. I lived

Loft: 9.5° Shaft: Tensei C+Blue 55s It’s much more generous behind the ball, specifically by being more stretched out from front to back. We love the matte finish and how square the topline is for alignment, but the graphics around the rear skirt? No

Getting the ball in the hole is what turns average rounds into great ones, but finding a putter that feels right often requires much trial and error. Here, we’ve tested all the latest models to help your quest. Some golfers prefer lots of help with a

The GPS market has exploded in recent years, and such devices come in various guises. They share one common goal: to help golfers save shots. Whether it’s a stylish watch, a handheld device or a sleek, feature-packed laser rangefinder, distance-measu

It may be the youngest of the many links on the Ayrshire coast, but golf on this land dates back to 1911 when Willie Fernie laid out Dundonald’s original course. Sadly, World War II consigned Fernie’s layout to history and it wasn’t until early this

In early April I embarked on a trip taking in returns to Silloth, Southerness, Dundonald, Royal Troon and Dumbarnie. As ever, not content with that, I sought to fill in the gaps in my travel schedule and ‘courses played’ spreadsheet with a couple mor

Opened in 2006, Palmerstown House Estate has the flamboyance that comes with modern design pedigree and big budgets. It is elegant and languorous, pristine and ambitious. It has acres of space to work with and oceans of water sweeping about the place

P eopleoften talk about career change. After years of being stuck in a rut they throw off the chains and break free, pursuing something they’ve always wanted to do. Not many of us get the chance to do it; not all of us know what it is that we want to

For a relatively new course, The Shire provides a thrilling yet daunting proposition on the 1st tee. Looking back over the opening green at The Shire London – one of the scariest opening holes inside the M25. Rather than easing you in, it is do or di

To Jersey and the Royal Jersey Golf Club; my first visit to any of the Channel Islands, first flight since late 2019, first after-dinner speech for three years and first time I’ve stood up to talk not wearing my own jacket or shirt. Fun? You couldn’t

Golf is a game that can never be mastered. Even the world’s best come unstuck from time to time. And of all its intricate parts, none cause quite so much angst as driving the ball. Swinging the club with the longest shaft and the least loft at the hi

1 I’moften asked if the driver swing is the same as an iron swing. In simple terms, no it isn’t. But rather than trying to change your swing, a better solution is to make some adjustments at set-up. With an iron, you don’t want to shift your weight o

1 Dependingon the demands of a hole, there isn’t always much margin for error with the driver. It’s essential to ensure you give yourself the best chance of success and much of this comes down to set-up. Ball position is a key component, and while ev

1 Themain difference between the driver and the rest of your clubs is the length of the shaft. When it comes to the backswing, there are some common pitfalls that plague golfers as a result. The longer driver shaft means the takeaway tends to be more

Since launching in January this year, the TaylorMade Stealth family of drivers has captured the imagination of golfers, with tour pros and amateurs all over the world seeing the benefits of their revolutionary carbon design. For the first time in a T

1 It’svital to rotate your hips in sequence if you want to hit the ball further, especially in the downswing. It’s useless hitting through the shot before turning your hips. While it might look pretty, it’ll be pretty inefficient. So, in order to cre

When we first got Rory with the Stealth Plus in his hands, we wanted to do an ‘apples for apples’ test against his old driver – so the same shaft, same loft and same face angle to get an idea of how he liked the new Stealth head. The shaft is one of

1 Insimple terms, lag is the angle between your lead forearm and the shaft. The smaller the angle, the more lag you’ve created. But that doesn’t mean to say you can’t have too much. So, when you swing to the top, you want to see about a 90˚ angle bet

1 Ifyou want to launch the driver, the clubhead needs to be travelling at its fastest through the ball, so you need to develop an awareness of clubhead speed and how to create it properly. A really good method is to switch the club round so you grip

Sergio has always been very tuned in to TaylorMade products, having tested them and worked with us for a long time over his career. He went straight into the Stealth Plus after a fitting at the end of 2021 and he likes a little bit more loft than mos

1 Manufacturersand tour technicians say that around 15˚ of launch with around 2,500-3,000rpm of spin will optimise your carry distance. But the correct driver head and set-up for you will very much depend on the speed at which you swing the club. 2 H

We managed to get pretty much every one of our players except Bob into the Stealth for the start of the 2022 season, so it was a great challenge getting the Stealth set up to give him even more off the tee. You can’t make a driver that pleases absolu

Setting up for the second drill 1It’s extremely important to control the clubface in relation to your swing path when hitting your driver. Far too often, I see golfers trying to guide it, which tends to deliver just the opposite result. This is one o

1 Thisfirst drill is to optimise the length of your backswing and your turn. Take your set-up and swing to the top, but feel like your back is now facing the target. Don’t worry if your head moves off the centre line like Dustin Johnson’s - just focu