BEAT YOUR BOGEY HOLE WIN FOOTJOY SHOES

TODAY’S GOLFER AUGUST 2015 (JULY 9-AUGUST 5) 337
BEAT YOUR BOGEY HOLE WIN FOOTJOY SHOES
EXCLUSIVE
Tom Watson...
quizzed by you
Plus: The eight-time major
champ shares his best tips
WWW.TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK
AUGUST 2015 ISSUE 337 JULY 9-AUGUST 5 £4.50
DRAIN IT
LIKE JORDAN!
Why YOU need a
fat putter grip
How to read it, stroke it... and knock it in

The star
factory
Inside the coaching school that’s
turning England’s promising young
golfers into multiple tour winners
WORDS ROB Mc GARR PICTURES ANGUS MURRAY, GETTY IMAGES
Andy
Sullivan
Two European Tour
wins already in
2015.
Eddie
Pepperell
Challenge Tour
winner and Top-100
golfer, making his
Open debut this
year.
Danny
Willett
Two-time European
Tour winner, ranked
36th in the world.

Chris Wood
Two European Tour
wins. Finished 5th
as an amateur in
2008 Open, tiedthird
a year later.
he top-20 at this year’s Irish Open
featured Danny Willett, Andy Sullivan,
T
Chris Wood, Eddie Pepperell, Matt
Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton. Those players all
have two things in common. One – they’re all
English, part of a vanguard of new,
homegrown stars who are taking over the
mantle from the likes of Lee Westwood and
Luke Donald. And two – they all benefited
from England Golf coaching on their pathway
from young prospect to Tour professional.
The most notice the majority of amateur
golfers will pay to England Golf is the small
affiliation fee – usually around two per cent –
added to your annual membership fee. This
money goes towards things like organising
your county championship and administering
the handicap system. But England Golf also
uses it, along with some National Lottery
funding, to provide coaching to talented
youngsters and turn them into future Tour
pros and, with a little luck, the first English
Major winner since Nick Faldo won the
Masters in 1996.
Wood, who recently won his second
European Tour title, says: “Obviously we did a
lot of work on our game, but there was also
off-the-course training plus lots of travelling
which educated us on what was needed and
how to be strong enough for life on tour when
we turned pro.
“The sort of opportunities I had to play
around the world just wouldn’t have been
available if I hadn’t broken into the English
teams and got that support. When you
understand how important being in the
England set-up was you can appreciate how
desperate I was to get in it.”
“National coaching really took off in 2001,”
says Stephen Burnett, performance manager
for England Golf. “There were obviously still
English golfers doing well before then, but it’s
a completely different world out there now
with all the other countries really investing in
golf coaching.”
In a world where sport is big business and
one home-grown Major winner can change
the future of a sport, England cannot afford to
rely on chance to deliver world-beaters when
other countries are investing millions in
spotting and nurturing young talent.
“There aren’t many golfers that have
gone on to the Tour in the last few
years that haven’t come through the
programme in some respect,”
says Burnett.
Nowadays, a structured
programme invites
applications from
promising teenagers,
the best of whom are
invited to attend a ➔

SHORT GAME
Take the fear
out of chipping
WGC MatchPlay semifinalist
Danny Willett
helps you strike chips
with more conviction
Fault: Golf is full of myths about
technique, often passed on to
amateurs from playing partners.
Golfers are strangely keen to listen
to the advice of people who aren’t
really qualified to give it. As if any
of us would let someone have a go
at repairing our car, just because
they drive one themselves.
Fix: This acceptance of knowledge
extends to every aspect of the golf
swing, but is especially common in
the short game. I’ll help to dispel
one of the myths, and to ensure
you are not using other pieces of
duff advice in your game, have
some lessons with a PGA pro.
The clue is in the name...
Bounce is your friend – so
you want to use it as much as
possible. It allows you to be
positive through the impact
area, because it is forgiving on
imperfect swings. Even if you
were going to hit it ‘fat’, the
bounce stops the club digging in.
Signs of confidence
Even from this still image
I hope you can tell how
I’ve accelerated the club
through impact, turning
my chest to the target
and keeping the clubface
pointing to the sky: signs
of a committed swing.
T0UR TIP
DANNY WILLETT
CALLAWAY STAFF PLAYER
Second in the
Race to Dubai
after winning
the Nedbank
& third at WGC
Match Play.
50 ISSUE 337 TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK

Fault
Fixer
How to lose a friend
I see this a lot: the ball too
far back in the stance, with
the shaft leaning acutely
to the target – probably
in a misguided attempt
to avoid thinning the ball.
Yet it removes some of the
helpful effects of bounce.
Activating bounce
Set up like this, the ball in
the middle of the stance
and the hands in a neutral
position. The ball being
struck ‘later’ in the swing
means a flatter path into
impact and helps ensure
you activate the bounce.
MORE TIPS ONLINE
www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/tips
TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK ISSUE 337 51

YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS
TOM
WATSON
From his swing secrets and best playing
partners, to his worst shot and the Ryder Cup
defeat, the eight-time Major champion reveals all.
WORDS ROB Mc GARR PICTURES CHRIS ALLERTON, RALPH LAUREN, GETTY IMAGES
icklaus, Woods, Hagen,
N
Player and Hogan – not bad
company to be in, and the
only players to have won more Majors
than Tom Watson. To win eight in the
Nicklaus era proves beyond all doubt
that Watson had what it takes to
compete with – and beat – the
absolute best.
His performances in the twilight
stages of his career – including nearly
winning the 2009 Open aged 59 and
an opening-round 71 at this year’s
Masters aged 65 – have
demonstrated a level of durability rare
in the modern game and further
endeared him to golf fans worldwide.
In fact, few golfers receive the global
adulation and respect Watson
engenders wherever he
goes. Now, as he marks
the 40th anniversary of
his victorious Open
debut, TG sat down with a
philosophical Watson at
the Old Course Hotel, just
yards from where he’ll
cross the Swilcan Bridge
for the final time
amidst a flurry of
camera flashes,
applause – and
probably a few
tears. We found him
accommodating,
courteous and erudite
as he answered your
questions about highs
and lows, his plans for
FACT FILE
Full name:
Thomas Sturges
Watson
Date of birth:
4/9/1949
Place of birth:
Kansas City,
Missouri
Lives: Stilwell,
Kansas
Professional
wins: 71
Major wins: 8
1975 Open
1977 Masters
1977 Open
1980 Open
1981 Masters
1982 US Open
1982 Open
1983 Open
Man on fire
Watson wins the
1982 Open, less
than a month
after his US
Open victory.
retirement, a Ryder Cup to forget in
2014 and what he’ll do if he defies the
ageing process again this time…
It looks like this will be your final
Open appearance, 40 years after
you made your debut and won at
Carnoustie. What will be your abiding
memory from all the Opens you’ve
played in?
Ben Grigson
Being fortunate enough to win five
times is the thing I’ll look back on
most. There are a couple of Opens
that I could have won and didn’t, and
a couple that I did win and shouldn’t.
I had a great run here and I have
some wonderful memories of shots
that I played during the Open
Championships – both good and bad.
I had my share of lucky bounces and
bad bounces. It all goes with the
territory of playing the game. It’s not
a perfect game. You can’t make it a
perfect game. Playing over here in
front of the crowds and how much
they love, respect and understand the
game – you always want to be
appreciated by people who
understand what you just
did, and they do that the
best here.
How did you adapt to links
golf so readily, especially as it
isn’t widely played in
America?
Evad Maharg
When I first played links ➔
58 ISSUE 337 TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK

’When I first played
links golf, I didn’t
like it at all. I mean I
really didn’t like it!’
TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK ISSUE 337 59

Blades
of glory
These putting masters hold records
with the flat-stick that beggar belief
WORDS ROB MCGARR
THE
PUTTING
ISSUE
70 ISSUE 337 TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK

PUTTING RECORDS
e feel pretty pleased with
W
ourselves if we make it
through a round without a
three-putt or hole an unexpected long
one from 30 feet. So imagine what it
would be like to go 30 rounds without
a three-putt, or to hole one from 375
feet… The players featured here don’t
have to imagine; they hold putting
records that will take some breaking…
Longest streak without
a three-putt
Freddie Jacobson’s run of 542 holes
without a three-putt, from Jan 23 to
April 24 this year, stretched over an
astonishing 30 rounds. The Swede
comfortably broke Luke Donald’s
previous record of 483 holes, set in
2011, before opening the second round
of the Zurich Classic
with a disappointing
three-jab.
Fewest putts
in a round
We’re not huge fans of the
‘putts per round’ statistic. It
doesn’t take into account how
many greens you hit or miss,
or how far from the hole you’re
putting from. That said, taking 18
putts in a round – that’s one per
hole, maths fans – is a pretty tidy
feat that just eight players have
ever managed. Guess how many
of them won the tournament in
which they did it… None.
Longest putt in a Major
Nick Price had been
waiting 15 years to win a
Major when a 110-footer
helped him to victory at the 1992
PGA Championship at Bellerive
Country Club.
Fewest putts in a
72-hole tournament
Two-putt every green
over four days and
you’d take 144 putts.
The pros average
around 116, while the
best putters might get
this down to 105 on a
really good week. To take
just 92 putts in a
tournament, then, is
obviously an unbelievable
accomplishment, but that’s
exactly what David Frost
did during the 2005 MCI
Heritage at Harbour Town. The
fact he finished T-38 with a 2-over total
tells you everything you need to know
about how the rest of his game was
going that week.
The first whiff
Whiffing the ball is bad enough, but
imagine being the person air-shots are
named after. Lord Gormley Whiffle
missed the ball completely when
attempting to tap in a four-inch putt
during the 1876 Open and lost the
Silver Medal as a result. All the talk
amongst the spectators was, “Did you
see that Whiffle?” – leading to the term
Longest putt
ever holed
On November 6,
2001, 13-hcp
Fergus Muir
bagged a
Guinness World
Record by sinking
a 375-foot putt on
the 5th hole of the
Eden Course in St
Andrews. Having
seen his partners
struggle with
howling winds and
rock-hard ground,
the 71-year-old
reached for his
hickory shafted
putter and made
his first ever holein-one.
Tap Frost
The South
African didn’t
need his putter
much that week.
‘whiff’ when later shortened to its
present form.
The slowest putt ever made
Those enraged by slow play should
look away now. It took amateur Kim
Saka 25 minutes to hole a simple 18-
inch putt that would secure her a spot
in the 1980 Women’s Kemper Open.
In fairness, it wasn’t her fault. The
flagstick was stuck and her caddie
couldn’t remove it despite his best
efforts. Eventually, after several caddies
had tried to free what was quickly
becoming golf’s version of Excalibur,
the flag was freed and Saka was able
to finish the hole.
Longest putt holed on Tour
Craig Barlow may not exactly be a
household name – he’s never won a
Tour event and is probably as famous
for being the cousin of The Killers’
Brandon Flowers as for his T-26th in
the 2008 US Open – but his 111’ 5”
eagle putt at Warwick Hills Golf and
Country Club during the 2008 Buick
Open will take some beating. That’s
the length of three London buses!
The longest putt holed so far this
season was Chad Campbell’s 95’ 3”
effort in the Northern Trust Open.
Price is right
The South
African won
two more
Majors.
TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK ISSUE 337 71

Full of feel
The B1-01 blade
is said to work best
if your stroke has a
slight arc.
NIKE
A Method for
every stroke
New Method family features innovative
insert and shapes to suit your stroke
utters often gain attention
P because of how they look on the
outside. But Nike’s new Method
Converge family will make headlines for
what’s on the inside.
That sliver of red polymer inside the
construction is ‘RZN’ – the same
material that’s used in Nike’s balls.
It’s sandwiched between a 304
stainless steel body and Nike says it
delivers “active management” of
forgiveness that results in a tighter
Matter
models
These £99
putters have
RZN grooves.
dispersion pattern. Nike says in testing
this accuracy is increased by 10% from
a distance of 21 feet. RZN is also found
in the Tour-proven groove insert.
The Method Converge putters are
focused on feel, roll and forgiveness, and
come in four distinct styles – B1-01,
M1-08, S1-12, S2-12. Each one suits the
stroke so that the putter is returned to a
square position at impact.
The ‘Straight’ putters, the S1-12 and
S2-12 (pictured right) are for golfers
with a square path; The B1-01 blade
(above) is what Nike calls a Slight Arc
putter; If you’ve got more open and
closed path in your stroke, go for the
M1-08 mallet (top right).
Nike has also revealed the
Method Matter family – which has
an rrp of less than £100. They
feature a RZN groove insert, while the
stainless steel body further softens feel
and allows for more adjustability.
There are four shapes (B1-07, B2-01,
M4-12, M5-12) designed with input from
Tour players.
● Details: Method Converge £129.99,
Method Matter £99.99.
Find one to suit your stroke
Top to bottom, Nike’s Method Converge
M1-08, S1-12 and S2-12 are designed to
work with different swings.
104
ISSUE 337 TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK

New
Gear
Target practice
The large dualsquare
alignment aid
is similar in principle
to Odyssey’s 2-Ball.
Face facts
The milled copperaluminium
face is
backed by a softer
polymer insert.
CLEVELAND
Square route to success
Easy-to-aim TFI putter builds on a proven design
leveland’s first Smart Square
C putter was a popular design
because it made alignment so
easy. This year’s new TFI version improves
that package.
The biggest change is the ‘True Feel
Innovation’ face that incorporates a milled
copper-infused cap over a polymer insert.
Cleveland says this gives more feel and
consistency across the entire clubface
compared to last year’s version.
The body has also been tweaked. The
black central section is made from an
aluminium which has a lower density than
the white alloy outer wings. This moves
more weight to the edges of the putter,
increasing forgiveness and stability on
off-centre hits.
The ‘Dual Axis Alignment’ (two squares)
remains from the original. Cleveland says
it works because the two parallel lines
frame the ball perfectly down the line,
while four perpendicular lines offer instant
feedback if the putter isn’t squared to your
target at address.
● Details: £149, www.clevelandgolf.com

Courses
& Travel
WHERE TO PLAY AT
HOME AND ABROAD
EDITED BY KEVIN BROWN
New addition
Renaissance is
a Doak design
to enhance to
East Lothian.

REGIONAL GUIDE
East Lothian
East of Edinburgh you’ll find Scotland’s Golf Coast and pure golfing gold…
WORDS KEVIN BROWN
ast Lothian has always played
second fiddle to Fife just a few miles
E
across the Firth of Forth. It has
always been a very worthy understudy to Fife
and the widely-acclaimed ‘Home of Golf’ St
Andrews – but is this long-established
reputation fair? Possibly not…
Like St Andrews and the whole region of
Fife, East Lothian is steeped in golfing history
and tradition, with a wonderful collection of
courses, chiefly of course of the links variety.
This is arguably the biggest year yet for
East Lothian golf, as the area hosts three
major professional tournaments: prequalifying
for the Scottish Open (at North
Berwick), the Scottish Open itself (July 9-12,
Gullane) and finally the Scottish Senior Open
at Archerfield Links (Aug 27-29). Oh, and
between July 27 and August 1, Muirfield
stages the Scottish Amateur Championships.
Typically though, Fife grabs back the
limelight immediately, with the ‘big one’ – The
Open Championship – taking place the week
after the Scottish Open, Gullane’s well
deserved moment in the spotlight!
Nevertheless, East Lothian has plenty to be
pleased about and plenty to offer travelling
golfers. Its astounding quality of courses
means that in many golfers’ eyes it’s not only
on a par with the Home of Golf but, dare we
say it, usurps it. It’s a view we wouldn’t
necessarily disagree with.
It fully lives up to its ‘Scotland’s Golf Coast’
➔