Table of contents for Open 2017 in Golf Monthly

The 146th Open Championship will be contested at Royal Birkdale this July where Sweden’s Henrik Stenson will be defending champion. Royal Birkdale Golf Club was founded in 1889 and the club moved to its present site in 1897. In the 1920s a seven-year plan was instigated to bring the course to Championship standard; this involved the construction of a striking new art-deco clubhouse and the appointment of Fred Hawtree and J.H Taylor to remodel the layout. Hawtree and Taylor looked to route the holes at Birkdale through the valleys between the sand hills rather than over them. Their insight resulted in the emergence of one of the country’s toughest, fairest and finest links courses. Birkdale’s reputation grew and in 1954 the course was chosen to host The Open Championship for…

Attack of the clones I write this letter mildly jaded after staying up to watch the Players Championship last night. I wish I hadn’t. Is it me or are golf tournaments becoming increasingly anti-climactic? There are few who would doubt Si Woo Kim’s performance was a huge achievement – not least because of his age. At 21 he showed maturity beyond his years and to perform under that kind of pressure is a feat in itself. And while I am not suggesting he dive into the water on 18 naked to celebrate, a smile would have been nice. Perhaps he doesn’t really get excited – maybe the result of a billionaire sports industry that churns out robots schooled from the age of three. Harsh? Perhaps. But look at Tiger –…

Photography Getty Images As an nine-time winner on the European Tour, where does that final round rank? It was probably my best ever. It's a tough course mentally coming down the stretch. It's not ridiculously narrow, but if you hit the ball a little bit wayward, it can cost you. And I putted probably the best I've ever putted. At what point did you think you were in with a chance of winning? After the birdie on 12, I thought it was going very well. You always try to get in that zone that everybody talks about, when you've got some adrenaline mixed with focus. After that birdie, I felt really confident going into 13 and 14, and the weather helped me because right after I finished, it started raining…

Photography Kevin Murray GF: £115-£135 W: elsclubmalaysia.com STATS: par 72, 6,371 yards Exotic golf such as that on offer throughout Malaysia has really taken off in recent years. One of its newest highlights is the Vijay Singh design at Johor Bahru in the south-east of the mainland. This is the latest development at the Els Club Malaysia, which already has a 27-hole Ocean course at the same location, as well as the Rainforest course up in the north on the beautiful island of Langkawi. The brand-new undulating layout has been carved out of dense vegetation in conjunction with the Big Easy. With 45 holes now on offer, the Desaru Coast is one of golf's newest hotspots. Singh's intention was to create a design that complemented the Ocean course while offering something…

LAMKIN FLAT CAT GRIP As used by Justin Rose and Adam Scott, Flat Cat putter grips come in five sizes and promote the feeling of a square putter face. STROMBERG SINTRA PRO-FLEX TAPERED TROUSERS These trousers boast a slimming tailored fit and a water-resistant finish. POWAKADDY TOUCH There are new trims on the frame, handle and wheels for 2017, plus a Kinetic LED Power Display that turns green as the trolley moves. CLEVELAND RTX-3 WEDGE RAW FINISH This distinctive new Tour Raw finish is designed to rust over time. The choice of many Cleveland pros.…

Irons Titleist 716 T-MB (3-iron), Titleist Forged 680 (3-9). Project X LZ 6.5 shafts. Wedges Titleist Vokey SM6, 48° (8° bounce) F Grind, 54° (10° bounce) S Grind, 60° (6° bounce) K Grind. Fairway Wood Titleist 917F2, 16.5°, A1 setting. Fujikura Rombax P95 X-Flex shaft. Driver Titleist 917D2, 9.5°, A2 setting (1.5° upright). Project X Even Flow Black 75, 6.5-flex shaft. Putter Scotty Cameron Xperimental Prototype Rev X10. He recently switched to the Lamkin Flat Cat putter grip. Ball Titleist Pro V1.…

“Phil Mickelson was golf’s top earner in 2016 raking in $52.9 million” Average annual earnings in the UK are just over £26,500. People graft in offices, factories and shops across the country for 40-plus hours a week with 20 holiday days to earn quite a bit less than that. On the European Tour last year, 100 men earned ten times the UK average salary in prize money alone, and six earned 100 times that amount. Most of these guys are simply playing a game they love to a high standard, so surely they don't deserve to be rewarded quite so substantially? The top dogs First, let's consider the uppermost echelons of men's professional golf. These guys are the truly high earners of the sport but, relatively speaking, there are few…

Looking at the same tall and wiry figure now, it is hard to believe almost two decades have passed since Justin Rose kick-started his career as an amateur at Royal Birkdale in 1998. By holing his approach to the final green to finish in a tie for fourth, he offered a glimpse of the talent and sense of occasion that British golf fans were hoping would take him to the very top. “I've had very little time to sit back and reflect,” he told Golf Monthly in an interview just a couple of weeks after the 1998 Open. “What I do remember is the fantastic support I got. That is the overriding memory I have of The Open. I don't think I'll ever forget it. “It's been great. I've been…

Each year The R&A takes on the massive job of organising and running The Open Championship. As custodians of the sport in 140 countries around the world, the importance of The Open goes well beyond the event itself as the money raised allows The R&A to invest back into the game at home and overseas. The R&A puts around £10 million into golf annually. It's an impressive figure, but it doesn't tell the full story. The R&A's involvement in the areas where investment occurs is not simply financial – the organisation also provides knowledge and expertise, shares information with partners and helps establish working relationships. At a high level, the headline £10m R&A annual investment figure can be broken down into three primary areas: governance – £4m; sustainability – £1m;…

JOHN COOK Open Championship appearances: 7 Years: 1980, ‘92-95, ‘97, ‘02 Best finish: 2nd, 1992, Muirfield Score: 66, 67, 70, 70 (273) Champion/margin: Nick Faldo, 1 stroke COSTANTINO ROCCA Open Championship appearances: 9 Years: 1991-99 Best finish: 2nd, 1 1995, St Andrews Score: 69, 70, 70, 73 (282) Champion/margin: John Daly, play-off JESPER PARNEVIK Open Championship appearances: 11 Years: 1993-2003 Best finish: 2nd, 1994 (Turnberry) & 1997 (Royal Troon) Score: 68, 66, 68, 67 (269); 70, 66, 66, 73 (275) Champion/margin: Nick Price, 1 stroke; Justin Leonard, 3 strokes…

Brian Watts 1998 Brian Watts won 12 times in Japan from 1993 to 1998, but was largely unknown over here when he played in the 1998 Birkdale Open. A brilliant sand save on the 72nd hole saw him into a play-off with Mark O’Meara, which sadly he lost. Darren Clarke 2011 Playing in his 20th Open at 41 years of age, many thought Darren Clarke’s Major Championship race was run. But he rolled back the years at Royal St George’s, compiling rounds of 68, 68, 69 and 70 to win by three shots. Paul Dunne 2015 At St Andrews in 2015, 22-year-old Paul Dunne from Ireland, who won Final Qualifying at Woburn, headed the field after 54 holes – the first amateur to lead after three rounds since 1927. He…

Photography: Kevin Murray Rickie is probably the best player without a Major following Sergio's Augusta win. His swing now has a really neutral set-up following his work with Butch Harmon. Before, he took the club back much more outside, the clubface was certainly more shut early on and his arms were a lot flatter at the top, from where he could only really draw it. Now it's a far more classic swing, with the toe of the club pointing up halfway back and the shaft parallel – classic Butch Harmon. The pushback is great, too – I love the way he maintains his posture early in the backswing. That right leg is as solid as anything. Butch has a great drill – I know he did it with Greg Norman…

1 Before you get to the club Whatever your age, it's no good going to the 1st tee as stiff as anything, then announcing on the 4th tee that you're ready to play now having finally loosened up! By then, you've probably lost two or three balls, your score has gone and your day is potentially ruined. You can start preparing before you even get to the practice ground with a few stretching exercises when you get up in the morning, or in the locker room before heading out. 2 More stretching We all live busy lives, but try, if possible, to leave yourself 30 minutes to warm-up at the course. Ultimately, if we fail to prepare, we are preparing to fail! Start with some more exercises to loosen up…

CONTROL The Pur version didn’t appear to offer higher levels of spin than the original, but the variation in spin on our 50-yard pitch shots was much narrower, suggesting that performance was more consistent. LOOKS While the shape is the same, the new Pur wedge offers much-reduced sun glare to help with clubface alignment and confidence on brighter days. The back of the head is less colourful than on the original King wedge. Cobra’s new King Pur is aimed at golfers who prefer an unpolished look to their wedges and a soft feel at impact. Key technology The Pur is a raw, unplated 304 stainless steel version of Cobra’s King wedge, designed to maximise spin and improve feel around the greens as well as reduce glare from the sun. It…

LOOKS The contrasting black and white sections of the head combine well with the strong red sightline to highlight your face angle and swing path more prominently than any other putter on the market. FEEL The range has a mid-to-soft feel – certainly not too soft – that will work nicely with all but the softest of golf balls. The thoughtful design of the SuperStroke grip helped with clubface awareness and distance control. The Odyssey O-Works putter range is for those who prefer a mid-to-soft feel and require as much help as possible in aligning the putter face. Key technology Odyssey says its new Microhinge face insert will keep putts on line better by increasing topspin. The elastomer insert is co-moulded with a stainless steel Microhinge surface, featuring individual hinges…

THE GOLF The start is demanding, with a fiddly right-angled dogleg and a plethora of water hazards making for an intimidating approach. After the gentle par-5 2nd comes a par 4 requiring an approach over water from a downhill lie, and a long, uphill par 3 into the prevailing wind. The 5th is a short par 4 with an attractive green complex which falls away to a railway-sleepered bunker. The back nine is prettier and tighter. The 13th has an attractive drive over a lake to a rising fairway, with a bunker to the right framing the view. The par-3 14th, which descends into a bowl, was my favourite hole. Recent clearance of lower branches and thinning out of the area below the trees mean that wayward shots are punished…

Golf Monthly has teamed up with top-selling trolley brand Motocaddy to offer one lucky reader the chance to win the new S5 CONNECT electric trolley – the most technologically advanced trolley on the market. The revolutionary S5 CONNECT, powered by lithium battery, can be synced to the brand's free GPS app via a Bluetooth connection on any compatible smartphone. This allows the trolley's digital display to be used in place of a conventional GPS, offering golfers front, middle and back distances to the green (in yards or metres), along with the par of the hole, a clock and a round timer. The digital control button works in the same way as other Motocaddy models, regulating the nine speed settings and stopping and starting as required around the course. But that's…

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Photography Getty Images I'm writing this editor's letter the day after Alex Noren's incredible final-round 62 at Wentworth to win the BMW PGA Championship. I'm still stunned by the sheer brilliance of the Swede's performance. The European Tour's flagship tournament – played over a revamped West course – was deemed a great success on every level, and it follows one of the best-ever US Masters and an early season punctuated by a number of exciting events. It's been a corking year so far. After the US Open at Erin Hills – which looks set to be another blockbuster with so many Europeans in good form – the action will move to the Lancashire coast for the 146th Open Championship. If ever there was a tournament, and indeed a course, where…

Photography: Getty Images The GM view: Thought-provoking stuff from Wood. “The standard of English golf is as high as it’s ever been. If it was tennis, it would be global news.” Golf just isn’t a key focus for the media, even with 12 Englishmen in the world’s top 100, as opposed to just two in tennis. Guy Linnegar: It’s hard to disagree with Wood, and especially the tennis comparison. I remember last year at Wimbledon, Marcus Willis won a first-round match there and it was all over the news. Lord Tyrion: It’s the same in other sports when we start to do well in numbers. There are cyclists with Olympic Golds who barely get a mention because we now have so many – 20 years ago they would have been…

Photography: Getty Images “If juniors are made to feel a part of proceedings, they are more likely to carry on playing” YES  Junior golfers are the future of our sport but there are currently too few of them at club level in the UK. Many clubs whose junior sections were once bursting at the seams now struggle to raise enough youngsters to field a team for inter-club matches, or even to run a junior Medal. The reasons for young people in this country turning their backs on golf are varied, and many of them are beyond the control of the golf clubs. One thing that is within a golf club's power, though, is to make sure the juniors who do play are encouraged every step of the way. If they…

Power and accuracy in the golf swing often go hand-in-hand. If you can find the right sequence of moves through the downswing, including correctly shifting your weight, you'll add clubhead speed and you should hit more fairways, too! This drill is designed to help you do just that. Take your normal address position and then move your lead foot back so you are standing with your feet together, as shown below. From here, the aim is to make a normal swing. Crucially, as you reach about halfway through the backswing, step your left foot back into its original position. As you are completing your backswing, your weight starts to shift towards the target, creating a stretch that helps deliver extra clubhead speed. This drill is a great way to find…

“MOTOCADDY IS ALWAYS COMING UP WITH NEW IDEAS TO IMPROVE THE TROLLEY-USER EXPERIENCE, BUT THE S5 CONNECT TOPS THE LOT” Joel Tadman, technical editor KEY INFO RRP: £549.99 with Standard Lithium battery; £599.99 with Extended Lithium battery. Both battery options come with a five-year warranty. Frame colours: Black or Alpine Today’s electric trolleys can do almost anything you want or need them to. They can follow you round the course, charge your phone or even hold your umbrella for you in the rain. Now Motocaddy is taking things to another level with the new S5 Connect. Advanced digital trolley screens have now become commonplace, so it was only ever going to be a matter of time before they displayed distances on top of what they already show. The question…

Adidas has sold TaylorMade Golf to KPS Capital Partners for $425m Titleist is offering a brushed copper finish on its Vokey SM6 wedges Louis Oosthuizen finished 2nd at the Players with a new 46in driver Players champ Si Woo Kim will serve two years in the military Rory McIlroy used a TaylorMade Tour Preferred UDI 1-iron at TPC Sawgrass Alvaro Quiros won the Rocco Forte Open with a full Callaway bag…

Photography Tom Miles “My coach and I shared a room in this grotty bed and breakfast, and in the evenings we’d go through the course guide in Golf Monthly!” Qualifying for my first Open in 2008 is something I'll never forget. I was in Italy playing in the European Team Championships for England, and I flew into Liverpool the day before qualifying. My dad picked me up from the airport and we rushed to Hillside to play a practice round. I played two rounds in qualifying the next day and managed to sneak through. It was probably the best journey home in a car I've ever experienced as it started to hit home how surreal it was to have qualified for The Open as an amateur. We headed back to…

IN THE UK The Golf Foundation The Golf Foundation is the single biggest recipient of R&A Development funding. Established in 1952, it aims to give all young people the opportunity to play and enjoy golf. R&A funding helps to support projects like the Road to The Open, working with the home nations to promote golf in schools, clubs and local communities, as well as the popular National StreetGolf competition. OVERSEAS San Bartolo, Peru San Bartolo is Peru’s first public golf course. The R&A invested £200,000 to support the development of the facility and convert a nine-hole sand course to grass. A junior golf programme was launched five years ago as part of the Peruvian Golf Federation’s ‘Golf For All’ initiative, with the venue becoming an important base for young and…

It's the one they all want to win and you, too, have the chance to take your place at the 146th Open at Royal Birkdale. Golf Monthly has teamed up with The R&A to give readers a chance to be part of history and experience the excitement and drama of one of the most prestigious prizes in sport. Three lucky winners will each win a pair of sought-after tickets for the day of their choice – from Thursday, July 20th to Sunday, July 23rd – which means you could be among the galleries celebrating the Champion Golfer of the Year. After last year's epic finale, when Sweden's Henrik Stenson warded off the challenge of Phil Mickelson in record-breaking fashion, world golf's elite will put their precision to the test in…

Drive for show, putt for dough is an old adage that is cited up and down the land, but if you are regularly losing balls off the tee, any putting prowess can become irrelevant. It's a situation many can relate to and it can have a crippling effect on your scorecard, heaping pressure on your short game to try and rescue things. Thankfully, in our Top 25 Coaches we have some of the finest golf instructors in the world at our disposal. One of them is Paul Foston, whose pupils have recorded multiple European Tour titles and even contributed to Ryder Cup success. We asked Paul to step in and help some of our readers with the issues costing them shots. Keen to be involved was Tiger de Souza from…

Q I am a member of Hartley Wintney Golf Club, and the other day my friend hit a tree about 20 yards from the 2nd tee. His ball ended up off the ground, stuck in the tree. When we had stopped laughing, we couldn't decide what the ruling was. Can you help? Andy Hutt, via email A He could have attempted to play it, but as the ball was lodged in the tree off the ground, it is likely that he would have had to deem the ball unplayable and take a penalty drop. He would have been entitled to drop the ball within two club-lengths of the point on the ground immediately below the place where the ball lay in the tree (Rule 28c). Alternatively, he could have proceeded…

“TITLEIST’S SCOTTY FUTURA RANGE REPRESENTS THE ULTIMATE IN FEEL, STABILITY AND DISTANCE CONTROL” Joel Tadman , technical editor FEEL/SOUND Futura putters are definitely softer off the face than most you’ll try, with the resulting impact sound a very subtle ‘pop’. The feel in your hands is enhanced by the tacky, mid-size Matador grip. LOOKS The premium silver-mist finish reduces sun glare and oozes class. There’s ample alignment help, too, thanks to the two white sightlines on a black centrepiece, which also helps to frame the ball at address. PERFORMANCE Stability is the key benefit that you’ll really notice after a few long putts. The face-balanced perimeter weighting means that mishits barely affect the pace or accuracy of the ball’s journey. Key technology An aluminium wrap-around face-sole component combines with…

PERFORMANCE It feels incredibly solid off the face with a pleasing sound to match. We liked the way we didn’t turn it over as much from right to left, but there are upright lie settings if you want to add draw bias. LOOKS The blue crown contrasts with a black face and white, full-length scorelines, making it easy to align the face. Much of the sole sits flush to the turf like an iron, while its midsize profile will appeal to golfers across the ability spectrum. This hybrid will have a broad appeal thanks to its great all-round performance, the loft adjustability on offer and its confidence-inspiring looks. Key technology Mizuno’s first adjustable hybrid has a speed-boosting Shockwave Sole that places extra mass low in the club for added playability.…

On the July 20th, the sporting world will shine its light on the incredible Lancashire links at Royal Birkdale. To celebrate the start of the Open Championship, we have teamed up with British sunglasses manufacturer, Cubik Eyewear, to offer Golf Monthly readers an incredible limited-period discount. Finding a pair of wrap-around sunglasses specifically for sport can be an expensive business, especially where prescription lenses are concerned. Darlington-based Cubik Eyewear is offering sports sunglasses that deliver incredible protection, stability and comfort at a more affordable price. The Cubik RXW model has been designed with wide, curved lenses to offer a clear, unrestricted view. This means peripheral vision remains unrestricted during the swing. The flexible frame has also been designed to offer a snug fit for virtually all face shapes and sizes.…

Vice Golf is changing the way golfers think about balls. It makes tour-level golf balls more affordable to the everyday golfer by selling them online and shipping them directly. It’s this unique way of thinking and fun attitude towards the game that has earned Vice Golf a strong and loyal fan following. One of those fans is wonder kid of the amateur game, Luca Cianchetti. Cianchetti is one of the hottest prospects in European golf and will be thrust into the limelight on the biggest stage of all come July at the 2017 Open Championship. Held at Royal Birkdale, it will unquestionably be Cianchetti's career highlight and he will compete for the Silver Medal using the Vice Golf Pro Plus ball. The 21-year-old Italian qualified by winning the 2016 European…

1. BURFORD Oxfordshire The course at Burford was designed by JH Taylor, the professional at nearby Frilford Heath, in the mid-1930s. Originally it was without trees, but it's now very different with the holes clearly separated by mature and very attractive woodland. If the walking is easy, the golf is less so. Both length and accuracy are required and there are plenty of bunkers and highly regarded greens. The three par 5s each offer a birdie chance, while the closing three provide a tough finish. W: burfordgolfclub.co.uk GF: Round: £48/£40 after 2pm Photography: Getty Images, © Crown Copyright (2017) Visit Wales 2. HUNTERCOMBE Oxfordshire One of golf course architecture's founding fathers was Willie Park Jnr, whose first design was the magnificent Old course at Sunningdale. He actually owned the course…

Photography Tom Miles “It’s been a long time coming but in Golf Sixes Pelley and his team have brought something to the table worthy of further discussion” It wasn't great but then again it wasn't bad either. Golf Sixes, I'm talking about here. While some of the show tried too hard, a bit like that irritating bloke who says something is ‘hilarious' while the rest of us find whatever he's talking about to be either mildly amusing or not funny at all, at least the European Tour was at last trying to find an acceptable alternative to the tedium of relentless 72-hole stuff. What they ended up with was a bit of a mish-mash – golf at sixes and sevens – but the kids seemed to like it and there…

1 Pick a point Pete Dye designed a nice, wide fairway on the 18th, so try to find it. How? Select a precise landing spot. Weekend golfers typically target the middle on wide holes, but it's better to be specific with your aim, just as you do on narrow holes. This way, if you miss your spot, you might still find the short grass. Here, the lighthouse is your line. 2 Mind your miss Because the approach on the 18th demands a full carry over the water, missing short and left means hitting your next shot from basically the same spot after the penalty drop. So unless you're firing on all cylinders, move your target a good ten yards away from the trouble. Here, aiming towards the bail-out area short…

1 What challenges did you have to overcome in designing the S5? Developing the app was probably the most challenging aspect, because we wanted the app and trolley combination to be as user-friendly as possible. 2 Why isn’t the GPS incorporated into the trolley itself? Portability is the main reason. We wanted the user to have access to their GPS information everywhere they go without requiring an extra device. There are often parts of the course that you can't take your trolley – like the back tee of a par 3. And if you're holidaying abroad, you'll take your smartphone away, so you'll always have GPS capabilities wherever you are in the world. Receiving push notifications through the trolley handle wouldn't have been possible either. 3 Which feature are you…

Rory’s one-of-a-kind irons TaylorMade has debuted a tiny new prototype muscleback design for the World No.2. The ‘Rors Proto' has a shorter blade length, reduced offset and revised shaping compared to the P750 Tour Proto iron. New Mizuno wedges? Some Mizuno S18 wedges have appeared on the USGA conforming list. The hosel stamping suggests they will be grain-flow forged and infused with boron to make them stronger. Spieth ditches trusty wand Jordan Spieth swapped his old-school Scotty Cameron 009 prototype putter for a T5W Tour mallet with a SuperStroke Flatso 1.0 grip at the AT&T Byron Nelson.…

Photography Kevin Murray “I’m all for people having their own opinions, but if you don’t like Royal Birkdale, I’m afraid you don’t know what you’re talking about!” The Open Championship is upon us once more, but the question is whether it can match last year's epic? I'm sorry folks, but I highly doubt that. Mickelson and Stenson's battle at Troon is firmly rooted in golfing folklore as the best Open Championship of all time. In my mind, the only one that comes close to rivalling it is Nicklaus versus Watson in the ‘Duel in the Sun' of 1977, which held top spot for almost 40 years until it was surpassed on that sublime Sunday last year. The good news is that this year's host, Royal Birkdale, is one of the…

1 Arrive early and have a bacon sandwich on site. They are very good – usually. 2 Don’t drink beer with your bacon butty. It’s too soon and it simply doesn’t go together well. You’d regret it. Really, you would. 3 Select a group two or three tee times ahead of the marquee group you really want to see. This way you get out ahead of the big galleries. Walk eight or nine holes with the lesser-known group and then find a decent spot to stand or sit and wait for the stars to come through. Join them if you must. 4 Walk back to the tented village and have lunch. This time, drink beer. Or treat yourself to the champagne bar. Not as good as the old champagne bar…

Royal Birkdale has the privilege of deciding this year's Champion Golfer of the Year as The 146th Open returns to the famous Southport links for the first time in almost a decade. After last year's epic finale, when Sweden's Henrik Stenson warded-off the challenge of Phil Mickelson in record-breaking fashion, the world's greatest golfers will put their precision to the test in what is widely regarded as one of the most challenging courses in golf. The Open is the one they all want to win and Stenson will be determined to retain one of the most iconic trophies in golf, the Claret Jug, and rip up the record books once again. He carded a joint-record eight-under-par 63 to defeat Mickelson by three strokes at Royal Troon in scenes reminiscent of…

Every Open Championship tells a compelling story. Sometimes a player dominates the field, winning at a canter and capturing the admiration of the fans. Alternatively, two or more players go head to head down the stretch, nervously bidding to realise the greatest of golfing dreams. Over the years The Open has served up its fair share of sporting drama, but while the winner's story is told far and wide, the tale of those who pushed them closest is often forgotten... SERGIO GARCIA Open Championship appearances: 20 Best finish: 2nd, 2007 (Carnoustie) & 2014 (Royal Liverpool) Everyone became a Sergio fan after that famous running jump at Medinah in 1999, as the teenager tried to chase down Tiger Woods. Who would have thought then it would be 18 years before he'd…

GREG’S DRIVING The old adage goes: “Drive for show, putt for dough.” Well, try telling that to Greg Norman, whose record of ten top tens at The Open – including wins in 1986 and 1993 – was based on imperious driving. Avoid the knee-high rough and you’ll outscore your opponents – whatever the tournament. ERNIE’S BUNKER PLAY “I’m afraid that’s caught the pot bunker in front of the green.” Words no golfer wants to hear. A few angry swipes later and you’re signing for a 7. At Muirfield in 2002, the Big Easy laid on a mercurial bunker display. This culminated in yet another sandy par on the final hole of the play-off to secure the Claret Jug. LOUIS’ RHYTHM Rhythm is the special ingredient a golfer needs to play…

Few full shots: This is a warm-up session and Rickie isn’t looking to work on swing mechanics. Instead, it is about gaining a feel for the motion and loosening up. He does not fall into the trap of hitting too many balls. Consistent flights: There were not many variations in his long-game ball flight. His stock five-yard draw was evident on almost every shot. The only technical element he checks is his alignment. Bad shots: Fowler is one of the best ball strikers in the modern game, and yet not every shot is from the centre of the clubface. However, at no stage did a less-than-perfect strike sway him from the routine, causing him to stop and dissect his technique. Methodical: In the time it took Rickie to run through…

1 Set-up basics This shot is one of golf's toughest – too much sand and we leave it short; too little and we might send it 50 yards long! So what are the set-up basics? It's important to build a good stance, so shuffle your feet firmly into the sand. Take one or two clubs more than you might from a greenside bunker and grip down a little for added control. 2 Weight forward As with chipping around the green, 60 per cent of your weight should be on the front foot, which in turn promotes the earlier wrist break you need for this shot as you take the club back. Take a fullish three-quarter swing, keeping your weight 60 per cent on your front foot throughout – this encourages…

TIGER DE SOUZA | HANDICAP: 24 | HOME CLUB: IPSWICH GC Paul’s assessment Tiger struggles with a bit of a cut with his driver but hits his shorter clubs very nicely, which isn't at all uncommon for improving golfers. I noticed initially, in the driving range bay, a few red flags with his set-up that could cause a fade, including open shoulders. But it was only when we took him away from the mat in the bay, which gives you lovely straight edges to line up with, that his poor alignment was really revealed – his clubface was aiming around 30 yards right of the target. This meant he was actually only hitting a five-yard fade, but he thought it was a big slice. Paul’s remedy The main focus for…

SHORT GAME Both models offer a soft enough feel and nice low launch, plus plenty of grab on chips and pitches. They react exactly how you would want and expect a premium ball to react. LONG GAME The TP5 performed similarly to the Pro V1 on drives – slightly lower-spinning if anything. But with a 7-iron we saw a higher launch and flight, more ball speed, less spin and two to three yards more carry. TaylorMade’s latest premium ball is said to offer the best combination of feel, greenside spin and long-game performance that the company has ever built into a golf ball. Key technology Both the TP5 and TP5x golf balls feature five-layer constructions, with each of the layers customised to meet specific demands, be it driver and iron…

BALL FLIGHT The D in D300 stands for distance and this iron certainly delivers on that front. Low lofts help (the 7-iron is 29.5°) but the ball flight was still nice and high, combining good distance with ample stopping power into greens. LOOKS The Power Holes visible on the mid-to-thick topline give these irons a far-from-traditional appearance. This, along with the large hitting area and marked offset, will appeal more to high-handicappers. The D300 irons are aimed at improving mid-to-high handicappers who want to hit their iron shots further and with increased accuracy. Key technology Refined Power Holes around the perimeter of the clubface boost speed and distance by limiting contact between the face and body to just 26 per cent, thus increasing the face's flexibility. These holes are filled…

“Rory once joked with Dustin on the range that his ball-crushing use of the TaylorMade M1 driver was ‘cheating’ ” In this ever-changing world of technology and social media, there are an increasing number of things that puzzle me in life: how the European Tour manages to make its website worse with every update, the emergence of Facebook ‘celebs' and how Branden Grace managed to get a free drop from a plugged lie in the bunker on the 13th hole during the first round of the BMW PGA Championship. But one recent event in the world of golf that made perfect sense was TaylorMade's signing of Rory McIlroy. Here are just some of the reasons. He's the World No. 2 and a free agent (equipment speaking), he's already used M2…