Table of contents for Open 2019 in Golf Monthly

TW-MB Rose Proto Iron £1,375 (7 clubs) Available in limited quantities, these premium forged irons have been crafted to Justin Rose’s precise specifications. Honma’s master craftsmen in Japan added space between the toe and heel to produce a more upright and playable feel, while sharpening the toe to create a traditional Japanese forging. They also designed a straight blade to inspire confidence, plus a narrow sole width for crisp turf interaction. A two-layer plating and satin head finish tops off this soft-feeling premium model. TW747 P Iron £969 (6 clubs) This unique game-improvement iron features a 20g tungsten weight that runs along the entire length of the sole. This helps launch the ball higher and also defends against common strikes low on the face. There’s also a graphite dampener behind…

1 For the draw, the swing path will be out to the right. Make sure your clubface is closed to that but still open to your target line. In this photo, the clubface is pointing somewhere between the two shafts. It’s important to identify your target line first, then set your clubface and alignment in relation to that. 2 With regard to alignment, your shoulders and feet should be aiming right of target to mirror your intended swing path. Take care not to get too closed, though, as that tends to encourage too much hand action to manipulate ball flight, and that relies heavily on precise timing. 3 Programme all your adjustments via set-up and then swing normally. Golfers tend to swing along the line of their shoulders, so keeping…

1 Let’s assume this is a fullish but not flat-out shot. The stance needs to be fairly narrow and a little bit open too. The reason for this is we get a bit steeper, and attack angle and swing path are related – the steeper we are, the more inside that will make our swing paths, so aiming left counters that. Keep the upper body turning through impact too. 2 Going into a little more set-up detail, your feet need to be less than shoulder-width apart – somewhere in the region of two-and-a-half to three clubheads – with the ball centre to slightly back in your stance. The shaft should be leaning forwards, but not excessively so – think of it as perhaps an extension of your left arm. The…

1 Your stance should be wider with a long-iron than a short-iron. How wide? As a basic guide, I would recommend about shoulder-width for a mid-iron, so slightly wider for, say, a 4-iron to give you a stable base for the wider arc a long-iron requires. As for ball position, the 2 Have your weight fairly evenly distributed at address, not favouring one side or the other, then make a good turn away. Keep the backswing short of parallel – you only really need to go that far when you get up to your 3-wood or driver. A slight pause at the top can be quite a good idea so you don’t then rush the transition – a common tendency with long-irons when people get a little anxious about getting…

Photography: Getty Images Good things, so they say, come to those who wait, and it’s fair to say that Irish golf fans, the town of Portrush and the members of Royal Portrush Golf Club have been waiting a while. Sixty-eight years to be precise. When you spell it out, it’s somewhat amazing that it’s been nearly seven decades since the first and only time the Open Championship has been held outside of mainland Britain. And back then, in 1951, it was Royal Portrush that played host. Max Faulkner triumphed on the Dunluce links that year, but as the dapper Englishman lifted the Claret Jug, few could have imagined it would be so long before golf’s oldest Major would return. Several factors, including the politics of the time, conspired to keep…

The 2019 season is the first in which the four Majors have run in consecutive months, starting with The Masters in April and ending with The Open in July. But is this schedule change a positive thing? On paper, the current format makes a lot of sense. In theory, it turns four months of the season into bliss for golf fans and allows players who find form at the right time to potentially enjoy a fruitful run through the game’s biggest four events. What’s more, if one Major is slightly disappointing, there’s another one just around the corner to look forward to. Photography: Getty Images The problem, however, is that anticipation helps build drama and excitement – something that’s reduced when the big four come so relentlessly. Why is The…

No Says Fergus Bisset The lob shot is one of the most difficult and dangerous in golf, but, if mastered, it’s also one of the most useful and can salvage scores in all sorts of tricky situations. Many instructors will say it’s best to get the ball on the ground and running quickly when possible. It’s true, it is the percentage play as there’s more margin for error. But it’s not always possible to keep the ball low. What if you have to carry a bunker or thick grass before the edge of the green? A pond or stream perhaps? The chip-and-run isn’t going to get the job done in those circumstances. Only a high, floated shot will hold the green. The lob demands precise contact between club and ball,…

Photography: Getty Images 20 TS4 fittings Following in the footsteps of the immensely popular TS2 and TS3 models, the Titleist TS4 driver will be available for fittings from June 20. It will be on sale at authorised Titleist retailers from July 26. 12 1969: Jacklin’s first Major title Half a century ago, Tony Jacklin secured his first Major in The Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes. It had been 18 years since the last English Major winner – Max Faulkner in 1951 at Royal Portrush. 22 Happy Birthday, DJ! Twenty-time PGA Tour winner and 2016 US Open champion Dustin Hunter Johnson turns 35. He is only the third player in PGA Tour history to win a title in each of his first 12 seasons. 3 1954: Babe Zaharias…

1999 Carnoustie After Jean Van de Velde’s triple-bogey, he contested a four-hole play-off with Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie, who started the final round ten shots back. Lawrie birdied the first extra hole and made another at the fourth to finish three clear of his rivals. 2004 Royal Troon Ernie Els had come through a four-man play-off at Muirfield in 2002, but he lost out to little-known American Todd Hamilton two years later. Els had a putt for the victory on the 72nd hole, but it slid by. Hamilton pipped Els by one over the four extra holes. 2007 Carnoustie After Padraig Harrington double-bogeyed the 72nd hole and Sergio Garcia missed an eight-footer for victory, the two Europeans took on extra holes in a bid to win their first Major.…

KEEPING A SIX OFF YOUR CARD Any golfer knows disaster is never far away. One misdirected swipe and a double-digit score will rear its ugly head. Keeping a six off your card means you’re a proficient player and makes you a member of a rare club. GETTING A HANDICAP If you have a handicap certificate, no matter what the number, you are a fully-fledged golfer. No more rough estimates, no more accusations of banditry, no more sitting it out on competition days. From now on, you are fully accountable and every shot counts. BREAKING 100 Powering through the three-figure mark for the first time is certainly reason for celebration. Golf is one of the hardest sports you can play and completing 18 holes in under 100 shots is an achievement…

1 Textbook address Tiger creates ideal angles with his body at address, so he’s in the ‘ready’ position for an athletic, consistent movement. He has a slight knee flex, he bends forward from the hips and his arms hang straight down from his shoulders. Often amateurs fail to pay enough attention to these basic elements, but they are the foundation of a good swing! 2 Clear strategy Tiger always talks about staying with his process – his plan of how to negotiate his way around the course. He seems to have a very clear idea of the shape he wants to create on every shot (taking into account the trouble, the wind direction and other factors). Now, you might not have the ability to mix up fades, draws and punches,…

Following a worrying handicap decline, GM editor Mike Harris has embarked on a determined campaign to reverse that trend and see his handicap edging back down from the brink of double figures. First step was a full COBRA Golf driver-to-wedge custom-fitting with James White, the brand’s expert fitting and training representative, at Silvermere in Surrey in March, as reported in our June issue. In the firm belief that perfectly fitted clubs alone might not be enough to address all his issues, Mike has also sought out technique and fitness advice from COBRA PUMA Golf’s popular coach, Alex Elliott, who has a following of over 30,000 on YouTube and nearly 50,000 on Instagram. In the second instalment of Mike’s ‘Get Fast, Go Low’ campaign, Alex addresses the main technique issues that…

Reader: Michael Marshall (right) Handicap: 24 Home club: Chislehurst GC Coach: GM Top 25 Coach Clive Tucker (left) Clive’s assessment Michael was aiming too far to the right. This encourages an early release in an attempt to square up the face, which he would need to do from there. But it also impacts on where the club strikes the ground – usually behind the ball. He was also quite narrow at the top of the backswing, with his right elbow trapped behind his body. These two issues meant his swing had nowhere to go other than away from him, paving the way to those heavy shots with the odd shank thrown in. Clive’s remedy I worked on getting Michael straighter at address, with his arms higher and wider at the…

GM Verdict A very curious launch from TaylorMade, offering an alternative for golfers who want more control off the tee without giving up too much distance. This comes from the shorter shaft at 43.75” (drivers are typically 45.5”) as well as the extra loft, which should in theory make it harder to tilt the ball’s spin axis. It looks like a 3-wood that has over indulged at Christmas, inspiring more confidence over the ball. It feels just as hot as the impressive M5 and M6 drivers, with a similarly muted impact sound and a lightweight feel, too. Off the tee, once you’ve mastered the correct teeing height, this club impresses. If you loft right down to 11.5°, ball speeds won’t be too far short of a driver thanks to spin…

GM Verdict Honma might be better known for its forged, better-player irons, but don’t discount its 2019 game-improvement option. The TWorld747 P offers something a little different in this category, most notably a thin topline combined with a very long blade length, which inspires confidence without looking especially cumbersome behind the golf ball. With a 7-iron loft of 28.5°, it is clearly a set built for distance. It certainly delivered that, with carries regularly exceeding 185 yards. Well-struck shots travel on a flat, piercing flight, despite the 20g tungsten weight in the sole said to assist with launch. Some golfers with slower swing speeds might require a higher launch to get the ball sufficiently airborne, perhaps through added loft or a lighter, softer shaft, although the average spin levels should…

It’s a putting style that is gaining some serious traction on tour, given its main two protagonists, Matt Kuchar and Bryson DeChambeau, have become walking cash machines with win after win. It doesn’t seem fair, does it? There have been calls to ban it altogether, but the fact is that anything anchored below the elbow is permitted under the Rules of Golf, even the updated ones. A loophole cleverly exposed, perhaps, but with others like Bubba Watson also recently adopting it, I was keen to discover what all the fuss is about. The model we tested was the Bettinardi SS38 Arm Lock. It is 40” long, has 5° of loft and has a 15-inch Lamkin cord grip. The theory is simple enough: rest the longer shaft up against the inside…

Titleist 818 H1 hybrid WILL THACKRAY Leeds, West Yorkshire Handicap: 11 Why did you decide to buy the product? I was struggling with the tricky 200- to 220-yard distance. I needed something forgiving that would still give me good feedback on off-centre strikes. After testing a number of hybrids, I settled on the Titleist 818 H1. How has it been performing? It has exceeded all my expectations. The larger profile inspires confidence, I love the lower-pitched ‘thud’ sound and my accuracy from 210+ yards has improved. The typical Titleist simplicity, impressive design and quality sets this club apart. Garmin Approach S40 GPS watch CHRISTOPHER STRAINE Bearsden, Glasgow Handicap: N/A Why did you decide to buy the product? I plumped for Garmin’s latest release to replace my six-year-old GPS watch. I…

Photography: Getty Images…

● Stay Dover Marina Hotel & Spa, Dover This four-star Best Western on the Dover seafront blends a Victorian ambience with newly renovated rooms. The seaview rooms allow you to watch the ferries coming and going, with a spa and health club adding to the offering. ● Eat/drink Mr White’s English Chophouse, Dover The pick of the dining options at the Dover Marina is this modern chophouse. Marco Pierre White’s intriguing menu serves up British cuisine with a nod to the land just 20 miles across the Channel. ● Also play This is Open Championship links country, with Royal St George’s, Royal Cinque Ports and the recently revamped Prince’s lying virtually side-by-side between Deal and Sandwich. For another clifftop experience, North Foreland in Broadstairs offers fine views and an additional…

Hever Castle Par 72, 6,502 yards Staying in the Astor and Ann Boleyn wings at one of England’s most famous castles and playing the course a few hundred yards down the lane is one of golf’s best-kept secrets. The King’s and Queen’s nines play over rolling Kent countryside with water featuring often, including the very pretty par-3 12th, while the penultimate hole is a 600-yard monster even off the yellows. Water also features on the shorter Prince’s nine, along with a cluster of risk-reward two-shotters. The accommodation is absolute heaven. The 28 rooms are exquisitely decorated, with many looking out over a delightful courtyard. You can’t eat here of an evening, though several good pubs lie close by, but breakfast is truly memorable, served in a magnificent wood-panelled room in…

1 You have to retain your posture from address through to impact to strike the ball well. Note here how the spine angle remains virtually the same at address and impact. If you stand up or dip forward through the ball, you’ll lose your posture and angles and make it far harder to strike your irons consistently. 2 Most people who get off-plane tend to do so early in their swings, so a halfway-back check is a great idea to see if you’re on track. At this point, the club should be parallel to the target line with the head pointing to around 11 o’clock from the player’s perspective. Many golfers whip it away too much on the inside, with their first move out and away rather than back. Take…

1 If the basics aren’t right at set-up, any practice you do is going to be compromised, with alignment and ball-position mistakes affecting the way you hit the ball or forcing you to make compensatory movements. Start every practice session by checking that feet, hips and shoulders are aligned to the target, and that ball position is in the right place in your stance for the club you’re using. Laying down clubs on the ground will help to reinforce things visually. 2 Failing to plan is planning to fail, so they say, and the same should apply to your practice sessions. Many of us work best when we prioritise things via a to-do list and set ourselves goals for each day or session. Take the same thinking into your golf…

Photography: Tom Miles, shot on location at North Hants GC Photography: Tom Miles Design: Kevin Eason& Jamie Latchford Hello and welcome to our Attack The Flag supplement. If there is one thing you need to shoot better scores, it is consistent ball-striking. Hitting your irons and wedges closer to the flag will certainly help you break through your personal goals and allow you to enjoy your golf a little bit more. For the content that follows, we have teamed up with one of the most exciting brands in golf. At the start of the year, Japanese club manufacturer Honma signed Justin Rose in a bid to better expose their products to the golfing world – you can find out exactly what the Englishman is using in the pages that follow,…

1 Hit from the inside The best way to hit quality shots is to approach the ball from the inside, and the only way to set this approach in motion is to delay your shoulder turn from the top. From the top, my only thought is to swing my left arm down and across my chest, while keeping my shoulders closed. 2 Low hands at impact As I approach impact, I want to feel as though the heel of the club is going to dig into the turf. Although this never physically happens, it helps me trigger a low-hands position through the ball and augments the inside approach I set in motion by pulling my left arm across my chest from the top. 3 Make a low exit As soon…

1 The 7-iron I’m using here has a shorter shaft length than a 4-iron, which means you’ll be standing a little closer to the ball, so the ball will need to come back in the stance to help promote the correct angle of attack. The hands should be just a fraction ahead of the ball and the stance should narrow down to around shoulder-width. 2 As you work down through the set, out-and-out distance becomes less of a priority than distance control. You’d be hoping to create some birdie chances with a 7-iron in hand, and if you need to hit it further, you can always club up rather than forcing it. Keep your backswing length some way short of parallel to help you retain control. 3 At impact, ensure…

A winning mentality Last autumn while on holiday in Spain, I came across the Second Stage of qualifying for the European Tour at Las Colinas Golf Club. As everyone knows, Q-School is a tense time for those with ambitions to compete at the highest level. You must earn the right to be part of the European Tour. I walked all 18 holes of the final round with three players who were comfortably inside the top ten starting off. Two of the players had caddies, while the other, a golfer from the United States, pulled his own trolley and had my attention from the start. In the early part of his round, he remained inside the required top 15 who would go on to Final Stage at PGA Catalunya, despite having…

Matt Wallace The Englishman is showing some brilliant form of late, the highlight being his tie for 3rd at the USPGA Championship. Bryson DeChambeau The American missed three cuts in a row and has put a new putter in the bag. Jazz Janewattananond The Thai golfer has slowly but surely risen up the world rankings and playing in just his second Major ever at Bethpage Black, he came tied 14th. Matt Kuchar The 40-year-old’s reputation took a further battering after he tried to get a free drop from the 17th fairway at the Memorial.…

1 On short par 4s, you have to settle on a strategy that plays to your strengths. If you’re a good wedge player but wayward with the driver, what’s to be gained from pulling out the big stick? 2 I tend to think there should be a direct link between ability and the decision to take on risky shots. That said, if you have a distinct shot shape and the wind is blowing in that direction, it might be worth taking the shot on. You have to have a degree of versatility to factor in conditions on the ground. 3 On the tee, make sure you know how far it is to carry various bunkers and reach the front edge. There’s no harm in laying as far back as possible.…

How did you finally manage to make the G410 LST driver better than G400 LST? The head is three per cent more forgiving than G400 LST with a more forward CG. We were able to maintain the same aerodynamics to maximise the clubhead speed. Golfers should see straighter drives with less spin and can adjust the weight to dial in the shot shape. Which type of player will this model suit over the Plus and SFT versions? The G410 LST delivers the lowest spin of the three models. Many tour players will use it as typically higher swing speeds benefit from less spin when optimising for total distance. It’s also a great fitting option for golfers who generate a lot of spin due to their clubhead delivery. How is the…

Illustration: Peter Strain “I honestly think Brooks Koepka will get to double-digit Major wins” By the time you read this, the US Open will have been and gone. The current Major schedule and publishing lag times mean it’s not possible to discuss that event in this issue, so I want to look back to Brooks Koepka’s astonishing victory at Bethpage Black and touch on The Open at Royal Portrush. Koepka’s performance at the USPGA was exceptional. There’s something different about him and his demeanour and that’s perhaps why he hasn’t got the credit he deserves for his incredible recent Major record. Four wins in the last eight (not including the US Open – who knows, it could be five in nine!) is remarkable. He’s perceived as quite nonchalant and bland…

BOBBY LOCKE Bobby Locke won four Opens between 1949 and 1957, becoming the first non-European or American to triumph in golf’s oldest Major. His titles came at Royal St George’s, Royal Troon, Royal Lytham & St Annes and St Andrews. Only five golfers have won more Open titles than Locke, with Harry Vardon leading the way on six. GARY PLAYER Perhaps inspired by Locke, Gary Player took to The Open like a duck to water. He finished fourth on debut in 1956 and notched a maiden victory as a 24-year-old at Muirfield in 1959. Nine years later, he shot a first-round 74 at Carnoustie, but consecutive 71s in tough conditions put him in contention. Despite a final-round 73, he won by two from Jack Nicklaus and Bob Charles. His third…

1 Address: create space Rory has plenty of room to swing his arms and club past his body in the downswing. This comes from his set-up and, in particular, the distance between the butt of the grip and his legs. Notice how the butt of the club is approximately in line with his toes. 2 Clubface and spine align Halfway into his backswing, Rory’s clubface angle matches the forward bend of his torso. This neutral-looking face needs no manipulation through the swing to get the ball started on line. In practice, try using this position as a checkpoint in your swing – it is a very simple and effective way to improve your clubface control. 3 Transition tempo The key to Rory’s smooth-looking rhythm is the tempo of his change…

GM Verdict Crafted from the best materials with the attention to detail you expect from Scotty Cameron, the Phantom X mallet range really is a thing of beauty. There are nine different head-shape and shaft-bend options to choose from, each offering something a little different depending on your visual preferences and stroke type. We naturally gravitated towards the .5 models, which have a lower shaft bend that provides a little more toe hang. This helps ease the transition from a blade-style putter. The other helping hand comes from the fact these putters are a little smaller than you expect, especially compared with the oversized Futura range, without seemingly any drop off in forgiveness. The #5.5 is the smallest in the range and is ideal for those who don’t want to…

GM Verdict Given its modest price tag, the new D7 model might just be one of the most underrated drivers of 2019. It’s a simple offering with no sole weight or hosel adjustability – just three lofts and shaft flexes to choose from. But get the right combination and it has the potential to compete with drivers nearly double the price. We normally test drivers in an x-stiff shaft, a flex not available in the D7, so we weren’t holding our breath, but it delivered encouraging numbers on the Foresight Sports GCQuad launch monitor and impressive performance out on the golf course. Our average ball speed was 157.2mph, topping out at 160.2mph, from an average club speed of 110mph. So the conversion rate is on the low side, and the…

What makes the biggest different to an average golfer, head or shaft? Ted Middleton, Twitter It’s important the shaft and clubhead work together, but the clubhead makes the biggest difference in my opinion. Its forgiveness affects accuracy and distance on off-centre hits and the adjustability available these days to fine-tune launch, spin etc can really make a difference. That said, the shaft plays a big part in the start direction, flight and overall feel, so the correct model is also key. Which 14 clubs should a high-handicapper carry? Dr Slim Shady, Twitter Besides the obvious inclusions of a well-fitted driver and putter, I’d suggest starting a forgiving iron set at 5-iron, then below that including a 3- and 4-hybrid, along with a 4-wood of 17° or so. Assuming a 56°…

Forever tinkering The ‘Scientist’ Bryson DeChambeau has switched from his Sik Flo mallet putter to a custom Odyssey Exo #7 CH, which he put in play at the Memorial. He’s also now using a set of Cobra King Forged MB irons. One of a kind Ryan Moore is the only player on tour using PXG’s new 0311 ST Prototype iron, a compact, blade-style design with a very high toe. Sowing the seeds Titleist began seeding its new TS2 and TS3 hybrids on the PGA Tour at the recent Memorial Tournament, as well as some U500 and U510 utility irons.…

No matter what tastes we each have in the style of a golf course or where it is located, there is one design element that tends to get the golfing juices flowing more freely than any other. Most of us love a good risk-reward hole. But what is this and why does it appeal? The answer to both can be summed up in one word: options. The majority of golf holes have one obvious design ethos. On a standard par 4, you want to hit the fairway, then the green, and it’s two putts for par. This means there is only one obvious strategy and you either succeed or fail. You may single-putt to make up for an error, but there is no decision making. Far more exciting is a…

How does Golf at Goodwood differ from more traditional golf club models? Members only pay for the golf they play using credits. Our Credit Membership allows far more flexibility and suits the world we now live in. Traditional clubs are struggling to attract and retain the under-50s, but our model provides the value for money this demographic is seeking. When and why did you change to the Credit Membership? It changed in 2006 when the Duke of Richmond bought back control of the club from the members and established Golf at Goodwood. He recognised the need for membership models to adapt. The overarching aim of the change was to provide more flexibility. How successful has it been? Arguably it’s the most successful membership model out there. We have had a…

Illustration: Peter Strain If you make it big in America then you make it bigger than anywhere else. Especially if you become a nationally acclaimed journalist. The money these talented, lucky men and women make is on the far side of very big bucks indeed. It’s not that I’m jealous but... oh okay I am, seriously jealous. Why can’t Britain be bigger? Actually, even more depressingly, there’s a chance it’s about to become smaller. “Golf is a scalpel of a game, one that exposes what lies beneath” Anyway, here’s the thing – no one has profited more from their talent and the sheer scale of the USA audience than Rick Reilly. I’ve been acutely aware of Reilly for over 30 years and if I look at his reported earnings (millions)…

1 You have to retain your posture from address through to impact to strike the ball well. Note here how the spine angle remains virtually the same at address and impact. If you stand up or dip forward through the ball, you’ll lose your posture and angles and make it far harder to strike your irons consistently. 2 To strike your irons well, you need a downward angle of attack so you can compress the ball, rather than scooping or flicking at it. Placing something like a towel three or four inches behind the ball will encourage you to attack the ball from the right angle. Too shallow and you’ll hit the towel. 3 You want to be coming into the ball slightly from the inside, so a great way…

Driver Honma TW747 460, 9.5°, Honma Vizard FD-7X shaft Honma’s first adjustable driver features a unique adjustability system whereby the loft, lie and face angle can be tweaked using a special tool without the position of the shaft changing. All shafts have a spine, an area around which the shaft will naturally bend, and keeping that spine in the 6 o’clock position will produce a more consistent strike pattern, leading to better results. The TW747 also boasts one of the thinnest graphite crowns on the market, which increases forgiveness and paves the way for two interchangeable 9g and 2.5g weights to be located on the sole to adjust launch and spin. Finally, two hidden fangs at the top and bottom of the face retain ball speed by absorbing and retaining…

1 If a full pitch takes the arms beyond parallel, a half-pitch would be anything ranging from a 9 o’clock arm position down to a chip with virtually no wrist break. With practice, the clockface concept is a great way to pitch the ball different distances. The images here show me taking the arms back to 9 o’clock and 8 o’clock positions. 2 Your follow-through will vary according to what kind of shot and flight you’re looking for – longer for higher pitches, for example. But on a standard pitch it should roughly mirror your backswing, maybe going a fraction further to ensure that you’re accelerating. For extra control, don’t be afraid to grip down quite a way. 3 The beauty of a clockface system is that by changing wedges,…

1 With your short-irons and wedges, the stance should narrow further with ball position slightly back of centre. You want your hands to be ahead of the ball, but not too far – resist the temptation to get the shaft leaning too much. Ideally, keep the club and your left arm in a straight line from 2 Don’t let that greater emphasis on control over distance tempt you in to holding on to the shot more through impact, as in the bottom photo here, in an attempt to steer or guide the ball to your desired target. Keeping your sternum over the ball through impact, you still need to release the club fully with a short-iron. Allow the clubhead to overtake the hands after impact so your swing can then…

1 After growing up in Stockport, Law went to the University of California, Los Angeles to compete on the golf team and also study sociology. She had a stellar amateur career while there, winning the Stanford Intercollegiate three times, the English Women’s Amateur Championship twice and the European Ladies Amateur Championship. 2 Law has made appearances in the Junior Ryder Cup and Junior Solheim Cup, but one of her most notable achievements came in the Curtis Cup, the competition that pits amateurs from GB&I against the USA. In her third appearance at the event in 2016, Law became the first golfer from the GB&I team to win five points from five matches. 3 In 2018, Law set a new Ladies European Tour record for the number of consecutive birdies with…

Illustration: Peter Strain “Accuracy is definitely the name of the game at Royal Portrush” It’s been a bit of an up and down season for me, but I’m happy to be talking to you off the back of my two best results of 2019 – a tie for 9th at the Made in Denmark and a tie for 6th at the Belgian Knockout. I’ve actually been hitting the ball very well all season, but I was really struggling with my short game at the start of the year. I’ve put in a lot of work and things seem to be turning in the right direction. If I can keep improving in that department and carry on hitting the ball well, I don’t think I’ll be far away from something really…

1993 Wins first European Tour event, the Alfred Dunhill Open 1997 Plays in first Ryder Cup as Europe wins at Valderrama 1998 Wins twice, misses only one cut and finishes second on the European Tour Order of Merit 2000 Beats Tiger Woods 4&3 to win WGC-Match Play Championship 2003 Wins second WGC event, triumphing in the NEC Invitational 2006 Emotional performance in the Ryder Cup, claiming three points just six weeks after wife Heather’s death 2011 Wins Open Championship at Royal St George’s 2016 Captains European team in the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine…

You can trust a two-time Open Champion to sum up what it takes to be the last man standing at golf’s oldest and most prestigious championship. Ask Ernie Els and the South African great laughs and almost rolls his eyes. “Wow, where do I start? There is a lot going on at The Open,” Els tells Golf Monthly. “The weather conditions are just something else. You’re trying to win a Major and compete with the best players in the world on a links course at the same time. Links golf is not only different from the other Majors, but it’s different from England to Scotland, even.” “A lot going on” is an accurate way to describe The Open. There was certainly a lot going on when Els lifted his first…

If you’re a follower of professional golf, you’ll have spent hours in front of the TV watching Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. With such consistently immaculate ball-striking, it can seem as if they are playing a completely different game to the rest of us. However, if you know what to search for and how to copy it, there is much to be learned. In this instruction feature, Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach Ged Walters breaks down the games of these two modern greats. He looks at what they do that you can also copy, regardless of your skill level or physical capabilities. Take a few of the following insights into your own game and you should shoot lower scores!…

1 Hit one-handed shots with your right hand on your left shoulder. This will get the feel for maintaining shoulder height through impact, rather than lifting the left shoulder in a desire to help the ball up. 2 Hitting shots with your right hand only will give you a feel for the natural sequence and stop you flicking it. With two hands, golfers often flick it, but with the right hand only, they never do! 3 We’re in the scoring zone when pitching, so it’s important to use the kind of ball you play with as it will feel different to a range ball and most likely perform very differently too. Don’t lean back. Have your weight more on your left side to keep that spine angle straighter. And believe…

1 His forward bend and knee-flex angles are really good, with the trail foot drawn back slightly and his hips and shoulders parallel to the target. His left-hand grip is fairly strong, with his lead foot flared out and the ball in line with the clubface’s heel. 2 Ryan’s hips and shoulders have turned slightly, with the clubhead moving up and slightly outside his hands as he takes it back. The clubface almost mirrors the angle of his forward tilt and he keeps a nice width to the swing with his arms. 3 At the top, he has lost some of the flex in his trail knee and his hands are almost above his head – a key trait of many long hitters. His hips and shoulders are restricted in…

Photography: Getty Images 1 Chipping Get a really strong visual of where you want to land the ball and just focus on that. I do a lot of practice chipping into baskets or even trying to chip the ball into the hole. 2 Reading greens I’d say 99 per cent of the time amateurs under-read putts, so I’d spend some time on the putting green checking where your ball really starts. Allow perhaps another 50 per cent break on what you usually think. 3 Better ball-striking Get lessons from your local PGA pro! Without seeing someone hit a ball, focusing on tempo and rhythm would improve things to some extent for most, but your PGA pro is the best way to go. 4 Beating a slice Imagine David Beckham hitting…

Q  Having hit our drives down the fairway, another player in my group wasn’t paying attention as he crossed in front of me and accidentally kicked my ball. This resulted in the ball being displaced from its original lie inside an old divot mark to an improved lie five yards to the right. The others in my group were adamant that I should play the ball as it lies and not replace it onto its original spot, which was my understanding. What is the correct ruling? Matt Priston, Woking, via email A Another player is an outside influence, and when they move your ball accidentally like this there is no penalty. To proceed correctly, the ball must be replaced on its original spot (Rule 9.6). If that spot is not…

1. B Fergus is entitled to free relief as the sign is an immovable obstruction. The sign is an abnormal course condition and free relief is permissible under Rule 16.1b in the general area. The ball must be dropped when taking relief from an immovable obstruction. 2. A There is no penalty. Although Jezz removed the boundary stake, before playing his shot he is entitled to restore the stake to its original position and play without penalty (Rule 8.1c). If he had not restored the stake, he would have received the general penalty. 3. C Fergus gets the general penalty (Rule 12.2b). 4. A There is no penalty. Jezz may make the stroke, provided he doesn’t use the flagstick to steady himself.…

Max Homa won the Wells Fargo Championship using the new Titleist TS4 driver, enjoying the lower spin on offer. Harold Varner III has signed a metalwood, putter and staff bag deal with Callaway. He has seven top-25 finishes in his last 18 starts. Kevin Na won at Colonial with a Callaway GBB Epic driver and Apex Pro 16 irons, plus a PXG 0317 X Gen 2 hybrid. Bernd Wiesberger triumphed at the Made in Denmark after a long injury lay-off with a prototype Aldila RIP X driver shaft. Brooks Koepka’s PGA Championship win was the eighth of the last nine Majors won with a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x ball.…

If you could make changes to any course or hole, which would it be and why? pauldj42, GM website forum I have a couple of pet dislikes when it comes to course design. One is an uphill par 3 where you can only see the top of the flag; it’s just not appealing – sorry, 7th at Carne! The other is a long and featureless uphill par 5; we have too many and they are just a slog. Who would you say is the greatest British golf course architect and what is the best example of their work in the UK? bluewolf, GM website forum I may be biased as he also designed my home course at Tandridge, but I think the quality and variety of Harry Colt courses take…