Table of contents for August 2024 in Golf Monthly

1,066 Weeks between Marcel Siem’s first and most recent (Italian Open) DP World Tour wins MOST LPGA TOUR WINS IN A SEASON THIS CENTURY NATIONS WITH MORE THAN ONE WIN IN CURRENT DPWT SEASON £267,609.81 Nelly Korda’s average earnings per LPGA Tour event to the end of June, including three missed cuts in 11 starts 59 Hayden Springer became the 13th PGA Tour player to shoot a 59 3.48 Scoring average on the par-3 12th at Lancaster CC in the US Women’s Open LONGEST COURSES EVER PLAYED ON THE DP WORLD TOUR (YARDS) 14 Age at which Justin Rose first tried to qualify for The Open at Scotscraig in 1995 50 Years between Bernhard Langer’s first and final DPWT events (1974-2024) 66 Years since an amateur posted back-to-back PGA Tour…

What was the shot? 1 Bryson DeChambeau’s head must have been spinning when he found his drive on the 18th (72nd) hole at Pinehurst in June. He was well out of position in the scrub – and it got worse. His second shot left him in a bunker 55 yards from the pin. It would not have been an easy shot to face in a normal situation. But with the US Open on the line, the long escape from the trap looked horrid. He hit the ball to 3ft 11in. According to golf statistician Lou Stagner, the chance of hitting it inside 4ft was approximately 1.7%. How did he play it? 2 Club golfers will appreciate just how easy it is to get the ball first and thin it long, or…

The AIG Women’s Open is the fifth and final women’s Major of the season and, out of all the Major Championships, this is the one the world’s best female golfers most aspire to win. This year, the 48th edition of the event holds even greater significance as it returns to the Home of Golf and one of the most famous courses in the world – the Old Course at St Andrews – from August 21-25. The Women’s Open dates back to 1976 but was only recognised as a tour event by the LPGA in 1994 and as an official LPGA Major in 2001. From 1990 to 1996, the event was held exclusively at Woburn Golf Club, but in 1998, then-sponsor Weetabix decided to rotate the championship around the UK’s best…

Shot on location at Infinitum Resort, Spain 1 All of us will encounter tricky stances, whether it’s the ball above our feet, below our feet or on varying degrees of upslope or downslope. These, along with all sorts of other difficult stances, will occur during most rounds of golf, especially if we play on undulating courses. Many of us fail to cope with these stances simply because we don’t know how to adjust our set-up and technique to counteract the lie or slope. But for the most part they are easy to overcome if you make a few small adjustments, as I explain below. 2 BALL BELOW FEET The main mistake here is having the ball too far forward in the stance. It should be fairly central as the downswing…

FROM THE TOUR BALL AT REST ON A MOVABLE OBSTRUCTION Even the best in the world hit it offline from time to time and, on occasion, they find their ball on artificial items brought to the course by spectators. David Wilson explains what happens then, with reference to one such incident for Viktor Hovland. These artificial items are classed as movable obstructions, provided they can be moved with reasonable effort and without damaging the obstruction or the course. The typical movable obstructions that club golfers encounter include bunker rakes or small signs placed in the ground. But tour pros may encounter a variety of items that have been brought to the venue by the fans. This is just what happened to Viktor Hovland in June’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village…

Gently, too quietly, an era ended in Europe a few weeks ago. Bernhard Langer played his 513th and last tournament on a golfing circuit he had helped to create and prosper. You may have noticed. However, this significant moment was largely crowded out by our summer of sporting excess and the final acts of British heroes in tennis and cricket. There was, of course, room in the media to acknowledge the withdrawal from European action – Bernhard will continue to play on the Champions Tour in America – but not enough to properly celebrate this extraordinary golfer and man. He ended his European adventure by narrowly missing the cut at the BMW International Open in Munich, 50 years after he made his professional debut as a teenager. He said after…

Tiger’s free pass With June’s news that the PGA Tour is to allow Tiger Woods a free pass into the skewed signature events, isn’t it time that the moral high ground preposterously taken by Jay Monahan, Woods, Rory McIlroy et al is thrown out with the bath water? LIV was a pariah due to sporting integrity, they said. Well, the tour has killed that line by fiddling a way to allow a fading star – a big name but, sporting wise, an irrelevance – to play in limited-field events for however long he wants to continue picking up loose change. This does nothing to help golf and nothing to help Woods. It’s rather pathetic that the second-best golfer ever to live is accepting charity from the Tour due to the…

Ayaka Furue won the first Major title of her career at the Amundi Evian Championship after an eagle at the 72nd hole gave the Japanese player a one-stroke victory. Furue finished the event on 19-under following a closing 65 at Evian Resort, where she played her final five holes in five-under-par. After starting with three consecutive birdies from the 14th hole, Furue then burst past eventual runner-up Stephanie Kyriacou to clinch a dramatic and deserved success. The young Australian was in pole position to land her own first Major Championship with just a couple of holes to play, only for a costly chunked chip near the 17th green to drag her back into the pack heading down the last. With three players – including clubhouse leader Patty Tavatanakit, who had…

A lot of the talk around next year’s Ryder Cup is about the potential for a hostile atmosphere for the European team, playing in front of a partisan New York crowd. While spectator involvement and passion from the players has become part of the spectacle in recent stagings, it’s been known to cross the line, most infamously at Brookline 25 years ago. GM editor at the time, Colin Callander, had some strong words in the aftermath… “The atmosphere at The Country Club resembled a battleground as swarms of intoxicated American supporters circled around the course shouting obscenities at the visiting side, as well as at their wives and families,” he said. “Much has been written about the behaviour of the crowd at Brookline, so it suffices to state at this…

Four years on from its most recent release, Garmin has launched the Approach Z30 rangefinder. In a market that is somewhat saturated, Garmin has continued to improve and innovate, showcasing game-improving technology in a sleek, clean device that enhances the brand’s offering. Crystal-clear viewing optics and 6x magnification are the minimum expectation nowadays, but it’s the impressive new Range Relay technology that is likely to catch a tech-loving golfer’s attention. Once paired via Bluetooth with another device in the Garmin family, or the free Garmin Golf app, the Z30 rangefinder will transfer the information across. The distance will be displayed and you’ll also be provided with a bird’s-eye view of the green you are playing towards and the exact pin location on that green. The Approach Z30 rangefinder has been…

As a self-confessed equipment nerd, I have watched on in fascination while Bryson DeChambeau has revolutionised the game, not just with his unconventional swing, but also through his innovative approach to his equipment choices. His journey with golf equipment reflects his commitment to science, innovation and a willingness to challenge traditions. I first became aware of DeChambeau while watching the young American in a flat cap win the 2015 US Amateur Championship with a set of one-length irons. His equipment story began a long time before that, however. At the age of 15, he developed a keen interest in the physics of golf, which led him to Homer Kelley’s iconic book The Golfing Machine. Fascinated by the concept of a single-plane golf swing, the young Bryson decided to create a…

Prostate Cancer UK’s Big Golf Race was launched back in 2020 and has already seen more than 10,000 golfers take on the endurance challenge. In just four years, it has captured the imagination and fundraising spirit of a huge number of UK golfers, so we thought it was time to give it a go ourselves. Earlier this year, Golf Monthly editor Neil Tappin and staff writer Dan Parker, plus special guests, travelled to Burhill Golf Club in Surrey to take on the challenge and raise as much money as they could for Prostate Cancer UK. The Big Golf Race has three different challenge levels to choose from: a 36-hole ‘half-marathon’; a 72-hole ‘marathon’; and the epic 100-hole ‘ultra-marathon’. Neil and Dan, who opted for the 72-hole marathon, were among more…

How do I control pace better on long putts? By GM Top 50 Coach John Howells If you watch the world’s best players, one thing that sets them apart from club golfers is their ability to lag long putts dead. You’ve probably heard the saying ‘aim for the dustbin lid’ – the sort of close-range target that leaves you with a makeable putt inside three feet. But working on pace control is something few golfers practise – we tend to just play to a close-range hole on the putting green. Hitting practice putts to distant targets will improve your pace control, though. One of the best things you can do out on the course is to walk the entire length of a putt. This will really help you to dial…

Unfolding and folding the CT8 GPS takes a matter of seconds Take one look at the CT8 GPS’s list of features on the PowaKaddy website and you’ll likely be overwhelmed by the amount packed into this relatively small golf trolley. I’ll give you the highlights here, but the topline news is that this newly updated compact GPS trolley has been refined even further for 2024. While we’re now familiar with embedded GPS systems in trolleys, the CT8 GPS offers one of the largest touchscreen GPS displays despite its compact chassis size. The 3.5in full-colour display is the largest to ever appear on a PowaKaddy trolley and it’s one of the most responsive we’ve used, too. The team at PowaKaddy has gone to great lengths to update the graphics on the…

It’s quite rare for a new line of putters to not have some catchy, cool name, but in 2023, Ping launched a family that it simply referred to as ‘new Ping putters’. In May 2024, six more models were added to the line-up, including the subject of this review – the Ketsch G. It is a mallet model with a large footprint designed to make it one of the most forgiving putters on the market, ideal for those who have perhaps lost some all-important confidence on the greens. Aesthetically, it ticks every box for me: I absolutely love how it looks; I love the traditional grip; I love the Pebax face insert; I love the alignment markings on the crown; and I love the deep footprint, which really promotes added…

Essentials Chesterfield Golf Club, Matlock Road, Walton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Stats: par 71, 6,281 yards GF: £25-£50wd; £40-£50 Sun after 1.30pm Derbyshire may not enjoy the wider golfing renown of certain counties but this certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t much for the visiting golfer to enjoy in this central part of England. Chesterfield Golf Club on the south-west side of the town is one such example, with its pretty parkland course a lovely place to play especially in the height of summer. The club was founded in 1897 but moved to its present site at Walton nine years later, before growing from nine holes to 18 in the late 1920s, with Harry Colt designing the newer nine laid out below the clubhouse. Despite playing across sloping land, there is actually relatively…

Congratulations on winning the Genesis Scottish Open. How much of a dream come true is that? I think I lost my voice after the scream on the 18th hole! I thought I was short. Look, I’ve put a lot into this. I’ve changed a lot within the team and I’ve worked hard. I wanted the Scottish Open badly. The crowd was unbelievable. I got a bit of luck on 16, but you need a bit of luck to win golf tournaments. I couldn’t believe it when I heard a clunk under my foot and I was standing on a sprinkler head. I got lucky with the drop; it was meant to be. Is it everything you hoped it would be? It is. I mean, the crowd support, the support of…

“I WAS HONEST AND UPFRONT ON WHY I JOINED LIV. IT WAS PURELY FOR THE MONEY”Richard Bland told Golf Monthly he is not ashamed to talk about the reasons for his switch “I’M TRYING TO CHANGE MY ATTITUDE BY BEING A BIT MORE POSITIVE. I JUST LACK A LOAD OF SELF-CONFIDENCE AT THE MOMENT… YEAH, IT’S HARD”Matt Wallace opens up on how tough pro golf can be “I THINK IT WAS QUITE RIGHT TO GO ABSOLUTELY WILD. WE DID A GOOD JOB OF THAT!”Robert MacIntyre looks back on the celebrations after his thrilling Scottish Open win “I’M GOING TO HAVE THE 12 BEST PLAYERS ON THE TEAM. I DON’T CARE WHERE THEY PLAY”New US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley hints there will be space for LIV Golf players in his team for…

UAE GF: £80 Stats: par 72, 6,522 yards The United Arab Emirates are home to a treasure chest of top-quality golf courses with a good number of the country’s clubs having played host to professional championships at the very highest level. Many of the best courses are in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but there is also fine golf on offer with a more welcoming green fee just up the coast in Ajman. The very distinctive Nicklaus Design development at Al Zorah in the smallest of the seven Emirates is just a 30-minute drive from the international airport in Dubai. The course is beautifully located bordering a wetlands nature reserve, which is home to flamingos, egrets, herons and birds of prey. The proximity to this tidal, mangrove swamp means that wooden…

Until this year, Bryson DeChambeau was golf’s ‘Mr Marmite’, both widely loved and hated. But, after an incredible run and some exceptional PR work from Camp Bryson in 2024, he’s morphed into ‘Captain Nutella’ and now only the most cynical opponents of spreads don’t enjoy a bit of him. Bryson truly has been a breath of fresh air in professional golf this season. Disputes at an organisational level of the game seem trifling when Bryson takes to the fairways or simply to the screen. He’s compelling viewing. In fact, he offers the most compelling viewing of any player in our game since Tiger Woods. On course, he plays golf like no other top-level star, ever. His blend of meticulousness, eccentricity and aggression makes spectators raise eyebrows, let out whoops of…

Like plenty of avid golfers, Steven Dashevsky had always dreamed of playing golf around the world, taking on some of the best courses and seeing some spectacular sights. Then, when he hit 50, he took things to an altogether different level when his competitive nature took over. Along with his good friend Nick Solski, he had the idea of eclipsing the world record for playing a round of golfon each of six continents. “Unless you are competing seriously, you are just hitting the ball around and you are just a tourist,” explains the financier, who was born in Kharkov in Ukraine and now resides in London. “This was the only feasible golf-related sporting record that I could reasonably beat while achieving my dream of going around the world and doing…

Sometimes, equipment releases come out of the blue and really take you by surprise. This was definitely the case for me with the new Limit3d iron from Cobra. Essentially, what we have here is the world’s first commercially available, 3D-printed steel iron that is aiming to look like a blade but act more like a game-improvement iron. Normally, these two characteristics are mutually exclusive. With regard to the appearance, it is difficult to imagine a better-looking iron from a shelf-appeal perspective. The head shaping is exceptional and the finish is about as premium as it gets, with a rear lattice structure providing a really interesting aesthetic. Down behind the ball the profile is excellent, with a nicely rounded toe and a flawless transition from hosel to topline. I would dispute…

WILSON INFINITE BUCKTOWN PUTTER £150 A cost-effective putter option for golfers of all abilities, the Infinite Bucktown comes with an all-new Pistol Karakal grip, clear and vibrant alignment markings and a two-tone PVD anti-glare finish. It all adds up to a putter that both looks and feels premium, with a solid, stable sensation at impact. The body shape sits flush to the ground and there’s plenty of forgiveness around the perimeter, which is confidence-inspiring. Other shapes are available in the wide range. MINIMAL TERRA SE1 STAND BAG £399 Minimal, a new brand to the UK market, has found that faulty zippers are the number one reason for golf bag returns. So, it decided to get rid of them altogether and only uses magnetic closures across all the pockets. The stylish, clean…

This month I’m testing the 1994 Callaway Big Bertha iron. Back then, the brand was beginning to establish serious dominance on tour and at retail with its Big Bertha woods, and with the imminent release of the Great Big Bertha driver, things were about to go stratospheric. The Big Bertha was very much a game-improvement iron but it was still heavily played on the global professional tours. What was the tech? The big story was, unsurprisingly, forgiveness. A vast footprint, large cavity, heavy offset and one of the thickest toplines I’ve seen to this day made it one of the most user-friendly irons ever. Bore-through shaft technology was another feature that allowed Callaway to save mass in the hosel area and redistribute it to the main body to create a…

The Dominican Republic is an extremely popular, tropical holiday destination and its portfolio of excellent golf courses is the best in the Caribbean. The country occupies the majority of the island landmass that it shares with Haiti and its golf offering is largely in a cluster to the east of the capital, Santo Domingo, out and around the easternmost coastline. A few more courses line the road up to Puerto Plata in the north, where Robert Trent Jones designed the Playa Dorada course almost 50 years ago. Although formalised golf on the island dates back to 1920, it was really Pete Dye’s creation of Teeth of the Dog at Casa de Campo in 1971 that paved the way for this to become a genuine golfing destination. The resort itself covers…

Daventry and District GF: 18 holes: £23wd, £28we Situated to the east of the town on ancient Borough Hill, home to a Roman villa and even older remains, the club at Daventry and District celebrated its centenary in 2007. The undulating site raises questions about club selection with wind often a further consideration. Two sets of tees help to mix things up, with the long par-4 5th becoming a three-shotter the second time round along with various other subtle and strategic differences. The closing hole is a welcoming par 5, played from way up high back down to the clubhouse. Dereham GF: 18 holes: £35 Dereham is in the heart of rural Norfolk and its charming course opened for play back in 1934. Since then, other than the odd tweak…