August 2021 - Issue #387

Golf Australia

Golf Australia - the only magazine devoted to Australian golfers, with 100% Australian content.

Golf Australia2 min read
“Golf Deserves Its Place”
Golf in the modern Olympic Games has been a much discussed topic, with little sign of finding a middle ground between those who believe it doesn’t belong at all and those supporting its inclusion. Numerous of the best male players in the game have ch
Golf Australia1 min read
Golf Australia
EDITOR Brendan James bjames@golfaustralia.com.au DEPUTY EDITOR Jimmy Emanuel WRITER Michael Jones GRAPHIC DESIGN Oliver Barles ARCHITECTURE EDITOR Mike Clayton COLUMNIST-AT-LARGE John Huggan COLUMNIST Geoff Ogilvy CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Karen Harding,
Golf Australia6 min read
Links Lady Bay
FLEURIEU PENINSULA • SOUTH AUSTRALIA To be frank, I didn’t think much of Links Lady Bay the first time I saw it back in 2000, not long after the back nine holes were completed to round out the full 18-hole course. But I have been back 15 or 16 times
Golf Australia3 min read
“…the PGA Tour Is A Schedule Long On Predictability And Short On Innovation.”
It’s one of professional golf’s biggest jokes. Describing the leading practitioners as “independent contractors” is laugh-out-loud stuff, a phrase containing little or no relation to reality. Equally, irony is easy to find at the highest level. In a
Golf Australia3 min read
Player Power
Stories of professional athletes banding together and taking on the organisations or leagues that govern their chosen sport are many. And now professional golf in this country is preparing for its own between players and administrators. Born out of p
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Does This Deserve A Free Drop?
JOE THOMAS Golf Australia magazine Top-100 Courses ranking judge Picture the scene … it should be easy because I’m sure you have all experienced it. You stripe your drive down the middle of the fairway and you’re feeling damn good about yourself. As
Golf Australia1 min read
Your Playing Partners Hate…
When your tee time is 10.48, don’t rock up to the 1st tee at 10.49 and keep your playing partners waiting while you find a ball, find a tee, slip your glove on and take two practice swings before even addressing the ball. Get there early! Even though
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Graham Wins The PGA … Just August 5, 1979
David Graham had one hand on the Wanamaker Trophy as he stood on the final tee of the 1979 US PGA Championship. He would soon have the huge trophy in both. The then 33-year-old was seven under par for the day and had not missed a shot in making seven
Golf Australia3 min read
Most Dramatic Major Play-offs
The climax of any major championship is exciting but when the trophy hangs in the balance into extra time, the excitement goes next level. Here is our list of the top-10 most dramatic play-offs in major championship history. The sudden-death play-off
Golf Australia2 min read
Aussie Open Back In 2021
Golf fans rejoice. The Australian Open, the world’s fifth-oldest professional golf tournament, is back on the sporting calendar after a year’s hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Golf Australia (governing body) has announced that our national Ope
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A Course Like Alice
I picked up the July edition of Golf Australia magazine at Brisbane Airport to read on my way to Alice Springs and I came across the Top 100 Spotlight – Alice Springs Golf Club article. Having just taken up golf in January this year I was excited to
Golf Australia6 min read
“At Its Most Basic Level, Of Course, The U.s Open Is Golf’s Ultimate Test Of Execution.”
Watching the final nine holes of the US Open at Torrey Pines, I must admit to a slight feeling of deja vu. Amidst much carnage over the closing holes, Jon Rahm ended up being the ‘last man standing’ – if that is not too unfair to Louis Oosthuizen – m
Golf Australia8 min read
OPERATION GREEN & GOLD
“All four of them are extremely capable of winning. I expect that they will come home with a medal. And I believe that all four of them are capable of winning gold. And I believe all four of them believe in themselves that they are capable of winning
Golf Australia32 min read
WORLD’S TOP 100 COURSES You Can Play
International travel might still be off the table due to the pandemic, but COVID can’t stop us from dreaming – dreaming of the day when we can venture abroad and play some of the greatest courses on the planet. There are plenty of wonderful courses t
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The Classics We Couldn’t Include…
Pine Valley Shinnecock Augusta National Cypress Point NGLA Oakmont Merion Fishers Island Chicago LA North Sand Hills Friar’s Head Winged Foot (West) Crystal Downs Riviera CC San Francisco Prairie Dunes Seminole Brookline CC Somerset Hills Shoreacres
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The Best Of The Best
Which course blew you away visually? Darius Oliver, Australia Cape Wickham – but if not my own work then Lofoten and Ardfin stand out. I could walk either without playing and still be in awe. Jimmie James, USA Kingsbarns is what Pebble Beach aspires
Golf Australia7 min read
HARD DOESN’T = Good
One of the game’s great misconceptions is to equate an arduous golf course or a particularly difficult hole with good golf. One golf magazine even has as one of its course ranking criteria a ‘resistance to scoring’ category. One can only assume it me
Golf Australia1 min read
Hard V Easy
16 Royal Melbourne West Course 15 New South Wales 10 Royal Melbourne Composite (12 West, Par 4) 14 Royal Adelaide 5 Barnbougle Lost Farm 8 Barnbougle Dunes 8 Kooyonga 7 Barnbougle Dunes (pictured below) 10 The National Gunnamatta. 16 Kingston Heath.
Golf Australia5 min read
The #PUBLICGOLF Revolution
My father got his start playing public golf in the north of Sydney, hanging his head out of the bus window so his friend could see he was aboard, both with clubs in tow to head for a game. Eventually moving to a private club, when it came time for ch
Golf Australia1 min read
Get Dressed For Success In 2022
Looking the part can be a big boost to achieving success on the golf course. Wearing stylish, perfectly fitting and practical golf apparel can be the difference between feeling good and feeling great. With this in mind, Golf Australia magazine has te
Golf Australia3 min read
My 5 Key Swing Secrets
Any swing that delivers the club in a neutral position through the impact area is a good one in my book. Over the past few seasons, I’ve put in a lot of hours on the practice range to iron out the areas that, in the past, made me have to fight hard t
Golf Australia1 min read
Block Out Distractions
At many parkland golf courses, you’ll face a lot of putts that are difficult to read. The breaks are often very subtle and seemingly imperceptible to the human eye. How many times have you looked at a putt from several angles and still struggled to f
Golf Australia2 min read
How I Dial In My Wedges
In 2015, my team and I sat down and evaluated my whole game. The glaring opportunity for improvement was my wedges. My Strokes Gained stat was 0.09 – very average for the PGA Tour. I didn’t really practise my wedge play – and if I did, it was with li
Golf Australia1 min read
Five-minute Lesson
The 38-year-old Spaniard reveals three of the key secrets to his enviable short game. How did you develop such a sharp short game? PL: Competitive practice growing up. I got good at chipping fast when I was a kid because there were many good players
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Strategy
Take a double out of play on a demanding 1st hole POINT 1 The first hole is always important, but especially so when it’s a tough one like Wentworth’s long par 4 here. You don’t want to run up a big score so early, so it’s a good idea to play within
Golf Australia1 min read
Still The Sweetest Swing
Sam Snead learned to play golf in the hickory era yet he played steel-shafted clubs most of his career. Known for his easy rhythm and power, Snead was the first player to dispel the myth that long hitters couldn’t be accurate, too. His early experien
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From Our Archive
“Acceleration through impact is as vital to the short game as it is with your longer irons and woods. It is the only way to put proper backspin on these shots, for maximum control.” “Whatever tempo you adopt for your swing, be sure that you keep it c
Golf Australia3 min read
Find Your Super Strength – And Then Play To It
No sport exemplifies ‘ironic bias’ more than golf. In layman’s terms, that means we focus on exactly what we don’t want to happen when preparing to hit a shot. Remember when Sergio Garcia sent five balls spinning into the water at the Masters on his
Golf Australia3 min read
Rory Mcilroy
Rory McIlroy’s swing is the one every average golfer (and most of his Tour colleagues) would love to have – it’s balanced, free-flowing and oozes power. But such are the dynamics of his swing, there is little chance you or some of those envious Tour
Golf Australia1 min read
What’s In Rory’s Bag?
WINS 1, Wells Fargo Championship DRIVING DISTANCE 318.7 yards (2nd) STROKES GAINED: OFF THE TEE .636 (8th) STROKES GAINED: TEE TO GREEN 1.429 (12th) GOING FOR THE GREEN 70.79% (6th) BIRDIE AVERAGE 4.37 per round (6th) ROUND 3 SCORING AVERAGE 68.83 (8
Golf Australia2 min read
Keeping The Clubface Square
One way to get the clubface back to impact in the square position is to ensure it doesn’t change from square at address, to open or closed, during the backswing. When you look down at the clubface at address, square is easy to see in front of you. Bu
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Premium Product For Premium Putting
If there is a club to invest your hard-earned money in, it makes the most sense to make it a putter because it is the club you will use most per round. No matter your skill level. TaylorMade has re-entered the premium putter market with the hope that
Golf Australia2 min read
King Of Hybrid Technology
Hybrids, like every equipment category, have come a long way in recent years. But fully adjustable hybrids packed full of technology have been somewhat few and far between. Enter the COBRA KING TEC. The new model features adjustable weights and loft,
Golf Australia2 min read
Say Hello To Better Scores
Numerous top players have suggested over the years that they could save the average golfer a significant number of strokes per round as a caddie. But fear not, you don’t need to luck into a round with a Tour pro to improve your scoring. Hello Birdie
Golf Australia3 min read
Huawei Watch Gt 2 Pro
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Early time with the WATCH GT 2 Pro was primarily using it as a general smartwatch before testing the golf driving range capabilities. I enjoyed seemingly endless time testing out the health aspects like heart rate and other workout
Golf Australia7 min read
TASMANIA: Golf Tourism’s Titan
It’s quite funny, really, that without one potato farmer taking an almighty risk, an entire state would almost certainly be without one of its strongest sources of tourism. Then again, isn’t that how most great things start, with seemingly ordinary p
Golf Australia2 min read
Inside Seven Mile Beach
I was playing a mid-1990s tournament in Sydney with Mat Goggin when he told me about a piece of land at Hobart’s Seven Mile Beach. “You can’t believe how perfect it is for golf. One day I’m going to build a course on it.” By 2010 he’d formulated a pl
Golf Australia2 min read
Amazing Arm End
One of the most exciting new projects in Australian golf is currently under way just outside of Hobart, near the coastal town of Opossum Bay, at South Arm Peninsula. The development is the brainchild of Greg Ramsay, who played an integral role in est
Golf Australia2 min read
Barny To The Belt
As far as golf tours go, this one’s right up there with the best of them. Why, we hear you ask? Well, how does playing five of Australia’s top-30 golf courses sound? Pretty good, right? Throw in six nights’ accommodation, daily breakfasts, ground tra
Golf Australia2 min read
Trimming The Vines
The Vines Resort & Country Club recently announced plans to ‘downsize’ to make way for a residential development on the property. Located in the Swan Valley, about 40 minutes’ drive north east of the Perth CBD, The Vines is currently home to the Lake
Golf Australia1 min read
Bellarine Beauty
Portarlington Golf Club is one of the oldest clubs on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula – and it also happens to possess one of the best layouts in the golf-rich region, outside of the real heavy hitters such as Barwon Heads, Thirteenth Beach, Curlewis
Golf Australia1 min read
More Than A Range
Thornleigh Golf Centre, 35 minutes’ drive north-west of Sydney’s CBD, is home to one of the best golf practice facilities in the Southern Hemisphere. But that’s not all it offers. In addition to its world-class, two-level driving range – which featur
Golf Australia1 min read
Paradise Palms
The once glorious Paradise Palms layout had the final nail hammered into its coffin recently when a legal challenge to a redevelopment of the site was withdrawn and the matter settled. The challenge by nearby residents to the $300 million development
Golf Australia5 min read
MEADOW SPRINGS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
Have you ever considered the importance of a golf course’s routing in creating enjoyable, interesting golf? The best routings have the knack of embracing and then enhancing the existing land features and all seem to have an abundance of variety. Gold
Golf Australia3 min read
Chris Goulding
Like Hannah Green, basketballer Chris Goulding is on his way to Tokyo this month for the Olympics where he will represent Australia. Goulding, who has played more than 350 NBL games, loves the game of golf and has achieved a rare feat in the game. Wh

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