Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday 29 March 2016
We’ve found ourselves talking about golf-related robots an awful lot lately. First, there was the RoboGolfPro, which you hold onto while it makes the perfect swing, allowing you to copy the movements of whichever top pro you choose. And then there was the robot called Eldrick that made a hole-in-one to the delight of thousands of watching spectators during the...
Written by Rob McGarr on Saturday 26 March 2016
Golf balls are having a pretty tough time of it lately. Only recently they were being fired at the sharp edge of an axe, and now one with a smiley face is being subjected to torture by a welding torch. This time the torment was being adminstered by YouTube channel ‘LET’S MELT THIS‘, which, as the name would suggest, specialises in...
Written by Rob McGarr on Saturday 26 March 2016
It’s a golfer’s worst nightmare. You lose a ball, reach into your bag for another, and realise that you’re down to your last. Running out of balls – be it due to losing a hatful or simply not having enough in your bag at the start – is about as embarrassing as it gets. But what are the repurcussions if you’re...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 24 March 2016
Slow motion video has been a fantastic addition to golf. It enables us to analyse swings in frame-by-frame steps, revel at the explosive power as the world’s best players make impact, and wince as balls virtually disappear before lipping out, dimple by dimple. It also allows us to witness the answer to that immortal question: what happens when you hit a...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 23 March 2016
How do you choose what golf ball you use? For most amateurs, the answer is: “I don’t. I use whatever I find.” It’s often said as a statement of pride. “I haven’t bought a ball in three years. I just find them and use them.” It’s understandable. Golf balls can be expensive, and most of us are looking ways to make the game...
Monday 7 March 2016
Adam Scott is the hottest player on the planet right now after bagging the WGC Cadillac Championship last night for his second win in as many weeks. The win will lift the Aussie from No.9 to No.6 in the world and makes him the favourite to win a second green jacket at Augusta National next month. “I’ve used my experience to my...
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 21 March 2016
Should golf be compulsory in schools? That might sound like a strange question, but consider this: 1. Many people agree that golf is a good sport for all people, but especially youngsters, to be involved in. Among the many benefits of golf, it teaches self-discipline, instills fair play, helps with mental arithmetic and can be a useful tool in career progression. 2.
Wednesday 9 March 2016
Fantasy Golf is back for a sixth season and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. Thousands of you signed up last year, with Shane Mills claiming top spot and a holiday to La Manga Club in Spain. This year, we’ve revamped the rules and have some bumper prizes, including trips to Majorca, Sicily, Belek and La Manga. To...
Thursday 17 March 2016
It’s massive! Our new issue is so thick, it stands up on its own – and comes with a free 2016 R&A Rules Book What Gear 2016 Your guide to more than 300 new clubs on sale this year. Beat your slice for good It’s the ultimate slice guide – why it happens, key moves to sort it and reader swing flaws...
Written by Rob McGarr on Friday 18 March 2016
It seems barely a week goes by without sport being dragged into the mire of another cheating scandal. Thankfully, golf tends to be largely immune from the issues facing tennis, athletics, cycling and football at the moment, but it’s still nice to have moments that reassert golf’s position as arguably the most honest sport going. The latest involves seven-year-old Yago Horno...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 18 February 2016
Getting custom fit for golf clubs is a bit like upgrading to Sky HD from the standard resolution. Everyone who has done it will tell you that the difference is remarkable, it’s well worth the money, and that once you’ve done it you’ll never be able to go back. But when you’re sat there, watching the perfectly acceptable standard definition, it...
Written by Rob McGarr on Thursday 3 March 2016
Bunking off school always seems like a great idea, but the reality rarely lives up to the expectation. You spend the whole day on edge, worrying that your teacher is going to realise that the note you wrote from your mum has suspiciously similar grammatical errors to your homework, or that when your dad innocently asks how your day went...
Written by Rob McGarr on Wednesday 2 March 2016
That might seem like a silly question, but it’s exactly the question being asked by the Laureus World Sports Awards, for which the nominations have just been announced. The annual awards ceremony honours remarkable individuals and teams from the world of sport, along with celebrating the greatest sporting achievements of the last year. This year’s shortlist for the Laureus World Sportsman of...
Written by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional and coach to Francesco Molinari and Ross Fisher on Wednesday 2 March 2016
Views on how the golf swing works are like stories about near holes-in-one – everyone has one, and no-one really wants to listen to anyone else’s. When the PGA manual was being reviewed in 2001, I was invited to sit on the coaching committee. We all did our best to come up with a ‘common acceptance’, but the differing personal beliefs...
Written by Today's Golfer on Wednesday 2 March 2016
They entertain millions on the TV and radio. They have won Champions League and Premier League titles. They have sold out worldwide tours. They have millions of followers on Twitter. But when they get on the golf course, some of Britain’s most famous celebrities still have a lot to learn. We asked TG Top 50 coach Adrian Bishop to cast his...
Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday 1 March 2016
If there’s one thing we’d all like to do, it’s improve our handicap. Golf is the only sport where a single number tells the world how good – or bad – you are. It’s a question of pride. It doesn’t matter what car you’ve got waiting in the club car park, how expensive your clothes are, or how new your...
Written by James Henderson on Tuesday 1 March 2016
Leading England to victory in the 2005 Ashes, their first victory for 18 years, earned Michael Vaughan not only an OBE, but a place in the heart of every English cricket fan. It was the highlight of a decade-long international career that saw Vaughan notch 7,701 runs, including 18 Test centuries. Injuries and a drop in form forced Vaughan to hang...
Written by Rob McGarr on Tuesday 1 March 2016
Ever found yourself praying that the halfway hut is open, despite only being on the third hole? How many times have you struggled up the 18th with legs that feel like you’ve run a marathon? The reason is simple: a round of golf can burn as many as 2,000 calories. If you’re not eating the right things, at the right...
Written by Joe Downes on Monday 29 February 2016
“Every year I’m determined this is going to be the year when I get much better,” says actor James Nesbitt. The 51-year-old actor from County Antrim is golf-mad, but his busy working schedule doesn’t allow him as much chance as he’d like to hit the links. Do you play golf with many other actors? There weren’t that many keen golfers on the...
Written by Stuart Hood on Monday 29 February 2016
Darren Clarke was horrified when he saw a picture of himself playing in the 2013 Dunhill Links Championship. “I thought, ‘Christ, I’m fat,’” he recalls. The following week, he started working with Dublin-based fitness guru Jamie Myerscough. Within a couple of months, Clarke had lost two stone and within nine months he declared himself “four stone lighter, twice as strong and mentally...