Golf Monthly January 2023

I’m a great fan of technology and innovation within the game of golf. I’m always excited to hear about the latest advances, whether they’re in equipment, technique and instruction or course agronomy. Golf’s ongoing evolution is essential for the sport to continue to appeal to new generations of players. It’s also good to remember the bare bones of golf, though – the beauty of the game itself. I was thinking that while reading Fergus Bisset’s excellent feature on playing the original 12-hole Open Championship course at Prestwick, using a set of hickory-shafted clubs (you’ll find it on page 42). The club recreated the original layout to celebrate the 150th Open and Fergus brilliantly describes the feeling of playing the game in a purer, simpler form. Heritage and history are such…

Common sense prevails It was good to see that golf’s rulemakers have come to their senses about the unfairness of what happened to Rickie Fowler in the 2019 Waste Management Open, when his ball, after coming to rest initially, rolled back into the same penalty area from which he had just dropped costing him another penalty shot. There can’t have been a golf fan watching who didn’t think that was grossly unfair, so it’s great that from 2023 there will no longer be a penalty. I like to think it was karma that allowed Rickie to go on to win! Andrea Waters, via email A tarnished legacy As a one-time huge fan of the Great White Shark, I have to say how disappointed I have been in Greg Norman since…

What are your reflections on winning the DP World Tour Championship for the third time? Because of Covid, I never got a chance to defend my 2019 title and even though I decided not to come last year, I came with the mentality that, well, nobody beat me in the last two years, so they are going to have to beat me again. I came in with that confidence. I like this course and this course likes me. I hope this is the third of many more. How would you assess your 2022? Hopefully people can stop telling me that it was a bad year! Three wins worldwide, three wins in three different continents. Yeah, there wasn’t a Major, but it’s still a really, really good season. I had a…

Lydia Ko landed the biggest payday in the history of women’s golf as she birdied two of her final three holes to capture the CME Group Tour Championship. In tricky conditions, the New Zealander began the final round tied for the lead with Leona Maguire and was locked in a tussle with the Irishwoman, before eventually sealing an emotional two-shot victory and the $2million first prize. To put it into context, Ko received $200,000 more than Minjee Lee got for winning the US Women’s Open and nearly double what Ashleigh Buhai pocketed for her AIG Women’s Open triumph. Ko held a one-shot advantage heading to the par-5 14th but gave her opponent a lifeline when she followed her into the hazard with her second shot. However, she extended her lead…

What’s your dream four-ball? Serena Williams, Tiger Woods and Brad Pitt. Funniest person on tour? Charley Hull, but she doesn’t even try to be, she is just naturally funny. Best swing tip in a sentence or less? Just swing it easy. How would you rate your career out of ten? I would say eight. I’m very happy with it, but there is room for improvement. You can only play one golf course for the rest of your life. What is it? St Andrews. You miss the cut and need a night out. Which three players do you take with you? I’d probably say Charley Hull, Nelly Korda and Hannah Green. Favourite app on your phone? Instagram. What would you be doing if you weren’t a golfer? I would want to…

It’s safe to say the update to the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) hasn’t gone down overly well with some. And by some, we mean most. Jon Rahm was heavily critical at the DP World Tour Championship, lambasting the new system as “laughable” before doubling down in the aftermath of victory. Seven of the world’s top 25 players were in the field for the DP World Tour finale, while none opted to tee it up in the PGA Tour’s coinciding RSM Classic. Despite that, a measly 21.8 points were on offer for the winner in Dubai, down from 46 in 2021, while the champion in America pocketed 37. NO 67% YES 33% It’s easy to see why that was hard to digest. However, when you strip it back, you could…