Golf World - October Issue

MASTER YOUR SHORT GAME
SHANE LOWRY SHOWS YOU HOW TO CHIP IT CLOSE EVERY TIME
OCTOBER 2015, ISSUE 11 VOL 56 | JORDAN SPIETH SPECIAL – HIS MIND, THE TEAM, THE BRAND | SHANE LOWRY'S SHORT GAME | GEORGE COETZEE INTERVIEW | BETTER-PLAYER IRONS TEST | GOLF IN FRANCE
NO MORE
SHANKS!
Golf’s 5 most
destructive
faults fixed
PAGE 73
JORDAN
SPIETH
> The 7 moments that led him to greatness
> Why he’s the hero golf needs right now
> Exclusive insight from his coaches
NEW IRONS
TESTED
Mizuno MP25
Ping i-Series
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GEORGE
COETZEE
“I’m not
that good at
golf, but I’m
a fantastic
putter!”
FEDEX
FLOP
Why the
big money
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OCTOBER 2015 £4.50

GOLFING MESSIAH OR
SOULLESS ROBOT:
WHO IS THE REAL
JORDAN SPIETH?
Shane Ryan explores the polarised opinions of golf’s newest superstar
and discovers the real champion who lies somewhere in between.
38 Golf World October 2015

GOLF WORLD
SPECIAL
October 2015 Golf World 39

INTERVIEW
‘I DON’T THINK I’M
THAT GOOD
AT GOLF, BUT I’M A
FANTASTIC
PUTTER!’
George Coetzee has won twice on the European Tour this season, yet
he’s far from happy with the shape of his game. Here, in a magnificently
candid interview, he talks to Pete Masters about putting prowess,
psycho analysis and his plans for a new life on the PGA Tour.

September 2014 Golf World 61

XXXXXXXXXXXX
US PGA REVIEW
JUDGEMENT
DAY
Jason Day produced the lowest score in major history to see off a world class pack. John
Huggan witnessed the Aussie win a long overdue first major at Whistling Straits.

5 DRILLS FOR BETTER
PUTTING
Ken Brown, one of the greatest putters in European Tour history, shares his
favourite practice drills to improve your technique and feel for holing out.
Drills extracted from
‘One Putt - The
Ultimate Guide to
Perfect Putting’ by Ken
Brown, published by
Hamlyn, £18.99,
www.octopusbooks.
co.uk
78 Golf World September 2014

INSTRUCTION
1. Two-putt drill I’ve used this all-round practice routine since I was a lad.
You need three balls of the same type, preferably new ones.
Set up eight starting points, evenly spaced around the
perimeter of the green, and mark each with a tee. Hit three
balls from each spot, trying to complete the eight ‘hole’
course in as few putts as possible. Allowing two putts per
ball gives an overall par of 48. Breaking this par is not easy,
even on a small green. With just a small improvement in
your lag putting you will start to eliminate three-putts.
The pin position and
shape of the green
means you are practising
touch and feel from
various lines and lengths.
Remember to keep your
head steady and you will
then find the sweetspot on
the putter face more often.
Keeping a score adds an
element of competition that
builds pressure and allows you
to track your improvement.
By using three balls
from each tee you
can modify line or
pace if you make a
misjudgement,
building your feel.
2. Try bowling
This drill highlights the importance of striking
the ball consistently from the sweetspot.
At the Dunlop Masters in the late 1970s I watched Peter
Butler, four-time Ryder Cup player, rolling putts across
the practice green. He didn’t seem to be holing many but
as I looked closer I realised he wasn’t even aiming at a
cup. He would just send one ball across the green and
then two more alongside it. What was he up to?
Rather than aim at something specific, he was rolling
the first ball 25–30 feet then trying to keep his next two
as close as possible to it, like a game of bowls. Anything
stroked in the same way but slightly mis-hit will come up
short. It takes a good touch to get one that ‘touches’. As
a variation, hit the first ball then attempt to hit the next
ball a little further and the third one a little further again,
with all three balls ending within a putter’s length.
October 2015 Golf World 79

INSIDER
THE INSIDE TRACK ON THE BIGGEST STORIES AND NEWEST TRENDS
The new
configuration of
324 dimples are
more equally sized
than in previous
AD333 models.
NEW BALL
Two-piece perfection
Srixon’s AD333 upgrade promises to perform even better, especially in the wind.
The SpinSkin
coating combined
with a new
urethane cover
improves friction
between ball and
club by 20%.
The good news for club golfers is that
Srixon’s hugely popular AD333 ball has just
been relaunched to go further and stop
quicker. It’s the best selling two-piece ball in
the UK market and thanks to three specific
technologies, the new AD333 promises to
perform even better than before.
Scientists studied the effect of the wind
with an aim to ‘give back what it takes
away’. The result is a new configuration of
324 dimples that improve the aerodynamic
stats for greater distance and less drag. Plus
it has a new cover and improved core.
European Senior Tour star Andrew
Murray is a Srixon staff player and believes
most club players would benefit by
switching to this new model. “I’m convinced
it’s the best ball out there for the majority of
club golfers,” he says. “Amateurs will get
much more from the AD333 than they
would trying to use a ball that the pros
play.”
The ball will be available from mid-
September and is aimed at players with
a swing speed of 80mph or more.
Price: £30 per dozen
Web: www.srixon.co.uk
104 Golf World October 2015

EQUIPMENT
FASHION
A golfer’s timepiece
THE AD333
IMPACT
Ben Davis, Srixon’s
UK and Europe
Marketing Manager,
on the 10-year rise
of the AD333.
Has Srixon’s market share changed
very much since the AD333 was first
launched?
It certainly has. The ball was first
introduced in 2005 when the market
share in the UK was just one per cent.
This is the seventh generation and we
now have just over 25% of share. It’s
been an incredible climb and we’re now
the number two ball brand in the UK.
So the AD333 has put Srixon very much
on the map.
I think nine consecutive years as the
best selling two-piece ball is going to
do that.
Etiqus launch a range of watches specifically for golfers.
Finely crafted timepieces
and golfers are a natural
fit. While we don’t get paid
for the pleasure of wearing
ours like Rory McIlroy and
many other top players, we
can now benefit from a
range of watches that have
been designed specifically
with golfers in mind.
Etiqus is a British
company that was founded
by Gary Butler after people
mistakenly identified him
as a diver because of the
watch he wore. He thought
it would be great if there
All four models
feature a
Swiss-made
movement.
was a timepiece that
prompted the same
recognition for golfers –
and boasted some golfspecific
functions too – so
Etiqus was created.
The range also includes
four models: The Sport Pro
Iconic (£329), the Sport
Pro (from £269), Sport
Lady (from £229) and
Classic Tour (from £179).
The first three boast the
unique ‘Butler Bezel’,
which runs around outside
of the face and allows you
to regulate your pace of
play on the course to a
guideline of three hours
and 50 minutes for 18
holes. The Classic Tour is a
more understated option.
A glass face crafted
from Sapphire Crystal is
virtually scratchproof and
they are water resistant up
to 100 metres.
The subtle dimple
pattern on the face gives
the 3D effect of a golf ball
and the second hand in the
shape of a flag.
Price: £179-£329
Web: www.etiqus.co.uk
A range of
colours and
strap materials
are available.
How does the new model compare
with the old in terms of feel off the
clubface?
It’s very similar. There is some confusion
I think over cover hardness. The AD333
is a ‘soft’ feeling ball and if you compare
cover hardness with that and a Callaway
Supersoft, then the Srixon is softer. You
shouldn’t be put off because it doesn’t
say ‘soft’ on the ball.
So what are the key changes that have
been made?
The new core has improved ball speed,
but it’s the dimple pattern and the new
cover that has made the difference. The
‘SpinSkin’ technology was first launched
in our premium Z-Star ball at the start of
the year. Reducing the urethane bond in
the cover means the ball spins more,
especially in the shorter irons. We
expect golfers to notice a difference in
the control they get from 80 yards and
in because this ball stays on the club for
longer. Twenty per cent more friction
leads to the ball stopping more quickly.
RESEARCH
Go smaller!
Proof that Mini Drivers help mid to
high-handicappers perform better.
A survey by Sports Psychology Ltd has discovered
that the TaylorMade Aeroburner Mini Driver inspired
17.5 per cent more confidence in mid to highhandicappers
and produced better results when
compared to their current traditional driver.
The Mini Driver was as long or longer for nearly
all the 37 players in the study and produced a far
higher number of fairways hit during on-course
testing. The golfers, with handicaps from 14 to
28, benefited from both a significant reduction in
penalty shots from the tee and hit more greens in
regulation and closer to the hole because more of
their approach shots were from the fairway.
Mini Drivers have a
smaller head, more loft
and a shorter shaft.
October 2015 Golf World 105

COURSES
BRINGING YOU THE BEST PLACES TO PLAY EACH MONTH
110 Golf World The Open Issue 2015

COURSES
TOP 100
RANK 98
CONTINENTAL
EUROPE
TOP 100 SPOTLIGHT
Hardelot (Les Pins)
Chris Bertram reports on the significant renovation of
this long-time favourite of travelling British golfers.
British influence in the town of
Hardelot on the north-east coast
of France is easy to detect as you
arrive in this pretty seaside outpost. Even
if the Union flag adorning the town’s coat
of arms escapes your gaze, as you cruise
along idyllic avenues lined by sweetscented
trees and elegant villas, you are
reminded of well-heeled English villages.
It is not unlike a more concise replica of
Wentworth estate.
Neufchâtel-Hardelot, to give this
resort in the Pas de Calais region its full
name, is an immaculately-presented and
prosperous testament to the ‘Entente
Cordiale’. The British mien results from
Hardelot being established in 1905 by
Yorkshireman Sir John Whitley, who
owned the local chateau. An advocate of
outdoor pursuits, he included tennis
courts, an equestrian centre, watersports
and a golf course in his plans for this new
town on the dunes of the Opal Coast.
Word soon spread of these attractions
and it enjoyed prominence in Edwardian
times, with King George V among those
LEFT AND BELOW: The removal of 3,000 trees has
breathed life back into Les Pins. A less is more approach
has helped redefine Tom Simpson’s original vision.
who visited. Whitley had already created
another Anglophilic town a few miles
down the coastal, Le Touquet. It too had
a golf course and both were ultimately
shaped by architects from his homeland.
While Le Touquet got Harry Colt, at
Hardelot it was Tom Simpson. This
noted creator of heathland masterpieces
arrived in 1931 and ever since visitors
have poured over the channel to enjoy his
work at Les Pins – and indeed everything
about Hardelot. Even when golf holidays
to Iberia became readily available, British
golfers stayed loyal to Hardelot and Le
Touquet in large numbers.
Yet in recent times it was as much habit
based on sentimentality and convenience
– Hardelot is 40 minutes from the
Channel Tunnel – than excitement.
Both courses had begun to lose their aura.
Les Pins – whose sister course Les
Dunes sits on dramatically undulating
land a 15-minute walk away, along with
its own clubhouse – is set among a pine
forest, but being within a mile of the sea,
the topography is essentially sandy
linksland. It had suffered significantly
from the linked issues of undesirable tree
growth and subsequently maintenance.
A forest generates as much as three per
October 2015 Golf World 111