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TODAY’S GOLFER FEBRUARY 2016 (DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 20) <strong>343</strong><br />
GREG NORMAN BITES BACK<br />
WWW.TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK<br />
124 WAYS TO<br />
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FEBRUARY 2016 ISSUE <strong>343</strong> DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 20 £4.50<br />
RORY’S NEW DRIVER IS HERE<br />
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SHARK
GREG NORMAN<br />
BITES<br />
He may have hung up his clubs, but Greg Norman is<br />
still a giant in the game. We spent a day with him in<br />
the Bahamas, talking about the Tour, technology,<br />
the Olympics, growing golf... He didn’t hold back<br />
WORDS ROB Mc GARR PICTURES ANGUS MURRAY, GETTY IMAGES<br />
reat white sharks are hugely misunderstood. Ever<br />
G since Steven Spielberg’s ’70s classic, they have<br />
been perceived as merciless, bloodthirsty killers.<br />
And while it’s true you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong<br />
side of one, you are statistically more likely to die as a<br />
result of falling out of bed than from a shark attack.<br />
Sharks play a pivotal role in maintaining the oceanic food<br />
chain. Without them, the whole ecosystem would<br />
collapse.<br />
The world’s second most famous great white,<br />
Greg Norman, gets an equally unfair rap.<br />
Search any mean-spirited list of golf’s ‘top<br />
10 chokers’ and you will find Norman at<br />
the top. He is widely regarded as the<br />
greatest golfer to win only two Majors,<br />
having passed up chances to win four or<br />
five times as many. It’s undeniable that<br />
Norman should have finished off some of those<br />
opportunities – he surrendered Sunday leads, shared<br />
or outright, in 12 other Majors – but events conspired<br />
against him.<br />
He was the victim of miracle shots and record-breaking<br />
scores from opponents, suffered gravity-defying lip-outs at<br />
crucial moments, and even lost the first ever four-hole<br />
Open play-off. Norman birdied the first play-off hole at<br />
Royal Troon in 1989, which would have secured the Claret<br />
Jug in any previous year, but just happened to coincide with<br />
the first time the R&A changed the format. “Sometimes,<br />
other players did things to win,” says Norman, now 60 and<br />
retired from competitive golf. “Other times, I screwed up.<br />
But that’s golf. These things happen.”<br />
All too often forgotten is Norman’s ‘go-for-broke’<br />
mentality, which made him a spectator’s dream but a<br />
caddie’s nightmare. Greg was never shy to roll the dice with<br />
everything on the line. He was a breath of fresh, Australian<br />
air in a sport where we’re taught to ‘play the percentages’.<br />
Shortly after, winning his first tournament as a pro,<br />
Norman found himself leading another with just a few holes<br />
to go. He dumped four balls in a row into the water, trying to<br />
carry a lake to a green 220 yards away. His caddie told him<br />
the next ball was their last, and firmly suggested he lay up.<br />
“I said, ‘I can carry this son of a bitch,’” says Norman. And<br />
he did. Norman maintained that outlook through his entire<br />
career, and it still drives him today, with a business empire<br />
posting revenues of over £200 million a year.<br />
As you’d expect, Norman didn’t win the tournament in<br />
which he had his Tin Cup moment, but he won 91 others,<br />
including two Open Championships. He spent 331 weeks as<br />
the world’s number one golfer, a mark eclipsed only by<br />
Tiger Woods. No one else has managed 100.<br />
The Shark may have underachieved, but he did it his way:<br />
going for everything and to hell with the consequences. ➔<br />
TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK ISSUE <strong>343</strong> 43
MY #<br />
Some of the best golfers ever to pick up a club<br />
62 ISSUE <strong>343</strong> TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK
WORDS KEVIN BROWN PICTURES GETTY IMAGES<br />
1 TIP<br />
reveal the best bit of advice they’ve ever had<br />
TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK ISSUE <strong>343</strong><br />
63
NIKE<br />
Lighter, faster... and<br />
New Vapor drivers<br />
have the tech to<br />
back up the looks...<br />
and have already<br />
won big on tour<br />
ike’s new Vapor Fly and Fly Pro<br />
N drivers have been born out of<br />
challenges made from their tour<br />
players to improve performance through<br />
equipment. When Rory says he wants to<br />
max out his ball speed, you listen.<br />
You don’t need to be Sherlock to spot<br />
both heads are painted what Nike call<br />
“photo blue” with a “volt” swoosh. But<br />
Nike insist the changes run much deeper<br />
than just the colour, and that’s backed up<br />
by the fact that Rory, Charl Schwartzel and<br />
Paul Casey have all put one in the bag.<br />
So what’s new? Both 460cc Fly and<br />
460cc Pro models benefit from a 30%<br />
lighter crown. This weight saving has<br />
allowed engineers to create internal fins<br />
which strengthen the clubhead, directing<br />
more energy into the ball.<br />
These fins are positioned low and deep<br />
True blue<br />
The colour is<br />
described as<br />
“photo blue”. It’s<br />
bright, but we think<br />
it looks good behind<br />
the ball.<br />
Power-packed<br />
A redesigned<br />
compression<br />
channel behind the<br />
face works with<br />
a stiffer frame to<br />
boost ball speed.<br />
More rigid<br />
Nike drivers have<br />
had a cavity back<br />
design since 2013,<br />
but this one has<br />
internal fins to<br />
make it stiffer.<br />
76 ISSUE <strong>343</strong> TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK
New<br />
Gear<br />
bluer<br />
so a side effect of their location lowers the<br />
centre of gravity, increasing forgiveness.<br />
Nike has also paid close attention to<br />
how the face and compression channel<br />
work together at impact. Tuning the<br />
channel allows the face to compress and<br />
rebound more efficiently, meaning this and<br />
the extra body stiffness deliver more<br />
power to the ball at impact.<br />
The Fly Pro, which Rory used to win the<br />
Dubai World Championship, has a<br />
new head shape which Nike says is<br />
more tour accepted and its deeper face<br />
means less spin and added ball speed<br />
for the stronger hitter.<br />
● Details: Expect to see both drivers in<br />
shops from February with prices from<br />
£249-£299. Watch our exclusive first hit<br />
videos at www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/nikevapor<br />
Which one?<br />
The Fly version<br />
(left) has a more<br />
forgiving head<br />
shape than the Pro<br />
version (far left).<br />
Nike flexes<br />
its muscle<br />
Titanium changed the way drivers<br />
were made, because it was lighter<br />
and stronger than the steel it<br />
replaced. Now Nike believes its RZN<br />
material makes a similar leap<br />
forward for driver design.<br />
It is a blended thermo plastic<br />
that’s lighter than titanium, yet just<br />
as strong – and Nike has made 60%<br />
of the new Vapor Flex 440 out of the<br />
stuff. That’s 40% more RZN than the<br />
current model. Engineers have also<br />
made the face nearly 3mm deeper<br />
and stretched the head by over<br />
4mm by using the RZN material.<br />
A Flex Flight Pod in the sole can<br />
be flipped over to increase or reduce<br />
spin (by about 300rpm), launch and<br />
forgiveness.<br />
● Details: Available March, with a<br />
£379 price tag and a limited edition<br />
Diamana Blue Board shaft which<br />
boasts lightweight kevlar under the<br />
grip to increase stability.<br />
TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK ISSUE <strong>343</strong> 77
Lamkin UTx £8 per grip I www.lamkin.co.uk I Three colour options.<br />
14<br />
NEW GRIPS<br />
THAT WILL<br />
HELP YOUR<br />
GAME<br />
Lamkin Wrap-Tech £5 per grip I www.lamkin.co.uk I Three colour options.<br />
Winn DriTac Standard £10 per grip I www.winngrips.com I Three colour options.<br />
Iomic Sticky 2.3 £12 per grip I www.iomicgrips.co.uk I Nine colour options.<br />
Golf Pride MCC Plus 4 £9.99 per grip I www.golfpride.com I Three colour options.<br />
Golf Pride CP2 Pro £6 per grip I www.golfpride.com I One colour.<br />
Super Stroke TX1 £14.99 per grip I www.brandfusion.co.uk I Five colour options.<br />
Gripping<br />
There's never been more choice – or technology– when it comes to<br />
96
G-Rip A-Tac £6 per grip I www.lamkin.co.uk I Six colour options.<br />
Golf Pride CP2 Wrap £6 per grip I www.golfpride.com I One colour.<br />
Iguana Golf Hex Tex Elastomer £7.49 per grip I www.iguana-golf.com I Eight colours.<br />
Winn Dri-Tac Wrap Standard £9.95 per grip I www.winngrips.com I One colour.<br />
Winn DuraTech £12.99 per grip I www.winngrips.com I Three colour options.<br />
New<br />
Gear<br />
Lamkin UTx Wrap £8 per grip I www.lamkin.co.uk I Three colour options.<br />
Iomic Sticky Opus 2.3 £11.95 per grip I www.iomicgrips.co.uk I Seven colour options.<br />
stuff<br />
keeping a firm hold on your clubs<br />
ew grips can save you three or<br />
N<br />
four shots a round. Fact. And if<br />
your current grips are particularly<br />
old and worn, you’d save even more. Pros<br />
recommend you should regrip your set at<br />
least once a year. Heat, dirt and oils erode<br />
the traction of your grips every time you<br />
play, causing your hands to slip or your<br />
grip to tighten. New grips will make an old<br />
set of clubs feel brand new, too, boosting<br />
your confidence as you stand over the ball.<br />
We’ve selected 14 new-for-2016 grips that<br />
are well worth a look.<br />
97