Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter. In this week’s mail, we cast our eye over Tiger Woods' extraordinary win at the TOUR Championship, look ahead to potential pairings at the Ryder Cup and we have an exclusive interview with European Captain Thomas Bjorn as our Video of the Week. Enjoy the read. |
Putting tips Aim: The most important factor with aim is the putter face. This is the only thing that makes contact with the golf ball and is more important than swing path and strike when it comes to starting the ball where you want to. Most modern putters will have some sort of line on them to aid you with alignment. Here is a drill to make aiming simpler. Put two tees in the ground that are just wide enough for the golf ball to fit through and on the intended line the ball will travel to go into the hole. To start with have the tees about a foot in front of the golf ball and to make the drill harder, gradually move them further back. If you are aiming correctly, the ball should roll through the tees and into the hole. If not, you will hit the tees. If the ball goes through the tees but misses the hole, it could be that you have read the putt incorrectly or hit the putt with the wrong speed for the chosen line. Distance Control: Knowing how hard to hit the ball for each putt can be very difficult, but it is a very important part of putting and improving your scores. The first thing to check if you are struggling with distance control is how you are striking the putts. To be consistent and develop feel for how hard to hit the ball in lots of different situations, the strike needs to be consistently out the middle of the putter. To check this on your own, position a tee next to the heel and toe of the putter with the golf ball in the middle. The aim is to miss the tees and strike the ball out the middle of the putter face. Once the strike is consistent, it is about controlling the swing length and tempo. The length of backswing determines how far the golf ball will travel. To have excellent distance control, the stroke should feel the same pace back and through. Often when players try to accelerate the putter, the stroke becomes more of a hit at the ball and the ball often goes too far past the hole. To practice distance control, try hitting putts from a variety of lengths and both uphill and downhill, trying to get the golf ball into the hole or within 18 inches past the hole. |
Comeback complete At the start of the year, 14-time Major winner Tiger Woods was ranked 1,199th in the world, following a fourth back surgery amid fears that he might never be able to compete on a golf course again. Fast-forward nine months and Woods has completed what will go down as one of the finest comeback seasons across sporting history.
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Now ranked 13th in the world, he topped off a remarkable year with his first victory since 2013 at the TOUR Championship, finishing second in the FedEx Cup and has once again shown that he may be the most talented golfer to ever play the game (we'll save that debate for another time). Particularly striking was the control Woods had over the whole tournament. Leading from start-to-finish, he never once looked as if he was going to lose his composure, sailing serenely through the final round whilst the likes of Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy crumbled under the pressure. The Big Cat is truly back. A gutsy birdie on the 72nd hole saw Justin Rose finish in T-4, which was good enough to see him crowned FedEx Cup champion, the first Englishman to do so, and in the process taking home a tidy sum of $10m (£7.6m). Not too shabby! |
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The wait is over Whilst another season on the PGA Tour has come to an end, there is still the small matter of the Ryder Cup to be settled. One of the questions which still remains on both sides is the nature of the pairings. Team Europe is made up of five Ryder Cup rookies, meaning that captain Thomas Bjorn will need to make sure he pairs some of them up with more experienced players. The likes of Tyrrell Hatton, who exudes self-confidence, may thrive in the cauldron of the Ryder Cup, but nothing is a certainty in this tournament. For Team USA, the issue of first-timers is less pronounced with only three rookies in the line-up; they include Justin Thomas, who already has a Major to his name, and Bryson DeChambeau, who has been in sparkling form of late. DeChambeau’s physics-orientated approach to the game may come under pressure from the home fans, so may need a veteran such as Phil Mickelson to guide him through his round. The first tee shot will be struck at 7:10am (GMT) this Friday, so make sure you set your alarm nice and early. For the first time ever, the world's top 10 will all be playing in the tournament, so it’s going to be a cracker.
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New irons to improve your game |
Buying a set of clubs is exciting, but can be a tricky decision - you might love the look of the short irons, but feel a bit daunted by the longer clubs further up the set. However, you can always mix and match your clubs so that your long irons are more forgiving and your short irons are more workable, allowing you to strike approach shots from any distance with confidence. |
Mix & match with Lynx Why not try combining the short irons of Lynx's Forged CB series with the longer irons of the Prowler VT? The VT's extra forgiveness, provided by a hollow head design, gives you better performance on any off-centre strikes, meaning that your long iron shots won't stray as wide when you mishit the ball. Combine this with the Forged CB's short irons, which feature a narrow sole, thin topline and minimal offset for better workability and increased confidence lower down the set, and you'll be peppering the flags from your wedges up to your long irons. Could mixing sets be the answer you've been looking for? |
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