The below article was written by Hannah Holden, Equipment and Instruction Editor of National Club Golfer.
I visited Rudding Park Golf Club to put four of Ping’s long-distance club options to the test.
I was joined by Dan Murphy as we put fairway woods, hybrids and long irons to the test to see which is the best option for your golf bag.
So which option came out on top? Hit the play button below to find out or click through to the next page to read Dan’s conclusion…
The below article was written by Hannah Holden, Equipment and Instruction Editor of National Club Golfer.
How often should you change your irons? It’s actually a question I get asked a lot. The draw of new golf equipment can be tempting, but how long do your irons actually last before you need to start thinking about replacing them?
Firstly, it is worth noting golf clubs are extremely durable products and, if looked after, will last a very long time. But using them for too long will lead to a drop off in performance through general wear and tear. Also for every year you keep your old clubs in the bag, the technology is improving which means you’re missing out on extra yardage and forgiveness.
As with all things the answer here is going to vary depending on a few factors. How often you play, and how often you practice are both huge variables.
Professional golfers who practice and play virtually every day can go through multiple sets of irons a year due to how quickly they can wear down the grooves.
Generally for club golfers changing your irons every year is going to be overkill and looking at new options every three to four years is a better time frame. The research says you can get a good 300 rounds out of irons before you need to start looking at replacements.
Really you need new irons when you start to notice a drop off in performance. If the grooves have worn away you are likely to get less spin which can produce a variety of outcomes. You may notice shots flying higher but not carrying as far, or you might get a low shot that struggles to hold its line.
Unless you are playing extremely irregularly, you should be replacing your irons every five years to make sure you are getting the most out of them.
Keeping your clubs clean has a huge impact on how well they age, especially making sure to dry your clubs well after they get wet out on the course.
Iron covers get a bad rep for looking unfashionable but they are a great way to reduce wear and tear on your irons and keep your club heads scuff free.
It is also worth getting your loft and lies checked once a year as they can move over time which will affect the performance too.
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Machynys Peninsula, a relatively new Jack Nicklaus design on the outskirts of Llanelli, is routed in two distinct loops with a parkland front nine and an inward half that has more of a links feel beside the sea.
The standard scratch score here from the tournament tees is three-over-par, so you know Machynys Peninsula can be set up for some serious competitive golf, and indeed, it has hosted the Wales Ladies Championship of Europe every year since it opened for play.
The shaping of the layout has included the creation of 25 acres of new lakes – salt and fresh water – 12 miles of irrigation pipes and six miles of drainage pipes, to ensure the course is in top condition all year round.
The modern links on Machynys Peninsula was opened in 2005 with a hefty budget of $3.5 million shelled out for the layout and an even greater sum of money spent on the clubhouse.
However, money alone can never ensure success with a new golfing project as location has a large part to play in determining whether a new course will attract rave review, but the stunning site that Machynys is built on as good as guarantees its position as a “must play” venue in Wales.
Gary Nicklaus acted as chief designer on behalf of his father and his favourite hole is the 451-yard 16th which, as he says, “is played across the lake from right behind the clubhouse [and] is probably one of the most beautiful holes on the course”.
He adds: “The view from the green of the whole bay is spectacular, whether the tide is in or out.”
He is also especially proud of the 4th, 5th, 16th, and 18th.
The large and airy clubhouse is superbly fitted out with a spa and brasserie and there are excellent views out over the course. For a golfing test of this standard, the green fees are also remarkably reasonable. If you haven’t yet been, a round here goes highly recommended.
317th in GB&I, 25th in Wales, and 8th in Swansea.
Based in Machynys, just outside Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Machynys Peninsula is not far from the M4 motorway that runs through South Wales.
For more information about the club and course, visit its website or call them on 01554 744888.
The above article was originally published by our partner National Club Golfer.
Parkland golf. Tricky one to be honest. We have been through this.
The ball doesn’t move on the ground. Water hazards. They are a problem. You can’t get up and down from a pond. Wind is not your friend on a parkland. You can’t work with it, run the ball in, or use the ground. And the grass grows, a lot.
That isn’t to say all parklands are bad. There are lots that are brilliant. When you find a good parkland though, you tend to remember it. I was last at Chart Hills in 2005 and I remember it as an incredibly well bunkered, strategic, and varied test. So, as its reopening following huge renovation coincided with my trip to The Open at Royal St George’s, I couldn’t resist dropping in for a look.
It is definitely in Kent. By which I mean it is absolutely in middle of the Garden of England. Once you drop off the M20 you drive through the opening credits of the Darling Buds of May. Meaning you arrive in a good mood having spent the last 20 minutes thinking about Catherine Zeta Jones.
There is the rarefied air of a grand facility, sweeping drive, turning circle, bag drop, epic range, enormous club house. It has that ‘find a bag tag in your boot 6 months later‘ feel to it.
The golf course is as I remembered – well put together and exceptionally bunkered. It is not enormously long, choose between 5,503 off the reds, 5,891 from the yellows, or right up to 7,132 off the back tees. We played off the blue tees which, at 6,530 yards, is plenty. They are ’90s championship yardages, and with the recent sand topping applied to all 18 fairways we are getting plenty of run out despite a wet summer.
Originally a Faldo design it is still brilliantly bunkered and presents you with lots of options from nearly all the tees. There are very few stop signs and genuinely many ways to approach each hole.
The first a sweeping left to right dogleg par 5 is a great example. You could hit any club off the tee depending on how much you want to try and take off the corner, and you can see it all unfolding in front of you. It is excellent use of the land.
Then there is the cute par-3 16th which is 125 yards to a tiny little island green. Deliciously unexpected.
The new owners, who also own the Prince’s complex on the Kent coast, are taking a step-by-step approach to the reimagining of the golf course.
The fairway work is complete. Next will come all 18 greens and there is certainly some tree removal and rough management to do.
The team from Prince’s are proper golfers and understand the work that is required. Anyone who has played their 27 coastal holes will note the excellent work they have done there over the past three seasons.
When they have finished with Chart Hills, my suspicion is that it will be re-established as one of the very best parklands in England. Pop Larkin would be proud.
The above article was originally published by our partner National Club Golfer.
It’s fair to say most of us could do with a little extra clubhead speed, a few extra yards off the tee, and more wedges into greens.
Research suggests that as clubhead speed increases, handicap goes down. However, a great number of golfers are ‘leaving significant miles per hour on the table’. That’s the view of strength and conditioning coach Jamie Greaves. So, what can you do about it?
Plenty, as it happens, and the good news is you can increase your clubhead speed in the comfort of your own home. Golf lessons can help, of course, as a loss of speed can also be attributed to poor technique. However, some simple power and strength exercises can also help to unlock your clubhead speed potential.
‘Just a 4mph increase in swing speed could potentially mean ten extra yards of distance, so there is a huge opportunity for golfers to save multiple shots off their scores each round just by adding a bit more speed,’ says Greaves.
Here, the fitness guru shares his top 5 ways to improve your clubhead speed.
This exercise is simple but extremely effective in improving lower body power.
Start in a standing posture, then drop into a quarter squat position and explode up. Each time, you should land softly in that same quarter squat position. You don’t want to land with the legs straight or in a deep squat position and don’t sink into a squat that’s too low before trying to explode up.
I work with lots of senior golfers, and one of the great things about this exercise is that you don’t need to leave the ground, or you can hold onto something so when you land you don’t have to worry about balance. This is a nice entry point before you gain more confidence and start to jump more aggressively.
Begin by standing and holding a weighted bag – perhaps a bag of practice balls.
Take a lateral step to one side and load into the heel and hip of that leg whilst the other leg straightens. Simultaneously push the bag out in front of you to act as a counterbalance and allow you to get deeper into your lateral lunge.
It’s important that you plant the whole of the stepping foot onto the floor and load into the heel. You must also try to stay strong and tall through the torso to avoid rounding excessively. Drive back off the stepping foot with intent each time and perform repetitions on both sides.
Now we’re concentrating on the upper body.
Imagine screwing your hands into a box or bench to stabilise the shoulders, and let the elbows track nicely. Lower down slowly and under control, and then push back up aggressively. Try not to extend or round excessively as you move, and don’t let the elbows flare out too much – keep them tucked in. You want to feel like the body moves as one whole unit on each repetition.
This exercise is really easy to manipulate. When the hands are higher, you have less body weight to push. Lower the hands when you feel ready, and the exercise will become harder – so maybe try push ups on the stairs first, and then move down the steps.
If you don’t own a resistance band, make sure you get one – it’s a great bit of kit that’s used by lots of Tour pros.
Start standing with the band under your feet and on the back of your shoulders. Drop down into a small squat and drive up aggressively pushing the band to the sky. If you experience discomfort behind the head, simply perform the same motion with the band on the front of the shoulders.
This is a great power exercise for golfers. The power starts in the ground and comes up the body and out through the arms, and it mirrors the same sequence as you get in a golf swing. Obviously, with the golf swing, there’s rotation involved, but this teaches the same sequence.
Start standing with the band wrapped under your feet, gripping the band in each hand.
Soften the knees, push the hips back, and tilt over, keeping the torso strong. Row up and in, bringing the elbows towards the hips and pausing briefly at the top each time.
The idea is to stay in posture as you row, not round through the torso. Neither should you row up too high.
What I like about this exercise is that it helps you to develop a strong, solid posture.
Watch the game’s best players in action, and you’ll struggle to find one who doesn’t have a pre-shot routine of some kind.
Why? Well, they’ll tell you that having a consistent drill ahead of each shot helps them to focus, and that when the pressure is on or the nerves are jangling, a structured routine keeps them in the moment.
Some critics argue that having a good pre-shot routine only make you good at… well, pre-shot routines.
However, whilst such drills won’t rid your game of certain shots – like the wild slice or duck hook – it’s widely accepted that they have certain benefits, and that golfers of all levels should have a pre-shot routine of their own.
These drills needn’t take long. In fact, they probably shouldn’t exceed more than 15 to 20 seconds, and once you have a drill that you’re comfortable with, it needs to be your ‘go to’ before each shot. Stick with it and use it for each club in the bag.
Here’s everything you need to include in a pre-shot routine.
Observe the professionals closely and you’ll note how there are several distinct stages to their pre-shot routine.
It starts with the ‘thinking’ stage. The player will decide which shot to play and what club to hit, taking into account what’s in front of them and what the wind might be doing.
Employing this strategy will, in theory, allow you to focus on playing the shot when you step forward.
You might want to start considering the above a few yards back from your ball, perhaps by your golf bag. Doing so will help you to cover each stage properly.
So, you’ve decided on hitting driver.
When you take a couple of steps forward, you’ve put the thinking part to bed. Now you’re going to get a feel for the shot you’re about to play.
It’s not uncommon for club golfers and high handicappers to take a good few mighty swipes at this stage, but the better players tend to rehearse a certain move.
The idea is to build that confidence for the shot you’re about to play. It might be you have a move that helps you to play a cut, or a position you like to feel in your backswing. Crucially, you’re not doing any more thinking at this stage – rather, you’re visualising the perfect shot, whether that’s a soft fade or a slinging draw.
At this point, we should advise you to begin your pre-shot routine, especially steps 1 and 2, while playing partners are playing their shots, rather than waiting until it’s your turn to play.
With all your prep work done, the final stage is the execution of the shot itself.
Many amateur golfers and high handicap golfers will twitch about too much at this point, spending too long focusing on the ball and not the target.
Ideally, you don’t want too many swing thoughts running through your head. Just check your set-up, take a couple of looks, and pull the trigger.
Not everyone has the same pre-shot routine, but most Tour professionals would have a variation of the above, where they do their thinking before stepping forward.
They may have a trigger word, a point at which they know they’re ready to play the shot.
It takes time to perfect pre-shot routines – they’re not just cobbled together in a hurry, or at least they shouldn’t be.
To find a pre-shot routine that works for you, it’s generally recommended that you rehearse it on the driving range before taking it to the course.
Keep using it on the range when you’re practising, too, so that it becomes second nature.
Finally, once you’re comfortable with your pre-shot routine, don’t be afraid to put it into action.
Better players and professionals have a very structured routine that they use on every shot.
Amateur golfers may start off with one, but they tend to flit between the full version and something different, often ending the round without even using one.
Regardless of what level you play at, a pre-shot routine can help you to focus. The professionals have one, so why shouldn’t you?
