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ONE CRAZY COURSE!

The devil’s playground

warm-upSTORIES, NEWS, OPINION AND PRIZES... SERVED HOT FROM THE GOLF BUFFET

10 Today’s Golfer Issue 250

Lucifer’s Anvil Golf Course plays host to the Black Rock Self-Invitational every June, and the

hellish track certainly lives up to its name.The 3,900-yard, nine-hole layout is

located in the heart of the Black Rock Desert, North West Nevada, and was the brainchild of photographer Doug Keister, who spawned the idea to celebrate his 40th birthday in 1988.

Midday temperatures of around 38C and 60mph gales which blow sandstorms across the vast plains don’t sound like ideal conditions for golf – but Keister loves it.

“You get this tremendous rush of freedom,” he says. “This is the ultimate open space. This is better than grass.

“There are no pesky trees, no Out Of Bounds and the fairways are huge. You have to experience the desert to feel the significance of it.”

To overcome the problem of players being unable to spot the greens in the featureless landscape, biodegradable spray paint has been used. Each hole has a theme, including ‘hell’ (see right), and a chess board.

Nine bizarre holes in the Black Rock Desert...

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Issue 250 Today’s Golfer 11

Living room Bring us several buckets of cold beer and a widescreen TV and leave us here to die happy...

Take cover Golf balls going 10 miles in any direction? They obviously know the TG team are due to pay a visit any day now...

Chess board Two games for the price of one – now you can take someone’s knight with your pawn while you putt for birdie.

greens are crazy too!

Browned off We wonder how even a flatstick legend such as ‘Gentle’ Ben Crenshaw would fare on these ‘greens’.

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eScaPe from...DeeP rougH

During the winter months it’s highly likely you’re going to end up in the deep and damp rough a few times.

It can be so buried in long, deep grass that you can barely see the top of the ball. You may even consider taking a penalty drop for an ‘unplayable lie’.

But rather than waste a shot there is a technique that will drive the ball out of the trouble. It’s similar to the hitting action used to hammer a nail into a piece of wood.

Be aggressive and you’ll put the ball back into play.

DRIVE IT OUT

Use a hammer-style hitting action to drive the ball out of a buried lie

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poulter

by kit alexanderphotography by james cheadle, getty

InsIde the mInd

of Ian poulter

Ian Poulter divides people with his self-confidence and in-your-face outfits – but there’s no denying the boy’s got talent. So what can you learn from

delving deep into the psyche of the marmite of golf?

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46 Today’s Golfer Issue 250

Huey Lewis has had more hits than a weekend hacker, but does he have the power to pilfer the TG20 at the Home of Golf?

Rock stars are an unpredictable bunch at the best of times so it is probably no great surprise that

veteran rocker Huey Lewis has failed to put in an appearance for our TG20 encounter – at St Andrews.

But there is no need to panic. I’m not dealing with Pete Docherty here but a golf-crazy musician who, like most Americans, is chomping at the bit to experience the magical, historical delights of the Old Course at the Home of Golf.

Sure enough Lewis, who rocketed to fame and fortune with his band Huey Lewis and the News in the mid-1980s, is eventually tracked down to the range, where he is warming-up not only for the imminent TG20 encounter, but a slightly more significant event – the Dunhill Links Championship.

The nine-handicapper is clearly determined to do well on both counts. So much so that when he eventually pitches up following a marathon practice stint, he

reveals he’s had an early night in readiness for today’s action. I have no reason to disbelieve him, though I do have some reservations when he says the previous night’s highlight was a long and vigorous discussion on slow play in golf – hardly sex, drugs and rock and roll.

But surely frontman Huey had his moments when his band, boosted by the phenomenal success of such hits as Power of Love, ruled the world? “Sure it was pretty frantic at times,” he admits. “There were plenty of women around, plenty of offers. Put it this way; we get a lot more sleep nowadays than we used to!

“To be honest though, the object for me was to have a career and for people to show up at our gigs. Women? Where are they now when I need them?” Huey smiles at this reference to the fact he divorced from his wife of over 20 years five years ago.

He adds: “It was lovely to be appreciated but on the other hand I couldn’t go to the shopping mall or wherever without being

huey lewis

bY kevIn brown PHoToGrAPHY AnGus MurrAY & GeTTY

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the power

of huey

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96 Today’s Golfer Issue 250

PRODUCT

Golf’s a hard game at the best of times, even when you’ve got the sun beating down on you. Add a good old British winter to your ropey swing and you’ve got the recipe for high scores and short tempers. Good waterproofs are, without doubt, one of the key bits of kit you simply HAVE to own.

HOWEach one of our 15 suits was rated on: looks, comfort, noise, waterproof-ability and drying time. For the Looks Rating, we asked 10 golfers (aged between 22 and 52) to mark the suits out of five, with the average score being displayed. Then for the hard part. Equipment Editor Jon Greathead rated the noise they made during a swing (1 being loud, 5 being quiet) and also assessed the comfort of each offering. He then clambered into each suit and proceeded to drench it under two shower settings, the first a light/moderate spraying and the second a heavier drenching. Once this had been done, the suit was hung up in a prepared drying room (much like the one at your golf club) and the time it took to dry was then recorded.

Want the best suit to keep you dry this bleak mid-winter? Read on...jeT sTReam TesTing

The top three waterproof suits each won a coveted TG Gold Award, while the next highly-rated quartet received a Silver Award. We have also dished out a Best on Test as well as a Best Value Award.

HHHHH Must Buy HHHH ExcellentHHH Good HH Average H Leave it!

OUR RATINGS

HOW TG

TESTED

WaTErprOOfS

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the test waterproofs

Issue 250 Today’s Golfer 97

See thousands of products rated and slated @ www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/equipment

Contact www.sunderlandgolf.com

Contact www.mizunogolfeurope.comContact www.proquipgolf.com

Contact www.pringlegolf.com

Sunderland were without doubt one of the pre-test favourites. The Whisper Dry looked respectable and also did the business in the comfort stakes, so we were eagerly anticipating a stellar performance. But, like the majority of cats and cricketers, it didn’t like getting wet. The initial shower was withstood relatively well, but our tester was wet wet wet after the

follow-up. And another thing; it dried at a glacial pace. We reckon this would be fine for a light shower, but anything more and you’re in trouble.Looks: 3.3Comfort: 5Noise: 4Waterproof-ability: 3 Drying time: 2 (24 minutes)Rating: HHHHH

This was a very ‘middle-of-the-road’ suit. In the looks department, it didn’t really get the job done, but it was fairly comfortable. Saying that, one thing really did rub us up the wrong way – the detachable sleeves. Great idea, but the zip to keep them on the main body of the jacket kept rubbing on our tester’s arms, causing a little discomfort through the swing. Like many of

the suits, the initial shower was dealt with pretty easily, but when the second one kicked in, the Mizuno struggled a little.

Looks: 2.2Comfort: 4Noise: 4Waterproof-ability: 3 Drying time: 4 (12 minutes)Rating: HHHHH

Traditionally, ProQuip waterproofs have always been pretty good. Style-wise, there are more exciting things on the market, but in terms of keeping you dry they were as good as there was. Sadly, not this time. We loved the slightly heavier feel of the suit, and the fact that it was quiet too, but under the shower it simply didn’t perform. Water seeped through the main zip

on the front and by the time the second shower had finished, our tester was wetter than an English summer’s day!

Looks: 2.8 (out of 5)Comfort: 4Noise: 4Waterproof-ability: 2 Drying time: 3 (19 minutes)Rating: HHHHH

Ah, good old Pringle. Who can forget the jumper classics of the 80s and 90s (see page 146)? Well, these days, Pringle are cool again. The suit we were sent certainly looked the part and this is reflected in the decent rating. We loved the metallic zips on the suit, as well as the mesh-lined pockets on the trousers. But we found the cuffs fiddly and it wasn’t the most

comfortable. This was a decent performance but we expected a little more from one of the bastions of golf apparel.

Looks: 3.1Comfort: 3Noise: 4Waterproof-ability: 4 Drying time: 4 (14 minutes)Rating: HHHHH

SUnDERLanD WHiSPER DRY£124 (jackEt), £80 (tRoUSERS)

MizUno iMPERMaLitE£110 (jackEt), £79 (tRoUSERS)

PRoQUiP HYDRatEcH £199 (fULL SUit)

PRingLE of ScotLanD aEngUS £139 (jackEt), £119 (tRoUSERS)

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112 Today’s Golfer Issue 250

My hooked approach to the 8th on Saunton’s West Course still finds the front of the green – and

apparently I have Adolf Hitler to thank! On the left of this typically muscular

Saunton fairway is what appears to be an ancient track, grooved well into the ground. My ball had pinged luckily off its left ridge and back towards the putting surface. “In fact that track was formed by movements of tanks and heavy amoury during the Second World War,” Saunton member Lez Smith reveals. “The American Engineers set up camp here to prepare for D-Day, because the beach at Saunton Sands was very similar to Omaha beach. They took over much of the area that is now the West course. That track on number eight was one of their main thoroughfares. While the British army were down at Slapton Sands in south Devon, the Americans practised for the Normandy landings here.” Lez adds that the canny members actually play for my spawny kick because of the way the track funnels the ball greenwards.

Not all of Saunton’s fairways are as hospitable as this, but no matter – this is without question a special place to spend a day playing golf. Two fantastic 18-hole courses unfurl across the wild and spectacular 1,000-acre linksland of Braunton Burrow, England’s largest sand dune system.

Both layouts – the Championship East

SAUNTON

Saunton is up there with Porthcawl and Dornoch as the best links never to have staged The Open. And you can play its gorgeously untamed 36 holes for £85!

by DuNCAN LeNNARDphotogRAphy JAMes CheADLe

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CREAMOF DEVON

COURSES

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NNORTH SOUTH EAST WEST

A classic testSaunton is a beautiful

course – but with plenty of bite.

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132 Today’s Golfer Issue 250

TRAVEL

Twenty five years ago golf in Dublin was basically all about three venerable links – Royal

Dublin, Portmarnock and The Island. In the year 2008, things are rather

different. So much so, in fact, that the fair city is claiming to be right up there with the ‘golfing capitals’ of the world.

And there’s no doubt that the proliferation of courses in the 1980s has made Dublin a ‘golf city’ – and a major one at that, with the Irish capital being home to a grand total of 118 courses.

Those tracks are all within 30 miles of the city centre, with 59 in Dublin county itself and 59 in the neighbouring counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. This is a genuine rival to Edinburgh and London as Britain and Ireland’s golfing capital city.

A succession of terrific inland courses such as The K Club and Carton House have been added to the existing classic links while the European Club is already one of Ireland’s finest seaside layouts.

When it comes to quantity and quality of courses, Dublin can suit all pockets – and golfing temperaments. At the ‘value’ end there’s the short-but-sweet links of Corballis for around £15. At the top end, expect to pay a whopping £300 for a round at one of the world’s most expensive parklands – the 2006 Ryder Cup venue The K Club.

One thing you can’t buy or build, though, is the weather. So when our early October, early-morning Ryanair flight touched down we were greeted with howling winds and pelting rain. Welcome to Dublin! On the other hand, we did

DUBLIN

You don’t need to go halfway round the world to find stunning courses to play for sensible money. This is on your doorstep (ish)! by KeVIN bROWNPHOTOGRAPHy ANGus MuRRAy

GREEN WITH ENVY

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