Englishman and Under Armour Golf UK ambassador Matthew Fitzpatrick eased to his second European Tour victory in last week’s Nordea Masters. Since turning pro off a handicap of plus four in 2014, the impressive 21-year-old has endured a very promising start to his professional career and now finds himself sitting amongst the elite inside the world’s top 35. Fitzpatrick reeled off 17
birdies in his first three rounds, giving him a comfortable five-shot lead heading into Sunday’ showdown. He never looked back as he waltzed to a three-shot victory to secure his place in this year’s Open Championship. On a course which boasts five par-5s, a good performance tee-to-green was always going to go a long way in determining how high up the leaderboard you finished.

Fitzpatrick certainly got it right this week.

Matthew played the longer holes in 10-under-par without a single dropped shot. The only way this would be possible is by hitting fairways and greens, something which the winner did time-after-time. He actually finished third in ‘Driving Accuracy’ at over 73% of fairways found for the week, and first in ‘Greens in Regulation’ with 85% of greens being hit – that’s 7 out of every 8 greens! Impressive golf.

Here’s what Fitzpatrick had in his golf bag…

• Driver – Callaway Big Bertha Alpha (10.5 degrees)
• Fairway woods – PING G 3-wood & 5-wood (14.5 degrees & 20.5 degrees)
• Irons – PING i25 (3-5 irons); PING S55 (6-9 irons)
• Wedges – PING Tour Gorge (47 degrees); Vokey SM5 (54 & 58 degrees)
• Putter – Yes

The term ‘journeyman’ gets batted around a lot, but that’s exactly what last week’s PGA Tour winner, William McGirt, is. By his own confession he’s been around the block, but the 36-year-old’s career will never be the same again after his sudden-death playoff win at the Memorial Tournament. It was a very steady scorecard for McGirt on Sunday, mixing one birdie with 17 pars to record a one-under-par 71 and tie Jon Curran at the top of the leaderboard. And it was a similar story in the playoff as both Americans went to head-to-head. Pars for both on first playoff hole meant a second was needed. Both Curran and McGirt missed the green at the second time of asking, and once Curran failed to get up-and-down, McGirt was left with a seven-footer for the win. This was McGirt’s maiden Tour victory in his 165th start, upstaging a star-studded field in the process.

Here’s what McGirt used en-route to victory…

• Driver – TaylorMade M2 (8.5 degrees)
• Fairway woods – TaylorMade M2 (13 degrees); TaylorMade M1 (17 degrees)
• Irons – Srixon Z-U45 (2 & 3 irons); Srixon Z-745 (5-PW)
• Wedges – Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 (54 & 60 degrees)
• Ball – Srixon Z-Star

Golf putters are a must. All golfers need to have this type of club in their golf bags when playing the sport. The putter is designed to make quite short, low-speed strokes that are designed to get the ball into the hole from a close distance. With that being said, read on to discover what you must consider when purchasing this type of golf club.

• Length – Firstly, the length of the putter is of paramount importance. It needs to be right for your height and stroke. This is vital if you are to have consistent high-quality putting.

• Reviews – It is always a good idea to read reviews that have been left by past customers when buying golf clubs. This will enlighten you to any issues, if there are any, or it will confirm that the putter is a good choice.

• Design – You have numerous designs to choose from, including peripheral weight putters, blade putters, and mallet putters. The one you choose will depend on your playing style.

• Brand – No matter whether you are looking for golf irons or golf drivers, choosing a high-quality brand is highly recommended. Don’t go for an unknown brand simply to save some cash, as it will end up costing you more money in the long run. Some of the best brands in the industry include Callaway, Titleist, TaylorMade, PING, Cleveland Golf, and Nike.

• Face – Last but not least, the face of the putter is something that needs to be thought about carefully. The main options are metal, insert, and grooved putters. There is no right or wrong answer, but most people prefer metal-faced putters, as they offer a hard strike yet are very responsive.

All in all, if you consider the points mentioned above, you should have no issue finding the perfect golf putters for you.

Following a barren spell (by his lofty standards) without any successes, Rory McIlroy ended his six-month drought with victory in the Irish Open last week. Having missed the past few cuts at his 'home' tournament, the world number three fared rather better at The K Club - home of the 2006 Ryder Cup - with a three-shot victory over Welshman Bradley Dredge and Scotsman Russell Knox. Having said that, if you think that it was as comfortable as the winning margin suggests then you’d be mistaken.

Play was first suspended on Sunday - and not for the first time in the tournament - with 10 holes left for the leaders, McIlroy leading by one from Knox. By the time the horn sounded again, two hours later and with four holes remaining, the Scot had just birdied 14 to tie McIlroy at the top of the leaderboard. The brief second delay certainly didn't halt Knox in his late charge, a birdie at the 15th seeing him lead by one with just three holes to play.

But we know how quickly things can change in golf

Up step Rory McIlroy. A sublime second shot into the heart of the par-5 16th green set up a two-putt birdie for the Northern Irishman, coinciding with a bogey-six for Knox. A two-shot swing and a huge momentum shift in the Rory's favour. One hole to play, Rory leads by one. The 18th at the K Club is a par-5 with water lurking for any wayward shots. The perfect final hole. After a nailed drive straight down the middle, McIlroy showed why he is one of the world's best with his second. 253-yards was the number, two feet was the final result. A truly astonishing shot, when the pressure was at its highest, setting up a tap-in eagle to secure the title. The shot of champion.

Here’s what Rory had in the bag:

Driver – Nike Vapor Fly Pro (9.5 degrees)
Fairway Woods – Nike Vapor Speed (15 and 19 degrees)
Irons – Nike VR Pro blades (4-9)
Wedges – Nike Engage (47, 52, 56 & 59 degrees)
Putter – Nike Method
Ball – Nike RZN Platinum

Talking of barren spells, Sergio Garcia clinched his first PGA Tour title in almost four years at the AT&T Bryon Nelson in Texas. Brooks Koepka held the overnight lead going into Sunday, a two-shot cushion over world number two Jordan Spieth. Much has been made of Spieth’s form this season, especially after his final-round collapse at The Masters last month. The truth of the matter is that he has played in 11 events this season, missing only two cuts and not finishing any worse than T21 in every other tournament – what a terrible season for the young American….

But this wasn’t Spieth’s week, a closing 74 made sure of that. Instead, the tournament was in Koepka’s hands until the closing stretch, when errant tee shots led to bogeys on 14 and 15, presenting Sergio with a chance of glory. Firing a two-under 68 on Sunday, the Spaniard tied Koepka at the top of the leaderboard and so a playoff was needed to decide the winner.

Now Sergio may well be one of the unluckiest golfers out there, with countless near-misses proving that fate isn’t always on his side. That was until last week. Another poor tee shot by Koepka, this time on the first playoff hole, found the water, practically gifting the tournament to Sergio there and then. Someone of his class wasn’t going to make the same mistake, instead he hit the middle of the fairway before finding the heart of the green to secure the 9th Tour win of his career.

What equipment did Sergio use?

Driver – TaylorMade M2 (9.5 degrees)
Fairway Woods – TaylorMade M1 (15 and 19 degrees)
Irons – TaylorMade PSi Tour (3-PW)
Wedges – TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF (52 and 58 degrees) 
Putter – TaylorMade Monte Carlo
Ball – TaylorMade Tour Preferred X

The European Tour crossed borders last week as the Shenzhen International took place in China. For the second week in a row there was a newbie on the winner’s podium as TaylorMade Soomin Lee claimed his maiden European Tour title, propelling himself into the top 10 of the Race to Dubai standings. 22-year-old Lee has had a brilliant start to his golfing career to date with two top three finishes in his first five outings. Moving on to his sixth event, Lee was tied for the lead with five holes left to play in his final round before play was suspended for the day due to electrical storms. In his situation, given his final-straight meltdown earlier on in the season, Lee would have been forgiven for letting his nerves get the better of him yet again, however this was far from the case. Resuming on Monday morning after yet another weather delay, Lee followed a birdie on 16 with a magical eagle on 17 on his way to a two-shot, wire-to-wire victory.

What equipment did he use?

• Driver – TaylorMade M1 430 (9.5)
• 3-wood – TaylorMade M2 (15)
• Irons – Srixon Z 945

The PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open looked destined for a playoff this week as Patrick Reed birdied the 72nd hole, leaving playing partner Charley Hoffman a 9-foot putt for the win on the par-5 18th. This was far from straight-forward for Hoffman seeing as he had been within touching distance of numerous victories in previous months, only to trip up over the final hurdle on each occasion. However this was his time: a solid stroke and a pure connection saw the ball travel towards the hole, not leaving the centre of the cup the whole way. A Tiger Woods-esque fist pump followed as Hoffman held his nerve to win his fourth PGA Tour title, one ahead of American compatriot Patrick Reed.

What equipment did he use?

• Driver – Titleist 915D4 (9.5)
• 3-wood – Titleist 915F (13.5)
• Hybrid – Titleist 915Hd (17.5)
• Irons – Titleist 716 T-MB (3, 5-9)
• Wedges – Vokey SM5 wedges (46, 50, 56 & 58)
• Putter – Scotty Cameron GoLo 5 prototype
• Ball – Titleist Pro V1

To see the options we have available on our golf shop, head to https://www.foremostgolf.com/. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to give us a call on +44 (0) 800 500 3194.

Well, we’re finally here. After almost 12 months of non-stop golf, including 4 Major Championships and 3 FedExCup play-off events, the TOUR Championship starts tomorrow with much still to play for.

Although the TOUR Championship is a prestigious tournament in and of itself, much of the focus will be on who is in pole position to claim the FedExCup and the $10 million that goes with it. Any of the current top 5 – Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson – will win the FedExCup simply by winning the TOUR Championship. Any guys outside that top 5 will need either a little bit of help - Zach Johnson, currently in sixth, would need Day to finish tied second or worse - or a lot of help: Harris English, in 30^th, basically needs everyone to forget how to play golf. There are also countless other permutations where people can win if they finish second, if you’re keen to know what every player has to do then best to look here.

The tournament takes place at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, a tough yet fair course that normally produces a winner that finishes around 10 under par. Newly minted World No.1 Jason Day should enter the tournament as favourite, but have no doubt that every player in the field is capable of springing a surprise. Spieth and McIlroy both showed signs last week of a potential return to form; Henrik Stenson could technically win the $10 million without winning a tournament all year; Rickie Fowler has had his breakout year slightly overshadowed by Day and Spieth but a breakout it’s been nonethelessl; and guys like Zach and Dustin Johnson lurk if other guys slip-up.

It should be a fun four days. Somebody is going to be very, very rich. 

The FedExCup Play-Offs have reached the half way point. After two entertaining tournaments at The Barclays & The Deutsche Bank Championship we’re down to the remaining 70 players heading in to the BMW Championship before the final 30 player shootout at The Tour Championship. Now is as good a time as any to take stock of what we’ve seen so far.

  The Big 3 could be a Big 4

  All the talk this year has been about the emergence of Jordan Spieth & Jason Day, and rightly so; they’ve both won Major Championships – In Spieth’s case two – whilst also performing well on the PGA Tour - Day followed his success at the PGA Championship by storming to victory in the first FedExCup Play-Off event, The Barclays. The other member of the ‘Big 3’, Rory McIlroy, had much of his season taken away by injury but is still number 1 or 1A in the World when healthy and playing consistently.

  One man who has been lost in the shuffle a little bit is Rickie Fowler. In 2014 Fowler became the third player ever – Jordan Spieth has since made it 4 – to finish in the top 5 of all four Majors in a calendar year, but the first not to win. Heading in to 2015 it looked as if he’d be the player to break through and win his first Major. Although that hasn’t been the case he’s still had the best season of his career, winning golfs ‘fifth Major’, The Players Championship, as well as the Scottish Open before his victory last week at The Deutsche Bank Championship.

  Rightly or wrongly, the way we measure these things is binary: if you’ve won a Major we’ll consider adding you to that illustrious group; if you haven’t, we won’t. You have to think we’ll be talking about a Big 4 sooner rather than later.

  Saying that though, what’s up with Jordan Spieth?

  Probably nothing. Yes, he’s missed two cuts in a row; and yes, of his last four rounds none of them have been lower than 73, but stuff like this happens. I highly doubt he became an average golfer overnight.

  It’s been a long season for the 22 year-old, when you win two Majors and become one of the most prominent figures in your sport there’s going to be demands on your time that weren’t there previously. It’s not so much the volume of golf he’s playing – he’s actually played less tournaments this year than he did last year – it’s more the mental aspect of having to deal with all the extra-curricular stuff.

  For what it’s worth, he doesn’t seem particularly worried either. He’s mainly chalked it up to the mental aspect of his game letting him down as opposed to anything wrong with his swing or putting. That’s a good thing! Despite him being relatively young he’s as mature and self-aware as anyone on tour so you figure it’s something he’ll resolve sooner rather than later.

  Mr. Consistent

  With two solo second place finishes in the first two tournaments, Henrik Stenson has been the most consistent player so far. There was little he could do to catch Jason Day at the Barclays; Day played at a level far and beyond everyone else over the four days. The second place in Boston last weekend is likely to sting a little more.

  It really was a tournament he should have won: a poor tee shot on the par 3 16^th was his undoing, sending his ball in to the water when a safe landing on the green would have left him in a commanding position.

  Every cloud though; he’s in a much stronger position now than he was a couple of weeks ago to win the final $10 million prize. After winning in 2013 he knows what it takes so don’t be surprised to see him do it again this year.

  What’s Left Then?

  The play-offs take a sabbatical this weekend before returning the following week at The BMW Championship in Illinois. It should be a pretty interesting tournament as over half the field is going to be attempting to reach the top 30 FedExCup position that qualifies them for The Tour Championship.

  There are several notable names currently outside the top 30, including Phil Mickleson, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and last year’s FedExCup winner, Billy Horschel.

  It should be a fun finish anyway, and one we hope you’ll enjoy watching at home!

It was finally time.

  After years of consistent performances at Major Championships, the relief of finally winning his first was etched all over the face of Jason Day. He rolled his penultimate putt to within a few inches of the hole and, after bending down to mark his ball, the tears began to flow as the magnitude of the moment began to hit him - an acknowledgement that years of dedication to his craft had finally paid off.

  It always seemed like it would end this way for Day. His mercurial talent is conducive to low scoring so a record-breaking final total of 20 under-par - eclipsing his hero Tiger Woods’ previous record by a single shot - will have surprised very few.

  He couldn’t have asked for a tougher situation at the start of the day. Playing in the same group as 2015’s best player, Jordan Spieth, he knew the American would breathe down his neck all day and with Major winners Justin Rose and Martin Kaymer just behind the danger was everywhere.  

  From the get go it was clear that the pressure wasn’t going to have an impact on him, he birdied the par-5 second hole before birdieng three straight from five through to seven and never let anyone get within two strokes of his lead. Even when things didn’t go perfectly he still found his way out of it – after chunking his wedge shot on the par-four ninth hole to leave him well short of the green it looked like those around him might be able to gain a shot or two; instead, Spieth himself couldn’t get up and down for par and Branden Grace, who at that point was at 16 under and well within striking distance, was busy double-bogeying the tenth hole to end his challenge prematurely.

  The win vaults Day up to number three in the World rankings and leaves golf in the enviable position of having its top three be young, marketable guys to build the foundation of the game on. With Spieth, McIlroy and Day winning five of the last six Majors it’s clear that the game is finally in a healthy enough position to move on from the Tiger Woods era, something it’s been wrestling with since Woods’ game began to atrophy.

  The US PGA is often considered the black sheep of the four Majors; one that lacks the history, prestige and significance of the other three. That won’t matter in the slightest for Day, who rid himself of a rather large monkey on his back and now looks like a threat to win multiple Majors in the coming years.  

  Better late than never! 

What was in Jason's bag?

The marquee group at The PGA Championship this week contains Rory McIlroy & Jordan Spieth, the number 1 & 2 ranked golfers in the world respectively. They'll do battle out on the course with both men looking to one-up the other; however, this isn't the only place that battle will take place. Off the course, Nike (Rory's sponsor) & Under Armour (Spieth's sponsor) will be trying to get the upper hand in the marketing battle that largely centers around both player's clothing. 

Rory McIlroy

You can shop for Rory's gear HERE

You can shop for Jordan's gear HERE

  "I don't know. I hit it, thought I hit it pretty decent" 

  It was a familiar feeling for Dustin Johnson, golf's nearly man for his entire career. Moments earlier he was on the 18th green going through the routine every golfer goes through when analysing a putt: a bend of the knees to get level with the green, a brisk walk to see it from all angles. 

  He knew what to do, or at least he thought he did. He stood over it, drew the putter back and executed the swing. 

  Missed. 

  A gut punch, yes, but still an opportunity remained. Simply sink this putt and he's in an 18 hole play-off for the U.S. Open. It's maybe 4 feet - not a great deal of movement - hit it firm and straight and he's there. He rehearsed the putt once, twice, three times before extending his right arm so that the putter face now met the back of the ball. He brought his left hand across, resting it just atop his right before finally shuffling his feet to get comfortable.

  Again he drew the putter back. Again he executed the swing.

  Again he missed.

  His reaction was fairly muted. A small scowl met his face and his shoulders slumped slightly, but he was never one to show a great deal of emotion anyway. The nature of the defeat suggested it might leave a lasting impression; that Dustin Johnson would never be able to convince himself he could get over the hump. 

  Then St.Andrews came along, a course that would suit his game to a T. His ability to hit the ball in to the stratosphere made many of The Old Course's most formidable holes a formality; the 4th and 17th greens a mere stones throw away. 

  He held the lead after 36 holes playing a brand of golf that made him look invincible, mixing the brutish hitting off the tee with a deft touch around the greens. Then, as has so often been the case, his game fell apart when he needed it most. When seemingly every player around him was making birdie after birdie during the third round he couldn’t find one until the 15^th hole. Par followed par followed par followed par.

  His day would end on the sourest of notes - three straight bogeys on the final three holes left him completely out of contention going in to the final day. The collapse would continue in to the fourth round, at one point he bogeyed 6 out of 7 holes from the 16^th in the third round to the 4^th in the fourth round. Once more from a position of strength he had faded in to the background.

  It’s difficult to lay your finger on exactly what the issue is. When it’s so obvious that the physical tools are there to win Majors the only deduction you can make is it’s an issue he’s having mentally. Looking from the outside it seems that, when the stakes are the highest, he is unable to grind through hole after hole to stop his round getting away from him. When you think of some of the more mentally tough golfers on the tour, it’s often not the rounds of 62 they shot when everything was flowing perfectly, it’s those rounds of 68 or 70 that took every ounce of concentration they had. For whatever reason, Johnson isn’t able to do this yet. The jury is out on whether he can do it in the future.

  Of course, it is worth mentioning that had his putt to win the US Open reached its intended target then the ‘nearly man’ tag would be assigned to the next quality player yet to win a Major. These are the fine lines of sport at the top level. Maybe the missed putts say less about Johnson’s ability in the big moments than they do about the difficulty of putting in general. Maybe the US Open said more about Jordan Spieth than it did about Dustin Johnson. Maybe his problems over the final two rounds at The Open are more a testament to the course and the conditions than they are to his lack of bottle. Maybe he’s just unlucky. After all, he only missed out on a play-off at the 2010 PGA Championship after he was penalised two shots for grounding his club in a bunker.

  Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

  Dustin Johnson is too good to have his career be one, big ‘maybe’.

A well-played greenside bunker shot is one of the most spectacular in golf. Airborne sand, spin choked ball and a smashing open bladed strike. The irony is that playing the shot usually means you have gone wrong somewhere…

We review the key elements to consider to produce consistent and creative bunker shots.

The Strike

Playing from the sand around the green is about confidence, bravery and commitment to the hit. Open your stance and clubface, this ensures immediate height on the strike and better control from the softer lie.

Play the ball off your front foot at all times in order to promote a steeper strike for trajectory control. It might feel unnatural at first but practice will as always make the difference.

The motion of the backswing also differs; outside to in swing path will allow drill and punch through the ball. Follow through and stay longer on the strike. This is essential for full flight control and spin production. The shot is not a pitch and run so the ability to work the ball from the face is simply vital.

Finally remember to hit behind the ball catching the sand first to toss the ball into the air. Hitting the ball first will simply result in a thinned connection that might not even get over the face.

Club Selection

In days gone by, the sand wedge was the only option for players for green side bunker play. The development of wedges with varying degrees of loft has transformed the shot creation possibilities. Top players can now control bunker shots without any fear and club players should be no different.

Consider the steepness of the trap face and the closeness of the pin before committing to a club choice.

Practice Drills

Play batches of shots aimed from different lies and work the motion of catching the sand before the ball to perfect the technique.

Try to avoid playing from the same section of bunker as it will become unnatural and bare.

If you need any extra assistance on this then please visit your local Foremost Golf professional.