FEBRUARY 2005

Cover Story
Driving Secrets Revealed
There are reasons why tour pros hit long, accurate drives up to 12 of the 14 times they pull the club from their bags each round. The Swing Doctor details the simple things you can learn from the best in the game.

FEATURES
Els Aims 4 Four
South African Ernie Els has a shot at making history when he arrives in Melbourne for the Heineken Classic. The second half of summer is a guarantee of many things. The toys the kids got at Christmas will be already broken, the Aussie cricket team will have sent another team home with their tails between their legs and Ernie Els will collect a whole bunch of trophies around the world.

Australia’s 25 Best Public Access Courses
Which course will rule the roost in 2005? Brendan James compiles’ the list of this year’s top public access layouts.
Social golf is on the rise in Australia with nearly 800,000 players expected to tee up on a public access golf course in 2005. For those players who choose to play a quality layout, they will find there is a smorgasbord of choice spread right throughout the nation.From the north coast of Tasmania, to the Queensland tropics and west to the duneland south of Perth, there are public access golf courses waiting to be played. The cream of our crop appears on the following pages as Golf Australia presents its second ranking of Australia’s 25 Best Public Access Courses.

There are seven debutante courses on the list including a new No.1, which may be a controversial selection but we’ll leave that up to you to decide for yourself.

Fearless Predictions for 2005
The crystal ball is gone and the tarot cards are burned. So Brendan James examines what the tea leaves have to say about 2005…

Like all good soap operas, the Tiger and Elin Woods show will provide another gripping episode when they announce the birth of their first cub. If it is anything like the engagement break-up, secret Caribbean marriage and courtroom dramas we endured in 2004, then it might be a busy time for Tiger in ’05.

Not Done Yet
Nick Faldo admits he is in the twilight of his career. But as Rod Morri reports, the six-time major winner is confident of one last hurrah. Happy birthday to you; Happy birthday to you; Happy birthday Open Champion, Happy birthday to you...” So go the lyrics to the song Nick Faldo would like to hear when he wakes up on his 48th birthday this year – a milestone he will reach just one day after the 134th staging of the British Open. The six-time major winner believes that, despite his age and increasing off-course commitments with his design company, he has a chance to win this year’s title for one main reason; the venue.

From The Back O’ Bourke
Greg Barton reports on an outback team’s road from dirt greens to fairway heaven and victory in the 2004 Holden Scramble National final.

PETER LONARD
You’re Peter Lonard. You’ve just won back-to-back Australian Opens in front of a partisan NSW home crowd. What do you do the next morning – kick back? Maybe go for a surf? Nope. You pack your clubs, hop on a jet, and head to the finals of the Holden Scramble.

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