Barney's July 2025 Newsletter
- Barney
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
Hi Everyone,
Hard to believe it is July already and the last major of the year is hoving into view. If this year's version at Royal Portrush is as good as the last one there with Shane Lowry's emotional win, we are in for another great weeks viewing. Portrush is a fantastic links and in my opinion it will require a master of that art form. Coping with 30mph winds, wicked slopes, high riveted bunkers, tangly thick rough which is often wet, slopey quick greens and at least half a dozen devilish pin positions (they're only allowed to do 6 like that a day, thankfully) which leave players scratching their heads or asking for divine intervention.
For me the history of the Open is incredible, all 165 years of it and my goal is to watch the 200th one, although by then I will have forgotten it's being played!
The other great feature is the qualifying opportunity given to players everywhere and some of the stories have been so uplifting over the years. This year was no exception with Richard Teder from Estonia securing his berth in dramatic fashion. Needing to either par or bogey the final hole in qualifying, Richard unfortunately double bogeyed it to find himself in a 4 man playoff for two spaces. Once Oliver Lindell from Finland birdied the second playoff hole, there was only one spot left. Teder blasted a 300 yard plus drive and left with only a 90 yard wedge shot, calmly lofted on the green for an eagle and a place in Estonian golf history.
This also shows with talent and a strong will anything is possible. Just think there are 5 times as many courses in Hertfordshire as there are in Estonia! This young man is worth following as he's already in the top 100 amateurs in the world and clearly has great mental skills dealing with his final hole blip, then sudden hole playoff. This reminded me of that wonderful line from Kipling's poem If - "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster - And treat those two impostors just the same". I wish him and all the competitors good fortune in the upcoming Open and my strong tip would be Bob McIntyre, who is a links player par excellence and has all the tools to win a Major.
Winning an Open or Monthly medal come to that will require some deft chipping. Set up for Success a phrase I never tire of using as the triumph or disaster in this shot can often be traced back to the set up. As shown in the two photos, set your hands slightly forward with a small spine tilt and weight drifted 65% on your left side. This establishes the correct feel for impact where the hands will lead the club. Return to this position through impact and you'll make good contact. A common error is setting the hands too far forward, the player leaning back too far often subconsciously to assist the ball up! (as in picture 2) and that steep shoulder angle is all that is required to execute the dreaded duff / skull!
The big key on the shot itself is the lead hand leading through the shot and commit to even pace through the ball. A good tip to help with this is make your grip lighter than a regular iron shot. So say you grip the club 7/10 for a full shot, grip for a chip should ideally be at 4.
Final thoughts on this shot are to do with line and pace. Most golfers I see when faced with a long putt will study the terrain and how far it is going to break etc. When it comes to chipping, players often just aim straight at the flag and wonder why the chip looses pace and the break kicks in, their ball finishes further away than it should.
Pace is dictated by where we land the ball on the putting surface, so when choosing your club factor this in. So for instance when chipping with a 9 iron the equation could be chip a quarter of the distance, let it run the rest. Whereas a gap wedge may well be chip it half and roll the rest. Condition and experience will point us to the club and then good old fashioned practice will fine tune the actual shot.
To find out what level your chipping is at the moment, I thought this fun video might help :-)
Wishing you all good fortune in your upcoming games and in the event of any of you winning money courtesy of my Open Tip, you won't find me ungrateful to being bought a Ribena!
All the best
Barney
Fellow of the PGA
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