Life inside the ropes
One of the (few) benefits of living under lockdown has been that I’ve made time to listen to the weekly Golf Monthly Clubhouse podcast. As my commute to work is only 20 minutes, my podcast listening is normally reserved for longer car journeys. Those have obviously stopped, but the duration of my dog walks has increased and I’ve taken the opportunity to listen to some great interviews.
Over the last few weeks, Paul Mcginley, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald have all been guests – a pretty stellar cast, I’m sure you’ll agree. However, for me, the best listen was an hour-long interview that GM’S Elliott Heath did with young tour player Scott Gregory.
The name might ring a bell – Gregory won the 2016 Amateur Championship, defeating Robert Macintyre in a superb final at Royal Porthcawl. The following year, he turned pro and looked poised to make an impact in the paid ranks. However, life doesn’t always go to plan, and Gregory suffered an alarming drop in form and a wrist injury that significantly hampered his game. The feature on page 50 is a mustread, and once you’ve done that, I’d recommend listening to the full interview on the podcast. If you think life as a tour player is all glam and glitz, think again!
Elsewhere in the issue, there are two other interviews that make for fascinating reads. England’s Alice Hewson won the last professional event before lockdown, and on page 60 she describes what it was like to win on her first start as a pro.
At the other end of the career spectrum is Freddie Couples. Growing up, Couples was one of my favourite golfers. I was impressed by his long, lazy swing and his cool, laid-back style. It’s reassuring to see neither of those qualities have dimmed over the years. It’s certainly good to hear Freddie is busy working up a gameplan for a November Masters, a tournament I still think he has a chance to challenge at.
This issue also marks a changing of the guard for our playing editor – a big thanks to Matt Southgate for his insightful contributions over the last 12 months. Taking up the reins is none other than Eddie Pepperell. We are delighted to have Eddie sign for Golf Monthly. He needs little introduction and I know the next 12 months will be very entertaining. You can read his first column on page 30.
I’m writing this three days before we hear about how lockdown will be lifted. Fingers crossed we’ll be back treading the fairways by the time you read this issue!