Reviews of Taylormade, Mizuno, Macgregor, Evnroll and Stuburt Lastest Offerings
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LOUISIANA Home of the Mardi Gras, PLANET GOLF fantastic Blues & Jazz bars, heavenly food and amazing golf courses SOUTH WALES Two hours from London but worlds apart when it comes to pace of life REISSUE 7 VIE EQUIPMENT & APPAREL We bring you reviews of TaylorMade, Mizuno, Macgregor, Evnroll and Stuburt lastest offerings STAY & PLAY our new PLAY & STAY section brings you the perfect Tenerife match VIEW.COM WELCOME As most of you will be aware we are now three days to update your equipment and apparel and we have away from this years third major championship reviews from TaylorMade, Mizuno, Macgregor, with The Open being played at Royal Birkdale and Evnroll and Stuburt to help you make an informed I would recommend you download the last issue of choice. PGR Magazine for our lowdown on the courses of I wish you all a wonderful summer and hope Liverpool’s Golf Coast. some of our features over the last couple of issues For those who have yet to decide on where to take have helped you with your choice of destination your holiday this year or if you’re planning for next equipment and apparel so you can take full advantage year – be it golfing or non golfing – check out our of these long – hopefully hot – summer day. REVIE reviews of Louisiana and South Wales. If you have missed any of our past editions follow Depending on what part of the globe you live, the link below, which will take you to our back issue for those of us who are in the Northern hemisphere archive page. summer is upon us and some of you will be looking planetgolfreview.com MEET THE TEAM Editor James Mason Art Director Joe Hetzel Hotel and Spa Editor Charmaine Hibbert Contributing travel writers Teresa Barnett General enquiries [email protected] Follow us on social media .COM EDITORIAL VIEW2 PLANETGOLFREVIEW | CONTENTS p 4 Louisiana With direct flights to New Orleans from all major airports, this state already has so much to offer with its wonderful music and food. Throw in Louisiana’s Audubon Golf Trail and it becomes a golfers dream holiday p 14 South Wales For those of us who live in the city the chance to breath fresh clean air can be enough, but when you combine locally sourced and award winning cuisine, centuries of history and golf courses that have challenged some of the REVIE greatest golfers of all time, then it becomes a must visit destination p 37 Equipment Reviews On test in this issue are Mizuno’s JPX900 3-Wood & Hybrid, TaylorMade’s M2 Driver, Macgregor’s Wedge System and Evnroll’s EM6 Putter. p 49 Play & Stay 4 This is our new section showing you some of the best places in the world to get away, play, stay, spa and relax. We visit the Spanish island 37 of Tenerife and bring you the thrills of the Severiano “Seve” Ballesteros designed Buenavista Golf course and the adult only Meliá Hacienda del Conde hotel p 55 Apparel We test Stuburt’s 2017 summer range of apparel and two of their spikeless golf shoe offerings 14 49 55 .COM CONTENTS VIEW3 PLANETGOLFREVIEW | CONTENTS 5 LOUISIANA REVIE 8 CARTER PLANTATION BLACK BEAR xx6 AUDUBON PARK 7 TPC 10 GOLF CLUB .COM 11 HOUMAS HOUSE DESTINATIONS VIEW4 PLANETGOLFREVIEW | CONTENTS TRAILBLAZING LOUISIANA LOUISIANA We all look for something different each time we travel and as golfers we all want to play great courses but when you can add in great food, truly heartfelt hospitality and a city like New Orleans with all its traditions, great architecture and of course jazz and blues music then you really are on to a winner. I spent six nights playing six courses on Louisiana’s Audubon Golf Trail and if the other ten courses live up to these six I can’t wait to play the rest. If you are looking to expand your travel horizons, sample great cuisine, play great courses, stay in a variety of accommodation from downtown New Orleans HOUMAS HOUSE HOTEL GOLF IN LOUSIANA with its classic colonial style hotels to resorts, casinos, plantations or cabins on a lake, Louisiana needs to be on your bucket list of destinations. GOLF CLUB AT Top: The 11th AUDUBON PARK hole Golf Club at If you are staying in downtown New Orleans Audubon Park with there is no better way to get to The Golf Club Loyola University at Audubon Park than jumping the cable car as a backdrop. which takes you right outside the clubhouse, Middle: Aerial view but because of logistics for our group we have of Audubon Park. an executive bus and we are heading through Bottom: 1st and some wonderful avenues of classic New Orleans 16th double green, designed homes; they really do look spectacular. with the 17th in the As we pull up in our bus at the clubhouse and background. disembark a lady decked out in her finest with LOUISIANA LOUISIANA a hat to match her outfit is heading towards the clubhouse and it’s not until I walk in that I see she has joined a larger group who meets here regularly and they were certainly ladies who knew how to lunch. As you can imagine the gastronomy in this city lives up to all expectations but I would certainly recommend the southern fried chicken, GOLF IN LOUSIANA waffles and maple syrup a strange combination I know but it turns out they are a match made in heaven. It’s off to the first tee and we are informed that there are twelve par 3s and each nine starts with a par four and ends with a par five. The opening hole can be tricky with water down the left but not having any range to warm up on and recovering from my flight, I was a bit apprehensive, but a missed spent youth sees me VIDEO hit the fairway only leaving myself a wedge to a raised double green that is shared with the 16th hole; which is a nice feature of the course. Next up is the first of the twelve par 3s and at 148-yards from the gold’s – there are three teeing options, gold, blue and white – with water down the left and behind it’s a tough introduction. The total measurement from the back tees for the course is 4,220-yards from the gold tees and at today’s standards you may think of giving this course a miss and if you do you will be missing out on a little gem. I loved the design of the course and with all the par 3s it’s a tough little track and a complete test of your golf game, but what I enjoyed most is that it turns out to be the perfect warm up course for any golf tour of the state. HOUMAS HOUSE HOTEL TPC LOUISIANA It’s an early start as I am playing in the Zurich Classic ProAm and our pro is none other than seven time winner on the European Tour Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño and what a great guy he turns THE GASTRONOMY IN THIS CITY LIVES UP TO ALL EXPECTATIONS AND I WOULD CERTAINLY RECOMMEND THE SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN, WAFFLES AND MAPLE SYRUP out to be. 6 PLANETGOLFREVIEW | CONTENTS After the introductions we are off to the 15th not others. But what I will say is the finishing right you could be going down a slope. I miss the tee as it’s a shotgun start, we all hit great drives run of holes from the 15th hole where we started green to the right but manage an up and down par. and set off down the fairway and the course are a fitting finale to a wonderful course and the The second is the first of some great par 3s couldn’t be in any better condition, the fairways par 5 18th always offers a dramatic finish giving with the 5th being the stand out one with water are perfectly manicured and the greens are some players a risk and reward option. As Gonzalo down the left hand side and plays to a long of the best I have ever played on fast, undulating holes out for a tap in birdie and we walk off the narrow green from an elevated tee. and rolling perfectly true. green he states he would take four of those and Water comes into play on a lot of the holes on I have seen many courses on the PGA Tour I am sure he would love that tap in birdie on the this Robert Trent Jones Sr designed course that and to be honest there are not too many that I final day to win. meanders through what is basically an upscale would really enjoy playing as they are long and housing estate. Now the houses are million open and once all the tournament infrastructure SANTA MARIA GOLF COURSE dollars houses so don’t get me wrong and on disappears they really aren’t that aesthetically A 6.30am start sees me turning up at our coach most of the holes they don’t really come into play LOUISIANA LOUISIANA pleasing to the eye. But this tree lined Pete Dye blurry eyed and thankfully my hangover cure unless you are having a nightmare of a day. designed course – who had input from Steve works after consuming quite a few alcoholic But for me I am not a big fan, I do understand Elkington and Louisiana native Kelly Gibson – beverages yesterday. that to build these courses they need to sell Below and bottom: is stunning and Gonzalo agrees stating it is one But after warming up on the courses great homes and home owners want to be able to see TPC Louisiana is of the courses he really looks forward to playing practice facilities, with its wonderful chipping the golf course, but for me if this was a tree the home of the on the PGA Tour.