Square Mile Golf Awards 2017

Success is never a given when it comes to golf tournaments, but a happy Tommy Fleetwood is a dangerous man – and, as those who’ve faced him this season can verify, the Southport player has been in a jubilant mood. He welcomed the birth of his first child, Frankie, in September; he married his fiancée and manager Clare Craig earlier this December; his caddie Ian Finnis is one of his best mates; and he respects his swing coach Alan Thompson (or ‘Thommo’, as he calls him) more than any other in the game. Simply put, it’s a formula that has guided the former amateur world number one to the season of his life.

Victories at January’s Abu Dhabi Championship and an impressive Open de France victory in July headline a consistent year where he was also second at the WGC-Mexico Championship, second at the Shenzhen International, and T6th at the Italian Open. An excellent fourth at the US Open, as a world-class field struggled with the perils of Erin Hills, has led some to say he has the guile to win a major, but for now the $1.25m bonus he won for finishing the year as number one player on the European Tour will feel major enough.

No player on the planet has been as successful as the Kentucky-born golfer this year. The newly crowned FedExCup champion became only the fourth player ever under the age of 25 to win five times on the PGA Tour and take a major in the same season – picking up a cool $10m in earnings for his troubles.

Thomas shows no sign of letting up, either. He won the first event of the new 2017-18 season, The CJ Cup, and has set his sights firmly on the World Number One ranking. Do not be surprised if there are more majors in his cabinet by this time next year.

The five-star Ayrshire golf resort that bears the Trump name is the site of our favourite course to open in the UK this year. Located at Trump Turnberry, King Robert the Bruce began life as the perfectly serviceable Kintyre course – overshadowed by its Open-hosting sister The Ailsa course next door – but visionary architect Martin Ebert has transformed the layout into a true links gem. This is no renovation, mind, this is a reincarnation. While the course occupies a similar footprint to its previous design, every hole is completely new or significantly modified. In truth, only now has this course been given the love its location deserves. trumpturnberry.com

Ebert’s masterstroke was to introduce a new sequence of holes around Bain’s Hill from the eighth to the 11th. Like the Ailsa course, this stunning stretch of rocky shoreline was previously under utilised but now encompasses some of the finest coastal holes in the UK, culminating in the 586-yard par five 11th, which plays towards the iconic Turnberry lighthouse. The 451-yard 9th [pictured] is a challenge to relish. Finding the tight fairway is the least of your problems on a hole that demands a perfect second shot to a green perched on a rocky promontory. A sandy waste area punishes shots that fall short, while there’s further danger left and right. Every rose has its thorn, as they say. To our mind, King Robert the Bruce confirms Martin Ebert as a modern master of links design – and, better yet, makes Turnberry the golfing mecca it should rightly be. For more info, see trumpturnberry.com

As a pioneer of a natural, environmentally sensitive style of design, Cynthia Dye’s layouts are shifting the focus on how we build courses to enhance the land’s natural topography, rather than bringing in the bulldozer and playing god. News of her first layout in Europe was met with great excitement last year, but it wasn’t until the track opened for play this spring that golfers could appreciate the scale of Dye’s achievement. Scything through pine trees, vast expanses of sandy wasteland and lush scrub vegetation, West Cliffs is a wild, rollercoaster of a layout that pulls its players in every direction before spitting them out 18 holes later totally smitten. Golf holes are barely discernible from the surrounding flora, as if nature shaped these holes itself, resulting in a captivating sense of being the first to explore an untamed entity. westcliffs.com

Lying 50 miles north of Lisbon on Portugal’s Silver Coast, panoramic views of the Atlantic add to the dramatic landscape, but distracted golfers will see their score punished heavily. This is a demanding track, careful shot selection imperative, with challenges coming thick and fast from the start. The 419-yard third, stroke index one, requires steely nerves on the tee to thread an undulating fairway, past water left and trouble right, before navigating a huge dune on the second shot en route to the green. We won’t spoil the remaining holes for you, we’ll simply leave it at this – West Cliffs is one of the most exciting, unique courses to open on the continent for a number of years. Play it now before work on neighbouring residences begins, and it’ll live long in the memory. For more info, see westcliffs.com

As Stoke Park moves into its 110th year of operation, the Buckinghamshire resort shows no sign of falling behind the times. Over the last three years, the 27-hole Championship course has undergone a seven-figure bunker renovation programme (due for completion at the end of this winter), and extensive reworking of the water features on holes 12, 16 and 17. The fruit of this investment has already had a profound impact on the golfing proposition. Holes one to 18 of the Harry Colt-designed layout are now open for play, with the refurbishment creating a more defined course with better framed hole designs. It’s an exciting, albeit necessary, improvement worthy of such a historic golfing destination – and eliminates the previous criticism that the course lacks the individual nature of Colt’s other designs. stokepark.com

Elsewhere, a gym upgrade to the tune of £500k has created a 4,000sq-ft space that dwarfs almost any other resort gym in Europe, while Chris Wheeler, head chef of the on-site fine-dining restaurant Humphry’s, is cooking the best food of his career. Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks… For more info, see stokepark.com

Finca Cortesin has achieved several feats since it opened for play in 2007 – not least launching a successful championship course in one of the most over-populated golfing destinations in Europe, and hosting pro tournaments like the Volvo World Match Play – but the recent refurbishment of its 18 greens to introduce Ultra Dwarf Bermuda grass is perhaps its greatest achievement to date. Finca’s greenkeeping team grew the new turf in a nursery some 400km away in Cáceres before, miraculously, taking just a month to complete the relaying process and reopen the course to the public. This particular grass type is renowned for remaining consistently fast and firm throughout the changing seasons and weather conditions – and our visit in October confirmed that, even at this early stage, the quality of the new greens is sensational. fincacortesin.com

Beyond the ever-improving course, however, it’s the experience itself that makes this a trip to the south of Spain worth making. For starters, the five-star hotel is one of the sleekest in the country, with a beautiful white façade akin to Andalucian mansions of old, and boasts a location that is both blissfully isolated in the Sierra Bermeja foothills and a mere five-minute shuttle ride from Finca’s beach club on the Med. Subtle touches like the fragrant gardens surrounding the swimming pools and outdoor spaces add to the serene atmosphere, while the well-appointed suites offer luxurious bedsheets and Penhaligon's products in the bathrooms. Superb on-site dining options include the Michelin-starred Kabuki Raw, which transforms the freshest local ingredients into Japanese delicacies, and El Jardín de Lutz’s Mediterranean-inspired dishes, but you could also eat in the Italian restaurant, Don Giovanni, or grab something more casual in the clubhouse. Few hotels offer Finca Cortesin’s brand of effortless class. The golf course is deservedly the main draw, but it’s the whole package that will bring you back to the resort time and again. For more info, see fincacortesin.com

Out of Europe’s golfing superpowers, Italy is perhaps the most overlooked: Spain and Portugal entice the continent’s sun-seeking golfers, die-hard players will flock to the exclusive heathland courses of France, links lovers will challenge the UK’s finest, but the romance and charms of this boot-legged country continues to elude the masses. italygolfandmore.com

For those who have enjoyed the fairest fairways in Italy, such a lack of love from the golfing community is a mystery. The country boasts no fewer than 250 courses, including recent Italian Open host the Golf Club Milano and the sensational 36-hole Verdura Resort in Sicily, which will host the European Tour’s Rocco Forte Open in 2018. Most exciting of all, though, is news that Marco Simone Golf and Country Club will play host to the Ryder Cup in 2022 – a sign, if any was required, that now is the time to look beyond Italy’s vibrant culture and incredible history, and tee it up in this unappreciated European gem. For more info, see italygolfandmore.com

Having hosted the Open for the first and last time in 1951, it has taken decades of campaigning for Northern Ireland and Royal Portrush to return the tournament to its shores. At long last the R&A has agreed for the club to again host the golfing spectacle in 2019 – and the course is primed for action, thanks to the genius of architects Martin Ebert and Tom Mackenzie. The task of renovating Harry Colt’s 1932 masterpiece was no easy one. As one of the most beloved courses in the UK, any changes would have to be sensitive, while providing sufficient challenge to the longest and best players in the game. But, as we have seen from Ebert’s work on King Robert the Bruce, he is more than capable of enhancing a course while remaining true its origins. royalportrushgolfclub.com

Among the addition of new tee zones, clever bunkering and a few tweaked green complexes, the most extensive part of the project involved the creation of two new holes. The new seventh and eighth will replace the often-criticised 17th and 18th holes, with a spectacular par five that runs alongside a giant dune, and a fiddly par four that will test the pros’ shot selection. Playing an Open venue is a humbling, memorable experience – the swathe of stunning links terrain, the remorselessness of the weather, the iconic course design that brings the best players to their knees – Royal Portrush may have endured a lengthy wait, but it’s finally back where it belongs. For more info, see royalportrushgolfclub.com

Unsurprisingly from a sport that thinks bright white trousers are ever acceptable, golf has a nasty reputation when it comes to fashion. Thankfully, Trendy Golf is battling the garish polo shirt brigade to bring us a vastly improved taste in on-course fashion. trendygolf.com

It’s our choice retailer for a reason. Firstly, it’s run by a group of golf obsessives – but, better yet, its website is a joy to navigate and is filled with brands we’d gladly wear anywhere. For more info, see trendygolf.com

When it comes to innovation, some equipment manufacturers (not naming any names…) claim to have discovered the next best golf club once every 12 months. Titleist, on the other hand, prefers to bide its time, with a two-year cycle between a complete equipment overhaul. Other than eliminating fomo and needless yearly expense – rarely, if ever, does club technology advance with such regularity – it gives buyers the confidence to know that when it’s time for the biennial upgrade, there’s plenty of reason to trade in their old beaters. titleist.com

This year, Titleist has given us six new sets of irons, encompassing every level of ability, along with an additional two hybrid clubs and the 2017 edition of its wildly popular Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls. Among this high output, it’s the excellent 718 AP3 irons that stand out from the crowd. Blending a classic muscleback design with the technology of a game-improvement iron, these clubs find a middle ground between the higher backspin and launch angles of a difficult-to-hit bladed iron and the increased distance and playability that so many of us prefer. Titleist fans, now is the time to invest. For more info, see titleist.com

The advent of the smartwatch has revolutionised the previously staid GPS and rangefinder market thanks to its perfect balance between practicality and precision. What sets the Garmin Approach S60 apart from the competition, though, is its looks. garmin.com

Its sleek ceramic bezel and crystal-clear colour display are certainly pretty smart, but the touchscreen hole layout view is the easiest to use on the market as well. There’s also the ability to monitor runs, swims and bike rides at will. For more information, see garmin.com

Flying in the face of sporting giants Nike and Adidas, J Lindeberg takes a fashion-forward approach to dressing for the golf course, while putting an emphasis on high-quality materials and manufacturing methods. jlindeberg.com

The 2017 collection is one of the best in recent memory. For those players looking for a blend of clean silhouettes and stylish designs, J Lindeberg is much less shouty about its brand, and prefers to do the talking through its products. It shows. For more info, see jlindeberg.com

Simply put: RoboGolfPro is the most revolutionary training aid in golfing history. This clever robot’s ability to move your body into the perfect swing shape is a game changer. Literally. It took one of our team a single session to go from a perpetual fader of the ball to playing high slinging draws – and while we can’t guarantee quite the same results, we certainly believe this tuition will positively impact your score. fairweather.golf

Without the need to hit balls on the range, workouts on the Robogolf are more efficient and commit good swing mechanics to muscle memory. Best of all, it’s based an easy seven-iron from the office in Greenwich Peninsula. For more info, see fairweather.golf