Editor's blog: Winter warmers

Golf Monthly's editor Michael Harris gives readers an insight into the workings of the Golf Monthly team in the first edition of his new blog.

It?s been a busy 10 days since we put the January issue of Golf Monthly to bed with many of us having time out of the office at various events and the whole team scrambling to get ahead before the Christmas break.

Last week I flew out to Spain with our travel editor, Alicia Harney, to attend the International Golf Travel Market in Marbella. Alicia is a veteran of these events but it was my first time and it was a real eye-opener to see the mind-boggling variety of countries and regions exhibiting. From Royal Liverpool and England?s Golf Coast to the somewhat more exotic destinations like Kenya and Jamaica there really is a golf planet out there to be discovered.

You?ll be glad to know it wasn?t all work and I did manage to squeeze in game at a course called Rio Real, competing in the International Association of Golf Tour Operators golf day, which Golf Monthly sponsored. The course was enjoyable and in remarkably good condition despite a week of heavy rain on the Costa Del sol which meant it played every inch of its 6,800 yards - never good for me, a renowned short-hitter.

My fourball consisted of a 3-handicapper and two pros, one of whom was former South African tour player Ian Kennedy, who is head of sales at the Arabella on the Western Cape. None of us played particularly well but we had fun and I scrambled a birdie at the last to limp in with 29 points.

As I flew back into Gatwick last Thursday, Golf Monthly?s instruction editor, Neil Tappin, was heading in the other direction to do a shoot with Miguel Angel Jiménez who, along with celebrated course architect Dave Thomas, was hosting a small press trip at the Hacienda Del Alamo resort on Murcia that Dave designed and Miguel represents. Neil was lucky enough to play nine holes with Miguel and put up a great show losing by just one stroke in a scratch match with the former Ryder Cupper. Neil?s one over par sounded eventful to say the least as it involved goading Miguel into a long driving contest, holing a 40-foot birdie putt and accidentally hitting Dave Thomas with an errant approach shot!

I came back to the office on Monday to see the Golf Monthly office putting challenge had evidently been in full swing while I was away. The tell take signs were there with a putter left on the central desk where the newspapers are kept and a sheet of A4 with various tallies recorded on it!

The fact that alongside the trusty old Ram bladed putter - which is the only approved putter for the competition - were sat a rescue club and wedge indicated that the format had been extended to a bit of a short-game test with staff playing down to the plastic hole from by our colleagues at the football magazine Shoot Monthly some 20 yards away. I?m not sure of the eventual winner save to say it probably wasn?t our sub-editor, Luke Norman, who has a very suspect chipping action!

Today (Wednesday) we had the pleasure of the company of our contributing editor, Fergus Bisset, who came down from Scotland for an editorial ideas meeting which meant he had to sacrifice his usual weekly game in the Alliance which readers of his blog will know was a decision he wouldn?t have taken lightly!

The editorial meeting threw up a lot of innovative ideas for the magazine and website that we will put into action in 2007. I can't tell you any more about them here, but stay tuned because there will be some very exciting things happening in the next few months. I?ll sign off now because a 5.30am rendezvous with equipment editor Jeremy Ellwood at Gatwick awaits me. We?re off to Scotland for two days for various meetings. We?re taking our clubs so I?ll let you know who scooped the money when I return at the weekend.

Mike Harris
Content Director

Mike has been a journalist all his working life, starting out as a football writer with Goal magazine in the 1990s before moving into men’s and women’s lifestyle magazines including Men's Health, In 2003 he joined Golf Monthly and in 2006 he became only the eighth editor in Golf Monthly’s 100-plus year history leading the brand until July 2023. He is now Content Director overseeing Golf Monthly and two other iconic sports brands, FourFourTwo and Rugby World.

His three main passions in golf are courses (he's played over 500 courses worldwide), equipment (he's always in search of something shinny to give him an edge) and shoes (he owns more pairs than he cares to mention!).  

Mike’s handicap index hovers at around 10 and he is a member of four golf clubs: Hartley Wintney, Royal Liverpool, Royal North Devon and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.


Mike's current What's In The Bag? 

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ 9° - Fujikura Ventus Blue 5S

Fairway woods: TaylorMade Sim Max 3/15° - Fujikura Ventus Blue 6S & TaylorMade Stealth 7/20° - Fujikura Ventus Red 6S

Utility Iron: TaylorMade Stealth UDI 3/21° - Aldila Ascent 90HY

Irons: TaylorMade P790 (5-PW)  - Nippon Tour NSPro 950S

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 50°, 54° and 58° - KBS Tour Hi-Rev s2.0 hafts

Putter: Evnroll ER2B (Gravity Grip) 

Ball: TaylorMade Tour Response (Yellow)