Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i Golf Magazine

Golf's Leading Ladies In what has become a winter tradition, this month GOLF.com will roll out an all-new edition of the Most Beautiful Women in Golf. Fox Sports analyst Holly Sonders is back for the fourth consecutive year, while Belen Mozo and Cheyenne Woods return for the second time. Newcomers include Jan Stephenson, Kira Kazantsev, Jessica and Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang, and the women of the Crenshaw family. Check out all the exclusive photos and videos, including images from the first three installments, at GOLF.com/most-beautiful-women. TABLET BONUS ALL-ACCESS Free for print subscribers! Get easy access to GOLF editions on the iPad and other tablets at GOLF.com/allaccess GOLF.COM IN YOUR INBOX For up-to-the-minute golf news, features and videos, subscribe today to GOLF.com's revitalized newsletters: News, Instruction, Equipment and Travel. Sign up…

DRIVER 1) TaylorMade M2, 9.5°, UST Mamiya Attas 6Star 6X shaft, 283 yards; $400 FAIRWAY WOOD 2) TaylorMade M1, 15°, 265 yards, Accra Dymatch M5, X-flex; $250 HYBRID 3) Mizuno JPX 900, 16°, Fujikura Motore Speeder HB 8.8 Tour Spec shaft, X-flex, 245 yards; $250 IRONS 4) Mizuno MP-H5 (3) and Mizuno MP-5 (4-PW). All with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Tour Issue steel shafts; $1,200 for set of 8 3-iron: 220 yards 4-iron: 208 yards 5-iron: 195 yards 6-iron: 184 yards 7-iron: 172 yards 8-iron: 160 yards 9-iron: 145 yards PW: 135 yards PUTTER 5) Odyssey Works Versa #7H CS; price n/a BALL Titleist Pro V1x; $48/dozen WEDGES 6) Mizuno T7 (Blue Ion), 54°, 112 yards; 60°, 90 yards. Both with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue shafts;…

The sun's out, but days of rain have left the course playing like a big, wet sponge—you splash water on every swing. How do you adjust? Easy. Hitting from soggy turf is a lot like hitting from a fairway bunker: The soft ground forces you to make ball-first contact. (Trust me. Fat shots will go nowhere.) Just follow these three steps. You may not be dry, but you will be pin-high! STEP 1 RAISE YOUR ARC Because the ground is so soft, your feet will sink into the turf when you address the ball, lowering the bottom of your swing arc. If you don't adjust, you'll catch the shot fat. Simply choke down an inch and position the ball in the center of your stance. STEP 2 HOVER THE CLUB…

Would you pay $15 for 10 mph more clubhead speed? I thought so. Head to your local D.I.Y. store (or your garage) and get some ½- to ¾-inch nylon rope (it's about 10 cents a foot). Loop the rope over and over a few times at a length about a foot longer than your driver shaft, then secure one end using duct tape. Next, assume your normal finish position, with your hands on top of your left shoulder and the "club" hanging behind you. Now swing the rope to the top of your backswing—feel the momentum created by the weight of the rope and shift your weight naturally to maintain balance. Without stopping, whip the rope down and through impact. Swat the ground near where the ball would be teed…

1 Hold an iron with both hands in front of your body as shown and stand with your feet just an inch or two apart. Bend your left leg back by flexing at the knee. Find your balance, setting the majority of your weight over your right foot. Flex your right knee slightly. 2 Tilt your upper body toward the ground (at about 45 degrees) while bending your right knee slightly and keeping your back flat. You should feel pressure throughout your right leg. That's swing power! Do 10 reps, then repeat with the other leg. Do these daily. Your reward? A serious leg up on the tee box. Blair O'Neal is a former Big Break contestant and NCAA Women's Long Drive champion…

JAMES HAHN Two-time Tour winner The greatest shot I ever saw was one that almost beat me. It was Dustin Johnson at Riviera in 2015. It was the first playoff hole, No. 10, a [drivable] par 4. DJ's tee shot goes into greenside rough: thick lie, bad angle, over a bunker, and he had to stop it quickly. I tell my caddie, "No way he gets this inside 10 feet." He did. He hit it high, a soft bunker-style swing that somehow checked to three feet. There's a lot more to DJ than his power. RICKY BARNES 2002 U.S. Amateur champion and PGA Tour player The best shot I ever saw was a 3-wood Tiger Woods hit at Olympia Fields in 2003, at the U.S. Open. I was playing with…

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU is easy to spot on the course— he's the one in the newsboy cap. His homage to Ben Hogan makes him stand out amid a sea of golf visors. Of course, the Tour rookie is fascinating for reasons beyond his headwear. Though just 23, DeChambeau has a studied reverence for the past (his 50-degree wedge is nicknamed "Jimmy," after three-time Masters champ Jimmy Demaret). And his eyes are locked on the future, as he looks to push boundaries and win tournaments his way, using single-length irons and his one-plane swing. In 2015, DeChambeau became the fifth player to win the U.S. Amateur and NCAA titles in the same year, joining the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Last year proved that his amateur success was no fluke,…

After a great run at Arizona State and three top 10s on Tour in 2016, this will be your first full year on Tour. What advice have you received? "Keep doing what you're doing." The first time I played a Tour event, I thought I had to hit more balls than anyone, spend more time on the course than anyone. Now I know I don't need to do anything special. What I've been doing, as a player, has been working. It's gotten me all the way here, and it's most likely going to take me to the next step. Who are your mentors? Sergio [Garcia], my countryman, and Phil Mickelson, because I'm represented by his brother, Tim. Phil has a ton of experience to share with players like me. Every…

Fowler fired up his game off the tee in 2016. CAN A 100-SHOOTER get five strokes better in one season? Of course. Can the same feat be achieved by an 80-shooter? Much less likely. And the same learning curve applies to the pros. From year to year, the biggest scoring improvements tend to come from the Tour's "worst" players—those near the bottom of the statistical heap. So here's a compelling question: Who among the Tour's best players are the best at getting better? To find out, I measured gains made over the course of the 2016 season. Among the Tour's "better than average" pros (those with plus-Strokes Gained totals the season before, in 2015), Charl Schwartzel improved the most, with a huge 1.1 strokes better per round in 2016 than…

We're at Pelican Hill, in Southern California, drinking piña coladas— the perfect complement to a beautiful setting. One of the world's largest circular swimming pools is here at Pelican Hill, so I saw that and I thought, "Hello, piñas!" [Laughs] You were Miss America, 2015. How does one become a pageant queen? It's a long process. You have to win a local and state title. Then you move on to the Miss America competition. It's a lot of interview prep, and lots of eating healthy and being conscientious about your body for the swimsuit competition. But it's the most wonderful opportunity in the world. It will change your life. You love golf, but you went with singing for the talent competition. Yes. I mashed up the "Cups" song from the…

1 Is it my stance? If you settle in for a long sand shot (about 40 yards) as though you're in a greenside bunker, you'll have problems. Long bunker shots demand a different setup. HOW TO CHECK Address the ball. Have you taken a wide-open stance, dug your feet in for stability and positioned the ball well forward of center? YES FIX NO. 1 Time to stop treating this like a regular greenside bunker shot. Set up at address as though you're hitting a 70- to 90-yard approach from the fairway. Think "squarer and narrower" over "open and wide." NO 2 Is it my club? Extra loft is your friend from greenside sand—but not when you have to carry half a football field. Use a less-lofted club, such as a…

NO! This is your standard weekend-play hinge. Yes, the club is up, but only because you've hinged your left wrist toward your left forearm. It's a one-way hinge, so even though you've created a nice 90-degree angle between the shaft and your forearms, the clubface is open. It looks good, but shots hit with this type of backswing are likely to miss short and right. YES! In addition to hinging your left wrist up, you need to bend your right wrist back and rotate your forearms, so the face is at the same angle as your left arm. Now the club is on plane and loaded for a powerful strike. See you on the green, player!…

1 Throw down a challenge Grab a buddy and head to the practice green. Your assignment? Challenge him to a nine-hole putting match. The stakes: a dollar, or a beer in the clubhouse—whatever gets your competitive juices flowing. 2 Vary the distances Start with a "makeable" putt, but no gimme—perhaps a 9- to 15-footer. Give the putt full focus, as you would in a match, and follow your routine as you take turns, depending on who's away. After both players hole out, select a longer putt—say, from 10 to 22 feet. Then alternate between short and long putts until you complete all nine "holes." Low score wins. 3 Switch between birdie and par modes The key to winning this game is placing each putt in its proper on-course context. View…

Anyone can make a good swing. The trick is repeating it. That's why I spent a decade ridding my motion of needless movements. Why? Because simplicity creates consistency! My biggest epiphany: You don't have to "drop down" in the transition—two swing planes is one too many. You'll hit it better using one plane, back and through. Odds are, you make the swing harder than it needs to be. So try my single-plane move. You're five steps away from great ballstriking and lower scores. 1 GRIP THE CLUB IN YOUR PALM, NOT YOUR FINGERS Most golfers are taught to grip the club in the fingers, to help create more clubhead speed. But research shows that your hands contribute only 10 percent to your overall swing velocity. Would you trade just a…

FOR MORE INSTRUCTION THAT FITS YOUR GAME, GO TO GOLF.COM POWER HITTER You hit the ball a long way, but your game needs control and consistency. DRAIN EVERY SHORT PUTT You're plenty long off the tee, but when it comes to short putts, you struggle. Before you try to reinvent your stroke, check your aim. It may not seem like a big deal from such a short distance, but if you're not lining up the putterface correctly, you'll struggle from three to five feet. Here's a simple five-step routine for perfect putting alignment. 1) Find a straight, five-foot putt on the practice green; 2) Lay your putter down on the line of the putt, with the putterhead closest to the hole; 3) Place a tee on either side of the…

A TRIBUTE FIT FOR A KING GOLF MAGAZINE did a fine job with the tribute issue honoring Arnold Palmer (December 2016). Thanks for including the article that John McAlley did with me. I enjoyed reading all of the pieces and will certainly archive that magazine here. —DOC GIFFIN, YOUNGSTOWN, PA. I RECEIVED the December issue today and have already read it cover to cover. Thanks so much for all the articles about Arnie—I have to admit that I got a little misty-eyed as I read them, just like I did when I heard of Arnold's passing and then watched his memorial service on TV. I've been a huge Palmer fan ever since I saw him in person on Saturday at the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Thank you so much…

ARC BACKSTROKE THROUGH-STROKE LINEAR You need perfect timing to start putts on line using an arc stroke (top). A straight-back-and-through motion (bottom sequence) makes this easy. I ALWAYS KNOW when a Tour player is happy with his putting stroke—and not because I have access to his stats. It's the words he uses. When I hear, "Pelz, I'm starting the ball on line on almost every putt," it's music to my ears. What a competitive golfer cares about most is starting the ball on line. To them, that's a job well done, whether or not the ball finds the cup. Combined with a good read and proper pace, starting the ball in your intended direction translates into a ton of makes, whether you're a major winner or a 16-handicap. Over the…

Best Use of a Small Space, Part 1 Jay Blasi is known for the design contributions he made to Chambers Bay while working for Robert Trent Jones II. Now he's pulled off quite a feat of his own, taking the 115-year-old Santa Ana Country Club from the ho-hum, resorty layout it had become and turning it into a Golden Age look-alike and play-alike. The SoCal classic now features creatively contoured greens, firm, fast, rippled fairways, handsome bunkers, and sandy washes that yield provocative strategy options. Credit to Blasi and the club for getting so much out of 125 acres. Design Nerd Moment of the Year I teed it up with 10 different architects in 2016. Most enlightening was a pairing with Rees Jones and Ron Whitten at Playa Grande in…

Fixing your slice is cause for celebration—it means less frustration, more fairways hit, and lower scores. Of course, banana balls have different causes. True, all slices result from the clubface pointing to the right of the clubhead's path through impact, but the true blame might lie with your path, with your clubface, or perhaps a combination of both. We'll show you three causes of the common slice and how to "straighten" out each one. With a little range time, your swing will be slice-proof—and golf will be a piece of cake. TAKE A BIG BITE! Slices come in all shapes and sizes. No matter how big your banana ball is, you're about to fix it for good. These aren't Band-Aids to get you through your next round—each of these three…

72.4% Willett's up-and-down percentage from 10-20 yards on Tour in 2016, which ranked 12th 1 FACE THE SKY Willett's clubface points up at the sky. Copy this! How? Simply by having "quiet" hands. Manipulating the face through impact is a sure-fire way to blade it. 2 KEEP YOUR SPEED Although the rough will grab your wedge and limit the length of your follow-through, be like Willett and keep steady speed through impact. The moment you quit on the shot is the moment you'll flub it. 3 LOAD AND LOCK Willett maintains the left-knee flex established at address. This is key, as it lets your swing bottom out when it's supposed to. Thin chips are often caused by losing knee flex. 4 GO FOR CHOKE Because he maintains his left knee…

Many mistakes can cause a hook. Two big culprits? Turning your shoulders horizontally to the ground as you swing to the top, and moving your upper body off the ball (that is, away from the target). This combination produces a path that's too inside-out, promoting hooks, thin shots and pushes—especially with the mid-irons. You need to get steeper so you can attack the ball on a more neutral path and with the clubhead descending into impact. Here's how, in 30 seconds. To keep hooks at bay, make a steeper backswing turn. [The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.] 10 secs 1 TEST YOUR TURN Hold a mid-iron across your shoulders as shown, with the grip end pointing toward the target. Get into…