Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2017 i Golf Magazine

GOLF.com Visit the Bridge Golf Learning Center in New York’s Harlem neighborhood, where students prepare not only for rounds of golf, but also for college These Guys Have All the Fun! GOLF.com’s Jessica Marksbury visits the Champions tour, where the mood is light but the golf is still played at an astoundingly high level It’s no secret that Korean golfers dominate the women’s game. But how did we get here? GOLF.com’s Marika Washchyshyn explores how the sport became such a national obsession Home on the Range: GOLF’s Rob Sauerhaft takes a closer look at three popular rangefinders and explains why investing in one can help lower your scores. Golf Today is the start of something big, and there’s more to come. Look for future episodes at GOLF.com/Today…

LANNY & LARRY Wadkins tamed Pebble Beach in 1977 (inset), but a decade later fell to Nelson in a sudden-death playoff at PGANational. In golf, we dog-ear moments to mark great memories, and as the last major of 2017 approaches, four anniversaries leap off the pages of our PGA Championship scrapbook. It’s been 40, 30, 20 and 10 years, respectively, since Lanny Wadkins, Larry Nelson, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy. Each was a special win. For Wadkins and Love, whose careers were weighted with expectations, their PGA Championship triumphs would turn out to be their first and only major titles. Nelson’s win—his third major—assured him a place in the Hall of Fame. And Woods’s victory was his fourth—and likely his last—PGA crown. In the summer…

DRIVER 1)Callaway GBB Epic Sub Zero, 9°, Grafalloy Blue shaft, X-flex, 286 yards; $500 FAIRWAY WOODS 2)Callaway Diablo Octane Tour, 13°, 273 yards; price n/a. Callaway XR 16 Pro*, 18°, 257 yards; $200. Both with Grafalloy Blue shafts, X-flex IRONS 3) Callaway Legacy Black, 3-PW, Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 shafts, X-flex; price n/a 3-iron: 235 yards 4-iron: 223 yards 5-iron: 210 yards 6-iron: 195 yards 7-iron: 183 yards 8-iron: 170 yards 9-iron: 155 yards PW: 139 yards WEDGES 4)Callaway Mack Daddy Forged, 52°, 122 yards, and 58°, 98 yards. Both with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 shafts, X-flex; $150 PUTTER 5)Odyssey White Hot XG #7H; price n/a BALL Titleist Pro V1; $48 “I’ve had this putter for years and used it to win last year’s Open Championship. I…

Follow Jessica Marksbury on Twitter@Jess_Marksbury You requested an ice-cold Diet Coke, not a Pepsi. Is that an important distinction? Well, yeah. Drink what you like, right? You’re also a wine guy, with an impressive selection in your cellar. I’ve got a few nice bottles—mostly California Cabernets with some Washington State mixed in, along with French, Spanish, Italian—maybe 1,400 bottles. You can have a good party at the house. Your houseguests must make a beeline right for your stash. Hey, wine is to be shared with friends. You recently sold your house in Chicago. What was the city like last fall during the Cubs’ World Series run? I was out of town for the entire seven games. But I [went] to Game Six when we clinched [the National League title] against…

FOUR EASY PIECES 1 GET NARROW Set up with your feet close together, as shown. Turn your left foot toward the target 15 to 20 degrees and pull it back from the target line an inch. Try to position your head over your front foot so your weight shifts over to your front leg. 2 GET VERTICAL Swing the club back using your arms, and keep your lower body still. Allow your wrists to hinge freely, so that the clubhead elevates above your hands. To make this happen, use a lighter grip pressure at address and maintain it throughout. 3 LET IT DROP From the top, let your arms fall gently toward the ground and your wrists to unhinge easily. You should feel a smooth and gradual increase in clubhead…

1 TILT RIGHT Every part of Horschel’s right side—shoulder, torso, hip and knee—is lower than its left-side counterpart. This is a must for delivering the club on a powerrich path. The trick? Maintain your spine angle as you rotate through impact. 2 SEPARATE! Billy’s arms, hands and club are in front of his chest, which lags behind his lower body. He starts his downswing by unwinding his hips without ”flinging” his arms from the top. Delaying your upperbody movement this way creates whiplike speed. And keeping the club in front of your chest helps you catch the ball on the sweet spot. 3 BE WELL-ARMED Horschel’s arms extend down the target line—it’s the only time in the swing when both arms are straight. Keeping your right elbow bent as you…

CALL THE SHOTS! Can you match the Tour smoothie “boost option” to its targeted benefit? A KELP POWDER B MACA ROOT POWDER C MATCHA GREEN TEA POWDER D FLAX SEEDS E CHIA SEEDS F SESAME SEEDS G SUNFLOWER SEEDS BOOSTS IMMUNE DEFENSE INCREASES HORMONE BALANCE COMBATS OXIDATIVE STRESS PROMOTES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH SUPPORTS HEALTHY DIGESTIVE FUNCTION PROVIDES EXTRA ENDURANCE FORTIFIES VASCULAR AND RESPIRATORY HEALTH Answer key: A-3, B-2, C-1, D-5, E-6, F-7, G-4. Following his victory at the 2016 Deutsche Bank Championship, Rory McIlroy took to Facebook to give a shout-out to his post-round smoothie, provided to him gratis in the players′ dining room by the PGA Tour. McIlroy’s post was a shot in the arm for then deputy commissionealthconscious options. Part of this transformation included a smoothie bar, which according…

30-SECOND FIX 10 secs 1 Draw a line in the practice bunker and straddle it. (The line represents ball position.) Make your regular greenside bunker swing. Note how close to the line your club enters the sand. 20 secs 2 Keep stepping down that line, making more swings. Your goal: To enter the sand in the same spot relative to the line every time. 30 secs 3 Once you develop a consistent entry point, adjust your entry angle to match. If the entry point is close to the line, carve a big divot— send the clubhead deep into the bunker and blast out a healthy hunk of sand. If you enter two or three inches behind the line, take much less, skimming the club just under the surface. By matching…

70 Professional wins, including four majors, two World Golf Championships and seven World Match Play titles 35 Number of top 10s in majors out of 98 played, for a top-10 success rate of 36 percent. (Since 1980, only Tiger Woods, 50%, and Phil Mickelson, 39%, have performed better in majors.) 13 Top 10s at the British Open, out of 26 played 9 Weeks as World No. 1 (1997-’98) 758 Consecutive weeks in the world top 10 (June 1994 - January 2009, the longest streak ever.)…

HIGH HANDICAPPER You have potential but must fix some fundamental swing flaws. STEP 1 IDENTIFY THE BALL-POSITION LINE Stand behind the ball and picture a line that’s perpendicular to your target line and even with the ball. This is the ballposition line, and you never want to cross it with both feet at address. Going past this line alters your perception—you think you’re aimed properly when in fact you’re set up to hit it to the right. STEP 2 POINT YOUR BIG TO EAT THE BALL Walk into the ball with both eyes on the target and both feet behind the ball-position line. Point your right big toe directly at the ball. This ensures that your body stays open to the target (i.e., points slightly left) and that you don’t…

PROS OF A CERTAIN AGE tend to run out the clock until they reach the Champions Tour. Ernie Els, 47, has a different goal—to whip the young guns and win again. WesaluteEls thismonthnot just because he’s a legend with 19 Tour wins (including four majors) and a plaqueintheHall ofFame. It’salsobecause he’s still hungry. In 2017, the Big Easy feels a big urgency. His five-year exemption dating to his 2012 British Open victory will expire after he plays at Royal Birkdale—unless he wins, of course. And Ernie badly wants one more major, that 20th Tour title. “I have as much desire now as I ever did, and I just need to get hot at the right moment,” he told executive editor Connell Barrett. “Twenty Tour wins has a nice ring to…

You won your first Tour event in March, at the Valspar Championship, near Tampa. But you first made news when you shot a 59 in January at the CareerBuilder Challenge. That round was very much celebrated, very much talked about. And it became the talk of the tournament. Which of those 59 strokes at La Quinta Country Club stands out as your favorite? On the 15th hole, a par 3, I hit a great tee shot to about 15 feet behind the hole, but I had a slick, downhill left-toright putt. Earlier in my career, if I had a big moment like that, I would have three-putted. So I said to myself, “Just focus on the speed, hit a good putt, and if it goes in, it goes in.” And…

You can watch video rulings featuring Rules Guy himself! Go to GOLF.com/rules-guy I was in the final group on the last day of an amateur tournament. We were on the back nine when a player who’d completed his round returned to caddie for one of my competitors. That seemed unfair. Was it legal? —JOHN GOMEZ, PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD W.I. Is it unfair of Clark Kent to sneak into a phone booth and transform into Superman? (Lex Luthor might think so.) While the quick-change act you describe may be unusual—I prefer a postround Scotch, followed by a nap—it’s also perfectly legal. Decision 6-4/8 holds that golfers playing in the same competition at different times can caddie for each other. They can also change, hire or fire a looper midround. There…

Follow Joe Passov on Twitter@JoePassov Big Cedar Lodge RIDGEDALE, MISSOURI BUFFALO RIDGE SPRINGS GARY PLAYER’S NEW MOUNTAIN TOP TOP OF THE ROCK AND MORE TO COME! FOR MOST of its existence, the lure of Big Cedar Lodge was worldclass fishing. These days, however, Big Cedar’s owner Johnny Morris—founder and CEO of Bass Pro Shops—has a hook that’s equally compelling: worldclass golf. The current offerings were sufficiently strong to catapult Big Cedar Lodge into Silver Medal status in GOLF Magazine’s 2016 Premier Resorts Awards. Yet, it’s the golf to come that have many of us speculating—salivating, really—that in two short years this Ozark outdoor paradise could rival the best in the U.S. Situated amid the lakes, woods and surrounding Ozark Mountain wilderness 40 miles south of Springfield (home of Bass Pro…

Powered by the Top 100 Teachers in America There are 105 PGA Tour players averaging at least 290 yards per drive this season, and you can bet a lot of those smashes are coming off 3-woods. Even if you can’t drill it those distances, your road to bigger blasts is wide open. On the following pages, Top 100 Teacher Jason Sutton puts the pedal to the metal on your driving with three moves to redline your speed and rip shots straight down the fairway. Sutton says that launching supersonic drives is as simple as tweaking your setup and slightly shifting the direction of your downswing. You don’t need an overhaul, just a tune up. Then it’s off to the races. 31 Proven Ways to Shoot Your Best Scores Ever!…

PRESENTED BY Dropped from the PGA Tour schedule 10 years ago in favor of the AT&T National (now Quicken Loans National), The International, a Modified Stableford event that counts Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els among its former champions, was a one-of-a-kind event played over an equally singular Jack Nicklaus design: Castle Pines G.C., situated some 20 miles south of Denver. Castle’s risk-reward—and reachable—par-5 17th often steals the headlines, but for our money, it takes a back page to the downhill, 197-yard par-3 11th. ”This might be one of Jack’sequally singular Jack Nicklaus design: Castle Pines G.C., situated some 20 miles south of Denver. Castle’s risk-reward—and reachable—par-5 17th often steals the headlines, but for our money, it takes a back page to the downhill, 197-yard par-3 11th. ”This might…

Unlike NCAA hoops, driver manufacturing doesn’t tolerate “oneand- dones.” To better meet the needs of players across all skill levels, brands now offer multiple variations of similar designs. Typically, they pair a standardmodel with a higher-spinning version designed to promote or augment a draw, and a low-spin version that doesn’t. But choosing the right iteration isn’t as clear cut as the descriptions intend. According to Hot Stix Golf general manager Chris Marsh, the best place to start is the most obvious. “A ‘standard’ model is the most neutral, and tends to fit the widest range of players, while the low-spin model is a better match for faster swingers.” As you can guess, a driver family’s high-spin model would work best in the hands of a slicer, thanks to the built-in…

BEST DRIVER Davis Love III Because you can’t beat length and accuracy. Driving with persimmon was an art form, and Davis could drive it close to 300 yards, and very straight, with a wooden club. BEST IRON PLAYER Fred Couples He could land long irons softer than anybody, even Nick Price and Davis. BEST SHORT GAME Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal (tie) Amazing. From chipping with a 7-iron to lobs, those two could do it all. BEST PUTTER Tiger Woods His putts rolled beautifully and hugged the ground. He was an amazing green-reader, had great pace and was absolutely fearless. BEST MENTAL GAME Jack Nicklaus He played within himself. If there was a target on the green he wanted to fire at, no flag would tempt him. It was…

When golf history is written, it’s the major winners who stand out. A player who has two major wins today will almost surely get into the World Golf Hall of Fame. No majors? Fat chance. (In 2014, the rules for induction were changed, mandating that players with fewer than two major wins now need 15 or more Tour wins to even be considered for the Hall.) That, in part, explains our fascination with the question: Who’s the game’s greatest player without a major to his credit? Until this year’s Masters, Sergio Garcia was, almost certainly to his dismay, the consensus choice. With 30 international professional wins, including a Players Championship, and 22 top-10s in his 73 major appearances, Garciawas the epitome of “great yet majorless.” At the 2016 Ryder Cup…

Where The Game Meets The Good Life YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE,RIGHT ? BUCKET LIST DREAMNO. 1 An Old Course Tee Time Any person who’s ever taken a backswing yearns to play the Old Course at St. Andrews, the birthplace of the game and the most influential 18 holes in golf. Unfortunately, tee times are limited—demand for them is not. Buckets of Cash It’ll Cost: (out of five buckets) How To Pull It Off: Your best bet is to apply directly to the St. Andrews Links Trust, either by phone (011-44- 1334-466718) or e-mail (reservations@ standrews.com), during a two-tothree- week window that customarily commences in late August and concludes in mid-September. Winners of this lottery are notified in October for tee times the following spring and summer. There are restrictions and…

LOW HANDICAPPER You play well but want to shave those last few strokes off your handicap. SHORT PIN: USE LOFT TO MAKE THE BALL SIT You’re 20 yards off the green, with a pin cut near the green’s front edge. To stop the ball quickly, use your most lofted wedge and play the ball forward in your stance, to increase the club’s effective loft. A heads-up: The clubface will want to close and point left of your target, so open the face a few degrees and check that you’re properly aimed. Settle your weight over your front foot and make an even-paced swing back and through. There’s no need to hit down sharply on the ball or to try to generate extra spin—the loft on the face will give the…

THE PGA OF AMERICAis thinking about moving the PGA Championship from its customary spot in mid-August to late May. If that happens, the PGA Tour will move the Players from May to March, its old date. This game of golfschedule musical chairs was initiated by theTour,whichwouldliketowrapupthe FedEx Cup by Labor Day, so that the socalled “playoffs” don’t have to compete with the NFL’s regular season. Yes, now is a good time to cue up the old O’Jays hit, “For the Love of Money.” The PGA Championship is a special event, but it is also the fourth of the four majors. If the event gets sandwiched between the Masters in April and the U.S. Open in June, its stature might take more of a hit. But here’s a thought: Play the…

WHICH JUNE STORIES AND COLUMNS DREW THE MOST LETTERS? Michael Bamberger 65% Instruction 12% U.S. Open Preview 8% Other 15% TAKING EXCEPTION TO THE RULES THE RECENT ARTICLE by Michael Bamberger on strict enforcement of the rules of golf (“Rules Aren’t Made to Be Broken,” June 2017) exemplifies why the game continues to struggle. No other sport has as many rules. Worse, many of the rules are punitive for no reason other than “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” Golf is a relic. To a casual observer, penalizing a player for ever so slightly misplacing a ball is absurd. Would a soccer team be penalized for an illegal throw-in? No, they just do it over again, and if the ref happened to miss it, they play on. The asinine…

For much more from Alan, go to GOLF.com/shipnuck SERGIO GARCIA, noted killjoy, has taken all the fun out of the Best Player Never To Win a Major debate. His breakthrough at the Masters eliminated Garcia from the conversation and leaves behind a tepid crew that, frankly, is not worthy of the dreaded title: Rickie Fowler, 28, is too callow and hasn’t had his heart broken often enough. And Lee Westwood, 44, is years past his prime and employs such a wounded short-game thatit’shardtoimaginehecan everbreak the curse. So I’ve decided to move on from the BPNTHWAM debate and create my own major-centric categories. Worst Player to Have Won a Major So many strong candidates! Jack Fleck is often cited as the archetype of the fluky major champion, but the Hoganslayer actually…

Follow Dave Pelz on Twitter @pelz_golf To launch the ball from a plugged lie, dig the toe into the sand behind the ball and allow the resistance of the sand against the face of your wedge to rotate it to square. YOUR STANDARD bunker swing can handle 90 percent of all bunker lies, even when you have to deal with slope. When the ball plugs beneath the surface of the sand as it has in the photos above, however, your everyday technique is as useful as a blank yardage book. Plugged lies are nasty— there’s no way to sugarcoat it. Worse yet, you typically run into them following a soaring approach that just missed its mark. (Skulled shots don’t bury). Instead of “sweeping,” “gliding” or “scooting” your wedge through the…

For more than two decades, the name Ashworth has been synonymous with golf. In the 1990s, Fred Couples, with his laid-back demeanor, made the perfect brand ambassador. In 2008, John Ashworth sold the line to TaylorMade-Adidas, and after dabbling in other design pursuits, Ashworth created Linksoul in 2012. Its mission? “To reconnect people to the soul of the game.” Fans of Ashworth’s aesthetic will find much to like in Linksoul’s latest collection, worn on Tour by Ryan Moore and Lucas Glover. The cotton-blend polos are soft and comfortable, and the whole line exudes a SoCal vibe. Most items would work as well at a beachside cantina as they would on the course. The brand sells surfboards, persimmon woods and artwork. And you can get a T-shirt bearing words that all…

In all likelihood, you can blame your lack of power on three things: a sloppy setup, restricted shoulder rotation, and an overly steep downswing. The good news is that these errors are easy to correct. The fast track to the drives of your life starts with the three drills at right, which you can master in one range session. Get ready to send your tee game into hyperdrive. 1 CREATE A LAUNCHPAD Most weekend players set up with their shoulders pointed left of the target, or with the right shoulder higher than the left—or both! Either mistake is a distance-killer. The first error causes a cut, while the second one robs you of the ascending strike needed for maximum yards. Follow the steps below and fix both issues in seconds.…

1 Is it my setup? Highly possible. You stand a different distance from the ball with every club, so if you forget to adjust, you may be standing too far away. Hello, thin contact. HOW TO CHECK Address a ball, then stand up straight with your arms in front of you. Close your eyes and set up to the ball again. Did the club come up short? FIX NO. 1 You need a go-to setup routine. Try this: Sole the club while standing extra close to the ball. Without moving the club, step back until your arms hang comfortably off your thighs. Now you can’t miss. 2 Is it my ball position? Playing the ball forward in your stance is great for promoting an upward strike and higher ball flight…

SWING THOUGHT PAUSE & EFFECT Halt at the top for a split second before you start down. You’ll improve rhythm and redline your swing speed. If your swing feels rushed, that’s probably because it is. Every player—from pros to bogey golfers—needs a brief moment at the top to let the club settle. This hesitation helps you get your lower body “gliding” toward the target while your hands and arms stay in place. The result? A smooth transition at the top and effortless speed at impact. Try this: On practice swings, count “1” on the backswing, “2” as the club reaches the top and “3” at impact. You’ll feel smoother and a lot more powerful. It’s as easy as “1-2-3.” Carol Preisinger, Kiawah Island Club, Kiawah Island, S.C.…

Our research using advanced 3-D tools shows that the players with the best strokes are those who swing the putter on a straight-line arc, or ”colinearly.“ Tracing a colinear path is tough when you’re bent over in your standard address position, because of the angle your body and the clubshaft make with the ground. I’ve got a fix for that. Hold your flatstick out in front of you as shown above. Imagine that the heel is resting on a tabletop, and begin making strokes, gliding the heel across the table in both directions. (If it’s easier to putt across an actual table, go for it!) Get a feel for the hand, arm and shoulder movements needed to swing the putter on a slight arc (picture a straight line with a…

“YOU’VE GOT TO SAVOR THOSE MOMENTS AND ENJOY THEM BECAUSE THEY DON’T COME AROUND A TON. GOLF’S FUNNY THAT WAY. YOU WIN A FEW AND LOSE A LOT.” Why do we so furiously focus on the majors? Perhaps it’s because to be seen as a great player— not just a good one—a pro must win at least one of the game’s four most coveted titles. When Jimmy Walker hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy last July at Baltusrol, he made a case for greatness. And at 38, he’s not done yet. Walker sat down with GOLF in the living room of his rental home during the Shell Houston Open, where his housemate and good buddy Rickie Fowler was hanging out. (Let it be known that when Walker calls his Ryder Cup teammate…

FOR MORE INSTRUCTION THAT FITS YOUR GAME, GO TOGOLF.COM SENIOR PLAYER You’ve lost some flexibility and power but still know how to score. There’s a good chance you tend to pull or push short putts, making them anything but automatic. Research indicates that more than 70 percent of everyday players unwittingly pull the putterhead across the target line and to the left, causing both of these frustrating misses. To remedy this mistake, find a flat spot on the practice green that’s one foot away from the hole and hit some putts, swinging the putterhead over the center of the hole on your through-stroke. Strike a dozen putts this way, passing the putter straight over the cup and not letting it veer to the left. Next, hit three-footers the same way…

Today’s longest hitters—DJ, Bubba, Phil—tend to swing the club past parallel at the top of the backswing. But that doesn’t mean it’s the best technique for a weekend golfer, who tends to be far less flexible than a pro. Nor is it the path to power. In fact, you would probably hit it farther if you shortened your arm swing— overswinging only leads to weaker drives and fewer fairways hit. The problem with overswinging is that it can force a golfer out of his address posture, leading to an early release of the hands; this saps power and creates a poor impact position. So think “short” to go long. Here’s how. STRAIGHT HITTER You keep the ball in play, but a lack of distance puts pressure on your game. FIX:…