Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i Golf Magazine

October 2017 Volume 59, Issue 10 WISH YOU WERE HERE! Get up close and personal with the greatest courses and holes in a weeklong celebration of GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the U.S. and World on GOLF.com. View Top 100 buddy trips, in-depth galleries featuring both lists, and rankings editor Joe Passov’s inside scoop on the 10 holes you need to play before you hang up your spikes. JON RAHM EXCLUSIVE! Go behind the scenes at our recent photo shoot with the Spanish phenom to learn new moves to energize your driver swing, how to properly dribble a football (the round kind), and how to pull off some extracool post-round looks with your favorite pair of jeans. Only on GOLF.com. NEW GEAR Sneak Peek! TaylorMadeTakes the Forged Road Equipment Editor…

Ernie Els 21% Michael Bamberger 11% MajorlessPlayers 7% Other 61% ERNIE ELS I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the article on Ernie Els—the piece was very well done. I was fortunate to have witnessed on TV the duel between Ernie and Tiger at the 2003 Presidents Cup, and it was magical. Thanks for the entertaining article. TOM ORMESHER,WATERLOO, ILL. THE COVER photo showing Ernie Els smiling with his canine pal so aptly conveys Ernie’s true character! Excellent work! BOB RIEMER,AMENIA, N.Y. THANKS, ROB! AS ONE OF GOLF’s volunteer equipment ClubTesters for more than a decade, I had a chance to workwith former equipment editor Rob Sauerhaft on many a ClubTest. Rob consistently put his heart and soul into bringing the magazine’s readers the most current, accurate, and insightful equipment information possible. Over more…

For much more from Alan, go to GOLF.com/shipnuck “It started to really bug me how, during tournament rounds, no one talked to each other because they were grinding so hard.” I RECENTLY played in another Uncle Tony Invitational, the annual 24-man Bacchanalia at Bandon Dunes put on by my longtime friend Matt Ginella, of Golf Channel fame. It’s a diverse group in age, geography and golfing ability. This year we were joined by a 47-year-old newcomer who blended seamlessly into the merriment, partaking lustily in the eating, drinking and trash-talking while carrying his own bag across six rounds. There were only a few clues that Dean Wilson was not like the rest of us. The first was the elegance of his action, which produced towering draws that were untouched by…

Follow Travelin’ Joe on Twitter @JoePassov HOT TRACKS Streamsong Resort (Black) Streamsong, Fla. 7,331 yards, par 73 Architect: Gil Hanse (2017) streamsongresort.com CREATING an encore to two of America’s best new public courses isn’t the easiest task. However, in the case of Streamsong Resort’s Black course, the challenge for architect Gil Hanse and design partner Jim Wagner was not only enticing, but irresistible. “We understood that right over there,” Hanse says, pointing across some dunes to the Coore/Crenshaw– designed Red course and Tom Doak–designed Blue course, “were great examples of golf architecture. The bar was set high. We just needed to make sure our course fit in with that.” Streamsong’s four-year-old Red and Blue courses were carved into the sandy remains of old phosphate mines in central Florida. The resemblance…

Follow Mark Broadie on Twitter@MarkBroadie IN LAST MONTH’S column (“All Mixed Up,” September 2017) I introduced a new stat I call strokes gained scrambling and outlined how it determines which players are best at saving strokes around the green with their wedge play and putting. It’s a penetrating analytic measure, so let’s explore it more deeply. Strokes gained scrambling allows us to gauge with great clarity whether a pro’s wedge wizardry or putting prowess contributes most to his short-game magic. As we know, every stroke can be assigned a strokes-gained value. This becomes nuanced when measur- ing strokes gained scrambling. For example, suppose a player starts froma position where the field averages 2.5 strokes to hole out. A successful up-and-down gains a total of 0.5 strokes (two strokes for the…

There are three errors that can lead to a three-putt: failing to correctly read the green, not getting the ball all the way to the hole (or drastically overshooting it), and starting the ball off line. On the following pages, I provide an easy fix for each. Your job is to practice them. Even 10 minutes of work can make a huge difference. Pay special attention to the first one, because it’s tough to recover from bad reads. You don’t have to be perfect—somewhere in the ballpark will do. Ready? Let’s save some strokes. 1 FEEL YOUR READS For some golfers, it’s difficult to detect slope with just the eyes. If this is you, use your body, which is at the crux of the AimPoint system used by so many…

1 TURN & TILT Notice that while Daniel’s belt buckle and chest face the target fully, his shoulders remain tilted down toward the impact zone. This is a huge key for consistency. As you can guess, it takes a modicum of flexibility. Get stretching! 2 MIND THE LINE Daniel does a great job of extending his arms down the target line after impact. Not only does this ramp up his power, it makes him deadly accurate, even with longer clubs. 3 NAVEL MANEUVER Daniel’s big mistake— and he doesn’t make it very often—is coming down too steeply and “flipping” his hands at the ball. He avoids this by keeping the grip pointing at his belly throughout impact. Works like a charm. 4 TOE UP As Daniel extends his arms, they…

Scan This Photo For another easy way to add yards! See page 5. 1 You want more distance. You need more speed. Here’s how the math works: for every mile-per-hour you add to your driver swing, you can tack on three extra yards off the tee. You can gain 10 mph simply by swinging past parallel. That’s 30 extra yards! 2 Getting past parallel (as I’m doing here) isn’t about extending your arms back higher or farther, or forcing a shoulder turn your body isn’t capable of making. Your key: Become “softer” at the top of your backswing. Allow your wrists to hinge fully and your elbows to bend a bit more than normal. 3 It should feel like the clubhead is “dipping” a few inches at the top. That…

PRELOAD YOUR POST Adjust your stance to turn an everyday backswing into a power turn Once you’re over the ball, shuffle your stance just the slightest bit left of the target. You’ll feel more comfortable. If you’ve seen me on TV (my favorite telecast is the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open, my first PGA Tour win!), you know that I like to hit fades off the tee. And since I don’t like to think about technique during play, I lean on my setup to produce the fade for me. My No. 1 key is to concentrate at least 60 percent of my weight in my right leg. But I don’t tilt to the right to set my weight, like some weekend players do. I really get into it. I like to…

Gil Hanse reaches to pass me the barbecue sauce, and that’s when I note his freshly calloused hands. We’re lunching at Papa Buck’s BBQ in Metter, Georgia, not far fromthe site of his newest project, Ohoopee Match Club, which is set to open in 2018. “Hand-raking greens in Pinehurst,” Hanse explains, referencing another of his many current gigs, this one across a couple of state lines at Pinehurst Resort. Does he hand-finish all ofhisgreenshimself?“Oneofuswill beon pretty much every green,” he says, stabbing at his pulled-pork platter and acknowledging the contribution made by his longtime design partner, Jim Wagner. “That’s what you have to do to get the level of detail required. We’re gonna have eyes on it. We may jump on and make little changes either with a rake or…

CLEVELAND CBX $130, steel; $140 graphite This lightweight, easygoing wedge is designed to complete a cavity-back set of sticks without missing a beat; the lower lofts are lighter and more compact to blend with the irons, while the higher lofts have a traditional wedge profile. With the cavity design, more mass is located around the perimeter of the head and in the sole to increase forgiveness. And for a solid feel, a shorter hosel with a micro-cavity positions the center of gravity closer to where you impact the ball. For control, the face sports U-shaped grooves to boost spin, along with laser-milled lines between the grooves and a micro-milling pattern that changes by loft (as with the company’s RTX-3 wedge). A V-shaped sole with more bounce toward the leading edge…

Few shots in golf are more embarrassing than the topped tee ball. Unfortunately, there’s more than one way to dribble the ball off the tee. You can swing too steeply from the outside and skim across the ball, or even drop-kick it from the inside. Or, as so often happens with amateurs, you can come up out of your posture at impact and all but whiff. Here’s a look at the two most common reasons for the dreaded topped drive, along with a fix for each that will help you avoid them in the future. SENIOR PLAYER You’ve lost some flexibility and power, but you still know how to score. FAULT EARLY EXTENSION As you approach impact, you lose your original address posture and spine inclination to the ground, which…

JOE HAD ASNOBFREE REVERENCE FOR THE GAME THAT FLOORED YOU. NOTHING’S CHANGED. I FIRST MET Joe Passov, our Travel and Course Rankings czar, in 1995, at the then-busy offices of the nowdefunct monthly Petersen’s Golfing. I was new to the golf-writing biz, Joe already a household name among design geeks. In his sunlit SoCal office a few floors above Wilshire Boulevard, it was easy to glean that Joe was no ordinary scribe, capable of riffing on the merits of Cape holes and Tifdwarf. (I knew plenty of people who could do that.) Joe had an aura, a snob-free reverence for the game that both floored and lifted you. Nothing’s changed. The story goes that shortly after finishing law school at the University of Nebraska, Joe chose to trade in his…

“I love the overall height these irons produce. It’s perfect for the firmer greens on the PGA Tour, especially during major-championship weeks.” DRIVER 1) Ping G400 LST, 8.5°, Fujikura Pro Blue Kuro 65 shaft, X-flex, 287 yards; $400 FAIRWAY WOODS 2) Ping G400, 13°, Fujikura Tour Spec 8.2 shaft, X-flex, 275 yards and 17.5°, Fujikura Tour Spec 9.2 shaft, X-flex, 235 yards; $270 each IRONS 3) Ping i200, 4-UW, True Temper Project X 7.0 steel shafts; $1,000 for set of eight 4-iron: 217 yards 8-iron: 166 yards 5-iron: 204 yards 9-iron: 154 yards 6-iron: 191 yards PW: 140 yards 7-iron: 178 yards UW: 128 yards WEDGES 4) Ping Glide 2.0, 56° (WS grind, bent to 55°), 110 yards, 60° (SS grind), 95 yards. Both with True Temper Project X 7.0…

Follow Jessica Marksbury on Twitter@Jess_Marksbury We’re drinking Brunello. How did you acquire your wine savvy? My wife and I had our honeymoon in Italy, and we’ve spent some time in Tuscany and love it. Italian wines are my favorites. I like a big, booming red wine that blows your taste buds away. The Rich Eisen Show was nominated for an Emmy this year. How do you prepare for your in-studio guests? I don’t know—it’s not much preparation. I try to ask the questions I think fans want to hear, and just have a good, relaxed conversation. In our day and age, a lot of shows are just argumentdriven— there’s no gray area, no nuance, no discussion. I wanted my show to be the opposite. You’re an avid golfer. Do you take…

Improved ballstriking should be as easy as an afternoon in the park. The trick is to apply the correct tossing action to each arm as you swing down from the top—moves you probably made as a kid. Sound too good to be true? I dare you to try them. Check that— I double-dog dare you! Here’s what to do: RIGHT ARM: SKIP A ROCK As you start the club back to the ball, drop your right arm down and under as though you’re skipping a flat rock across a still pond. This rhythmic unwinding action frees you up to whip the clubhead through impact for more centered contact. LEFT ARM: FLING A FRISBEE Most weekend players’ swings are too steep, both on the way back and coming down. The fix?…

In addition to connecting your hands to the club, your grip controls the shape of your shots. In fact, turning your right hand a few degrees to the left or right can turn the ball over in any direction, making you a bona fide pin-seeker. To Hit a Draw Set your right hand on the handle with the palm facing the target, then turn it to the right until you can only see the first two knuckles. With this slightly stronger hold, the clubface will close quicker, producing right-to-left spin. FIRST THINGS FIRST! Before trying these shot-shaping adjustments, you need to make sure your left-hand grip is secure. Use a finger hold, and turn your left hand to the right so you can see two knuckles— no more, no less…

Robert Trent Jones, Sr.’s iconic par-3 third at Mauna Kea demands a 200-yard-plus carry over the surging Pacific, even from the resort tees. It’s not the “aloha” that tourists typically expect. Short and left is lost; bailing out to the right or carrying the shot too far leaves you in a bunker. It’s big trouble on the Big Island, especially when you add in the off- and on-shore tradewinds. Here’s how to carry the drink and set up a once-in-a-lifetime birdie—here, or wherever your travels take you. 1 EASY DOES IT The tendency on long-carry tee shots is to swing out of your spikes. Take a deep breath and think about swinging at 80 to 90 percent of full capacity. The smoother you swing, the better your chances of finding…

I’ve spent a lot of time with Top 100 Teacher Dave Phillips and Greg Rose, D.C.—the brains behind the Titleist Performance Institute. They’re experts at diagnosing power. Mine comes from a series of body separations that Dave and Greg unlocked years ago. The separations occur in sequence; when I perform them correctly, I can knock it 300-plus, even with a “short” backswing. Here’s how it works. I never reach parallel, but by restricting my hips as I turn my back and shoulders, I create more backswing coil than most Tour pros do. Separation No. 2 occurs as I start down. I unwind my hips while holding my shoulders firm. I’m now even more coiled than I was at the top. The final separation is key. My left arm moves into…

Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley Resort Nekoosa, Wis. Sand Valley’s second 18 looms large for 2018. Designed by David McLay Kidd, the aptly named Mammoth Dunes sits on a massive, 620-acre plot. It features more dramatic terrain than the resort’s namesake track (U.S., No. 52), including an 80-foot, V-shaped ridge that gives rise to Ballybunionlike sandhills. At press time, nine holes had opened for preview play, a tease of things to come. Hogs Head Waterville, Ireland With neighbors that include Ballybunion and Waterville, it’s not easy for a new course to make an impact in Southwest Ireland, but Hogs Head, which is slated to open in 2018, has the potential to do just that. Robert Trent Jones II forged an entirely new track atop the defunct Skellig Bay layout, which…

Where The Game Meets The Good Life Top 3 Clubhouses 1.The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews St. Andrews, Scotland This neoclassical shrine has been an iconic backdrop to the 18th hole of the Old Course since 1854. It took another 160 years before women were permitted, proving that some very old traditions die hard. But it’s not as if time has stood still inside. Seven expansions and additions have taken place over the years, among them the stunning bay windows that peer out at golf’s most hallowed ground. 2.Augusta National Golf Club Augusta, Ga. The trophy awarded to each year’s Masters champion is a glimmering replica of Augusta National’s plantation-style clubhouse—that’s how significant and revered this building is. The former manor house dates to the mid-19th century,…

FOR MORE INSTRUCTION THAT FITS YOUR GAME, GO TO GOLF.COM OCTOBER 2017 During your backswing and most of your downswing, apply just enough pressure to keep a sponge held under your right arm from falling out (far left). But at impact (left), squeeze the sponge for all it’s worth. STRAIGHT HITTER You keep the ball in play, but a lack of distance puts pressure on your game. Looking to squeeze an extra 10 to 15 yards out of your tee shots? Here’s how to do it—literally—using an ordinary carwash sponge. Take the sponge and wedge it under your right arm between your chest and bicep. Now imagine that the sponge is full of water, and assume your normal address position. As you swing back to the top, apply as little…

HIGH HANDICAPPER You have potential but must fix some fundamental swing flaws. Your chipping is maddeningly inconsistent. You may drop one close every now and then, but most of your chips either fall far short of the hole or scream past it. On such a short shot, it’s hard to pin the blame for this kind of poor performance on your swing. More likely, your setup is the culprit. Follow these three simple steps to develop a consistent chipping technique that will have you tapping in more par and birdie putts than ever before. STEP 1 LOCATE YOUR SWING BOTTOM Stand up straight and dangle a club from your sternum to find your body’s center of gravity. The spot on the ground below this location is where the clubhead is…

Our rankings are determined by a 100-member-strong international panel whose members represent 18 countries. Voters include major championship winners, Ryder Cup players, architects, leading amateurs, administrators, journalists, photographers, and more than a dozen connoisseurs who’ve managed to play all of the world’s Top 100 courses. Although there are no set-in-stone criteria they must follow, GOLF lends confidence in the panel’s sense of what constitutes “greatness” in a course. Each panelist evaluates a ballot of 522 courses, and point values are accrued based on how they rank them. (For example, every course in a panelist’s top three earns 100 points.) Any course that receives a “remove from ballot” vote has 10 points deducted. Architects cannot vote for their original designs, and course owners cannot vote for their properties. See who made…

The Most Important Things in Golf You won the ANA Inspiration, your first win in three years, and soon after you ascended to No. 1 in the world. How did you achieve such a breakthrough in your game? Before I won the ANA Inspiration, I wasn’t sure about myself. Was I strong enough to handle tournament pressure? But the ANA was one of the toughest situations that I had to deal with, and I got through. That gave me a lot of confidence about my golf and my mental game. That must have been an emotional Sunday. Lexi Thompson had a comfortable lead before taking a fourshot penalty for improperly moving her mark during the previous day’s round. What was going through your mind that afternoon? I was really struggling…

You can watch video rulings featuring Rules Guy himself! Go to GOLF.com/rules-guy Are there any rules about players listening to music on the course? I have a friend who does this, and it’s driving me nuts. —LARRY MEATHE, SOLON, OHIO Not only is your friend annoying, he’s also in breach of the rules. Per Decision 14-3/17, a player has violated Rule 14-3— which pertains to artificial devices, unusual equipment or abnormal use of equipment— if he listens to music or a broadcast while making a stroke or for a prolonged period of time (as it might assist in his play). While driving from a putting green to the next tee? Permissible. Much longer than that? Penalties may loom—loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play for…

Follow Dave Pelz on Twitter @pelz_golf EVERY ROUND, no matter how low your handicap may be, you and every other golfer out there will make some less than perfect swings, miss some fairways and greens, and hit some really bad shots. I remind you of this because one of the wonderful parts of the game we play is that sooner or later, we all face recovery shots from the trouble our poor shots happen to find. The trouble I’m talking about isn’t necessarily the often incredibly difficult situations that PGA Tour pros find themselves in. I’m talking about the rough, mounds, trees, slopes and sand found on the courses that the rest of us play every day. For us, these bad lies are just as daunting as what the pros…

Powered by the Top 100 Teachers in America You’re familiar with the superstition that bad things come in threes (celebrity deaths, weather catastrophes, the Jonas Brothers). It’s even worse for golfers—who hasn’t crumbled under the angst of three-putting? If you’re not careful, walking off a green following three bad swipes can twist you up in knots, sending your round into the bin heap in a hurry. Step one: Turn the page. Then turn this page, where you’ll find Top 100 Teacher Joe Plecker and his foolproof plan for avoiding three-putts altogether. According to Joe, it’s as easy as improving your reads, fine-tuning your distance control and finding a way to start the ball on your intended line. It’s time to take out the trash—and make a clean slate on the…

1 GET SMART You often flub chips from greenside rough when you use your wedges. Make a club switch. Your putter is built with just enough loft (about four degrees) to launch the ball from the cabbage using a simple putting stroke. You can’t miss. 2 LEAN IN Set up for a regular putt, with the ball just forward of center. Next, lean your body to the left, so that at least 60 percent of your weight moves over to your front foot. You should feel your nose slide ahead of the ball and the shaft lean slightly toward the target. 3 KEEP IT SIMPLE Swing the putter a little farther back than what you’d use for a putt of the same length. Keep your lower body quiet and your…

YOU SPEND an hour on the range hoping to dial in a swing for the round. It’s a smart idea to also think about warming up your mind. Mastering the moments before the chaos is critical for enhancing mental focus and energy, as well as performance when it counts. Here are five keys to consider 10 minutes before go-time. 1 FORGE A PLAN FOR THE FIRST HOLE Take note of the shots you’re hitting well on the range. From this pool, build them into a strategy that ensures that you hit the first green in regulation. If that’s 6-iron/6-iron, so be it. It’s important to utilize your strengths right from the get-go. 2 PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED It’s normal to elevate expectations before the first hole. But you’re bound to…

1 Stand tall behind the ball and stare down your target line. Get your game face on. Picture the shot exploding down the fairway on a low, piercing trajectory. 2 As you make practice swings, focus on “sweeping” the club through the impact zone. It helps to picture your swing arc bottoming out just in front of the ball. The last thing you want is to catch this shot fat. 3 Settle in to your stance, distributing your weight evenly over both feet. Position the ball even with the logo of your shirt. The mistake is to play the ball too far forward—that’s where worm-burners are born. 4 As you swing down, resist all tendency to lean back through impact and “help” the ball into the air. Instead, focus on…

What is the “always-mostoverrated” course? Seminole 15% (of the 75 panelists polled) “By a mile. Lovely club, nice course, but a pushover unless the wind is blowing and the greens are brown, running at 13+. The upcoming Coore/ Crenshaw renovation will help immensely.” Baltusrol (Lower) 12% “A boring slog of long par 4s. Relies on its competitive history and strong conditioning to impress. Its sister, the Upper, is more interesting, more fun.” Pebble Beach 7% “The inland holes are good, but not top 10 in the world.” Medinah (No. 3) 6% “One long, tree-lined hole after another with uninteresting greens and predictable bunkering, broken up by an occasional water-shot par 3.” What is the “alwaysmost- underrated” course? North Berwick (West Links) 7% “It’s the most ‘fun’ course in the world.” Los Angeles Country…

Sunningdale has golf’s best old-school halfway house, and the remade Ailsa at Trump Turnberry snags best new-school halfway house honors, but quality eats abound at our Top 100 courses. Dig in. Most Iconic Halfway House Menu Item The burger dog at San Francisco’s Olympic Club is just that—grilled ground beef seasoned only with salt and pepper and served in a hot dog bun. Most Exotic All-American Halfway House Menu Item The peanut butter, jelly and bacon sandwich at fiercely private Fishers Island is comfort food in the extreme. Hey, everything’s better with bacon Best Under-the-Radar Halfway House BBQ You won’t find the Shack anywhere on the Streamsong website, but those who’ve survived the Red course’s brutish front nine will likely have lunged for a cold one—and devoured its piquant pulled-pork…

If we’ve said it once we’ve said it a million times— just about every recreational player (and a lot of accomplished sticks, too) should have at least one hybrid in the bag. They’re much more functional, versatile and easy to hit than comparable long irons, and they make launching the ball from long distance a breeze. If you haven’t picked up a hybrid (or two), or you’re interested in upgrading the clubs currently in your bag, take a good look at some of the latest and greatest, with an eye toward upping your long game and lowering your scores. CLEVELAND LAUNCHER HB $200; GOLF.com/cleveland See the silver steps on the sole? Those are the new “Flex-Fins” that Cleveland has added to the Launcher HB line. They’re designed to let the…

If you watch the pros closely, you’ll rarely see them make a full, all-out swing with their wedges or short irons. They usually dial it down to 75 or 80 percent of their full tempo. Why? Because when they’re within striking distance of the pin, distance control is all that matters. And the best way to control your distance is to swing within yourself. One way to do this is by choking down on the club, gripping halfway down the handle to subtract 5 yards from your approach, or all the way down to the steel to remove 10 yards. This will allow you take the longer club and swing more smoothly and in control, rather than having to go all-out with a shorter club. So if your normal 8-iron…