Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2018 i Golf Magazine

HOW IT WORKS Invisible watermarks on select photos act as gateways to bonus videos. With the Digimarc app, your smartphone or tablet recognizes the watermarks and automatically delivers the content to your device. 1 Download and open the Digimarc Discover app on your smartphone or cameracapable tablet. The app is free and is available at the iTunes store for Apple devices and at the Google Play market for Android devices. 2 Position the phone four to seven inches above any photo bearing the yellow SCAN THIS PHOTO label (example, right), as if you were taking a picture (flash optional). If you have access to a Wi-Fi connection, downloads will be faster. 3 Hold the camera steady. The app will click and buzz when it recognizes the image and then begin…

A PREVIEW LIKE NO OTHER I just finished reading the April 2018 Masters Preview from cover to cover. Receiving GOLF at this time of year gives me the same feeling I used to get as a child when the Sears Christmas catalog finally arrived—for me, the second nine on Sunday just can’t get here fast enough. And speaking of speed, Alan Shipnuck’s question to Kevin Na regarding Kevin’s reputation as a slow player (“Halfway Home,” April 2018) reminded me of a statement a golf partner of mine uttered in disgust while we waited five minutes between shots. “Some fast golfers may think they play slow, but no slow golfers think they play slow.” Amen to that! Great job by Mr. Shipnuck, shining a little light on one of golf’s touchiest…

For much more from Alan, go to GOLF.com/shipnuck » IN 1999, I covered the now defunct Kemper Open, which was won by an utterly unknown rookie named Rich Beem. Actually, it was won by his caddie Steve Duplantis, who rode Beem like a jockey in one of the great caddying performances the Tour has ever seen. Amazingly, it was their first event together—Duplantis had been canned a month earlier by Jim Furyk after a long run during which Steve earned the nickname “Asbestos,” because he was seemingly fire-proof despite chronic tardiness and other shenanigans. Beem and Duplantis were such colorful characters that I began hanging out with them for what would become the book, Bud, Sweat & Tees. Back then, Duplantis’s adorable little daughter, Sierra, was not yet 4. Her…

Strokes gained three-putt avoidance is the three-putt rate taking into account initial putt distance and green conditions (undulation, size, wind, etc.). The Tour average is 3.14 percent. NOTABLE PLAYERS RANKED BY STROKES GAINED THREE-PUTT AVOIDANCE 1.Dustin Johnson 0.26% 6.Rory McIlroy 1.60% 16. Tiger Woods 1.89% 20. Phil Mickelson 1.96% 31. Bubba Watson 2.11% NOTABLE COURSES RANKED BY THREE-PUTT RATE 1. Augusta National 5.6% 2. Torrey Pines (S) 4.1% 6. TPC Sawgrass 3.7% 7. Riviera C.C. 3.4% 11. Bay Hill 3.0%…

Follow Joe Passov on Twitter @JoePassov » PLOP architect David McLay Kidd down on pure sand and he’s as happy as, well, a kid in a sandbox. Past sand-based triumphs at Bandon Dunes and Gamble Sands have steered the 50-year-old Scotsman to his latest playground, Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley. Coming on the heels of the central Wisconsin resort’s well-received inaugural Coore-Crenshaw layout, which debuted in 2017, Kidd’s walking-only creation arrives with giant expectations. Following preview play last fall of a dozen or so holes, plus a peek at the finished product in early spring, the verdict is in: Mammoth Dunes is big—as in, a big winner. Situated on a huge natural sand deposit 170 miles northwest of Milwaukee and 55 miles north of the Wisconsin Dells, Sand Valley is…

NO! Most weekend players fail to trust that there’s enough loft on their wedges to get chips and pitches sufficiently airborne. As a result, they play the ball too far back in their stance while leaning their torso away from the target (photo, above) and setting their weight over the back foot. This setup doesn’t add loft. All it does is invite fat contact. YES! Here’s the correct way to set up for short-game shots: Ball off your center, shoulders and stance slightly open, and your torso (and weight) stacked over your front foot. With this setup, you give the club the chance to shallow out before impact, exposing its loft and bounce angles fully. The ball will pop up and land softly with minimal effort. Mark Hackett, Old Palm…

Mark Durland, Durland Golf School at Naples Grande, Naples, Fla. (@durlandgolf) WHY YOU SHANK You’re hitting shanks because your hands are working too far out and away from your body through impact (picture an exaggerated in-to-out swing). Instead of catching the ball on the sweet spot, you’re catching it on the hosel (photo, above). Simple fixes include standing farther away from the ball and improving your balance on the downswing. Good advice, but if you still can’t shake the shanks, try the drill below. HOW TO STOP IT Stick a tee in the ground so that just the head sits above the grass. Place a ball next to the tee as shown and “address” the tee. Now swing. Your goal is to dislodge the tee while simultaneously catching the ball…

“In ’86, I had never been on Long Island before. We got out there Sunday night, after the [Westchester Classic]. I wanted to get up and see the course, and play early Monday. My caddie didn’t get out until midday, so I took a local caddie to get me around there that first morning. I was lucky, because he taught me local knowledge. You don’t pick it up unless you play a number of rounds at Shinnecock, but, of course, the clubhouse is the highest point on the course. That whole piece of land is downhill. So the caddie said to me, ‘If you ever have a putt going east to west or west to east, you have to remember the subtleness of the slope. It’ll affect your ball and…

SO LONG, SWEETHEART Good luck playing shots back to the pin from a spot behind the green on Shinnecock’s finisher. I tried, and I couldn’t hold the green. This one ended up 10 yards back down the fairway. Standing on the 18th tee at Shinnecock—with the fairway disappearing beautifully into the distance and the stately clubhouse on the horizon—is one of the singular thrills in golf. As I gazed upon this grand finale, I thought of the players who will be taking in the same view come June 17, a possible United States Open Championship within their grasp. What a moment. Then it hits you: “Wow, what a tough hole!” At 484 yards, it demands an accurate drive in the fairway and another 200-yard-plus shot uphill to an elevated green.…

Earl Woods was a talker sober or straight, and some of his Tiger musings were flat-out crazy. Check out his old quotes comparing Tiger and Gandhi, Earl’s comments enjoying a life in perpetuity on the Internet. But one statement the late great colonel made nearly 23 years ago is looking more prescient all the time, even if you hope it turns out to be not true. This is it, Tim Rosaforte, then of Sports Illustrated, catching Earl doing his swami act in the afterglow of Tiger’s second U.S. Amateur win, at the white-shoe Newport Country Club, late-summer, 1995: “I’m going to make a prediction,” Earl Woods said that Sunday night, as champagne both tingled and loosened his tongue. “Before he’s through, my son will win 14 major championships.” His youngest…

» The XXIO brand isn’t as widely known as other manufacturers, but with Ernie Els on board as an endorser and some top-notch technologies to help you get more from your swing, it’s destined to become a household name. The company’s 2018 driver offering, the X, is intriguing, combining three different technologies to effectively enlarge the size of the hitting area and allow players to pound that spot more consistently. The first is a HI-Energy Impact clubhead, built with a thin crown and toe area for added forgiveness, and a sole channel that compresses on low-heel hits for better ball speed. Also included is a cup face with a thin perimeter—that’ll give most players better energy transfer and a larger sweet spot. A high-density sole weight in the rear of…

BEAT BANANA BALLS WITH YOUR BACKSWING If you’re making controlled, balanced swings but still find yourself hitting a random assortment of hooks and slices, your backswing may be the problem. Chances are good that you’re taking the club back off plane and then not making the necessary compensations on the way down to the ball. The truth, however, is that you don’t need to make compensations—you just need to fix your backswing. Here’s how to do it. First, lay your driver across your shoulders with the grip end to your left. Now take your stance, make your regular backswing and stop at the top. Where is the butt end of the club pointing? You may have read that it should point directly at the ball on the ground, but that…

Shinnecock Hills is the only club to host the U.S. Open in three different centuries. What’s your favorite U.S. Open venue? Oakmont is an exceptional U.S. Open venue, with its mix of long and short par 4s. It doesn’t need to be “tricked up” to protect par. @marlboro_man9 To me, any time the venue is truly open, meaning almost anyone could show up there and play, it’s the best U.S. Open venue. Bethpage Black, Torrey Pines South, Pinehurst No. 2 and even the Links at Pebble Beach match this description. @ohmss28 Erin Hills due to the open-air feel, wind with long fairways and undulating terrain. @guacbuster77 I’m excited for 2022 and the Country Club at Brookline, where Ouimet won as an amateur. I love the old courses. @jclevenstine Merion. It…

DRIVER 1) Titleist 917 D2(9.5°), Fujikura Atmos 7X shaft, 285 yards; $399 FAIRWAY WOOD 2) Titleist 917 F3 (15°), Project X Evenflow Blue shaft, 255 yards; $279 IRONS 3) Titleist 718 T-MB (3), 918 AP2 (4-9), MB (PW), Project X 6.5 steel shafts, $1,299 for eight. 3-iron: 232 yards 4-iron: 217 yards 5-iron: 203 yards 6-iron: 189 yards 7-iron: 179 yards 8-iron: 167 yards 9-iron: 155 yards PW: 136 yards WEDGES 4) Titleist Vokey Design SM6 (52°), SM7 (58°, 64°); 52°, 118 yards; 58°, 98 yards; 64°, 72 yards. All with True Temper Dynamic Gold Onyx X100 steel shafts; $150 each PUTTER 5)Scotty Cameron Futura X; price n/a BALL Titleist Pro V1; $47.99/doz. “I’ve been using a 64-degree wedge since college, and it’s my get out of jail club. It’s…

You can watch video rulings featuring Rules Guy himself! Visit GOLF.com. » Two fellow competitors hit balls that landed within inches of one another. Under Rule 22-2, if a player believes another ball might interfere with her play, she may lift but not clean the ball unless it lies on the putting green. Recently, a player at my club lost a tournament because, after lifting her ball in a fairway under this rule, she put the ball in her pocket until replacing it—and her opponent made a successful claim that this amounted to cleaning the ball. If that’s the case, is there a safe, proper way to lift a ball? —CAROL METZ, GRASS LAKE, MICH. Rules Guy and Mrs. Rules Guy often disagree on what defines “cleaning”: “You’re neat, I’m clean,”…

REIGN IN SPAIN Recently, Jon Rahm told me that his favorite hidden gem in Continental Europe is Neguri—his home course. The 23-year-old Spanish pro says the cliff-top, pine-framed, 1961 Javier Arana design, which overlooks the Cantabrian Sea near Bilbao, has “great variety, with doglegs and fun greens with not too much slope. Very testing in the breeze. It’s the course I love the most.” KAPALUA REDUX Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw are on board to renovate their Plantation course at Kapalua, on Maui. Bunker work and new tees are highlights, but Coore says he’s most pumped about using new grasses to “restore the run” to the home of the Tour’s Sentry Tournament of Champions. “We’ll once again have the ground influence shots into the greens, just as it was in…

» For most players, there’s a tendency to rise up on the ball of your back foot at the start of the downswing, in the hope of adding speed and power. But when you jump up and forward like this, it disrupts your posture; your spine angle straightens, your shoulders come off plane and your hip tilt gets out of whack. Consistent impact? Forget about it. To nix the habit, imagine a plump grape under your back heel. As you transition into your downswing, squish the grape into the turf using everything you’ve got. By planting your right heel, you’ll stabilize your posture. Now you can go at the ball as hard as you want, and beat it—and that grape—into a pulp. NO! Raising your back heel changes everything—none of…

1 GET SET Too many golfers set up with a passive lower body. To fix this, hold the club at mid-shaft and squat and tilt forward, as if you’re about to attempt a basketball free throw. (You can even open your palms to cradle an imaginary ball.) You should feel your glutes and thighs tighten, and sense a genuine connection between your body and the ground. 2 REMAIN ACTIVATED I’m not suggesting that you flex your legs until your muscles are stiff. Just be aware that they’re activated and ready to spring into action. Now, place your hands in their normal position on the grip and angle the shaft at 45 degrees in front of you. Important: Keep your eyes on the rim. 3 LOWER THE CLUB Next, lower your…

Most weekend golfers can’t log the gym time to turn themselves into power players. But even at home or in the office, Joey D has his ways. » SIMULATING YOUR SWING WITH RESISTANCE (RIGHT)ALLOWS YOU TO FEEL MUSCLE ACTIVATION DURING YOUR SWING SEQUENCE. “Holding a large bottle of water in each hand and stand in a golfer’s address position, with your feet at shoulder width. With arms extended as if you’re holding a club, and your wrists separated by 6 to 8 inches and elbows tight to your rib cage, rotate into your backswing and pause at the top for one second. Then slowly move through simulated impact and follow through. Pause at the completion of the swing, then repeat.” » TO ENHANCE YOUR BALANCE AND STABILITY.. “Stand with your…

WHEN I THINK OF SHINNECOCK HILLS, two words come to mind: “national treasure.” As a researcher and golfer who has dedicated nearly four decades of his life to developing swing- and course-management strategies to help players shoot better scores, it remains the ultimate test—if you can outthink this place, you can outthink anyplace. I paid a visit to the William Flynn masterpiece last fall, walking the fair ways with my son, Eddie, and even playing a few shots. It was as vexing as ever. The goal of my visit was to paint a picture of the challenges that await the best players in the world so you can better appreciate the drama sure to unfold before your eyes during the playing of the 118th U.S. Open, whether you’re there in…

I hope you’ve enjoyed these pictures and thoughts. I certainly enjoyed getting and creating them for you. Of course, my personal answer to the original question is, “Yes, I listened.” I obeyed what the slopes, crowns, contours, wind, green firmness and speed asked of me. I’ve been around the game a long time, yet Shinnecock always teaches me something new. I’m eager to see which pros will do likewise; who will manage the conditions and warnings of Shinnecock while finding a way to maintain confidence. More than anything, I’m anxious to see the course again and its magnificence. The Open doesn’t get any better than this.…

HIT YOUR IRONS FARTHER If you’re hitting your irons straight, but you’re still not getting the kind of explosive power you want, you’re probably not creating enough lag in your downswing. Lag is produced when you maintain the angle between your arms and the clubshaft almost all the way down to impact. Here’s how to do it. Grab an iron by the hosel and make the widest backswing possible while keeping both arms straight. Stop when you feel tension in the left side of your torso. Now drop your hands down toward your right pocket as fast as you can. If you do it right, you should notice immediately how your swing arc transitions from wide in the backswing to narrow in the downswing, and how this move produces maximum…

»I’VE INTERVIEWED Dustin Johnson several times for this publication (the June 2010 issue was the first magazine to feature DJ on its cover) and spent several hours with Brooks Koepka for a cover feature following his first win on Tour at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in 2015. These are not regular human beings. Dustin—soft spoken and polite—simply looms over you. I’m 6’2”, and I’ve never felt smaller than in my conversations with him. When I met Brooks, his handshake was so firm that an unidentified tendon in my elbow went “pop.” Some guys choose to grip hard to make clear they’re the Alpha. Brooks was simply extending a friendly hand. Point is, our two cover subjects—the back-to-back defenders of our national championship—are freaks. They’re athletic and physical phenoms who…

The Most Important Things in Golf This Month » You have four career wins on the European Tour and now, at age 27, you’ve made the transition to the PGA Tour. What’s it been like for you, getting to know new golf courses, new tournaments? Very enjoyable, actually. It’s a slightly different style of golf. The greens tend to be a bit firmer and a little bit quicker, with more slope. And a lot of new faces, though they’re not really new. I’ve played in good groups, with some great guys. It’s a friendly tour. And it’s been nice to play some pretty good golf as well. A year and a half ago you were ranked 188th in the world. Here we are, spring of 2018, and you’re now ranked…

Follow Mark Broadie on Twitter@MarkBroadie Pros are, in effect, penalized for playing courses with undulating, larger-than-average greens that naturally lead to three-jacks. » HIDEKI MATSUYAMA is ranked 123rd in three-putt avoidance as of mid-April 2018. His three-putt rate of 3.3 percent is larger than the Tour average of 3.1 percent and about four times larger than the leader, Dustin Johnson, at 0.8 percent. It seems obvious that Matsuyama three-putts far too often, but that conclusion would be incorrect. In fact, I’d like to convince you that Matsuyama is far better than the Tour average and actually ranks 38th when three-putt avoidance is properly measured. Three-putts are deflating score-killers, a birdie opportunity that morphs into a bogey. There’s evidence that 50,000 years ago we counted by making notches in sticks and…

Analysis by Top 100 Teacher Don Sargent, Scioto C.C., Columbus, Ohio FOLLOWING A 10-YEAR stint on the European Tour, Alex Noren, 35, has taken up full-time residence on the stateside circuit. Close calls at the Farmers Insurance Open and the WBC—Dell Technologies Match Play (which included victories over Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed during the knockout stages) prove that the Stockholm native’s nine Euro wins were no fluke. Like the great Swedish players who preceded him, Noren has a knack for achieving perfect body, arm and club positions throughout his motion. He’s seemingly on the proper plane from start to finish. (Check his shoulder lines in frames 6 and 14. They’re a perfect match!) What’s really impressive is his lower-body work. Noren taps all three power generators, moving rotationally in…

Follow Jessica Marksbury on Twitter@Jess_Marksbury » We’re drinking a Japanese beer today: Sapporo. Most Australians like beer. And I guess as I’ve gotten older I’ve also found a taste for beer. I didn’t really like it much when I was younger, but now I do. And Japanese beer is really nice. I think it’s a really refined beer—whether it’s Asahi or Sapporo or Kirin. They’re all very nice. You’re one of the game’s most renowned players. We’re tucked away in a New York City photo studio today, but how much anonymity do you have these days? There are golf fans everywhere now, so I get recognized occasionally. But it’s just a fun part of the job. It’s nice that there are people who enjoy watching me play, and who support…

» A few years ago, one of my Tour students, Ryan Armour, was struggling on the greens. So we went with something new: the Fang grip. It’s a variation of the better-known Claw hold, and it’s worked out great. (Armour broke through with his first PGA Tour victory in 2017 at the Sanderson Farms Championship using this grip.) Ryan‘s problem was too much wrist action. The Fang takes care of that in seconds. If you feel a little “wristy” or “handsy” with your stroke, give the Fang a try. You’ll start putts on line—and keep them there. Jason Carbone, Baltusrol G.C., Springfield, N.J. (@JasonCarbone)…

1 JUST BREATHE Hyperventilation is a distinct possibility when you really tank one. Absent a paper bag, take in long, slow breaths through your nose (let your stomach extend instead of raising your shoulders). Hold for three beats. Then exhale like you were blowing out a candle. This will help slow down your heart rate, reduce panic and quiet your mind. 2 HAVE A LAUGH Laughing is a great physical tension-releaser (not just for you, but for your playing partners, who are definitely avoiding eye contact). A self-effacing comment or wisecrack is a good way to let the panic dissipate so you can move on. 3 FRAME IT UP When things go bad, it’s important to remember that they’re never as bad as you think in the moment. You will…

In the gospel according to Joey D, there are certain guiding principles. Here are two of them. » ALWAYS THINK SPINE ANGLE “Build strength and create stability in the small muscles of the back by maintaining a good spine angle whenever and wherever you can. On a bike at the gym or on the road, don’t hunch—maintain a good spine angle. Do your standing curls in a golfer’s address position—and maintain a good spine angle. Do squats with a trap bar (right). You get the picture. The more you’re aware of the importance of this posture, the better golfer you’ll be.” » MAKE FEEL BECOME REAL “Movement patterns and exercises allow us to feel golf-specific muscle activation and awareness of muscle strain or hindrance to mobility. By isolating and improving…

MAJOR-CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS aren’t created equal, but major-championship winners at Shinnecock share commonalties: fairway-splitting drives, deft iron play and unshakable nerves, to name a few. Even so, the last three U.S. Open winners at Shinnecock—Ray Floyd (1986), Corey Pavin (1995) and Retief Goosen (2004)—hoisted their hardware having completed unique journeys. Floyd, 43 at the time of his win, knew he had it won when he stuck an approach to the center of the 18th green on Sunday. On the same hole, then 35-year-old Pavin hit one of the most famous shots in Open history: a 228-yard, 4-wood approach to five feet—where he missed a trophy-clinching birdie putt and had to sweat out his victory. Goosen, also a 35-year-old winner at Shinny, triumphed despite a crowd pulling hard for eventual runner-up Phil…

As you’ve likely heard, the USGA is changing its playoff format for the U.S. Open, from a full 18-hole slugfest into a two-hole aggregate haymaker. If players are tied after that, it’s sudden death TKO. Organization honcho Mike Davis has said that the reason for the switch is a collective desire for a Sunday finish. (Quaint side note: the USGA used to never play on Sundays because that was when members had their games.) So we were wondering: What would the USGA record book look like if this format had been in place since the inaugural 1895 18-holer? Turns out almost half of the 33 playoffs would have produced a different champ. Here’s the tale of the tape. 1901 Myopia Hunt Club PLAYOFF Willie Anderson & Alex Smith ORIGINAL WINNER…

Your Passport To the Golfing Life The Hot Corner With stunning courses crafted by five-tool designers and a breathtaking landscape sculpted by Mother Nature, the Dominican Republic is a golf destination that’s ready for the big leagues THE SPORTS LANDSCAPE in the Dominican Republic is dominated by beisbol. There’s a good reason why every MLB team runs an academy in the DR. The talent level on the island is amazing, especially for its size (about twice that of Vermont, with decidedly more all-stars). The same can be said for the caliber of golf courses dotting this Caribbean paradise. The numbers aren’t huge—27 at last count—but the quality and sheer enjoyment factor bred into these tracks are out of the park. With a Hall of Fame designer lineup (Dye, Nicklaus and…

Q I get it with irons, but how do you decide if you’re a candidate for a game-improvement model or a Tour-style clubhead when choosing wedges? DON SIMMS, VIA FACEBOOK JEFF BRUNSKI DIRECTOR OF R&D / CLEVELAND GOLF To begin, consider what type of iron you play—if you’re playing a larger game-improvement model, then you would be smart to look at wedges with the same type of design. Obviously, if you play compact muscleback or small-cavity blades, then a similar wedge would be a good place to start. Beyond that, a good way to select a wedge model that fits your game is to analyze the short-game shots you tend to favor and choose your club accordingly. For example: You mostly play standard pitch, chip and bunker shots with a…

YOU’D THINK that fixing a ball flight that was too high and too far to the right would require endless lessons and hours on the range. Think again. With the help of True Spec Golf, we got Michael Wood—he of the too-high-and-too-far-right Woods—to vastly improve his trajectory and dispersion simply by swapping out his old clubs with a new, professionally fit set of gamers. Wood, a 36-year-old low-handicapper, worked with True Spec fitter Michael Glauberman, who primarily focused on altering launch angle and spin rate. Not only did this expert’s touch transform Wood’s ball flight, it tacked on a healthy dose of yardage to boot. Check out the results. BEFORE TRUE SPEC FITTING (numbers are averages) OLD DRIVER Three-year-old oversized titanium model from major manufacturer with Graphite Design GT 65…