Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Golf Magazine

IN JUNE, THE NATIONAL GOLF FOUNDATION, the Jupiter, Fla.-based nonprofit research group that monitors the game’s growth and vitality, released some promising participation numbers. The one that caught my eye was 2.6 million, which according to the NGF, represents the number of beginners who played on a course for the first time in 2018, a historic high. Good news. Great news, actually. Digging a bit further, I found that 18 percent of these beginners were over the age of 50—not a historic level, but the highest number in a decade. Props to Boomers and Gen Xers notwithstanding, the long-term health of our sport depends on more youth. Unfortunately, junior participation sagged in 2018 compared to the previous two years, and what the NGF considers to be the game-growth gold mine—18-…

THE WEB.COM TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP—excuse us, the Korn Ferry Tour Championship—is the most brutally Darwinian tournament in golf. Last year its very essence was boiled down to one 8-foot birdie putt, faced by a mild-mannered, 29-year-old Ohioan named Justin Lower. Make it and he would earn a promotion to the PGA Tour; miss it and Lower was doomed to spend another year haunting the minor leagues, with all the frustrations and indignities and money-related stress that entails. As Lower stalked his putt on the 18th hole at Atlantic Beach (Fla.) Country Club, Jim Knous was watching from a Golf Channel set a hundred yards away. (His Twitter nickname, “Jimmy Hard K,” offers a guide to pronunciation.) Knous had exited the 18th hole projected as 25th on the season-ending money list, which,…

PRECISELY TWO WEEKS FROM the second I’m typing this, I will, for the first time in my life, step onto an actual golf course to play 18 holes of actual golf. I’ve played nine before, at a bachelor party, and by the end of it all I’d learned was that I need to be better about sunscreen and that several of my college friends appeared to have developed serious drinking problems. This time I’ll be heading out with Jon Tattersall, my instructor these past many months, to see if any of his lessons have stuck, if any of his endlessly patient words have had any effect on me whatsoever. I call Tattersall to make sure we’re still on. He answers the phone with his signature, sardonically cheerful “Hello, Will!”—a distinctly…

JULES WAS A LAWYER by trade, a quiet bespectacled fellow with an ale belly. He was a professional, and 40 years or more on I can recall him trundling the fairways sipping from a can of Ballantine. Jules’ affinity for that particular beer and its distinctive XXX branding earned him the nickname “Triple X.” One day Triple X addressed a ball in the rough, and verily he did smite it to smithereens. The ball exploded into many hundreds if not thousands of white bits, rendering Triple X dumbstruck. Slowly he raised his head, and sputtered to his caddie, “Diiii diiii diiiiid you see that?” “Yes,” said my brother Whitey, who was on the bag for Triple X that day. “It was a mushroom.” I was thinking about that moment on…

GARRETT LEIGHT, 35 CEO & Creative Director, Garrett Leight California Optical Los Angeles, Calif. Hdcp: 9 The clothes on your back. Describe. I like to mix classic looks with modern pieces. The technical jacket helps me play in all sorts of conditions, the vintage polo is casual and cool, and the classic “dad hat” is what I feel most comfortable in—snapbacks are too street for me, they’re just not my style. Is there a style inspiration here? With age comes wisdom and confidence, both of which have crafted my style. Since golf doesn’t require a uniform—which is unique—I try to wear non-golf items to the course. Oh, so you’re one of those “office-to-course” guys? I enjoy fashion too much to pass on the opportunity to pull together a cool look.…

ATTENTION PLAYERS WHO ENJOY exceptional looks, feel and performance—and who are willing to pay a premium price: The new Epic Forged irons ($300/each) have arrived. They’re literally packed with tech, but at the same time maintain an elegant appearance. The heads are forged from soft carbon steel and fitted with very thin faces. They also feature Callaway’s 360 Face Cup for big-time distance. Precise CG locations and controlled trajectory in each iron is produced by a tungsten core wrapped in a TPU material and suspended in urethane microspheres (similar to the Rogue design). This allows the heads to absorb unwanted vibration without impeding clubface flex at impact. To further enhance both control and distance, the long irons feature variable face thicknesses for more consistent spin rates, while the short irons…

YOU COULD MAKE A VERY STRONG ARGUMENT that PING is one of the most influential putter manufacturers in the history of the game. The original Anser model, first introduced in 1966 and marked “Scottsdale,” has been used to win more than 500 professional tournaments to date, including all four majors in one year (1988). So what better putter model to look at than the Anser, which is still alive and very well in the company’s Vault 2.0 ($299) and Sigma 2 ($199) lines. According to Tony Serrano, PING senior design engineer, the differences in the two putters might seem fairly subtle to some, but in terms of looks and feel, they’re actually quite different. “The Vault 2.0 is 100 percent milled with no face insert, while the Sigma 2 is…

THE FIFTH GENERATION Srixon Q-Star ($26.99/dozen) is aimed at mid- and higher-handicap players with moderate swing speeds looking for a balance of max distance off the tee and enhanced feel and short-game performance. Available in white and Tour yellow, the new Q-Star is improved via a new FastLayer core that’s softer in the center and firmer near the outside. The idea is to produce more ball speed and distance while maintaining a soft feel. One more additional performance enhancer: the 338-speed dimple pattern to promote a more boring trajectory and longer overall distance. In addition, a new version of Srixon’s well-known Spin Skin outer coating technology (made with SeRM—Slide Ring Material) allows for more spin on approach shots and wedge shots around the green by increasing friction at impact. CORE…

Bill Murray’s performance as Carl Spackler in Caddyshack was over the top in just about every respect—except the part where he’s manually twisting a valve to water the fairways and greens of Bushwood. Conniving gophers aside, that’s the way it was: As Carl himself might put it, “In the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre…limited control.” Today, course irrigation has evolved to satellite or hardwire controls, allowing superintendents to sit in their office or truck and manage the system. Which is nice…but hardly the end of the evolution. In this era of Big Data, irrigation systems are getting smart. “It’s all moving in the direction of artificial intelligence, where you have sensors out on the golf course, and that data will interface with the irrigation system itself, and decisions can…

The 1960s began with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe—definitely not a FootJoy—on a desk at the United Nations. A couple of years later came the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was as close to a nuclear holocaust as the world had come before or since. The Cold War continued in full freeze until the end of the decade, when U.S. President Richard Nixon, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, and Khrushchev’s successor, Leonid Brezhnev, tried to thaw things out. Détente between the Soviets and the U.S. took on many forms. Perhaps the most surprising was plans for an American-designed 18-hole golf course on the outskirts of Moscow, the first in all of the Soviet Union. By the time it was done, perestroika and glasnost had cleared the way for…

CHEZ REAVIE was already a stellar ballstriker when I started coaching him in 2015. My first job was to temper his preconceived notion that his swing contained too many deficiencies, and that these deficiencies were to blame for a serious left-wrist injury he suffered in 2012. (Chez missed the following two seasons recovering from surgery.) There may have been some merit to his anxiety, but my job as a coach—for Chez or any player—is to emphasize the good parts of a player’s technique first and highlight areas that can be modified to avoid stress on the body second. So far, the plan has worked. Chez bagged his first victory in 11 years (the Travelers) back in June, and has notched four additional top-10 finishes this season (through the Open Championship).…

AS A GOLF TEACHER FOR MORE THAN 40 years, I love seeing my students out on the practice green, striving to improve their short game. They work on their putting, play games that simulate pressure-filled scenarios and hit different putts from different lengths. Awesome. However, the thing about putting practice is—and I’m about to get real here—it can be pretty grueling if you’re fatigued. Maybe you played a long round of golf, did some yardwork or worked a full day at the office before you got to the practice green. Whatever the case, practicing putting when you’re feeling worn out might do more harm than good. If you’re determined to get some practice time in when you’re not in peak condition, opting to work on your putting when you’re a…

There’s going to come a day when none of us have a tee time out here anymore, so don’t take yourself seriously. The game is too hard. Life is too short. We’re lucky to be doing this. This philosophy has helped me in the later stages of my career, but not when I was younger. I’d never have listened when I was 21 or 22. I would have said, “No, I’m gonna grind, and grind some more.” I wish I could go back and tell myself, “Hey, man. It’s just a golf shot.” I know, at times, we all want to make this life and death, but it’s just a game. Having two kids, and wanting to raise them how I wish I had been at times, has been the…

You’re a hard-hitting journalist and golfer, so we’ll start with a tough one: Tin Cup or Caddyshack? [Laughs] Caddyshack. If you could choose one world leader to play a round with, who would it be? The prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, who’s apparently quite a good golfer. Plus, I’ve never played in Asia. And a fellow anchor? Michael Strahan. But I play mostly with my husband and my kids—although I did hit balls in Yankee Stadium with Rory McIlroy. I thought, Oh my god, if I whiff this I’ll be so embarrassed! I had sweaty palms. During a slow news week, are you ever tempted to switch jobs with Jim Nantz? Jim Nantz has the greatest job in the world. “Hello, friends.” He is the most superb broadcaster out…

8 With Dustin Johnson’s second-place finishes at the Masters and the PGA Championship, the number of players who’ve bagged the career “Runner-up Slam.” DJ joins Craig Wood, Arnie, Jack, Watson, Norman, Lefty and Louis Oosthuizen. $ 75,000 Dollar amount of winning bid at charity auction to carry Tiger Woods’s bag in this December’s Hero World Challenge. AVERAGE CLUBHEAD SPEED ON TOUR Top 20 over the last 10 years: Men’s national championship trophies (16) won by the University of Houston since the NCAA took over the tournament. (Yale won 20 from 1897-1936.) 29.47 Percentage of first-place prize money won by Rory McIlroy in the PGA Tour events he’s entered through the U.S. Open (first on Tour).…

THE STARTER PAIRED US up on a recent, steamy Friday morning, and luckily, my playing partner knew the course. I didn’t need Google Maps to play the seventh hole, a slight dogleg left, just Sharon: Drive it down the right side, then take dead aim at the Washington Monument for your second. Welcome to the Blue Course at East Potomac Park! The course has a celebrated pedigree (Walter Travis designed it in 1916), history (home track to Presidents Harding and Coolidge) and owner (the National Park Service). Through most of the long, painful, separate-but-unequal chapter of American golf, East Potomac was well-integrated, and remains so today. (Sharon is a black woman in her sixties with a 16-handicap and a perfect practice swing who stood 3 over on the seventh tee.)…

A Manhattan has three key ingredients: A whiskey you like, sweet vermouth, and bitters. A purist will say you should use rye. Purists are idiots. Sweet vermouth is the red stuff, and my personal bar is stocked with Noilly Prat Rouge (1), which sits alongside Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters (2). Two parts whiskey, one part vermouth, dashes of bitters to suit your taste. Don’t skimp on the vermouth like you might with a martini. If you don’t drink your Manhattan up, you should still mix and chill it separately before pouring it over ice. A bit of orange peel is a nice garnish, especially if you rub the rim of the glass with it. If you want to go with the classic Manhattan, try Bulleit Rye (3). After one…

MAKE IT MODERN Brands like Malbon Golf are redefining what players traditionally think about golf clothes. Bobby Buckets T-shirt, $48 4 Stylish Brands You Need to Wear Now 20 Ways to Fill Up a Carry Cooler 1 Hugely Epic Callaway Forged Iron 3 Retro Puma Kicks 1 New Star in Srixon’s Ball Lineup 2 Miura Wedges That Feel Like Butter Foray Golf THIS WINTER FLOOMS PATTERN appears on a larger collection that includes a polo, a skirt, and a bomber jacket, helping to create a cohesive, eye-catching story. $80 Bonobos Golf OFFERING MORE FITS, sizes and lengths in trousers than any other golf brand, Bonobos goes the extra mile to ensure that golfers feel comfortable and look tailored. $128 Malbon Golf TO PUT THEIR SPIN ON an otherwise pedestrian collared…

MAKING LAST-MINUTE CHANGES to your gear setup less than 24 hours before the first round of a major championship screams desperation. But don’t tell that to Viktor Hovland. The week prior to turning pro (and being unveiled as a PING staffer), the former Oklahoma State standout did the unthinkable: He replaced key clubs on the eve of the U.S. Open. “I’m always open to changing stuff if I feel there’s room for improvement,” Hovland said. He wasn’t kidding. Hovland took PING’s G410 LST driver and a split set of iBlade (4-6) and i210 (7-PW) irons for a spin around Pebble Beach just prior to the opening round and found the equipment to be worthy replacements. The calculated gamble wound up paying off in the end for Hovland, who led the…

Sporting the iconic profile found in PUMA’s 1968 Suede Classics, the Suede G Patch ($120) comes with a hook-and-loop stripe that enables you to customize your golf shoes with any combination of six patches (included with the shoes). The HIDDEN TRACTION outsole looks nothing like any other golf shoe outsole that we’ve ever seen—it features a waffle-like pattern that provides exceptional traction in a low-profile, practically invisible design. These unisex golf shoes also come with PRO-FIT insoles and are available in Bridal Rose, PUMA Black and Quarry (gray). For those who prefer old-school sensibilities, PUMA also offers the Original G ($100), which emulates the classic Clyde and Basket hoop shoes from the 1970s and ’80s. Complete with a premium Atlantis leather upper, PRO-FIT insoles and the same HIDDEN TRACTION outsole…

In the midst of preparing for the Memorial Tournament earlier this year, Rory McIlroy spied Scott Stallings on the practice green and made a beeline for him just before teeing off. He had a question only Stallings could answer. “When you swing, does it ever—get in the way?” McIlroy asked, pointing to the strap fastened to his right wrist. Professional golfers are used to trying out the latest high-tech training aids in the name of job security and major-championship hardware, but the band in question on McIlroy’s wrist isn’t designed to boost clubhead speed or extra yards off the tee. It’s all about having enough juice in the tank to perform at the highest level possible for 72 holes. In an era where athletes are more aware of their bodies…

Salman “Sal” Syed, golfing futurist, dreams of a day when you, with your 16.3 index and your 88-mile-an-hour clubhead speed, will actually know how far you hit your 8-iron. Because Syed’s company, after looking at about 100 million regular-joe golf shots since 2014, has figured out the single biggest difference between them and us: The Tour players are realists, and we’re dreamers. “They know what their clubs will do,” says Syed, born and raised in Pakistan, educated at Ohio Wesleyan (math major, tennis player) and the Yale School of Management. “We idealize our best shots.” It’s a far, far better thing to know that your true median 8-iron goes 132 yards, and to accept that the 8-iron you stiffed from 161 in your last round is, in fact, an outlier.…

Where the golfverse and Twitterverse intersect, roughly 12,600 people are following @datagolf these days. Those aren’t Taylor Swift social-media numbers, but momentum is on the upswing for Data Golf (datagolf.ca), the creation of brothers Matt (28) and Will (26) Courchene. The data analytics on the Courchene’s site won’t help you shed strokes during your own toils on the course, but if you’re a fan of the professional game and into data or betting, you’ll find the information on Data Golf’s site both intriguing and a hell of a lot of fun—they do analytics quite unlike anyone else out there. The most popular attraction on DataGolf.ca of late is the live model of every PGA Tour and PGA European Tour event. Every five minutes, the model updates the probabilities of every…

The semiprivate club currently has more than 400 members. More than 14,000 rounds were played on the course in ’18. The club hosts a nine-hole members’ winter tournament using red balls. The 2018 VTB Russian Open (Senior) Golf Championship on the Staysure Tour (formerly the European Senior Tour) was contested on the course. It was the only international pro tournament in Russia last year. Stay-and-play packages are available, starting at 12,000 Russian rubles per person, which includes accommodation at a 5-star hotel. Go to mccgolf.ru and mcc-hotel.ru for more information.…

There are a lot of effective training aids that guide your swing into correct positions. The PuttOUT Pressure Putt Trainer ($29.99, proshop.golf.com/trainingaids) isn’t one of those training aids—and that’s the beauty of it! The aim of the PuttOUT isn’t to force your putting stroke into certain positions, but to provide a fun and addictive way to practice your putting more, and to figure out the best way to move your flatstick by yourself along the way. How to use it? Simple: Putt your ball into the tiny hole cut into the middle of the PuttOUT’s ramp. The only way the ball will stay there is if you hit the putt with the perfect amount of speed and in the correct direction. If you don’t, the slope of the ramp will…

ANALYZING YOUR DIVOTS from a practice session is like evaluating a crime scene: There are clues in the turf that indicate flaws or mistakes at impact that lead to less-than-desirable shots. Looking at these clues under a magnifying glass can quickly improve your contact. During a lesson I’ll often draw a white line on the turf with spray paint and ask my student to place a ball on top of the line and hit some shots. Through the course of this exercise, divots appear, and a pattern begins to develop. I use the location, depth and direction of the divots to start my analysis of my student’s impact. The ideal location of the divots should start on the white line and move forward toward the target. The divots should be…

YOU HEAR TALK OF getting ‘open’ in a golf swing, but what exactly is that? In a nutshell, getting open is when you open your hips and shoulders at impact more than they were at address. This really is a golden position, because it allows you to manage the club-face, path and angle of attack so you can hit the ball straighter, crisper and with better control. There are a few common denominators in all good swings; this is one of them. A common mistake is to ‘open’ too early. This results in a ‘spin’ from the top that causes the club to drop into a steep orbit. The natural reaction is to try to get the club back on plane later in the downswing, but then your hips and…

Callaway Chrome Soft Truvis: When the Truvis (pronounced True Viz) models first debuted, some thought the patterned cover was just a gimmick. Callaway designers knew better. Not only does the pattern help each Chrome Soft ($44.99/doz.) appear slightly larger than standard, it also provides critical feedback on putts and chips (keep your eye on the pattern as the ball rolls and you’ll see why). Converts are everywhere.…

GOLF’S COGNOSCENTI HAVE KNOWN FOR A DECADE that Gary Woodland had all the tools. But tools alone are not enough. That was the lesson of his U.S. Open win at Pebble Beach. In victory, Woodland, 35, spoke of how he has learned to manage his talent, praising particularly his former coach (Butch Harmon) and his current coach (Pete Cowen). “I kept telling myself, ‘Enjoy this moment. Enjoy the pressure. Enjoy being uncomfortable. Don’t shy away from it, embrace it.’ And I think that helped me stay a little more calm.” Three quick things about that statement. First of all, it’s deeply articulate, as is Woodland. Also, it shows a thinking and aware person. But it should be noted that saying it and doing it are two different things. At Pebble,…

THERE ARE FEW SPOTS MORE serene than the patio at the Chambers Bay Grill. Perched high above the cascading fairways of Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s breezy, waterfront course outside Tacoma, Washington, it’s always a little cool up there. Perfect Pacific Northwest weather for a steaming bowl of creamy, clam-filled goodness. The venue best known for hosting the controversial 2015 U.S. Open doesn’t stir much divisiveness with its chowder. All produce and dairy come from local farms, and the clams are scooped directly from the Pacific. Executive chef Chris Lewis started at Chambers Bay Grill in April 2018 and quickly learned to keep the soup heavily stocked. “If we run out of it at any time, which is very rare, there’s a huge outcry,” Lewis says. “After seeing the batch size…

A GOOD “STACK” at the top of your backswing results from rotating correctly. As you turn back, it’s important to keep your pelvis on a forward tilt and let your body coil over your trail leg without feeling the need to slide your hips up or to the side. Try this: Place your golf bag just outside your rear foot. With your hands folded across your chest, rotate as in a mock backswing. Your goal? Maintain the space between your rear hip and the bag as you load up over your back leg. No need to shift or slid your pelvis. Also check that your right shoulder is behind your left, indicating a solid turn over your right side. Now you’ve created torque—power you can use at impact.…

1. Pedigree A divorced retiree is a must, but be sure to look closely at his employment history. I’ve found that disgruntled union workers—guys with ginormous chips on their shoulders—make great candidates. Also be on the lookout for career high-school vice principals who believe that the end of corporal punishment marked the downfall of our public education system. 2. Hobbies and Interests Heavy drinkers and NRA members often have the proper temperament. 3. Criminal History Background checks are critical, sure, but don’t shy away from a candidate with a rap sheet. I won’t even interview a prospective hire if he doesn’t have at least one road-rage conviction. 4. Fashion Sense My current course marshal showed up for his first day in fatigues—but he’s an overachiever. If a candidate interviews in…

Super 70s Sports @Super70sSports When NBC needed a golf team, some network suit threw up his hands and said, “Hell with it—just give me the baseball guys and Lee Trevino.” NOT THIS MONTH IN GOLF HISTORY This month in 1953: While shagging range balls for Ben Hogan, 12-year-old Bucky Jones is forced to take four full steps to his left to reel in a stinger off the Hawk’s 5-iron. A disgusted Hogan later apologizes to the boy, saying “That one got away from me.” This month in 1978: Strange that the entire gallery following Seve Ballesteros during a season-ending exhibition at Royal Birkdale consisted mostly of extras from the cast of Animal House. This month in 1984: Craig Stadler is disqualified from the World Series of Golf after missing his…

The traditional method of grip fitting states that better players should go with a small grip to enhance feel, control and speed. JumboMax designers have a different philosophy—eliminate tension and stress with a larger size (up to 4.38 inches in some models) that allows for more practice with less shock to the joints. They’re said to improve ballstriking, too. Even tech-geek Bryson DeChambeau is a believer, in full-swing clubs and his putter (see page 66). jumbomax.com…

Foray Foray designs one core line every season featuring elevated essentials like polos, skirts, sun-shirts and dresses, but the company keeps its offering fresh with ten to twelve limited-edition collections per year inspired by streetwear, trend forecasts, and fashion-week runways. Founder Megan LaMothe refers to these limited-edition sets as “sister friends,” because while each of them offers a unique aesthetic, they’re all made with the same high-quality Italian fabrics, and the fit is entirely consistent throughout. Malbon Malbon Golf generates demand like few other niche brands. It can thank founder Stephen Malbon’s strong Rolodex (Malbon founded a creative agency and media outlet for influential celebrities). He started Malbon Golf as an Instagram account to share his newfound obsession with his big-ticket clientele. A cartoon logo he created for the account…

WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES A COOLER SO…COOL? Start with a commitment to your core customer. Yeti products were originally designed for serious outdoor enthusiasts (think hunters and fisherman). You don’t disappoint people who kill their own food! But the items on offer clearly have crossover appeal for any activity that values frosty beverages. Tailgates, backyard barbecues and (of course!) rounds of golf fit the bill. Yeti prides itself on products that can take abuse, all while keeping contents just-out-of-the-fridge chilly. The Hopper M30 features a durable “DryHide” exterior and “ColdCell” insulation, while the “HydroShield” closure uses powerful magnets instead of zippers to ensure maximum leak resistance. There are two carry options: double handles or a wide shoulder strap. Perhaps most importantly, this cooler has a 20-can capacity. Now, that’s…

LOFT, LIE AND FACE ANGLE can all be affected by the simple twist of a wrench on your new adjustable driver, and if you’re not taking advantage of this feature, you’re missing out. Admittedly, there are some challenges to self-adjusting your big dog, not the least of which is knowing what the face angle will do to your shots. There are a number of ways to use that setting, one of which is to alter the launch angle (closed for more loft, open for less), while another is to alter the shot shape. Confused? Try this: If you tend to hold on to the club through impact and struggle with slices, close the face a bit. This adjustment will add launch and help you fight the banana ball. For those…

EACH MIURA WEDGE BEGINS with a billet of S25C carbon steel that’s put through the company’s legendary multistep forging process and then coupled with a spin-welded hosel. It’s finished off with a CNC-milled face and groove pattern for added spin. The net result of such craftsmanship is a classic wedge with exceptional balance, performance and a one-of-a-kind feel. The standard Miura Tour wedges feature moderate sole widths and a higher CG for a more controlled trajectory. The HB (high bounce) models feature wider, tapered soles, greater heel-toe/front-to-back relief, and more bounce angle for added forgiveness in softer conditions.…

There is a stirring at the driving range: Bryson DeChambeau has arrived. The postures of the Cobra engineers stiffen. A Flightscope technician fiddles with the dials on his launch monitor, suddenly looking busy. The JumboMax guy lays out a row of new prototype grips. A Bridgestone rep readies the latest batch of balls tweaked to DeChambeau’s specifications. Finally, Bryson’s caddie trudges over with an ungodly number of extra clubs stuffed into the bag. His boss sprinkles bonhomie as he works the range, joshing with a few players and then busting the chops of his assembled team. The practice tee is both a laboratory and a playground for DeChambeau, 25. It’s where he digs secrets out of the dirt while crunching terabytes of data in his beautiful mind. It is where…

Like any young golfer warming up for any old golf lesson, I strode onto the driving range at Rock Hill G&CC in Manorville, N.Y., to loosen up. Shaking off the rust of an 80-minute car ride from Manhattan, I turned to a typical warmup routine, wedges to irons to driver. As I got to the longer clubs, I settled on a swing thought—slow on my takeaway, hold the follow-through—which seemed to work relatively well. Why? Hard to say, beyond the fact that it felt right. The answer to an internal question—“What feels right?”—has always been my guiding light. But there was nothing “any old” about this lesson. After I’d begun to work up a sweat on the outdoor range, I was summoned to Rock Hill’s modest pro shop and into…

One day in the not too distant future, a PGA Tour pro will have a left-to-right, downhill, 18-foot putt on a bent-grass green in overcast conditions with temperatures in the high 60s and relative humidity of 75 percent. As he stalks the putt, a graphic will pop up on-screen showing the player’s make percentage for those exact distance, slope, weather and agronomic conditions. And, if they’re so inclined, viewers will even be able to make an “in-play” wager on whether he makes it. Welcome to the future of ShotLink, the vaunted data-collection system that, since its launch in 2001, has tracked every shot hit on the PGA Tour—about 1.5 million per season. Strokes Gained stats, which measure a player’s performance against the field average in drives, approach shots, short game…

The 2019 Masters always will be remembered as the tournament in which Tiger Woods ended an 11-year major-victory drought. History, however, also was made on a separate front: This was the first major in which every shot on every hole was available to fans viewing on the Masters app and Masters.com. The irony is that Augusta National historically has been stingy with coverage of the Masters. It wasn’t until 2002 that TV viewers saw full final-round coverage, and the broadcast window remains small in comparison to other majors. In the digital space, however, former chairman Billy Payne presented a vision of “how technology could present the Masters in ways people couldn’t imagine,” says Noah Syken, IBM’s VP, sports and entertainment partnerships. That has carried over under current chairman Fred Ridley.…

My swing philosophies have remained the same for more than 20 years, mostly because they’re based on the accepted principles of physics and my own study of human anatomy. I’ve changed the way I’ve taught them here and there in response to the onslaught of innovative coaching tools, but if you look at the success the players my team has worked with—notably 2007 Masters and 2015 Open Championship winner Zach Johnson—there’s no arguing that they’ve stood the test of time. My method shines a bright light on how the right arm works in the swing, and much of it borrows from what we see athletes do in other sports and activities. Picture a baseball player smacking a home run, or a fisherman casting a line: the right elbow leads the…

It was during a round of match play with my buddy John, who was down to three under par after the front nine, and 4up against me in matchplay when he jokingly said his Vice PRO balls were doped. I asked if I could try one of his magic marbles, and my first thought after hitting my next drive was “Wow, I was NOT expecting that“. The ball played amazing off every tee and around the greens, but I still had to doff my cap after 17 holes and congratulate him on his victory. What stayed with me was my first experience with Vice Golf balls and my mind was buzzing with so many questions about where these balls came from, how I was going to get hold of some,…

The bridge with leg extension test is a great exercise for stabilizing your lumbar spine, core and glutes. Strength in these areas is key to helping you maintain a solid base and improving your balance. STEP 1: Lie flat on your back with your knees bent, feet flat and arms at your sides. Your knees and feet should be together. STEP 2: Lift your pelvis skyward. Keep your belt line parallel to the floor. Breathe. STEP 3: Extend your right leg while clapping your hands out in front of your chest. Hold for 10 seconds. If your leg shakes or if your left hip drops, there’s instability in your right glute. If your lower back or your left hamstring cramps, that’s another sign of weakness. STEP 4: Lower your leg…

1. Behind the line The ball is too far forward in your stance; the club swung too much from the inside; your body was slow to turn through or you released the club early. 2. In front of the line The ball is too far back in your stance; the club swung too much from the outside; your body turned through too quickly; your hands were late to release. 3. Too far right or left This could simply be an aiming problem (you’re pointed left or right of the target at address) or you exaggerated your swing path in one direction or the other. 4. Too deep or no divot If it’s deep, your downswing is too steep, or your body is dipping toward the ball. No divot: your swing…

In White Fang and the Golden Bear, author Joe Wessel tells the tale of a round played with his dad and Jack Nicklaus at Augusta National. But that’s only part of the story. Wessel also elaborates (with co-author Bill Chastain) on how this experience further forged the special bond between he and his father for their entire lives. The impact extends into Wessel’s own experience as a father. That’s still not the end of the story. WHY “WHITE FANG?” Wessel’s father asks about an old Bulls Eye putter in his son’s garage that had flecks of white paint along the flange. Dad mentions that he heard that Nicklaus had not been able to find two of his prized putters, one of which was a Bulls Eye called “White Fang.” (The…

MY STUDY OF THE SHORT GAME started many years ago when my brother, Tom, played two full practice rounds with Seve Ballesteros. I was caddying, and with my video camera in tow, I recorded every one of Seve’s short-game shots, as well as shots from other greats like Raymond Floyd, Corey Pavin and Greg Norman. I found there are often five elements to the setup and swing that ensure short-shot success. Two are steepening elements, one is neutral, and the remaining two work to shallow the club. Elite performers create a balance in the five variables, while poor short-game players tend to have an imbalance. I write about this in great detail in my first book, Your Short Game Solution, and this concept has helped many of the best players…