Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2019-20 i Golf Magazine

>Brine-1 gal>Pork shanks-4>Salt and pepper>Clarified butter-1 oz>Whiskey-½ qt>Pork jus-1 gal>Mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery)-4 qt, cut thick>Peppercorn-½ tsp>Whole corriander-½ tsp>Thyme-for garnish >Cover pork shanks with brine and refrigerate for 24 hours.>Drain brine and let air-dry for 12 hours.>Season pork shanks with salt and pepper.>Sear pork shanks in large rondo or tilt skillet until caramelized. Transfer to large pan.>In same skillet, caramelize mirepoix. Then deglaze with whiskey.>Add the mirepoix, spices and hot pork stock to the large pan. Be sure shanks are completely submerged in liquid.>Cover with parchment paper and foil crimped tight.>Cook at 300 degrees for 3 hours and 45 minutes or until pork is tender.>Allow shanks to cool completely in the liquid.>Remove shanks and put in oven. Warm to 160 degrees.>Strain jus, reduce in skillet and finish with butter…

JUSTIN MARCUS, 50 Senior Advisor,RMG InvestmentsNew York, N.Y.Handicap: 1.4 Money, it’s gotta be the shoes. Wicked, right? They were custommade for the Philadelphia Cricket Club member-guest. I’ve worn some pretty wild stuff over the years. People get upset if I go bland. What first-tee impression do you want to make? I’m a fun guy, and I want everyone to have a great experience when they play with me. If I’m hosting someone at the club, I try to wear something representative. Best fashion advice you ever got? A buddy once told me, “Tailor everything… even your underwear.” Did you have a fashion inspiration growing up? Jesper Parnevik was my idol in dressing—outside of the hat. He got me wearing Lycra and nongolf brands to the course. People either thought I…

THE NEW ADIDAS FROSTGUARD layering collection for both men and women was created with an intent to maximize warmth without sacrificing mobility—something all golfers can appreciate when a cold round calls for multiple layers. Down-filled, woven-bonded panels on the front and back body of the jacket ensure that you’ll feel warm where it matters most: your torso. The panels also trap and keep heat inside while protecting you from the wind. Cozy knit side panels and sleeves offer comfort as well as the promise of a quiet swing. As an added bonus, the knit fabric is water-resistant, so in the event of an unexpected shower, you’re still protected. ADIDAS FROSTGUARD INSULATED JACKET, $200; ADIDAS.COM READ MORE about this product—and buy it!—at golf.com.…

HEADING OUT OF TOWN FOR A FEW DAYS but don’t want to lug around both a golf travel bag and a suitcase? The new Golf + Field line from Portland, Oregon–based Jones Golf combines simple functionality with a military-inspired olive color scheme that allows you to tote your personal affects in style no matter where you go. The duffle bag ($120) comes with a large center compartment and a roomy, zippered pocket on the side that’s spacious enough to store your golf shoes. The backpack ($120) has multiple compartments, a side handle and mesh water bottle sleeve, making it a handsome carryall not only for travel but for everyday use as well. All said, it’s the rugged olive-colored tarpaulin fabric in both pieces that gives them pop. The water-resistant fabric…

HOYT MCGARITY Chairman, GOLF Rankings Panel Scottsdale, Ariz. RAN MORRISSETT Architecture Editor, GOLF Southern Pines, N.C. IAN ANDREW Brantford, Ontario, Canada JOSEPH ANDRIOLE, MD Orlando, Fla. DAVID BAUM Short Hills, N.J. JACK BONNER Myrtle Beach, S.C. BART BRADLEY Bristol, Tenn. THOMAS BROWN Los Angeles, Calif. FRANK CASEY JR. Letterkenny, Ireland MACK CLAPP Missoula, Mont. TOM CLASBY Seal Beach, Calif. MIKE CLAYTON N. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia CHRIS COCHRAN Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. JOHN CORNISH Brighton East, Victoria, Australia BEN COWAN-DEWAR Toronto, Ontario, Canada BRIAN CURLEY Paradise Valley, Ariz. GORDON DALGLEISH Wilmington, N.C. MIKE DAVIS Liberty Corner, N.J. TRIPP DAVIS Norman, Okla. JOHN DEMPSEY Pinehurst, N.C. TOM DOAK Traverse City, Mich. CHRISTIAN FAERGEMANN Hellerup, Denmark NOEL FREEMAN Lafayette, Calif. DANA FRY Naples, Fla. TIM GALLANT Edinburgh, Scotland PHILIP GAWITH London, England KYE…

Location: PINEHURST, N.C. Age: 74/Handicap: 11 John Dempsey likes to get around. He lives in Pinehurst, where for 30 years he’s served as president of Sandhills Community College—and played bucketfuls of sandy golf. He spends chunks of each spring in Florida, tracking the preseason fortunes of his beloved Phillies and exploring new courses. He also has a summer home in Scotland—despite his Irish heritage. “I caught the golf bug as a student at Notre Dame,” he says. “While everyone else went to class, I’d take my Arnold Palmer starter set to the campus course and play for a $1.50.” A rater since 1995, Dempsey has two trustworthy rules of thumb when it comes to assessing a world-class track. “The quality of architecture I enjoy most is when I walk up…

What you can’t see on PV’s par-4 2nd is its toughest challenge: a green suitable for winter sledding. IF I had to choose one course as the greatest in the world, it wouldn’t be Pine Valley. To be fair, the majority of great courses fail to deliver the oft-promised combination of challenge for the elite player and enjoyability for the average golfer. There are a few that can legitimately claim to succeed at it: Royal Melbourne (West) and the Old Course at St. Andrews. Pine Valley doesn’t even pretend to try, and that’s why it’s been rated the No. 1 Course in the World by GOLF since 1985. And the vote isn’t particularly close. I’m not privy to the numbers now, but 20 years ago, when I was in charge…

The 11th at Pacific Dunes ARCHITECT: TOM DOAK By Bill Coore My design partner Ben Crenshaw and I are both very fond of short par 3s, in part because they require accuracy and finesse more than power, and in that way they provide a rare opportunity for a golfer of lesser ability to compete—and even succeed—against a better player. The 11th at Pacific Dunes is a wonderful example of an architect working with the natural landscape, rather than trying to impose himself on the land, to create a short par 3 of rare beauty and strategic intrigue. The hole requires a relatively modest carry over a sandy area and a bunker to a green set in the dunes along the Pacific, but it allows for a wide variety of shot…

Next time you’re name-dropping around the 19th hole, impressing your companions with your insider golf knowledge, try tossing out “Phil Friedmann” and see what kind of response you get. When your buddies draw a blank, tell them you’re referring to a 74-year-old Midwesterner who didn’t take up golf until adulthood, never worked directly in the industry and yet stands as a driving force behind the most tantalizing new course of the coming year: the Sheep Ranch at Bandon Dunes, in southern Oregon. Then you can recount how that came to be. For that, you’ll have to turn back to 1963. Classes are in session at Amherst College, in western Massachusetts, and Friedmann, an enterprising freshman, is earning cash under the table with a hamburger stand he runs from his dorm…

When Rory McIlroy was presented with this season’s PGA Tour Player of the Year award, he admitted he hadn’t even voted for himself. Critics of his honor crowed that the Tour’s messaging had worked too well on its own players, who clearly viewed McIlroy’s Players win and FedEx Cup Championship with such reverence that they overshadowed Brooks Koepka’s top-four finish in every major. Others said that McIlroy’s win reeked of an obsession with money, which he made by the truckload. But none of that means McIlroy’s peers picked the wrong man. His year was a case study in consistent excellence marked by several well-timed exclamation points. This year became the Year of Rory. McIlroy entered the 2018–19 PGA Tour season in need of a spark. His previous season was best…

Tiger said he would be there for lunch at 12:33 and he was. His guests were already seated. Tiger was wearing a sport coat and a backpack from the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah. It was an odd combination, but he made it work. “Brooksie!” Tiger said. Brooks Koepka looked up. He had been watching a video on his phone of a guy doing a one-armed plank on a medicine ball. Tiger saw Rory McIlroy and said, “You look bigger on TV!” “Funny guy,” Rory said. “Don’t quit your day job yet.” They bro-hugged. Tiger turned to Jin Young Ko and said, “Ms. Ko, I presume?” He offered a perfect Korean bow. “What a year you had. You won by, what, three at Mission Hills? And five in Canada? You…

Smelling Like a Rose $68 The Bonobos M-Flex Golf Polo features moisture-wicking technology and breathable fabric that helps keep golfers cool while also offering sun protection up to UPF 50. You can spot Justin Rose wearing Bonobos’ signature golf shirt whenever he tees it up on Tour. Available in 18 stylish designs. bonobos.com On Your Feet! $125 Whether your guy is walking 18, emptying buckets or standing all day at work, the Flex XP from FootJoy is a brand new hybrid shoe perfect for on- or off-course wear. It’s lightweight, waterproof and offers casual, spikeless comfort and performance for hours on end. footjoy.com Mobile Mystery $500 Cash-out that TrackMan savings account. Rapsodo’s affordable Mobile Launch Monitor transforms a smartphone into a professional-grade machine. The nifty docking station–like device tracks nine…

Kid Friendly $110-290 Changing the way youngsters play the game, the U.S. Kids Golf Ultralight Complete Set is super lightweight and matched to kids’ skill levels, size and swing speeds. Sets range from six to 11 clubs, driver through putter. Irons with wider soles and lower centers of gravity create higher launch angles. uskidsgolf.com Go, Team! $15 (Set of 3) Take your kid’s love for their favorite team to the links with these sporty ball markers. Team Golf has other fan gear to rock on the course, too, with its headcovers, tees, logoed balls and more (licensed through the various leagues). Help your kid show they’re the ultimate fan. teamgolfusa.com Be Like Tiger $19-35 If your youngster likes animals (what kid doesn’t?) you better visit Daphne’s Headcovers. They are responsible…

Train and Gain $199 Improve speed, strength and distance with GelStx, a playable, weighted shaft that’s 2.5 times heavier than a standard graphite model. The shaft is injected with STICKGEL technology (first developed for hockey) for added weight, while maintaining balance and stiffness. Works with any adjustable driver. gelstx.com Get Pumped $145 Greyson Montauk Joggers go from the gym to the range. They not only look great, they have a stretchy sport waistband for killer comfort and full-swing mobility. Fashion meets tech. greysonclothiers.com Just Ask Rory $30+/mo The Whoop Band optical monitor collects health-related variables 100 times per second, and then offers suggestions on how to keep the tank full instead of burning out. whoop.com Cool Comfort All Day $185 Stability on and off the course. The MG4.1 fuses sporty,…

MANY PLAYERS I COACH are overly fixated on where the ball goes. Yes, that’s important, but while fixating, they unintentionally make themselves less athletic in their movement, robbing their swing of key ground-force reactions and body alignment that fuel good, solid strikes. Here’s one of my favorite drills to regain innate athleticism, which in turn improves clubface stability and body alignment at impact. Check the left photo below. While holding a lightweight medicine ball (four to six pounds), I’ve coiled into my backswing, pivoting around my trail leg. This gives me the sensation that I’m “heavy” into the ground in the backswing, much like a corkscrew being pressured into the top of a wine bottle. From here, the goal of the drill is to chuck the medicine ball through the…

THE PLAYERS WHO QUALIFY FOR THIS YEAR’S Presidents Cup teams won’t just get the chance to represent their countries, they’ll get a chance to tackle a world-class golf course, too. Host site Royal Melbourne’s “Presidents Cup Course” is an amalgamation of Alister MacKenzie’s East Course and Alex Russell’s West Course. The 17th hole on the East (No. 15 on the Presidents Cup course) is the longest on property, tipping out at 570 yards. Here are three tips to tackle the Beast of the East—or any brutish par 5. 1. Swing easy. The inclination on a long hole is to try to rip the driver as hard as you can—but let’s do some math. If you can hit it 220 off the tee, you turn a scary par 5 into a…

WELCOME TO GOLF’S TOP 100 COURSES IN THE WORLD issue, our biennial celebration of all that’s great in course design, thought and architecture. It’s our 19th ranking of Top 100 courses, an endeavor that dates back to 1983. And though a lot of the names remain the same (Pine Valley, Shinnecock, Winged Foot), this one feels the freshest, with 12 new entrants and 18 total courses built in this century. I hand much of the credit to the newest addition to GOLF’s masthead, Architecture Editor Ran Morrissett. GOLF spent the better part of a year revamping its pool of eligible voters—it’s now the most knowledgeable ranking group in brand history. But is was Morrissett, a rater and design student of 30-plus years, who really ran with the rank, advocating for…

No less than 30 courses on our new Top 100 in the World list are classic links, where rain and wind are par for the course. Pack this suit—or pay the price. Always be prepared. Golf is a game subject to the vagaries of weather. If you’re prepared for it, no problem. If you’re not, good luck. Almost a third of our list of Top 100 Courses in the World (pg. 56) are links-style masterpieces that openly welcome, at times, wind and rain as part of the experience. Not to worry. Kjus, a unique clothing brand known famously for its weatherproof skiwear, has you, ahem, covered. Kjus researchers analyzed actual swing biomechanics to create a breathable, stylish rain jacket that stretches in all the right places—specifically, the shoulder points, shoulder…

YOU SEE A LOT OF strong grips on Tour. That doesn’t mean you should make yours strong, too. Elite players know how to accommodate a strong hold; if you don’t, you can end up with a serious case of the hooks. I suggest starting with a neutral grip, which provides the foundation most golfers need to keep wild shots at bay. To get one, grip the handle with your left hand only. Rotate it to the right so that when you look down at your hand from an address-position perspective, you see only the first two knuckles. Next, grab a penny from your pocket and place it on top of your left thumb. Now place your right hand on the handle (again, only two knuckles showing), making sure the crevice…

Is it permitted to send a drone to check out : the green contours and pin position before hitting my approach shot?—Capt. Birinder Singh Sidhu, via email A: Captain, just when I thought I’d heard everything, a query comes in reminding me that the human capacity for challenging conventions is surely limitless. You will be disappointed but perhaps not shocked to learn that such a reconnaissance mission is verboten under Rule 4.3a, which covers equipment that reduces the need for skill or judgment essential to the game. First breach of the rule is the general penalty of two strokes in stroke play or loss of hole in match play; second breach is disqualification; third breach, court-martial. Q: At a recent member-guest tournament, a player missed a putt and slammed the…

SIX TIGER HEADCOVERS ARE JAMMED in the corner closet of Jane Spicer’s North Phoenix office. She’s hiding them there, tucked behind a cardboard bin of paperwork. The office is locked, just in case. Spicer isn’t hiding those headcovers from you or me or some headcover burglar. She’s guarding against total catastrophe. If anything tragic happened to her nearby warehouse—which holds more than 10,000 headcovers and their decades-old designs—she would always have those six tigers in their own little cage. Consider them headcover insurance, because Spicer just never knows when Tiger Woods’ mother, Tida, will come calling again for a replacement. Spicer, 56, is the always-smiling CEO of Daphne’s Headcovers, and through luck, persistence and a commitment to her customers (see above), she has provided the 15-time Major winner with his…

WHEN CLEVELAND GOLF unveiled its first CBX wedge two years ago, the premise was to design an extremely forgiving wedge that felt at home with any game improvement iron set, without relinquishing a soft feel and added spin. The CBX was a success, but some golfers bemoaned the single sole grind, hinting that the next iteration of the wedge needed more versatility to hit a greater variety of shots. It didn’t take long for Cleveland to follow up, and in 2019, the company introduced what is no doubt Cleveland’s best-ever wedge offering in terms of forgiveness, feel, spin and versatility. The CBX 2 wedge ($140 to $150; eight lofts) comes with a lighter hosel, tapered flange, wider toe, tour zip grooves, fourth-generation Rotex face milling, hollow-cavity design and Gelback TPU…

HOW DO YOU BECOME ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC PUTTERS IN GOLF HISTORY? If you’re Brad Faxon, you find a putter—in his case, a Scotty Cameron FaxDay—and stick with it through thick and thin. Faxon can count on one hand the number of times he’s changed flatsticks over the course of his 36-year professional career, and when he did entertain something different, it took only a round or two before he reunited with his trusty putter. Of course, there’s a reason why Faxon has been averse to change. As one of the deadliest putters in golf—his 1.704 putts per green in regulation average during the 2000 season is the best ever recorded on Tour—Faxon never had a good reason to tinker. That includes his specs and his gamer, which have…

(LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) MOVER Ballyneal UP 29 SPOTS TO NO. 57 Founding a private club in a remote destination is not without peril, and it’s reasonable to expect a club to take a bit to get its feet underneath it. Now in its second decade, and courtesy of a new greenskeeper, Ballyneal enjoys its best playing conditions since opening in 2006. That manifests itself the closer one gets to the hole. With the greens now stimping in the 10-to-10.5 range, balls are releasing across the rumpled ground and players are delighting in finding creative ways to use banks and Punchbowl features to work their balls in close. Fescue fairways help the ground game options flourish. NEWCOMER Bandon Trails UNRANKED TO NO. 87 Several of Coore and Crenshaw’s finest designs…

Location: VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA Age: 25/Handicap: +4 When it comes to course raters, there are players and there are players. Lukas Michel is the latter. In September, the Aussie caddie became the first non-American to win the U.S. Mid-Am, which, understandably, has him thinking about a playing career. But he’s already a full-time appreciator of a proper layout. “Living in the heart of the Melbourne sandbelt and playing the great courses here, it’s difficult not to be passionate about great design,” Michel said. No doubt. But his true competitive advantage as a rater comes from competitive travels, which have taken him from Portrush to Pinehurst and beyond. During event weeks, he usually gets to play a course five or six times. “That way, you’re actively engaged in understanding the strategies presented…

Location: SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. Age: 66 / Handicap: 11.8 Atlantic GC’s loss is GOLF’s gain. Until his retirement last October, Bob Ranum was the only superintendent the Rees Jones–designed course in Bridgehampton, N.Y., ever had. Ranum’s overall greens-keeping career spans 43 years—30 of them at Atlantic. Now he’s a member there and one of GOLF’s newest raters. In the coming 12 months, Ranum has plans to play 47 courses in 11 different states. “I told my wife, ‘For the next four or five years, we better keep our bags packed,’” he says. After a long career in the game, Ranum knows what appeals to him when it comes to course design and architecture. “I’m a big angle guy and green-contour guy,” he says. “I like wide fairways because they give you…

“The Old Course asks questions at every turn. What makes the experience so interesting is that there’s multiple ways of answering them. Aside from forcing you to pitch over the burn on No. 1, it doesn’t dictate anything. It’s a lesson in self-expression.”—Top 100 rater Mike Clayton “Rumpled and exposed fairways climb, tumble, tilt and turn among towering dunes, delivering majestic views in all directions. This is golf at its most epic.”—Top 100 rater David Baum…

Location: MALVERN EAST, AUSTRALIA Age: 52 / Handicap: 9.9 Gary Lisbon helps GOLF’s ranking go global and look gorgeous along the way. The course photographer and trip organizer thinks about and takes pictures of the world’s greatest courses 365 days a year. No days off? Sounds like a luxury. From an early age, he was fascinated by course architecture, drawing loops on his own. Now, Lisbon is a proud member of Royal Melbourne, and he’ll put it up there with the best of the best. “Ten years on, I’m still realizing nuances and subtleties that I never knew existed,” Lisbon says. “That’s a hallmark of a great course.” Hauling his camera and clubs, Lisbon has played about everywhere. Twenty-one countries and 500-plus courses by his count. Next on his list…

There may be Brooks Koepka fatigue at work in these pages. The big man won two majors and was our runaway Player of the Year in 2018. So perhaps we’re not rushing to crown him POTY again in 2019? I say Koepka is just as deserving of this year’s prize, maybe even more so. Put in the simplest terms, he was the greatest player in the biggest events of 2019—and then some. Koepka kicked off the season with a casual four-stroke win in his first event (the CJ Cup @Nine Bridges)—as one does. A few months later, he was one crazy Keith Mitchell putt from a playoff at the Honda and one tricky slider from joining Tiger in extra holes at Augusta. All of that was a prelude to Bethpage…

Make Practice Fun GOOD FOR NEWBIES $190 Bring your wedge—and competitive edge—to the backyard, beach or tailgate with Chippo. Lovingly described by its creators as the “glorious lovechild of cornhole and golf,” it’s the perfect mix of competition and fun that resonates with golfers and non-golfers. The Chippo Starter Pack includes two target boards, heavy-duty chipping mats and six high-density foam practice balls. Setup is two-beer simple: place the targets 15 feet apart and start chipping away. Hit the board on the fly, it’s a Boardie. Get it?! chippogolf.com Sunglasses with a Soundtrack GOOD FOR RANGE ADDICTS $200 The Bose Altos are Bluetooth-connected shades that enable music and messages to be piped in and delivered without pausing to pick up the phone. Miniaturized Bose speakers are precisely positioned in the…

Grippingly Intelligent $250 (14) The Arccos Caddie Smart Sensors are fully-automatic shot trackers that embed right into the end of your clubs’ grips. There’s seamless integration with the Arccos Caddie app, which tracks shots and provides real-time “plays like” distances. Talk about dialed in. arccosgolf.com Just Breathe, Golf Shoes $180 Adidas has never made a shoe with a knit upper that’s also waterproof—until now. The Tour360 XT Primeknit allows air to flow out for breathability while keeping moisture at bay. It’s good looking, too. adidas.com Who’ll Stop the Rain? $499 A rain jacket shouldn’t feel like a straitjacket. The Kjus Pro 3L 2.0 definitely does not. It’s stretchable, breathable and loaded with more technology than a laptop. Kjus’s design sharpies analyzed the biomechanics of the golf swing to create fashionable…

Dial in the Distance $550 Bushnell’s newest rangefinder, the Pro XE, features new tactile clues that alert you when the device locks onto the flagstick by pulsing and vibrating. This way you know you’re getting the exact yardage every time. The slope-switch technology is easy to clip on and off to abide by USGA rules. bushnellgolf.com It Ain’t Heavy, It’s Your Golf Bag $230 Though it tips the scales at a tick over 2.5 pounds, the Sun Mountain 2.5+ bag comes loaded with convenient features. It has foam-padded shoulder straps for carrying comfort and five roomy pockets, including a beverage pouch, so you can pack all of the day’s necessities without feeling weighted down. sunmountain.com The Cadillac of Push Carts $260 A push cart needs to be lightweight and sturdy—and…

Every Day is Sunday $685-995 All MacKenzie products are steeped in craftsmanship. Available in either waxed canvas or leather, their Sunday Walker golf bags are top of the line—making your golfer the talk of the tee box. mackenziegolfbags.com Roll On $60,000 Imagine an indoor practice green that can replicate any putt imaginable. That’s precisely what Full Swing Golf’s Virtual Green can do. Actuators beneath the green’s surface adapt to any desired landscape and slope. The Puttview add-on lets you visualize the ideal putt line as well. fullswinggolf.com King of Custom $125+ True Spec Golf offers the most comprehensive, cutting-edge, brand-agnostic custom club-fitting and club-building anywhere. A gift card allows your lucky recipient to visit one of 17 locations in North America, where they’ll receive the VIP fitting treatment from driver…

Spikeless shoes have become increasingly popular among golfers in recent years. But what are their effect on your game? That was the question on the minds of GOLF Top 100 Teacher Eric Alpenfels and Dr. Bob Christina, emeritus professor of kinesiology at UNC-Greensboro, as they launched a new study into the topic. Alpenfels and Christina took 28 adult male golfers, half of which had handicaps under 9 and the other half higher than 12. Each golfer hit 10 drives—five with spiked shoes and five with a spikeless model—into a 34-yard-wide simulated fairway. The results are, well, gripping. SPIKES: Spiked golf shoes came out the clear winner, with golfers of all skill levels averaging about four yards more of carry distance, thanks to a higher smash factor and faster ball speeds.…

EVERY GOLFER NEEDS TO SHIFT ON THEIR backswing, but not every golfer needs to shift the same way. There are three basic shift types, as follows: 1. Front post: Front-post golfers like Bryson DeChambeau prefer to stay more on their front leg on the backswing. Many think that staying on your front leg is bad, but it’s not. 2. Center post: Players like Tiger Woods shift a moderate amount to their trail leg on the backswing. If they shifted too little or too much, their timing would be thrown off. 3. Rear post: Gary Woodland is a rearpost golfer who likes to shift entirely to his trail leg on the backswing, then use lots of lateral force on the downswing to get back into position at impact. You can experiment…

FRANK NOBILO AND I were chatting earlier this year and he mentioned the pushback he received for quoting a proximity stat on air. I’m not sure of the exact circumstance, but it’s not hard to find an example that illustrates the point. Paul Casey won the 2019 Valspar Championship by one stroke on a tough Innisbrook Copperhead course. Inside the top 10 were major winners Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson. For the week, Casey ranked 9th in driving accuracy, 6th in strokes gained off the tee and 9th in SG around the green. Yet he ranked 43rd in SG putting and, strikingly, 65th out of 70 players who made the cut in proximity to the hole (a measure of approach play). It’s hard—if not impossible—to win with poor…

ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS to hitting a draw is getting the club to approach the ball from inside to out. This means swinging out to the left for a left-handed golfer (like me) and to the right for a righty. Here’s an easy drill to help you groove the correct swing direction. Place an alignment stick on your target line a few feet in front of the ball. (My students tend to misaim if they skip this step.) Next, place two balls on opposite sides of the real one so they form a diagonal across the target line as shown. Students always ask me, “At what angle?” but it’s not that specific. The balls are there for a general visual cue. You can adjust them based on your specific…

IF YOU’VE EVER PICKED UP A SEEMORE PUTTER, you’ve probably noticed it: a red dot surrounded by a pair of white lines on the top of the putterhead. It’s called RifleScope and is featured on all SeeMore’s putters. Indeed, it’s the signature of the brand. But what does the RifleScope actually do? The concept was taken from the shooting industry, another sport where accuracy is of supreme importance, and it’s relatively simple. When you address the ball with what SeeMore calls a “neutral” setup position—your hands even with the ball and the putterface square to the target—the red dot (from your perspective) will “disappear” behind the shaft with the two white lines on each side of the shaft remaining in full view. But if you overtly forward-press the shaft (which…

YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO much spring in your step, but you can in your club. A clubface with excessive trampolining may flex too much, keeping the ball on the face too long and thus boosting ball speed beyond what is permissible. To keep tech from trumping skill, the USGA and R&A limit that flexibility, which in turn limits the energy the club can transfer to the ball. Back in the old days, the governing bodies fired a ball at a club with an air cannon to measure the coefficient of restitution (aka COR, a measure of impact efficiency); now they use a more sophisticated method that involves a pendulum. The pendulum swings and the length of time its strike end stays on the clubface (aka “characteristic time,” or CT) is…

SHANK IS A WORD THAT most golfers fear even to utter out loud, but at Aldo’s Farm & Table at Sand Valley, Wisconsin’s acclaimed golf destination, culinary director Jon Keeley relished the idea of making a pork shank the centerpiece of his menu. “We played with the idea of not putting the word shank on the menu,” Keeley says. “But after much discussion, we went with it. And it became a cool talking point at the table.” Keeley has an extensive background in fine dining, and has been working to marry his wow-factor, Chicago-honed skills with the more rustic palates he now caters to in the Badger State. “What we’ve tried to do is take these ingredients everybody knows and loves, and the techniques I’ve been using over the years,…

HAVE YOU BEEN VERY, VERY COLD at any point in your life? I don’t mean just Brrrrrrrr or even frozen-nose-hair cold. I mean involuntary teeth-chattering, “I could just lay me down to rest in this snow bank and die, and it would be sweet relief” cold. If you have, there are only three rational explanations for your experience—you were destitute, you were a war refugee, or you are at times bewilderingly stupid on a level that would make me reticent to admit that I know you if I weren’t an even bigger dope than you. One event during winter carnival is golf, played on the frozen lake, using tennis balls and a collection of clubs rescued from a garage sale in 1951. This should be our fifth major. As a…

SIX YEARS HAVE elapsed since Miura last introduced a traditional muscleback iron. During that time, Shinei and Yoshitaka Miura, the sons of founder Katsihuro Miura, found a way to improve the performance and playability of a club that put the Japanese designer on the map. Research revealed a need to alter the factory’s existing dies—a laborious process that yielded tangible improvements—and essentially start from scratch. The end result is an iron geared for traditionalists that combines the look, feel and control golfers have come to expect from Miura. The muscleback profile is forged from S25C carbon steel and features a wider sole design and thicker face for improved turf interaction and feel. Particular attention also was paid to the muscle-pad shape and transition from hosel to topline. While the transition…

MORE THAN EVER, GOLFERS ARE embracing tailor-made sticks. Having a set of irons built to your exact specifications can save you shots on the course—and pad your wallet during the weekly money game. But what about the golf ball? Considering it’s the one piece of gear used to hit every shot, the ball should get the same custom treatment as your driver. These three suggestions can help identify the ideal one for your game. 1. Start small. Tiger Woods commences ball testing by hitting delicate chips to see how they react on the green. Distance is important, but you should follow Tiger’s lead and put a premium on touch shots. Does the ball elevate your short game? Think about how much time you spend around the green. Enough said. 2.…

NORMALLY, TITLEIST BALL releases are given the full pomp-and-circumstance treatment. Every piece of technology is detailed to ensure golfers have a clear picture of what’s going on underneath the hood. While that may be the case for a majority of the balls coming off the production line, the three-piece EXP-01 ($40 per dozen) is a rare exception. The goal for Titleist is to gather organic feedback from consumers on a multilayer MTR urethane cover system still in the early stages of development. Designed to enhance short-game spin, the cover features a proprietary 346 dimple design, high-speed core and specialized casing developed to deliver low spin on long-game shots. “We’re playing things close to the vest,” said Michael Mahoney, Titleist’s VP of golf ball marketing. “As soon as we start explaining…

Location: BORDEAUX, FRANCE Age: 46/Handicap: 0 For Kristel Mourge d’Algue-Lawton, one of our newest raters, good course management requires an understanding of good course design—something she was lucky to acquire at a very early age. Both of her parents played on national French teams, in addition to building golf courses in France and Africa. “The more I understood the intricacies of architecture,” she says, “the better my scores were and the more fun I had.” Though she is a scratch player—and the winner of nine national French titles herself—she says the ability to assess a course is “not a question of handicap; it’s a question of having studied the architecture craft and played enough diverse courses to have an overview of the world’s courses.” Kristel, unquestionably, is more than qualified…

“The thing that makes Chicago GC unique is its putting surfaces. I’ve never seen a more interesting group of green complexes, all very large and almost completely rectangular. The undulations? Large-scale, like the Windy City itself.”—Top 100 rater Frank Pont “Merion is a classic concerto. After a gentle intro, you’re enveloped by long shots that demand precision. The second movement stirs subtlety and guile. It ends with a return to length—and some treacherous greens.”—Top 100 rater Sunil Kappagoda…

Location: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND Age: 38 / Handicap: 4 When Simon Holt finally teed it up at Morfontaine in May, he felt like a freed man. The French gem was the final Top 100 course Holt needed to check off to become the youngest of our panelists to play every course on our World list. “As soon as I hit that first tee shot, all the weight was off my shoulders,” he says. Holt grew up in North Berwick and is a member at historic North Berwick Golf Club. He caddied there growing up and later at St. Andrews, when he was going to school, but it wasn’t until ’09 when he started to take a real interest in course architecture. His fascination blossomed when he started reading Golf Club Atlas.…

REMEMBER THAT OLD U.S. NAVY COMMERCIAL: “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure”? Well, being a GOLF Magazine Top 100 Course Rater is kind of like that, minus reveille. Also, it’s not really a job at all. More like an avocation. Anyway, you probably don’t have enough free time or cash flow to jet around the globe playing the world’s great golf courses as a matter of course, reading biographies of C.B. Macdonald to pass the time. Tant pis, so much the worse, as they would say over a post-round cognac at Morfontaine, the Tom Simpson–designed Golden Age gem in France ranked No. 41 on this year’s list. The next best thing might be for you to become a well-traveled GOLF writer, but I need this gig, so forget…

“Every hole at Tara Iti is exceptional and unique, yet they all flow together in perfect harmony, as in a beautiful jigsaw puzzle. Its views are breathtaking, yet not overpowering. They simply complement the splendor of Tom Doak’s work.”—Top 100 rater Brooke Mackenzie “Golf has given me a lens to many of the world’s most beautiful places, and perhaps no course’s natural beauty has grabbed me more than Lofoten. Playing golf past midnight and chasing a sun that was seemingly chasing us has to be one of the most memorable rounds of my life.”—Top 100 rater Ben Cowan-Dewar “Barnbougle Dunes offers a glorious walking adventure and, in my opinion, the best collection of par 3s on any true links course in the world.”—Top 100 rater Bart Bradley…

There are many ways to quantify the brilliance of Jin Young Ko. At press time, the ascendant 24-year-old led the LPGA in money, scoring average and greens in regulation. She had four victories in the 2019 season—more than any other woman, to say nothing of Brooks Koepka or Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods—and they were cherry-picked from the game’s most glamorous events: the Dinah Shore (aka the ANA Inspiration), Evian, Founders Cup and Women’s Canadian Open. There are increasing comparisons to the deity Annika Sorenstam, but it’s not the superlatives that matter; it’s one number above all else that speaks to Ko’s genius and her dominance: 114. That’s how many consecutive holes she played without a bogey, spanning three different tournaments, including a blemish-free win in Canada when she dropped…

Whip Your Way to Better Tempo $109 With the Orange Whip, a novice can focus on swinging instead of hitting. Its amazingly simple design—weighted orange ball and a super-flexible shaft—is great for pre-round warm-ups and general rhythm work. Not only will your newbie’s balance improve; so will flexibility. orangewhiptrainer.com Course Manners are Always in Style $16 Proper pitch mark repair is a practiced—yet essential—art. New golfers can remove some of the guesswork of keeping greens pristine with the Insta Golf Spider Divot Tool. A simple push-pull action works to flatten out the putting surface without damaging root systems. And it comes with a sporty, magnetic ball marker, too. instagolf.net Get It Together $120 Swing Align’s combination of bicep cuffs, cushioned pads, connection belt and alignment rods work together seamlessly to…

Picture This $30+ Perfect for the architecture nerd looking for something to spruce up their home or office, Lie + Loft offers a variety of frameable photographs, and drawings of some of the most iconic tracks on earth, including Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes and Bethpage Black, along with other golf-themed imagery. lieandloft.com Next-Level Grab, Pack and Go $150 Work stuff, golf stuff… stuff it all into this high-capacity loader from backpack experts OGIO. The Fuse 25 is ultra-light, fills fast and is ready to fly through the day with tons of storage, intuitive organization and a streamlined design. ogio.com Global Trotters $225-$450 Designed in London and made in Italy, Royal Albartross’s hip, high-end kicks are for purists (two classical saddle offerings) and style hounds alike. They can go on before…

LATE LAST AUGUST I perched myself next to the first tee at Bayonne GC (the New Jersey course where I teach in the summer) and watched all 90 of the participants in the club’s member-guest take their opening tee shots. Something quickly stood out: The golfers playing from the championship tee box had great setup positions, but as the lower flights passed through, moving up one and even two tee boxes from the tips, setup positions dramatically deteriorated—and drives got exceedingly worse. Make no mistake: There are some really good players with unusual setup positions. In general, however, the more you deviate from established setup fundamentals, the more you’ll struggle with your game. There are two things that fuel a poor setup: bad angles and/or creating too many of them.…

YOUR PRE-ROUND WARM-UP isn’t the time to be working on your game. Nor do you want to leave yourself only enough time to hit a few balls and rush to the first tee. I know that’s what a lot of you do, but it’s a recipe for inconsistency. I’ll give you a much better way to incorporate the physical and mental preparation you’ll need to play your best golf—and all it takes is 10 minutes. Grab the towel hanging on your bag and tie it around the hosel of your driver. It will give your club extra weight and add resistance to help you limber up. First, take three continuous swings with your natural tempo to get your muscles loose. Then remove the towel, hold the club upside down and…

IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO CONVEY the majesty of a legend like Sam Snead in a single picture. However, this particular image goes a long way in showing how the “Slammer” pieced together his motion. The result: a swing that’s equal parts Einstein and Mozart. THE LINE ON SNEAD PGA Tour wins: 82 Major victories: 7 West Va. Open wins: 17 Career money: $620K Age at final win: 57 Age at last-made cut: 67…

I know what you’re thinking when faced with a pitch shot: too much! Too many swing thoughts make what should be a smooth, rhythmic pass at the ball a clunky affair. No longer. When the situation calls for finesse, limit your concerns to the following four ideas. Your next shot is sure to be a tap-in. 1. LOAD YOUR LEFT SIDE Address the ball with your weight and left shoulder over your left leg. 2. DON’T BE A SOFTIE Grip the club firmly, and don’t allow your arms to be too soft, otherwise you’ll overuse your body during the downswing. Keep the arm structure you establish at address all the way through impact. 3. MANAGE YOUR RATIOS In a proper pitch swing, the backswing should take twice as long to…

How did you get started in the game? My grampa was not only a great golfer back in Ohio, he once went to an auction to buy farm equipment and ended up buying the farm and building a golf course on it. I first swung a club at age seven or eight. You grew up with famous friends in L.A.: Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Sean Penn. Who was the most gifted athlete in the bunch? Oh, Charlie Sheen, 100 percent. In junior high, he could legitimately throw a baseball in the mid-80s. By the way, his dad, Martin, was a really good golfer. Who was the biggest prima donna on the set of The Outsiders? [Laughs.] It’s gotta be Tom Cruise, right? No. What was great about that movie was…