Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i Golf Digest

Playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year, I came to the seventh hole and skulled a nice little wedge about 15 feet from the hole. I’ve been hitting these clothesline shots ever since I took up the game on a Philadelphia muny, gambling against a gaggle of colorful characters. ? This time my shot was caught on television, and Phil Blackmar, holding a microphone, came over to interview me. He said something like, “As the mist rolls off Carmel Bay, tell me about your favorite golf memories.” For no reason I can explain, I babbful characters. ? This time my shot was caught on television, and Phil Blackmar, holding a microphone, came over to interview me. He said something like, “As the mist rolls off Carmel Bay, tell…

Being a great putter doesn’t mean you’re rolling in bombs all day. Sure, that would be nice, but quality putting is about distance control from long range and precise aim on the short ones. From inside five feet, the biggest problem I see is a careless routine. It drives me crazy when golfers step up to a putt and plop their feet into place before thinking about where to aim the putter. Essentially, their feet have already dictated their aim. A better routine is to aim the putterface very carefully down your intended start line, then take a comfortable stance and go (right). If you do that—let your aim drive your setup, not the other way around—you’ll make a ton more of these short putts. For long putts, the first…

Down the stretch on Sunday at the PGA Championship, there were a lot of big moments. The putt that hovered on the lip before falling at 10, the chip-in on 13; you can’t win a tournament with one swing. That being said, there was one that stands out. On the tee at No. 17 with a one-stroke lead, I couldn’t ask for a better yardage. It was 233 to the flag—a perfect 6-iron. But I told my caddie, Jimmy Johnson, to give me the 7-iron. I was so amped up, I knew I could get it there—and I was right. I hit it to 16 or so feet, made the birdie putt and pulled away for my first major. I’ll remember that tee shot for the rest of my life,…

Y ou can confirm what you’re doing (or should be doing) with your golf swing using technology such as a TrackMan radar or a BodiTrack pressure mapping system. But you don’t need those devices to make a bunch of useful adjustments from the types of data they gather. Here we’re going to talk about some of the things those machines measure, and how you can use mostly low-tech, old-school methods to hit better shots without the need for a computer screen In other words, no batteries required. 1 ADD POWER You Have to Load to Unload ▸ A lot of amateurs don’t hit the ball with authority because they don’t create much potential energy in the backswing. Mostly, they’re using only their arms to get ready to hit the ball,…

MACKENZIE HUGHES AGE 26 LIVES Charlotte STORY Wire-to-wire winner of the 2016 RSM Classic as a PGA Tour rookie. FAMILY GAME Golf wasn’t a yearround sport growing up in Canada. I learned to play on a short course at my home club, Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club, in Ontario. My parents were beginners, too, and we all started together. QUICK STUDY I was ready to spend my first year on tour learning the courses and establishing my routine. Winning was great, but it definitely changes your expectations on the fly. *carry distance IRONS SPECS Ping S55 4-iron through PW, Project X 6.5 shafts. Golf Pride New Decade Multicompound 60R grips I’ve had these for three years: for my first PGA Tour win and the Web.com Price Cutter Charity Championship…

The threshold of what counts as a miracle is hard to establish. In my career, I consider Lee Trevino’s chip-in at Muirfield in the 1972 Open Championship and Tom Watson’s chip-in at Pebble Beach in the 1982 U.S. Open—both happening on the 17th hole and in the final round to beat me— as miracles at the time they happened. In some people’s minds, my win at age 22 over Arnold Palmer in the 1962 U.S. Open in, basically, Arnold’s back yard of Oakmont was a miracle. Perhaps the same could be said for the 1-iron I hit at 17 in the 1972 U.S. Open. It was 219 yards, and my ball hit the flagstick a foot above the ground and dropped to six inches — almost went in the cup.…

Today’s golfwear offers a variety of innovative materials that allow you to move freely when you play and keep you warm when it’s cool (and vice versa). In fact, the apparel on this page is designed with so much style and technology that some might even call it miraculous. 1 adidas kumacross 2.0 sunglasses, $110 The distortion-free lenses are curved, offering your eyes wraparound sun protection. ▸ rlx golf hooded hybrid jacket, $245 This stylish slim-fit hoodie is pliable and well-insulated, with an interior turtleneck for extra warmth. ▸ puma golf six-pocket pant, $80 It wicks moisture, and the ultra-stretchy fabric helps you stay cool and dry. ▸ footjoy d.n.a. helix shoes, $210 A foam collar molds to your ankle for extra stability, and the tongue shapes to your foot…

Anyone who has seen “Caddyshack” knows Bill Murray’s character, Carl Spackler, is promised total consciousness on his deathbed. Turns out the Dalai Lama isn’t a golfer, but another highly influential spiritual leader is.: Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s YouTube videos, which mostly take the form of five-minute answers to deep questions, have eclipsed 100 million views. His is a globetrotting schedule—conducting largescale meditation workshops, building schools, battling deforestation, lecturing for assemblies like the United Nations and World Economic Forum—but the self-described “yogi, mystic and visionary” got in 29 rounds last year. “When the entire population of the world attains enlightenment, I’ll retire and play golf every day,” he says, and it’s oddly hypnotic the way his white beard bounces as he laughs. He has to tie it so it doesn’t interfere with…

The last thing a pro would seem to need is a miracle. They are blessed with so much already—actionfigure physiques, swings issued straight from heaven, and as video replays show daily, a surfeit of good bounces. In truth, the astounding things that have happened to them over the years are for our benefit as much as theirs. They instill a sense of wonder, add to the lore, and suggest we might be on the receiving end next. ∗ What qualifies as a miracle, anyway? The criteria is rubbery, but it begins with an event that indisputably is a one-off, something that could never happen again. Four players making aces on the same hole on the same day at a U.S. Open, as happened in 1989? Not quite; the cup was…

One of the most difficult lies you can get in a greenside bunker is when the ball embeds a little into the upslope, like the PGA Tour’s Patrick Reed faced here. This is especially true if the sand is soft. It’s difficult from an awkward stance to swing with enough acceleration to get the ball out of a slightly buried lie. But I’ll show you in four steps how to generate the power necessary to execute this tricky shot. —WITH RON KASPRISKE 1. SQUARE UP ▸ Unless it’s buried under a lip, you don’t need to add loft to the shot to clear the face of the bunker. The upslope helps, so there’s no need to open the face of your wedge like you would in many bunker situations. Instead,…

Other players won major championships in 2017, but no win carried more emotional significance than when Billy Horschel captured the AT&T Byron Nelson in May. The playoff victory, Horschel’s first title in more than two years, also came a year to the day after his wife, Brittany, entered treatment for alcoholism. The couple had kept their struggle private, but the day after the tournament, Brittany shared on social media her difficult road to sobriety, and both have since sought to use their journey as inspiration for others. “To have it out there for the world to see was really freeing.” BILLY HORSCHEL It was a tough road for us. Looking back now, I don’t think I realized my wife was an alcoholic. But over time you could tell she couldn’t…

Without golf, I would’ve been eating a lot more carrot sticks. The first question from my doctor was, “Did you do this on purpose?” She went on to say that if my answer was “no,” she immediately wanted to run tests to see if I had cancer. My answer was “yes.” From the time of my annual physical in 2016 to this year’s physical nearly 13 months later, I lost 23 pounds. During that period, I ate and drank anything I wanted: steaks, fries, chips, pizza (lots of pizza), chocolate, ice cream, beer, bourbon (lots of bourbon). The list of questionable food and drink choices is long. Turns out, those choices didn’t matter all that much. For all the attention various food-specific diets get, for all the praise heaped on…

Even for a guy who has tried hypnosis, meditation, Extraordinary Golf, Rolfing, and assorted sessions with Bob Rotella and Gio Valiante, all in an effort to escape mediocre golf, the idea that a horse could make me a better putter seemed far-fetched.:But that was the deal: Putt. Meet a horse. Putt again. Reflect. :Now, I’m not a horse person. Have never been on a horse. I’ve read enough about them to know they are able to sense fear. Kind of like that old saw players had about Jack Nicklaus. I know I’m afraid, they know I’m afraid, and I know they know I’m afraid. My only comfort stemmed from the fact that a player I greatly admire, major champion Anna Nordqvist, swears by it. : So on a hot morning…

Mickey Wright is without question the greatest female player of all time, compiling a staggering 82 LPGA victories, including 13 major championships. Her swing, an aesthetic and technical miracle, was assessed by Ben Hogan as the best ever. By 1969, at age 34, she had attained almost mythical status. Then, just like that, she was gone. She retired, mysteriously, playing sporadically until 1973, before receding to her Florida home and a private life of her design. Since that time, Wright has spoken occasionally, but never at length. No golfer, Hogan included, has ever left us wanting more for insight into the player’s thoughts and experiences. On this occasion, she let us in. In conversation, Mickey speaks with an easy precision, her voice strong and alert. It’s a two-way deal—she asks questions,…

When you turn the page and see Brooke Henderson’s driver swing, you’ll probably think If I tried that, I’d be in the hospital. Knowing the physical limitations of the typical amateur golfer, we won’t disagree. But even if copying her physicality isn’t realistic, her mental approach to driving is worth considering. “I’m not technical at all. I really don’t want to be thinking about my swing. I just want to let it happen,” says Henderson, a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour, including the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, one of the tour’s five majors. She also lost the same tournament by a shot to Danielle Kang in July. “If there’s one thing for sure that I know I do, I’d say I’m trying to hit the ball as hard…

“I’m asking you to pick a side: left or right?” Some holes you have to play a few times before you understand the options. There’s real nuance to the design so it takes your full attention, along with a bit of trial and error, to figure out the most efficient way to align your skills against its particular challenges. I love that kind of very cerebral golf, but sometimes it’s fun to play a hole that’s blatant, too. Playing this game is about making choices, and no feature embodies this fact so plainly as a split fairway. As a designer, I’m being obvious: I’m asking you to pick a side: left or right? The par 5 11th hole on the Legend course at The Club at Ibis (illustrated), a course…

Perhaps the most famous shot I ever hit was my chip-in on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach to help win the 1982 U.S. Open. Getting the ball out of the rough and stopping it quickly by a close hole is unnerving for a lot of golfers. They’re afraid of hitting it too far, so they don’t make a big enough swing, often leaving the ball in the rough for their next shot. The key is to swing much harder than you normally would. If the hole were, say, 15 feet away, you’re going to have to swing like it’s 30 or 40 feet away. Try this technique: I play these shots a lot like a greenside sand shot. I take a sand wedge, open the face at least 30…

The hardest clubs to design in golf? You’re looking at them. These irons have the classic compact shape that better players prefer, but with technology for forgiveness (multiple materials) and distance (thin-face inserts) that make them playable for the rest of us. This marriage of old and new technology has caught the attention of the world’s best: About nine in 10 players on the PGA Tour use some form of cavityback or hollow iron for at least part of their iron set. We’re still going to chock it full of as much technology as we can,” Mizuno’s Chris Voshall says. “But the priority is the package it’s in, not just the technology offers.” Here are four new irons that might make us look better than we are. MIURA CB 2008…

“THERE IS NO TYPE OF MIRACLE THAT CAN’T HAPPEN AT LEAST ONCE IN GOLF. —sportswriter grantland rice ” OUT, DAMNED SPOT! ▸ Got a stain on your favorite golf shirt? Don’t worry—it won’t take a miracle to get it looking sharp again. FOOD Dab dish soap + vinegar + cold water on stain. Let sit for 30 minutes. Wash with warm water. GRASS Work vinegar or rubbing alcohol onto stain, rinse, then apply liquid detergent and rinse again. SUNBLOCK Spritz stain with lemon juice and let sit for five minutes. Rinse with cool water. ODORS Rub baking soda + water on affected area. Pour baking soda or white vinegar into wash. Wash in hot water, with clothes insideout. Air-dry. NOTE The earlier you treat a stain, the better. Dab it…

Sylvain Cote was in the frozen-food aisle of his local grocery story when the ground shook. Harder. Faster. He’d experienced smaller tremors twice before, but nothing of this magnitude. Once the building swayed from side to side, he knew it was a big one. He leaned against a column under a metal beam near the meat counter and waited. : “The longest 45 seconds of my life,” he says. : On Jan. 12, 2010, just before 5 p.m., an earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter Scale rocked Haiti, killing 300,000 and injuring countless more. Its epicenter was about 16 miles southwest of the capital in Port-au-Prince, not far from where Cote lived. Cote climbed over debris and crawled out of Olympic Market into a cloud of dust from fallen structures.…

STEP ONE Regulate the length of your backswing by paying attention to the position of your lead arm as you go back. When you drill down into the swing data GolfTEC collects on thousands of students, the prime factor that pushes handicaps higher is inconsistent quality of contact. Players just aren’t hitting it solid, and that makes distance control difficult. With wedge play, higher-handicappers tend to have a big backswing and small followthrough or a short backswing and rushed follow-through. Neither technique works well to hit the shot the desired yardage. Instead, practice this procedure to get your wedges dialed in: Take a sand wedge and hit shots with the same length backswing and follow-through, and note how far the ball goes. Then simply vary the length of your swings—staying…