Indholdsfortegnelse for Sep-15 i Golf Digest

Side Trips and Rental Clubs Chairman and Editor-in-Chief A guy walks into a bar . . . Stop right there, you say. I’ve heard it before. . . . Not this one, you haven’t. The bar was atop the Royal Dornoch clubhouse in Scotland, and the guy was the club secretary. He comes over to my foursome to see how we enjoyed the round. Sitting at our table are the Sherpas who caddied for us that day. They were members of the Royal Dornoch Golf Club; in fact, you have to be a member of the club to caddie there. I can’t think of a club in the world whose disposition wouldn’t be improved if the membership included the caddies. “So what are you doing now?” the secretary says. “Have…

When your lie is too good, make a level sweep. Your approach trickles off the back of the green, and when you get up to the ball, you see it’s perched up on a perfect lie. Nice. Should be no problem, right? But when you go to hit the shot, your club slides almost clear under the ball, and you hardly advance it. So much for that lucky lie. Remember that most of the weight on your wedges is on the bottom of the club. Anything hit high on the clubface won’t have much meat behind it. This combination of high loft and low center of gravity deadens the hit. That said, it’s OK to use one of your wedges for this shot, just don’t ground the clubhead at address.…

What do you dislike most about the first tee? I’m not warmed up People are watching I always feel rushed Too many distractions SOURCE: GOLF DIGEST R EADERS Your opening drive can be the most important shot of the day. It sets the tone for the rest of the round. Here’s how I handle the nerves that come with it. I like to end my warm-up on the practice range by hitting the same drive that I’ll hit on No. 1. That way I can carry a feel from the range to the first tee. There are a couple of other things you can do to overcome your jitters. The first is to take a deep breath, then let it out and pause. That helps relieve the tension we all…

Touch of pink This headcover is from Val Skinner’s event for breast-cancer awareness. Between her event and Morgan Pressel’s, it’s amazing what they do for a worthy cause. BRITTANY LINCICOME AGE 29 LIVES Seminole, Fla. STORY Won her second major title in March (ANA Inspiration). Now a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour. MY BIRDIE BALLS I’ll never switch out a ball on the next hole if I make a birdie with it. Even if it hits the cartpath, I’ll keep it in play. I don’t care how scuffed it might be! GRIPS AND GROOVES While watching the Masters, I heard on TV that Tiger Woods changes his wedges out for new grooves a couple times a year. I thought, Wow, I haven’t done that in two years! So now…

The days of having a separate wardrobe for golf are fading. So much of what I see in golf fashion can be worn away from the course. This is especially true for this fall, where the functionality and bright colors of summer golf shirts have made their way into fashionable vests and pullovers. Vests offer the mobility and comfort golfers need, and they look great. So no need to limit them to the course. I’m also glad to see companies breaking from the muted tones of autumn in favor of brighter hues, as evidenced here and on the following pages. What you see can lend some inspiration. Vests in bold colors or quilted patterns offer warmth and mobility. Stand out in these vibrantly hued pullovers.…

Do you think bunkers around the greens should have a consistent texture? Yes, give me a chance. No, they’re a hazard. Nothing is more aggravating than finding a fried-egg lie in one bunker and a paper-thin lie in the next. Even the world’s best players complain when bunker sand lacks consistency. ▶ So who’s to blame? The course architect might have stuck those bunkers in our way, but most designers treat them like billboards advertising their wares. They want them looking good. They might call them hazards, but they want them constantly spruced, gently fluffed and firmly packed so golfers receive predictable lies and retain favorable impressions about their work. So it has to be the superintendent’s fault, right? They own the rakes and have the manpower. With that in…

“You’re welcome.” “My golf game is all about imagination turned into something real.” BRINGING DOWN a drone was Bubba Watson’s idea. On the vast grounds of The Greenbrier, where he has a home with his family, there were several possibilities our video team suggested to capture Bubba at his leisure, including riding a horse, skeet shooting, bowling, shooting a basketball (his wife, Angie, is a former player in the WNBA) or even throwing a football at the New Orleans Saints’ on-site practice facility. But Watson was excited by another option: whistling full shots at a distant (and unarmed) drone, with intent to destroy. “Dude, what would people rather see, me shooting baskets or obliterating a flying saucer out of the sky?” he asked, knowing his long list of YouTube hits…

THINGS HAPPEN TO GOLFERS they’d just as soon forget. If Doug Sanders could erase the memory of missing a short putt to win the 1970 British Open, he would. But there is nothing about my life in golf I want to forget. It’s all been good. Which is one thing I dislike about having Alzheimer’s disease. MANY OF THE FACTS are still with me. I had a good record in the Ryder Cup. I won 20 times around the world. I beat Jack Nicklaus to win a Canadian Open. I played in the Walker Cup and for the Eisenhower Trophy. I finished third in the Masters and second at two Open Championships. The specific memories of those events are fading, but I have this nice overall impression of things. My…

Not every golf club has a signature drink, but the ones that do are proud of their concoctions— and in some cases very protective of the recipe. “We don’t divulge club matters,” said one general manager, when asked if we could publish the ingredients of the club’s house cocktail. (Way to kill the mood, buddy.) Despite a few setbacks, we managed to track down the particulars of 17 club specialty drinks. Cheers. GOPHERITA Old Memorial G.C., Tampa, Fla. Tequila, Grand Marnier, sweet-andsour mix, salt, lime BACK-PORCH LEMONADE Sea Island G.C. St. Simons Island, Ga. Jack Daniels, sweetand-sour mix, simple syrup, lemon wedges BOOTLEG Interlachen C.C., Somerset C.C. and Woodhill C.C. Minnesota Vodka, lemon and lime juice, mint, club soda. Other versions include lemonade, gin and sugar CAROLINA PEACH TEA Pinehurst…

At the 2014 humana challenge, I had a streak with my short irons—8-iron through pitching wedge—where I felt I couldn’t miss. I opened 63-63-63, firing at every flag, then held on for the win. I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since. With all respect to the other clubs, playing aggressively with the short irons is what leads to low numbers. Your goal should be to narrow your “lines,” or the parameters of your misses, so you have no fear. To do that, you need good fundamentals and a few repeating swing keys. Here are mine. —WITH GUY YOCOM “To set up a smooth downswing, I pause for a beat at the top.” BACK: FEEL LIKE YOUR HANDS ARE ‘INSIDE YOUR CHEST’ Because the short irons are precision clubs, you need…

If you can’t reach the green, what’s your best leave? A half-wedge shot 9% Three-quarter wedge 18% Full wedge 34% Shortest shot possible 39% SOURCE: GOLF DIGEST R EADERS This little shot drives amateurs mad: 30 yards, over a bunker, can’t be short, can’t be long. Basically, you have to step up and hit a good shot, or you’re looking at a big number. Given the memories of similar shots you probably have rattling around in your brain, it’s good to have a plan. For starters, take your most lofted wedge, play the ball about middle in your stance, and set a little more weight on your front foot. Then make about a half backswing, letting your wrists hinge but keeping your weight on that front foot. From there, hit…

Curving the ball is a subject I cover a lot on Twitter, but that’s mostly because players are trying to get rid of too much curve. But if you want to become a complete player, you need to know how to move the ball both ways to go around obstacles. To make the ball hook, move it back slightly in your stance, close the face a few degrees and make your grip stronger, turning both hands away from the target (above, left). To slice it, do the opposite: Move the ball forward, open the face slightly and take a weaker grip (above, right). In both cases, adjust your aim to account for the big curve you’re setting up. Most golfers don’t change their aim enough, and end up hitting the…

Think of your game as a fixer-upper. All it needs is the right tools. PARSONS XTREME 0811 There are 16 movable weights that can be used to alter the internal weighting. This allows you to change the spin and launch angle, or fight slices or hooks. PRICE $700 CALLAWAY GREAT BIG BERTHA With a sliding weight, adjustable hosel and shaft options, this driver can adapt to left-right misses, trajectory preferences and even swing speed. PRICE $450 SRIXON Z 355 A lighter shaft with a balance point closer to the hands works with a heavier head to help average golfers deliver more speed and greater force. PRICE $350 Like home improvement, game improvement sometimes requires an appliance upgrade. Today’s clubs not only enhance the skills you have, they make the worst…

It has been said that a good golf swing starts from the ground up, but that could be bad news if you regularly wear dress shoes or sit for most of the day. A common issue that can develop is poor ankle dorsiflexion (aka “lazy ankle”). If the ability to hinge the joint so your toes point upward is restricted, it can cause problems in your swing, says Golf Digest fitness advisor Ben Shear. From a power perspective, the ability to squat at the start of the downswing and leverage the ground to create more force and clubhead speed will be impeded without good ankle dorsiflexion. It more commonly leads to off-center hits, because poor ankle mobility makes it tougher to stay in a steady posture during the swing and…

“Make a backswing from your knees. Your real swing should stop there.” A lot of people think you need to make a big shoulder turn on the backswing to hit solid, powerful tee shots. I disagree. A big backswing is not for everyone. Many golfers’ swings get out of whack when they try to increase how far they go back. They get wild with the lower body or make a big over-the-top loop on the downswing because they’ve lost control. Just like when you buy a new set of clubs, the distance you take the club back should be customfit to your body. And here’s a great way to determine it: Kneel on a couple of towels, hold your driver like you’re addressing a shot, and make a backswing (below).…

“Swing through like a shortstop turning a double play.” If you’re struggling with distance or direction on your shots—or both— give my A Swing a try. It will help you generate a good amount of clubhead speed for power and make it easier to square the face at impact for accuracy. The release pattern feels much like the action a shortstop uses to snap the ball over to second to turn a double play. Here are the steps. David Leadbetter operates 24 golf academies worldwide. 1. TURN THE CLUB DOWN When you reach this point in the downswing, where the right elbow is adjacent to the right hip, rotate your left forearm and the palm of your right hand toward the ground. That will square the clubfaca. 2. RIGHT WRIST…

When Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point opened, in the spring, many people were surprised to learn that New York City owned a golf course in the Bronx—but it actually owns four, and one of them, Van Cortlandt Park, is the oldest muny in the United States. Three friends and I recently took a day trip to find out whether the new one is as good as people have been saying. And I can report that it is. Ferry Point was built on an old landfill. Construction was blocked for more than 20 years by environmental concerns, protests from neighbors, problems with contractors, and mismanagement by the city, but the result is terrific. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus, Jim Lipe and John Sanford, and it’s a worthy tribute…

Jordan spieth hits the ball beautifully and has a terrific short game, but so do a lot of tour pros. Much has been made of the idea that he possesses rare mental strength. The things that make Jordan the competitor he is are countless, but there is one habit of his you’d do well to adopt. Now don’t be overwhelmed. The practice of this habit is thankfully simple, but the thinking behind it comes from a complex frontier in cognitive science. There’s controversy about how exactly we should interpret the discovery of “mirror neurons,” but how they can help you play better golf is certain. Your brain has 100 billion little things called neurons. Whenever you do something, like scrunch your nose or swing a golf club, a bunch of…

I’ve been teaching golf for 40 years, and I’ve seen a lot of concepts for learning the game come and go. One that has stayed constant in my teaching is the theme of 45 degrees. I use 45 degrees to describe several of the positions found in a good, repeatable swing. It’s an angle that’s easy to visualize and remember. We all have an inherent sense for the horizontal and the vertical, and directly in between is golf’s magic number: 45. I’m going to demonstrate some important 45s. I’m choking up on my driver in these photos because the angle is easier to show (and get into) if you shorten the club. Why use a driver? It’s the only club that sits at a 45-degree angle to the ground at…