Innehållsförteckning för March 2017 från Golf Digest

I nly a few players come to the PGA Tour with the “can’t miss” tag. It stems from a top amateur pedigree and the power and polish to compete with the high-horsepower modern stars. Jon Rahm brings it all. A two-time Ben Hogan Award winner as the best player in college golf, the former Arizona State Sun Devil had an impressive 2016 professional debut, recording two top-threes in his first four starts on the PGA Tour. In six events, he won more than $1 million and earned full-time status for 2017. Rahm does a lot of his damage with his longest club. “Driving is the best part of my game now,” he says, and his long-ball statistics back it up. His money shot is the same one favored by another…

On free drops, you get one club-length. On penalty drops: two. C onforming drivers and putter grips get most of the attention when it comes to equipment and the Rules of Golf, but you’re bound to run into other on-course scenarios that could cost you shots (or the chance for an easier swing) if you don’t have the right information. Follow these four rules to steer clear of the gear police. 1 DON’T DROP THE BALL Taking a drop is part of golf— either the free kind for avoiding something like a cartpath, or the penalty kind for continuing on after hitting into a hazard. The amount of relief you get—one club-length or two—depends on the situation. When taking a free drop, you get one club-length, and penalty drops offer…

THE DRIVER IS KEY TO MY GAME, and it revolves around rhythm, balance, solid contact and timing. I keep my swing simple, the whole thing done to a beat of “one-two,” the one swinging back and the two swinging through. Sometimes I listen to music before I play that puts the right rhythm in my head. When I need to be energized, I go with the Wu-Tang Clan. When I’m feeling jumpy and need to slow down, I’ll go with a little Action Bronson. ? But it’s my mechanics that have made that big drive a keeper. To add 10 yards off the tee, I go with a hard draw. I widen my stance a few inches for stability and position my feetto be energized, I go with the Wu-Tang…

Where are you most likely to make a golf-club purchase? (Percent) source : golf datatech average yardage golfers hit their 3-wood. source : g ame golf 187 CALLAWAY BIG BERTHA FUSION PRICE $250 VERDICT If you’re looking for forgiveness and help getting the ball in the air, this is your club. The crown is made of a lightweight carbon composite. The weight that’s saved is moved to the back and perimeter, making it easier to launch the ball high. Also, the triangular shape is more stable so you lose less ball speed, especially for hits low on the face. COMMENTS (L) It’s a little bit lighter than others, but once I adjusted, it was very consistent, and I was able to hit high, tight draws. (M) Definitely a high-launching monster.…

Number of PGA Tour players averaging more than 0.8 three-putts per round: ZERO source : p g a tour The percent of mallet putters in use on the PGA Tour on a given week. A decade earlier, mallets were used by only one-third of players on tour. 45 ODYSSEY O-WORKS PRICE $230 VERDICT In its quest for improved feel, Odyssey uses an extensive manufacturing process to mold the face’s stainless-steel mesh cover over an elastomer middle layer. Steps include chemically etching stainless-steel mesh, comolding steel and elastomer insert pieces that cool at different rates, and four rounds of quality-control inspections. The microscopic “hinges” across the face get the ball rolling forward sooner for better distance control regardless of swing path. COMMENTS (L) It has that muffled sound that’s amazing. It’s…

Q Do tour pros often switch out clubs or balls for specific events? W. SCOTT THURLOW OTTAWA, ONTARIO A If you had access to unlimited free equipment, wouldn’t you mix it up a little? In one of the most extreme examples, Phil Mickelson dropped a 3-iron into his bag just for a playoff at the 2005 BellSouth Classic. They were playing the 18th hole, and he knew it would come in handy. He was right—and won. (The playoff was technically the start of a new round, so Mickelson could select new clubs.) Balls are another matter. Before multilayer, urethane-covered balls, players used to switch them up more regularly. Now they pretty much stick to the same ball no matter where they’re playing. I swing at 100 miles per hour and…

Chipping looks so easy when you see a good player doing it. On the flip side, it can be hard to watch when someone is struggling with these little shots. The No. 1 issue is making solid contact. Why? Because the club’s not moving fast enough to keep going if you hit the ground—you chunk it halfway there. And if you catch the ball thin, it skips over the green. Contact is everything. Here’s how to get it right. Photographs by J.D. Cuban CONCEPT SET THE LOW POINT Solid strikes come from getting the low point of the downswing to happen in the right spot. You want it to be at the ball or slightly in front of it so you hit the ball first, then brush the turf. Golfers…

STORE ENERGY, THEN ATTACK You might be surprised to learn that your swing has something in common with mine. Just like you, I sometimes struggle to complete my backswing before starting my downswing. I know a lot of amateurs make a short-and-quick backswing, never really loading up, and that causes the downswing to be out of sync and powerless. Believe me, I work on loading on the way back quite a bit and have played my best in the past year or so because of it. So my advice is, spend some time working on powering up your swing. Learn how to create and store energy, so when it’s time to hit the shot, you can go hard and really attack the ball. Let me show you how. LOAD :…

Percent of golfers who use at least one hybrid. s o u r c e : g o l f d atat e c h Percent decline in hybrid use on the PGA Tour, 2011-’16. 37.5% CALLAWAY APEX PRICE $220 VERDICT Why would you design a hybrid to perform like an iron? With the Apex, Callaway presents the case that adding a little better performance (distance and height) is all some players want from a hybrid. With a thin, high-strength steel face that wraps around the crown and sole, you’ll see more distance, and the slightly higher center of gravity produces the climbing ball flight that should hold more greens. COMMENTS (L) Total player’s hybrid. Very versatile club. I could curve it, hit it high and low. It doesn’t look…

Percent of golfers who have been fit for a set of irons. source : golf datatech Percent of serious golfers who use steel shafts in their irons. Among serious golfers with a handicap of 21 or higher, only 37 percent use steel shafts. source : golf datatech 63 CALLAWAY APEX PRO 16 PRICE $1,200 (set of eight, steel shafts) VERDICT The forging process gives the carbonsteel head a supple feel, but it’s inside where the club shines. The progressive weighting has heavier slugs low in the long irons with less weight in the middle irons. The short irons have no extra weight. Plus, the distance is explosive. Think Mentos in a bottle of Diet Coke. COMMENTS (L) You can work the daylights out of the ball. (M) They’re hot across…

Percent of serious golfers matching the brand of their wedge to the brand of their iron set. source : golf datatech Percent of serious golfers who say bounce is at least somewhat important when buying wedges. But only 32 percent say they completely understand the concept. source : golf datatech 91 CALLAWAY MD3 MILLED PRICE $130 VERDICT This wedge has three types of grooves tied to specific lofts: The lower lofts have narrow grooves for a smooth transition in spin between your irons and your first wedge. The middle lofts have grooves with steeper walls to better accentuate spin on full swings and bunker shots. The highest lofts have wide grooves to improve greenside and partial-swing spin. The ports in the back help raise the center of gravity for spin…

‘The outcome of the golf is never the main drama.’ ‘There was so much mass in the shaft, the head felt almost weightless.’ M ost golfers know something about Old Tom Morris—at least enough to be drawn in by a brogue-speaking stereotype pitching an online tee-time booking service. But how many really know Morris’ story? He and his son, Young Tom, were there at the dawn of modern golf. And now a new movie, “Tommy’s Honour,” brings their relationship to life on the big screen. The film is a highly authentic presentation of how golf looked in the late 1800s. To re-create playing conditions of that era, the crew eschewed shooting on a course and instead built two holes on a seaside cow pasture in Scotland. Short, square metal flagsticks…

B EFORE I CAME TO THE PGA TOUR, I was in sales for the Fenway Sports Group, known primarily for owning the Boston Red Sox. I even have a World Series ring from when the Sox won it all in 2007. When I came to the tour in 2008, I went to work in marketing, which really is a branch of sales. Here’s what I know about selling: If you’re asked to sell something, and you look at it as moving a product, it’s going to be far more difficult than if you see what you’re selling as the answer to someone’s problem. You want to explore how it can fit a need they have. You need to listen to them, help them rationalize ways the product can help them.…

IT’S 9:04 P.M. on a black, black December night in a northeast suburb of Indianapolis. The conditions? Six degrees and windy on the naked expanse of a snow-blown parking lot. Me? Schlepping my golf bag through this arctic mess with a thermos of coffee and a pillow under my other arm. ? Ahead, the doors of Golf Galaxy, the 32,000-square-foot superstore, shed a tent of light. The manager, Ryan Foxen, a burly lunk of a guy, was on the lookout for me. I could see him standing silhouetted against the halogen cast. I crunched toward him, wearing a huge pair of untied farm boots that helped me negotiate the ice. The warm light of the store, t0-square-foot superstore, shed a tent of light. The manager, Ryan Foxen, a burly lunk of…

41 Percent of serious golfers who expect to purchase a driver every two to three years. SOURCE : GOLF DATATECH 5 percent are not interested at all. source : golf datatech CALLAWAY BIG BERTHA FUSION PRICE $400 VERDICT The key to making an easy-to-hit driver is finding ways to mix lighter materials with heavier ones. The weight saved can be moved to the perimeter for better forgiveness. Callaway has done that with a driver whose shape comprises multiple pieces of light carbon composite, including a crown made from a material that’s 65-percent lighter than titanium. In fact, aside from the flexible titanium face, the driver’s body is skeletal sections of titanium connected by carbon-composite panels. It makes for the most stable driver in Callaway’s history. Need more help? A 44.-inch…

How often do serious golfers buy a newset of irons? (Percent) source : golf datatech source:golfd atatech CALLAWAY APEX CF 16 PRICE $1,200 (set of eight, steel shafts) VERDICT This is the kind of club Callaway excels at: It has a pleasing shape yet maintains the easy-to-hit look at address that’s a must for a game-improvement iron. The spring-like cupface (in which the face wraps around the top and sole to enhance flex) provides plenty of pop in the long and middle irons, and there is more than enough forgiveness to assist the middle-handicapper. Judging by our testers’ reaction to this club the past two years (a convincing five stars in Performance and Look/Sound/Feel each time), if there were a Mount Rushmore for game-improvement irons, this one would be on…

The average yardage golfers hit their 7-iron. source : game golf 133 CALLAWAY BIG BERTHA OS PRICE $1,300 (set of eight, graphite shafts) VERDICT Last year’s XR OS was a super gameimprovement iron hidden in a smaller shape. This year, no such subtlety was attempted. The Big Bertha OS is, well, big, and it’s highly suitable for those needing help with launch, distance and direction. The irons use what Callaway calls an “exo-cage” that alters the stiffness of the club’s body in certain areas and allows weight to be placed where it’s most effective. It also lets the revamped cupface (where the face wraps around part of the topline and sole to increase face flex) to function more efficiently. COMMENTS (M) Colossal distance. Ball goes a mile in the air.…