Innehållsförteckning för Issue 4, 2021 från Golf Digest

Swing coach David Leadbetter likes the nickname Magic Hands for his student Patrick Reed, citing his ability to visualize and create short-game shots that most can’t. It might seem like hyperbole—even blasphemy—to compare Reed’s wizardry to that of the late Seve Ballesteros, perhaps the best short-game player of all time, but there are similarities. “There’s a conventional wisdom about how to execute these shots, but just like Seve, Patrick does it his own way,” Leadbetter says. “He sees what he wants the ball to do, and then his body and hands make it happen.” Reed says his short-game prowess was borne out of necessity. Decades ago, his full-swing shots could be described as an all-out assault on the golf ball, which left him in some exotic places on the course.…

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE TRYING GOLF for the first time these days—and that’s fantastic—but they’re doing it in a different way: bypassing the lesson tee and heading straight to the course. As a coach, I’d like to see a little training before anyone steps on the first tee. But as a guy who wants to share this game with more people, I’m all in on this quick-start trend. And if I can’t train them, let’s train you—the golfer who’s introducing someone to our game—to help the newbies pick things up faster. In this article, my wife, Kerri, and I are playing with our boys, William and Michael. I want to share the advice I gave them to speed up the learning process. My goals: offer a few pointers, stick…

One look at Macklemore’s new golfwear line and it’s tempting to quote the four-time Grammy-winning rapper’s hit song “Thrift Shop.” Macklemore—born Ben Haggerty—says his time shopping at secondhand stores had a major influence on his style and is what piqued his interest in golf 20 years before he finally picked up the game. His love of vintage clothes is also what led to the launch of his new golf-fashion line, Bogey Boys. Here are some outfits from that collection, plus some ruminations from Macklemore, 37, about his new obsession. For availability and pricing, visit bogeyboys.com…

DURING THE COURSE of 18 holes, you’re likely to have a stretch where you’re not feeling it. In those instances, it helps to have some go-to shots to lean on. Think of them as the shots that save shots, the ones that help you avoid double bogeys or worse. They’re reliable options to put it in play, hit more greens, get out of trouble and avoid threeputts—and they’re not all defensive. ▶ Let’s start with one of my favorites—the knockdown iron shot. Making double bogey after a good tee shot is infuriating. If you’re struggling with your irons, select the next iron longer than you would usually play from that approach distance, set up with the ball in the middle of your stance, and favor your lead leg. Now make…

THE HARDEST GOLF COURSE I ever played was Pine Valley—backward. The practice has been discontinued, but for many years, Pine Valley members used to gather on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and play the No. 1 course in the country not from tee to green, but from green to tee (or more precisely, to the previous green). For example, we used to tee up on the collar of the 18th green and play over hill and hazard to the 17th green—now that is a monstrous par 4! I’ve never wavered in believing that Pine Valley, frontward or backward, is America’s greatest golf course, but it’s not the answer to this question: If you could play only one course the rest of your life, which would it be? ▶ Dave Anderson wrote…

YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, What could I possibly have in common with tour players? Actually, they’re trying to do exactly what you’re trying to do: Drive the ball as far as possible and keep it in play. They’re just as in love with distance as you are—maybe more—but they’ve found a way to create a lot of speed without sacrificing everything else. In this article, we’re going to talk about the secrets you can steal from some of the best drivers of all-time. For a few of them, it’s the way they use the lower body; for others, it’s the hands and arms. Or it’s what they do during the backswing, or as they move through the ball. Your job is to decide whose technique you should copy based on what…

X ANDER SCHAUFFELE has been in the top three in one of the PGA Tour’s key ball-striking stats in each of the past two seasons—strokes gained/total. A big reason for that is his iron play. He knows how to adjust his swing to create the desired shot, and I’m not just talking about drawing it or fading it. You can see that Schauffele’s body looks subtly different as he reaches the top of the backswing in these two images—check the left knee. In one photo (far left) that knee dives in. In the other it remains fairly stable. If you move the lead knee inward and toward the ball as you take the club back, even letting that foot’s heel come off the ground, you’ll be able to make a…

Patrick Reed has a beautiful young family, a green jacket, nine wins and has represented the United States seven times at the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and Olympics. At age 30, it’s the foundation of what could become a Hall of Fame career. But how brightly these accomplishments would otherwise shine has been dimmed by various incidents. At this point, Reed has said all he cares to about allegations from his college days. His estrangement from his parents—who live in Augusta, Ga., of all places—has been reported. The same nosiness that draws people to tabloids might cause musings, but the only clear fact is that real pain exists, which Reed isn’t ready to talk about publicly. The other real pain belongs to his wife, Justine, who has “cried so many…

WHEN MAPMAKER C.S. HAMMOND & CO. ASKED GOLF DIGEST IN 1962 TO SELECT THE BEST GOLF COURSES IN THE UNITED STATES FOR ITS CARTOGRAPHERS TO CHART, OUR EDITORS SAID NO. CHOOSING THE BEST WAS TOO SUBJECTIVE. But it was possible, they determined, to identify the country’s “toughest” courses because a measuring mechanism—the USGA’s Course Rating system—already existed. Supplementing the USGA’s Course Ratings with extensive field surveys of its own, Golf Digest embarked on a four-year project to identify “America’s 200 Toughest Courses.” The results were published in 1966. That initial “no” became a “yes” the next year when the magazine revised, reduced and rebranded the list as “America’s 100 Most Testing Courses,” which eventually, in 1975, became Golf Digest America’s 100 Greatest Courses. These rankings, published every other year since…

Dear New Golfer, Hello! We are delighted that you have picked up this beautiful sport. It is a game of endless joy and unceasing frustration. If that doesn’t sound like a paradox, you are in the right place. ▶ And you are not alone. The National Golf Foundation reports that 6.2 million new players came to the sport in 2020. That figure is the most in history, and the largest single-season percentage increase in beginners and youth golfers since Tiger Woods’ historic victory at the 1997 Masters, according to the NGF. Better yet, in a game that has long struggled with including others, the participation surge represents a variety of social and economic backgrounds. The game is still not where it needs to be, but it’s getting better ▶ Which…

All golf courses are diffcult for those playing poorly. Others have diffculty bred into them. When the professionals take on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island for the PGA Championship May 20-23, they will be playing the most diffcult course in recent major-championship history. Only six courses in the United States have a higher combined USGA Course and Slope Rating than the Ocean Course’s 79.1 and 155 off tees measuring nearly 7,900 yards, numbers that seem almost surreal—but they are real. Only one of those six courses, Oak Tree National, has ever been the site of a men’s major (the 1988 PGA Championship). As daunting as those figures are, viewers shouldn’t necessarily expect a bloodletting at Kiawah. A Course Rating reflects the predicted score of a scratch golfer playing his…

“If you’re frozen over the ball, you’re dead.” WAGGLING THE CLUB before you hit a shot is a traditional way of reducing tension and getting primed to make a fluid swing. But if you do it in an old-school wristy fashion, you’re rehearsing something you really don’t want to do when it’s time to take the club back. Let me explain. Grab your driver and waggle, flicking the clubhead back and forth with your wrists. Pay attention to where the clubhead travels in the backswing. If it abruptly moves inside the target line, you’re rehearsing a poor takeaway—one that makes you want to re-route the club in the downswing on an out-in-path—an over-the-top slicer’s move. Instead, waggle like Justin Thomas. Take the club back a few times with your arms…