Innehållsförteckning för Issue 7, 2021 från Golf Digest

WHEN YOU LOOK AT three of the greatest athletes of the modern era—Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Tom Brady—only one was destined to be dominant in his sport from an early age. Tiger was a child prodigy: He was shooting par at age 5, and he was winning tournaments soon after. He continued to win early and often, capturing three U.S. Junior Championships and three U.S. Amateurs before winning the NCAA individual title at Stanford and then turning professional. He seemed a lock for greatness almost from the beginning because he combined his giftedness with passion and ambition. Now in his 40s, he has amassed 15 major championships and 82 PGA Tour victories. Jordan didn’t make the varsity basketball team as a sophomore, then he started getting good his junior…

Established in 1927 FLAG HIGH Anthony Kim celebrates the United States’ 16½-11½ victory at the 2008 Match at Valhalla in Louisville. Left: Patrick Reed defeated Rory McIlroy in a drama-filled 2016 singles match. 1 CHOOSE WISELY The first big decision you’ll have to make is what to do with those six captain’s picks you get because of the pandemic’s disruption to the point system. I don’t envy you. They didn’t even exist until Raymond Floyd’s captaincy in 1989, and I thought Paul Azinger was flat-out nuts that he asked for four in ’08. Speaking of Zinger, he gets credit for all the personality stuff, but Dave Stockton went the psyche route first at Kiawah in ’91. He and psychologist Deborah Graham profiled his team and settled on picks they thought…

If your driver shots are curving uncontrollably or you’re making poor contact with your irons, do you try to put a band-aid on it mid-round and hope the problem goes away, or do you get to the practice tee some time after the round and address the root of the problem? If you’re like most golfers, I know your answer. It’s understandable to want a quick fix to your ball-striking issues to simply enjoy the day, but the compensations you choose often make things worse in the long run. Rather than survive another round with some makeshift adjustments, you’ll be much better off stripping those manipulations from your swing and instead making some quality changes that take care of your issues over a whole season, not just the back nine.…

Golf is a great way to stay active while pregnant. My mom played well into her pregnancy with me, and at the time these photos were taken last spring, I was less than four months away from giving birth and still playing once or twice a week. Being pregnant does create swing challenges, however. Besides dealing with the baby bump, there is more of the hormone relaxin present in the body, which causes muscles to become looser, especially around the pelvis. As a result, the hips have a tendency to sway or slide—a common amateur problem that makes it hard to hit solid shots. This drill can help: Start in your golf posture with your hands dangling and facing each other a few inches apart. Keeping your lead hand still,…

LET ME GUESS: You hit a lot of fat shots or drop-kicks from downhill lies. The reason is, the ground is higher behind the ball so the club tends to run into the turf too soon. To make solid contact, adjust your setup to make the downhill play like a level lie. The first thing to understand is that the ball is going to come out lower. Figure that into your club selection, and expect the ball to roll more—and probably fade a little. Widen your stance for more stability and sit down with your rear end, feeling heavier on your feet. Here’s the big one: Angle your front shoulder and hip downward, matching the direction of the slope. You can check the angle with the shaft of your club…

I STILL THINK arm-lock putting is like cheating. Yes, I tried it in competition (resting the shaft against my left forearm) before going back to my old grip at the Olympics in Tokyo. I might even try it again, but this story is not about how you hold the putter. It’s about the simple things anyone can do to really increase the chance of holing out. My putting coach, Derek Uyeda, and I compiled these 10 tips to help you when you practice and play. Give them a shot. 1. If you only read putts right behind the ball, you might not be in the best position to see the break. Farther back often reveals more detail about the putt. 2. A good way to start to get the read…

9/18 AUBURN VS. PENN STATE Beaver Stadium, State College, Pa. PLAY: Penn State Golf Courses (White) 9/25 NOTRE DAME VS. WISCONSIN Soldier Field, Chicago PLAY: Harborside International Golf Center 10/9 OKLAHOMA VS. TEXAS Cotton Bowl, Dallas PLAY: Cowboys Golf Club 10/20 COASTAL CAROLINA VS. APPALACHIAN STATE Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, N.C. PLAY: Linville Golf Club 10/30 FLORIDA VS. GEORGIA TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville PLAY: TPC Sawgrass (Dye’s Valley) 11/20 UCLA VS. USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum PLAY: Rancho Park Golf Course…

“I played Dustin Johnson next…. I knew I had him worried.” I’ve heard golfers say they “lived” on their local course when they were kids. Well, I literally did. My childhood home is next to Glencruitten Golf Club in Oban, Scotland. My dad is the greenkeeper and played off a plus-1 handicap at his best. From my bedroom to the 12th tee is 18 yards. It was easy for me to play a few holes late in the evening when I was growing up. Glencruitten is 4,471 yards, par 62. But it’s a course you need to know. There are blind shots up, over and around hills. It’s the reason iron play is my strength. You can be 160 yards out and hitting a 6-iron that has to be high,…

I HAVE THIS SAYING: The more you practice the good habits, the more the bad habits die. It’s how I trained growing up, and it’s a big reason why I won four consecutive Minnesota State High School Golf Championships and went on to play professionally on the LPGA’s Symetra and Canadian tours. I’d like to share some of those good practice habits with you so that your consistency will improve. On the following pages, I’ll walk you through five drills that build on several of the most important fundamentals in golf—things like how to take the clubface back square and how to make the proper pivot. I’ve had great success with these drills as a coach, and I promise that if you work them into your practice routine, your ball-striking…

AGE 25 LIVES Choudrant, La. STORY Has one win on the PGA Tour, the 2021 Valspar Championship. GIVING BACK I played in a lot of American Junior Golf Association events growing up. Junior golf is such an incredible experience. The AJGA reached out to me about hosting an event this year, and we got it done. For me, I just wanted to give back to that organization. The AJGA not only created opportunities for myself, but does so for so many young golfers around the world. It was an honor to be a part of it. * CARRY DISTANCE DRIVER SPECS Callaway Mavrik, 10.5°, TPT prototype shaft, 45.0625 inches. After my bag was shot for this article I switched to Callaway’s Epic Speed at the WGC-FedEx event. I was getting…