Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2025 i Golf Magazine

MY FATHER TAUGHT ME how to play golf. Long time ago. He instructed me, as most dads do, on a lot of other things too. But the truth remains that I was mostly raised by a single mother, in a household pretty much dominated by three other women, my sisters. To say I was outnumbered would be an understatement, even more so when my stepsister would come over. My childhood in a nutshell: missing most Monday Night Football broadcasts for Little House on the Prairie re-runs. More of what remains the truth: I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. The women in my life shaped how I think, act and treat people, and, thus far, the results have been okay. Same goes for my wife, the center of…

AT THIS MONTH’S inaugural Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, the world’s best female players will have the chance to compete on longtime men’s Tour course El Camaleón. The tournament marks the first time the LPGA will tee it up in Mexico since the 2017 Lorena Ochoa Match Play was held at the Club de Golf Mexico in Mexico City. The Mayakoba region is surrounded by four luxury hotels, all of which offer a number of enticing R&R options in between rounds, from scuba diving, snorkeling and boating to exploring the area’s thousands of cenotes, or natural sinkholes. (One to avoid, however: the famous cenote that resides on El Camaleón’s 7th fairway.) And to cap a day’s activities at Mayakoba, there’s no better place to unwind…

LYDIA KO INVITES US IN, BUT UNDER ONE CONDITION: Shoes off at the door, please. It makes sense when we step inside. Ko’s Orlando home, in the luxe community of Lake Nona, is suspiciously tidy on this February morning; like an Airbnb rental waiting for guests to arrive. A lonely teapot sits on the sprawling white island that bisects the kitchen, but she shuffles it to the side, where tea fixings are neatly arranged on trays. Yellow rubber gloves hang over the faucet. There are no picture frames to be seen, no wedding invites tacked to the fridge. A vase filled with sunflowers decorates one countertop, but that’s it. And that’s how it’ll be for awhile, because when the No. 3 female golfer in the world is done entertaining us,…

GOLF: How many years is this going to be for you on tour? Nelly Korda: Ten? Wait. I think! G: You’ve seen the LPGA change a lot over the last decade. What’s the biggest evolution you’ve experienced out here? NK: The most positive one is seeing the kids come out. All the golf dads, with their little girls and little boys, doing a day date has become a very popular trend. One of the best things about doing what I do for a living is seeing how excited these kids get when they ask for an autograph. They melt me a little bit. G: What else? NK: I’ve seen the tour [up close] since my sister [Jessica Korda] became a rookie in, like, 2011, and I’ve seen it go through a lot: the…

Participation in recreational golf has exploded in recent years, and a large part of that growth reflects the intensifying passion of women playing the game. According to the National Golf Federation, they accounted for a record-high 28 percent of “on-course” golfers in 2024. Drill a little deeper and the NGF’s numbers from last year are even more eye-opening: Females account for 39 percent of all beginners to the game Young girls represent 35 percent of all junior golfers (ages 6 to 17) Of “off-course only” golfers—those who tee it up at driving ranges, on simulators, etc.—females make up 43 percent Of all female participants in the sport, 44 percent are under the age of 35 According to market research firm Golf Datatech, in 2024 women spent $2.14 billion on the…

Getting the right read on any putt is important. So is dialing in the correct speed, which, at times, has more to do with your success on the greens than gauging slope. Here’s a fun way to groove your rolls while challenging yourself at the same time. I call it the “Five Tee Drill.” Find a flat part on the practice putting green and set a tee three paces from the hole. Then another two paces beyond that. Then three more, each two paces from the last. Finally, drop a club or an alignment stick three feet past the hole. Now go to work. Starting at the closest tee, roll three putts. Your goal isn’t to make each one (but, if you do, great) but rather to get each putt…

DREAM VACATIONS 8AM Travel is proud to announce that booking windows for 2026 Northern Ireland and Southwest Ireland trips are now open. Including no fewer than six GOLF Magazine World Top 100 courses—in addition to some incredible layouts on the cusp of that list—these trips are laden with links gems (see Waterville, below) that any avid course enthusiast must experience. Visit 8amtravel.com for inspiration and to jump on some special offers and other can’t-miss trips across the globe. NICKLAUS ON A ROLL After a successful trip to Asia, the Nicklaus Design group is happy to announce: • A Jack Nicklaus Heritage design at Donghae, South Korea, with Monovision. • A Nicklaus Design with Ha Long Bay Golf Development Co. for a new 27-hole course at Uong Bi City in Quang…

AT HOME IN DALLAS, SETTLING IN AFTER THE LPGA’S EARLY-SEASON ASIAN SWING Dylan Dethier: Growing up in Thailand, how’d you learn to speak such good English? Jeeno Thitikul: Just from travel, to be honest. I didn’t study at an international school, just a normal Thai school. We had English classes, but they weren’t that great. But I was on Thailand’s international golf team, and we traveled every month, so that helped. DD: How did you first get into golf? JT: My grandfather introduced me. He came up with two sports, golf and tennis, that he wanted me to try. He wanted a sport that wouldn’t hurt your body too much, so that I could play for a long time. And he wanted a sport that could lead to a career, if…

*As of April 1, 2025 249 LPGA starts 231 Cuts made 16 Cuts made as an amateur, in 16 events 93 Cuts made in her first 94 LPGA starts 23 LPGA wins (one in every 10.83 starts) 114 Top-10 finishes 3 Major championship wins (2015 Evian Championship, 2016 ANA Inspiration, 2024 AIG Women’s Open) 15 years, four months Her age when she won her first LPGA tournament, making her the youngest ever to accomplish the feat 2 LPGA Player of the Year honors (2015, 2022) 3 Years in which she topped the Rolex rankings (2015, 2016, 2022) 5 Years with three or more wins (2014, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2024) 68.99 Lowest scoring average for a season (2022) $20,653,779 Official LPGA earnings 15 Wins in non-LPGA events 3 Olympic medals (a…

ADITI ASHOK Rookie LPGA year: 2017 Golf hero: Don’t have one Favorite golf course: Emirates GC (Majlis) (Dubai, UAE) Go-to headphones music on the range: I don’t listen while practicing but, if I did, then, Green Day, Blink-182 and Miley Cyrus. Current TV obsession: Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) Go-to Starbucks order: Soy cappuccino Favorite meal: Masala dosa or samosas Insta handle: @aditigolf CÉLINE BOUTIER Rookie LPGA year: 2017 Golf hero: Tiger Woods Favorite golf course: Cypress Point GC (Pebble Beach, Calif.) Go-to headphones music on the range: Pop Current TV obsession: Nobody Wants This (Netflix) Go-to Starbucks order: Matcha latte Favorite meal: Sushi Insta handle: @celineboutier ALLISEN CORPUZ Rookie LPGA year: 2022 Golf hero: Megan Khang Favorite golf course: Pebble Beach GL (Pebble Beach, Calif.) Go-to headphones music on the…

IT WAS IN A BUSY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAFETERIA, of all places, when it hit Brittany Lincicome. The eight-time LPGA Tour winner was volunteering at her daughter’s school, floating around the room, opening bags of chips, extracting cheese sticks from those pesky wrappers and helping students toss their trash, when she realized how much more enjoyable this was than hitting golf balls. You know, the thing she does for a living. “That’s the moment I had been looking for, and I was like, Okay, I’m retiring. I’m done,” Lincicome says. “All of a sudden it was like, You know what? No. There’s more to life. I don’t need to be out there grinding. I don’t have anything to prove.” Lincicome, 39, was one of many LPGA pros who, in the past…

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOOK far for a power tip. Players have always been obsessed with hitting the ball longer—whether you’re a club player, competitive junior, Tour pro or World Long Drive competitor. The problems come when you pick from the huge buffet of information and apply something that’s incorrect, incomplete or out of context—meaning it doesn’t work for your body or swing. You try things that seem sound and helpful, but they’re actually holding you back. It’s time to tackle five of the biggest power myths and give you the real swing intelligence that will help you ramp up your ball speed this season. Bernie Najar is the director of instruction at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. His new book, Speed/Power/Finesse: How to Play the Three…

An iron fitted with a molded grip is a training aid used to teach beginners the proper way to hold the club. It’s also a tool used by the best player in the world. Yes, Scottie Scheffler carries around a club fitted with a molded grip. “The reason I monitor my grip so closely is because, as my body starts to feel different over the ball, my grip is usually the first thing to change to adjust to what my body’s doing that day,” says Scheffler. “That’s why I use the reminder club as often as I do.” Scheffler continues: “I feel like when my swing gets off, it’s usually something that’s very basic, like my grip.” So, the next time you feel your swing is off, check your grip…

DEVELOPING A RELIABLE PITCH-AND-RUN (a short-game shot that, as its name suggests, mostly carries in the air but with good release once it hits the ground) is a valuable asset that can get you super-close from a variety of greenside situations, even if you have an obstacle to carry. It’s less risky than a lob shot and works perfectly on tricky tight lies. The setup? Simple: Play the ball in the middle of your stance and make sure the grip on your wedge points at the middle of your sternum. Balance your weight equally over both feet. When you swing, focus on turning your upper body back and through—you don’t need a lot of leg action here. Your upper body is the engine; your arms are just along for the…

Scan here to visit Fairway Jockey, where you can grab your own Stashbag and lots of other high-quality accessories. Still stuffing your valuables into the tiny, scratch-prone pockets of your golf bag? It might be time to level up your protection with the Dormie Stashbag ($120). Crafted from supple, full-grain leather, this bag is perfect for holding watches, rings and other personal items. It features a supersoft velvety liner and a cinched top for easy access, making it a good place to store your phone as well. Or you might simply prefer to consolidate your balls, tees and markers. You’ll have plenty of space for all of it with roomy dimensions that measure eight inches tall and four inches wide. The sumptuous sacks are available in several natural colors, each…

59 Second-round score for Annika Sörenstam at the 2001 Standard Register PING. She is the first—and remains the only-player to break 60 on the LPGA Tour. 69.33 FINAL SEASON SCORING AVERAGE FOR JEENO THITIKUL IN 2024, THE LOWEST ON TOUR. ONLY TWO OTHER PLAYERS AVERAGED SUB- 70 FOR THE YEAR: NELLY KORDA (69.56) AND AYAKA FURUE (69.99). 5 Different major championships won by Australian Karrie Webb, making her the only golfer to achieve the LPGA super career Grand Slam. All-Time Greats THESE ARE THE LPGA PLAYERS WITH THE MOST CAREER MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS…

Putter tech has gone through the roof. Whereas players once focused solely on looks and feel, now it’s “How does it help?” Iron- and driver-like traits such as high-MOI, stability, dispersion tightening and ball speed rule the new putter market. AND THAT’S GOOD NEWS for you. The putters in your local pro shop or fave online retailer have transcended from a tight-knit collection of predictive offerings from the usual suspects to, well, some of the same but with the addition of modern concepts that may have seemed crazy to most golfer’s tastes (and those belonging to the usual manufacturing suspects) 10 years ago. Lo and behold, the far-flung visions in the putter market are becoming the standard and creating opportunities where it’s easier than ever for a David to compete…

NELLY KORDA, 26 Hometown: Bradenton, Fla. Rolex ranking: 1 LPGA Tour wins: 15 ❊ All Rolex rankings as of April 1, 2025. Women’s sports have never been as popular as they are right now. Flip on the tube at night and you’re sure to be greeted with epic performances from some of the top female athletes in the world. Caitlin Clark. Coco Gauff. Simone Biles. Mikaela Shiffrin. Each has become a household name— not just in women’s sports, but sports in general—and when they’re competing it’s must-see TV. In the world of golf, the LPGA has visions of following suit. Not that it hasn’t been SportsCenter-worthy for decades. Nancy Lopez, Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sörenstam, Se Ri Pak—each of these extraordinary athletes (and so many more) has etched her name in…

IT’S 6:58 A.M. ON A MONDAY at Papago Golf Course—a scenic municipal track in Phoenix—and Tori Totlis is dancing. The sun has yet to rise over the surrounding red-rock buttes, but a DJ stationed just off the putting green is pumping Abba’s “Dancing Queen” through the speakers, and Totlis is grooving to the beat, toes tapping on the cart path. Directly in front of her, a line of 50 carts stands ready to ferry 100 women to their tees in time for a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start. In exactly six hours, at 1:30 p.m., a second wave of 100 women will do the same thing. And one week from now, 200 more will descend upon the property for the same exact experience. What in the world are these women doing…

Scan this code to read the full profile on Rachel Heck, which includes a dayin-the-life video feature from Fort Meade army base. IT’S NEAR DAWN AT Fort Meade, a sprawling army base 30 miles north of Washington, D.C., hazy and 37 degrees. A group of junior Navy cadets straight out of boot camp cycle through calisthenics under the lights on a muddy football field. Joggers in baggy sweats shuffle by. Recruits in hoodies make their way across campus. At the Gaffney Fitness Center, Air Force 2nd Lt. Rachel Heck trains with a medicine ball. She’s in the middle of a 10-week stay while attending Defense Information School, where she’s training to become a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) for her job as an Air Force reservist. One year ago, Heck ended…

THE LAST THING YOU WANT on any swing is to feel static. Unathletic. Afraid to move. It’s an easy trap to fall into because we stand at address, thoughts circling, all the while waiting for the right time to pull … the … trigger. So, why not add a trigger? Arguably the game’s greatest player, Jack Nicklaus, did, simply by swiveling his head away from the target. I’m all for it. The next time you’re at the range, get into position [1], cock your head back and get your nose to point outside your rear foot [2], then use that little trigger to help you athletically wind up and swing to the top [3]. You’ll be amazed at how this little move turns you from a frozen statue into an…

G: Hi Michelle, what are you up to today? MWW: Just simple adulting. [Laughs] Right now, just really trying to find my groove with two kids, and then getting ready for the golf season to ramp up. G: How much golf are you playing these days? MWW: It’s definitely not a regular thing. If there’s an occasion to play, then I’ll play. I’m more into tennis nowadays. G: How did you get into tennis? MWW: I never played tennis before because I’m a fade golfer, and in tennis you really have to turn it over. So it would always give me anxiety that I would mess up my golf swing. It was always one of the things that I wanted to do after I retired. I think I might join…