Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2016 i Golf Magazine

Introducing FIXFINDER The Game-Improvement App from GOLF Calling all slicers, yippers, toppers and shankers. Introducing the GOLF FIXFINDER, the best digital game-improvement tool ever. It's free, and it's easy to use. The app asks you a few questions to diagnose virtually any fault—from tee to green—then gives you stroke-saving advice via short, powerful video lessons and drills from our Top 100 Teachers. Whatever's keeping you from playing your best, the FIX FINDER will vaporize your swing ailments once and for all. (And starting in April, you'll be able to install the app on iOS and Android.) Get ready to go low! The FIXFINDER has a range of impressive game-improvement features: • A slick, user-friendly interface and perceptive fault-diagnosing technology • Nearly 150 high-definition video tips and drills from Top 100…

DRIVER 1) PXG 0811, 9°, Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 60 shaft, X flex, 45", 282 yards; $700 FAIRWAY WOOD 2) Titleist 915Fd, 15°, Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 80 shaft, X flex, 255 yards; $300 HYBRID 3) PXG 0317, 17°, Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 90 shaft, X flex; 235 yards; $400 IRONS 4) PXG 0311T, 3-9, True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT X100 shafts; $2,400 for set of eight 3-iron: 220 yards 4-iron: 208 yards 5-iron: 197 yards 6-iron: 185 yards 7-iron: 172 yards 8-iron: 160 yards 9-iron: 147 yards PUTTER 5) Titleist Scotty Cameron Roundback Plus, 35"; price n/a BALL Titleist Pro V1; $48/dozen WEDGES 6) PXG 0311, 50°, 130 yards and 54°, 115 yards; PXG 0311T, 59°, 98 yards. All with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts; $300 each "This…

Brandt Snedeker has already had one heckuva career, and he's still only 35. His putter is his deadliest weapon, of course, but you don't win eight Tour events—and a FedEx Cup title—without also being a solid ballstriker. You can learn plenty studying Snedeker's underrated technique, especially if, like him, you have an up-tempo swing. Indeed, the first thing you notice is his quick tempo. While it's speedier than most Tour players, a fast-paced motion works for Brandt. Why? Because his swing has wonderful harmony. His body and club work together like Astaire and Rogers, and he's never out of balance. That makes it easy to consistently hit good shots. Even top players have quirks in their swings. On his takeaway, Brandt does something unusual: His right thumb comes off the…

APRIL 28 Wow, the big five-oh! Begin training for debut at Insperity Invitational, May 6–8. World, meet a whole new J.D.! May 1 Costco run: cigs, choc. milk, peanut butter Ritz Bits, Ben & Jerry's. Protein, baby! May 5 Gas up/wash/wax my ride. Slap on fresh "If the RV's a rockin', don't come a-knockin'" bumper sticker. May 6 Grip it and rip it! Long John is back, baby! May 7 Mess with Langer, ask him if he's noticed the hitch in his backswing. Heh-heh. June 9 Senior Players, in Philly. Run (or walk?) up Rocky Balboa steps @ art museum! July 8 Dick's Sporting Goods Open. Ask CEO if interested in fashion-performance Loudmouth Spanx. July 21 Senior Open, Carnoustie. Cadbury? Yes! Ladbrokes? Just say no, bro. July 25 PGA Championship,…

Whether you're a weekend player or a Tour pro like I am, no one wants to stumble out of the gate to start the golf season. (For me, It leads to shrinking confidence and shrinking paychecks.) Would you like to make a hot start in 2016, and keep that mo' going right into summer? You can. Over the years, I've learned how to kickstart my game, and these techniques can work for you, too—and you don't need to hit thousands of range balls or play dozens of rounds. Just copy my three keys and you'll find your summer form before spring is through. This is one time when it's good to lose your cool. 1 START SLOW, FINISH FAST Your timing is the first thing to go after a long…

1 Is it my setup? Your tendency to hit your shots out toward the toe could simply be because you stand too far from the ball at address. Bad setups lead to bad swings. HOW TO CHECK Take your address position. Then simulate impact: open hips, torso bent to the right, hands pressed forward. Did the ball move out near the toe? YES FIX NO. 1 Step a bit closer to the ball, with your upper arms hanging straight down. Now feel like you're skipping a rock when you swing. This helps you deliver the club from the inside for center-of-the-face contact. NO 2 Is it my grip? Most golfers grip the club too much in their left palm, instead of the fingers. This encourages high hands and a more…

Make no mistake: A draw always outruns a fade off the tee, thanks to the excess roll generated by right-to-left sidespin. And, no, draws aren't only for better players. In fact, you can pull one off simply by copying what you see here. It's my power-draw setup. Nail the positions, and the ball will curve left and go long and deep down the fairway. LET THE CLUB WORK Take the club back smoothly—no snatching or lifting. Trust that the setup changes on this page, along with your normal one-piece motion, will work the club to the inside at the start of your backswing. Then simply re-create the path on the way back to the ball. Hello, power draw! KEEP IT LOOSE Take a stronger grip (with the Vs pointing to…

MY SETUP I'm hitting it about 15 yards longer now than I was a few years ago. Credit goes to my address position, which I've tweaked to produce more power. Last year, nearly 70 percent of my drives broke the 300-yard barrier. In 2013 that number was 50. Obviously, I made some changes that boosted my driving, the easiest of which was finding a driver/club combination at the start of the 2015 season that improved my launch conditions (details on p. 10). Extra yards are out there, through even a basic fitting. The other thing that really helped was tightening up my address position. I've always had good posture, but my coach, Brad Malone, and I thought I was losing some of my angles at setup, especially in my hips.…

ADAMS BLUE $180; GOLF.com/adams WE TESTED: 5h (24°), 6h (27°) with Aldila SlimTech 55 graphite shaft PROS \\ PLAYABILITY: High marks—an extremely easy-to-hit iron replacement; produces a high ball flight that lands softly on greens; typically plays it straight or with a slight draw; strong performer from tight lies as well as the rough. \\ ACCURACY/FORGIVENESS: The Adams Blue is the most forgiving Game Improvement hybrid in the test; enormous sweet spot—even balls struck on the heel or toe stay online and lose little yardage; top-shelf accuracy—shots go right at the pin with plenty of stopping power. \\ DISTANCE: Repeatable lengths with ideal gaps that fit right into the Blue iron set; comparable to the irons they replace, but much easier to hit with consistency. \\ FEEL: On the lighter…

CALLAWAY BIG BERTHA ALPHA 816 $300; GOLF.com/callaway WE TESTED: 16° (adjusts 15° to 18°) and 18° (adjusts 17° to 20°) with Aldila Rogue I/O 70 graphite shaft PROS \\ PLAYABILITY: It performs well from funky lies; easy to hit straight, and shaping shots is a piece of cake; moving the sole weights definitely affects ball flight. \\ DISTANCE: All the length you need in just about every situation; noticeably longer than a few guys' 3-woods off the tee; good rollout leads to solid distance on misses. \\ ACCURACY/FORGIVENESS: Keeps the ball in play—not a ton of sidespin, and pretty fair forgiveness on off-center hits; you can expect shots to go to the target most of the time. \\ FEEL: Shots jump off the face with a firm, powerful click; heavyish…

SENIOR PLAYER You've lost some flexibility and power, but you still know how to score. READING THE TEELEAVES If you frequently hit pop-ups off the tee, chances are your clubhead is striking the ball on an overly steep, downward trajectory. The result? Your clubface contacts the ball either above or below the sweet spot. Before you totally overhaul your swing, try the following swing-path-fixing drill. Tee up four balls in a line, about three inches apart, and hit four drives. Next, check the position of each tee. Ideally, all four tees will still be in the ground, in roughly the same position they were in before impact. If they are, your swing path is level to slightly ascending, which means you caught mostly ball and not much tee, creating a…

THE BIG THREE? If Adam Scott has his way, it will soon be the Fab Four. Scott wants to crash the party atop the world rankings, and he's not wasting a whole lot of time. The quiet, hard-hitting Aussie snapped a 21-month winless streak in late February when he claimed the Honda Classic, then promptly went back-to-back with a dramatic win at Doral. And he did it the old-fashioned way: no anchoring allowed. But as well as he's putted (he finished 23rd in Strokes Gained on the greens at the Honda), his entire game has reached a new level, and this month we spotlight his driving prowess. Scott has worked tirelessly to improve his already superb tee game. Always technically sound, Scott's driver swing is now pretty much perfect. And…

You headed into 2016 playing some great golf, with six top 10s in 2015 on the heels of your third Tour win in 2014. You also banked more than $4 million in earnings last year. What made the difference? The only thing I really changed was my caddie. Back in the short off-season, I sat down and thought, "What haven't I tried to be better at?" And I'd have kicked myself if I'd never changed caddies, to not give it a try. And the first week [with new caddie Brett Waldman] worked for me—we went out and won. So that instills confidence. You're a late bloomer by Tour standards. Your T9 at last year's Masters was your first top 10 in a major. What did you learn about being in…

Hey Rules Guy: My match-play opponent's shot found the cart path, which entitled him to a free drop at the nearest point of relief. That point happened to be located in pine straw, which he promptly swept away with his hands to create a nice, smooth drop area. Do the rules permit this? —HELMUTH WILDEN, HILTON HEAD, S.C. Your straw man concocted no sham. Decision 23-1/6 permits a player to remove loose impediments—pine straw, leaves, twigs, rocks, acorns, etc.—from the area in which he's going to take a drop. But beware of loose soil, which is only a loose impediment on the putting green. If it's removed to create an advantage with respect to one of the areas protected by Rule 13-2 (e.g., the area in which the player is…

THERE'S A COMPETITION before players tee it up on Thursdays, and I'm not talking about the pro-am. It's the competition between tournaments (and their sponsors) for the biggest stars and the strongest fields. The sport's top players are easy to identify. Harder to determine is what constitutes a statistically strong field. A crude approach would be to tally the number of Top 50 (or Top 100 or Top 200) players participating in any given event, but that wouldn't properly differentiate the value of having the World No. 1 in the field instead of, say, the World No. 50. A better approach is to rate the strength of a field by the probability of winning the tournament. A Tour event with a strong field is tough to win. Using that simple…

You opted for an Old Fashioned today. I just started drinking them as an alternative to wine or scotch, which are kind of my go-to drinks. And they're not all the same—one Old Fashioned can differ quite a bit from another Old Fashioned. But they're all pretty darned good. It's an appropriate potable for an author. What compelled you to write your new book, The Anatomy of Greatness? It's an idea I've had in my head for years, trying to figure out the [swing] commonalities of the greatest players of all time. And the hope was that there would be some simple elements that people could use to help them with their games. Critics say that you're a TV analyst, not a golf instructor. How do you convince them to…

74.6 Matsuyama's scrambling percentage from 10 to 20 yards in the 2015 season, third best on Tour. 1 GO FULL TILT Matsuyama's eye line is tilted, as is his right side (toward the ball). Those are signs that he's swung "under" his shoulders, allowing his arms and club to approach the ball on the ideal plane. 2 SLOW YOUR ROLL Never rotate your right hand over your left when chipping. This shuts down the clubface, inviting a dig. Your goal? Keep the face pointed at the sky in your follow-through. You'll catch it cleaner and produce a higher, softer ball flight. 3 WRIST REWARD His straight right wrist means that his left wrist has flexed backward through impact— a very good thing. A bent left wrist "throws" the clubhead ahead…

DAVID LINGMERTH MY ON-COURSE SNACK: "I'm a big fan of beef jerky." EXPERT'S TAKE: "Beef jerky packs a big protein punch in a small amount," says registered dietitian/nutritionist Jill Castle (jillcastle.com). "But it's better-suited for building muscles than for fueling them during play. More carbs, stat!" RATING PAR SCOTT PINCKNEY MY ON-COURSE SNACK: "I always keep a jar of peanut butter in my bag." EXPERT'S TAKE: "Fatty, high-calorie foods are notorious for slowing down digestion," Castle says, "which can leave you feeling full and less energetic." But don't hit the peanut-butter panic button yet. "Just swipe it across some whole-grain bread, or pair it with some fruit." RATING BOGEY MAX HOMA MY ON-COURSE SNACK: "Traditional granola bar, or a 10th Tee bar." EXPERT'S TAKE: "They're convenient, but some athletes find…

Your trusty fade has turned into a full-blown slice. The likely diagnosis? Through the hitting zone, you're either keeping your left arm bent (aka "chicken-winging" it), or failing to rotate your hands to square the clubface. You can fix either flaw by tossing a Frisbee. Here's how. STEP 1 Hold a Frisbee in your left hand and assume your address position, letting your arms hang naturally. Grip the disc so that the underside faces your target. STEP 2 "Swing" the Frisbee back while keeping your upper left arm tight against your chest. Let your left wrist flex back as you finish your backswing (inset, below). The underside of the Frisbee should point toward the sky. STEP 3 Quickly turn your left hip toward the target. You'll feel your left arm…

These are exciting times for ball technology. The top brands keep finding new, innovative ways to enhance feel, improve spin and boost power. Here's the skinny on two dozen new models, ranging from premium Tour to value options. Our advice? Test two or three models, hitting a full range of shots—putts, chips, half wedges, full irons and driver swings. You'll soon know which ball is right for you. Turn to Special Section REIGNING CHAMPS Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x According to Golf Datatech, the Pro V1 and Pro V1x have been the top-selling balls on the market for 180 consecutive months (through February 2016). That's every month for 15 straight years! In addition, the Pro V1 franchise has accounted for more than 400 wins on the PGA Tour since…

CALLAWAY APEX $220; GOLF.com/callaway WE TESTED: 3 (20°) with Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black Hybrid graphite shaft PROS \\ PLAYABILITY: Dynamic— a Houdini hybrid, this one flat-out makes shots; small clubhead slashes through rough and handles uneven lies with ease. \\ DISTANCE: The Apex cranks it off the turf and the tee—10 yards beyond an equivalent iron and a handful past its peers; testers are able to feather it into long par 3s or muscle up and go for the green in two. \\ ACCURACY/FORGIVENESS: A sniper, on target from long range regardless of the position, stance or shot shape; aimed at lower-handicappers, but testers don't see many egregious mistakes; for an ironesque hybrid, it doesn't lose you much on misses. \\ FEEL: Dead-on dialed-in, everything comes together at impact—the Apex…

LAST SUMMER in Memphis, Stephen Curry and Andre "Iggy" Iguodala did what we all do when a free day opens up during a business trip: They hit the links. But this round came between Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals. And both men had miserable outings the night before as their Golden State Warriors fell behind 2-1 to the Grizzlies. Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn't beat them up with a practice. He gave them the day off, encouraging the two stalwarts to tee it up. "Sometimes the best thing to do is get away from the gym and do whatever relaxes you," Kerr said. "For these guys, it's golf." Kerr, himself an avid player, scored his coaching gig in 2014 thanks in part to relationships he made…

WHEN IT COMES to forecasting the future in professional golf, psychology could be destiny. By virtue of a condensed summer schedule, three of the season's four majors—the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship—will be played in the span of just seven weeks in June and July, to accommodate golf's return to the Olympics in August. The more I think about what's to come this season, the more I wonder: How will the best players respond to this new, trying reality? It may seem like something that would be impossible to predict, but we can actually make an educated guess about performance based on an assessment of a player's personality. Most players fall into one of four distinct categories: Amiable, Expressive, Driver or Analytic. Amiables are laid-back, easygoing…

When I practice low-running chips (above), a swing aid helps me minimizeunwanted wrist hinge. ONE OF THE GREAT quandaries in golf is what shotto play with which club when you're just a few yards short of the green and can use almostany club. The possibilities seem infinite—and that's the problem. Most weekend players don't practice a wide variety of short chips. Nor do they tend to have a favorite club or swing to lean on. Worse, even though short-chip swing mechanics are technically simple, most mid- to high-handicappers are unfamiliar with how much backspin that different types of chips generate. Therefore, they don't know how fast these shots will travel, or where they'll stop. But it's easier than you think to get up and down from just off the green.…

[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.] 10 secs 1 PREP DRESS FOR SUCCESS Grab a mid-iron, then go to your closet. Slip on a fitted suit jacket or blazer and button it up—the tighter the better. (Oh, and close the door. This drill works, but may draw some stares.) [The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.] 20 secs 2 SWING GET COMFY WITH A SNUG FIT Make your regular backswing. You'll feel the coat's snugness limiting how far you can take the club back with your arms, promoting torso turn instead. A more compact backswing fixes a host of mis-hits. [The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for…

Golf is a rotational sport—turn back, turn through. A simplified description, sure, but it's true. Your left hip is a key to more distance. The more mobile it is, the quicker it will clear a path for the rest of your body to rotate through for powerful impact—and more yards. To stretch your left hip, stand with your left foot up (photo, far left). Next, slowly rotate your left foot out to the left (photo, near left). Feel that stretch in your hip? That's a good thing. Now hold it for a few counts, then repeat. Do 10 reps daily for a week. You'll thank me when you're firing through impact and blowing it by your buddies.…

It can play as short as a wedge, but the par-3 17th on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass will have pros shaking in their FootJoys at the Players Championship this month. Here's how you can stay high and dry the next time you confront an island green. 1 KNOW YOUR NUMBER AND NOT JUST THE ONE TO THE FLAGSTICK Picking the distance to the hole isn't enough—you need to know the number to the back and front edges if you want to pull the correct club. Take an iron that lets you hit the green even if you don't pure it, but that won't overshoot the green if you hit it flush. —Anne Cain 2 PICTURE A CLEAR PATH WATER? WHAT WATER? Worrying too much about the agua is…

This year's long-game weapons have the power, precision and adjustability to help you reach the next level. Which of these 20 hybrids and 16 fairway woods shine brightest? To find out, our 40 ClubTesters hit thousands of shots at World Golf Village Resort in St. Augustine, Fla. Hot Stix Golf custom-fit each guy and used TrackMan to record reams of swing data. To assist you in your search, we grouped reviews by "Better Player" (more maneuverable) and "Game Improvement" (more forgiving). Plus, we have a lot more on GOLF.com, including bonus videos and 360° club views. Let's swing away! GAME IMPROVEMENT HYBRIDS p 88 BETTER PLAYER HYBRIDS p. 94 GAME IMPROVEMENT FAIRWAY WOODS p. 98 BETTER PLAYER FAIRWAY WOODS p. 106…

ADAMS BLUE $200; GOLF.com/adams WE TESTED: 3 (16°), 5 (18°), 7 (21°) with Aldila SlimTech graphite shaft PROS \\ PLAYABILITY: Mid-high flight gets more altitude than others in the category; bangs balls out of the fairway, light rough and bunkers with ease; teeing up the 3-wood almost guarantees a fairway hit; defaults to straight shots and slight draws, but a few can hold it off for fades. \\ ACCURACY/FORGIVENESS: Top of the class—shots all over the face launch high with little sidespin or distance loss; the 3- and 5-woods are fairway finders for layups on tight holes, while the 7-wood is a pin-seeker that's easier to manage than a long iron. \\ DISTANCE: Not a bomber but gets the job done; top-end distance is similar to what guys currently carry,…

• I drove a regular RV on Tour for more than 10 years, but ended up with a Prevost Motorhome, like the NASCAR guys have. Now that I'm headed to the Champions Tour, my wife, Robin, and I are going to figure out a way to do it again. • I loved traveling in the motorhome because I had my stuff—my bed, my pillow, TV, my BBQ grill, my smoker. If it was turkey season, I'd have my turkey-hunting gear. I had a motorcycle along, too. • The item I never travel without is a sleep machine. Now it's all digital, on an iPad, but way back when, it was a little box that you plugged in, a sound machine that put out white noise. • My least favorite road…