Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Golf Magazine

HOW IT WORKS Invisible watermarks on select photos act as gateways to bonus videos. With the Digimarc app, your smartphone or tablet recognizes the watermarks and automatically delivers the content to your device. 1 Download and open the Digimarc Discover app on your smartphone or camera-capable tablet. The app is free and is available at the iTunes store for Apple devices and at the Google Play market for Android devices. 2 Position the phone four to seven inches above any photo bearing the yellow SCAN THIS PHOTO label (example, right), as if you were taking a picture (flash optional). If you have access to a Wi-Fi connection, downloads will be faster. 3 Hold the camera steady. The app will click and buzz when it recognizes the image and then begin…

Your Game 28% The Style Issue 39% Michael Bamberger 19% Other 14% FOR THE LOVE OF COTTON I really enjoyed your interview with John Ashworth. After wearing 100 percent cotton golf shirts for many years, I’ve become discouraged by the abundance of “performance” wear made from space-aged material. It doesn’t breathe like cotton and absorbs sweat, resulting in odors even after washing. Supima cotton, which is very cool on hot days, is still number one in my wardrobe. More pro shops need Link soul or similar products. TIM HEINIMAN, WERNERSVILLE, PENN. THE SANSABELT REVIVAL I was especially delighted with Michael Bamberger’s article in the February issue](“Vive Les Sansabelts!”) Those slacks were made in my hometown of Michigan City, Indiana, by the Jaymar-Ruby Company. Jaymar was one of the largest manufacturers…

Powered by the Top 100 Teachers in America 15 Ways to Chip, Pitch and Blast It Closer to the Hole…

TRY THIS! On awkward, in-between pitch shots (say, from 20 to 30 yards), it’s best to keep things simple. I recommend swinging “pocket-to-pocket.” Take a sand wedge (or up to an 8-iron, if you need more roll) and turn back quietly, getting your hands in front of your right pants pocket, with the clubhead slightly above your hands. Now simply rotate your chest, hips and arms gently forward until your hands reach your left pocket. Hold your elbows close to your body throughout the swing and keep your hands soft. This is a finesse move designed for steady reliability. Learn it and you’ll never miss!…

Although it’s significantly less important than form, fit—otherwise known as the “horses for courses” factor—measures how a player’s game matches with the demands that a particular course presents. It’s critical to look at relative results, not absolute results. For example, Augusta’s greens are notoriously slick and undulating, so a premium should be placed on putting skill, right? Not right. Putting is a valuable skill on every course. The real question is, is better putting worth relatively more at Augusta than at a typical PGA Tour course? Augusta’s greens are more difficult to putt than average, but a closer examination yields surprises. Inside of seven feet, players sink more putts at Augusta than elsewhere. Those immaculately conditioned greens are most likely the explanation. Outside of seven feet, the green speed and…

Wedges BRIDGESTONE Tour BXW $140; golf.com/bridgestone, bridgestonegolf.com SPECS 50°/8°, 52°/8°, 54°/10°, 56°/14°, 58°/12° and 60°/6°, in black oxide or satin-chrome finish with True Temper DG Spinner shaft. KEY TECHNOLOGIES Classic teardrop shape, the look better players prefer; Tour grind sole with heel and toe relief for enhanced versatility from a variety of lies; micro milling and parallel mill patterns for increased control and spin. OUR TAKE Bridgestone has always been known for its “players” sticks, most notably its top-notch forged irons, so a beautiful milled wedge is no surprise here. What will blow you away is the XW’s impressive versatility, performance and buttery feel. FITTER COMMENTS “A nice selection of loft/bounce combinations makes it a relatively easy club to fit, although some wider-sole and higher-bounce models would be handy, especially for…

LOUISIANA Red beans and rice, gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee and definitely a king cake dessert. @peter_hansen17 KENTUCKY An old-fashioned hot brown cocktail to drink, and derby pie for dessert. @instapete12345 MICHIGAN Appetizer: mini Coney Dogs. Main: Pecanen-crusted walleye or venison tenderloin with blueberry reduction. Sides: Traverse City cherry salad, au gratin potatoes and fresh green beans. Dessert: Boston cooler or Sanders hot fudge cream puff. @rougehuron GEORGIA Bone-in fried chicken, turnips and collards, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes with gravy. Banana pudding or red velvet cake for dessert. Sweet tea and Coke to drink! Matthew Linnenkohl VERMONT New England clam chowder, garden salad with maple balsamic dressing, grilled steak and lobster tail, baked potato and apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese. @itsthakidd ENGLAND Salad and prawns for starters; for mains,…

DRIVER 1)PING G400 LST, 8.5° set to 9.2°, Fujikura Speeder Evo 661 X shaft (275 yards); $400 FAIRWAY WOODS 2)PING G400 Stretch, 13°, Fujikura Motore VC 7.0 shaft (260 yards); $269.99 HYBRIDS 3) PING G400, 19° and 22°, Matrix Altus Red-X shafts (225 yards/215 yards); $229.99 each IRONS 4) PING S55, (5-PW), standard lie, KBS Tour Stiff shafts; price n/a PW: 135 yards 9-iron: 155 8-iron: 165 7-iron: 175 6-iron: 185 5-iron: 195 WEDGES 5)PING Glide 2.0 Stealth, 50°/SS, 125 yards; 56°/SS, 105 yards; 60°/SS, 85 yards. All have Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts; $139.99 each PUTTER 6)PING Sigma Tyne, 33”, 2° upright, with SuperStroke 2.0 grip; $200 “I love my S55 irons, particularly the 7-iron. When I stand over that club, I know I won’t miss.” BALL Titleist…

CAPE CRUSADE Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw are applying the finishing touches to their new Ozarks National at Missouri’s Big Cedar Lodge. Set to open this September, the course is crisscrossed with tumbling terrain. “With all of the ridges, I was worried we’d wind up building 18 ‘Cape’ holes,” Coore says, referring to one of C.B. Macdonald’s century-old, risk/reward design concepts. “But it worked out okay.” PACKING LIGHT Recently, Tiger Woods confirmed to me that he has yet to play Pine Valley, GOLF’s No. 1-ranked course in the world, and the one that tops his bucket list of tracks he would still like to sample. “I’ve played Cypress [Point],” Woods said. So why not Pine Valley? “I don’t like playing golf on vacation,” he added, with a smile. CLASS REUNION…

EYES ON THE PRIZE Swing solutions are often right in front of your face. In the case of bunker shots and flops, the solution is your face. By that I mean “clubface.” Keeping it open from start to finish is what will boost shot height and help the ball stop in a hot second once it hits the green. Two checkpoints ensure that your wedge stays open all the way through. The first is at the top of your backswing: Take the club back and stop. When you look up, the clubface needs to be looking right back at you. The second checkpoint (insert, top right) is at the finish. Same deal; hold your finish and focus your eyes on the clubface. If you can clearly see the grooves, you’re…

James Sieckmann, The Golf Academy at Shadow Ridge C.C., Omaha, Neb. (@JamesSieckmann)…

I’d define a dark horse as someone who is low (let’s say, outside the top 30) in the Official World Golf Rankings but higher up (top 20, say) in my “form and fit” analytics results. I wouldn’t put money on these ponies, but qualifiers in this category (and recent Genesis Open close-callers) Phil Mickelson, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau can’t entirely be considered hopeless longshots. MICHAEL BAMBERGER takes a less mathematical approach (Langer?!) to picking a Masters winner. See page 128.…

THE GOOD PHIL MICKELSON FOURTH ROUND, 2010 Mickelson led by two following a birdie at 12, but a wayward drive right at 13 threatened to halt his momentum. His ball was sitting up nicely… a top pine straw, with only a four-foot gap between two pines on his line to the green. With 207 yards to the hole and 187 yards to clear the creek, Lefty went for broke. His hold-your-breath 6-iron stopped four feet from the cup, leading to a three-shot victory for his third green jacket. JACK NICKLAUS FOURTH ROUND, 1986 Steaming after a bogey at 12, Nicklaus ripped a 3-wood tee shot so close to the left trees that son/caddie Jackie complained that his 24-year-old heart couldn’t take it. The Golden Bear’s subsequent 3-iron approach ended 30…

MAKE IT RUN FOREVER Most par 5s are three-shotters for you, but with a firm fairway and no significant trouble in front of the green, you can occasionally go for it in two. The key here is to be able to hit a hard draw, low and hot. The shot won’t carry to the green, but if you execute it properly, you’ll impart enough roll to the ball to cover the extra ground and maybe even give yourself a putt for eagle. STEP 1: USE ENOUGH LOFT Low is the desired trajectory, but the minimal amount of loft on your driver may actually work against you on this shot. Consider the extra loft of a 3-wood or even a 5-wood; not only will these clubs give you a better combination…

ON APRIL 13, 1986, Dr. and Mrs. David DeNunzio rolled into their driveway on Hillcrest Avenue in Orange, Calif., with at least half of their six offspring, myself included, in tow. It was Sunday; church had run late, an unaccounted-for delay that forced my father to make his ritualistic beeline from behind the wheel to his designated chair in the den (afternoon PGA Tour telecasts were his specialty) at a speed rarely exhibited by the good dentist. I, too, raced from the car—this was no ordinary Sunday. It was Masters Sunday. We were very pumped. (And those church clothes had to go—stat.) I was 18, already indoctrinated in Masters mystique. It’s Greg Norman’s time, I thought, as I found a spot on the couch nearest my father’s roost. The Shark’s…

This Q&A is adapted from a longer conversation with Na on the GOLF.com Podcast. This is your 15th year on Tour—not an insubstantial number at your age. Mark Wilson and I were talking about that on the range. I played two years of pro golf before I got on Tour, so this is my 17th year playing pro golf, and I’m 34. I’ve been a professional golfer for half my life! Where do you feel you are? Are you halfway through this journey? I keep telling people that I hope the Champions Tour [age minimum] goes [down] to 45. I can’t wait to play that Tour. I think it’s great, and it means you had a heck of a PGA Tour career. And it’s not easy. The PGA Tour is…

Follow Jessica Marksbury on Twitter@Jess_Marksbury You chose a gin and tonic today, which I’m told is your favorite golf-course beverage. It is. G&Ts are a good, refreshing drink. They’re lighthearted, with a little lime in there. You’re one half of the biggest-selling country duo ever, Brooks & Dunn. How often are you recognized? With a ballcap on it’s not much of a problem. Really? Yeah. If you’re not in your cowboy hat and boots and whatever, people just don’t expect you to be cowboy Kix. I’m catching up with you at a charity outing benefiting the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Do you get a lot of invitations to these events? I’ve played in a lot of cool stuff over the years. My first was a skins game against Arnold Palmer,…

PITCH IT LIKE A PUTT It’s totally common today to see both pros and ams using a left-hand-low grip when putting. The idea here is to remove the hands from the shot and create a stable, one-piece stroke, with the left hand, arm and shoulder working together. Being too handsy is also one of the biggest problems I see with bump-and-run shots. So here’s an idea: Hit them with your left hand low, too! Play the ball back slightly and use a putting stroke. You’ll be amazed at how much more control you’ll have with these shots. Your “pop and pray” will go away!…

Form is a prediction of a player’s likely score in the week to come, independent of venue and playing conditions. Assessing a pro’s form involves, in my mind, three essential measures. The first is long-term past scoring performance—results, say, from the previous couple of years. The second is recent performance—results from the past month or two. The third is the player’s documented ability to go low in four rounds, since winning requires an exceptional and sustained performance over an entire tournament. Assessing performance using “raw” scores is flawed, because a 65 at TPC Scottsdale isn’t the same as a 65 at Augusta National. The solution is to use total strokes gained, which is score relative to the field, taking into account conditions and the strength of the field. By this…

Players with an excellent fit for Augusta have great approach shots, are long off the tee and have a deft touch from the fairway within 60 yards of the hole. While fit is a factor that could move a player up or down in our predictive rankings, form is, as I’ve said, the most crucial measure of future performance. Putting the two together (and leaving out the intangibles that almost every year play a part in shaping golf’s most riveting event) we get our winner. Sunday, April 8th, at about 6 p.m. Eastern, will be…Dust in time. THE LIKELIEST 2018 MASTERS WINNER IS……

Course changes to Augusta National are nothing new. Subtle tweaks and occasionally major alterations have been part of the Masters mind game since the tournament’s second edition in 1935, when they reversed the nines from the inaugural year. Rather than call them renovations, long-time chairman Clifford Roberts was fond of labeling them “improvements.” In many cases, the improvements have been debatable—but they keep coming. “We will keep the course current with the times,” said one of Roberts’ successors, Hootie Johnson, in 2005. A decade later, another ANGC chairman, Billy Payne, asserted, “We are always looking at options…We create plans, looking into the future, when we believe [shot value] has been impacted by how far the ball is now traveling.” At GOLF, we’re happy to give the Masters leadership an assist…

With apologies to Verne Lundquist, have you ever in your life seen anything like Tiger Woods in full flow at the Masters? Augusta National has played an outsized role in creating the man, the myth, and the legend, from Woods’ iconic triumph in his professional Masters debut in 1997, to three more green jackets in a five year span at the turn of the millennium. Time will tell if there are more highlights to come, but in the meantime, the best of Tiger at Augusta is a collection of thrilling—and teachable—moments. 1997 First Round, Hole No. 12, Second Shot THE SITUATION After a wobbly front-nine 40, Tiger’s tournament appeared over almost before it began. A birdie-par start to the back nine settled the ship, but a short-iron well long over…

OPTIMIZE YOUR ROLL At your level of ability, putting is a game of millimeters, and it only takes a little skidding or pinching after impact to send the ball off-line and turn a make into a miss. It’s why “getting a good roll” is an obsession among Tour pros and putter manufacturers. Now, you may not have their research and development budget, but you can practice the following drill, which will have you rolling the ball like a pro in no time. FRAME THE SWEET SPOT The advantage of today’s putters is that they’re engineered to produce a good roll—but it’s generally contingent on hitting the ball on the sweet spot. While off-center contact causes the putter to twist, slightly thin contact makes the ball skid or bounce. To ensure…

Like many big hitters, you have trouble consistently keeping the ball in play off the tee. This is especially true when the pressure is on and you absolutely have to find the fairway. You desperately need a go-to drive, something you can take to the course with confidence and execute at any time, on demand. The high fade is exactly what you’re looking for. STEP 1 AIM 20 YARDS LEFT To hit the high fade, aim your feet at a spot approximately 20 yards left of the target, then set your hips and shoulders parallel to your toe line. Place the ball well forward in your stance, opposite the big toe of your front foot. These adjustments will encourage a swing direction that is out to in—that is, to the…

BERNHARD LANGER is 60 on his Florida driver’s license, but the golf ball at his feet thinks he’s 50, if not younger. Tom Watson was 59 when he played 72 holes at the 2009 British Open at Turnberry in 278 strokes, a score matched by one player and bettered by nobody. If Langer catches Augusta this year when the course plays firm and the days are warm, he can shoot 280, 279—something like that. He can win. When Langer won his first green coat in 1985, he shot 282. When he won his second in ’93, he shot 277. When he won the Senior PGA Championship last year, overtaking Vijay Singh in the fourth round, he shot 270. Yes, Augusta National is far more challenging than the Trump course in…