Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2022 i Golf Magazine

THERE’S NO PERSON I RESPECT and enjoy more on planet earth than my father, David—a man’s man and rock if ever there was one. As I look back on life, however, the privilege I’ve been given to edit this magazine—and to talk to you on this page—is most definitely a result of the guidance of women. My childhood fell under the care and watchful eye of my hardworking single mother, Audrey, and, as I grew older, my loving stepmom and the tolerance (I kid) of four sisters I wouldn’t trade the world for. (I love you, too, brother Brad!) It’s maybe why I jumped at the chance to dedicate the issue you’re holding in your hands to Women In Golf, with input from no less than 27 ladies who’ve not…

A PATCH OF SHADE AT AVIARA GOLF CLUB, CARLSBAD, CALIF., COMING OFF HER PRO-AM ROUND AT THE 2022 JTBC CLASSIC Dylan Dethier: What about golf has you excited right now? What motivates you to get out and practice? Lydia Ko: I feel like the level of play has just gotten higher and higher, so it’s that much harder to put yourself in contention and to win. That’s why the year that Jin Young [Ko] and Nelly [Korda] had last year was so impressive. Everyone was like, “Oh, they make it look so easy,” but I know it’s not. Watching them and playing with them was super motivating. Plus, it’s golf: There’s no perfect round and you can always get better, little by little. DD: You’re No. 3 in the world. Jin…

Data Driven with GOLF SWINGS ARE NOT SNOWFLAKES. Often, I hear rec golfers—and even some golf instructors who should know better—say, “Every swing is unique.” To some degree, that’s true. Every golfer is unique. But the best swings share traits the “unique” swings don’t, and that’s a claim backed up by GOLFTEC’s terabytes of swing data. To prove it, we can check some downswing data using GEARS Golf, a motion-capture system that measures the swings of the world’s best golfers. For starters, see the quartet of images below from some of pro golf ’s superstars. There’s a lot going on here, so let me help narrow your focus. First, look at these players’ hands. Notice how each is occluding (blocking) the middle and lower part of their right/trail arm. The…

EXCEPT WIN A MAJOR. Oh, please. Judy Rankin did everything you can do in golf and then some. Let’s start by kicking away that everything-but claim like a broken tee. Between 1968 and 1979, Rankin won 26 times on the LPGA circuit. (That’s a whole lot of winning!) She won the Dinah Shore in 1976. It was a four-day event. It was played at shiny Mission Hills before swollen crowds. Everybody and their mother played in it—if they could get in. It was a major. Yes, the LPGA record book says the Dinah Shore didn’t become an official major until 1983. That’s hilarious. The players, in conjunction with we the people, decide what tournaments are majors. There’s no official anything. Majors are about how we feel about certain events, certain…

It’s true that drivers get most of the love during club-buying season, but take our word for it: There’s as much tech happening at the low end of your bag as there is at the top. GOLF’s ClubTest raters chose the eight wedges featured here as serious score-savers, each engineered with careful thought and new ideas to help you execute any shot from 125 yards and in with Tour-like precision. From groove shaping to face materials and grinds that can help you cut through any lie like a hot knife through butter, the elite of the 2022 wedge set is the best we’ve ever seen. Cruise the benefits of each, but keep in mind that, in addition to design, all of our ClubTest winners are available in so many loft/bounce…

I consider myself very lucky to coach both Nelly and Jess Korda. They’re each fierce competitors with great heads on their shoulders—a true inspiration to the next generation of female golfers. They’ve also got two of the most beautiful, efficient and technically gifted golf swings in the game today. Whenever someone asks how they can swing like Nelly or Jess, my answer is simple: The key to an effective golf swing is less is more. 1 “Set” Your Setup A balanced address built around good fundamentals allows your athleticism and ability to shine A poor setup can create issues that you’ll need to account for during your swing. Nelly works hard at keeping her posture athletic, with a straight spine and her hands hanging directly under her shoulders. The ball…

LOOK FOR THE DOTS: Each tip throughout this section features a corresponding color code to help you understand which part of your game it will improve the most.…

HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU that you “stand up” or “lift up” as you swing? You may have also heard that you’re losing your posture or spine angle, which means that you’ve changed your body angle from setup to the backswing or finish. This can cause lots of misses and lead to high variability in your ball striking. Not great. There are many factors that go into creating great posture (think strength, flexibility and mobility), but for this drill, let’s check something easy: your shoulder plane. Place a club across your shoulders, like you see me doing in the photos on the far right. As you rehearse a swing, rotate so that the club turns to the point where the grip points at the target line or just outside of…

ASK ANY BETTER player and they will tell you the secret to consistency and better golf comes from not only having sound swing fundamentals but also proper alignment. If you aren’t aligned properly, the game gets a lot harder, requiring your body to manipulate its way back on line to hit the ball in your intended direction. An easy-to-make mistake, and one beginners often make when they’re struggling with accuracy, happens when they align both their body and the clubface directly at the target. It seems intuitive to aim your body where you want to hit the ball, but, in actuality, you want it positioned parallel to the target line, not pointed directly at it. Think of a metro rail or a train track. Set your feet and body parallel…

I was absolutely delighted to see Dr. Sasho MacKenzie’s article in the March 2022 issue titled “Putt With Your Head Up” (Worth a Shot), which I and my research associate, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Eric Alpenfels, have called “Instinct Putting.” Dr. MacKenzie’s recommendations corroborate what we’ve found and reported in our 2005 GOLF Magazine awardwinning cover story “A New Way to Putt.” It also supports the putting research of the PGA and Top 100 Teacher Jon Tattersall, which was reported in a 2016 article “Watch the Birdie.” Dr. MacKenzie’s research and recommendations also are consistent with what we’ve previously written about in our 2008 book, Instinct Putting; our 2019 manual, Instinct Putting: Look Where You Want to Putt the Ball; and our 2021 book, Evidence-Based Golf. Needless to say, we…

34* CONSECUTIVE ROUNDS UNDER PAR from round four of the 2021 amundi evian championship to round four of the 2022 jtbc classic 114* holes without a bogey in late 2019, besting Tiger Woods’ 2000 record of 110 66* Consecutive Greens in regulation across the 2021 CME Group Tour and HSBC women’s world championships 3 and counting Consecutive years atop the LPGA tour money list $7,943,980 Total LPGA on-course earnings from 2019 to 2021 SWEET 16* consecutive rounds in the 60s *An LPGA record **Score in the final round of a win…

THOUGH IT BEGAN ON NEW YEAR’S DAY with a military coup in the Central African Republic, January 1966 proved a pretty good month in human endeavor. Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh performed together under the Grateful Dead name for the first time. The campy charms of Batman debuted on television. In tennis, future world No. 1 Stefan Edberg was born in Västervik, Sweden. And in golf, another future world No. 1 of Scandinavian descent appeared on the stage—the PING Anser putter. From January 6 to 9, PING’s founder, the Norwegian émigré Karsten Solheim, attended the season-opening 1966 Los Angeles Open, where the endless sea of standard, simple blade putters—like the one used by Arnold Palmer—rankled him. Solheim, a trained engineer, returned home to his garage workshop in Scottsdale, Ariz., hell-bent…

If you’ve set foot on a golf course over the past two years, you’ve likely noticed the obvious: The game is booming. From packed tee sheets to back-ordered merch, it’s clear that people are taking up the sport in droves. That includes women. In 2020, the number of female players jumped 8 percent and made up one quarter of all golfers in the U.S. These gains can’t be explained entirely by a Covid-related surge. Even before the pandemic, girls under 18 were golf’s fastest-growing demo. The momentum is apparent in another realm: leadership roles. As you’ll see on the pages that follow, many prestigious jobs in the sport are now occupied by women. From holding down national, front-facing gigs to excelling behind the scenes at golf’s biggest equipment companies, women…

When it comes to female trailblazers in golf, it’s hard to find a woman with more firsts than Suzy Whaley. In 2003, she became the first woman in 58 years to qualify for a PGA Tour event. She was the first woman ever to serve as an officer in the PGA of America, and, in 2018, Whaley was elected president of the organization, making her, again, the first woman ever to hold the office. In March, Whaley announced that she’d be assuming the position of president of Golf Nation, an entertainment and e-commerce platform for golf enthusiasts that will showcase the game via a variety of shows available on mobile, desktop, Apple TV, Hulu and Roku. “I couldn’t be more excited,” she says. “We’re going to showcase golf in a…

How should we put this? Women and girls have been playing catch-up in golf pretty much since shepherds began hitting rocks with their crooks. Recently, and thankfully, the news has gotten much better. Momentum is with females—and the numbers tell the story. At the pro level, prize money and venue quality are rising, which is appropriate (and long overdue) given the remarkable level of play consistently on display. Visibility and viewership are surging too. (FAST Studios’ pledge to include the LPGA in its forthcoming all-women’s sports network package should only help on this front.) In amateur golf, from both a competitive and participation perspective, females are making tremendous strides as well. More women and girls are playing—and playing for stakes—while enjoying every benefit the game has to offer. Long may…

ONE OF THE MANY TALENTS of my fiancée, golf personality Alexandra O’Laughlin, is that she’s an accomplished golfer. When she’s on the practice putting green ahead of a tournament round, she’ll do one of my favorite drills: finding a short putt inside 10 feet with a little break on it and placing three tees on the high side of the hole, each about six inches apart, as shown. The drill: Aim at a tee, hit a putt, then aim at a different tee and hit another. You’ll notice that the tee farthest from the hole will require you to hit the ball softer, while the tee closest to the hole will require more speed. The benefit: Hitting the same putt with different breaks and speeds helps you calibrate how the…

As women’s on-course fashion continues to shift and evolve, designers are creating items that are equal parts stylish, comfortable, functional and versatile. J.Lindeberg’s new Jillian golf dress seamlessly balances femininity and sport to deliver all of these traits with ease. Between the lightweight fabric, high neckline, A-line skirt and separate shorts to allow for modest coverage, these dresses hit all the right notes. If you’re into a more subtle look, the solid navy version with seafoam stripes and side panels ($155) is for you. Otherwise, opt for the micro-pleated, JL 3Dprinted version ($175) and pair it with a slick ponytail and some retro sunglasses to channel your inner Nelly. Unfortunately, her game is sold separately. Scan here to visit our Pro Shop to find these J.Lindeberg pieces and more great…

Cleveland Frontline Models tested: Frontline 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 10.5, Elevado (pictured), Cero, Iso; 13 models available; clevelandgolf.com Price: $200 Our take: We’re used to seeing putters with weight low and to the back of the putterhead, but Cleveland bucked that trend and opted to move weight forward and toward the heel and toe for a collection of putters designed to improve consistency and alignment. As far as feel is concerned, these putters are top-notch, swing very smoothly and come with a satisfying “pop” at impact. The details: Comes with two tungsten weights located forward on the heel and toe (you can see them on the putterface) to enhance weighting and improve distance control. The Speed Optimized Face technology normalizes ball speed across more of the putterface, and the 2135 alignment…

One friday night in December, a group of major champions gathered in a ballroom at the Orlando Ritz-Carlton. This was a multigenerational meeting of golf legends, players like Watson and Trevino and Singh, in town to play the PNC Championship, now assembling for a group photo. Tiger Woods entered the room with his son, Charlie. He spotted someone he’d never met. “Nelly! Hey!” he said, delighted at his first encounter with, at the time, the world’s top-ranked female golfer. She couldn’t believe it. “I was like, Oh my God, he knows my name,” Nelly Korda remembers. “He knows who I am! That’s crazy.” We’re at The Yards, a lively 12-hole public course southeast of Jacksonville, Fla. Korda’s taking a break between photos, grinning as she recalls the moment. It’s as…

Since joining the CBS Sports team of golf broadcasters in 2017, Amanda Renner (née Balionis) has had the opportunity to interview the game’s biggest names on prime-time TV—and has become golf media’s brightest star because of it. One of the things that makes Renner so obviously good at her job is her genuine rapport with the players she’s interviewing, a talent that makes her work look easy when it’s anything but. “If you’re not prepared—in terms of reading everything, talking to everyone in their camp—I don’t think you get the best out of a player,” Renner says. “You have to really do your homework to get something different out of them, and, to me, that’s the coolest part.” Renner’s skill was perfectly on display at the ultra-isolated November 2020 Masters,…

As an executive at Victoria’s Secret during the athleisure revolution of the early 2010s, Megan LaMothe took an interest in golf and was quickly frustrated by the dearth of stylish, flattering options available in women’s golf apparel. Why isn’t it created with the same care and attention to detail as other things, LaMothe wondered. She sensed an opportunity, and in 2016 Foray Golf was born. The women’s apparel biz can be difficult to enter, but Foray had an innovative plan from the start. All its products are ordered in small, limited-edition batches and are intended to sell out. “In the same way that Nike drops their shoes,” LaMothe says, “there’s a sense of Got ’em to it. No one else is really doing that.” The strategic scarcity maintains the item’s…

What’s it like to be Tisha Alyn? The first time Alyn met Phil Mickelson, Lefty congratulated her for “crushing the internet.” That’s just one of many “pinch-me” moments the pro-golfer-turned-social-media-influencer has experienced since she devoted herself to content creation full time in 2018. “I went all in, and I never looked back,” Alyn says. In the early days of Instagram, she was fresh off a golf scholarship at Cal State Fullerton and a newly minted pro who thought it would be fun to document her journey online. She started with swing videos, then a trick shot gained attention. But Alyn’s first legit viral hit was a video of her dancing. Though she didn’t expect much to come of it, the response was overwhelming and the followers arrived in multitudes. Alyn…

Rachel Heck, 20 2021 NCAA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION SIX COLLEGIATE WINS IN 2021 What’s the greatest lesson you’ve learned through golf? “It’s a game of integrity, a game of sportsmanship. It’s about respecting your competitors and respecting the course. Taking that integrity into every aspect of life is really important. It’s the one thing that people can’t take from you. I’m grateful that golf has taught me that.” Lexi Thompson, 27 2014 ANA INSPIRATION CHAMPION 14 WORLDWIDE WINS What motivates you to work as hard as you do? “I’ve always been like that. Growing up with two older brothers, always just trying to be better, on and off the golf course…. But it takes a lot of hard work and patience. Golf is a crazy game, and you can never perfect…

THIS MAY SEEM counterintuitive, but with most pitch shots you want your swing to bottom out slightly before you make contact with the ball, thus engaging the wedge’s bounce and allowing the club to slide underneath the ball and produce a soft shot. (I call the area two inches behind and two inches in front of the ball the “slide zone,” where the clubhead grazes the turf before and after striking the ball.) To develop a feel for this, place a coin behind the ball at address. Set up as you normally would but, instead of focusing on hitting the ball, try to clip the coin before making impact. Because the coin is low on the ground, you’ll instinctively swing lower and shallower for better contact. It’s a great drill…

SPEED CONTROL ON long putts is a key skill on the greens. And when you’re rolling it confidently, you take a lot of pressure off your second putts. Fact: Backstroke length controls distance. If you simply change the length of your backstroke and allow the putter to “fall” toward the ball, it’ll roll the ball your intended distance. You shouldn’t need to add or subtract anything else within your stroke if you control your backstroke length. One of my favorite practice techniques to improve this skill is to set golf balls at three-foot increments moving back from the hole. The goal is to control the distance by learning to adjust your backstroke length. You should vary this drill by practicing uphill, downhill and then sidehill to improve your ability to…

G: You came to golf late in life. How did that happen? CR: It was the summer after I became Secretary of State [in 2006]. I went on vacation with my cousin at The Greenbrier, in West Virginia. I had been a figure skater growing up, and I’d always been athletic. Anyway, her husband gave us golf lessons, and the first day they had us hitting 7-iron, 7-iron, 7-iron, and I was so bored. The second day, they let us hit a driver, and I knew I had found my new sport. G: Ah, it was the big dog. CR: Exactly. And when I returned to D.C., I would go out to [the course at] Andrews Air Force Base, and I found a pro there. When you’re Secretary of State,…