Innholdsfortegnelse for July - August 2023 i Golf Magazine

From the Editor IT'S BEEN AN INTERESTING GOLF YEAR. It began, as last year ended, with continued LIV versus Tour fireworks. Then, a proposed “rollback” of the ball by the USGA, which sent everyone into a five-piece, urethane-coated tizzy. Jon Rahm, as deserving a Masters champion as we'll ever know, calmed things with a win at Augusta National, but… major No. 2 saw a non-PGA Tour player grab the PGA Championship. With his victory, Brooks Koepka, in typical Brooks fashion, woke up headline writers everywhere and sparked new debate as to whether Team U.S.A. should, would or could field the strongest team possible against Europe in the upcoming Ryder Cup. A good old-fashioned Open Championship, in merry old England no less, couldn't have come at a better time. Like most…

Clubhouse GOLF.COM / SMART GOLF STARTS HERE / JULY-AUGUST 2023 Up Close with Dylan Dethier A LONG PRACTICE-ROUND WAIT AT OAK HILL CC, MONDAY OF PGA CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK Dylan Dethier: How are you? Tommy Fleetwood: Is that one of your questions? I'm good, thank you. Got any more? DD: Trying to ease into things here. How would you assess your season so far? TF: I've been playing well this year. Been playing consistently, and driving the ball much better. Definitely the last few tournaments, performance-wise and results-wise, they've been very solid. So I'm focused on those positive things. DD: When you're feeling good about your game, does that dial in your practice sessions to little tweaks rather than big changes? » TF: I try not to make anything I'm working on too…

A FEW MPNTHS AGO, I was checking in with Keith Mitchell at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He had been working on his “vanilla” pitch shot from the rough. Pebble had some stickier tall grass because of a very rainy California winter, and he wasn't executing these plays to his satisfaction. We tweaked his setup and backswing to allow for a slightly steeper angle of attack, and then we played around with his release pattern and its timing. As a storm blew into Pebble Beach on Saturday, Keith put together some of the most impressive up-and-downs I've seen en route to a top-five finish. Let this be a lesson: It's critical to read every lie (muddy, hardpan, into the grain, rough, fairway, bunker, etc.) and have a plan for it…

THERE ARE COUNTLESS ways to get golf balls dirty but also many methods with which to get them clean. Here are some alternatives to a traditional ball washer, which most of us don't have sitting around in the garage. 1. A makeup kit In the late 1800s, Spalding sold a pocket-size ball washer called the Edinburgh Ball Cleaner, which looked like a makeup compact and came with a sponge. As far as we can tell, the product was short-lived, and it has yet to be revived on Shark Tank. But makeup compacts still exist. So do sponges. Think of it this way: You can spiff up your Bridgestone and then apply some blush. 2. A portable ball washer Picture a traditional ball washer, the stationary kind found on so many…

In 2020, Viktor Hovland got known as a driver. He spent that first Covid summer solo road-tripping from tournament to tournament, logging some 5,000 miles. But he became known for his driver too. Hovland has developed such a lethal mix of power and accuracy with the big stick that he's No. 7 on Tour in Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee. Oh yeah, and he's an elite irons player too. So how does Hovland think about his move? He tells us. For Starters, I'm Curious “I've always been an extremely curious person. I don't really understand why more people aren't the same way because, as a pro golfer, I'm in charge of my own business. I'm the CEO of Viktor Hovland Golfing Enterprise. And that includes hiring people who help me with my…

The Open Preview 2023 ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB The Open Preview / 2023 ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB Sean Zak: Hello, Dylan. It's been 10 months since you and I were traipsing the wavy turf at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, basking in the sun and battling killer winds along the Irish Sea. I miss it dearly. But, for readers who know next to nothing of Royal Liverpool, can you bring us there? Locate it on a map. What should we know about where the golf world is headed in July? Dylan Dethier: Sure thing, Sean. The name nearly gives it away: Royal Liverpool is close to Liverpool, England, the fifth-largest city in the UK, known as the home of the Beatles, soccer powerhouse Liverpool FC and also your adopted club, Everton.…

Scan this code to download the USGA GHIN app and establish an official handicap. Also, track scores and every shot you hit on thousands of courses using the app's enhanced GPS. Eric Mastrull, 28 FLEMINGTON, N.J. HANDICAP DROP: 1.3 TO +1.3 (200% IMPROVEMENT!) This single-digit stud's best piece of advice? Go out and play! THERE'S AN OLD SAYING in life that “practice makes perfect.” For Eric Mastrull and his game, it hasn't necessarily held true. According to the longtime golfer, he didn't need more time swinging the club; he just needed more time playing rounds. “Toward the end of my high school career, I was playing some pretty good golf. I had gotten to around a +2 handicap, then my game kind of deteriorated… ‘cause I didn't play!” With a…

Aiming the clubface and aligning your body correctly at address is a skill that needs to be practiced and earned. Your setup routine should help you do both. Try this: Once you've chosen your target and taken hold of the club with both hands on the handle, step forward with your trail foot and bow from your hips to set the club behind the golf ball (1). Take care to set the leading edge of the club perpendicular to the target line. Your bow should allow your arms to hang freely with your hands under your shoulders. Now that your clubface is aimed, it's time to align your body. Step in with your lead foot, keeping your stance very narrow, which will help align your shoulders, hips, knees and feet…

G: Baseball worked out pretty well for you. Did golf interest you growing up? DJ: I had no interest in golf. I really started playing after I retired, and I became addicted to it. Two years after that, got married, started havin’ kids. So I just don't have time to do it on a regular basis to get better. G: What is it about the game that gripped you? DJ: You can't perfect it. Every day is different. There are too many factors in golf. It's one of the most difficult things I've done. You're like, “Okay, my hand's here, my elbow's there, my shoulder's here,” and you hit it. And then, “Oh, I forgot about the wind!” G: You never did that at the plate? “My elbow's here, my shoulder's here…” DJ:…

Back in the 1970s, when Stan Smith was dominating professional tennis, Adidas recognized the opportunity to market his signature shoe and sales went viral (although no one called it that back then). The Adidas Stan Smith tennis shoe has been one of the most popular sneakers in history ever since. Smith is also an avid golfer, haunting courses as well as courts all around Hilton Head Island for the past several decades. Not surprisingly, Adidas has released a few signature golf shoe lines over the years, but this current spikeless iteration of the Stan Smith Golf Shoe ($140; adidas.com) might just be the best of the bunch. Courtside sensibility meets fairway performance. It's definitely footwear the Some People Think I'm a Shoe author can appreciate. Scan this code to browse…

255 Feet of putts made by winner Cameron Smith during the second round of the 2022 Open Championship at the Old Course, an unofficial PGA Tour record. SOURCE: AUSTRALIAN GOLF DIGEST 64 SMITH'S SECOND- AND FOURTH-ROUND SCORE DURING THE 2022 OPEN. NO OTHER PLAYER IN THE PAST 25 YEARS HAS HAD TWO SCORES OF 64 OR LOWER IN THE SAME MAJOR. SOURCE: JUSTIN RAY $342,000 Winnings Gerry Mcllroy (Rory's dad) and friends reportedly collected from a bet that his son would win the Open before the age of 26. 25 AGE RORY MCILROY WAS WHEN HE WON AT ROYAL LIVERPOOL IN 2014. 1 Number of times Tiger Woods hit driver during his 2006 Open Championship win at Hoylake. Tee It High and Let It Fly You might expect Open champions…

A myth about playing from greenside rough is to play the ball back in your stance with the handle forward in an effort to “get to the back” of the ball (above left). In my opinion, this is a dicey proposition, especially if you're short-sided or need to put some loft on the shot. This type of fruitless search for good ball contact when you're in greenside rough should be avoided at all costs. Instead, set up with the clubface open, the shaft closer to neutral and the ball in the middle to slightly forward in your stance (above right). Swing key: Keep up the pace. If you swing slow, the rough will gobble up the clubface. The thicker the grass, the more speed you need. Lastly, accept the fact…

Q: Did you check your bank account the following Wednesday to see how much money you netted from the win? CC: Yes. I checked my account right away. Q: Did you buy anything or do anything special with the money from that first Tour win? CC: I bought myself a Camaro Z/28—top two of my favorite cars of all time. Q: At the time, if first place had paid zero dollars and second place offered first place money, which would you have chosen? CC: I would've chosen first place and the trophy.…

CRISP IRON SHOTS happen when you strike the ball first, then make contact with the turf. There are many ways to do this, but the best bet for weekend players is to let the lead arm straighten at the bottom of the arc. You start with a straight lead arm, right? The trick is to not overly force it. Priority number one through impact is to continue rotating your lower body, getting your hips to open toward the target. This creates the room you need to let that lead arm get pulled straight, giving you flush contact time and again. There are many golfers who keep their lead arm a little bent as they swing through the ball; Jordan Spieth and Lee Westwood come to mind. Among the amateur ranks,…

YOU MAY NOT possess the athletic physique of our cover man Viktor Hovland, but you can still rock his Euro-cool look. First step: Order yourself a pair (or two) of the J.Lindeberg Vent golf pants ($175; jlindebergusa.com). J.L. has been making serious inroads into the professional golf space while maintaining their boutique mystique—no small feat. They've hit the sweet spot again with what might be the perfect summer trouser. Engineered with DryVent fabric, these pants are moisture-wicking, quick-drying, windproof and breathable, yet also permeable. Their tailored fit and stretchable construction allow you all the freedom you need to pound the ball down the fairway, just like Viktor. Scan this code to get your own pair of J.Lindeberg Vent golf pants at Fairway Jockey.…

The Open Preview / 2023 ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB MOST AMATEURS want to tee their driver high and let it fly. But during the 2006 Open Championship, Tiger Woods took an alternative approach: a high-powered, low-flying long-iron “stinger.” The result? A second-straight Open Championship and third overall. Woods has long been known for playing chess while the rest of the field played checkers. Using this stinger shot at Royal Liverpool and other Open venues allowed him to find the most effective way to get ahead of the competition, using a wrinkle most golfers overlook. There's just one problem: It's not an easy shot for most rec players to pull off. It requires lightning-quick clubhead speed and a touch of artistry. Luckily, Tiger's former coach and Top 100 Teacher, Sean Foley,…

THINK / PLAY / L IVE: THE ENLIGHTENED GAME Lessons BETTER BALL STRIKING You need leverage to hit with power. A lot of rec players lack it because their grip is too weak and/or they fail to set their wrists properly in the backswing. Maybe that's why the Swingyde ($40; swingyde.com), a training aid that's been around since the dawn of, well, training aids, has a home in a lot of Tour players’ bags. Clip it on to any club and get the tail end of the aid to touch your lead forearm at about the halfway point in your backswing (left). This will give you the desired 90degree angle between your lead arm and the club shaft and the leverage needed for more club speed and crisper contact throughout the bag.…

One thing that every player should know how to control is tee height. To help, this edition of “Play Smart” calls on the advice of Max Kettler of Altus Performance. Most rec players probably don't have a system in place when it comes to finding the right tee height for their driver. But, as Kettler says, there's a simple way to find it each and every time using your index finger. “When you put your tee in the ground, use the creases on your index finger as a guide,” he says. “That's how you know you're teeing it up at the same height every time.” Kettler also advises teeing the ball up so that the top of your driver bisects the equator of the ball. It may be a short…

1 Aftermarket shaft—the new Fujikura Ventus—that turns any driver into, well, a driving machine 4 Decades PING historian Rob Griffin has been tracking the company's treasure trove of gear breakthroughs 10 Drivers, fairway woods, irons, wedges and putters you need to have in your bag—stat! 1 Pair of golf pants you need to buy this season to channel your inner style guy—and a dash of Viktor Hovland Callaway Paradym Driver SUCCESS IN ROBOT TESTING When searching for a new driver, distance remains at the top of the want list for most golfers. Looking strictly at our robotic driver testing with Golf Laboratories, we can say with confidence that Callaway's Paradym is incredibly fast. Boasting one of the highest recorded ball speeds, the standard Paradym possesses a rare combination of distance…

The Open Preview / 2025 ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB For the longest time, the Scots had a lock on the thing. Not only were the first 33 Open Championships competed on Scottish soil (for the most part at Prestwick, again and again and again), the first 29 champion golfers of the year were Jocks, a nickname the English long ago gave the Scots, who, in this case at least, were almost certainly jocks of the guy-hitsa-ball-with-a-stick variety too. In fact, in 1890, a man named Ball – 29-year-old amateur John Ball – became the very first Englishman to win the Open, a victory followed by nine more in the next 11 years for a virtual murderer's row of English golfers. By that time, the Open had expanded its playing fields…

The Open Preview / 2023 ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB ‘I've got a rich life, but, in the end, I'm a golfer.’ Tom Watson isn't widely known as a sentimentalist, but, on certain topics, he can sound as wistful as a Hallmark card. “The possessions that mean the most to me are the photographs,” he says. “The photographs are what evoke the memories.” It's a wet midwestern morning, Open Championship weather in Overland Park, Kan., and the greatest American links player of all time is standing in the doorway of his office on the 11th floor of a boxy building in a leafy business park. Rain streaks the windows. Trophies crowd the shelves, so many of them that Watson can't say without squinting at which events they represent. He has no…

LESSONS: JULY-AUGUST 2023 FIX YOUR SLICE An easy slice fix—which will also give you a heavy dose of speed—is to “re-plane” the club following impact. Many of you tend to hold off on your release. But, if you're looking for extra yards and a ball that stays on target, you've got to let go following impact, getting your lead elbow to fold and your wrists to re-hinge, creating a right angle between your lead arm and the club shaft (like you want on your backswing; see page 91). Here's how. THE DRILL: Set an iron ahead of the ball on your target line. Hold one of your alignment sticks against the handle of any club (as I'm doing at left) and make practice swings. Your goal is to get the butt…

THINK / PLAY / LIVE POWER PLAY LONG HITTERS APPLY more force into the ground than short hitters. But it's how they do it that really counts. It's not simply a matter of moving your mass (the center of which is at the height of your navel and in the middle of your body front to back). It's a true act of pressuring. In the backswing, try to turn your body over to your trail leg, feeling like your belt buckle is moving away from the target. Now, before you reach the top, get your belt buckle moving back toward the target while leaving your upper body (your center of mass) over your trail leg. Where golfers mess up is moving their mass too far toward at the start of the…