Innholdsfortegnelse for November - December 2025 i Golf Magazine

ACCORDING TO GOOGLE A.I., there are close to 39,000 golf courses in the world. My math days are long behind me, but that seems like enough to host the planet's roughly 70 million golfers (another Google A.I. search). Still, the vast majority of us have never pegged it on the courses featured in this issue, our biennial celebration of design excellence: the Top 100 Courses in the World, 2025-26. In part, that's because the odds of a course making the list are steep. How steep? My third and final A.I. search: At 12,500 to 1 odds, the average golfer is three times more likely to make a hole in one. But credit our head of travel, Simon Holt, and our ever-wandering, ever-reporting senior writer Josh Sens for managing our 120-plus…

AT HOME IN SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA Dylan Dethier: Where'd your relationship with golf begin? J.J. Spaun: I was an only child and my parents were recreational golfers. They really enjoyed playing, and I'd always tag along. I was probably three, just cruising around, when I started whacking balls. And that passion grew as I got older. There were a few kids on my street who played, and we would go to the course nearby. So it ended up being a fun childhood activity. DD: Golf can be such a solitary sport for kids. Do you think friends made it stick? JS: On the one hand, yeah, totally. Those buddies are still buddies, and it was nice to have a group of guys to go out with. But I'd go out and play…

SCAN HERE to watch a video of this lesson. WHEN YOU WANT TO HIT THE BALL FAR, you release the club so that the toe points at the sky in your follow-through. Good advice. But on shorter shots closer to the green, you need to do something a little different. Here's my advice: On delicate pitch shots, and even on swings in the bunker, make your normal backswing move but, as you finish, keep the clubface open. You'll know you did it right when the clubface points at your face in the follow-through (pictured). When you hold the face like this instead of releasing with, say, a driver or 5-iron in your hands, the ball will carry higher, have some spin and land softer—the perfect recipe for short-game finesse. What…

TOO OFTEN, we overlook or undervalue just how important our golf glove really is, only to realize how dreadful things can get when it goes bad. For many, a fine Cabretta leather glove—slightly thinner and more moisture-resistant than cowhide—is an essential component not only to playing well and maintaining your hold on the club but also to protecting your hand from calluses and blisters. In 2009, Asher set out to turn this largely utilitarian accessory into a fashion piece, and today the brand offers some of the most stylish gloves on the market ($28; fairwayjockey.com). They're available in a wide range of colors and sizes for men and women to punch up any on-course outfit. Asher helps you add a little flair to your look while still providing the grip…

There are no signposts to mark the start of the Scottish Highlands. But there is a shift. Golfers sense it in the lilt of the land and the coastal scenery of the courses they play. The roots of the game here run centuries deep, and new layouts don't come around often. But one has just arrived with the second 18-hole course at Cabot Highlands, a destination resort within 15 minutes of the Inverness airport. It's called Old Petty, a new Tom Doak design that joins Castle Stuart, a Gil Hanse-Mark Parsinen collaboration that ranks among GOLF's World Top 100. Like its sibling, Old Petty occupies prime ground beside the Moray Firth, though it works farther inland, tracing a routing that turns through every point of the compass. The sea makes…

The goal on any bunker shot is to get on the green on your first swing. The reason a lot of rec players can't do this is because they're too ball-focused. The goal here: Get sand-focused. Try this. Step into a practice bunker with your preferred wedge. Using the heel of the club, draw two lines in the sand: one about six inches from where you normally play the ball in your stance and another six inches behind (below). I call these lines “snakes.” We all hate snakes, so the trick here is to get rid of them. Without a ball, set up and swing with the intent of carving your wedge through both snakes, that is, taking a chunk of sand between the two as you motor into your…

SCAN HERE to learn more and shop for the Pure SI at Fairway Jockey. Every so often, a golf shoe comes along that checks every box: great style, athletic performance and walking-shoe-level comfort. A product with such a comprehensive collection of design characteristics usually comes with a hefty price tag to match. Skechers, however, knows a thing or two about performance, style and value. Since 1992, the brand has grown into a top-three shoe company in the U.S. by offering innovative options for both picky and price-conscious golfers. Its new spikeless Pure SI model ($130) is no exception, boasting a host of features including S-Wing Heel Clips for added stability, a Hyper Burst Pro Sockliner, ECO Flight midsole cushioning, wide sizes and its most impressive innovation, Hands Free Slip-ins technology.…

$26,579,550 Total prize money earned by Scottie Scheffler in 2025.* Tiger Woods’ career record total is $120,999,166. 444 The number of yards covered by Jake Knapp's monster drive at The Sentry last January. It was the longest tee shot recorded on the PGA Tour in 2025.* 327.4 The average number of yards traveled by a tee ball hit by Aldrich Potgieter, the PGA Tour's leader in average driving distance this season.* How Low Can They Go? THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF STROKES UNDER PAR FOR 2025'S MAJOR CHAMPIONS WAS -9.22. HERE'S HOW THE WINNING SCORES PLAYED OUT. *Through the Tour Championship…

SCAN HERE to see more L.A.B. flatstick offerings—and get your mitts on one of the hottest putters in golf—at Fairway Jockey.com. FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, L.A.B. GOLF has dominated the putter market. Not only has it erupted in the consumer marketplace at every level, but the professional game seems to have more L.A.B. putters in play every week. Additionally, at this point, just about every other OEM has jumped on board with the super low torque, toe-up style design with a similar offering of their own. Rocket-powered success. But what comes next for the Oregon-based manufacturer? From this writer's desk: excitement. With a new season just around the corner, many are wondering if L.A.B. can continue as one of the manufacturing world's thought leaders, conjuring solutions to players’ putting…

WHEN GOLF'S OWN Top 100 Teacher Martin Chuck created the Smart Ball, his goal was simple: Make a no-fuss training aid that actually solves a common swing issue. Just put the lanyard around your neck and the Smart Ball helps you keep your arms connected and your body rotating properly. Since its inception in 2014, the Smart Ball remains wildly popular, and you're still likely to find it in use on the practice tee at nearly every PGA Tour stop. Chuck has stepped things up with the Smart Ball Sleeve ($77 with a Smart Ball; tourstriker.com)—a clever, wearable accessory that lets you attach the Smart Ball almost anywhere: arms, legs, hips, you name it. And, of course, Chuck's got video drills to go with it, educating you on exactly how…

Jim Wagner and Gil Hanse photographed at Cobbs Creek Golf Club in Philadelphia on August 27, 2025. To say that Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, epicenter of the Summer of Love, has looser codes of conduct than those enforced at the city's private golf clubs is an understatement on the scale of calling Tiger Woods a stick. The worlds are as different as tweed and tie-dye. But on a recent Northern California swing, Gil Hanse moved easily between them. The acclaimed architect had winged west for a weekend that blended business with patchouli-scented pleasure. High on his agenda was a celebration of the 60th anniversary of his favorite band, the Grateful Dead, whose offshoot, Dead & Company, were performing in the park. Hanse had tickets to all three shows.…

BROUGHT TO YOU BY Photographed at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C., on October 8 and 9, 2025. The Skechers World Champions Cup has, as its name suggests, world champions. Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke, Bernhard Langer, Mike Weir—all are among the major winners who'll compete December 4 through 7 at Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater, Fla. There, in the second playing of this Ryder Cup–like event, they'll join one of three six-man teams made up of pros from the 50-and-over PGA Tour Champions circuit. The squads—captained by Clarke (Team Europe), Weir (Team International) and Jim Furyk (Team U.S.A.)—will play six-ball, Scotch sixsomes (a modified alternate-shot format) and singles matches to determine a winner. But those are just the basics. In anticipation of the event, which ESPN and ABC will…

1. Publication title: GOLF 2. Publication number: 577290 3. Filing date: October 1, 2025 4. Issue frequency: 4 single-month issues (Mar, Apr, May, Jun) and 4 double issues (Jan/Feb, Jul/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec) 5. Number of issues published annually: 8 6. Annual subscription price: $30.00 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: 22 Vanderbilt, Suite 5A, NY, NY 10017 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: 22 Vanderbilt, Suite 5A, NY, NY 10017 9. Full name and complete mailing address of the publisher, editor, managing editor: Publisher: Howard Milstein, 22 Vanderbilt, Suite 5A, NY, NY 10017. Editor and COO: David DeNunzio, 22 Vanderbilt, Suite 5A, NY, NY 10017 10. Owner: Howard Milstein, EB Golf Media LLC, 22 Vanderbilt, Suite 5A, NY, NY 10017 11.…

G: What's your favorite thing about golf? CW: That there's always room for improvement and that you can never figure the game out. No matter how well you play one day, the next day could be totally different. You can play a golf course one day and tomorrow the golf course would be set up totally different and play totally different. But it's the same golf course. And so, you can never perfect it. It's a tough game, but it's fun and it's always a challenge to try to get better. G: What are some of the closest parallels you see between football and golf? CW: I played defensive back, and in that position you've got to have a short-term memory because a lot of things are gonna happen out…

T-SQUARED SOCIAL The home of golf is now home to the newest T-Squared Social club (pictured). Tastefully set inside the town's 1930s-era movie theater, our St. Andrews location features golf simulators, darts, drinks and a lot more. NICKLAUS DESIGN Panther National will become the latest Nicklaus Design course to host the Skins Game when Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele face Keegan Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood in South Florida this November. FAIRWAY JOCKEY Fairway Jockey is rolling out the year's best deals on custom clubs, aftermarket shafts and accessories. For every $250 spent, you get one entry to win a Bettinardi VIP Experience: an all-expenses-paid trip to its Chicago HQ, a custom putter fitting and your own putter. 8AM EVENTS The 2025 season culminates with GOLF's Top 100 Teacher Summit at…

IF THERE'S ONE COMPANY that stood out in 2025, it's Srixon and its ZXi series irons with V-sole technology. It's no secret that across fitting bays all over North America, Srixon irons have been as popular as anything in the drawers. Why, you ask? The sole. The sole of your irons might be the most important part, and it's probably an aspect you don't really consider. Proper turf interaction makes solid contact possible. Think of a popular game improvement iron on the market: Most—if not all—have a wide sole due to the amount of weight needed to lower the center of gravity in an effort to help the ball in the air. The issue is, the wider the sole, the less ability the club has to get in and out…

Forty years ago, when GOLF released its first ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the World, the Robert Trent Jones Sr. design on the bluffs of Sardinia came in at No. 51, one spot ahead of Sunningdale's Old Course. Today, Sunningdale Old has climbed to No. 22, while Pevero hasn't just slipped, it has vanished. The course no longer even appears on the ballot. Same with Firestone Country Club in Ohio. Once a fixture of the rankings, the long-time PGA Tour stop has been absent from the roster since 2005. That's the nature of the Top 100: part constant, part churn. Pine Valley has held the top spot since the inaugural Top 100 in the World list in 1985, even as the landscape around it has evolved. Courses rise…

Players like the idea of keeping their arms close to their bodies during the swing. That might work for a putt or a delicate short shot around the green, but it's not so great when you want to create as much power as possible. Try this: Take your normal driver setup and bring the club halfway back [1]. Let go with your trail hand and reach out and grab the shaft [2]. If that's pretty easy for you to do, then you need more width. Set up again, and this time focus on creating more stretch with your arms and the club. Again, stop halfway back [3] and reach for the shaft with your trail hand [4]. If this takes more “reach” or effort, you're officially in the speed-production business.…

THERE ARE BASICALLY two types of golfers: tilters and horizontal golfers. If you don't know which one you are, you'll always struggle. Tilters use a lot of side bend in the downswing and through impact. Think of guys like Dustin Johnson or Joaquín Niemann: At impact, the right side of their torso bends to the side, lowering the back shoulder as their lead side moves upward. It's a great way to swing the club, but many golfers get stuck trying it and even get hurt doing it. Making more of a horizontal swing works just as well. Picture Bryson De-Chambeau or Google Walter Hagen's classic swings. These players are less worried about creating side bend than getting through the ball using a flatter swing that levels out as they rotate.…

Dale Abraham (2017) PGA member Bighorn GC, Palm Desert, Calif. Cape Arundel GC, Kennebunkport, Maine daleabraham.com Rob Akins (2001) PGA member The Madison Club, La Quinta, Calif. Driftwood Golf and Ranch Club, Driftwood, Texas robakinsgolf.com Cheryl Anderson (2013) PGA member, LPGA member Heathrow Legacy Club, Lake Mary, Fla. IG: @cherylgolf NEW! David Armitage (2026) PGA Master Professional Shell Bay Club, Hallandale, Fla. “Golf improvement starts with clarity. Build a consistent pre-shot routine, focus on solid fundamentals and track your practice. Combine purposeful reps with on-course awareness, and measure progress with data—improvement becomes focused, repeatable and fun.” IG: @davidprogolfer Jason Baile (2019) PGA member Jupiter Hills Club, Tequesta, Fla. IG: @jasonbailepga Mike Bender (1996) PGA member Mike Bender Golf Academy at Magnolia Plantation GC, Lake Mary, Fla. IG: @mikebendergolf Jason Birnbaum (2024)…