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D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. © 2017 GEICO.
TOUR
WARS!
The Day
the PGA
Championship
Nearly Died P. 50

SLOPE
SCHOOL
How to Flush
Shots From
Awkward Lies P. 64 “I do
believe I
still have
a couple

THE more major

victories
in me.”
PERFECT
BALL

stil phil
FOR YOU
A Buyer’s
Guide P. 68

After43wins,5majorsand 26 years on Tour,

Lefty’s not letting go of the fight—or the fun
GOLF.com
August 2018
BY ALAN SHIPNUCK
US $5.99 CANADA $6.99
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USGA CUSTOM CONTENT

In Their
Own Words
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kk GOLFERS are some of

the friendliest and most
accessible athletes on the
5 Why does there
planet. Fans watch them play,
see their emotions and
almost feel like they know
them. We caught up with two
Lexus Golf Ambassadors,
Jason Day and Patrick
Cantlay, and talked to them
about their golf journeys.
seem to be such
good camaraderie among
your generation of
star players?
Cantlay: The young guys
on tour all work very hard
and like to test themselves
against one another. I enjoy
the fact that we are friends
off the course but enjoy
competing so much on it.

5 What is the key to

performing your best
under pressure?
Jason Day: A lot of breathing,
a lot of water, a lot of food,
and I think most of all, a lot
of guts. You’ve got to keep
pushing until the final putt
goes in the hole and know
how far you can go and push
yourself mentally. You’re not
5 What does the U.S.
just playing against however
many players are in the field;
you’re really playing against
yourself.
Patrick Cantlay: Staying
in the moment and
committing to every shot.
I’ve been through a lot over
the past several years,
and I’ve worked hard to get
back to the position I’m
in and to win against the
best players in the game.
I look forward to staying.
Day: It’s a different breed
of players compared to the
past generations. Everything
is accessible with social
media, and this generation
of kids coming out today
is just very friendly.
Open ask of a player that
other tournaments don’t?
Day: It asks a lot on the
physical side with regards to
how big the golf courses can
5 Who inspires you?
be, but more so the mental
side of things – it’s just grind
out there from start to finish.
If you come in with the right
attitude and know that it’s
not going to be great all the
time… the guy who handles
himself best mentally usually
goes on to win.
Cantlay: Because of the
tough course setup, accuracy
is a must. Knowing that
relatively higher scores
usually win, you also have to
be able to come back from
tough holes and move on.
Cantlay: I have always
had a great deal of respect
and admiration for Jack
Nicklaus. His demeanor on
and off the course inspires
me to be a better golfer and
human. I cherish our
friendship.
Day:My team. We are all
pulling in one direction, to be
the best and to get back to
No. 1 in the world. I see them
working hard and I don’t
want to let them down, so I
have to work twice as hard.
5 What have you learned
about yourself on your
golf journey?
Day: Hopefully I’ve learned
a lot! My mindset is trying
to improve each and every
year, and then take it down to
every week, and take it down
to every day – that mindset
pushes me to better myself as
a player and a person.
Cantlay:To work very hard
throughout various situations
and to never let a roadblock
or unexpected event get in the
way of my end goal: winning
golf tournaments.

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 Hole#6,BostonGolfClub.
PhotocourtesyofLarryLambrecht

 ÒThemostrewardingthingsyoudoinlife
are often the ones that look like
 theycannotbedone.Ó
 ÑArnoldPalmer

GolfFightsCancerisanon-proÞt,volunteerorganizationthatbringst0gether
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 August 2018 Volume 60, No. 8

LINEUP
68
high
rollers
AMONG THE 33
MODELS FEATURED
IN OUR BALL-
38 COVER
STORY
BUYER’S GUIDE,
THERE’S ONE ROCK still
THAT’S GOING
TO ROCK YOUR
GAME. HERE’S
HOW TO FIND IT,
Phil
Lefty has
been loved,
WHETHER respected
YOU’RE LOOKING and a winner
on and of the
FOR MORE course for close
DISTANCE, to 35 years. But
if he’s made it
MORE FEEL OR look easy, it
A BIT OF BOTH. still takes work.
And merciless
trash talk...

PLUS
50 WAR FOR THE TOUR 58 THE ODDS COUPLE 64 HIT THE SLOPES
Fifty years ago, tour players and Thanks to a recent Supreme Catch every iron flush
club pros battled for the soul of Court ruling, gambling on golf regardless of the lie with
the PGA of America. It started will soon be legal. Las Vegas Top 100 Teacher Gary Weir’s
ugly, then went nuclear. Here’s is betting on explosive action simple, step-by-step slope-
the straight-up dizzying tale. around the sport. So is the Tour. adjustment guide.

COVER ILLUSTRATION DENIS GONCHAR

GOLF MAGAZINE (ISSN-1056-5493) is published monthly. All rights reserved. Editorial and Advertising ofices: 6 E. 43 St., New York, NY 10017. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. GOLF and GOLF MAGAZINE are federally
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visit http://www.timeinc.com/syndication. RIDE-ALONG ENCLOSED IN EDITIONS THAT BEGIN WITH THE LETTER “R.”

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 3

 August 2018 Volume 60, No. 8

How to use the LINEUP

Scan-It/See-It THE CARD
digital feature 13
16
Eye to Eye: Martin Kaymer
Alan Shipnuck: The Knockdown
20
22
Ask the Rules Guy
Swing Sequence: Phil Mickelson
in this issue 17
18
My Bag: Aaron Wise
Mark Broadie
24
25
Dave Pelz
Jessica Marksbury:
19 Travelin’ Joe A Round with Paige Spiranac
SCAN
This Photo
HOW IT WORKS THE SHOP
Invisible watermarks 88 Now Playing
to watch a video on select photos TaylorMade’s M3 and M4
of this lesson. fairways are scary long.
act as gateways to
bonus videos. With the 90 Ask the Gear Guys
With this crew, the best advice is free.
Digimarc app, your smartphone or
tablet recognizes the watermarks 91 This Just In
Callaway Rogue Pro Black irons.
and automatically delivers
92 Your Bag
the content to your device. New shafts can make a huge diference. 91
Special-edition
93 Trends Rogue Pro irons: all
1 Download
and
open the
Tour-preferred spikeless shoes. black and red hot.

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
TRIPS
at the Google Play market 78 All Over the Map
for Android devices. The legacy of RTJ Sr., Tiger’s trophy
tracks, Hal Sutton’s Boot Ranch,
and Tour-venue day trips that
2 Position
the phone
four to seven
won’t bust your budget.

inches above
any photo
bearing the
yellow PRIVATE LESSONS
SCAN
THIS THE MOST PERSONALIZED

OCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: COURTESY CALLAWAY GOLF; ANGUS MURRAY; COURTESY BOOT RANCH
PHOTO GOLF INSTRUCTION ANYWHERE
label
(example, right), as if you were taking 97 High Handicapper
a picture (flash optional). If you ”Land” the club for solid chips.
have access to a Wi-Fi connection,
downloads will be faster. 98 Low Handicapper
Set-up-and-go putting.
100 Power Hitter
3 Hold the
camera
steady. The
How to tame tricky yardages.
102 Senior Player
app will click The can’t-miss bunker move.
and buzz
when it
recognizes
the image and
then begin ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
downloading
the described 6 From the 10 Teeing Of
content directly to your device. Editor
Save your favorites for help 110 Michael
when you’re out on the course! 7 Your Views Bamberger
 digital
August 2018 Volume 60, Issue 8

We asked GOLF.com readers to

share their favorite Phil Mickelson
moments and their happiest
memories on a golf course. Here’s
what you had to say.

LEFT: IAN WALTON/R&A/R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES; BELOW: ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES
WILL PHIL WIN
ANOTHER MAJOR?
Yes: 37% No: 63%

BEST PHIL MOMENT?

Watching him finally get
the green jacket. Dave Senter

The backwards flop shot!

Brad Chambers

His Open win. Never thought

he’d win one, especially that
late in his career. But watching
that whole back nine and
him storming into the lead
at the end was awesome.
@KezzardTheWizzard

WHAT’S THE HAPPIEST

YOU’VE EVER BEEN ON
A GOLF COURSE?
Playing in a tournament with
my dad when he made a hole-
in-one while a reporter was
filming. He died a year ago,
but I’ll never forget that feeling!
Roger Selvey

The day I first broke 100, playing

with my brother, who had his
all-time low round. He said
nothing about his score as we
played, not wanting to distract
me! He informed me later, as
we celebrated my round.
Denny Tulenson

My husband and I eloped on

the terrace on Pinehurst #2, then
played 18. Everyone was so nice—
even the caddies knew us!
Wendy Ross Gonzalez

Get Your Fix! Video tips now on Instagram and Twitter at @GolfFixFinder
 From the Editor
A MOVING
David DeNunzio
TARGET
I LEFT SHINNECOCK during
Saturday’s round near 11:oo a.m.—
it was hot, windy and I was already
six days in on the eastern end of
Long Island. With my planned
departure, I missed witnessing
first-hand the bulk of the carnage
levied by the course and nature on
the players with afternoon times,
as well as Phil Mickelson’s gra-
tuitous (or cunning) application of
Rule 14-5 on the 13th hole, giving new
meaning to the term “Moving Day” (to
say nothing about “sportsmanship”
and “fair play”). Like you, I had to read
or hear about it, digesting input from
golf scribes and pundits, ours and those
from other media outlets, on how, once
again, the USGA had stressed Shin-
necock too thin, driving players of
even Phil’s caliber to the edge of lunacy.
Honestly, I was happy to be home.
The next morning found me on
the first tee of my home course, a
Father’s Day round deservedly okayed
by the missus and the kids. Sitting in
the buzzing grill room following play,
I again found myself awash in not-so-
subtle U.S. Open conversation and
opinions. I learned three things as I sat
and listened: 1) golf fans dig Tommy
Fleetwood; 2) these same aficionados
tend to side with the USGA, and out-
right enjoy watching Tour players make
double and worse; and 3) Phil Mickel-
son could rob your mother and you’d
buy any excuse he’d ofer. Face it, the
guy’s popular. Moreover, Lefty carries
a big rig of rightfully earned goodwill
wherever he goes. Outside the wins
and the ambassadorship Phil has lent
the game, he’s helped raise more than
$20 million for Birdies for the Brave,
just one of the many charities with
which the Mickelsons are associated.
Putting a ball while it’s still moving?
Yeah, maybe not the brightest idea. But
if the players at my home track have
anything to say about it, he’s earned a
pass. The two-stroke penalty suiced.
LEFTY CARRIES
A BIG RIG OF RIGHTFULLY
EARNED GOODWILL
WHEREVER HE GOES.
The reason is simple: Golfers identi-
fy with Phil more than any other Tour
superstar. He’s uber-wealthy but proj-
ects an Everyman vibe. He inspires us
to try shots that maybe we shouldn’t,
but these high-risk plays are the ones
that etch deepest into our memory
when we pull them of. Phil has basked
in historic victories and come up gut-
wrenchingly short in equal amounts.
Hits home, doesn’t it?
Mickelson has been a phenom going
on 35 years, but he maintains a nonstop
connection to us non-phenoms with
Kissinger-esque diplomacy. If it wasn’t
real, we would have snifed it out long
ago. On page 38, you’ll get a glimpse
into how he pulls this of, thanks to
Alan Shipnuck’s account of a morning
spent with the left-handed wonder just
prior to the Open. Spoiler alert: He’s
sincere. And that’s to just about anyone
who crosses his daily path: fans, busi-
ness partners, swing coaches, baristas,
Tour colleagues, sponsors—you name
it. Yes, sometimes Mickelson lets his
emotions get the better of him. But as
you’ll read in Shipnuck’s tale, as well as
in our collection of “Phil Stories” from
around the world of golf, the five-time
major winner is a positive influence on a
galactic scale. Golf thrives when larger-
than-life personalities go large. Polar-
ization is just part of the territory.
David DeNunzio
Editor-in-Chief
 You’re Up!

Now on the Tee: Your Raves,

Rants and Reactions

WHICH
JUNE
STORIES
AND COLUMNS THE PLANE TRUTH
leg is straighter and his back
DREW THE As a convert to the sin- bows so the right forearm and
MOST LETTERS? gle-plane swing, it’s amaz- the shaft can form a straight
ing now for me to see just line in order to strike the ball.
Brooks and DJ 42% how much the body must On the other hand, the single-
Pelz on Shinnecock 22% change itself from setup plane swing looks virtually
MichaelBamberger 15% to impact in a multi-plane the same at setup and impact.
Other 21% motion. For example, take The right heel might be of
a look at Alex Noren in the the ground a little, but that’s
June issue, in pictures 1 and it. Less movement equals more
12 of the swing sequence on consistency. Now, the pros
pp. 24-25. At impact, his left havetheraw talent—alongwith
years of playing, practicing
and coaching—to master the
conventional swing at a high
Byron
Nelson level, but most of us weekend
amateurs need all the help we
can get. Give the single-plane
swing a try if you’re struggling
with the conventional method.
TODD CHILES,ST. LOUIS, MO.
BETTMANN ARCHIVES

ASP-IRATIONAL ADVICE
LORD ONLY KNOWS I decided to try the Fang
grip (from “A Putting Grip
After reading Michael Bamberger’s arti- with Bite!” June 2018), and I
cle in the recent issue of GOLF (“In Good love it. I’m a super-senior with
Hands,” June 2018), I couldn’t help but no- all the associated stifness,
tice that you omitted one of the greatest and it has freed up my stroke
players of the game, Byron Nelson, who measurably by smoothing my
himself played gloveless. How could you contact and follow-through.
fail to mention one of the greatest swings in In addition to saying thanks,
the game, who also possessed one of golf’s I’d like to recommend that
greatest grips? Having had the privilege of older golfers out there try the
caddying for Byron at the Marion Country grip for those tricky chips
Club in Marion, Ohio, while I was in col- around the green. Once again,
lege, when I saw Byron grip the club, my the grip really smoothed my
only thought was that God meant this man swing finish, which improved
to play golf. JAMES OWENS,MARION, OHIO my direction and distance
control. CHUCK OLSEN,WAKE FOREST, N.C.

WHAT’S ON WRITE TO: GOLF, 6 E. 43rd St., 12th Fl., New York, N.Y. 10017, or e-mail
YOUR MIND? us at golfletters@golf.com. Letters are edited for clarity and brevity.

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 PUBLISHER HOWARD MILSTEIN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DAVID DENUNZIO

ART DIRECTOR PETER PERRON

EDITORIAL
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Contributing Writers MARK BROADIE, JOHN GARRITY, JOHN LEDESMA, JOSH SENS
Technical & Short Game Consultant DAVE PELZ
Contributing Teachers THE TOP 100 TEACHERS IN AMERICA 2017-2018

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Contributing Photographers BOB CROSLIN, KOHJIRO KINNO, ANGUS MURRAY, MATTHEW SALACUSE, BEN VAN HOOK
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 TEEING
OFF
ONE LIFE
TO LID
For the past several seasons, Sentry Tournament Sentry Tournament
of Champions of Champions
Titlest has kept five-time Tour JANUARY 3 JANUARY 5
winner Jason Dufner’s dome
stylishly coddled and craddled.
This year, without that cozy
sponsorship deal, Duf Daddy
has gone totally and hilariously
of the lid grid. Whimsy seemed
to have been the driver in his
early-’18 headwear choices. But
in late May, at the Memorial in
Columbus, Ohio, the Cleveland
native’s cranial caper turned
into a coup when a local firm—
MSF Real Estate Capital—bought
up his circular ad-space for a
week. At Shinnecock Hills, Dufner
stepped into it a little more
Honda Classic WGC-Mexico
lucratively when FootJoy, sensing
FEBRUARY 24 MARCH 4
the fun of it, gleefully went retro
with his noggin. The capper?
Dufner contended well at Shinny’s
United States Open—at least until
the course-setup carnage of
round three. So hats of to him.

photos: GREGORY SHAMUS/

GETTY IMAGES (4); SAM
GREENWOOD/GETTY IMAGES (3);
CHRIS GRAYTHEN/GETTY IMAGES
(2); STAN BADZ/PGA TOUR; DAVID
CANNON/GETTY IMAGES; DARREN
CARROLL/GETTY IMAGES; CJ
GUNTHER/EPA/EFE/SHUTTER-
STOCK; ANDY LYONS/GETTY
IMAGES; MICHAEL REAVES/
GETTY IMAGES; STACY REVERE/
GETTY IMAGES; RYAN YOUNG/PGA WGC-Dell Match Play Houston Open
TOUR; TRACY WILCOX/PGA TOUR MARCH 23 MARCH 29

Zurich Fort Worth Memorial

Classic Invitational Tournament
APRIL 29 MAY 25 MAY 31
Sentry Tournament
of Champions Sony Open Sony Open
JANUARY 7 JANUARY 11 JANUARY 12

Valspar
Valspar Championship Championship WGC-Dell Match Play
MARCH 8 MARCH 9 MARCH 22

U.S. Open
JUNE 16

Zurich Classic
APRIL 28

Memorial
Tournament
JUNE 1
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 TheCard
The Most Important Things in Golf This Month

EYE TO EYE

Tick...tick...
Tick...tick...
In 2010, you edged out
Bubba Watson in a three-
hole playoff to win the PGA
Championship, the first of
your two majors. Eight years
later, is there a particular
memory that sticks out?
Yeah, how clear it was, the
way I was going to win. Before
Bubba and I even went into
the playof, I already had in
Like a my mind how the 10th, 17th
precision and 18th holes would look.
The 10th was very clear for
timepiece, me—he would make birdie,
Germany’s because he’s so much longer
than me. Then I would need to
Martin pick up a shot on 17 and 18. And I
Kaymer, 33, did. In my mind, I had it already
played through. It was huge
wins a major proof to me of how strong the
every four mental approach can be.
years. And It was a crazy scene that
the last one day, with Dustin Johnson
grounding his club in a
was...four fairway bunker on the 72nd
years ago. hole. His two-stroke penalty
effectively eliminated him

INTERVIEW BY RYAN ASSELTA

PORTRAIT BY RICHARD HEATHCOTE/GETTY IMAGES

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 13

 EYE TO EYE
MARTIN KAYMER
from playing extra holes. You
finished before DJ, so you got
to watch the chaos unfold. Did
you get emotionally involved
with what was going on?
Honestly, I was a bit over-
whelmed, because my goal on
that Sunday was not to win the
golf tournament. I thought I
wasn’t ready yet. It was only my
second year on Tour and for me
it was more important to make
that year’s Ryder Cup team. If I
played well on Sunday, I would
make the team. And then I found
myself in a playof, and because
I was so overwhelmed I didn’t
really have time to think about
winning my first major. On the
other hand, it’s a bit of a shame
that I was not fully aware of my
situation and how great it was.
When did it set in?
Well, the next morning, I flew
to Jamaica. It was a vacation I
had already planned with my
girlfriend at the time. And I was
walking to the plane, and people
had the newspaper out, and I was
on the front page. I was so em-
barrassed, because some people
recognized me and I didn’t really
know how to react. On the flight,
I had a chance to reflect on what
had happened. But where it
really got to me was when I
got home to Germany. There
was a press conference set up
in Düsseldorf, where I’m from.
And the media interest was huge.
You’re one of the rare
ones: a PGA champion, a
U.S. Open champion and
a Players champion. How
does the Players win compare
to your two major titles?
It’s always a very diicult test.
[Sawgrass] is one of those golf
courses that really requires
everything from you. You need
to hit good tee shots, and once
you hit fairways you get some
14 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
OPEN ARMS
Kaymer’s runaway win at
Pinehurst left little in doubt
on Sunday—except the size
of the crowd’s embrace.
chances here and there to make
birdies. But if you miss the fair-
ways, it’s very diicult to stop
the ball on the greens. I know
ONE THING there are a lot of players who
I KNOW treat it like a major, because,
FOR SURE mentally, it can be that tough.
So for me being successful there
To be a Ryder in 2014 was a huge achievement.
Cup captain, you
Should it be a major?
need to have had We have four majors. That
success, and to title belongs to those four
have success tournaments, and it’s the way
requires, for some it should be, I believe. But at
players, a huge the end of the day, if you win on
ego. But the Ryder Sunday afternoon, that’s what
Cup is not about it comes down to. For me, it
doesn’t really matter if it means
you, it’s about you won another major or not.
the team. So the
question is, can As someone who has won
you take your a U.S. Open, at Pinehurst
ego out of it and in 2014, do you consider
provide what your it the toughest test in golf?
12 players need? It depends on the golf course.
The toughest test for me is,
I think Thomas I think, the Masters. It’s the
Bjorn, this year’s toughest golf course that we
European captain, play, in my opinion. The U.S.
will do that. Open can suit your game—
or not. And Pinehurst really
suited my game. I felt comfort-
able in many ways that week.
You made it look easy: an
8-stroke, wire-to-wire win.
Well, it might have looked
easy, but it was quite diicult.
Leading by six, seven shots on
Sunday, you’re kind of playing
your own tournament, and you
need to keep the pressure on,
because if you play lousy a little
bit or if you play a little defen-
sively, the other guys—they’re
not holding back. So it required
more of a mental approach.
You won your first major
in 2010 and your second
in 2014. And now here
we are, another four
years later. Think you
can continue the trend?
I hope I give myself a chance.
STREETER LECKA/GETTY IMAGES
I think I’m trending in the
right direction. And it’s a Ryder
Cup year, so I’d love to play for
Europe and for Thomas Bjorn.
Hopefully, I can set myself up
for another Sunday afternoon.
THE KNOCKDOWN
BY ALAN SHIPNUCK
For much more from Alan,
go to GOLF.com/shipnuck

Burden of Dreams
When Shaun Micheel baged the PGA Championship in 2003, he didn’t
know the Wanamaker trophy was a weight he’d carry for a very long time
IMAGINE IF the most spectacular
moment of your life became the heavi-
est burden. If the one thing you had
always dreamed about turned into
something you wished the world
would forget. Shaun Micheel has been
there. In some ways he still is. Fifteen
years ago this month, he hit one of the
greatest shots in golf history, a stone-
dead 7-iron on the final hole to nab the
2003 PGA Championship. It was his
first Tour win, at age 33. The late-
bloomer’s future was endless. Fifteen
years later, he’s still looking for anoth-
er win and finally making peace with
the one he has. “Having the Wana-
maker trophy, it followed me around
like that cloud over Pigpen,” Micheel
says over lunch at Ridgeway Country
Club outside of Memphis, which is ac-
cessed via Shaun Micheel Blvd. and
boasts walls cluttered with memora-
bilia of his career.
When Micheel brushed in his 72nd-
hole birdie at Oak Hill, he had no sweetheart, Stephanie, welcomed battle with Tour suits). What made
grandiose stirrings about his place in the first of their two children, Dade his body go haywire? “I think it was
golf history. “My first thought was, Palmer, whose middle name was in the complete and utter stress I felt
I’ve finally won a PGA Tour event,” part homage to a golfer whose class to play well,” he says.
he says. It had taken a de- Micheel always tried to emulate. By the end of ’06, Micheel had his
cade of grinding on various
minor league tours to get
By 2005, the In 2004, he managed eight top-
25 finishes, a pretty solid year for a
energy back, and it showed—he fin-
ished second at the PGA Champi-
there; while an undergrad, strain was new dad learning all the unfamil- onship. A month later, at the World
Micheel had planned to be iar courses to which his elevated Match Play, he took on Tiger Woods,
a pilot, like his father. The showing: status granted access. He also put who was riding a five-tournament
magnitude of what he’d
done didn’t hit Micheel
Micheel missed his newfound fame to good use,
founding the Shaun Micheel Make-
win streak. Micheel crushed him
4 & 3 and went on to the cham-
until a week after the PGA, the cut at all A-Wish Classic, which would raise pionship match. He was back, or
when his overwhelmed
business manager burst
four majors. $3 million and grant more than 600
wishes. Micheel still gets emotional
so it seemed. But all the while he
was hearing a pop in his shoul-
into tears, saying, “I don’t “I think it was talking about some of those kids. der. Micheel spent the better part
think I can do this any- But by 2005, the strain was of the next two seasons soldiering
more.” Things only got the utter stress showing: Micheel missed the cut at through torn ligaments. As his play
more complicated: Three
months after the win,
I felt to play all four majors and was then diag-
nosed with low testosterone, which
sufered, so did his self-esteem.
Once a social creature, he began
Micheel and his childhood well,” he says. required hormone therapy (and a playing practice rounds at 3 p.m. by

16 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 TheCard

MY BAG
Aaron Wise
The talented rookie baged the AT&T
Byron Nelson with a bag full of Callaways
FAIRWAY WOOD DRIVER
himself, hoping to avoid the gaze of
2) Callaway Rogue (15°), 1) Callaway
colleagues. Still, Micheel couldn’t Fujikura Pro shaft, Rogue (10.5°),
hide from life’s travails: In ’09 his 270 yards; $299 Fujikura Pro
mom died of cancer, at 64. For a long shaft, 300
time afterward, “I thought about UTILITY IRON yards; $499
her before every shot,” he says. 3) Callaway X-Forged (18°), 1
By 2011, his exempt status had run KBS Tour Prototype Hybid
shaft, 250 yards; $250
out. Ever since, he’s just been hang- 2
ing on, playing a season in Europe IRONS
and splitting time between the PGA 4) Callaway Apex (4-5),
and Web.com Tours. Micheel was Callaway Apex MB (6-PW),
always a precision player, and he True Temper Dynamic gold 6
hasn’t been able to keep up with the Tour Issue X100 shafts; $n/a 3
onslaught of young power players. 4-iron: 230 yards
5-iron: 212 yards
Now, blessedly, he gets to start 6-iron: 198 yards
over again, on the Champions Tour, 7-iron: 185 yards 4
when he turns 50 in January. 8-iron: 172 yards
9-iron: 160 yards
Micheel is looking forward to be- PW: 145 yards
ing among friends, and as the de-
sire to practice has come back he’s WEDGES
spending more time at Ridgeway. 5) Vokey Design SM7 (50°,
At lunch he always sits in the same 56°, 60°); 50°, 130 yards;
chair that his father, Buck, used 56°, 114 yards; 60°, 100
yards. All with True Temper
to claim at a table of his fellow
Dynamic Gold Tour Issue
FedEx pilots. A couple dozen of X100 shafts; $150 each
them had a standing game at 10:30
every morning, and playing with PUTTER 5
those characters is how Shaun fell 6) Odyssey O-Works Red
in love with the game. Buck died V-Line Fang CH; $200
in 2014, but his son says, “Every
time I come to the putting green BALL
I still look up into the windows, ex-
Callaway
pecting to see him in his chair.” Chrome
So much of Micheel’s golfing life is
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: SEAN MCCABE; WISE, CLUBS: JAMES PATRICK

Soft X;
bittersweet—especially the victory $44.99/doz.
that has defined him. “I deserved
to win the PGA because I played the
best that week,” he says. “But did I
earn the right to be part of the his-
tory of that trophy? I don’t know. I
used to think about that a lot. More
and more, I’m just appreciative that
my name is on it.” And forever will
be, proof that every now and then
nice guys do finish first.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 17

EVERY SHOT COUNTS
BY MARK BROADIE
Follow Mark Broadie on
Twitter @MarkBroadie

What’s Shaking?
That rumbling sound you hear is leaderboard turbulence
NUMBERS GAME
Round with the
toughest scoring
conditions since
on moving day. Or is it? Is Saturday play really that feverish? 2008: Round four of
the 2016 Farmer’s at
Torrey Pines South,
which played 6.9
on scoring. Because stronger strokes tougher than
players are more likely to make an average course.
the cut, you’d expect lower The scoring average
scores to be posted on the was 77.9, with
weekend, even if course condi- Brandt Snedeker
shooting 69, the
tions were comparable across
low round of the day.
four rounds. Using strokes- There were 23 scores
gained analysis, it’s possible of 80 or higher.
to disentangle the strength of
the field from course-dii-
culty efects. Weather is a big
factor in course diiculty, but
Post a number? Mother Nature doesn’t know
Not a problem! the day of the week, so weath-
Well, not for er efects average out over a
this guy.
large sample, leaving course
setup as our focus. Based on
A FUNNY THING happened at the 2014 ShotLink data, round three
Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational. Not one proves to be the softest course
player who started round three outside the top setup of all rounds, playing 0.3
10 moved into the top 10 by the end of the day. strokes easier than round four,
Round four saw five players who started outside the toughest scoring round.
the top 10 move into the top 10. But wait, isn’t Combine that observation
the third round supposed to be moving day, with this: It’s slightly harder

MAIN: ROSS KINNAIRD/GETTY IMAGES; SNEDEKER: DONALD MIRALLE/GETTY IMAGES; HOLMES: SCOTT HALLERAN/GETTY IMAGES
when players scramble up (or down) the leader- for the best players to sepa-
board to position themselves for final-round rate themselves from the pack
contention? The phrase is firmly etched into in easier scoring conditions
golf’s lexicon, but is moving day real or a myth? (round three) than in tough
To measure leaderboard volatility, I looked at ones (round four). I looked at
changes in the top 10 players at the end of each What explains the round-by-round average
round for all 460 four-round events from the the volatility strokes gained of the eventual Round with the
2008 season through this year’s U.S. Open. I event winners and found that easiest scoring
define “turnover” as the fraction of new play- of round they gained nearly the same conditions since
ers at the top of the leaderboard after the round
compared to the beginning of the round. The
three? Do amount on the field in rounds
one, two and four (3.9 strokes
2008: Round
three of the 2010
results? The average turnover was 41 percent in players take per round), but in round three Greenbrier Classic
at the Old White
round three and 35 percent in round four. Given
the number of events analyzed, that’s a concrete
more risks gained 0.3 strokes less (3.6
strokes per round). Course, which
and significant diference. The ’14 Palmer was an on Saturday Easier course setups in the
played 4.1 strokes
easier than an
anomaly. Stats prove the moving day effectis real.
What explains the volatility? Do players take
and play more third round lead to a smaller
scoring advantage, which in
average course. The
scoring average was
more risks on Saturday and play more conserva- conservatively turn sparks leaderboard vol- 67.0, with J.B. Holmes
tively on Sunday? Does pressure lead to higher atility. And what do you call shooting 60, the low
Sunday scores? Perhaps. But I think the expla-
on Sunday? that whole lotta shakin’ goin’ round of the day.
nation is related to the efect of course setup Perhaps. on? Moving day. There were 32 scores
of 66 or lower.

18 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 TheCard
TRAVELINˇJOE
WITH JOE PASSOV
Follow Joe Passov on
Twitter @JoePassov

CUP O’ JOE
RISK ASSESSMENT
When I asked Justin Thomas
Dye Another Day
Pennsylvania’s Nemocolin Woodlands Resort
to name the best risk/reward
holes he faces on Tour, he delivers a double dose of Pete’s notoriously tough love
couldn’t think of any. “There’s
nothing, really.” Really? He
eventually noted the par-5
18th at Nine Bridges in
Korea, where he captured
the CJ Cup last October. “If
the wind is right, I can take
the shortcut to the lower
fairway and gain 50 to 80
yards on someone who has
to go the other way. I have
wedge in, and on a par 5,
that’s a pretty good reward.”

SO-CAL SANDS
Bandon Dunes and Sand
Valley domo Mike Keiser
is eyeing property for new
public golf courses near
Santa Barbara, Calif., on a
sandy coastal site that is
home to Vandenberg AFB,
which saw its own course
close last September after
58 years. Negotiations are
ongoing, including choices
for architects, but Keiser
told me “there are nice long
views of the ocean, and the
dunes are spectacular.”
SHARP SHOOTIN’
For those craving a high-
desert experience that lets
you aim at both flagsticks
and shooting-range targets,
book the Golfers Buddy
Escape package at Silvies
Valley Ranch in Seneca,
Ore. Included at this working
ranch are lodging, golf on
four courses (two of them
reversible), a replay round
and a pistol-shooting session.
Add-ons include Log Cabin
rooms, meals and massage/
spa. Prices start at $299 per
person, per night, based on
HOT TRACKS
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
Farmington, Pa.
Mystic Rock 7,526 yards, par 72;
Architect: Pete Dye (1995)
Shepherd’s Rock: 7,151 yards, par 72;
Architect: Pete Dye and Tim Liddy (2017)
nemacolin.com
These days, playability is
the buzzword in golf design,
but sometimes you get the
urge to tackle a true toughie.
Welcome to Nemacolin
Woodlands Resort, deep in
the heart of Palmer country,
55 miles south of Pittsburgh.
You may remember
Nemacolin Woodlands
from its time as a PGA Tour
host (2003-2006) of the 84
Lumber Classic. A decade
earlier, resort owner Joe
Hardy enlisted Pete Dye to
build him a brute, Mystic
Rock, which measures 7,526
yards, with a stratospheric
rating of 77.0 and a slope
of 149. Dye toughened the
course in 2005, a point
such as the watery, rocky,
185-yard, par-3 12th and the
uphill, 468-yard, par-4 18th.
In fairness to Dye, ample
corridors, bailout areas and
hazards of to the side do give
mortals a chance to play with
the same ball for a while.
Nemacolin’s newest track
is year-old Shepherd’s Rock,
another Dye design, with his
associate Tim Liddy doing
the heavy lifting. The fig-
ures—74.7/138—are daunt-
ing but more manageable.
Shepherd Rock’s massive
fairways ofer little visual
intimidation, but with 149
sharp-edged bunkers and
more heavily contoured
greens than its sibling,
Shepherd Rock’s
gorgeous par-3
12th plays 188 yards.
Yep...Dye-abolical.
So why pay good money
for all this diicult golf?
Because it’s fun. On Mystic
Rock, thoughtful play will
help you dodge the multitude
of hazards. And Shepherd’s
Rock encourages rocking
your driver again and again.
That’s fun. If the wheels
come of, Nemacolin is home
to one of the best instruction
and custom-clubfitting teams
in the U.S., led by GOLF Top
100 Teacher Eric Johnson. As
long as the challenge is fair,
there’s great satisfaction in
overcoming obstacles. The
Laurel Highlands, which let
you peer into three states,
are pretty easy on the eyes,
too. So follow your bliss—
EVAN SCHILLER

double occupancy. silvies.us hammered home by holes the test is stern enough. and relish the beatdown.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 19

ASK THE RULES GUY
Got a question about the Rules? Ask the You can watch video rulings
Rules Guy—he won’t throw the book at you! featuring Rules Guy himself!
Visit GOLF.com.

air are allowed. That depends entirely on

Our club has green-reading
contour books, but the
print is so small that I can’t
make out the details. I took
a picture of each page with
my cell phone in order to be
able to enlarge the image
enough to see the slopes.
A competitor called me out,
citing a prohibition against
electronics in tournament
There is no issue with access-
ing that info on your iPhone.
Still, it’s not always smart to
reach for that smartphone.
Calling a friend for advice
or studying an analysis of
strokes made during the
round, as examples, would be
operator errors and land you
in hot water, Rules-wise...
and placing the phone on a
So, too, are laser the severity of the superin-
rangefinders tendent’s hangover. Serious-
and topography ly, though, there is nothing
books of the in the Rules of Golf about
greens, both of hole location, so there’s no
which appear to such thing as an “illegal”
provide much hole location. The USGA
more informa- publication “How to Con-
tion than a wind duct a Competition” does,
sock. Right? however, recommend that
—TOM KELLY,VONORE, TENN. hole locations be at least four
paces from the edge of the
Rules Guy is in putting green; the PGA Tour
the rules busi- informs Rules Guy that it
ness, not the em- does likewise. Closer than
pathy business... that and the hole has clearly
but I nonethe- joined the lunatic fringe.
less empathize.
Here’s the logic: A Is it legal to putt with both
wind sock, unlike hands while holding an-
a symbolic flag, is other ball in one hand?
designed for the —RYAN CRAGO, VIA E-MAIL
express purpose
of gauging the To get a handle on this ques-
wind. Tossing tion, Rules Guy needs to
grass is allowed know whether you’re holding
as a tradition- the ball against the club’s
ally accepted grip to try to assist in play.
part of the game. If so, that’s a breach of Rule
Distance-measuring devices 14-3, and you incur the gen-
are only legal if the commit- eral penalty of two strokes in
tee in charge (or, in the case stroke play and loss of hole
of everyday play, the course) in match play, followed by
adopts a Local Rule permit- disqualification for the next
ting them. Finally, the USGA breach. That said, Rule 14-3
and the R&A have both stated is an intent-based rule, so if
that they view the ability to it’s just a matter of you casu-
read greens as an essential ally tapping a ball in the hole
golf skill and are reviewing while readying to put a new
the matter of topography orb in play on the next tee,
ILLUSTRATION: JASON RAISH; RULES GUY: ERIN PATRICE O’BRIEN

play. I said it was previously
compiled material. Who
was right in this blowup?
—SCOTT KULLA, VIA E-MAIL
In all-caps, bold-faced, over-
sized type: YOU! A player
can access or review any
material that was preprinted
or created prior to the round.
20 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
bed of dry rice wouldn’t fix it.
I recently bought a 24-inch
wind sock designed for
a garden and mounted it
on my golf cart. Our club
pro said that isn’t legal in
sanctioned play per Rule
14-3—yet symbolic flags
and tossing grass into the
books, but haven’t reached
any conclusions as yet. Please
don’t shoot the messenger
if that answer doesn’t quite
blow your socks of.
How close to the fringe
can a cup be positioned
and still be legal?
—BRUCE E. BROWN, VIA E-MAIL
that’s fine—just don’t let
this tic get out of hand.
GOT A RULES QUESTION?
Of course you do!
Whatever it may be, send
yours to rulesguy@golf.com
and the question may be
answered in an upcoming
issue of GOLF. Until then,
play by the Rules!
 YOU’VE NEVER HAD A

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 SWING SEQUENCE
Watch + Learn
Phil Mickelson is living proof
that old-school shotmaking
never goes out of style

His body aims right of His takeaway may look outside,

the target to promote an but in reality it matches his
“out-to-in” path, which toe line. Copy this!
is mandatory for a fade.

1 2 3 4

The shaft is steeper than Shocker—the shaft matches The club swings to the
it is in frame 5. Most his toe line yet again. right of where the face is
pros do the opposite. pointing. Hello, lefty fade.
This is Phil being Phil.

9 10 11 12

Analysis by Top 100 EVEN AT 48 years old, Phil Mickelson still packs a
GOLF.COM Teacher Brady Riggs, world-class punch, averaging just under 300 yards per
Woodley Lakes G.C.,
Watch Van Nuys, Calif. drive in his 26th professional season. That’s more than
dozens of enough to remain competitive, despite guys like Brooks
PGA and
LPGA Tour Koepka and Dustin Johnson rewriting the distance record
stars hit the books. Where America’s favorite left-handed Tour play-
shots you er still dominates his peers is his willingness to use his imagination and
need at
GOLF.com
shape shots from the fairway (and sometimes from well of it). The iron
sequence above is a classic example of Mickelson working the ball into a

22 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018 Sequence photography by MARK NEWCOMBE/VISIONS IN GOLF

 TheCard

STATISTICS
THE LINE
ON LEFTY
.707 4.56 69.88 19
SG: Approach the Green Birdie Average Scoring Average
TH
Official World
Through the U.S. Open (10th) (4th) (14th) Golf Rank

The shaft points at the The shaft is still parallel Lefty’s signature move:
ball when his hands to his toe line, even at the He shifts the club toward
reach chest height. top. (Notice a theme?) his head as he starts down.
Perfect.

5 6 7 8

Even though he’s “Elvis” legs. Funky- Curved shots hold

fading the ball, Phil looking, but harmless. your attention longer.
aggressively releases Pose for the camera!
the clubhead.

13 14 15 16

left hole location by starting the ball toward the right side of the
green and fading it back to the flag. Amateurs would enjoy the SCAN IMPROVE—FAST!
game much more if they followed Phil’s lead and hit shots instead This Photo
of thinking mechanics. Not only does it eliminate the pressure of Download GOLF’s
FIX FINDER, the golf
having to hit it dead straight, it makes the game a lot more fun.
to get the app with all the answers.
Your key, regardless if you’re working it left or right, is to match Ditch your hook, slice and
Fix Finder app.
the shaft to your toe line as you deliver the club into the hitting See page 4. every flaw in between.
zone, as Phil expertly demonstrates in frame 10. With this move, And it’s free!
you’ll work the ball with ease and without fearing a double-cross.

Portrait by STAN BADZ/PGA TOUR AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 23

 GO LOW
BY DAVE PELZ
Plan for Perfection
A “preview” stroke gives purpose to your pre-putt routine
YOU OWN A pre-putt
routine. That’s good—
it’s essential to long-term
success on the greens. I
bet, however, that your
routine (what you do after
you’ve marked, cleaned and
replaced your ball), fails to
include a preview stroke,
which is a practice stroke
made with a clear intention
of matching the length
of your stroke to the putt
you’re about to attempt.
I’ve worked with a lot
of Tour professionals over
the years, and they all use
preview strokes. When
dollars and self-esteem
are on the line on every
putt, you go with any
performance edge you
can find. Believe me, a
preview stroke is a big one.
Here’s how it works: If
you’re about to face a short
putt, I want you to preview
the short stroke you think
will get the ball in the hole by
physically replicating it from
start to finish. When you’re
about to face a little longer
putt, say 12 to 15 feet, I want
you to preview the medium-
length stroke you think will
be perfect for the amount of
break you’re playing. When
you have a 35-foot or longer
lag putt, I advise you to
take a long preview practice
stroke that you “feel” will
roll the ball stone-cold dead
to the hole. In all cases, if
you don’t like the look or
feel of your previews,
keep making them until
your mind’s-eye tells
you they’re perfect.
24 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
Follow Dave Pelz on
Twitter @pelz_golf
SHORT-PUTT PREVIEW: Practice a short
stroke that you know will get the ball in the hole.
At my schools, we preach
the importance of the 20-foot
putting stroke, since 20 feet
is the most common putt
length in golf. So any student
of mine facing a 15-foot putt
on the course will preview
some small adjustment
to that 20-foot reference
stroke during their pre-putt
routine, factoring in the
other conditions of the putt
that are computed as you
read the green, such as slope,
break, grain, wind, etc.
Now I know that some
golfers like to take practice
strokes (which can become
good preview strokes)
behind the ball while
others take them right next
to the ball (while in their
setup position). And other
golfers don’t take practice
strokes at all. I’m simply
recommending that you
try the preview strokes I’ve
described here, and putt
with your last thought being
“That’s perfect!” rather
than “I hope what I’ve been
MEDIUM-PUTT PREVIEW: Groove a stroke
that produces a speed that matches the break.
thinking, feeling and
doing are right.”
My final plea in defense
of the preview stroke is
that you’re already tapping
its power every time you
play—you just don’t realize
it. Picture this: You miss the
green. When you consider
the myriad conditions
surrounding your lie, you
realize that the chip or pitch
you now face is unlike any
other you’ve ever attempted.
So what do you do? You pick
the shot type you want to
hit and choose your wedge.
Then you take preview
swings near the ball to test
the lie conditions and gauge
the length of swing needed
to knock the ball close. I’m
simply saying that the same
look and feel “previews” are
as beneficial to your putting
as they are to your short
game, especially when you
consider the contours and
speeds of today’s greens.
If you currently don’t
use a preview stroke, try it—
and give it a least a month.
Always make your preview
strokes while focusing
on your aim line and
visualizing the putt’s roll
from start to finish. Once
you’re set, step in and repeat
the preview in every detail.
More importantly, feel good
about it. A preview should
fill you with confidence. I
have no doubt that if you
give your putting previews
your best efort, everything
about your putting will
improve, from your sense
of feel and touch to your
ability to roll it in from
anywhere on the green.
THE PELZ VAULT
Find dozens of
Pelz's short-game
and putting video
LEONARD KAMSLER (4)
lessons at GOLF.com
For schedules
and availability of Dave
Pelz Scoring Game
Schools and Clinics,
visit pelzgolf.com

A ROUND WITH...
JESSICA MARKSBURY
Paige Spiranac
The Instagram star talks teetotaling, internet
trolls and the messages that make it all worthwhile
We’re drinking
sparkling water
today, because you
don’t drink alcohol.
No. I just always want to be
in control, especially now
that I do a ton of events. I
want to make sure I’m safe,
I know where I’m at, and
I’m ready to handle any
situation. So I stick to water.
Has the decision to abstain
from alcohol changed your
life in any tangible way?
Yeah. It’s saved a lot of
money. [Laughs] A lot
of bad decisions were not
made. A lot of junk food has
not been consumed. But I
still like to go out and have
a good time. I’ll have a beer
here and there. I just hate the
feeling of being drunk, the
feeling the next morning. So
it’s just a personal decision.
You’ve become one of
the most recognizable
names in golf, with
1.4 million Instagram
followers—and
counting! Do you
ever marvel at your
own star power?
It’s so bizarre. I literally
post swing videos.
Like, how is that
interesting? But
I’ve created such
a following, and
they’re loyal
fans. It’s really
cool to create
a community
Follow Jessica Marksbury on
Twitter @Jess_Marksbury
around something I love, and
that they love, too.
Do you remember the
moment you realized
you were kind of a big
deal on Instagram?
No, because I have
people telling me
every day that I’m not,
that I don’t deserve my
followers. People say I
haven’t accomplished
anything, but I feel like
I’ve done a lot. I’m an
ambassador for the
Cybersmile Foundation,
which is an anti-bullying
organization. I go out to a
ton of schools, and I speak
about cyberbullying, as
well as introduce [the kids]
to golf. I’m really trying to
do everything I can to bring
golf to people who have never
done it before, as well as just
make golf fun and cool.
A lot of people with large
social followings ignore
the trolls, but you choose
to engage with them. Why?
Because social media is
my business now. I’m a
content creator, so I like
to read the comments, and
I like to engage, because if
people aren’t interested in
what I’m doing, then I’m
not doing a good job. It’s
also created this new
platform for me to speak
about women’s issues and
cyberbullying and things
that are important to me.
TheCard
WHAT’S ON
NOW AT GOLF.com
MUCH MORE
WITH PAGE
Watch a video of Jessica’s
full, exclusive interview
with Paige at the Four
Seasons Resort Scottsdale
at Troon North in Arizona
at GOLF.com/roundwith
What’s the most positive
thing that’s come out of all
the openness on your part?
I get messages every day
from young girls, or from
the fathers of young girls,
or boyfriends or husbands,
saying, “Thank you for
speaking up about these
issues.” I had a dad say that
his daughter was close to
suicide, but that she heard
my talk in Dubai, and how
emotional I was, and it
changed her life. So you hear
that and you’re like, “Okay,
that makes it worth it.”
Where do you see yourself
five years from now?
That’s hard, because my
whole career has been
something completely
unexpected. A year ago,
I might have said that I’d
want to be on tour. But now,
I think I just want to be taken
seriously as a golf influencer
and ambassador of the game,
and I want to be seen as
someone who is helping, and
not as someone who’s just
JAMES PATRICK
looking for attention.
AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 25
 A Dril
for Pure
Pitches
Make a Tour-
quality pass
POLE POSITION
Use an alignment
rod to reinforce the
compact follow-
through you need to
hit crisp, consistent
at the ball by pitch shots when the
ball is sitting down.
holding of
your inish. An
alignment rod
is all you need
ANGUS MURRAY (2)

to learn how.

26 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 GET UP AND DOWN
I see a lot of weekend players
shorten their backswing on SCAN
pitch shots. Seems logical, This Photo
but when you reduce swing
length going back, you For the can’t-miss
compromise your ability to pitch move.
penetrate through the grass See page 4.
going through, especially when the
ball is sitting down. Better players
typically take a longer backswing on
pitches, cutting their follow-through
instead. A compact finish promotes
a stable clubface and a wide arc
(i.e., one that avoids digging into
the turf) as you strike the ball. To
learn this, stick an alignment rod
about two feet past your impact
spot and on your target line. As
you practice your pitch shots,
focus on stopping your swing
before the club hits the rod. Keep
your backswing smooth and long,
setting the club early so you can
release it downward to the ball.
Pivot back and through as you
make your swing and let the club
do the work. If you can make these
moves while still avoiding the rod,
you’ll get Tour-quality contact—
and an easy tap-in putt.

FINISH IN LINE
Making your follow-through a bit more
compact is a great way to ensure solid
contact around the greens, especially when
the ball is sitting down. Even though you’re

Pair a longer backswing swinging into a shorter finish, make sure the
club realigns with the center of your body

with a short follow-through after the strike—it helps to keep the club
low to the ground past impact (photo
above). Follow these simple keys and

for better contact on pitch you’ll soon be pitching like a pro.

shots. Your consistency will

improve, even when the ball Bernie Najar, Caves Valley G.C.,

is sitting down in the grass. Owings Mills, Md. (@BernieNajarGolf)

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 27

 Performance SELF-HELP

INSTANT SHOTMAKING

GET UP ON
THE ONES
Choking down
an extra inch
on the grip,
and three
other one-inch
adjustments,
make your swing
compact, relaxed
and controlled.
The ball can’t
help but fly lower
and cheat
the breeze.

Don Sargent, Scioto C.C., Columbus, Ohio

(@donsargentgolf.com)

BASICS

THE
i
n a well-executed stroke, some
body parts (hands, wrists, arms,

SECRET chest, shoulders) move, while others

(feet, knees, hips, head, eyes) do not.
Managing the action (or lack thereof)

TO THE
is critical—otherwise, you’ll have little
chance of starting the ball on your
intended line, to say nothing about rolling
it at the correct pace based on your read

STROKE and putt length. The key is to marry or

coordinate all the moving parts so that
they work in concert—not against each
other—during your stroke. Doing so makes
returning the putter to its most optimal
It’s all about position at impact a breeze. The goal is
to strike the middle of the ball with the
TOP: ANGUS MURRAY; SEQUENCE: BOB CROSLIN

keeping some middle of the putterface while returning

the shaft to its original 90-degree start
body parts position and the face square to your
still and others start line. Begin with the moves at right
(and avoid any resemblance to the last
SETUP
Let your arms hang softly from your
working in photo). By nailing these steps you’ll make
shoulders, and grip the club so that the
shaft sits 90 degrees to the ground.
concert. You pure, square contact second nature, and
kick those round-killing short misses
Check your hands—you should notice
a small “cup” in the back of each wrist.
can do this. and three-putts to the curb for good.

28 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 (Low) Flights of Fancy
Cheat the wind—and look cool doing it—by perfecting
a knockdown shot. Your guide: the “Rule of Ones.”
Start by playing the ball one inch back from
the center of your stance. You’ll reduce the loft
of the clubface, and that lowers ball flight.
Choke one inch down on the handle. The
main benefit here is you’re better able to control
the club by shortening your swing, which is key.
A shorter swing produces less ball spin, and that
helps you keep the ball straighter and lower.
Choking down combined with a middle-back
ball position also promotes more solid contact.
Because your swing will be shorter, you’ll want to
grab one more club than you might normally take
for a given distance. The extra club provides the
added benefit of letting you relax and swing
with less force, because you know you have
the potential to produce more than enough
yardage to get where you want to go. Again,
less swing movement, less spin, more success.
Remember you want to minimize all movements
in your swing to maximize control. That includes
lateral sway or weight shift. Concentrate on keeping
your nose one inch ahead of the ball on your
backswing. This will help you maintain most of
your pressure on that front leg and reduce side-
to-side movement. You’ll also come into impact
more steeply, which helps you keep the ball lower
and avoid those deadly into-the wind balloon shots.

NO!

BACKSTROKE THROUGH-STROKE DON'T DO THIS

Think about moving everything—club,
hands, arms, etc.—together. You’ll know
you’re doing it correctly if your front
shoulder moves slightly down and
around and your “cups” remain intact.
Move your left shoulder in a
smooth, uninterrupted arc up and
around your head as your arms and
the club swing through impact and
beyond. Keep those cups in place!
Losing your right cup is a common
mistake, and it’s fueled by stopping your
shoulders before you finish your stroke.
Stop everything at the same time!
When you do, your stroke is money.

James Sieckmann, The Golf Academy at Shadow Ridge C.C., Omaha, Neb. (@JamesSieckmann) AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 29
 HIT MORE GREENS

30-SECOND FIX

Squeeze It!
Try a split-grip in practice
to groove the right kind
of strike with a hybrid

1 AVOID A SWEEP
You have trouble getting 10 secs
shots airborne with your
hybrids, probably because you’re
trying to sweep the ball of the turf like
you do with a driver of a tee. Big mistake.
You need to strike down on the ball with
a hybrid, even if you take a divot. More
speed will help, but what’s most critical
is changing your angle of attack so that
you come into the ball on a steeper
PRESS HERE plane. Grab your hybrid and set up.
The split-
grip feel drill
will help you
develop the
pressure and
handle action
you need for
powerful,
2 DO A SPLIT
While in your golf
posture, slide your right
hand down the handle a few inches.
20 secs

descending Now turn and shift into a mock impact

hybrid strikes.
position (photo, left). As you do this,
push the shaft forward using your right
hand, keeping the clubhead soled
behind the ball. It should feel as if you’re
“pinching” the clubhead against the turf.
You’re doing it right if you feel pressure
in your right-hand fingers and palm.

3 MAKE A PINCH
See how much you
can get the shaft to flex
without disturbing the ball. Squeeze
30 secs

the club against the ground. Notice as

you do this how your left hand and the
top of the grip remain in front of your
body. (In a sweeping swing, the handle
drags forward.) Re-create these feels
ANGUS MURRAY

when you swing for real and your hybrids

will soar like rockets from any yardage.

30 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018 Jon Tattersall, Fusion ATL, Atlanta, Ga. (@jontattersall11)
 MAKE THE PUTT
FOUR EASY PIECES

Steal a feel from the pro

Tours to put your best
stroke on autopilot

LEVEL UP
1
When my Tour
GET TILTED
2
Next, place the club
players are draining against your back (grip
knee-knockers with behind your head) and
confidence, they slowly bend forward
often tell me that they into your posture. Tilt
feel like mannequins. from your tailbone
What they’re saying until your eyes are
is that their setup and right over the ball,
clubface are square, Tilt straight keeping your back flat
and their stroke is over from against the shaft—
your tailbone,
compact. To steal engaging now’s not the time to
this feel, stand tall your core fall out of alignment.
with your putter held and legs. You should feel your
across your chest as core engage here
Always start shown. Use the shaft as you tilt. Allow your
with your stance
to check that your knees to flex, but keep
level and in
line with your shoulders are level— your legs solid—not
intended target. a key first step. tense—and stable.

Check that
SET SQUARE
3
Bring the club back
NEVER MISS
4
It’s time for your
the shaft
and your around and hold it mannequin to come
forearms straight out in front to life! Well, actually,
are in a of you, making sure just your arms and
straight that the shaft and Think of left shoulder as you
line with both forearms are in your arms swing them back and
the club- and left
face when
a straight line (tweak shoulder
through squarely and
it’s square your right- and left- as the gently along your
to your hand holds to get engines intended line. There’s
target. this right). Now lower in your no movement at all
your arms and putter stroke. from your legs, torso or
down to the ball head. Keep the length,
and square to your style and speed of
intended line. Lean your stroke controlled
slightly left or toward and you’ll be—ahem—
the hole just a touch. posed for greatness
BOB CROSLIN (4)

on the greens.

Joe Hallett, Vanderbilt Legends Club, Franklin, Tenn. (@joepgaguy) AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 31
 Performance PLAY SMART

SWING THOUGHT

TAKE
Become
one with
number one.
Remember,
this is the first
shot on the first
hole of the rest
of your round.
Make it count!

From 1 2 3 4 5
the
BE A FIRST-TEE GET INTO ORGANIZE SET THE ELIMINATE
PLAYER THE GROOVE YOUR BIZ WAGERS DISTRACTIONS
Walk to the The best players If you hit the first Rounds are Turn off the
box ready for are meticulous tee still digging more fun when cell—you
an awesome about their pre- through your there’s a little should’ve taken
round of golf. round routine. If bag for tees, a cabbage on the care of those
As Jack Nicklaus you don’t have ball and a glove, line. And there’s work texts long

Start
says, “The most one, get one. you’re not in the nothing wrong before you hit
important shot Start by slowing proper frame of with a little the tee box. At
of the day is everything mind. Make sure gamesmanship the very least,
the first one.” down. Take all your stuff is (I’m not feeling mute it and bury
Don’t come some time to pre-loaded and well, how about it in your bag.
screeching into deep-breathe accessible when an extra stroke?). Then pull the
the parking lot and focus. you’re at home Bets are often club that gives
two minutes Stretch to get the night before won or lost you the best
You only get one before your tee
time. Get to the
your muscles
warm. Hit a few
or on the range.
That goes for
before you tee
off. If you’re
chance to find
the fairway, even
chance to make course at least putts before you a Sharpie, ball playing with if it’s a 5-iron.
ANGUS MURRAY

an hour before go to the range. marker, and divot- strangers, halve You don’t want
so you can Do everything repair tool. Have the handicaps your first swing
a irst impression properly prepare
for greatness.
in slow motion.
Find a rhythm.
a place for them
in your bag.
and adjust at the
turn if necessary.
of the day to
be a miss.

32 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018 Scott Munroe, Nantucket G.C., Siasconset, Mass. (scottmunroegolf.com)
 PLAYING LESSONS

BASICS

GIVE CHIPS
SCAN
This Photo

THE HOOK
And never flub a
short shot again.
See page 4.

It’s not a miss, but

rather a savvy, Tour-
proven trick to nestle
chips into tap-in range
Tight lies can
be especially LOW AND LEFT
troublesome around Hook your chips
the green. Catch a with the face
little turf on one CLOSED closed to your
of these delicate STANCE. alignment and a
finesse shots and slight shaft lean
it’s goodbye par. Yet to expose the
time and again I see bounce. Use a
sweeping swing
weekend players set
and release the
up for these chips clubhead. The ball
with their weight will fire out low,
almost entirely on spin left, and run
their lead leg and the up to the hole.
shaft leaning steeply
toward the target.
This eliminates the
bounce you need
to play these shots
properly and, worse
yet, exposes more
of the leading edge SWEEPING
to the turf (stub). SWING.
Your solution?
Hit a hook shot. Play
the ball in the middle
of your stance and
choke down an inch
or two. Close your
stance to the ball and
aim a little right of
your target. Simply
brush the grass on
an arc around your
toes and clip the
ball along the way.
Feel the clubface re-
lease, as if you were SMOOTH
drawing an iron from RELEASE.
the fairway. The ball
ANGUS MURRAY (4)

will come out low

and run left—all the
way to the hole.

Kevin Sprecher, Sleepy Hollow C.C.,

Scarborough, N.Y. (@KevinSprecher) AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 33
 Justin Rose

34 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

Performance

If you haven’t noticed, JR is

killing it this year, earning
roughly $400K per start.
The 37-year-old Brit has
always been a ballstriking
savant, using pressure
instead of raw muscle
to compress the ball on
every swing. It’s a talent
all great players share.
Here’s how to get it.
Analysis by Top 100 Teacher Jon
Tattersall, Fusion ATL, Atlanta, Ga.
 1
SIDE SWAP 2
Justin’s arms appear
to be pinned to his
WHITE
torso, but a spilt- KNUCKLES
second from now Notice the white in
they’ll be flying of Rose’s right index
his chest and up over finger against the
his left shoulder. grip. There’s a lot
Meanwhile, he’s of pressure being
3 applying downward applied to that
TILT & TURN pressure into the grip joint, then through
Rosie’s right side is with his right arm and the handle and
just starting to bend hand while pulling up into the ball. No flip
as his left side gets with his left side. This here, which is why
stretched upward right/left battle is JR compresses
and behind his feet. your ticket for speed. the ball while most
At the same time, recreational players
his chest is catching simply swipe at it.
up and will soon
rotate farther open
than his lower body.
This synchronized
opening shows how
Justin has efectively
conducted the
energy from the
ground through
his body and all the
way to the clubhead.
4
FOOT PRESS
This is what calm,
powerful footwork
looks like. He moves
into his left heel
without much roll
of his left ankle. The
right foot applies
pressure into the
ground through
the ball of the foot.
Justin’s pressure
Average number of birdies Rose technique here is
flawless. Copy it.
makes per round (202 total). That’s
best on Tour (through the U.S. Open).
 Performance STROKE SAVER SCAN
This Photo

For more ways to

tame nasty rough.
See page 4.

Score from
the Rough
Get super close from greenside
junk with a faster swing. How
fast? Use your ears.

When playing from heavy

rough of the fairway, escape
is the first order of business, but from
around the green, knocking it close
remains priority No. 1. For starters,
choke down on a lob or sand wedge
and narrow your stance, keeping
pressure over your left foot. Position
the ball forward in your stance and
aim your feet, hips and shoulders
slightly left of your target, keeping
the clubface open to unlock the club’s
bounce. Take a couple of practice
swings first from a similar patch of
rough. Use more wrist hinge than
normal going back and—here’s the
secret—swing along your shoulder
line, not toward the target. And do it
with speed, so that the club makes a
loud “whoosh” through impact. If
you only hear a soft brushing of the
grass, add more arm speed. This LAUNCH CONDITIONS
auditory cue tells you that you’re Hinge your wrists quickly on your backswing and, as
creating the speed you need to you come through impact, listen for the sound of your
dislodge the ball from the cabbage. clubhead powering through the heavy grass. Halt your
Now step up and repeat it for real— finish when the shaft is parallel to the ground. Aim to land
and show the rough who’s boss! a bit short of where you want the ball to end up, because
it won’t have as much spin and will roll out a little more.

36 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 ESCAPE WITH EASE TRY THIS!
At address, set your body slightly left of the target and
set the clubface open to your stance. Stand closer to the

A STRETCHFOR
ball than usual and listen for the whoosh when you swing.
Combining speed with this setup creates the angle and
loft you need at impact to launch the ball up and out.

MORE SPEED
Get “Tour vertical” through impact
with the help of an exercise band

As today’s
Tour players
prove, the more you
explode your left
side upward through
impact, the more
speed you create.
Groove this move
with resistance
training. Attach one
end of an exercise
band to the belt loop
on your lead hip. Run
the band down your
leg and under your
left foot, then secure
the other end under
your right. Your goal
is to stretch the
band vertically as
you swing through
impact. Resistance
from the band as
you “launch” your
left side skyward
reminds you to do
it faster and with
more force on each
successive swing.
You’ll be a bomber
in no time.
ANGUS MURRAY (2); FAR RIGHT: BOB CROSLIN

BAND AIDS
If you fail to feel resistance from the band
as you swing through impact, you’re either
hanging back or sliding toward the target.
The goal is to launch your left hip straight up.

Debbie Doniger, GlenArbor G.C.,

Bedford Hills, N.Y. (@DebbieDoniger)
Jason Carbone, Baltusrol G.C., Springfield, N.J. (@JasonCarbone)

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 37

 the
Fıghter
In the history of the
game, few golfers have
been as beloved, by
galleries and players
alike, as Phil Mickelson.
But if Lefty has made
it look easy all these
years—the wins, the
warmth, the physics-
defying flop shots—
he’s still determined
to, well, toughen up.
by Alan Shipnuck

R
ancho Santa Fe is a hilltop ham-
let a half hour north of San Di-
ego, a sun-splashed Mayberry
for the one percent. On a sleepy
Monday morning in late May,
amidst a procession of drop-top
Bentleys and sleek Teslas, a mid-
dle-aged dude in shorts and flip-flops rolls down
the perfectly quaint main drag in an unexpected
vehicle: a black golf cart, with a leather Tour
bag bulging out the back. He’s wearing a Whis-
per Rock cap and carrying a huge Yeti thermos.
Stepping into Cafe Positano, a temple of gour-
CHRIS CONDON/PGA TOUR

met cofee, this jovial patron is sized up by the

barista like Sam Malone might gaze upon Norm
Peterson, and asks, “You want the usual, Phil?”
In short order, five shots of espresso are
poured into the concoction that Phil Mickelson

38 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 Once a Sun Devil,
always a Sun Devil. In
February, Mickelson
soaked up some
Arizona love at the
Waste Management
Phoenix Open.
had already brewed a mile away at his Mediterra-
nean-style compound. Phil takes his cofee drinks
very seriously, and with the help of a de facto som-
melier has concocted a magic elixir that he says
strengthens his immune system and helps him
train better by reducing inflammation. It consists of
coarsegroundEthiopianYirgachefecofee,almond
milk, cinnamon, cacao nibs, collagen and medium-
chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, which is extracted
from coconuts. “At my age, it’s all about recovery,”
says Mickelson, 48. “To be able to practice as hard
as you need to or to work out as hard as you need to,
you have to recover. And it takes a little while longer
at this age.” Not that the Hall of Famer has grown
complacent: He had gotten up this morning at 5:30
to hit the gym and followed that with an hour and a
half of short-game work.
Phil takes a seat at a sidewalk table, the bet-
ter to sip his cofee and hold court. He’s in a wist-
ful mood. His wife, Amy, is across the country at
Brown University, helping eldest daughter Amanda
move out of her dorm room at the end of her fresh-
man year. Like her father, Amanda is an eclectic
personality with myriad interests, including Egyp-
tology, her current major. “She says Brown is the
first place she feels like people ‘get’ her,” Phil says,
but as thrilled as he is for his daughter’s intellec-
tual growth spurt, he is eager to have the family re-
united. Sophia, a dancer and an artist, is finishing
up her sophomore year of high school. She already
has her driver’s license and often shuttles to school
her little brother Evan, a freshman who has gone to
coding camps and regularly invents his own video
IMPACT
PLAYER
In his two-plus
decades on Tour,
Mickelson has
charmed, cajoled
and steamrolled his
way into the lives of loads
of other golf professionals—
especially the young ones.
It’s almost certain that no
one has befriended ’em—
and busted ’em—like Phil.
40 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
The first of games. Getting cut out of car-pool duties has been
Phil’s five
majors—the
hard on Phil—he loved the chance to chat with the
2004 Masters— kids during the drives. But on school mornings he
may still be his can still occasionally lure them to breakfast at their
sweetest. Mike favorite greasy spoons. Phil gestures over yonder,
Weir certainly
thought the to an unseen restaurant with excellent pancakes.
jacket was fitting. It’s hard to believe the one-time phenom with
the rakish smile and upturned collar who won a
Tour event as an undergrad is now only a couple of
years away from being an empty-nester. But how-
ever pensive he may be about his children growing
up, Phil can’t disguise his excitement for this next
phase of his life. He and Amy have already bought a
piece of land adjacent to their current spread, where
they will build a smaller, cozier house. Beyond that,
ZACH But she saw me on TV, and saw
JOHNSON
“You want
that I was playing not with Phil
Mickelson but with Daddy’s
Phil stories?
I wouldn’t even
friend. And that’s the only way
it is: ‘That’s Daddy’s friend, Phil.’
IMAGES; KEVIN C. COX/GETTY IMAGES; TOM PENNINGTON/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY OF KPMG
HEADSHOTS, LEFT TO RIGHT: SAM GREENWOOD/GETTY IMAGES; GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY
know where to Fast forward. Even though Phil
start [laughs]. has probably been around Abby
There’s only so Jane twice in her life, they now
many guys on Tour that I can just send videos to each other. He’ll
look at and I’ll start laughing, and send one making fun of me or
Phil is right there near the top. encouraging her to cheer for me.
I consider him a really good friend, She sent him one congratulating
so I’ll give you the Cliff Notes him on his win in Mexico this year.
on the story that sticks out in my Everybody knows Phil’s a prankster,
mind. It’s 2015, we were paired but he’s also a genuinely great
at the Presidents Cup, all of the guy. He’s a dad. He gets it. It’s all
matches, and we didn’t lose. We of 15, 20 seconds of his time, but
fed off each other all week. It just sending a video occasionally to
my daughter is really special. It’s
so happened that that week was
when my youngest daughter, something most people wouldn’t
Abby Jane, started to kind of realize, know, but that’s the Phil Mickelson
‘Dad’s not home. Where is he?’ I’m always gonna remember.”
 “I actually do believe that I’m starting to play better than
[I did in 2006]. Does that mean I’ll have the results?
I don’t know. There’s a very deep pool of players right
now that are just better than we were 15 years ago.”
“I’m looking forward to getting to date Amy again,
once the kids are outta the house,” Phil says with
a grin. “We want to travel the world. Our plan is
to live for three to six months in many unique and
special places. That’s going to be great fun.”
ship at Baltusrol in 2005, I was 15 pounds heavier, I
looked awful, and here I am 13 years older and I’m in
better shape,” he says. “I physically feel better. I eat
better. I take care of myself better. Most people re-
gress. I feel like I’ve improved a little bit over time.”
Phil’s victory at the WGC-Mexico City, in Feb-

B
y now it’s 10 a.m., and Phil’s stomach
is growling, so we jump in the golf cart
to head to his home away from home,
The Bridges golf club. It will come as
no surprise that his is not a regular cart
but rather a souped-up version that has
DirecTV and can touch 50 miles per hour. “Don’t
worry, it’s perfectly safe and I’m a conservative
driver,” he says, unconvincingly. We tear of across
the countryside, past large estates dotted with
grazing horses. The tires are squealing on every
bend in the road and Phil admonishes me for not
properly leaning into the turns.
At The Bridges, he greets every waiter and bus-
boy by name. Though neither of us are Millennials,
we order the avocado toast. Phil’s commitment to
healthy eating and exercising—he owns a black belt
in Taekwondo—began around the time he hit 40.
“If I look back to when I won the PGA Champion-
ruary, ended a nearly five-year drought, though
in fairness he did shoot -14 or better at the 2014
PGA Championship, 2015 Masters and 2016 Brit-
ish Open, only to be beaten at all three by historic
performances. The triumph in Mexico was the 43rd
win of his career (ninth all-time). Phil has often
talked about getting to 50 victories, which would
take him into his early to mid-50s. He has already
enjoyed a run of sustained excellence that is nearly
unprecedented in all of sports: He was one of the
best players in the world as an undergrad at Arizona
State and three decades later remains a force in the
game. (Nicklaus arrived in 1960, when he nearly
stole the U.S. Open as a 20-year-old amateur, but
The Stenson/Mickelson after his victory lap at the ’86 Masters he never won
shoot-out at the ’16 again.) If Phil had managed to make a bogey on
Open Championship the 72nd hole at Winged Foot in 2006, that would
was epic, and another
of Lefty’s excruciating
have been three major championship victories in
close calls. a row; he calls that “my best run.” Yet he says, “I

XANDER
SCHAUFFELE
“This year, I played
all four rounds at the
Waste Management
with Phil, and it was
incredible. I feel like
I got the full Phil
TOP: STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; TOP RIGHT: MIKE EHRMANN/GETTY IMAGES
like, ‘Oh, gosh, it’s so hard to swing.’
I was like, what’s going on? And Phil
goes, ‘Here Charley, you mind holding
onto this?’ And he pulls this wad of
cash out of his back pocket! The
whole day, I was sitting in the cart, just
lookin’ around, like, ‘I’m not gonna say
anything here; I’m just gonna let these
and he hit a big, slingin’ hook around
the tree to about six feet. I walked
up to him at Oakmont and was like,
‘Dude, that was the greatest shot
I think I’ve ever seen in my life.’
And he was like, ‘You liked that?
You liked that?’ I was like, ‘Yeah!’”

experience. But the coolest moment guys battle it out.’ And it was so much SHAWN QUILL
I’ve had with him was when I was on fun. Phil showed how competitive (Executive Director,
the Web.com Tour. I played a pickup and fun he can make golf.” Sports Marketing &
round with Phil and Charley Hoffman Sponsorships at KPMG)
at The Grand, my home course in ANDREW “Earlier this year, we
San Diego, and [laughs] there’s so LANDRY were hosting a client
much banter between those guys. “I’ve had a couple golf outing with Phil
This was sort of my introduction into of interactions with at Congressional.
what the top dogs do. So we’re on Phil, but the one time I mentioned to him that one of the
the second hole, and I think Charley I really talked to him execs, a CFO and a big Phil fan, had to
was already up on him. You know, was at Oakmont in decline and was really disappointed.
they always gamble a certain amount 2016, right after the Phil suggested he just give the guy a
of money. Phil’s about to tee off, and St. Jude, where he hit this shot on call. I was able to get him on the phone
he’s pretending to struggle. He was No. 17. He was right up against a tree, as we came off the course, and Phil

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 41

actually do believe I’m starting to play better than While at
that. Now does that mean that I’ll have the results? Arizona State,
I don’t know. There’s a very deep pool of players Mickelson won
right now that hit the ball longer than 15 years ago, the NCAA Golf
Championship
that have speed and great instruction and are just three times—
better players than we were 15 years ago. So how and rocked a
will that translate? I don’t know. But I do believe I sweater like the
letterman he
still have a couple more [victories at the] majors in probably was.
me. Majors are easier for me to win than a regular
Tour event, I would say. Raw power is not as impor-
tant and experience is more important.”
His phone bleats and he excuses himself to take
the call. On this day the negotiations are hot and
heavy for a big-money, made-for-TV match ver-
sus Tiger Woods to be played a few months later,
under the lights in Las Vegas. Both Phil and Tiger
grew up in Southern California suburbia, separated
by five years and 100 miles. Their rivalry has been
a lifetime in the making, but the proposed $10 mil-
lion death match was born in a sterile press room in
Scotland four years ago. In the charged moments
following the United States’ loss at the 2014 Ry-
der Cup—making that six defeats in the last seven
Cups—Phil put his name on the line by calling out
the mismanagement of captain Tom Watson and
the bungling bureaucrats at the PGA of America
who had enabled him. Tiger didn’t play in that
match, but he readily signed on to the Ryder Cup
Task Force, which, after Phil’s comments, was
hastily assembled to reform the culture of futility.
Woods and Mickelson were the dominant voices on
the Task Force, and this meeting of the minds began
a long-overdue détente between golf’s biggest stars.

spoke with him for about 15 minutes.
They chatted as if they were longtime
friends, talking about Phil’s strategy for
the upcoming Tour events and where
the exec liked to play golf. Later that
week we learned the CFO was ‘flying
high after the call,’ and that KPMG had
won an important piece of his business.
Our team was thrilled, and credited
he comes in and says, ‘Hey, mind if DAVE PELZ
I sit with you?’ Yeah, of course, you “Walking to dinner
know? So we’re talking, and he’s with Phil one evening
talking about chipping, and he says, in Scotland, a group
‘It’s mind-boggling how many guys of gentlemen came
out here don’t know how to chip.’ toward us, and one of
[Laughs] And I’m sitting there thinking, them shouted, ‘Hey
like, Oh boy. You know, he made me Phil, remember me?
feel guilty! Like, nobody can chip I’m...’—let’s just call him Charlie Golfer.
HEADSHOTS, LEFT TO RIGHT: ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES;
ANGUS MURRAY; MATT ROBERTS/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY CALLAWAY

Phil with helping to close the deal.” compared to you, you know? So he’s
like, ‘It’s unbelievable, but when you’re
TONY FINAU chipping and you’re trying to hit it
“I’ve never been high, you gotta put it on the front
paired with Phil. I’ve foot. You’re trying to hit it low, you
never played with put it on the back foot...’ It was quite
Phil. But he’s always funny, just him talking about how
been a great guy to many guys put the ball in the middle
me. Real nice. One of of their stance and struggle chipping.
the first interactions In my opinion, he’s the best short-
I ever had with him, I was sitting down game artist of all time, so I definitely
to lunch at Silverado Resort in Napa, took notes. No hesitation. It went
the first tournament of the year. And into play right away, that week.”
‘We shook hands the last time the Open
Championship was here.’ To which Phil,
who has shaken hands with a trillion
golfers, responded, ‘You know, Charlie,
I’ve thought of you every day since we met.
In fact, just yesterday I was wondering
about how you, your wife and your
family have been doing.’ Charlie Golfer,
completely overwhelmed, was speech-
less for several seconds. He then
enthusiastically related that his family
was doing great, spun around and left with
his chest puffed out, telling his friends,

42 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 “The tough thing is, Tiger owns thing is that he has the trump card: his career re-
all the trump cards, whether it’s cord. Okay?” Phil says. “Whether it’s 14 majors, 79
wins, however many player-of-the-year awards,
14 majors, 79 wins. So I have to be FedEx Cups. He owns all the trump cards. So I have
to be very careful and strategic in my smack talk,
very strategic in my smack talk.” because if I lay something down, in comes a trump
card, you know, and that shuts me right up.”
This improved chemistry figures to be on display

I
n early 2015, when Tiger was sufering through
the chip-yips, Phil reached out and ofered to
help. Given their previous frostiness, it was a
gesture of deep empathy. Throughout 2016,
they maintained a steady correspondence
while exchanging ideas about that year’s Ryder
Cup, where Tiger would serve as a vice captain and
Phil the team leader. That week at Hazeltine, Mick-
elson knew his reputation was at stake, and he was
deeply moved by Woods’s activist support. “He
was big a part of everything,” Phil says. “He’s been
a great vice captain because he’s so detail oriented.
Guys listen to him and respect him. They look at
him with awe and admiration. When he says some-
thing, it’s taken very seriously. And so having his
input and his voice be heard more was a big deal for
us [in 2016] and continues to be.”
The friendship blossomed from there. Tiger text-
ed encouragement and support after every one of
Phil’s rounds in Mexico City, and when it was over
he ofered heartfelt congratulations. Of course,
their correspondence is not always so syrupy. In
private, both Tiger and Phil are preeminent trash
talkers, though Mickelson has often found himself
rendered mute by his rival’s thumbs. “The tough
at this year’s Ryder Cup in France. Their famously
frosty pairing in 2006 was sprung on them by their
clueless captain, Hal Sutton, but this time around
Phil and Tiger will be better prepared. Their practice
round at the Masters—incredibly, the first casual
game they’d ever shared on Tour—was hardly an
accident. As usual, Phil was playing all the angles.
He waited until that Masters Tuesday, with the
world watching, to bust out his dress-shirt look,
the better to move product for a new endorsement
partner (though Phil says he’s always loved looking
at old photos of Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen and
their contemporaries, and he noted they looked
quite snazzy in long-sleeved, button-down shirts).
He has other passion projects, notably a golf
course he designed outside of Calgary that is open-
ing this summer. If you want to make Phil blush
just ask him the name of the course: “Well, I didn’t
pick it. The owners did. I mean...it’s...the name...
they’re calling it Mickelson National.”
The large TVs in The Bridge’s restaurant are sud-
denly showing an interview with Clint Eastwood
talking about his movie The 15:17 to Paris, which
piques Phil’s interest. The flick received only mixed
reviews from critics, but he says, “I really enjoyed

‘See? I told you he was the nicest guy
ever. And he’s got a helluva memory!’”
LUCAS GLOVER
“The Ping-Pong stories
everybody’s heard?
All pretty much true.
He’s really good, and
really competitive.
But my favorite Phil
story was probably
last year in Boston. I was playing with
Phil and Ian Poulter, and none of us
were hitting it really good, but we were
all getting it up and down a good bit.
Ian and Phil missed a couple of greens
TOP: DAVID MADISON/GETTY IMAGES
laughs and goes, ‘I don’t know about
that.’ We all missed the 18th green and
had similar flop shots. I hit mine in the
bunker. Poulter hit his about 15 feet
past. Phil hit the famous Phil flop—lands
on an upslope, spins up the hill, trickles
down to, like, six or eight inches. Poulter
winks at me and goes, ‘He’s still got me.’
And I went, ‘Yeah, he’s got everybody.’”
CHIP BREWER
(President and CEO
of Callaway Golf)
“Working at Callaway
allowed me to get
to know two icons
the same way. Phil’s house is not
far from the Callaway headquarters
in Carlsbad, so we see him pretty
often. Phil plays...a lot. He’ll play with
anyone who loves the game like he
does. He’ll play with our son, a high
school senior, two or three times a
year. One time David lost and Phil said
to him, ‘Don’t worry, you can pay me
when you turn pro.’ One Friday at the
Farmers Insurance Open, the weather
was just horrible. Cold, blowy,
sideways rain. Phil made a mess of
his last hole on Friday and missed the
cut. Saturday’s weather was no better.
I thought, Well, at least he can have a

in the same spot, and both got ’em
down with unbelievable shots. We’re
walking up to 18 and I said to Ian, while
Phil was walking a little ahead of us,
‘I don’t know, I might take you over Phil
in a short game, you know?’ He kind of
of the game, Arnold
Palmer and Phil
Mickelson. Phil has what Arnold had,
a certain swagger, plus a twinkle in
the eye. But the biggest thing is how
much Phil loves golf. Arnold was
day off, be inside, warm and dry. The
next thing I heard was that Phil and
Keegan Bradley were playing on that
Saturday at Phil’s home course, The
Bridges, in a cold rain. As I heard it,
Phil took him. He seems to come out

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 43

it. Of course, I’m not a very good movie critic in
that I’m not critical. I like ’em all. Except the mov-
ies that win awards, like The Shape of Water—I just
didn’t care for that. A love story with a water alien?
I just didn’t get it. I actually had dinner with Clint
one time, and he was raving about La La Land. So I
watched it, and I’m like, ‘That was miserable. That
was the worst frickin’ thing I’ve ever seen.’ So obvi-
ously my movie prowess is not very good.”
I mention that a few weeks earlier Golf Channel
analyst Brandel Chamblee had taken to Twitter to
ofer a passionate testimonial about La La Land.
“Oh, see, that makes perfect sense, ’cause he and
I don’t see eye to eye on anything,” Phil says. “I was
afraid you were gonna say we felt the same way about
something, and that would’ve thrown me for a loop.”
I ask if he and Brandel have some history I didn’t
know about. “I just like people who build up the
game,” Phil says. “I view this as we’re all in the game
of golf together. We all want to grow the game. We
all want to make it better. And I feel like he’s made
his commentating career on denigrating others.
And I don’t care for that. I like people who help build
the sport up and promote it for what it is, rather than
tearing down and ridiculing others.”
The harsh words hang in the air, so I quickly
ask what he thinks of his former caddie Jim
“Bones” Mackay’s work as a reporter for NBC/
Golf Channel. “I haven’t really had a chance to
listen to him ’cause I’m usually playing. But from
what I’ve heard, he’s really good. And people like
that diferent perspective. And he seems like he’s
really happy.”
Jim “Bones” MacKay (left) put in 25 years on Mickelson’s bag, partnering on
42 of his 43 Tour wins. Phil’s brother, Tim, now gets to do the heavy lifting.
Does he miss anything about his presence on the
bag? Phil demurs, preferring to talk about his new
caddie, his brother Tim.
“Heisextremelyfunny,”hesays.“HeandIhavea
very similar sense of humor. We often say the same
punch line simultaneously. So naturally, I find him
extremely funny. And we have an incredible energy
together. We work well together, but more than
that, we just enjoy being around each other.”
A defining moment in their partnership came on
the 72nd hole in Mexico City, as Phil was waiting to
attempt a do-or-die 3-footer to force a playof. “I
was standing on the back of the green and he came
up behind me and whispered in my ear. He didn’t
mess up my concentration, he just whispered ex-
actly what was in my head: ‘Control your breathing
and connect with the target, connect with the hole.’
It’s exactly what I was thinking. And so he’s very in
sync with me and that brings out my best.
“Having been a college coach for so long, he very
much understands the strategy of when to attack,
when not to. And he can identify when my game

on top a lot. But the point really is that The best way to describe Phil the hole. Lipped out. I got up on the

Phil has to play. Golf is in Phil’s blood.”
STEWART CINK
“Phil’s style—the way
it comes through on
TV, with the fans, is
the way he comes
through with his
friends, too. We were
playing a practice
round at the Presidents Cup, a team
match to get ready for the format. On
a par 3, I had hit it to about 25 feet, and
Phil hit it to about 35 feet. Phil made his
putt, which put the pressure on me.
And he was chattering, you know, like
he always does. I made the putt on
top of him, and he said, ‘You know that
ruined a great story, right?’ I thought I
had created a greater story by making
my putt, but he didn’t see it that way.
is forgetful. And I mean that in the
most respectful way. The shots he
hits or the decisions he’s made on
the course that aren’t so great, he
forgets. And it’s a great quality to
have. He gets knocked down and gets
right back up again, I don’t know how
many times. You can’t even count—
and it’s made him a champion.”
KEEGAN
BRADLEY
“I have a Phil story
from Muirfield Village,
at the 2013 Presidents
Cup. We were doing
really well, playing
alternate shot, and we
were dormie, 6 up with whatever left
to play. And I had about a 5-foot putt
on 13 to win the match—and it 360ed
HEADSHOTS, LEFT TO RIGHT: STAN BADZ/PGA TOUR; ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES; DAVID CANNON/GETTY IMAGES
next hole, it’s my tee and just a 3-iron,
but I was rattled—I hit this 3-iron 100
yards right. So they win that hole. And
then we get to the next hole, a par 5,
and we get up there and I’ve got 5 feet
for birdie; Graham DeLaet has about
25 feet for his birdie. So all Graham has
to do is miss his putt and we win the
match. And Phil looks over at Graham
and goes, ‘Pick it up, it’s good.’ And I
looked over at Phil and I’m like, Are
you kidding me? Now, if I miss the putt,
we lose the hole. So I was pissed. But
then, sure enough, I made the putt,
we won the match. Now it’s funny—
but if I’d missed the putt it wouldn’t
have been funny. Now he says he
knew I was rattled and he wanted
me to make that putt to win the match.
So, typical Phil, trying to teach lessons.
But it was wild. I mean, a 25-footer!”

44 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018


DARREN
TOP LEFT: EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT; TOP CENTER: TANNEN MAURY/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK; TOP RIGHT: AP/CAROLYN KASTER
CLARKE
“I can’t remember
the first time I met
Phil. [Laughs] I’m
getting old! But I’ve
played a lot of golf
with him over the
years. Early on, we never really got on
that well. We were competitors. I had
a huge respect for him, but you were
inspired to beat guys like Phil. But as
years went by we mellowed a bit. So
when the Ryder Cup came round in
2006, I knew Phil and his wife Amy
pretty well. That was a dificult Ryder
Cup for me. Six weeks earlier, Heather,
my wife, had died from breast cancer.
But it was her wish that I play if offered
a pick by Captain Woosnam. Lee
Westwood and I were the last match
out on Friday morning, and who do
A month after GOLF spent the
day with Phil in Rancho Santa
Fe, he turned up at the U.S. Open,
the tournament with which he has a
complicated love-hate relationship.
On the 13th hole of the third round,
he rolled a putt past a fiendish pin
position on a green the USGA had
let get burnt-out and borderline
unplayable. While it was still trickling,
Phil sprinted to his ball and smacked
it back toward the cup, an act of
pique that earned him a two-stroke
penalty and widespread criticism
for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Afterward, he tried to filibuster his
way out of the jam by saying his
ball would have ended up in an
impossible spot and he was simply
applying a superior knowledge of
the rules. Phil always wants to be the
we draw to compete against but Chris
DeMarco and Phil Mickelson. So we’re
getting onto the first tee, and Phil and
Chris come over and give me hugs.
It was a very emotional moment, as
was the whole week. There will never
be a tougher hole for me to play, but
somehow I striped my first drive.
As things transpired, Europe played
very well that year, and we won. The
ritual at the opening and closing
ceremonies is for two players—a Euro
and an American—to enter side by
side, with their wives or partners to
the outside to them. Obviously, that
week I didn’t have a partner. But as it
happened, I was paired with Phil for the
closing ceremony, and as we walked
off the stage, Amy, bless her, stepped
between us and grabbed my hand. It
was one of the most touching things
anyone has ever done for me. Their
On a Saturday at
Shinnecock, Phil
forever redeined
the phrase
cleverest guy in the room, but if this
was a course-management tactic,
he clearly outsmarted himself. It’s
more revealing to see his raked putt
as an act of protest, in the manner
of a monk setting himself on fire.
Over breakfast at The Bridges, he
had allowed, “My legacy will not be
complete if I don’t win a U.S. Open.”
The six runner-up finishes have led
to a rich vein of frustration, but his
feelings have been hardened by what
he feels have been a series of botched
setups that subverted his chances,
including Shinnecock in 2004, Pebble
Beach in ’10 and Merion in ’13. So
while Phil may be a congenial host on
his home turf, what happened on the
13th green at Shinny was a reminder
that he still has a knack for creating
controversy, some of it preordained.
—Alan Shipnuck
support was huge. A few years later,
Phil called me soon after Amy herself
was diagnosed with breast cancer. You
know Phil—he likes to know everything
about everything. So he asked me
loads of questions. Everything he was
about to go through I’d already been
through, so I tried to help him and
Amy any way I could. I don’t know if
I did help, but it was nice to know I
could give a little back to them. It’s
been great to see Amy come through
this whole thing. A happy ending, that
one. Of course, Phil being Phil, after
the Euros lost at Hazeltine ten years
later, he comes up to me in his Team
USA onesie whilst I was having a drink
with Davis Love, and he gets on me
like you wouldn’t believe, just giving
me all kinds of guff. Brutal but brilliant!
But that’s who Phil is: a character, a
competitor—a natural-born winner.”
AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 45
is sharp and when I should be goin’ for it. I’ll say,
‘What do you like of this tee, Bro?’ And he’ll say,
‘You’ve been drivin’ it great—why would you hit
anything other than driver?’ That fills me with
confidence. But if I’m going to hit a club or hit a shot
that is not the smartest, all he has to say to me is one
thing and it resonates: ‘Bro, the math doesn’t add
up.’ That’s all he has to say. The words you choose
and how you communicate them elicit a certain
response. If he says to me, ‘That makes no sense,’
that elicits a defensive, I’ll-show-you response.
But the math not adding up, that resonates and
forces me to reassess the cost/benefit. It’s a subtle
thing, but it’s powerful.”

T
he conversation meanders here and
there. Phil’s brain is full of miscella-
nea—at one point he tosses of the stat
that the earth’s population is growing
1.9 percent annually, so it will double
every 40 years, or until such growth proves un-
sustainable. He looses a rif about time travel and
black holes that I can’t really follow, and he casu-
ally mentions that in 20 years he expects humans
to have “terraformed” Mars, and he is looking
forward to visiting. Occasionally he grabs my
phone and presses pause on the voice recorder
and tells me something juicy and/or profane. He
seems utterly relaxed in the midst of two weeks of
between the Players and the Memorial. Turns out
much of the time will be spent enjoying his regu-
lar games. He’ll drive to Temecula to peg it with
Tom Pernice at Bear Creek, or travel to Irvine to
play with Brendan Steele and John Mallinger and
Luke List at Shady Canyon, or host Charley Hof-
man at The Bridges. “You just want to compete,”
he says. “The smack talk, the bets, the whole
thing—that’s the fun of it.” But as always, Phil is
looking for an edge. “When you play with Luke
List, you realize how great a driver of the golf ball
he is and how much area for improvement there

At the ’18 Masters, golf’s arch-rivals played their first-ever

practice round together, and Phil’s shirt was all business.

46 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 Barely a kid himself when Ernie Els (left) skunked him
at the 1984 World Junior Golf Championship, Phil—
with his wife, Amy (far right)—is now a parent of three,
including temp Masters caddies Evan and Amanda.

is in your own game, so afterward I go back and

work on that. When you play with Tom Pernice,
you realize how good he is with the wedges so,
okay, I need to get my distance control better. It
gives you direction on how to improve.”
Phil begins to describe an ornate putting drill
when he gives up and says, “Let’s go to the house
and I’ll show you.” The Bridges is a no-gratuity
kind of place, but he discreetly slips a stack of Jef-
fersons under the placemat for the server. Another
death-defying drive in his golf cart ensues, and
suddenly we are at Phil’s place. It looks like an Ital-
ian villa, with the various dwellings made of stone
and connected by beautifully landscaped paths.
OPPOSITE, BOTTOM: ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES; TOP, LEFT TO RIGHT: BUDA MENDES/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY ERNIE ELS; ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES

But the most impressive thing is his backyard prac-

tice facility, with greens of various grasses, bun-
kers with diferent kinds of sand and a series of
artificial-turf putting surfaces. To work on his long
game, Phil hits balls directly over a stone cottage
that serves as a staf oice, into an open field be-
yond. I ask if he has ever caught one really thin and
doinked the cottage. He looks at me like I have three
heads. Right, Hall of Famers don’t do stuf like that.
We step to the artificial greens and Phil notes
that one is set at two degrees of pitch, the next at
three degrees and the third green at four degrees.
On each green one of the holes is encircled by balls,
and Phil works his way around, stroking putts to
demonstrate how the ball will tumble in from dif-
ferent angles. He grooves the feeling of these dif-
fering vectors and then once on Tour, with the help
of a green-reading book that displays the pitch of
each putting surface, he has already cracked the
code of how any given putt will break. I have always
thought of Phil’s short game as pure art—who knew
there was so much science, too?
It is now deep into the lunch hour. Phil still has
a few calls to make, and Sophia and Evan will soon
be home from school. So we hop into the cart and
roar back to downtown Rancho Santa Fe, where my
rental car is parked. I thank him for his time. “That
wasn’t too painful,” he lies. Then he tears of down
the street, headed for home.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 47

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TALK ABOUT TRAPPED! ARNOLD PALMER FOUND HIMSELF WEDGED P G A C H A M P I O N S H I P
BETWEEN (FROM LEFT) STEAMING TOUR PROS JACK NICKLAUS,
BILLY CASPER, BOB GOALBY AND KERMIT ZARLEY, AND CRANKY
PGA HOLDOUTS WALTER HAGEN, BOBBY JONES AND SAM SNEAD.

War
for
the
Tour Fifty years ago, in the
glow of the Summer of
Love, tour players and club
pros battled for the soul—
and the dough—of the
PGA of America. It
started ugly, got uglier,
then went nuclear. Here’s
the epic, deinitive and
straight-up dizzying tale.
b y J i m G o r a n t

“That verbal attack recently un-

leashed on me by Leo Fraser, the secretary
of the Professional Golfers Association, was,
on the whole, inaccurate. Fraser did spell my
name correctly—Jack Nicklaus. He even had
my age right—28. And he signed his own name
properly—Leo Fraser. The rest of his cutting
statement, though, was a personal assault.”
Thus began an essay in the September 16,
1968, issue of Sports Illustrated in which per-
haps the game’s greatest player took on one of
the PGA’s highest-ranking oicials. It was one
of many salvos fired during a player rebellion

illustration by Jose p h D a r row

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 51

P G A C H A M P I O N S H I P
against the organizing body that lasted almost two years,
wiped out the 1968 player of the year award, generated mul-
tiple legal actions and divided the PGA forever.
What caused the trouble? What else? Opportunity, money,
power—control. What would result from the epic and bitter
showdown? The pro game we know today, with its tourna-
ments named for corporations, charity partners, hospitality
pavilions, luxe courtesy cars and purses so fat that in 2017 the
102nd finisher on the money list (Steve Stricker) earned more
than a million bucks ($1,002,036) in 13 starts.
“A lot of the players were originally against taking on the
PGA,” says Bob Goalby, 89, who as a member of the Tour-
nament Committee was one of the movement’s ringleaders.
“The players who didn’t serve on the leadership committees
didn’t see what was going on, but once they saw and heard the
truth, they were onboard.”
As the battle lines hardened, Nicklaus emerged as a leader
among the more than 200 players threatening to take their
balatas and bail if they didn’t get a better deal from an orga-
What caused the trouble? What else?
What would result from the showdown?
nization built by and run for club pros. PGA president Max
Elbin led the old guard, supported by the non-touring mem-
bers of the PGA and stalwarts such as Walter Hagen, Sam
Snead and Nicklaus’s boyhood idol, Bobby Jones. The most
powerful player in the game at the time, Arnold Palmer, was
caught in the middle.
“What drove the original rift?” asks Deane Beman, 80,
who played the tour from 1967 to ’73. “There were 200 play-
ers playing for their life, intertwined with 6,000 club pros
with steady jobs, and the needs of those two groups no longer
aligned.” The question that would decide the struggle was a
simple one: Which group needed the other more?
At the height of the hostilities, Elbin, the head pro at Burn-
ing Tree in Bethesda, Md., showed no sign of giving in. “Some
of those who have precipitated the diiculties may be sur-
prised to find out how little time will be required to develop a
new crop of capable players.”
Not to be outdone, Sam Gates, a New York lawyer retained
by the players, was more succinct if not entirely respectful
52 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
In a 1968 edition of SI, Nicklaus fired
back at the PGA suits—among them, from
left, Chalfant, Elbin and Fraser—who were
trying to control the fate of tour players.
when asked who had the upper hand. “This,” he said of the
breakaway group, “is where the dancing girls are, isn’t it?”
1. The Establishment
The Professional Golfers’ Association of America formed in
1916 as an organization of golf pros—people who ran pro shops
and gave lessons. Many clubs in the northern states closed for
the winter, so the pros who toiled there would head south to
pick up extra work and compete in tournaments. The PGA be-
gan to organize the events, and by the 1930s a winter tour had
become somewhat stable, with a number of annual dates and
a steady stream of players.
Still, the small purses, usually put up by chambers of com-
merce or resorts looking to stoke tourism, were not enough for
anyone to live on, and when the weather turned, players went
home to their “real” jobs. That remained true until the 1950s,
when the schedule of events had expanded and the purses
had grown large enough that some players decided to go out
on tour full time. Suddenly, the PGA was comprised of two
groups: golf pros and pro golfers.
Through the ’60s, the gulf between those two factions
grew wider, aided by demographic shifts and the convergence
of two transformative forces: the swashbuckling Palmer and
TV. In 1958, the total prize money available on tour sat at $1
million; by ’68 it had hit $5.6 million. Competition for that
cash was Darwinian. Each year, tournament winners and the
top-60 money earners from the previous season were granted
exempt status, but otherwise fields were filled by one-round,
top-scorers-get-in Monday qualifiers.
TOP RIGHT: DENVER POST VIA GETTY IMAGES
Those qualifiers were open to both tour regulars and to any
local PGA member who wanted to take a week of from the
pro shop and try to win a trophy. By 1964 there were so many
players on the tour and so many local pros vying to get in
fields—and so much complaining from tour regulars—that the
PGA created a qualifying tournament (later called Q School)
through which players could earn a tour card. Cardholders did
not join the ranks of the exempt, but they could enter Monday
 qualifiers for $100 while non-cardholders now had
to pay $200. In addition, the number of slots avail-
able to non-cardholders was capped.
Most fields topped out at 144 or 156 players,
which meant that after exempt players were ac-
counted for, as many as 150 guys were battling for
50 to 75 spots each week. For the touring pros the
stakes were high. Whether they qualified or not,
they had to throw down for the entry fee, food,
travel, lodging and a caddie.
Players coveted any opportunity to earn a check,
so they were excited when, in 1966, Frank Sinatra
ofered to sponsor a new $200,000 tournament in
Palm Springs. What was then known as the PGA’s
Tournament Bureau was run by the Tournament
Committee, made up of four players and three
PGA executives—Elbin, Fraser and treasurer War-
ren Orlick. In a 4-3 vote, the committee decided to
add the Sinatra event to the schedule.
Elbin was against the Ol’ Blue Eyes plan because
the event would take place within a few weeks of Palmer, a mediator and eventual runner-up to Nicklaus, was
the already existing Bob Hope Desert Classic, also under intense pressure at the 1967 U.S. Open at Baltusrol.
in Palm Springs, and Hope himself had called to
say he didn’t think both events could survive. Decisions of “The problem was that the whole operation was being run
the Tournament Committee were subject to the vote of the part-time by three club pros,” says Goalby. “They didn’t have
full, 17-member PGA Executive Committee, comprised of the time to handle everything we needed—from pensions to
16 oicials and one player. Instead of waiting for that group’s course setup—and when they did, they approached it as a club
next gathering, Elbin called for the four Executive Com- pro would.” Even more than Elbin, Orlick and Fraser, tour
mittee members on hand—the three oicers and the player members took issue with Robert Creasey, a former assistant
rep—to vote representing the full committee in absentia. By secretary of labor in the Truman administration who, against
a count of 3-1, the ad hoc Executive Committee overruled the the players’ wishes, was appointed tournament manager and
Tournament Committee. executive director by the PGA.
The players protested. “We run all the risks,” one tour com- Creasey had a key role in negotiating the disputed West-
petitor told SI at the time, “so why should we have a bunch of chester event, and the players felt he was symbolic of the

Opportunity, money, power—control.

The pro game as we know it today.
armchair club pros telling us we can’t play a $200,000 golf
tournament?”
The touring pros also took issue with a new $250,000 tour-
nament in Westchester, N.Y., that PGA executives had nego-
tiated in secret and from which $50,000 of the purse was sup-
posed to go into a general pension fund for all PGA members.
The plan was scrapped, but the damage was done.
To the PGA, the Sinatra event represented just cause for us-
ing its veto power for the first time its 52-year history.
To the players, it was an act of war.
high-handed approach PGA oicials took toward the tour.
They complained that he tried to make himself the “czar
of golf,” getting his fingers in everything from TV deals to
scheduling. Goalby remembers one meeting particularly
well: “We were talking about the expenses charged to the
Tournament Bureau, and Creasey says, ‘When Bob Creasey
travels, he goes double first class.’ That didn’t sit too well
with a lot of the guys.”
The bad feelings came to a head in Memphis on June 1.
The players produced a seven-point manifesto demanding
control over scheduling, finances and the hiring of tour-

2. The Uprising
Discord broiled through the end of 1966 and into early 1967.
Touring pros chafed at the binds imposed by the “sweater
WALTER IOOSS JR/SI
related personnel. Most of all, they insisted on taking away
the PGA’s veto power. In all, 135 players signed it, and added
an ultimatum: If the PGA didn’t agree to all their points by
June 15, the players would boycott the 1967 PGA Champi-

folders,” while club pros grew weary of the “prima donnas” onship, scheduled for July 20 at Columbine Country Club,
who teed it up on TV. “As a member of the tour, I didn’t feel near Denver.
very comfortable for a while going into some pro shops at golf The next day Elbin told the press that the PGA would con-
clubs,” says Kermit Zarley, 76, who joined the tour in 1964. sider the document. Since June 15 was the first day of the U.S.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 53

P G A C H A M P I O N S H I P

Tension
reached its
peak at the
1967 PGA,
where Jack
and 13-time
tour winner
Dave Hill took
relief from a
hazard: the
raging work
dispute.

Philip Freeman’s 23-page report

was banged out on a typewriter—
and initially met with a whimper.

Open, he arranged to meet with the players on June 20 in
Cleveland, but not before amping up the rhetoric by calling
the tour leaders “agitators” and noting “many of the players
are following blindly a trail baited with half-truths, insinua-
tions and outright lies.”
The sides traded jabs for the next two weeks. Elbin sent a
letter to players suggesting they could be suspended if they
boycotted, which Doug Ford, the 1957 Masters winner and
the players’ unoicial “grievance chairman,” said the play-
ers “laughed at,” since by rule the harshest punishment one
could receive for skipping an event he’d committed to was a
thought they had reached in Cleveland lasted all of 14 days.
At a subsequent player meeting, Al Geiberger announced
that he had a friend named Philip Freeman who worked as a
management consultant, and that Freeman had volunteered
to spend three weeks analyzing the situation and identifying
the sticking points by interviewing players, sponsors, tour-
nament oicials and PGA members. He would then produce a
proposal to solve the problems.
On August 8, 1967, Freeman filed a 23-page report that rec-
ommended that the PGA and the Tournament Division be-
come two separate entities housed under one roof. The PGA

TOP LEFT: DENVER POST VIA GETTY IMAGES; TOP RIGHT: JESSE REITER
$100 fine. would continue to operate with its current structure and the
The build-up led to an unusually tense Open week at Bal- tour would be overseen by a board of players and outside ex-
tusrol, in Springfield, N.J. “Palmer, defending champion perts who’d hire a commissioner to run its day-to-day opera-
Bill Casper, and other stars of the game rushed in and out tions and long-term business. He suggested that the players
of a closed-door meeting with PGA brass between practice hire a lawyer to represent them in negotiations.
rounds,” reported the Spartanburg Herald on June 14. Casper The players read the report but took no action, at least not
hadn’t signed the petition, but only because he wasn’t in until the PGA’s annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., in No-
Memphis at the time. “I’m with the players,” he told report- vember, where Elbin gave a speech that included a warning:
ers. “They’ve got my vote.” Follow the rules or “get out.”
Such solidarity proved essential in Cleveland. In meetings His stance, he explained, came in part because he was
that stretched nine hours and included bitter words and sev- “tired of being harassed.” If it wasn’t clear that he was refer-
eral stalemates, one final session led to a compromise: The ring to the tour players, he proceeded to introduce a new tour-
seven-man Tournament Committee would become an eight-
man group, with four players and four PGA executives. Vot-
ing ties and disputes would be settled by a new three-person
advisory board whose members would be nominated by play-
ers and approved by the PGA. The players got six of the seven
demands in their manifesto, including Creasey’s dismissal as
Change
executive director, but the PGA’s veto power remained intact.
“It’s a good settlement,” Ford said afterwards. “We are
happy with it.”
(Ka-ching)
The joy wouldn’t last.
Is Good
3. The Nuclear Option What was the impact, in
Players continued to grumble about the surviving veto pow-
er. On July 1, Ford announced that tour members had taken
another vote and elected to disavow the Cleveland solution.
part, of the players’ brawl with
They played in the PGA Championship but never appoint- the PGA? Follow the money.
ed an advisory board, and they still wanted the Executive
Committee stripped of its control. The accord both sides

54 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 Rumors circulated that the players were
considering dumping the PGA
entirely and starting their own tour.
nament entry form that limited players’ rights and required
anyone who qualified for the PGA Championship to play in it.
“Entrants in our regular tour events will be considered to have
an obligation to compete in our championship,” he said. Call it
the anti-boycott clause.
The plan for an expanded eight-person Tournament Com-
mittee agreed to in Cleveland survived, and during the annual
meeting, the players filled out their half with Gardner Dickin-
son, as chairman, Doug Beard, Ford and Nicklaus; the execu-
tive half consisted of Elbin, Orlick, Fraser and vice-president
Noble Chalfant. The group spent the winter sparring over the
USGA’s new putting rules—the executive committee gave its
initial approval but the players were vehemently opposed—
and the new tournament entry form.
When the Crosby Clambake kicked of the 1968 season in
January, neither issue had been resolved. The players hired
Gates, who advised them not to accept the new form. Faced
with a mass revolt backed by legal muscle, the PGA sided with
the players on the putting rules and reverted to the old entry
form. It also hired its own representation: a Washington law-
yer named William Rogers.
For the next few months, Gates and Rogers carried on the
conversation while assuring all parties they’d be able to ne-
gotiate an amicable settlement. “We phoned and met a great
number of times,” Gates said. “There was never any acrimony
between us.”
The peace was not contagious. Rumors circulated that the
players were considering the nuclear option: dumping the
PGA entirely and starting their own tour. As if it was dar-
ing the players to go, the PGA rehired Bob Creasey as execu-
tive director in late July. Word spread that he had negotiated
a $100,000 TV deal for the World Series of Golf and Shell’s
Wonderful World of Golf without consulting the players, and
that the money would go not to the Tournament Bureau but
YEAR 1969 1979 1989
TOTAL PURSE
FOR ALL $5,465,875 $12,801,200 $41,288,787
TOUR EVENTS
MONEY FRANK BEARD TOM WATSON TOM KITE
LEADER $164,707 $462,636 $1,395,278
WINNER’S
SHARE AT N/A $72,000 $243,000
THE PLAYERS
into a general PGA fund. Players argued among themselves.
“Some of those meetings got emotional,” recalls Zarley.
After he missed the cut in the PGA Championship at
Pecan Valley in San Antonio, Jack Nicklaus was asked what
he thought of the field, which included 112 club pros and only
56 touring pros. “It’s absurd and unfortunate,” the Golden
Bear growled, which rankled the PGA.
In early August, the situation grew even worse.
Rogers and Gates had sketched the framework of a self-
governing tournament division operating under the roof of
the PGA. Sorting out the details of exactly how autonomous
the division would be was the hard part. Since any amend-
ments to the PGA constitution had to be filed 100 days before
November’s annual meeting, Gates ofered a placeholder
resolution on August 6, 1968, to ensure that the issue would
be on the docket. In part, the document called for a Tourna-
ment Players Section of the PGA, “which shall have full and
complete authority over the conduct and management of the
PGA Tournament Programs.”
Elbin and his colleagues voted it down.
Gates was incensed. “It was a simple item on the agenda,
which should not have taken two minutes,” said Gates at the
time. “The action was designed only to keep the door open for
further negotiations. But the PGA oicers slammed it shut in
our faces.” He continued, “In so doing the oicers completely
undermined all the months of patient work between Rogers
and myself and all the progress we had made toward a fair
settlement of our diferences. In a display of bad faith, they
kicked over the traces.”
“The players now wanted to be completely autonomous
from the rest of the PGA,” Elbin responded. “This was com-
pletely unacceptable.” The following week Gates went to
Washington D.C. to meet with PGA executives, who of-
fered an eight-point plan that seemed to be [CONTINUED ON PAGE 94]
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AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 55
P G A C H A M P I O N S H I P
[CONTINUED FROM PAGE 55]
an attempt to revive the Cleveland agree-
ment. In it, they proposed creating an
advisory board that would arbitrate dis-
putes. But the plan gave the PGA a con-
trolling majority on the board, in efect
maintaining its veto power.
This time Gates rejected the deal.
Further negotiations fell apart, and lat-
er that day more than 100 players, gath-
ered for the Westchester Classic, held
a vote. The question at hand
was the future of professional
golf in the United States. By a
unanimous count the tour pros “I’m not sure how
went nuclear.
the controversy
4. The Standoff will affect us,” said
“I have 205 clients—I have
counted them. We are negotiat-
ing for tournaments and televi-
ABC’s Arledge, “but
sion contracts now. We will have
announcements when they are we won’t televise
completed.” It was August 19, six
days after the players had voted
to break away, and Gates was
a tournament with
holding a press conference to in-
troduce APG—American Profes-
nobodies in it.”
sional Golfers, Inc. A 13-member
APG advisory committee—comprised
of Dickinson, Nicklaus, Beard, Ford,
Casper, Goalby, Zarley, Jerry Barber,
Lionel Herbert, Dave Eichelberger, Dave
Marr, Bob Rosburg and Dan Sikes—had
been created.
Gates announced that the players
would play out the remainder of the sea-
son, plus the two tournaments already
under contract for 1969. “Our boys have
no intention of resigning from the PGA,”
he said. “The players will not boycott
any tournament, because that would not
be in the best interests of the game and of
the public.”
“We don’t want to strip the PGA of its
representation,” was how Dickinson put
it. “What we want is to have the right to
cast the deciding vote over such matters
as where, how and under what condi-
tions we play. It seems like a reasonable
request to me.”
Elbin didn’t think so. Two days ear-
lier, the PGA had disbanded the Tourna-
ment Committee and seized control of
the tour, and it scheduled its own press
summit for the same day as the APG’s. “I
can’t see their desire to escape the PGA,”
Elbin said. “I don’t understand it. The
94 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
PGA has made millionaires out of some
of these men.”
Elbin left no room for straddling the
line. “If a player decides to go with the
other group, his PGA card will be lifted
immediately.” As for what would become
of the PGA events, he said, “We will con-
tinue to play tournament golf. It will be
tough at first, but we will endure.”
Along those lines, Fraser noted that
the PGA still controlled the club pros and
therefore the clubs. “We’ve got 6,000
little factories turning out potential
stars,” he said.
The next day Elbin proposed a new
tournament entry form that would force
players to commit to the PGA. A resigned
Dickinson admitted, “there is no chance
as of now of a reconciliation.”
5. The Peacemaker
No one seemed more conflicted by the
split than Arnold Palmer. He’d pub-
licly supported the players but main-
tained a dialogue with both sides. “He
was selling clubs, so it was hard for him
to alienate the club pros,” says Goalby.
“He had to worry if they were going to
stop carrying his stuf.”
Besides selling clubs, Palmer had lu-
crative endorsement deals and wide-
spread notoriety beyond golf, and he and
his agent, Mark McCormick, were leery
of being seen in a negative light by the
public. Most of all, Palmer’s father, Dea-
con, was the head pro at Latrobe Country
Club and a long-time PGA member. The
organization meant a lot to Palmer per-
sonally, and he felt compelled to make
peace. “I think that the pros and the PGA
need each other, and there should be fur-
ther negotiations,” he said after the for-
mation of the APG.
Palmer began working the phones,
and on Friday, August 23, Elbin flew to
Latrobe to meet with him. Six days later,
Palmer returned the favor, jetting to D.C.
to make a presentation to the PGA Exec-
utive Committee. Palmer wasn’t
representing the APG, but Gates
signed of on the trip. “My pur-
pose as an individual is to try to
find a solution,” Palmer said.
In a closed-door session that
lasted four and a half hours,
Palmer made the case that the
two groups should merge for a
one-year trial, during which the
tour would be run by a 14-person
board consisting of the APG’s
newly elected seven player/
directors—including Dickinson
as president and Nicklaus as
vice president—four unailiated
businessmen, and three PGA
oicers. Elbin promised that the
full PGA Advisory Board would
discuss the proposal at its meeting in
Houston on September 6. “Any time you
talk to Arnold Palmer,” he said, “it’s a step
in the right direction.”
“Arnold controlled a lot about golf in
those days,” Goalby agrees. “Other play-
ers respected his opinions.” If Arnie had
said he was sticking with the PGA, many
would have followed suit.
But golf’s other big star had already
moved on. While Palmer was negoti-
ating, Nicklaus insisted that the APG
would move forward with its plans. That
caused Fraser to accuse Jack of trying
to undermine Arnold’s eforts. Fraser’s
claim that Nicklaus had disseminated
“false information designed to mislead
the public,” among other things, led to
the Golden Bear’s scathing, 1,500-word
rebuttal in Sports Illustrated.
Outside the big two, other powerful
forces were stirring. The Internation-
al Golf Sponsors Association (IGSA),
which represented the money behind
34 of the PGA’s 44 events, cautioned
both sides not to jeopardize the rest of
the 1968 season. At ABC, which had just
signed a two-year deal to televise ten
tour events, including the PGA Cham-
pionship, Roone Arledge, then the net-
work’s VP for sports, piped up. “I’m not
sure how the present controversy will af-
fect us,” he said, “but we won’t televise a
tournament with nobodies in it.”
6. The Breakup
Houston turned into a problem. The
IGSA was holding its annual meeting in
the city in conjunction with the PGA Ad-
visory Board meeting. So as the debate
on Palmer’s proposal commenced, the
sponsors ofered up a solution of their
own. It was a variation on the theme: A
separate tour division, in this case gov-
erned by a 12-member board made up of
three current players, three retired play-
ers, three PGA executives and three oi-
cers of the IGSA.
Faced with a new option, the PGA de-
layed its decision. Meanwhile, at the
Greater Hartford Open, in Connecticut,
oicials tacked a new, more restrictive
entry form to the bulletin board. Players
hadn’t been asked to sign it, but it hung
there as a harbinger—and a threat.
Although Palmer had warned the PGA
that if it voted down his plan, it will have
“written a finish to any possibility of a
united PGA,” the PGA did just that on
September 13, announcing that they had
accepted the IGSA proposal.
The players quickly rejected it. “We
have gone as far as we can go to try to
keep together,” Nicklaus said. To which
Dickinson added: “We’re going ahead
with our business. We are in the process
of making a schedule for next year.” A
“deeply disappointed” Palmer sided with
the APG. And it grew worse for the PGA.
When asked what his organization would
do, Angus Mairs, the outgoing president
of the IGSA, said: “We have decided to go
with the dancing girls.”
7. The Fallout
Elbin lost it. “As trustees for all the own-
ers of the PGA circuit, we pledge our-
selves to defend our rights by all proper
means, including legal procedures,” he
said. The next day, September 24, the
United States District Court in Delaware
issued a temporary restraining order on
the APG. The judge, however, could not
stop the sponsors from making their
intentions clear, and on September 26,
Sea Pines announced that it would host
an APG event in 1969, and the director
of a group of five tournaments said that
they, too, would flip to the APG.
On October 2, the PGA released a let-
ter from Sam Snead in which he vowed
not to play in non-sanctioned tourna-
ments. “The fact that I have been able
to win more money at my age than ever
before would seem to indicate the PGA
tour is a pretty good way to make a liv-
ing as it is being run right now,” wrote
Snead, who, at 56, had won $43,000 in
prize money that year. “Golf has been
pretty good to this old country boy.”
Over the coming weeks, Walter Hagen
and Bobby Jones would also side with
the PGA.
If the judge saw Snead’s folksy testi-
mony, he wasn’t impressed. Within 24
hours he’d rescinded part of the restrain-
ing order, and on October 14 he did away
with the rest.
As the month progressed and more
tournaments flipped to the APG, the old
guard started to feel the pressure. Spon-
sors were dragging their feet on new con-
tracts. Arledge and ABC were threatening
to pull out of their deal. Dayton was set to
host the 1969 PGA Championship, and its
two biggest sponsors were making noise
about backing out if the PGA could not
guarantee the marquee players.
Since they remained PGA members,
and the PGA Championship remained a
major, the players pledged to show up in
Dayton, which helped the PGA—and gave
it leverage. It soon announced it would
sue any member that played in an APG
event that took place the same week as a
PGA event, since that would be a viola-
tion of membership rules. Unbowed, the
APG announced it had contracts for 20
tournaments, and was negotiating with
another 13 potential sponsors.
The maneuvering suggested that, de-
spite the contretemps, the two sides had
reasons to prefer a cooperative arrange-
ment. And negotiations resumed. In his
speech at the PGA’s annual meeting,
in mid-November, Elbin showed some
give. “We’re willing to share control,”
he said, “but the players so far insist on
dominant control.”
It was his last public comment on the
matter; he’d reached the end of his term
as PGA president. He was replaced by
Leo Fraser.
8. The Rebirth
Coincidental or not, with Elbin gone the
pace of chatter picked up. In December,
Gates turned up at the PGA’s first club-
pro national championship in Scottsdale,
where the Executive Committee was
meeting. A month remained before the
start of the inaugural APG tour.
Gates presented a 15-point plan. The
PGA came back with 12 amendments.
During a 15-hour meeting that started on
a Monday afternoon and went into Tues-
day morning, they hammered out most of
the details, and on Dec. 12 an end to the
war was finally declared.
The PGA would form a separate Tour-
nament Players Division, a freestanding
corporation run by a 10-member tourna-
ment policy board of four players, three
PGA executives and three consulting
businessmen. A commissioner would run
the tour and answer only to the board. All
the APG contracts, and their tournament
schedule, would be transferred to the
PGA, and all pending litigation would be
dismissed.
Joe Dey, the respected executive director
of the USGA, was hired as commissioner,
and he helped calm the waters and re-
store the players’—and the game’s—public
standing. In 1974, Dey was succeeded by
Deane Beman, who would go on to sever
all ties to the PGA of America and change
the operation’s name to the PGA Tour.
In the years that followed, Beman
initiated the changes that have cre-
ated the modern Tour, negotiating bet-
ter TV deals, securing nonprofit status
and turning the Tour into a brand, with
a logo as recognizable as that of the NBA
or NFL. But more than just glamour and
money, the intervening decades have
brought stability and depth, with more
events, a developmental tour and a player
pension plan. To the pioneers who stared
down the PGA of America in 1968 these
latter points are the greater achievement.
Those guys would be happy that Tiger
Woods has earned $111 million in purses;
they’d be thrilled that rank-and-file play-
ers such as Brian Gay and Bob Estes have
taken home more than $20 million.
“It was the best thing that ever hap-
pened to the Tour,” say Goalby. “When
you look at how successful it has been,
and all the money these guys play for now,
so much of it came from those days.”
AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 95
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 the
odds f
or a glimpse of what’s in store
for golf fans in this country
who like to have a little extra
rooting interest, we take you to
a ground-floor oice in a bland
business complex, four miles
west of the Las Vegas Strip.
It’s approaching noon on a Fri-
day. Five televisions on the wall
are screening live feeds of the
second round of the 2018 Players
Championship. On one, Bubba
Watson, wielding his pink driver, sails
his tee shot on the first hole deep into
the trees.

couple
Thanks to a recent Supreme Court
ruling, gambling on golf will soon
be legal. Las Vegas is betting on
explosive action around the sport,
as is the PGA Tour, r which has its
own plan to make bank—assuming
it doesn’t have its hands full
with, um, enterprisingg players
suddenly shanking three-footers.
by JOSH SENS • illustrations by JONN Y WA N
“He’s an underdog to make par
here,” Martin de Knijf says.
An intense but amiable man in
his mid-40s, with a dark goatee and
a gleaming pate, he is watching the
broadcast from behind a conference
table, flanked to his right by three
colleagues at computers.
“Put him at plus-one-twenty,” de
Knijf says.
A coworker clacks a keyboard, and
on one of the TVs, up pop those odds,
alongside Golf Channel’s coverage of
the hunt for Bubba’s ball.
“Let’s see what kind of lie he has,”
de Knijf says. “Maybe I should have
made him an even bigger ’dog.”
A few months from now, being
right about such things will really
matter. But this is just a test, a trial
run of a digital gaming service that
de Knijf (pronounced Kn-AYF)
plans to launch in the United States
this fall. He calls it “SuperLive”
betting, and as the name suggests,
immediacy is key to its appeal.
Instead of setting odds on, say,
Bubba to win the Players, or to
shoot a lower second-round score
than Jordan Spieth, or to best Billy
Horschel in the event, the system
churns out probabilities on Bubba’s
prospects, shot by shot. It does so
simultaneously for multiple players
in headline groups, whipping up

58 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 a storm of mid-tournament gambling action.
De Knijf knows there is a market for this kind
of wagering. It’s already big across the pond,
where the London oice of Metric Gaming, the
company de Knijf founded in 2012, generates
“SuperLive” golf lines in high-wattage tourna-
ments for several major sports books throughout
the year, at a rate of some 5,000 separate lines
per event.
It’s all done on the up and up: Sports betting is
legal in much of Europe, as it likely will be soon
across much of the United States, now that a
federal prohibition on it has been lifted. With
the Supreme Court’s recent decision to scrap the
1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protec-
tion Act, states now have the right to allow sports
gambling. In the wake of the ruling, New Jersey,
Connecticut, West Virginia and Mississippi have
already stamped new laws that do just that.
Not everyone favors legalization. Critics point
to the corrosive efects that gambling can have on
families and communities, as well as its potential
to corrupt the integrity of competitions; for
both ethical and economic reasons, they argue,
it is not something the government should get
behind. Yet there’s no doubt which side has the
momentum. According to some projections,
as many as 32 states are on track to greenlight
gambling within the next five years.
The shifting legal landscape has sent a number
of powerful interests into scramble mode—
not just state legislatures but also gambling
operators and sports executives as they rush
to get ahead of the coming changes. The PGA
The dollar amounts in play are hard to ignore.
Though golf attracts a tiny fraction of the tens
of billions bet illegally on sports every year,
a tiny fraction of that sum is still a lot of scratch.
Tour is no exception. After years of treating
“gambling” the way golfers treat “the shanks”—
as a word best not uttered aloud—Tour oicials
have come out in support of legalized sports
betting. The dollar amounts in play are hard to
ignore. Though golf attracts only a tiny fraction
of the tens of billions bet illegally on sports in this
country every year (estimates on the exact figure
vary wildly), a tiny fraction of that sum is still a
lot of scratch. With wider legalization pending,
the Tour wants a cut. There is money to be made.
There are fans to be “engaged.” Meantime, there
60 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
are also questions to be answered. Among them:
What, exactly, will gambling on golf look like in
the not-so-distant future? And what impact, if
any, will it have on the game?
“You don’t know what you don’t know, and
that’s certainly true of golf,” de Knijf says, his
gaze still locked on the Bubba search-party.
“But one thing that’s certain is that golfers
are inherently bettors. They just haven’t been
properly marketed to. Once golfers start to learn
about the betting opportunities that exist, you
have a totally diferent ball game.”
t
o get a better sense of where things are
headed, it helps to have a clearer picture of
where things are now.
Unlike in the United Kingdom, where
plunking down a few pounds on the
British Open is as ingrained in the game
as the bump-and-run, golf betting in the
U.S. is a rarefied practice. In Las Vegas,
ground zero for legalized sports gambling,
it accounts for less than 2 percent of the
total sports book handle.
Many in the gaming industry find this ironic.
“Golf and gambling go hand in hand,” says
Brady Kannon, a Vegas-based golf handicapper,
columnist and radio personality who also runs
a local tee-time booking service. “Since the
game’s inception, its players have been gambling
among each other. Books are a dime a dozen
on golf gambling and all the diferent betting
games you can play on the course with friends. I
remember it was a theme here when I was
first getting into the business more than
20 years ago. Casinos were interested in
meeting the golfers I was bringing into
town because they felt that most golfers
were probably gamblers.”
They probably were. That they weren’t
betting on golf then, and might still not be
today, can likely be attributed to several
factors, including unfamiliarity.
From a gambling standpoint, golf has
never received anything remotely close to
the same coverage as football, with betting lines
printed in the local paper and TV pundits laying
out their picks. Never mind, Kannon says, that
a PGA Tour event lends itself more naturally to
wagering than many other sports by ofering a
greater wealth of potential betting options: from
straightforward futures (picking a player to win
outright) to single-round and tournament head-
to-head matchups, to myriad propositions such
as make-or-miss-the-cut and win-place-show.
As Kannon sees it, the fact that more prospective
gamblers aren’t aware of those options is a
“Golf and gambling
go hand in hand,”
says a handicapper.
“Since the
game’s inception,
its players have
been gambling
among each
other.Books are
a dime a dozen
on golf gambling.”
longstanding problem that now presents itself as
an opportunity. For a sport like football, he says,
“legalizing betting takes an already established
customer base into a new and legal store. For
golf, it is more like opening a store that nobody
has ever been to before.”
Evidence suggests that golf fans will be eager
to scour the shelves. Consider the recent boom in
fantasy play, which, until the Supreme Court’s
landmark gambling ruling, was regarded by
many as a legal stand-in for sports betting. Early
last year, DraftKings reported a 2,300 percent
jump in its fantasy golf business, along with 15
million new subscribers to the platform, since
its launch in 2014.
Legalized or not, explosive growth in gaming
would not be possible without what probably
ranks as the biggest change of all to hit the
gambling industry: the flowering of the digital
age. Just as technology has altered golf itself, so
has it influenced golf gambling, playing both a
limiting and liberating role. One example that
longtime bettors might remember emerged in
the early aughts with an ofshore gaming outfit
called World Sports Exchange. Among the
gambling options the company ofered from its
headquarters in Antigua was what it billed as
“interactive” golf betting. Modeled on the stock
exchange, the online market allowed gamblers
to buy or sell shares of a player as the tournament
unfolded, with each share meant to reflect the
odds that the player had, at that very instant,
of winning the event. Invariably, Tiger Woods
would open a tournament as a blue chip: If you
wanted him, you had to buy him high. If he went
on to play poorly, blocking tee shots, rinsing
balls in the water, you might have to sell him
low, wishing you’d loaded up instead on, say,
Paul Goydos, or some other strong-performing
version of a penny stock.
In those years, there were few, if any, other golf
betting platforms like it.
“It was exciting and innovative,” says Bill
Edler, a veteran sports handicapper who helped
set those interactive lines. “I was convinced it
was the future—that everything would be going
that way in just a few years.”
Engaging as it was, though, the interactive
system was also hindered by the tools it relied on.
The Internet was still a fairly sluggish conduit.
If the World Sports Exchange website lagged or
froze, as it often did, you might not get the trade
you wanted when you wanted it, or be able to
make it based on the most updated information.
Ditto if the TV coverage you were watching
slipped behind. Within a few years, World Sports
Exchange was still in operation, but golf’s online
iteration of the stock exchange was gone.
AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 61
 Yet Edler was right: It was where things were
going. Once barely a blip in the sports-betting
market, in-play (i.e., live) gambling today ac-
counts for around 80 percent of all wagers made.
A driving force behind it is the ever faster, freer
flow of information.
“Data,” says Metric Gaming’s de Knijf.
“That’s the holy grail.”
For years, it was glaringly absent in golf,
making a famously fickle game all the more dif-
ficult to forecast. With that in mind, when they
founded Metric Gaming in 2012, de Knijf and
his colleagues spent three years amassing a vast
archive of golf-related information. As part of
that efort, the company dispatched paid scouts,
many of them professional caddies, to PGA Tour
events, where they drafted detailed course maps
and tracked every shot by every player. It went
beyond that. The goal was to understand that
data in context, to gauge how diferent holes
played in diferent conditions; which pin posi-
In announcing
their support for
legalized sports
gambling, PGA Tour
officials have
made clear their
intent to sell stats
from ShotLink,
the Tour’s vast
data archive.
Bookmakers
will no doubt be
among the buyers.
62 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
tions were most diicult; whether certain holes
or certain stretches of a golf course, or even cer-
tain strains of grasses, favored a certain style of
play. And so on.
It was scientific research, backed by an under-
standing of psychology.
“It’s human nature,” de Knijf says. “The more
information people have, the more opinions they
generate. When people have opinions, they want
them validated. What better way to feel that val-
idation than with something to line your pocket.”
De Knijf is not alone in his regard for the
nitty-gritty. The PGA Tour has come to see the
value of detailed data, too. In announcing their
support for legalized sports gambling, Tour
oicials have made clear their intent to sell
stats from ShotLink, the Tour’s vast and ever-
growing data archive. Bookmakers and bettors
will no doubt be among the buyers.
That’s not the only source of profit the Tour
sees. As gambling regulations get sorted state
It’s not impossible to imagine a player
throwing a shot, or a spectator meddling
with an outcome. There are reasons
for yelling “Baba-booey!” other
than wanting to sound like an idiot.
by state, the organization plans to ask for an
integrity fee—a share of the betting handle in
exchange for its help in ensuring the purity
of its competitions. Even before the Supreme
Court decision, the Tour was taking public steps
in that direction. Ahead of the 2018 season, it
announced that it was launching an integrity
program aimed at guarding against “betting-
related corruption.” That included an education
plan designed to help players, caddies and
tournament oicials snif out and stave of shady
influences or behavior—a suspicious character,
say, lurking by the range or the putting green,
poking around for inside information.
When big money is at stake, the prospect of
scandal shadows every competition, but some
more than others. For that reason, the Tour would
rather not see betting ofered on its developmen-
tal circuits; to put it bluntly, the temptation to ac-
cept a payof is likely greater for someone living
out of the trunk of their car.
Also important to the Tour is retaining the
right to opt out of certain kinds of bets altogeth-
er—specifically, those with negative outcomes,
such as whether a player will miss a green or
dunk one in the water. A single shot might not
determine who wins a tournament, but it could
very well decide who wins a wager.
It’s not impossible to imagine a player throw-
ing a shot, to say nothing of a spectator trying to
meddle with an outcome; there are reasons for
yelling “Baba-booey!” other than wanting to
sound like an idiot. Tour oicials aren’t oblivious
to such risks, but they sound confident that they
can guard against them. Yes, says Andy Levin-
son, the Tour’s vice president of tournament ad-
ministration, the intimacy of a Tour event creates
the possibility of fans influencing the competi-
tion, but “we are and will remain vigilant to pro-
tect players from distractions.”
Besides, he adds, the chances of it actually
happening are pretty slim.
“Betting on golf in the United States,
either through Nevada or through illegal
channels, has been around for years,” Levinson
says. “Further, legal sports betting has existed
throughout much of the world for quite some
time, and we have not noticed an increased in-
cidence of unruly fan behavior in those markets.
If you look at a sport like tennis, which has had
in-play betting available for quite some time
internationally, there has not been a noticeable
uptick of betting-related fan distractions.”
ack at the oices of Metric Gaming,
b
the Players broadcast shows Bubba
motioning for a group of fans to make
room around his ball, which has
settled under palm leaves. Bubba being
Bubba, he manages to slash it back
onto the fairway. A graphic flashes on
the TV: 64 yards left to the pin.
As Bubba grinds, Martin de Knijf
recalculates his odds of making par. On
average, he notes, Bubba knocks shots
from this distance to within 11 feet of the cup,
with a 25 percent chance of sticking it to within
five feet. That in mind, de Knijf moves him to
even-money, a fifty-fifty chance.
“It’s not the easiest shot,” he says. “But he is
so good from this distance.” De Knijf smiles,
delighted by a betting platform that, he points
out, supplies the rush of gambling at a pace fit for
the instant-gratification age.
“It’s not just what you might call the ‘degen-
erate angle,’ the idea that people just want more
action,” he says. “It’s the idea that, hey, I’ve got
some time to kill, and here’s something I can en-
gage with right away.”
Delivering “SuperLive” to the American mar-
ket will still take work, not the least of it involv-
ing navigating state gambling regulations. It will
also hinge on factors beyond de Knijf’s control,
such as the willingness of traditional bookmak-
ers to embrace new technologies. But the future
he envisions has a large figure in it, with a dollar
sign in front. Some estimates put the total gam-
bling turnover in the U.S. as high as $500 billion
per year. De Knijf believes golf has the potential
to draw 10 percent of that action. Many parties
stand to profit: gambling operators, state govern-
ments, the PGA Tour, to name just a few. There
should be plenty of money to go around.
From the fairway, Bubba sticks a wedge shot
to four feet. He’s now a heavy favorite. Moments
later, he pours in his par.
“That was fun, right?” de Knijf says as Bubba
saunters toward the second tee. “Imagine you
had money on that. You got your ‘sweat,’ and
you got it right away. And now, if you want, you
get to do it all again.”
AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 63
TOP 100 LESSON

SCAN Hitting solid

This Photo shots from
uneven lies
To handle the requires you
toughest lie in golf. to control your
See page 4. weight shift
and balance
from start to
finish. It’s child’s
play when you
match your
posture to
the slope.

HIT THE SLOPES

Flat lies are few and
Here’s how to adjus far between in this game, even from
t and play your level
best. BY GARY WEIRth, We middle of the fairway.
EST
CHESTER C.C., RYE,
N.Y.
 PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGUS MURRAY

PLAYING SHOTS from

sloping lies is diicult. Not
only does it require you to
significantly adjust your
setup, it typically demands
in-swing moves that you
rarely practice when you
visit the range, which ofers nothing but your
standard, garden-variety flat lie. My first bit
Ball Above Feet
of advice, then, is to look beyond your mat
when you practice and find some funky lies
to try out a few of these puzzlers before they
sneak up and bite you on the course. Even a
little experience with slopes during training
can pay huge dividends; if the only time you
encounter a hilly lie is during your round,
you can’t expect to have much success.
In general, what you’re trying to figure
out is how to adjust your posture and ad-
dress position to make each of these uneven
lies feel like they’re more even. And just as
important, how to find comfort in these
stances so that you remain balanced and
steady throughout your swing. On this
and the following pages, I’ll show you how,
and not just for one common sloping lie,
but four. Get ready to make the grade.
THE LIE
A ball that lies above your
feet sits closer to your body
than it does on a level lie. If
you grip it as you normally
do, you’re going to stick the
clubhead into the ground
behind the ball. The key
adjustments are to choke
down on the grip (almost
to the metal), and because
you’re shortening the club,
take one or two more than
you might otherwise need.
Your next adjustment is to
lean into the hill, setting
most of your weight out on
the balls of your feet and
The ball is closer to
you than you think.
Slide your hands
down the grip,
almost to the steel.
keeping it there from
takeaway through finish. It
helps to stand a little taller,
with your chin pointing at the
ball. Just don’t lock your legs
straight—you need to remain
athletic on this and any type
of uneven lie. Due to the lie
and your taller posture, you’ll
swing flatter and the ball will
tend to draw. To adjust, aim
slightly right of your target,
but don’t aim so far right that
a straight shot gets you into
trouble, because shots taken
from a lie with the ball above
your feet don’t always draw.

Stand taller.
Point your chin
at the ball.

Grip way down

on the handle.

Aim slightly to
the right. The ball
tends to draw
from this lie.

Keep your
weight on
the balls of
your feet.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 65

 TOP 100 LESSON
Set your weight
over your back
foot and keep
it there.
THE LIE
Uphill
UPHILL LIES are the easiest to
handle among the uneven set—you’ve
got more ball to hit and a natural launch
pad to hit soaring shots. Unless, of
course, you’re hitting into a breeze,
where the combination of an uphill lie
and a steady headwind will cause the
ball to balloon up into the air and fall
short of your target. So whatever you
66 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
Ball Below
Prepare for liftoff
by tilting your
shoulders to match
the slope. Just
make sure you have
Feet
enough club to
reach your target.
do, take more club. At setup, tilt your
shoulders so your right is lower than
your left (match the slope), and keep
this tilt from start to finish. Play the ball
a bit farther forward in your stance,
and distribute most of your weight and
ground pressure into your downhill foot,
at setup and throughout. Unlike a lie
An overactive
where the ball is above yourhand
right feet, fight
the urge to lean into leads to Simply
the hill.
rotate around your back flipping.
foot, keeping
your right glute and thigh activated.
The final tweak: Flare your left foot.
It’ll help you turn faster from this lie.
THE LIE
Maintain your
squat posture
and keep
your weight
in your heels.
Play for the
fade—and
hope for
the best.
THIS LIE is the toughest for mid- and
high-handicappers. There are several
factors working against you from this lie, not
the least of which is the feeling that you’re
going to fall down the hill chasing after your
ball. The ball is also farther away from you
here, so you have to grip the handle at the
very end, which can feel awkward. Your
stance will feel funky as well, because you
have to squat low for stability and to reach
the ball. Keep the majority of your weight
and pressure concentrated in your heels,
and no matter how unnatural it may feel,
keep it there all the way through to your
finish. The tendency is to stand up out of this
shot. You won’t be able to rotate very well, so
the strike itself tends to be a bit weaker. To
top it off, a lie with the ball below your feet is
likely to cause your ball to fade or slice, so
aim to the left of your target accordingly.
 THE LIE

Downhill
THINK OF a downhill lie as you and the
ball situated on the same level, which will
require you to adjust your setup so that your
shoulders lean forward with the slope. Fight
to maintain this shoulder angle all the way
through impact. For this lie, set the majority of
your weight over your front leg, and as you’d
expect by now, keep it there. When you swing,
pivot around your front foot. Your instinct will
be to try to counterbalance your weight and
shift your pressure back up the hill. Avoid this
at all costs. You’ll end up catching the ball
either fat or thin. Caution: When you correctly Tilt your
lean and angle with the hill, your ball position shoulders to
effectively moves from center to center-back. match the hill.
This takes a little loft off your club, so be
prepared for your shot to launch low and
stay there. It’ll likely run a bit more as well.

Lean your
body toward
the target.

It’s natural to want to

lean back up the hill
Pivot around here.
to balance your body
weight. Fight the urge.

Plan for
the ball to
launch low
and then run
once it hits.
GOLF BALL BUYER’S GUIDE

Today’s golf balls are engineered to do it all.

You simply need to know what to look for.

e veryone knows how hot and for-

giving modern drivers, fairways
and distance irons have become.
The progress made in golf ball de-
sign often gets less attention, but
rest assured that every new ball on the
market is durable, long and impressively
consistent. Options abound, which
can often make picking the right ball
diicult. Our advice? Sort your selec-
tions using three important criteria: 1)
the kind of launch you want off the tee;
2) the type of performance you want
around the greens; and 3) how much
you’re ready to spend. To make your job
easier, we’ve organized 33 models into
three categories: Tour (most expensive),
Multilayer Performance (medium
price) and Premium Distance (least
expensive). The most expensive balls
will typically offer the highest spin rates
for sharpening your short game (and the
least expensive will typically offer the
least). But enough of our spin. Dig in.

Photography by Jesse Reiter

68 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 B R I D G E S T O N E

CATEGORY TOUR
P R EMIUM P R ICE / M A X DIS TA NCE / M A X SHOR T-G A ME SP IN & CON T ROL

TOUR B XS TOUR B X TOUR B RXS TOUR B RX

$45/DOZEN $45/DOZEN $45/DOZEN $45/DOZEN
BRIDGESTONEGOLF.COM BRIDGESTONEGOLF.COM BRIDGESTONEGOLF.COM BRIDGESTONEGOLF.COM

BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

You want all-around Tour- You want the performance You want Tour performance You like the lower
caliber performance with a of the Tour B XS, but prefer in a lower compression compression, soft feel and
softer feel and more spin a firmer feel and less spin. ball, and prefer a softer forgiveness of the Tour B
(see Tiger Woods). feel, more spin and RXS, but prefer less spin.
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| more forgiveness.
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| SlipRes cover for more TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SlipRes cover for more friction at impact. TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| SlipRes cover for more
friction at impact. SlipRes cover for more
Available in white,
Gradational compression friction at impact.
Gradational compression visi-white, pink,friction
core for enhanced driver and at impact. Gradational compression
core for enhanced driver ball speed. orange. Gradational compression core for enhanced driver
ball speed. Dual dimple design core for enhanced driver ball speed.
for enhanced distance ball speed.
Dual dimple design Dual dimple design for
for enhanced distance and control. Dual dimple design for distance and control.
and control. Seamless cover technology distance and control. Seamless cover technology
Seamless cover technology for consistency. Seamless cover technology for consistency.
for consistency. for consistency.
Also available in yellow.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 69

 do
GOLF BALL BUYER’S GUIDE

B R I D G E S T O N E

CATEGORY MULTILAYER PERFORMANCE

this. .
M A X D I S TA N C E / M I D - L E V E L S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L ...stick with
what works
E6 SOFT E6 SPEED We’re not saying you shouldn’t experiment
$30/DOZEN $30/DOZEN with different golf ball models from time to
BRIDGESTONEGOLF.COM BRIDGESTONEGOLF.COM time—it’s fun to try new gear and see how
it affects your game—but if you’re really
BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| interested in shooting your best scores, it’s
best to find a model that fits your budget
You’re looking for You like the multilayer and swing and stick with it. The best in the
multilayer performance, performance of the E6 world are loath to change golf balls for good
very soft feel and straight Soft, but prefer a ball reason: Even minor changes in spin rate or
distance with solid with a slightly firmer feel.
feel can add another unnecessary variable
short-game spin.
to an already complicated situation.
TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| Three-piece construction
Three-piece construction with a low compression.
with a low compression. Fast core for enhanced ...fit to irons,
Fast core for enhanced
speed and distance with
speed and distance with
very soft feel at impact.
wedges and putter
very soft feel at impact. Delta dimple design A lot of folks understandably think selecting
Delta dimple design for a smoother flight, the right golf ball means finding the one that
for a smoother flight, less air resistance, and goes the longest off the tee, but in reality
less air resistance, and longer, straighter shots. you’d be a lot better offer fitting to your
longer, straighter shots. scoring clubs. “How well is this working in
my short game? How does it feel off the
putter? How about my 7-iron?” Those are
the questions you need to ask. Once you
get the ball that works with your scoring
clubs, you can easily adjust your driver
and other long clubs accordingly.

...don’t be stingy
Also available in yellow.

It’s totally understandable to regularly buy

inexpensive golf balls if you tend to lose a lot
of them or you just don’t feel that they affect
your overall game much. However, if you’re at
least somewhat serious about your game and
scoring, laying down a little more cash can be
well worth your while. Today’s balls are about
Also available in white.

a million miles from the fragile balatas of old,

and one of the things that distinguishes a
premium model is its urethane cover—every
Tour model has one, and these pelotas are
INDIVIDUAL CREDIT HERE

pretty darn tough. So if you don’t lose a

ton of balls, don’t be afraid to invest
in the more expensive ones.

70 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 C A L L A W A Y

CATEGORY TOUR CATEGORY MULTILAYER CATEGORY PREMIUM

P R E M I U M P R I C E / M A X D I S TA N C E / M A X S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L PERFORMANCE DISTANCE
MA X DISTANCE / MID-LEVEL VALUE PRICE / BASE-LE VEL
S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L S H O R T- G A M E P E R F O R M A N C E
CHROME SOFT CHROME SOFT X
$45/DOZEN $45/DOZEN
SUPERSOFT SUPERHOT
CALLAWAYGOLF.COM CALLAWAYGOLF.COM
$25/DOZEN $45/DOZEN
CALLAWAYGOLF.COM CALLAWAYGOLF.COM
BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You desire Tour-proven You like the Chrome BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
performance with a soft Soft X but prefer a
feel, lower compression slightly firmer feel. You like the firm feel of the You’re a value-minded
and more forgiveness. Chrome Soft X, but you’re player in the market
willing to sacrifice some for a ball that provides
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| short-game performance maximum distance with
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| Graphene-infused Dual to save a few dollars. some short-game control.
Graphene-infused Dual Soft Fast Core and larger
Soft Fast Core and larger inner core for optimized TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
inner core for optimized energy transfer.
energy transfer. SlipRes cover for more Advanced aerodynamic
Dual Core for distance friction at impact. design for less drag, more
Dual Core for distance on long shots and lift and more distance.
on long shots and control on short ones. Gradational compression
control on short ones. core for enhanced speed. Three-piece construction
Lower-compression core and soft cover for
Lower-compression core for softer feel, low driver Dual dimple design.
more spin and short-
for softer feel, low driver spin and max forgiveness. Seamless cover technology game control.
spin and max forgiveness. for consistency.
Also available in white, matte yellow and red.
Also available in yellow, pink and orange.
Also available in yellow and Truvis.
Also available in white and yellow.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 71

 S N E L L

CATEGORY TOUR CATEGORY PREMIUM CATEGORY TOUR

P R E M I U M P R I C E / M A X D I S TA N C E / M A X S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L DISTANCE
PREMIUM PRICE / MA X DISTANCE /
VALUE PRICE / BASE-LE VEL M A X S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L
S H O R T- G A M E P E R F O R M A N C E
MTB BLACK MTB RED
$32/DOZEN ($164/6 DOZEN) $32/DOZEN ($164/6 DOZEN)
GET SUM Z-STAR
SNELLGOLF.COM SNELLGOLF.COM $40/DOZEN
$21/DOZEN ($85/6 DOZEN)
SRIXON.COM
SNELLGOLF.COM
BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You desire Tour-caliber You desire Tour-caliber BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
performance with a performance with a You want a ball with a
slightly softer feel and slightly firmer feel and You’re looking for Tour-proven track record
enhanced durability. enhanced durability. an afordable, high- that also provides a slightly
performance distance ball. softer feel on all shots.
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Multilayer construction Four-piece construction
and 330 dimple pattern and 338 dimple pattern Large and soft low- Energetic Gradient Growth
for distance on long shots for distance on long shots compression core for very design for a softer feel
and control on short ones. and control on short ones. low spin rates, straighter and improved launch
shots and more speed of the driver.
Tour-proven urethane Urethane cover. and distance.
cover for feel, spin 338 Speed Dimple pattern
Inner mantle layer for more Thin and soft Surlyn cover
and durability. for enhanced stability
spin on scoring shots. for softer feel. Combined
Seven percent softer and more distance.
Dual-Feel design with the core, it contributes
compression core for to more lift and overall Third-generation Thin Skin
provides a firmer feel
less spin of the driver carry distance. coating for improved short-
on full shots and a softer
and more distance. game spin, even from rough.
feel on short ones.
Also available in yellow.
Also available in yellow.
Also available in white.

72 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 S R I X O N

CATEGORY MULTILAYER PERFORMANCE CATEGORY PREMIUM

DISTANCE
M A X D I S TA N C E / M I D - L E V E L S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L
VALUE PRICE / BASE-LE VEL
S H O R T- G A M E P E R F O R M A N C E
Q-STAR TOUR Q-STAR
Z-STAR XV $30/DOZEN $30/DOZEN SOFT FEEL
$40/DOZEN
SRIXON.COM SRIXON.COM $20/DOZEN
SRIXON.COM
SRIXON.COM
BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| You’re a moderate-speed You want it all: BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You want the performance swinger, or someone who distance, short-game
of the Z-Star but with a You’re looking for a
wants Tour-like performance performance, a soft
slightly firmer feel. combination of soft
with exceptionally soft feel and added durability.
feel, a lot of distance
compression and feel.
and enhanced scoring-
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| shot control.
Energetic Gradient Growth TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| Third-generation Spinskin
design for a softer feel A lower-compression for improved short-game TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
and improved launch Energetic Gradient spin and control.
of the driver. Low-compression, soft
Growth core than Z-Star 338 Speed Dimple Pattern core for low spin and more
338 Speed Dimple pattern models for a very soft for less drag, a piercing distance on full shots.
for enhanced stability feel and more forgiveness. flight and added distance
and more distance. Thinner, softer cover
Spinskin coating creates and control in variable
further enhances
Third-generation more friction at impact for wind conditions.
short-game spin.
Thin Skin coating for enhanced spin and short- Energetic Gradient
improved short-game game performance. Energetic Gradient Growth
Growth core for consistent
spin, even from rough. core yields improved
Speed Dimples for distance and softer overall
energy transfer at impact.
reduced in-flight drag. feel throughout the bag.
Also available in yellow.
Also available in white.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 73

 T A Y L O R M A D E

CATEGORY TOUR CATEGORY MULTILAYER PERFORMANCE

P R E M I U M P R I C E / M A X D I S TA N C E / M A X S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L M A X D I S TA N C E / M I D - L E V E L S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L

TP5 TP5X PROJECT (a) PROJECT (s)

$45/DOZEN $45/DOZEN $35/DOZEN $25/DOZEN
TAYLORMADEGOLF.COM TAYLORMADEGOLF.COM TAYLORMADEGOLF.COM TAYLORMADEGOLF.COM

BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

You want a Tour-proven You need Tour-caliber You’re looking for a high- You like a very soft feel
winner with a softer performance with a firmer performance, multilayer but need less spin of
feel and moderate feel and lower spin on urethane-covered ball with the driver to max out
spin on long shots. short shots. a very soft feel and plenty your distance.
of short-game spin.
TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||| TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Three-layer core Three-layer core TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| Dual-distance core with
system with progressive system with progressive Dual-distance core: larger and softer inner
compression for max compression for max a larger and softer inner core for less spin and
energy transfer at impact. energy transfer at impact. core for less spin and longer shots; firmer outer
longer shots; a firmer outer core revs up ball speed.
Dual-spin cover for Dual-spin cover for
core to rev up ball speed.
enhanced spin on enhanced spin on 342 LDP dimple design for
scoring shots and five- scoring shots and five- 322 LDP dimple design less drag and enhanced
layer overall construction layer overall construction and seamless cover overall distance.
for premium performance for premium performance for less drag. Improved short-game
throughout the bag. throughout the bag. Improved short-game spin spin due to extremely soft
Cast urethane cover Cast urethane cover due to firm mantle and ionomer and mantle layer.
for feel and durability. for feel and durability. cast urethane cover.
Also available in white and matte yellow.
Also available in yellow.

74 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 T I T L E I S T

CATEGORY TOUR CATEGORY MULTILAYER

P R E M I U M P R I C E / M A X D I S TA N C E / M A X S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L PERFORMANCE
MA X DISTANCE / MID-LEVEL
S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L
PRO V1 PRO V1x PRO AVX
$48/DOZEN $48/DOZEN $48/DOZEN TOUR SOFT
TITLEIST.COM TITLEIST.COM TITLEIST.COM $35/DOZEN
TITLEIST.COM
BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You want Tour-caliber You want what the Pro V1 The AVX is the lowest- BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
performance with a softer player wants, but with a spinning, softest, and You crave Titleist
feel and a more piercing firmer feel and higher lowest-trajectory high- consistency, a very
trajectory of the tee. launch of the driver. performance model soft feel, high speed
in the Titleist lineup. and distance, and solid
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| short-game performance.
Spherically-tiled TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spherically-tiled
dimple design for dimple design for New low-compression, TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
enhanced stability. enhanced stability. high-speed core for big
Largest core of any Titleist
distance and very soft feel.
Next gen 2.0 ZG Process ZG Process Dual Core model for faster speeds
Core for lower spin and for lower spin and GRN41 thermoset and more distance.
faster ball speed. big distance. urethane cover for
Extremely thin proprietary
scoring performance
Thin casing layer for more Thin casing layer for more cover for enhanced short-
and durability.
spin control on full shots. spin control on full shots. game performance and
Flexible casing layer for exceptionally soft feel.
Soft urethane elastomer Soft urethane elastomer
less spin and longer shots.
cover for a soft feel and cover for soft feel and Spherically-tiled dimple
extra durability. durability. Spherically-tiled dimple design for a boring
design for consistency. trajectory and stable flight.
Also available in yellow.

Also available in white.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 75

GOLF BALL BUYER’S GUIDE

do
T I T L E I S T
this. .
CATEGORY PREMIUM DISTANCE ... compress
VA L U E P R I C E / B A S E - L E V E L S H O R T- G A M E P E R F O R M A N C E to impress
While there can be
VELOCITY DT TRUESOFT PINNACLE SOFT advantages for a very
$22/DOZEN $22/DOZEN $20/15-BALL PACK fast swinger (see “Tour
TITLEIST.COM TITLEIST.COM TITLEIST.COM
player”) to use a slightly
higher-compression
design in terms of
BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| energy transfer and ball
You desire very low You want a very soft You place a premium on speed, most modern
spin on long shots, low-compression feel, but value, a very soft feel, and golf balls will produce
high flight on all shots aren’t willing to give up a low spin for long distance. relatively similar driving
and big distance in a single yard of distance. distances for the vast
Titleist package. TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| majority of players. The
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| really big development
Lowest-compression
TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||| Larger low-compression core in any Pinnacle
in ball design in recent
Softer high-speed TruTouch core for low spin ball ever manufactured,
years is the ability for
core for faster speeds and distance on longer for low spin, a very soft manufacturers to make
of the clubface and shots, and a very soft feel feel and big distance. soft, low-compression
solid short-game feel. throughout the bag. cores that are just as
332 dimples for consistent fast as firmer ones. So
New NaZ+ cover Advanced aerodynamics flight and stability in
unless you’re swinging
that further enhances for a boring trajectory varying conditions.
at 110 mph or faster,
distance and lowers and optimum distance.
spin on longer shots.
Soft ionomer cover focus more on how
TrueFlex proprietary cover for added durability a ball performs
Spherically-tiled dimple for improved short-game and extra soft feel. around the greens.
design for higher trajectory performance and extra-
and increased carry. soft greenside feel.
...change
’em up
Also available in white and orange.

It’s true that

modern golf balls
are extraordinarily
durable, but the reality
Also available in white.

is that you risk losing

some significant yardage
off your driver (up to 5
yards) and accuracy with
your wedges if you try
to milk one ball for too
long. Though they don’t
go out of round or cut like
balatas did, dimples can
be negatively affected
by wear, so if you can
INDIVIDUAL CREDIT HERE

feel a physical scratch or

scuff with your fingers
(smudged logos and
cover paint don’t count),
it’s time for a new rock.
76 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
W I L S O N S T A F F

CATEGORY TOUR CATEGORY MULTILAYER CATEGORY PREMIUM

P R E M I U M P R I C E / M A X D I S TA N C E / M A X S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L PERFORMANCE DISTANCE
MA X DISTANCE / MID-LEVEL VALUE PRICE / BASE-LE VEL
S H O R T- G A M E S P I N & C O N T R O L S H O R T- G A M E P E R F O R M A N C E
DUO URETHANE FG TOUR
$38/DOZEN $45/DOZEN
DUO SOFT SPIN DUO SOFT
WILSONSTAFF.COM WILSONSTAFF.COM
$27/DOZEN $20/DOZEN
WILSONSTAFF.COM WILSONSTAFF.COM
BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You want Tour-caliber You want Tour-caliber BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| BUY IT ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
performance with performance with a
an exceptionally soft feel, from driver You appreciate value in You play better with
low compression a ball, especially when it a low-compression ball
through sand wedge.
delivers a very soft feel and and place a premium on
and very soft feel.
the all-around benefits of a soft feel, to say nothing
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||| multilayer construction. about adding distance
TECH HIGHLIGHTS |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Four-piece construction and reducing spin.
Three-piece design with with soft, rubber-rich TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
55-compression for all- tech for enhanced feel. TECH HIGHLIGHTS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
around performance Extremely low 40
DuPont HPF mantle compression for very Large, extremely
and a soft feel at impact. layer for more spin soft feel at impact. low, 29-compression
DuPont HPF inner and overall shot control. core for exceptionally
mantle for faster ball Three-piece multilayer
High-resilience outer soft feel, less spin
speeds and distance. construction for low
mantle for faster ball and more distance.
driver spin and high
Cast urethane cover speeds and more short-iron and wedge spin Shallower dimple
for feel and durability. distance on long shots. (approximately 15 to 20 pattern for more ball
362 seamless dimple Cast urethane cover with rpm more spin than the speed and carry distance.
pattern for more distance. new 362 dimple pattern. standard Duo Soft).
Also available in six other matte colors.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 77

 Trips
Your Passport to the Golfing Life

EYE ON
DESIGN

Have You Met

Robert Trent Jones Sr., the
original Open Doctor, left us
a Trail—and so much more
by Joe Passov

MAP QUEST
THE 447-YARD, PAR-4
12TH AT MISSOURI’S
BELLERIVE CC IS JUST
ONE EXAMPLE OF THE
CLASSIC STRATEGIC
BUNKERING FEATURED
ON MANY OF RTJ SR.’S
DESIGNS.

78 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

Mr. Jones?
ith Bellerive Country Club
in suburban St. Louis hosting
the 100th PGA Championship
IMAGES; INSET: AUGUSTA NATIONAL/GETTY IMAGES
MAIN: GARY KELLNER/PGA OF AMERICA VIA GETTY
this month, and Firestone hosting the
Tour for perhaps the last time with this
year’s Bridgestone Invitational, the
spotlight shines again on Robert Trent
Jones Sr. In the passage of time since his
death in 2000, it’s easy to forget what
a dominant figure he was. More than 50
of his courses have cracked different
Top 100 lists, and he was tasked with
altering or building anew more than
ROBERT TRENT JONES SR.
half of the U.S. Open venues between
1950 and 1970. The man who coined the
phrase “Give your course a signature”
became the first celebrity designer.
His trademarks include long, “runway”
teeing grounds, enormous, contoured
greens and extensive use of water
hazards. His redesign of Oakland Hills
for the 1951 Open epitomized “target
golf,” but he is more often credited with
inventing the term “heroic” to describe
the school of design that merged the
best of the penal and strategic into a
Trips
EYE ON DESIGN
PLAY RTJ!
To sample Robert Trent Jones’ greatest works, explore...
given hole. He was, and is, a giant in design.
Less well known is that he developed
his philosophy from being part artist,
part pragmatist. Early on, in his work of the
’30s and ’40s, he embraced fluidity of lines,
fitting the golf course into nature. He rejected
the linear, sharp-edged designs of C.B.
Macdonald/Seth Raynor, the penal unfairness
of British links golf (where you might have
to escape a bunker by going backwards),
and the push-up greens of Donald Ross,
which rejected instead of accepted shots.
Jones was heavily influenced instead by
SPY ON SPY THE TWISTING,
Alister MacKenzie and Augusta National, DOWNHILL PAR-3 15TH AT
promoting strategic design, in which there SPYGLASS HILL CAN PLAY ANY-
are multiple ways to arrive at the same WHERE FROM 98 TO 130 YARDS.
point without being punished. In his middle
period of the late ’50s, he embraced the
modern aerial game, and saw it as his role to
“defend par” against advances in equipment SPYGLASS HILL DUNES GOLF &
and player skills. At Bellerive, Firestone and GOLF COURSE BEACH CLUB
Congressional, he propped up his greens for PEBBLE BEACH, CALIF. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.
shotmaking demands as well as a way to get With five holes that cut through Vintage early Jones from 1948,
them to drain properly. With trends returning brilliant white sand dunes along this coastal layout features all of
to sandy sites and ground-game options, the the Pacific, followed by 13 that the classic RTJ features, including
Trent Jones style no longer dominates course twist through the forest, Spyglass a dogleg on the heroic par-5
rankings. But with late-in-life triumphs such has thoroughly tested and enter- 13th that turns 110 degrees
as Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, tained Tour pros since 1967. around Singleton Lake.
it’s clear that the Jones legacy of strategic, Rates: $225-$435 Rates: $130-$250
scenic, demanding golf will never disappear.

MAJOR

TOP: JOANN DOST; TOP, INSET: JACQUELINE DUVOISIN/SI; BOTTOM, L TO R: STOCKTON SEAVIEW RESORT; TANGLEWOOD PARK GC; DAVID A. PARKER
BARGAINS

Affordable
PGA Venues
Bellerive has a storied history since
Gary Player won the U.S. Open
there in 1965. Unfortunately for
traveling golfers, the course is
private, so you’d have to know a
member to get aboard. However, if
you’re looking to bask in PGA lore,
there are plenty of public-access
STOCKTON SEAVIEW Not far from Atlantic City sits this venerable resort,
HOTEL & GOLF CLUB which features a pair of first-rate courses, the Donald
tracks that will accommodate, Ross/Hugh Wilson–designed Bay and the William Flynn–
GALLOWAY, N.J.
though many of them are priced for crafted Pines. Sam Snead captured the 1942 PGA over
special occasions only. To help you a track that incorporated holes from both courses: the
wallet watchers, here are three front nine of the Bay, a linksy spread that edges the
former PGA Championship courses marshes of Reed’s Bay, and the original nine holes of
that you can play for under $100. the aptly named Pines. $99 (M-Th); seaviewgolf.com

80 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 Family Jewels
Both of Robert Trent Jones’ sons, Bob Jr.
and Rees, have enjoyed extremely
successful design careers of their own.
Here are the top three courses from each.

Robert Trent Jones Jr. Rees Jones

MAUNA KEA
GOLF COURSE
KAMUELA,
BIG ISLAND, HAWAII
Jones listed this 1964 Big Island
design as one of his five faves.
Elevated greens, yawning traps
and the incredible, over-the-ocean
par-3 third showcase RTJ’s classic
traits. Rates: $180-$285
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
BOBBY, ROBERT TRENT SR. AND
REES, TOGETHER AT AUGUSTA
NATIONAL IN THE 1990s.
GRAND NATIONAL
GOLF CLUB (LAKE)
OPELIKA, ALA.
Perhaps the best bargain on
the value-laden Robert Trent
Jones Golf Trail, this former
PGA Tour host sports tattered-
edge bunkers, huge greens
and water hazards galore.
Rates: $65-$88
CHAMBERS BAY
UNIVERSITY PLACE, WASH.
This county-owned public
layout alongside the Puget
Sound played host to the
2015 U.S. Open.
THE PRINCE COURSE AT
PRINCEVILLE KAUAI, HAWAII.
Closed since 2015 to
accommodate a new
real estate development
plan but reopening
soon, this rugged,
jungle-edged layout
features waterfalls
and ocean vistas.
BRO HOF SLOTT (STADIUM)
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
This Scandinavian
Masters venue stretches
nearly 8,000 yards.
Sprawling bunkers, lakes
(it sits atop a huge fjord)
and gallery areas make it
a potential Ryder Cup site.
ATLANTIC
BRIDGEHAMPTON, N.Y.
Ocean breezes and native-
grass mounding mark
this private spread, which
hosted the 1997 U.S.
Senior Amateur and the
2010 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
OCEAN FOREST
SEA ISLAND, GA.
This flattish, coastal
design mixes parkland
and linksy holes. It played
host to the 2001 Walker
Cup, when Luke Donald
went 3-1 for the victors.
TPC DANZANTE BAY
LORETO, B.C.S, MEXICO
Rees’ newest creation
features towering
mountains framing many
holes, and sand dunes and
beach bordering others,
yielding a Palm Springs-
meets-the-sea ambience.

TANGLEWOOD One of America’s best bargains, this

viciously trapped, 1957 Robert Trent
KELLER GOLF Fully refreshed following a 2014
renovation by architect Richard
PARK Jones Sr. design sits eight miles west of
COURSE Mandell, this classic tree-lined
(Championship) Winston-Salem, in the heart of tobacco
MAPLEWOOD,
MINN. muni near the center of the Twin
CLEMMONS, N.C. country. Lee Trevino smoked the field to Cities dates to 1929. Olin Dutra
win the 1974 PGA, easing past Jack Nicklaus and Chick Harbert won PGAs here
and a 62-year-old named Snead. Since the in 1932 and 1954. Legend has it
PGA, they’ve flopped the nines, and the that John Dillinger was playing
course is currently undergoing a Robert Keller in the 1930s when he got
Trent Jones II/Richard Mandell renovation, a tip that the Feds were on the
with a scheduled reopening in late ’18. way—and made a narrow escape.
$27-$49; golf.tanglewoodpark.org $26-$61; ramseycounty.us

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 81

Trips
OH,
CANADA
Kananaskis
Can-Do
Following a devastating flood, Canada’s
most scenic bargain is back in action
K ANANASKIS COUNTRY GOLF COURSE
KANANASKIS, ALBERTA, CANADA
KANANASKISGOLF.COM
ack in the day, when the exchange rate meant
that a trip across the northern border was
a slam-dunk for U.S. golfers seeking maximum
value, Kananaskis Country was the “it” course on any
itinerary. Hewn in 1984 from a river valley floor an hour
west of Calgary, Kananaskis’s two courses, Mt. Lorette
and Mt. Kidd, bore the unmistakable design imprint
of—once again—Robert Trent Jones Sr., who famously
praised the site as “the finest location I have ever
seen for a golf course.” Hyperbole aside, the setting
was stunning. Stone-dappled rivers, dense pine forests
and Jones’s magnificent, brilliant-white, jigsaw-puzzle
bunkers presented beauty and menace against an
82 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
outrageously gorgeous backdrop of the snow-capped
Canadian Rockies. And nobody ever paid more than
$100 to play. Then, disaster. It came not in the form
of a currency fluctuation but as a calamitous flood in
2013. The violently churning water rendered the courses
unrecognizable, with 32 of the 36 holes buried in muck
and debris. There was talk of closing them forever. Fast
forward to a happy ending. After five years off the
grid, Kananaskis is back. Calgary-based architect
Gary Browning and roughly $20 million from Alberta,
the province that owns the courses, have breathed new
life into Kananaskis, which reopened in May. Browning
softened some of the more penal features of the old
designs, widening fairway landing areas, cutting down
the size and number of bunkers, and smoothing out
the heavily contoured greens. In all, however, Jones’s
STEVE BAYLIN
masterpieces are intact—as are the modest green
fees, at $52-$112 USD. Bargain hunters, Go North!
 ROAD
TRIPPIN’
Beast of Eden
AT 254 YARDS, THE SHEER
BRAWN OF THE PAR-3 FOURTH
ON THE MT. KIDD COURSE AT
KANANASKIS IS MATCHED ONLY
BY ITS INCOMPARABLE BEAUTY.

CLARKE’S
LARK
On a recent June
night, 2011 Open
Championship
winner Darren
Clarke trunked his
clubs and motored
from his home in
Portrush to a testy
little track called
Carnoustie. It’s a
BOOK IT! nearly seven-hour
haul, two of them
Kananaskis on a ferry. And he
Country has was in heaven.
teamed with Golf
Canada’s West “It’s a beautiful
to offer three evening here in
stay-and-play Scotland. Not a cloud
packages. Prices at
the Delta Lodge in the sky,” he said,
at Kananaskis freewheelin’ through
start at $609 Dundee. “I’m just
per person, per following where the
night, based on car is taking me.
double occupancy I don’t mind driving;
and a two-night
minimum, and it’s a little bit of ‘me’
includes two time. I blast the
rounds of golf, music—all sorts of
shared cart, and s---, from Pavarotti
range use. At Mt. to AC/DC’s Back in
Kidd Manor, rates
start at $509, and Black—and drive
at Stoney Nakoda away. It’s a bit
Resort, rates of peace and quiet,
start at $489. and I love it.”
Trips

High and Mighty

THE 423-YARD, PAR-4
FOURTH AT TORREY PINES
SOUTH APPEARS TO PERCH
AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD.

FAMOUS TORREY PINES (SOUTH) ARNOLD PALMER’S

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: REUTERS/ROBERT GALBRAITH; LARRY LAMBRECHT; COURTESY BOOT RANCH; ANGUS MURRAY; EVAN SCHILLER; JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES
FOOTSTEPS LA JOLLA, CALIF. BAY HILL CLUB & LODGE
Woods owns eight ORLANDO, FLA.

Tiger’s Tour titles, including

a memorable U.S.
Open triumph, at
Eight PGA Tour
wins and a victory at
the 1991 U.S. Junior

Trophy this cliff-top, city-owned

spread that stretches 7,600
yards in its brawn- and beauty-
Amateur give Tiger
a lock on this layout in the city
he used to call home. The Dick

Tracks filled journey along the Pacific.

Signature moment: Tiger’s
12-foot birdie putt (top left) on
the 72nd hole to earn a playoff
Wilson/Arnold Palmer design—
bunker-strewn, with doglegs
that boomerang around lush
lakes—is quintessential Florida.
spot against Rocco Mediate Signature moment: In 2009,
When the PGA at the 2008 U.S. Open. The eight months after undergoing
Tour returns to putt is one of the greatest reconstructive knee surgery,
of his career. $122-$297; Woods nailed a curving
Akron, Ohio’s torreypinesgolfcourse.com 12-footer on 18 to close out
Firestone his first post-op win, nipping
Country Club this Sean O’Hair by a stroke.
month for the COG HILL (#4) $100-$325; bayhill.com
WGC-Bridgestone LEMONT, ILL.
Invitational, it In 1964, Dick Wilson and Joe Lee sculpted this rolling,
won’t be hard boldly bunkered layout (known as “Dubsdread”) in the
southwestern Chicago suburbs, and 44 years later Rees
to pinpoint a Jones toughened it even further. In 14 appearances
tournament between 1997 and 2009, Woods took home five trophies here.
favorite. No one Signature moment: Tiger made the 12th of September
has dominated (2009) a day to remember, when, at the BMW Championship,
he blistered the newly strengthened track with a course-
Firestone’s record, nine-under-par 62. $47-$155; coghillgolf.com
South course
like Tiger Woods.
The track is POIPU BAY GOLF COURSE
strictly private, KOLOA, KAUAI, HAWAII
but if you’re look- Whipped by seaside gusts and
ing to walk in walloped by Pacific panoramas,
Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s Poipu Bay
Tiger’s shoes at dishes out an exclamation point–filled
courses he has back nine, notably at cliff-top holes 15, 16 and 17.
virtually owned, Woods captured the PGA’s Grand Slam of Golf seven
here’s where to times here, including five straight from 1998-2002.
Signature moment: In 2002, in the most dominant
plant your peg. performance in the event’s history, Woods twice lapped
the field. He posted 66-61 to beat Justin Leonard and
Davis Love III by 14 shots. $179-$209; poipubaygolf.com

84 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 LINKS
LIFE

n the category “Famous Golf
Phrases,” Hal Sutton’s “Be the
right club today” is legendary.
He was talking to his 6-iron shot, the
one that clinched his win at the 2000
Players. But those same words could
apply to Boot Ranch, the Texas golf
community 52 miles north of San
Antonio. Following his stint as Ryder
Cup captain in 2004, Sutton poured
his heart, soul and capital into shaping
this upscale development in trendy
Fredericksburg, smack in the heart of
Hill Country. Sadly, its superb setting,
clubhouse and course design weren’t
enough to fend off the impact of the
HAL, YEAH!
Sutton’s Boot Ranch makes a kick-A comeback
2008-’09 economic downturn, which
grounded further growth. Sutton
and Boot Ranch eventually parted
ways. Finally, in 2017, white knights
Terra Verde Group and Wheelock
Street Capital appeared. The recipe
for success was clear to the new
investors: “There are 14 million people
within four hours,” said Wheelock’s Dan
Green. “All we need to do is find 400 of
them.” They’re well on their way. Sales
are brisk on the real estate offerings,
with home sites ranging from $275k
to $2.5 million, for lots from one-half to
14 acres. Shared ownership and condo
dwellings are also available, in addition
to custom-home options. Amenities
include a stunning, 55,000-square-
foot clubhouse, a Ranch Club, a Lake
Club, and the largest putting park in
Texas. In a smart move, Boot Ranch
has invited Sutton back to re-associate
with his vision and tweak his stellar
golf course, reducing the number of
bunkers and carpeting the greens in
TifEagle Bermuda. Wisely, the watery,
par-4 10th was mostly left intact. It
remains one of the Lone Star State’s
most memorable holes. Welcome
back, Hal. After nearly a decade of
disappointment, Boot Ranch is, indeed,
the right club today. bootranch.com

4 tips for the golf

Lei of the Land
IN ’02, TIGER FLOWER-POWERED HIS
HOMING IN community smart-shopper

1 3
WAY TO A WIN AT POIPU BAY, JUST ONE Think hard before you pay
OF RTJ JR.’S DREAMY KAUAI COURSES. a premium for a fairway lot
near the landing zone for tee
shots. Not many people want
If you have privacy concerns,
avoid buying where a cart path
runs right next to your house.

4
their homes pelted with golf balls. Pay for all the premium you
can aford, but if the only

2
If you like to sleep in, you may
want to avoid purchasing a
lot/home on the first, second
or third holes, or on the 10th,
11th or 12th holes. That’s where
maintenance starts, usually at dawn.
reason you’re buying there
is because you need to own
property to be a member of the
club, then lot/home location
isn’t a priority, and not worth
the premium price tag.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 85

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TheShop :: N O W P L A Y I N G ::

MAX TUNING
The M3 offers
the ultimate in

Preparefor
adjustability with a
12-way loft sleeve
for loft and face-
angle tuning, and
a 29g sliding sole
weight for CG
customization.

Takeoff
TaylorMade’s M3 and M4
fairways are scary long
By Michael Chwasky

WHEN THE NEW M3 and M4 drivers

hit stores earlier this year, they made big-
time waves due to the varied and impressive
technologies under—and outside—the hood,
most notably TwistFace, an innovation
designed to help correct high-toe and low-
heel hits. The drivers check all the boxes:
improved adjustability, forgiveness and
overall performance. Somewhat lost in
the excitement, however, were the debuts
of sister M3/M4 fairway woods, which are
massive improvements over past M1 and M2
models. For some, they yield driver-like ball
speed and distance of the tee and improved
launch from the fairway. Here’s a closer look.

T A Y L O R M A D E M 3
$299 each; taylormadegolf.com
The M3 fairway is even better and more
advanced than the previous M1 model,
which itself was a big-time bomber. Available in 15-,
17- and 19-degree lofts with Mitsubishi Tensei Blue
graphite shafts, the club boasts a thinner, five-layer
composite crown than the M1, as well as a better
low on the face, and an improved sole
design for enhanced turf interaction.
Designed for a variety of players, the M3
is the most compact of the TaylorMade
fairways and tends to appeal to those
who want super-high performance
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY TAYLORMADE GOLF

moveable weight system—29 grams can be with exceptional adjustability and

manipulated to create a preferred shot shape.
The improved track system also allows for the CG
to be moved 8 percent farther forward than the
M1, allowing for lower spin rates and increased ball
speed. Other features include a longer slot in the
sole for a larger COR area and better results on hits
versatility in a smaller profile. For
tinkerers, the 12-position, 4-degree loft sleeve in
combination with the sliding sole weight should
be more than enough to keep your attention as
you experiment. The enhanced adjustability also
allows for quicker and more exact custom fitting.

88 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

 FAIRWAY FIRE
The biggest clubhead in the
TAY L O R M A D E M 4 lineup makes the M4 Tour ideal
for distance-hungry competitors.
$249 each; taylormadegolf.com

The M4 fairway features speed-pocket

technology and a thinner clubface than the
previous M2 for a larger high COR area and better
ball speed and distance on mis-hits. Because the
M4 doesn’t have a sliding sole weight like the M3,
it’s built with TaylorMade’s Geocoustic technology
for improved sound and feel. In addition, newly
designed split internal weights further enhance
forgiveness and distance on off-center hits.
The M4 fairway is available in 15-, 16.5-, 18-, 21-
and 24-degree loft options, with Fujikura Atmos
Red graphite shafts. Unlike the M3, the M4 does
not feature an adjustable hosel or sole weight and
cannot be adjusted for CG
location or loft. This allows
the company to lower the
price by $50, but the club
is hardly inferior—numerous
Tour players carry an M4 in
their bag rather than an M3.

TAY L O R M A D E M 4 T 0 U R
$299 each; taylormadegolf.com
For those who want something in
between the M3 and M4, the M4 Tour
sits right in the middle size-wise but tends
to produce lower spin rates. Available in 15-
and 18-degree models with Mitsubishi Tensi
Blue graphite shafts, the Tour model is built
with an exceptionally strong Ni-Co 300
steel face that’s thinner and more flexible
for enhanced speed and distance. A speed
pocket in the sole is tuned to produce a larger
high-COR area across the clubface while also
promoting a lower, more wind-cheating
trajectory. Like the standard M4, the Tour also
features a new internal split-weight design for
added stability and forgiveness on off-center
hits. A lightweight five-layer carbon crown
saves significant weight, yielding a lower CG
location and improved launch conditions.
TM’s Geocoustic
technology improves
sound and feel, while
the leading edge
PRIMED FOR PLAYERS and sole design
The M4’s compact
profile and lower allow enhanced
spin rates target shot-shaping from
faster swingers and a variety of turf
stronger players.
conditions.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 89

 WORN GROOVES
:: W E G O T Y O U R B A C K ::
...rob you of shot-
stopping spin.

ASK THE
GEAR
GUYS
FRESH GROOVES
...can potentially
cut rollout in half.

With this crew, the

best advice is free
Do insert materials, grooves and various
putterface designs actually do anything,
or are they mostly for sound and feel? K. LEE, VIA FACEBOOK
GUERIN RIFE, CO-FOUNDER/EVNROLL PUTTERS
The design elements you mention indeed
do it all. A softer insert, for example, can
make a firmer ball feel softer at impact, but
its lighter weight also allows for more perimeter
weighting, forgiveness and stability. Odyssey’s
White Hot and Scotty Cameron’s aluminum
inserts do this admirably. Grooves, on the
other hand, are pure performance enhancers.
In reality, the grooves themselves don’t do anything—it’s the areas
between them that do the work. At Evnroll, we engineer larger
spaces between the grooves in the middle of the putterface
and smaller ones in the heel and toe sections to equalize
speed on all strikes. Without this variance in groove design, the
ball would travel different distances depending on where you
made contact across the face. Trust me—you don’t want that.
How big a handicap are worn grooves? I mean, if
they aren’t perfect (and mine aren’t), am I putting
myself at a disadvantage? HORACE W., VIA E-MAIL
KEVIN TASSISTRO,DIRECTOR OF WEDGE DEVELOPMENT/TITLEIST
Absolutely. Creating optimal amounts of spin
and having the ability to control that spin are
critical when it comes to solid wedge play, so
without sound grooves your short game—and
scoring—will suffer. When grooves wear over
time, the performance loss can be surprisingly
significant. And we can prove it. In a recent test
here at Titleist, we found that worn-out wedges (those on clubs
used in approximately 125 rounds) produced 2,000 less RPMs
compared to new wedges with fresh grooves on similar swings,
leading to nearly 2.5 times more rollout once the ball hits the
green. In other words, bad grooves can potentially leave you with
a 25-foot putt instead of a makeable 10-footer. See for yourself:
Review our test at vokey.com/spin/spin-performance.aspx.
PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION: CLINT FORD; HEADSHOTS: COURTESY MANUFACTURERS

I’ve heard that EVAN GIBBS,R&D DIRECTOR/CALLAWAY GOLF

when you open You’re not the only one who finds
adjustable-driver technology counter-
the face on an intuitive. The first step in getting your head
adjustable driver, you around it is understanding that adjusting
the face angle doesn’t result in a change in
also decrease the loft. loft as you’re adjusting it. The change takes
effect only after you sole the club on the
Sounds totally opposite ground. The exact amount of loft change
to irons. Is it true? is dependent on the sole geometry of
the club, as well as CG location and some
@W.M3NG
other items. Compounding this is that
some adjustable-driver models feature
a hosel design that decouples any face-
angle adjustment from the loft, while
other models do not. So each driver,
depending on its design, can and will
react differently after it’s been adjusted.
You’ll have to experiment with your
particular model to see how it functions,
or enlist the help of a qualified clubfitter
to get your driver properly dialed in.
I’d recommend the latter.

GOT A QUESTION FOR THE GEAR GUYS?

90 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018 Hit us up on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook
TheShop :: T H I S J U S T I N ::

The “players distance” iron

category has grown exponen-
tially in recent years, due in
large part to Callaway’s Apex
model, which continues to provide game-
improvement distance and forgiveness
in a compact, player-like package. The
Rogue Pro, which was introduced earlier
this year, also provides top-notch distance
and forgiveness in a less ofset and more
compact package, complete with an all-
black, durable finish and limited-edition

Back in Black
Callaway’s Rogue Pro
Black irons are red hot BRAND CALLAWAY
By Michael Chwasky MODEL ROGUE PRO BLACK
PRICE ($825, 5-PW)
True Temper XP 105 black shafts, black
cavity medallions and Lamkin Z5 grips. WEBSITE callawaygolf.com
Along with the new finish, the Rogue
Pro Black irons feature the same impres-
sive technologies as the standard Rogue
Pro model, including most notably 360-
cup face technology with variable face
thickness, for big-time ball speed across
a very large area of the clubface. To ofset
the sometimes harsh feel that comes
with very thin clubface designs, Callaway
engineers placed urethane microspheres
in the frame of the clubhead to dampen
vibration and vastly improve sound and feel
without negatively afecting face flex or ball
speed. In addition, the Rogue is built with
tungsten weighting to precisely position
the CG of each long iron to provide opti-
mized launch and spin control.

PLAYERS ONLY
Compact size, minimal offset,
and thin sole and topline are
perfect for better ballstrikers. GOOD VIBES
The black medallion
and urethane micro-
spheres work together
to dampen vibration
at impact, yielding a
superior sound and feel.
COURTESY CALLAWAY

FLEX FACE
A very thin, strong clubface with
VFT and a 360-cup face design yields
enhanced ball speed and distance.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 91

TheShop :: Y O U R B A G ::

Long Shot Stifer shafts and new heads gave

BATTER UP! Joseph Montoro
this player the power he was missing
FIX THIS: Joseph Montoro, a 45-year-old
11-handicapper from Miami, has some tal-
ent, thanks to a background in baseball and
a clubhead speed that hits 104 mph with the AFTER TRUE SPEC FITTING
driver. With his current of-the-rack clubs, (NUMBERS ARE AVERAGES)
his tendency was to miss a lot of shots to the
right—fine when you’re advancing a runner THAT'S
to third, but not when you’re aiming for fair-
ways and greens. Joseph also felt that given
NEW HYBRID
PING G400 4H with KBS
Tour Graphite 85 X shaft.
5.6 %
FARTHER!
his speed, he was leaving yards on the table.
Enter Andres Victoriano, a certified True
Spec fitter at the company’s shop at Trump CLUB SPEED (MPH) 96
National Doral Miami, who made a couple of BALL SPEED (MPH) 140.3
interesting changes to Joseph’s bag, including
SPIN RATE (RPM) 3,335
swapping a hybrid for one of his long irons,
and getting him into a new iron model alto- CARRY (YARDS) 218.5
gether to combat his spin.
TOTAL (YARDS) 238.9
Did the changes work? The numbers prove
that this fitting was a home run. LAUNCH (DEGREES) 11.5
—Michael Chwasky
NEW IRONS (6-IRON)
BEFORE TRUE SPEC FITTING TaylorMade P790 with
KBS C Taper X shaft.
(NUMBERS ARE AVERAGES )

CLUB SPEED (MPH) 93

OLD LONG IRON
Five-year-old forged small-cavity blade BALL SPEED (MPH) 130.4
with Dynamic Gold XP S300 steel shafts. SPIN RATE (RPM) 4,547
CLUB SPEED (MPH) 93.7 CARRY (YARDS) 194.3
BALL SPEED (MPH) 136.5
TOTAL (YARDS) 207.6
HEADSHOT: COURTESY JOSEPH MONTORO; HYBRID: COURTESY PING; IRON: KEVIN SWENEY

SPIN RATE (RPM) 3,849 THAT'S

CARRY (YARDS)
TOTAL (YARDS)
208.4
226.3
LAUNCH (DEGREES) 12.4
13.8
MORE YARDS!
LAUNCH (DEGREES) 10.3 FITTER COMMENTS
“Joseph had lots of speed, but was playing stock, lightweight
OLD IRONS (6-IRON) stif-flex shafts in his irons and stock stif shafts in his hybrid and
Five-year-old forged small-cavity blades woods. His miss with his irons was a push to the right, no doubt
with Dynamic Gold XP S300 steel shafts. exacerbated by his iron shafts being too soft and not stable enough
for his speed and the way he loaded the club. I ended up putting him
CLUB SPEED (MPH) 93.7
in extra-stif shafts, steel in his 5-iron through wedges and graphite in
BALL SPEED (MPH) 127.2 his woods. I traded his bladelike 4-iron for a PING G400 hybrid and
SPIN RATE (RPM) 5,320 replaced his one-piece forged irons with TaylorMade P790s, both of
CARRY (YARDS) 183.9 which produced superior performance: 10 yards of extra carry with
TOTAL (YARDS) 193.8 his new graphite-shafted hybrid and nearly 14 extra total yards with his
LAUNCH (DEGREES) 14.6 new, stifer-shafted irons.” —Andres Victoriano, True Spec certified fitter

92 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

TheShop :: T R E N D S : :

Less Is More
Shoes without Players of a certain generation speak
fondly of the days when metal spikes,
other exterior gripping surfaces that
keep you rooted to the ground inside the
spikes? Even kilties and wing-tip designs dominated
the shoe market. How quickly these golf-
ropes and bouncing confidently on er-
rands around town. We like the course-
Tour players are ers have forgotten the heaviness and of-
grass instability of old-school footwear.
to-clubhouse-to-club versatility of these
fashion-forward spikeless models, as do
seeing the value. Today, spikeless is where it’s at—comfy,
performance-oriented models featur-
an increasing number of Tour players.
Here are our picks for the best of this
By Michael Chwasky ing multiple sole lugs, rubber cleats and athletic, trend-setting bunch.

FOOTJOY PRO/SL
$159.99; footjoy.com
The Pro/SL is not only one of the most popular shoes in golf, it’s
also big with Tour players, covering the talented feet of pros like
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood and others.
Unlike the casual spikeless models of the past, the Pro/SL offers
exceptional stability and support as well as all-weather performance.
A combination of extreme foam cushioning and molded traction
elements in the sole that can hold any surface provides the
kind of comfort one would expect from a premium-priced shoe.
A model with BOA’s laceless closure system ($189.99) is also
available for those who want a more exacting fit in the heel.

PUMA IGNITE PWRSPORT

$120; pumagolf.com
Puma’s progressive take on shoe design continues with the stylish
and athletic Ignite PWRSPORT, which features 39 multidirectional
traction lugs in the sole as well as another 24 placed in critical areas
that require more grip. Comfort is maximized through the use of
Puma’s proprietary Ignite foam in the midsole, a design that also
provides energy return with each step as well as plenty of stability
during the swing. For those who see the athletic, breathable design
as “just a sneaker,” the Ignite PWRSPORT also features a very strong,
lightweight TPU saddle and a thinner TPU material in high-stress
areas for Tour-like performance in all types of turf conditions.

ADIDAS SPORT BOOST 3

$130; adidas.com
Always known for stylish athletic shoes, Adidas is a leader in spikeless
designs, evidenced this season by its Sport BOOST 3. Worn regularly
around the world by Justin Rose, among others, the shoe features
PHOTOS COURTESY MANUFACTURERS

highly breathable waterproof uppers for dry feet in a variety of

weather conditions, as well as a Puremotion outsole design with
external traction elements for enhanced grip and stability. A slightly
rounded toe shape and wider area in the front of the shoe improve
traction and comfort, while foam sockliners mold to your feet for
improved fit. The Sport BOOST 3 is also built with an “Energy Sling”
design that helps direct energy transfer more eficiently.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 93

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In elementary schools, on golf courses and at youth centers across the

country, The First Tee is teaching life-enhancing skills that empower young
people to make decisions for their future. Get involved today. www.thefirsttee.org
 private
LESSONS FOR MORE INSTRUCTION THAT FITS YOUR GAME, GO TO GOLF.COM
A gradually descending swing path that
pinches the ball between the clubface and the
ground will create a low-flying chip that checks
up and then rolls like a putt toward the hole.
HIGH
HANDICAPPER
“LAND” THE CLUB FOR SOLID CHIPS
To be a consistently good chipper, you
You have have to “squeeze” the ball of the turf by
potential but contacting the ball first and then the ground.
must fix some This descending blow produces a low-running
fundamental shot that behaves like a putt when it lands on
swing flaws. the green. Unfortunately, too many golfers—
usually in an efort to help lift the ball into the
air—make contact with the ground first and
either chunk or blade their chips.
Illustrations by GRAHAM GACHES
AUGUST 2018
As the clubhead approaches
the ball, imagine that it’s an
airplane coming in for a
smooth landing.
To break this habit, imagine that the
clubhead is an airplane coming in for a
smooth landing—the idea is to swing the
head gradually from high to low, brushing
the grass as it makes its way down the
runway and into the follow-through. By
swinging from high to low rather than low
to high, you’ll make much better contact
and have better distance control.
AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 97
private
LESSONS
LOW
HANDICAPPER
SETUPANDGO
It’s probably fitting that putting—the part of your putting game—in other words, shortening
You play well the game that features the shortest distance the time between address and takeaway—can
but want to shave between the player and the target—is also the actually make you a better putter. The advantage
those last few most mentally challenging. But while most to such a fast routine is that it leaves no time for
strokes off players stand (and agonize) over their putts for negative thoughts: You walk into the ball, take
your handicap. a lot longer than they do their drives and iron one glance at the hole, and go. Give it a try: You
shots, it doesn’t have to be that way. Speeding up may just see your confidence on the greens soar.

Stand on an
extension
of the putt’s
starting line
as you make
your practice
strokes.

STEP 1
SEE THE LINE
After reading the
putt and determining
the break, take three
practice strokes while
standing perpendicular
to the hole (about three
paces behind the ball)
on an extension of
the putt’s starting
line. On your first
two practice strokes,
allow your eyes to
trace the line, and
then, on the final
stroke, visualize
the ball tracking on
line and dropping
into the hole.

98 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

Walk into
the ball on
the same line
on which you
want your
putt to start.
STEP 2
WALK THE LINE
Walk into each putt
on the same line you
want the ball to start
on. For example: If
the putt is going to
break from left to
right, approach the
ball on the same line,
walking diagonally
to your left. This
helps you set your
body square to the
line of the putt.

STEP 3
GET SET, GO
Once you reach
the ball, set your
putterhead down
and take one last
look at the hole to
confirm that the face
is square to the starting
line. As soon as your
eyes return to the ball,
pull the trigger. Do not
hesitate. If you’ve
made the right read,
the next sound you’ll
hear is the ball falling
into the cup.

Take one last look

at the hole...

...and then pull

the trigger.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 99

private
LESSONS
POWER
HITTER
You hit the ball
a long way, but
your game needs
control and
consistency.

HOW TO
TAME A
TRICKY
TIGHT LIE
You bomb your tee shot, only to
find yourself with a tricky 60-yard
wedge shot from a lie as hard
and smooth as your hardwood
kitchen floor. The tight-lie pitch
is one of the scariest plays in golf,
since it’s so easy to blade the
shot or hit it fat. Here are a few
keys to help you get over this
fear and routinely knock these
shots close to the hole.

Remove your
pinky from the
grip to reduce
tension.

DROP YOUR PINKY

First of all, use a pitching wedge or
a higher-lofted club with very little
bounce, since the flatter sole will be
less inclined to hop of the ground
into the ball. Next, slide your hands
up the grip so that the pinky on your
left hand sits above the butt end
of the club. With one less finger on
the club, you’ll make a freer-flowing
swing with less tension.

100 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

MOVE IN UNISON
Swing the club back on a steep,
upright plane, then focus on
matching your arm swing to your
body turn on the downswing.
As long as the two are moving
together, you’ll accelerate the
clubhead through impact more
smoothly. Keep your left wrist
supple—this allows the head to
pass the hands immediately after
impact, adding loft to the shot.

Keep your
wrists supple
as you slide
the clubhead
under the ball.

COMPLETE
THE SWING
Make sure your follow-through is
at least as long as your backswing.
Many golfers try to lift this shot
into the air, which slows the
clubhead down and cuts of the
follow-through. You want a smooth,
very gradual acceleration through
impact, with your arms floating
up into the finish. Provided your
grip pressure is light and your
body keeps turning, you should
hit the ball high and tight.

Swing your arms freely so that

they “float up” into the finish.

AUGUST 2018 GOLF.COM 101

private
LESSONS
SENIOR
PLAYER
You’ve lost some
flexibility and A shoulder-width
power but stance will help quiet
still know your legs and ensure a
how to score. more consistent entry
point in the sand.

KEEP
QUIET
IN THE
SAND
If you’ve watched a lot of
golf on TV over the years,
one thing you may have
noticed is that many of the
players on the various pro
tours take an extra-wide
stance in the greenside
bunkers. This is because
the wider the stance—with
the feet at least shoulder-
width apart—the easier it
is to keep your legs quiet
and make contact with the
sand an inch or so behind
the ball. You’re much less
likely to blade the shot or hit
it too fat because you were
moving laterally. The other
advantage to keeping the
legs silent is that it forces
you to rotate your body
more through the shot,
which helps to maintain the
loft on the face for a high,
soft blast out of the sand.

Rotate your
upper body
through the
shot to
maintain
the loft on
the club.

102 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018

“Let the length of your putting stroke control
how far the putt rolls.”
- Dave Pelz

Grand Traverse Resort and Spa

Traverse City, MI

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PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens
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MICHIGAN
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800-833-7370
school@pelzgolf.com pelzgolf.com
 The Grandview Five
SISTERS ON THE FAIRWAY is a
group of a dozen or so black women golfers
in and around York, Pa., who like golf—
and what the game is supposed to repre-
sent. For the past decade, this golfing
sorority has gathered fortnightly at differ-
ent public courses to enjoy the game and
each other. They quiz one another on the
game’s rules. They take lessons together
and compare notes on their golf
purchases. In Sandra Thompson’s
golf bag you’ll find a ball retriever,
two putters and a homemade
beads-on-a-string gizmo to count
her strokes. It maxes out at eight.
Early this year, Grandview Golf
Course, a pleasant, old-timey
public track near York, was offer-
ing a deal that looked like a typo:
unlimited golf for the year for un-
der $200. The new owners were
trying to fill their tee sheets and
the clubhouse restaurant, too.
The Sisters decided to join. For
the first time, they had a home
course, Grandview. Their first outing
was on April 21, with 10:08 and 10:16 tee
times. Their inaugural Saturday morn-
ing was cold—tee times had been pushed
back because of frost—and several of
the expected SOTF golfers didn’t make
it. Thompson, a 50-year-old York law-
yer and president of the York chapter of
the NAACP, was the fifth and last of the
women to arrive. The other four women—
all in their 50s, dressed like senior LPGA
players—were doing their pre-round
stretching, just like the magazines urge
you to do. The counterman said the wom-
en could play as a fivesome.
Jerry Higgins, a Grandview regular
in the group behind the women, was not
pleased. A fivesome, on a crowded Sat-
urday? But he was pleasantly surprised
to see how quickly the group played the
par-5 first hole. Soon, he told me, the
women were a full hole ahead of his
threesome. He said their etiquette was
perfect. He estimated the women played
the front nine in two hours.
Higgins could not know that Steve
Chronister, the public face of the club,
had told the women to leave the course
110 GOLF.COM AUGUST 2018
A Pennsylvania course
owner called the police to
remove ive black women
from his property. Their
alleged crime: slow play.
Were the Sisters on the Fairway singled out
simply for playing golf while being black?
as they came off the second green, which
abuts the clubhouse. They were playing
too slowly and not following course rules,
he said. He wanted to refund them their
money and be done with them. The wom-
en refused and drove off to the distant
third tee.
At 11:24 a.m., Chronister called 911. At
that point, the women had been on the
course for maybe 25 minutes. By the time
the women made it to the 110-yard par-3
third, it was empty and they decided to
skip it. Two of the women, still unsettled,
sat out the fourth.
Chronister, who is white-skinned,
white-haired and in his early 60s, is well
known at Grandview. He grew up play-
ing the public course, where his father had
been the golf pro. Chronister is a former
York County commissioner and his son
and his son’s wife are owners and manag-
ers of the course today. All three Chronis-
ters, and others, were on the scene when
the women made the turn. Three called
it a day. Thompson and another woman,
Myneca Ojo, decided to get something to
eat before playing the back nine.
At 1:26 p.m. Steve Chronister called 911
again. The dispatcher asked if there were
any weapons present. No, Chronister
said, “just her mouth,” referring to one of
the two remaining women. Near the tenth
tee, Chronister told them both to leave.
Thompson and Ojo invited the Hig-
gins threesome to play through. Higgins
declined, because his two play-
ing partners were getting beers
in the clubhouse. Two police of-
ficers arrived. They were courte-
ous and professional, Thompson
told me. Still, she and Ojo decid-
ed to leave. “I was worried if we
didn’t leave we’d receive a com-
plaint in the mail later for crimi-
nal trespass,” she said.
I tried to reach Chronister
multiple ways. I sent him these
questions by e-mail through his
lawyer: “Why did you find it nec-
essary to call the police about the
golfers the first time? How about
the second?” I never heard back.
The women are planning a civil suit
against the club. Their hurt is genuine.
Naively, I asked them if they wanted to
join me for a round at Grandview. They
want nothing to do with the place. “Why
would we want to play golf at a course
where we don’t feel welcome?” Thomp-
son asked. Good point.
I asked Thompson to summarize what
she thought happened on that Satur-
day at Grandview. “I think we were ra-
cially profiled,” she said. In other words,
singled out for playing golf while being
black. Female and black.
Chronister denied any racial motiva-
tion to the responding officers, but let’s
be real here: before this, in your life, had
you ever heard of police being called to a
course over a charge of slow play?
Golf is supposed to be an oasis of civili-
ty. For the Sisters on the Fairway—they use
fairway as a double entendre—that’s part
ILLUSTRATION: KEITH WITMER
of its allure. They know what Mr. Chro-
nister, evidently, does not. But it’s not too
late for him, as it’s never too late for any of
us. You can always learn something new
in this game. —MICHAEL BAMBERGER
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