The post 5 travel hacks to keep your golf clubs safe (and intact) in transit appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 travel hacks to keep your golf clubs safe (and intact) in transit appeared first on Golf.

Golf is a great game in that you can play it worldwide. But that can also come with some headaches. A full set of clubs is a hefty item to lug around, and getting them to your destination in one piece is not always a simple task. Travel bags do a good job of keeping your babies safe in transit, but sometimes you need to take some extra steps.

As a golf writer crisscrossing the country each year, I’ve done my fair share of travel with clubs in tow. I’ve never had a serious issue (fingers crossed) and below are some of the hacks I’ve used to keep it that way.

1. Take the head off your woods

When packing your clubs in preparation for transit, take the time to remove the heads off of your woods. Use a torque wrench (these usually come with a driver when you purchase it) to loosen the screw where the shaft meets the head and take it all the way off. Wrap your clubhead in a towel and put it in the large pocket on the side of your golf bag. This process decreases the likelihood of your clubhead snapping off in transit. Just make sure you take note of the setting your clubs were on before you remove anything!

2. Stiff arm

For an added layer of protection, throw a stiff arm in your bag when you’re flying. This device is designed to absorb the brunt of any accidental crunching at the top of your bag and can prevent a snapped driver shaft. Don’t want to invest in a stiff arm? Use a broom handle! Just make sure it’s longer than the longest club in your bag.

Srixon Z-Star golf balls

Maximize your greenside spin and enjoy ample distance performance, all with exceptionally soft feel. Choose Z-STAR if finesse around the greens and pinpoint approach shots are your keys to record low scores.

$44.99 from www.srixon.com

3. Bubble wrap your irons

If you don’t want any dings and scrapes on your irons from the jostling that comes in transit, throw some bubble wrap around the heads. Or, you can kills two birds with one stone and use your socks as makeshift head covers. Whatever it takes to keep your scoring clubs blemish-free.

4. Add an Airtag

If you’re like me, waiting for your clubs to be delivered to baggage claim is an anxiety-inducing event. What if they got lost in transit? What if they got stolen! But ever since I put an Apple Airtag in my bag, my anxieties have been assuaged. Now, I can check the location of my clubs from the second I drop them with the baggage agent until they are safely back in my possession. It’s the best $30 I’ve ever spent.

5. Fill it up

Travel bags are designed to be roomy to fit even the largest of staff bags, but that extra space can come at the risk of your clubs. With so much room inside bag, the more your clubs can move around and find trouble. To alleviate this, fill that extra space with soft goods like towels, shirts and shoes. The less empty space inside the bag, the more protected your clubs will be.

The post 5 travel hacks to keep your golf clubs safe (and intact) in transit appeared first on Golf.

The post This best-selling Colt Knost ‘Birdie Juice’ shirt is on sale appeared first on Golf.

The post This best-selling Colt Knost ‘Birdie Juice’ shirt is on sale appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to Gimme That, a GOLF.com column where we’ll highlight one notable item we think you might like. Whether it’s an article of clothing, an intriguing electronic device or anything in between, we want to share these items with you because they’ve generated a bit of chatter by our water cooler (or, these days, on our Slack channel). So sit back, scroll down and keep up with the latest gear golf has to offer.

Colt Knost seamlessly transitioned from his PGA Tour career to the media landscape. As a podcast host, Knost has established himself, along with co-host Drew Stoltz, as a fresh voice and perspective golf fans have been clamoring for.

Knost is known for having a good time and you can often find some birdie juice in his cup. With that mantra catching on with loyal fans, we created a Colt Knost “Birdie Juice” t-shirt that all golfers will enjoy.

It’s quickly become a hit with those who like to “get amongst it” with the boys. When you think of Colt Knost, you think of golf and cocktails. The first words out of Knost’s mouth after Sam Ryder’s ace at the Phoenix Open? “Bam. Cocktails!” 

The man embodies birdie juice. It’s a hit phrase and a hit t-shirt. 

If you’re a fan of Knost, now is the perfect time to pick up his merch. A Spring sale is going on until 3/14 in the GOLF Pro Shop where all of his merch is 15% off. It’s time to do some spring cleaning to free up space for some birdie juice merch. In fact, the entire birdie juice collection is 15% off.

Grab a Colt Knost Birdie Juice t-shirt and you’ll certainly get his attention in the crowd when he’s roaming inside the ropes with a feature group. 

The post This best-selling Colt Knost ‘Birdie Juice’ shirt is on sale appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 picks I love at the American Express, according to a professional gambler appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 picks I love at the American Express, according to a professional gambler appeared first on Golf.

In 1987, when the PGA West Stadium Course made its PGA Tour debut at what was then the Bob Hope Classic, it had a reputation as one of the country’s toughest tracks, and it more than held its own against the world’s best. So demanding were its tests that year that a number of Tour pros refused to return to the event unless the Stadium was scratched as one of the host courses.

That was then.

News

3 takeaways from the PGA Tour's key stat leaders through the Sony Open

By: Zephyr Melton

Last year, at the tournament known today as the American Express, Si Woo Kim claimed the title with a four-day total of 23-under, one shot ahead of Patrick Cantlay, who came within a whisker of catching Kim with a final-round 61.

Designed by Pete Dye, the Stadium Course remains plenty daunting for most amateurs — a minefield of pot-bunkers, water hazards and intimidating looks. But the pros, as we know, play a different game. 

Kim is back to defend his title. Cantlay will be on hand as well, along with a field highlighted by Tony Finau, Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Reed, Abe Ancer, Phil Mickelson and world number-one Jon Rahm.

The American Express follows an unusual format, with a 54-hole cut and the first three rounds held on three different courses (PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course La Quinta Country Club are the other two), and Sunday’s final played entirely on the Stadium Course.

Erick Lindgren will be watching closely. He’s GOLF.com expert prognosticator, looking to build on his sparkling track record from last year, when he picked five outright winners in this space. As usual, we’re giving Lindgren a $1,000 budget (in play money), and he’s giving us (and you!) his five top picks for the American Express, which kicks off Thursday.

(Looking to play any of these bets yourself? We teamed with BetMGM and the online sports book is offering a Risk-Free Bet of up to $1,000). 

Scottie Scheffler to win: +2,000 (Wager $200)

During the Tournament of Champions on Maui two weeks go, Lindgren says he kept picturing Scheffler at home, going crazy because he wasn’t there. Scheffler is due, Lindgren says, and he’s willing to put his money on it.

Russell Knox, top finisher from Great Britain/Ireland: +$500 (Wager: $300)

He’ll have to beat the like of Justin Rose, Seamus Power, Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald. “I’m not looking to fade Power’s hot streak,” Lindgren says. But the rest of the guys on the list aren’t scaring me right now.”

Josh Bramlett, top 20: +550 (Wager: $200)

Casual fans might not be familiar with Bramlett. But Lindgren has been keeping an eye on him. “He snuck into the top 20 last week with a great Sunday on a course that wasn’t a great fit for him,” Lindgren says. “This week suits him better.”

Francesco Molinari, top 10, +1,200 (Wager: $200)

It’s not exactly a home game for the Italian. But La Quinta is a short drive from Los Angeles, where Molinari now resides. “He has a good course history here and I expect him to regain some of his brilliant form from a couple of years ago,” Lindgren says. “I’ve gotten a great price on that starting here.”

Davis Riley to win: +15,000 (Wager: $100)

Every now and then, you’ve got to take a long shot. Lindgren is going with the recent Korn Ferry grad. “I couldn’t be more impressed with him,” Lindgren says. “If you take away a few bad holes from the Sony last week, he would have been top 5. He stays on Bermuda this week, which I’m betting will be his favorite grass.”

The post 5 picks I love at the American Express, according to a professional gambler appeared first on Golf.

The post Stories of 2021: Pro golf is at an inflection point. But what’s next? appeared first on Golf.

The post Stories of 2021: Pro golf is at an inflection point. But what’s next? appeared first on Golf.

What stories dominated 2021? We’ll turn back the clock (and then look ahead) at five of the biggest talkers of the year.

***

For a half-century and then some, there was one tour on the mountaintop: the series of televised events, nearly all of them in the Lower 48, featuring the best players in the world playing four days of stroke-play competition, wrapping up on Sunday night. The PGA Tour.

Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, as kids in southern California in the 1970s and ‘80s and into the ‘90s, grew up on that tour. What other tour was there?

That was then.

Now tournament golf is seemingly at an inflection point, with a vast amount of talk (and some definite action) about Middle Eastern oil money flooding ye olde shepherd’s game. It’s fascinating and revealing, but not surprising, to see how differently Woods and Mickelson view threats to the PGA Tour, real or imagined.

Asked earlier this month about his broad interest in any emerging international tour, Woods said, “I’ve decided for myself that I’m supporting the PGA Tour. That’s where my legacy is. I’ve been fortunate enough to have won 82 events on this tour and 15 major championships and been a part of the World Golf Championships, the start of them and the end of them. So I have allegiance to the PGA Tour.”

Months earlier, speaking about the notion of joining an upstart world golf tour that was then in the news, Mickelson said, “I think it’s very interesting. What’s interesting is the players would be giving up control of their schedule and then compete against each other 14 times or 15 times or whatever the final number is.

“Fans would love it and get to see the best guys play more often and there would be global events. Imagine all the best players having to go global, what that would do for the game.”

That was in May. Seven months later, there hasn’t been much clarity, in terms of how a new world order in golf could shake out. But some things are known.

The European Tour has been “rebranded” and is now the DP World Tour, named for a shipping logistics company, DP World, that is based on Dubai.

The Asian Tour is more prominent than it has ever been before. In about five weeks, the annual early-February tournament in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi International, now the so-called flagship event of the Asian Tour, will feature a significant number of the most prominent players in the world, including Mickelson.

In October, Greg Norman, a longtime proponent of a world golf tour, was named CEO of a new company called LIV Golf Investments that is a new backer of the Asian Tour. (LIV Golf Investments is funded by a Saudi investment fund with vast amounts of money called the Public Investment Fund. The fund’s chairman is Mohammed bin Salman, who was linked to the death of the Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi.) LIV Golf has said it will back a series of 10 Asian Tour events over the next decade.

In recent weeks, LIV Golf has sent out a series of press releases that have announced various new LIV Golf employees, including Carlton “Slugger” White, the retired veteran PGA Tour rules official. But what LIV Golf has not revealed is what is getting the most attention.

News

10 burning questions about Greg Norman's mysterious new golf league

By: Dylan Dethier

A number of credible reports have said that LIV’s ultimate goal is to start a world tour that will feature simultaneous team and individual competitions featuring small fields and enormous purses.

Are you feeling overwhelmed yet?

Well, better hunker down.

Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, is fighting fire with fire, for now. The Tour has announced that the total purse for all PGA Tour events in 2022 will be $60 million higher than it was in 2021, up to $427 million, from $367 million.

(The Tour did not say where the money is coming from, except to say it was in the Tour’s “reserves.”)

The pool of comically secretive PIP money will be go from $40 million to $50 million. This is the popularity contest performance pool that distributes money to the 10 players that are most engaged with fans, measured largely via internet traffic.

(If there is a god, Jim Herman will finish first, cash his check and tweet out how he will spend part of it at a family dinner at a strip-mall Italian restaurant near his Florida home.)

FedEx Cup playoff money is now $75 million, up from $60 million. Where the winner used to get $15 million, the winner will now get $18 million.

(It goes without saying that you don’t care, just as you don’t care what Patrick Mahomes makes, either.)

There’s another — new and improved and doubled! — $20 million bonus pool for the top-10 players in the FedEx Cup regular season standings in 2022.

Still to come: gambling money, sponsorship money that comes through the Tour — and more gambling money.

If this sounds like a rat-race, it is. It’s grubby. It has nothing to do with why any of us are drawn to golf in the first place. But it’s also really nothing new. It just sounds different because of all these new “revenue streams.”

News

Up close, Tiger Woods' first round back answered plenty of questions

By: Dylan Dethier

And here come the non-fungible tokens.

The only thing that’s actually new here is the language being used and the countries where these golf stories are unfolding.

Thirty and 40 and 50 years ago, when the leading “foreign” players felt like they were good enough, when they wanted good practice balls and low-mileage courtesy cars and the best competition — plus, most tellingly, the biggest purses in golf — they came to U.S.

That’s how Tony Jacklin (an Englishman) found his way here, as well as Isao Aoki (from Japan) and Seve Ballesteros (from Spain) and Bernhard Langer (from Germany) and Greg Norman (from Australia). It was, in golf, still the era of American hegemony.

Thirty years ago, the 1992 field at the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am included Mark O’Meara (the winner in a playoff), Jeff Sluman, Steve Elkington, Paul Azinger, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Fuzzy Zoeller, Payne Stewart, Lanny Wadkins — and Greg Norman.

Yes, of course, all these name players were in the field. It was Pebble Beach, golf’s most celebrated pro-am. You couldn’t make more money playing anywhere else that week, and you might get some good business advice along the way. They came because they were professional golfers. There aren’t many job titles that are preceded by an adjective, but professional golfer is one of them. Pro golfers have followed the money forever.

And that’s what will be happening in five weeks, when the Saudi International will be played the same week as the AT&T at Pebble Beach. The Saudi International will look confusingly like a PGA Tour event. The PGA Tour, not happily, has given releases — permission slips, really — to an extraordinary number of name-brand Tour pros to play in the event.

Among the American players in the Saudi field are Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Dufner, Dustin Johnson, Jason Kokrak, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Xander Schauffele, Harold Varner and Bubba Watson.

The international players in the field are similarly familiar names, including Abraham Ancer, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.

The Saudi event will be on Golf Channel.

The AT&T event will be on CBS.

The AT&T event will feature one of the most beautiful courses in the world.

The Saudi event will feature golfers whose names and swings and histories you know.

So which one will you watch?

In professional golf, money always leads the way. We, the community of golf fans, pay all the bills. There’s nothing really new here.

But you could also make the case that a bomb will drop on professional golf before too long here. Because when it’s all said and done, golf is a niche sport with a small following and small supply of elite professional golfers. There’s just not that much supply to go around. How many active, male professional golfers are there in the world that ordinary fans have some kind of emotional investment in? Not more than 100 and likely not even close to that.

Tiger Woods likes to say that Father Time is undefeated. Supply and demand is, too.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@golf.com.

The post Stories of 2021: Pro golf is at an inflection point. But what’s next? appeared first on Golf.

The post The best stuff we didn’t report in 2021: Our staff’s year-end notebook dump appeared first on Golf.

The post The best stuff we didn’t report in 2021: Our staff’s year-end notebook dump appeared first on Golf.

GOLF.com’s fleet of reporters, writers and do-it-all content creators covered the game inside and out in 2021, giving readers and viewers a front-row seat to Bryson DeChambeau’s speed training sessions, Olympic golf in Japan and the U.S.’s blowout win at the Ryder Cup on the shores of Lake Michigan. Most of our team’s observations, learnings and scene-setting made its way on to one or more of our platforms, but some did not. As we put a bow on the year, we asked our staff to delve back into their notebooks, phones and memory banks to retrieve a fun or revealing nugget that never came to light. Here’s what they came back with…      

‘Wait, so — what do you do?‘

I stopped by to chat with the Brothers Koepka on the driving range at the Hero World Challenge. They were fresh off a win over Team Bryson at The Match, Vol. 5. They’d celebrated that night with a trip to Duke vs. Gonzaga, where Brooks and Chase got courtside seats. When they showed up, who was sitting next to them but…Floyd Mayweather!

Chase said the former boxing star was friendly and plenty chatty all game. They talked hoops, sports, business, jewelry, Vegas. But it wasn’t until a final chorus of “Brooksy” cheers rained down from the seats behind them that Mayweather finally got curious about his seatmate’s identity.

“Wait, so — what do you do? What’s your thing that everybody knows you?” Mayweather asked Brooks, per Chase. He had zero idea who Koepka was.

What a perfectly Vegas way to wrap up a week in show biz. The biggest event of the month on the golf calendar certainly didn’t register to the man they call Money.

I was going to follow up and ask Brooks more about it — and make sure I had the story right — but never got the chance, which is why I never included it. Now I’m dropping the story here with the caveat that I hope I understood exactly what Chase was telling me. — Dylan Dethier

An Ian Poulter impression for the ages

As someone who suffers from Resting Happy Face, Viktor Hovland always looks as if he’s thinking of something funny. Sometimes, he really is.

It was a spring afternoon in Hovland’s adoptive hometown of Stillwater, Okla., midway through a daylong photo and video shoot for which many Tour pros of his stature would not have had the patience. Nearly everyone looked tired. Hovland said he was. But his trademark expression remained unchanged: mischievous gaze, impish grin.

During a break between shots, the conversation turned to the upcoming Ryder Cup. Was Hovland pumped? Yes, he was. Did he have a strong opinion about captains’ picks? A beat went by before Hovland cracked a smile and busted out a spot-on Ian Poulter impression. 

“My passion for this event has been well documented,” he said, in a pitch-perfect parrot of Poutler’s intonation and plummy vowels. The cameras weren’t whirring, so I pulled out my cell phone. 

“Any chance I could get you do that again?”

Hovland’s reply was friendly but firm: “Are you kidding? You think I’m going to let you put that out on Instagram?”

Funny guy. Smart guy, too. — Josh Sens

Charles Barkley, People’s Champion

For years, I thought the American Century Celebrity Tournament at Lake Tahoe must be one of the most fun events to attend in golf. After covering the event for the first time this year, my intuition was correct. The area is beautiful, the course is full of spectacular views, there’s a party going on in every direction, and the field is loaded with star power. 

I was most intrigued to follow Charles Barkley around. He’s been on the notorious end of every bad golfer joke for years and years. To his credit, Barkley never quit the game when most would have walked away rather than dealt with that level of public humiliation. Not Charles. He kept grinding away until something clicked with the help of his coach Stan Utley to become a respectable player once more. 

While most A-listers moved around the property and occasionally took a photograph or signed an autograph, they didn’t spend all that much time with the crowd. Frankly, some wanted nothing to do with fans at all. But Sir Charles was the People’s Champion.

Instruction

Inside Charles Barkley's quest to fix his flawed golf swing

By: Tim Reilly

Barkley spent hours and hours interacting with fans in attendance. Not only would he stop to take photos and sign autographs, but he would ask fans questions with genuine curiosity. Barkley wanted to know where they were from, who else they were excited to watch, and would provide his candid commentary on the NBA when asked a question. I was taken back by just how sincere he was. You could tell this wasn’t something he does just for show in the public eye. Barkley truly cares about anyone in his presence.  

When he finished handling every fan request, an event crew member attempted to get him in a golf cart to speed up his afternoon practice round. There was a welcoming party to go over the rules for competitors. “I don’t give a damn about no welcoming party,” Barkley said. “I’m going to enjoy my evening walk around the course. When I get there, I get there.”

The course was closed to fans at this point. Barkley might have lost his swing for a while, but he never lost his smile. Now, he has them both. Barkley was left alone in peace to enjoy the game he’s back at peace with. 

No one earned that peaceful walk in the beauty of Tahoe more than him. — Tim Reilly

Bryson’s driver secret

Ever since Bryson DeChambeau’s driver broke during the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park, we’ve been forced to wonder how his equipment would hold up over time. All those endless range sessions in the dark. The speed training work in Chris Como’s living room. I mean, if you can crack a driver head at your little public course, what would happen with Bryson’s gear when he’s constantly whipping it 18% faster than the PGA Tour average. 

Well, during a January photoshoot in Dallas, he and his team divulged a little info that protects against driver failure. At any given time, Bryson has not just one gamer driver. That wouldn’t be enough of a safety net. He has not just two gamer drivers. Who knows what could happen? DeChambeau has not just three gamer drivers! He has four!

Four drivers that are his “touring” gamers, working their way around the country from event to event. They don’t come out when he’s ball testing. They don’t get a workout during speed training sessions. They’re not even in the room! They are the distinguished, chosen few. How does he work them all into the rotation?

That’ll be the first question I ask in 2022. — Sean Zak

An ode to Shinnecock

Shinnecock Hills, one of the golfing temples on the East End of Long Island, does many things well. Near the top of the list, I was reminded on an early-October visit: the understatedness of its shingled clubhouse. No fountains out front, no Jacuzzis in the locker rooms, no $85 Wagyu ribeye on the menu. When you have a course as pure as Shinnecock’s, not much chest-beating is required.   

Heck, the place doesn’t even have air-conditioning.

Architect Stanford White, who finished the clubhouse in 1892, purposefully perched the hangout on the highest point on the property so breezes would blow through the back windows and doors and help cool off sweaty golfers.

My favorite touch hangs in a frame on a wall in the men’s locker room: a letter from Raymond Floyd, who won the 1986 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, to Silas R. Anthony, Jr, who won the club championship there that same year. The correspondence — typed with black ink on a “Ray Floyd” letterhead — is dated August 20, 1986, and was in response to a congratulatory note Anthony had sent to Floyd. It reads in part:   

Winning the U.S. Open is a lifelong dream fulfilled. It certainly has been the most satisfying victory of my career. . .coming from behind and on a course like Shinnecock. Thanks for sharing it with me.

What a lovely sentiment: thanks for sharing it with me, as if the course is a national trust, which, in a way, it is. There are many fabulous designs across the game but only a select few would elicit that kind of response from one of the world’s best players, let alone in letter form.    

Oh, Shinnecock’s Southsides are pretty tasty, too: mint, gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, splash of soda, lots of ice. Be sure to grab one at the turn. — Alan Bastable

No rest for this rules official

In late March, during the WGC-Match Play, Dustin Johnson and Kevin Na became wrapped up in a bit of a rules controversy when, during their round-robin match, Na appeared to have retroactively conceded a putt to Johnson, which, of course, is a no-no. Seeking clarification, I called up Gary Young, one of the PGA Tour’s top rules officials, and he both explained the behind-the-scenes talk and texted me screen grabs of the rules in play. But we’ve reported that, and you can read about that here.

But what I didn’t write that day is that Young, it sounded like, took my call over dinner. (You could hear various conversations in the background and the clinking of plates, glasses, knives and forks.) We talked for a good 20 minutes. And his texts came some 12 hours after his day started in Austin, Texas.

Say what you will about the rules and their sometimes confusing nature. And those who help enforce them also often do so with little fanfare (though Young just recently got a bit of national TV exposure when he stood over Patrick Reed and his ball in a sandy waste area during the final round of the Hero World Challenge). But they are also meticulous in their craft. Even at the expense of their food possibly getting cold. — Nick Piastowski

A U.S. Open view like no other

This is under the category of viva le difference.

I like San Diego, love nearby La Jolla Shores and enjoy the Torrey Pines courses. I don’t like shuttle buses. That makes me like you and everybody else you know.

During the U.S. Open this year, I stayed in the so-called media hotel, the Sheraton La Jolla, oddly charming chain lodging just beyond the I-5 roar. I didn’t rent a car. (The prices were offensively high.) There was a shuttle bus from the hotel to the course, maybe a 20-minute trip with cooperative traffic, but I was determined to use it as a little as possible.

There were a variety of walking routes from the hotel to the golf course, some less dangerous than others. Most of them were about four miles, if you didn’t make a wrong turn. I never didn’t make a wrong turn.

The surest and most scenic (and much longer) route, I discovered one night in the long dusk of June in Southern California, was across the golf course, down the famous cliff by the Gliderport, south along the ocean beach, past Scripps Pier (famous surf spot) and into La Jolla Shores, where there are restaurants and civilization. At one point, on this walk home after work, the tide was so high that the Pacific’s mild evening breakers were landing on a collection of boulders. I waded on through. No big deal. It was beyond nightfall by the time I made it to town. I was hungry, wet and cold. All part of the fun.

The next morning, Southern California was bathed in sunshine, after the morning fog lifted. The beach was wide and warm. I made my way past the nudists’ beach, briefly into the surf, air-dried myself, hiked up the cliff steps, entered the golf course through the NBC compound, used the outdoor pool shower at the Torrey Pines Hilton to freshen up and into the press tent for another day of typing fun.

But that’s not the point here. At the top of the cliffs, there’s a picnic area and picnic tables. Right there, you are a few hundred yards from live U.S. Open golf but you’d never know it. It was a different world, unconnected to the golf in every way. And there, among the beach people and the hikers and the hang-gliders, was a familiar face, a Frenchman I’ve seen for years, enjoying the sunshine and a sandwich. Thomas Levet, the former Ryder Cupper and now a broadcaster. Talk about your busman’s holiday. We had a brief nice-spot, what-a-day exchange.

The only thing missing was a dog and a bottle of wine. — Michael Bamberger

A different side of DeChambeau

Back in September, I found myself chasing Bryson DeChambeau into the middle of nowhere — the Nevada desert — for the strangest golf event I’d ever seen: the World Long Drive Championships.

On my second day, I tracked down Bryson’s closest friend on the circuit, World Long Drive champ Kyle Berkshire. Their relationship struck me as strange. I couldn’t understand why Kyle — a thoughtful and surprisingly reserved guy — was so drawn to Bryson’s machismo, so I asked him about it.

News

'He has opened doors': Inside Bryson DeChambeau's far-reaching impact on long drive

By: James Colgan

“He is one of the most selfless people I’ve ever known,” Berkshire said of his friend. “In my experience, he treats service people — waiters, waitresses, golf cart attendants, pro shop works — very, very well and with a lot of respect. I’m always aware of how people treat service workers, because you’re not going to be held accountable for it one way or the other, so in my opinion, that’s a true measure of someone’s character.”

I was stunned. Of all the things the public knew DeChambeau to be, selfless was … not one of them. But Berkshire was convinced.

“He’s always treated those people very well — and that’s not just around me,” Berkshire said. “I’ve witnessed him do that when he didn’t know I was watching. He’s just a good person, and I don’t think people realize that.

It was an illuminating moment, one that helped me to understand a bit more about why Bryson went through the PR hell of committing to a long drive event the day after the Ryder Cup, and about the big man himself. — James Colgan

How scoops start

One of my best pals from working out on the LPGA beat works as a rules official for the Tour, and each week I’m on the road, we always make time for a couple nights of dinner and drinks. It’s always valuable as a reporter to get perspectives from a variety of sources, and there are few people as close to the action as rules officials. 

Much of what we talk about is strictly off the record, but the tidbits I did snag — particularly regarding controversial rulings — gives me a leg up on the competition when I head out to the course to report on the events of the day. Reporting on site doesn’t stop when you leave the course. And often the best tips are unearthed over a couple pints. — Zephyr Melton

A Phil fan for life

When Phil Mickelson committed to the PGA Tour Champions’ season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship at the eleventh hour, the greater Phoenix area was buzzing. As an ASU alum, Phil is one of Arizona’s favorite sons, and he took a lot of heat for skipping his annual stop at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in favor of a hefty appearance fee in Saudi Arabia. But now, Arizonans would again be able to watch Phil up close.

I took my kids to Phoenix Country Club to watch Saturday’s third round — their first-ever pro tournament — and we followed Phil for a few holes. He was playing alongside University of Arizona alum Jim Furyk. The gallery was four rows deep. On the short par-4 12^th, Phil drove it into the left rough. My five-year-old daughter snaked through the crowd to the rope line just in time to watch a classic Phil flop stop within gimme distance, setting up a tap-in birdie.

The crowd went nuts, and my girl was smiling from ear to ear. When Phil claimed victory on Sunday by a single shot, I can’t help but think that shot wasn’t pivotal. And now, anytime golf is on TV, my daughter asks, “Is Phil playing?” — Jessica Marksbury

The post The best stuff we didn’t report in 2021: Our staff’s year-end notebook dump appeared first on Golf.

The post Check out NFL star Kyler Murray’s mind-blowing golf gifts to his offensive linemen appeared first on Golf.

The post Check out NFL star Kyler Murray’s mind-blowing golf gifts to his offensive linemen appeared first on Golf.

In football, a quarterback’s offensive linemen are his only protection from defenders who are trained and ready to attack. Although the Arizona Cardinals quarterback, Kyler Murray, is especially evasive on foot, it’s best that he keeps his linemen happy and willing to put themselves on the line every play.

Every year since he’s been in the NFL, 24-year-old Murray has gone all out with Christmas gifts for his protectors. In 2020, he gifted each O-lineman a painting of themselves, and in 2019, he gave them personalized Phat Scooters.

For this year’s holiday season, Murray went with a golf theme for his linemen, providing gifts and an experience that any golfer would love.

The surprise, delivered Monday evening, included a full custom golf club fitting session at True Spec Golf in Scottsdale, Ariz.; ultra-custom Vessel staff bags; a True Spec Golf hat; a Black Quail shirt; a custom-made bottle of Cincoro Tequila; and a $4,000 budget to purchase the clubs each lineman got fit into. (True Spec is an affiliate of GOLF.com’s parent company, 8AM Golf.)

Check out the video here:

“I think I usually try to give the guys a good gift — something unique,” Murray told GOLF.com. “This year, being in Arizona, I think it’s fitting to do something around golf. Me and my mom kinda came up with the idea. I usually converse with my parents or close people around me about what they think would be good for those guys. That was something we came up with. And then from there it just took off.”

Upon entering the True Spec facility to receive their gifts and club fitting, the linemen were greeted with a row of custom golf bags made to look like NFL jerseys. Each bag was custom-made with the player’s last name and jersey number, and embroidered in a font and colorway to match their own Cardinals jerseys.

“I’ve never seen a golf bag like this before,” offensive lineman D.J. Humphries, an avid golfer, told GOLF.com. “It’s in [Murray’s] fashion though. He’s a pretty swaggy guy, so us getting bags like this, that’s in true fashion. He always takes care of us, but definitely at Christmas time… I posted an Instagram and already have DMs from other offensive linemen in the league jealous of our Christmas gift.”

From a golf club fitting perspective, offensive lineman come with a unique challenge, because, you know, they’re huge. Most of them stand around at 6-feet-5-inches or more and weigh in at 350-plus pounds; a golf club can seem quite small in relation.

Although there was a tequila tasting table and hip-hop music blasting through the speakers, True Spec fitters focused in on getting each player dialed in. As part of the normal fitting process, they concentrated on getting lie angle and grip size correct, while also making sure the clubheads and shaft flexes matched the swings of each lineman. The gift package is great and all, but the fitters were there to get them exactly what they needed to play better.

Gear

Here's why it's worth going through a club-fitting — even if you're a novice golfer

By: Jonathan Wall

“I got put in some Miura 401 irons,” Humphries said. “They’re really fancy. I’m into all that. I also got a Titleist driver, and I was spanking it with great contact as soon as I tried it. I usually shank to the left or right, but with this one I had great lines. My fitter was helping me, twisting heads off and on, changing shafts and grips, all that.”

Between fittings, Murray, who admittedly doesn’t play golf yet himself, was taking on some of his linemen in cash games on the putting mat. Despite playing Santa for the evening, and his general lack of expertise in the sport, Murray was excited to get competitive.

“Anytime money is involved, I usually show up,” he said.

You’d expect nothing less from the 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, but let’s get back to the gifts. The fitted clubs and custom bags were probably enough, realistically, but the tequila bottles, shirts and hats put the Murray’s offering over the top.

Murray, as a former Oklahoma Sooner, got a hookup on the shirts from another former Sooner and current PGA Tour player, Abe Ancer. The shirts are made by Black Quail, which is a company that Ancer partly owns.

The tequila also came from another athlete, one who’s often regarded as the greatest of all time. Michael Jordan is a part owner and co-founder of the Cincoro Tequila company, and each custom bottle was engraved with a special note: “Appreciate the hard work this season. Let’s keep it going! –K1”

With gifts like these, it’s no wonder Murray has linemen willing to fight for him on every play. Now, to fight for the greatest gift of all: a Super Bowl ring.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2021? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below!

The post Check out NFL star Kyler Murray’s mind-blowing golf gifts to his offensive linemen appeared first on Golf.

The post Why Macklemore hoped he wouldn’t have to play with Jason Day at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am appeared first on Golf.

The post Why Macklemore hoped he wouldn’t have to play with Jason Day at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am appeared first on Golf.

Celebrities, they’re just like us! Especially when it comes to being embarrassed about the state of their golf game — something we can all relate to.

Turns out, even rap superstar Macklemore has a pretty hilarious story about struggling with his game during his first appearance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Macklemore was still a relatively new golfer at the time, having only picked up the game in 2018, and he relived the cringe-worthy experience on this week’s episode of Off Course with Claude Harmon.

“I was a year in when I first played, and we had our practice round,” Macklemore began. “And I was shooting kind of in like, the high 80s, low 90s at the time. And I get out there to Spyglass, and I’m playing kind of like, bogey golf. And I get a triple on 1.”

Macklemore said the greens were the fastest he’d ever played on, and it was tough to adjust.

Lifestyle

Here's what sets rapper Macklemore's golf fashion line apart from the rest

By: Jessica Marksbury

“I had never played like that before,” he said. “I can’t put backspin on the ball. Shortly after, I completely lost my irons. No clue how to hit an iron all the sudden. The mechanics just broke down. And Jason Day was behind us, and we had a slower player in front of us. And these guys are just hitting multiple balls, it’s just a practice round. And I’m like, please don’t join us, please don’t join us. Please don’t see this happening.

“And I’m on a par 3, I forget, somewhere on the back, maybe like 11, 12, and just sliced — shanked — two 5-irons completely out of bounds,” he continued. “Jason Day’s right there watching the whole thing. And he eventually ended up catching up to me and being like, hey, mind if we join? And I’m just like, this is literally my worst nightmare right now. I am so embarrassed.”

Macklemore said Day couldn’t be nicer, and tried to help him get his game back on track.

“I don’t think I really figured it out that day, or that week,” Macklemore said. “But it’s been really cool to play with some of the pros, and see how down to earth they are.”

For more from Macklemore, including what sets his golf lifestyle line, Bogey Boys, apart from the rest, and how he finally managed to break 80, check out the full interview below.

The post Why Macklemore hoped he wouldn’t have to play with Jason Day at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am appeared first on Golf.

The post Need a last-minute gift? These 10 golf accessories make great stocking stuffers appeared first on Golf.

The post Need a last-minute gift? These 10 golf accessories make great stocking stuffers appeared first on Golf.

‘Tis the season! If you haven’t completed your holiday shopping by now, we’re officially in crunch time.

But if you’ve been procrastinating, the good news is there’s still time to snag the perfect gift for your golf-loving friends and family.

Check out 10 of our favorite gifts below — each one in a perfect, stocking-stuffer size! And while you’re shopping, make sure to take a scroll through the rest of the items on offer in GOLF’s Pro Shop — your ultimate source for the latest apparel, shoes, training aids and more, all in one convenient place.

The post Need a last-minute gift? These 10 golf accessories make great stocking stuffers appeared first on Golf.

The post How swinging with a shovel can stop you coming over the top appeared first on Golf.

The post How swinging with a shovel can stop you coming over the top appeared first on Golf.

With winter snow sweeping through a large portion of the country, and the holidays coming up everywhere, you probably don’t have all that many opportunities to sneak off to the golf course these days.

That’s why it’s the time to pivot into practicing at home. It may sound like the kind of thing that won’t actually help a lot, but you’d be surprised. Sometimes, hitting a golf ball isn’t actually the best way to improve.

Which brings us to GOLF Top 100 Teacher Shaun Webb‘s tip, which you can watch on his Instagram account below.

It’s designed for golfers who tend to come over the top, and the way it works is pretty simple.

First, as Webb describes, you take a big shovel and take your setup, making sure the face of the shovel is facing away from you.

Make your backswing, and you should find that by this point, the back of the shovel is facing towards the sky.

The next step is where it can go wrong for lots of golfers. Golfers who tend to come over the top and hit slices, tops, and pulls often send the club (or shovel) back out in front of them, like this.

The feeling you should be chasing, Webb explains, is one where the back of the shovel heads squarely towards the ground, like this.

That feeling of dropping the club straight down behind you will allow you to approach the ball from the inside, and help you get rid of the over the top move before the new season is upon us.

The post How swinging with a shovel can stop you coming over the top appeared first on Golf.

The post An easy drill to improve your tempo and start making more short putts appeared first on Golf.

The post An easy drill to improve your tempo and start making more short putts appeared first on Golf.

Whether you are stuck inside this winter or ready to head out to your local muni, there’s always time to work on that crucial putting stroke. Making more putts — especially from that tricky six-to-eight-feet range — is crucial to a good round. That’s why I asked Trillium Rose to help.

Rose is the director of instruction at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., just outside of Washington D.C. While at GOLF’s Top 100 Teachers Summit at Pinehurst in November, I asked for her go-to tip to help amateurs make more short putts. It’s all about tempo, she says.

Rose said her favorite drill is to get in a putting stance — with your feet about grip-length apart — and “get really good at knowing where your club is back and through” as you practice your putting stroke.

She says the key is to have your stroke start and end from the outside of one foot to the outside of the other, “creating a symmetrical-length swing, and just work on your tempo so your tempo is the same.”

Instruction

'It's horrible': 1 major mistake amateurs make on the driving range (and how to fix it)

By: Josh Berhow

Rose said thinking of the seconds hand on a clock, with 60 ticks a minute, is a good image for people to think of as they rehearse their stroke.

“It doesn’t have to be that slow or that exact timing, but you want a consistent tempo,” Rose said. “Because when you are on the golf course, if your tempo changes quite a bit it’s really hard to control your distance.”

Do this drill inside, do it on the putting green — just do it often. The consistency and repetition will pay off.

“The length of your stroke matters, and the tempo of your stroke matters,” Rose said. “Use that as a baseline.”

The post An easy drill to improve your tempo and start making more short putts appeared first on Golf.