Golf Digest India - May 2016 by Golf Digest India

TiTle Code: HAReNG00969 mAy 2016 `150

Volume 1 issue 1

FUtUrists

Think Young | PlaY hard

268 Best thinGs in GoLF oUr First editors' choice awards

ricKie’s distance tips and dJ's FLop shot

india GoLF expo 2016 reView ssp chowrasia inside the ropes

a roBot naMed aFter tiGer

coUrses that GLow Lessons in VirtUaL reaLitY no More Lost BaLLs

aniL seoLeKar president, iGU

tête-à-tête sociaL star paiGe spiranac Leads the innoVators and inFLUencers oF 2016

exclusive official media Partner iNdiA

Contents 05/16

how to play. what to play. where to play.

90 40

Features 26

10 More Good Shots with Your Irons Keys for hitting it flush from this elite ball-striker.

Futurists 40

by henrik stenson 30

3-wood vs. 3-hybrid Learn how—and when— to use these versatile clubs. Rickie’s Driver Tips How to channel your inner tour pro and hit it farther than ever. by rickie fowler

What a Good Bunker Shot Feels Like You’ll have a clear plan of attack to blast it out. by david leadbetter

Rules Tracking key changes over the past century. by cliff schrock

Play Your Best 13

▶ The Zealot Bryson DeChambeau is on a mission. Golf is only part of it. by jaime diaz

Our First-Ever Editors’ Choice Awards From resorts to golf pubs, technology, apparel and more, the best of everything in the golf lifestyle

European Tour 8 things you might not know about Danny Willett and More

Inside the ropes With SSP Chowrasia

Butch Harmon Make downhill putts easier

Jack Nicklaus How to handle bunkers in the middle of the fairway

IAPGA Tour 2016

Louis Philippe Cup 2016 Promotional Feature

Swing Sequence: Brandt Snedeker Power pointers from this eight-time winner on the PGA Tour.

110 Tournament News

The 268 Best Things in Golf 64

The Pro Flop Working on the coolest shot in golf.

India Digest

by dustin johnson

by the editors

by anna nordqvist 36

▶ Cover Story: Innovators and Influencers of 2016 Courses that glow, lessons in virtual reality, no more lost balls and more.

140

with butch harmon 20

Why’d I Do That? Hit your first errant tee shot of the day? Here’s how to adjust. by jim m c lean

What’s in My Bag Jamie Lovemark

Back to Basics Quick-and-easy drills to improve your ballstriking. by jason guss

by bharath arvind

Update on Indian Golfers around the world

112 Club Round Up

Latest News from your favourite courses across India

114 Travel

Golf in Abu Dhabi

120 Junior Golf

Update from the junior golf tours

121 Corporate Golf

MercedesTrophy BMR World Corporate Golf Challenge Madhavrao Scindia Charity Golf

130 India Golf Expo 2016 140 Tête-à-tête

with Anil Seolekar

142 18 Holes

with Roland S. Folger

Cover photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

may 2016 | golf digest india

MY GOLF BALL HAS TO DO EVERYTHING. AND IT DOES. IT HAS TO BE LONG OFF THE TEE. JORDAN SPIETH

IT HAS TO STOP ON A DIME. I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO FLIGHT IT.

IT HAS TO HAVE SOFT FEEL.

JAKE FINN AMATEUR

RICKIE FOWLER

ADAM SCOTT

IT HAS TO BE DURABLE.

HOLD ITS LINE IN A CROSSWIND. LYNN CASSADY AMATEUR AZAHARA MUNOZ

I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO FLIGHT IT.

IT HAS TO BE CONSISTENT. MICHAEL WATSON AMATEUR

titleist.asia

I A THE IIIIIIA A A THE THE THE A THE A A THE THE DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION OF DISTANCE. OF OF DISTANCE. OF DISTANCE. OF DISTANCE. DISTANCE. OF OF OF DISTANCE. DISTANCE. DISTANCE. DELIVERING PERFORMANCE FOR MORE GOLFERS

DELIVERING DELIVERING DELIVERING PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE FOR FOR FOR MORE MORE MORE GOLFERS GOLFERS GOLFERS DELIVERING DELIVERING DELIVERING PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE FOR FOR FOR MORE MORE MORE GOLFERS GOLFERS GOLFERS THROUGH MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY. DELIVERING PERFORMANCE FOR MORE GOLFERS DELIVERING DELIVERING PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE FOR FOR MORE MORE GOLFERS GOLFERS THROUGH THROUGH THROUGH MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY. TECHNOLOGY. TECHNOLOGY. DELIVERING PERFORMANCE FOR MORE GOLFERS THROUGH THROUGH THROUGH MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY. TECHNOLOGY. TECHNOLOGY. THROUGH MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY. THROUGH THROUGH MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY. TECHNOLOGY. THROUGH MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY.

Website: www.taylormadegolfindia.com Email: info@trinitygolfindia.com Mobile: 07065070123/ 07065070125

MAXIMIZED

MAXIMIZED MAXIMIZED MAXIMIZED MAXIMIZED MAXIMIZED MAXIMIZED MAXIMIZED MAXIMIZED MAXIMIZED

MAXIMUM DISTANCE AND FORGIVENESS COME STANDARD WITH M2. ITS MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS A LOWER CENTER OF GRAVITY AND A MASSIVE SWEET SPOT FOR HOT, CONSISTENT DRIVES.

MAXIMUM MAXIMUM MAXIMUM DISTANCE DISTANCE DISTANCE AND AND AND FORGIVENESS FORGIVENESS FORGIVENESS COME COME COME STANDARD STANDARD STANDARD WITH WITH WITH M2. M2. M2. MAXIMUM DISTANCE AND FORGIVENESS COME STANDARD WITH M2. MAXIMUM MAXIMUM MAXIMUM DISTANCE DISTANCE DISTANCE AND AND AND FORGIVENESS FORGIVENESS FORGIVENESS COME COME COME WITH WITH WITH M2. M2. M2. ITS ITS MULTI-MATERIAL ITS MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS UNLOCKS UNLOCKS ASTANDARD LOWER ASTANDARD LOWER ASTANDARD LOWER CENTER CENTER CENTER OF OF OF ITS MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS A LOWER CENTER OF MAXIMUM DISTANCE AND FORGIVENESS COME STANDARD WITH M2. MAXIMUM MAXIMUM MAXIMUM DISTANCE DISTANCE AND AND AND FORGIVENESS FORGIVENESS FORGIVENESS COME COME COME STANDARD STANDARD STANDARD WITH WITH WITH M2. M2. M2. ITS ITS MULTI-MATERIAL ITS MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS UNLOCKS UNLOCKS A LOWER A LOWER ACONSISTENT LOWER CENTER CENTER CENTER OF OF OF GRAVITY GRAVITY GRAVITY AND AND AND ADISTANCE MASSIVE A MASSIVE A MASSIVE MASSIVE SWEET SWEET SWEET SPOT SPOT SPOT FOR FOR HOT, FOR HOT, HOT, CONSISTENT CONSISTENT DRIVES. DRIVES. DRIVES. GRAVITY AND A SWEET SPOT FOR HOT, CONSISTENT DRIVES. ITS MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS A LOWER CENTER OF ITS ITS MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS UNLOCKS A LOWER A LOWER CENTER CENTER OF OF GRAVITY GRAVITY GRAVITY AND AND AND A MASSIVE A MASSIVE A MASSIVE SWEET SWEET SWEET SPOT SPOT SPOT FOR FOR HOT, FOR HOT, HOT, CONSISTENT CONSISTENT DRIVES. DRIVES. DRIVES. ITS MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS ACONSISTENT LOWER CENTER OF GRAVITY AND A MASSIVE SWEET SPOT FOR HOT, CONSISTENT DRIVES. GRAVITY GRAVITY AND AND A MASSIVE A MASSIVE SWEET SWEET SPOT SPOT FOR FOR HOT, HOT, CONSISTENT CONSISTENT DRIVES. DRIVES. GRAVITY AND A MASSIVE SWEET SPOT FOR HOT, CONSISTENT DRIVES.

PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED

M1’S M1’S M1’S MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS UNLOCKS UNLOCKS PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED DISTANCE DISTANCE DISTANCE M1’S MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS PERSONALIZED DISTANCE M1’S M1’S M1’S MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS UNLOCKS UNLOCKS PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED DISTANCE DISTANCE DISTANCE AND AND AND CONTROL CONTROL CONTROL LIKE LIKE LIKE NEVER NEVER NEVER BEFORE. ADJUST BEFORE. ADJUST BEFORE. ADJUST THE THE WEIGHTS THE WEIGHTS WEIGHTS OFOF THE OF THE T-TRACK THE T-TRACK T-TRACK AND CONTROL LIKE NEVER BEFORE. ADJUST THE WEIGHTS OF THE T-TRACK M1’S MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS PERSONALIZED DISTANCE M1’S M1’S M1’S MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS UNLOCKS UNLOCKS PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED PERSONALIZED DISTANCE DISTANCE DISTANCE AND AND AND CONTROL CONTROL CONTROL LIKE LIKE LIKE NEVER NEVER NEVER BEFORE. ADJUST BEFORE. ADJUST BEFORE. ADJUST THE THE WEIGHTS THE WEIGHTS WEIGHTS OF OF THE OF THE T-TRACK THE T-TRACK T-TRACK SYSTEM SYSTEM SYSTEM TO TO OPTIMIZE TO OPTIMIZE OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE THAT’S THAT’S THAT’S FIT FIT TO FIT TO YOUR TO YOUR YOUR SWING. SWING. SWING. M1’S MULTI-MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS PERSONALIZED DISTANCE SYSTEM TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE THAT’S FIT TO YOUR SWING. AND CONTROL LIKE NEVER BEFORE. ADJUST THE WEIGHTS OF THE T-TRACK AND AND CONTROL CONTROL LIKE LIKE NEVER NEVER BEFORE. ADJUST BEFORE. ADJUST THE WEIGHTS WEIGHTS OF OF THE THE T-TRACK T-TRACK SYSTEM SYSTEM SYSTEM TO TO OPTIMIZE TO OPTIMIZE OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE THAT’S THAT’S THAT’S FITTHE FIT TO FIT TO YOUR TO YOUR YOUR SWING. SWING. SWING. AND CONTROL LIKE NEVER BEFORE. ADJUST THE WEIGHTS OF THE T-TRACK AND CONTROL LIKE NEVER BEFORE. ADJUST THE WEIGHTS OF THE T-TRACK SYSTEM TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE THAT’S FIT TO YOUR SWING. SYSTEM SYSTEM SYSTEM TOTO OPTIMIZE TO OPTIMIZE OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE THAT’S THAT’S THAT’S FITFIT TO FIT TO YOUR TO YOUR YOUR SWING. SWING. SWING. SYSTEM TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE THAT’S FIT TO YOUR SWING.

© 2016 © 2016 © TAYLOR 2016 TAYLOR MADE TAYLOR MADE GOLF MADE GOLF COMPANY, GOLF COMPANY, COMPANY, INC. INC. INC. INC. © 2016 TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, ©JAPAN 2016 ©JAPAN 2016 © TAYLOR 2016 TAYLOR MADE TAYLOR MADE GOLF MADE GOLF COMPANY, GOLF COMPANY, COMPANY, INC. INC. INC. #1 DRIVER #1 DRIVER #1INDRIVER DRIVER GOLF IN GOLF CLAIM GOLF CLAIM BASED CLAIM BASED ONBASED BASED COMBINED ON COMBINED ON COMBINED COMBINED 20152015 WINS 2015 WINS ANDWINS WINS AND USAGE AND USAGE ONUSAGE USAGE THE ON PGA, THE ON PGA, THE EUROPEAN, PGA, EUROPEAN, EUROPEAN, GOLF, JAPAN GOLF, WEB.COM, GOLF, WEB.COM, WEB.COM, CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS AND AND LPGA AND LPGA TOURS, LPGA TOURS, ASTOURS, TOURS, REPORTED AS REPORTED AS REPORTED REPORTED BY THE BY DARRELL THE BY DARRELL THE DARRELL DARRELL SURVEY SURVEY CO. SURVEY AND CO. AND SPORTS CO. AND AND SPORTS MARKETING SPORTS MARKETING MARKETING SURVEYS, SURVEYS, SURVEYS, INC. INC. INC. INC. #1 ININ GOLF CLAIM ON 2015 AND ON THE PGA, EUROPEAN, JAPAN GOLF, WEB.COM, CHAMPIONS AND LPGA AS BY THE SURVEY CO. SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS, © 2016 TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC. ©JAPAN 2016 ©JAPAN 2016 © TAYLOR 2016 TAYLOR MADE TAYLOR MADE GOLF MADE GOLF COMPANY, GOLF COMPANY, COMPANY, INC. INC. INC. #1 DRIVER #1 DRIVER #1INDRIVER GOLF IN GOLF CLAIM IN GOLF CLAIM BASED CLAIM BASED ONBASED COMBINED ON COMBINED ON COMBINED 20152015 WINS2015 WINS ANDWINS AND USAGEAND USAGE ONUSAGE THE ON PGA, THE ON PGA, THE EUROPEAN, PGA, EUROPEAN, EUROPEAN, GOLF, JAPAN GOLF, WEB.COM, GOLF, WEB.COM, WEB.COM, CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS AND AND LPGA AND LPGA TOURS, LPGA TOURS, ASTOURS, REPORTED AS REPORTED AS REPORTED BY THE BY DARRELL THE BY DARRELL THE DARRELL SURVEY SURVEY CO. SURVEY AND CO. AND SPORTS CO. AND SPORTS MARKETING SPORTS MARKETING MARKETING SURVEYS, SURVEYS, SURVEYS, INC. INC. INC. © 2016 TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC. #1 DRIVER IN GOLF CLAIM BASED ON COMBINED 2015 WINS AND USAGE ON THE PGA, EUROPEAN, JAPAN GOLF, WEB.COM, CHAMPIONS AND LPGA TOURS, AS REPORTED BY THE DARRELL SURVEY CO. AND SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS, ©JAPAN 2016 TAYLOR MADE GOLF COMPANY, INC.AND #1 DRIVER #1 DRIVER #1 GOLF IN GOLF CLAIM IN CLAIM BASED CLAIM BASED ONBASED COMBINED ON COMBINED ON 20152015 WINS2015 WINS ANDWINS AND USAGEAND USAGE ONUSAGE THE ON PGA, THE ON THE EUROPEAN, PGA, EUROPEAN, EUROPEAN, JAPAN GOLF, JAPAN GOLF, WEB.COM, GOLF, WEB.COM, WEB.COM, CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS AND AND LPGA LPGA TOURS, LPGA TOURS, ASTOURS, REPORTED AS REPORTED AS BY THE BY DARRELL THE BY THE SURVEY SURVEY CO. SURVEY AND CO. AND SPORTS CO. SPORTS MARKETING SPORTS MARKETING MARKETING SURVEYS, SURVEYS, SURVEYS, INC. INC. INC. INC. #1INDRIVER DRIVER IN GOLF GOLF CLAIM BASED ON COMBINED COMBINED 2015 WINS AND USAGE ON PGA, THE PGA, EUROPEAN, JAPAN GOLF, WEB.COM, CHAMPIONS AND LPGA TOURS, AS REPORTED REPORTED BY DARRELL THE DARRELL DARRELL SURVEY CO. AND AND SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS, INC.

#1 DRIVER IN GOLF CLAIM BASED ON COMBINED 2015 WINS AND USAGE ON THE PGA, EUROPEAN, JAPAN GOLF, WEB.COM, CHAMPIONS AND LPGA TOURS, AS REPORTED BY THE DARRELL SURVEY CO. AND SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS, INC.

Editor’s Letter T

Dear Readers,

his is only our 2nd issue and already we are receiving positive feedback on the magazine. Clubs and golfers from around the country are connecting with us with news and information and we want to thank you, our readers, for that. Golf Digest seeks to be a unifying platform spreading information and achievements from across the country. Many individuals and groups are doing great things in golf in every corner of India that proves how vibrant the future of the game is in our country. And yet we recognize there is much more to be done. At the recent 5th Annual India Golf Expo, the President of the Indian Golf Union (read his interview on Page 141) , Anil Seolekar, talked about reaching 500,000 active Indian golfers in the next decade. A lofty but achievable ten fold growth which will require all stakeholders to work towards this common goal. If the number of golfers rises, we will see more champions emerge, developers investing more in creating championship courses, better maintenance and service standards at all clubs and many more high profile tournaments with Indian and global stars in action on home soil.

Letters to the Editor

My Heartiest Congratulations to you & your team on Publishing the Inaugural Copy of “GOLF DIGEST INDIA”. It’s great & especially your latest add-on articles entitled “ The Core, Club Round Up & Upcoming Events” is impressive. Thank you for your though t-provoking, yet practical insights. I have earlier read similar magaz ines, but none were as interesting or as relevant as yours for the golf industry. I look forward to reading your next issue. Best Wishe s in your work to improve & promote golf in India. Keep It Up ! -Rakesh Sharma, Alert Golf First of all, let me congratulate you for reviving the new and improved Golf Digest after a long break. It has trully becom e a world class magazine. The issue is full of the best golf instruc tions and content making the digest a part of India’s growth story. I wish you great success. -Satish Girotra, Member, Delhi Golf Club

And then there is Golf Tourism. Suman Billa, Jt. Secretary, Ministry of Tourism recognizes that a huge but targeted effort will have to be made to put India on the golf tourism map. With millions of tourist dollars available, golf tourism will also give rise to demand for better courses, and better infrastructure overall. Read about this and other stories in our report on the Golf Expo on Page 130. As an end note, Anirban Lahiri was named “2015 Indian Sportsperson of the Year” by Sports Illustrated magazine at the end of April which is a fitting honour to his achievements and recognition that a top 50 world ranking in our hyper competitive world of sport deserves accolades. When you think that Anirban was competing against the likes of Virat Kohli, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza, Pankaj Advani and others, it means that the Indian media’s understanding of golf’s place in global sport is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

After a long time I have a golf magazine in my hand which is rich in content of interest and value. Heartiest congra tulations!! Wish you the best in this venture! -Banmala Singh ( Mrs VS Singh), Lady Golfe r, New Delhi

You can reach me at rishi@teamgolfdigest.com or on Twitter @RishiNarain_ Keep writing to us. Happy Golfing.

Congratulations and good work on the inaugu ral issue! -Anirban Lahiri, PGA Tour Member

contact us Subscriptions subscribe@teamgolfdigest.com Phone: +91-9999868051 Marketing & Advertising nikhil@teamgolfdigest.com Phone: +91-9999990364

12 golf digest india | may 2016

Rishi Narain Editor

team Golf DiGest inDia Editor Rishi Narain Deputy Editor Bharath Arvind bharath@teamgolfdigest.com Designed By Guneet Singh Oberoi

Published and Printed by Rishi Narain on behalf of Rishi Narain Golf Management Private Limited and Printed at Thomson Press India Limited, 18-35 Mile Stone, Delhi-Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, Haryana and published from 501, Sushant Tower, Sector 56, Gurgaon-122011, Haryana. Editor Rishi Narain. Contains material reprinted by permission from Golf Digest® and Golf World®. Golf Digest India is a monthly publication of Rishi Narain Golf Management Private Limited.

edited by peter morrice

Play

Flop Sweat Working on the coolest shot in golf by dustin johnson

you can’t just roll out of a golf cart and hit a flop shot. This high-lofted pitch—where the ball goes straight up, hangs in the air and lands dead—requires a decent amount of practice and a whole lot of confidence. It’s one of the game’s ultimate risk-reward plays. Hit it well, and your playing partners will be shaking their heads as you tap in for par. Hit it poorly, and you’ll be scrambling to save double bogey. I flop it only when I have to, mostly when I’ve missed a green right next to the pin and any other type of shot won’t get the ball close. Think of it as an “in case of emergency, break glass” shot. Here’s what I’ve been working on to hit the flop great when I need it. —with Ron Kaspriske

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

may 2016 | golf digest india

Play Your Best The Flop Shot

ADDRESS Play the ball way forward to pre-set loft at impact.

BACKSWING

set up wider and make a healthy swing he flop-shot setup (above) is part full swing, part short game. You’re going to take your most lofted wedge and add loft to the clubface with a few adjustments. But you’re also going to make a big swing, which needs to be supported by a wide stance. Start by opening the face so it’s pointing skyward, then take your grip. Address the ball with your feet spread apart, which will help keep your lower body quiet during the swing to reduce the risk of a mis-hit. The wide stance also lowers the shaft so the grip is closer to the ground, adding more loft to the face. Ball position matters, too. Playing it forward, close to your front foot, will help the club swing into impact on a shallow angle, which is another way to help pop the ball up. (More on that later.) No matter what kind of swing I’m making, I tend to bow my left wrist as I get to the top. It’s just the way I swing, and it makes it harder to keep the clubface open on shots like this. I wouldn’t recommend it for you. Instead, let your left wrist cup as you swing back. The toe of the club should be pointing downward at the top (right). And don’t be shy: Swing all the way back. If you shorten things up, you’ll make it harder to get the loft and spin you want.

14 golf digest india | may 2016

If the club’s toe points down here, the face is open.

I vary my speed to hit different flops: faster means a higher flight. swing with soft arms to a full finish he flop shot is all about commitment. You’ve got to trust that this big swing you’re making is not going to send the ball 50 yards over the green. That can be a challenge because the flop is so different than a normal full swing. For example, the hands and arms control most of the action. As I mentioned earlier, the lower body stays quiet. If you try to help the ball into the air by coming out of your posture, it’s Skull City. It’s also important to swing with light grip pressure and almost no tension in your forearms. And unlike most other shots, you don’t want your arms and hands to lag behind your body rotation through impact—that’s how you compress the ball and drive it forward. The flop technique is the opposite: You want your hands and arms to pass your body as the club skims along the ground and slides under the ball (below). The energy pushes upward, not forward. The last thing to remember is, don’t quit on the shot. If you squeeze the handle too hard, the clubhead won’t release. Let the momentum of the swing carry the club through to a full finish (right). I regulate distance by varying my swing speed (faster for longer and higher shots), but the length of the swing really doesn’t change.

FINISH Don’t cut off the follow-through. Let the swing run out.

IMPACT Keep the clubface pointing up, even after the strike.

▶ Dustin Johnson has nine wins on the PGA Tour and has finished in the top 10 in 31 percent of the events he has played since 2007.

+ ADIDAS shirt, $70, pants, $85, shoes, $200, belt, $20 TAYLORMADE glove, $22, hat

Play Your Best Golfer’s Wish List by Butch Harmon

23% 13% 9%

55%

Your opponent has 5 HDCP a two-footer, you say .. . ▶ “Pick it up.” ▶ “Gotta see that one.” ▶ “Is mine good, too?” ▶ “Next one’s not good, either.”

42% 34%

source: Golf DiGest reaDers

The Scary Downhiller Grip it lightly and swing in slow motion

ere’s the dilemma when you face one of those slippery downhill putts: How do I hit this thing soft enough? Some people say you should make contact off the toe of the putter, but that can cause the face to twist open. Others say grip down to shorten the club, but that creates a different setup and feel. Do you really want to do all that on a putt that’s already freaking you out? The most effective method for handling short, speedy putts is two-fold: First, take an extralight grip; and second, make a slow-motion stroke. The light grip—and I mean almost-falling-

16 golf digest india | may 2016

out-of-your-hands light—will deaden the hit. It’s a good idea to grip and re-grip a little at address (above) to make sure you’re not tightening up. When it comes to the stroke, the feel you want is slow back, slow through. Remember, you’re trying to hit the ball a foot or less. But don’t just tap it carelessly— the line matters, too. You have to commit to your aim. As you step in, aim the face first, pointing it down the line you want to start the ball on. Then focus on that light grip and slow stroke. Get good at making these, and your buddies will be calling you clutch. You OK with that?

A lot of golfers try to wish the ball in on short putts. They make a scared stroke followed by all sorts of body gyrations. The issue is, they look up too soon, which causes a mis-hit. Pick a specific target (above), then keep your eyes down and see the putter hit the ball. A firm stroke is your best chance. Butch Harmon is a Golf Digest Teaching Professional. Photographs by J.D. Cuban

footjoy: SHIRt, $72, PANtS, $85, SHoES, $100 • tItLEISt: HAt, $27 • HoUSE of fLEMING: BELt • RoLEX: WAtCH

BUTCH’S BASICS

Strategy by Jack Nicklaus Play Your Best

“How wide do you want your fairway to be?” Center Cut How to handle a bunker that splits the fairway f I’m confronted with a huge open space when designing a course, I’ll sometimes put a bunker close to the middle of a fairway. The idea isn’t to punish the straight ball or have the erratic hitter think, “Well, if I aim directly at it, what are the chances?” The purpose is to create what are essentially two fairways. One is usually wider than the other, and there’s a reward for choosing the narrower side. A good example is the par-4 sixth at North Palm Beach (Fla.) Country Club (illustrated), a municipal course I did 10 years ago for the town we live in. Challenging the skinnier “fairway” on the right offers the best angle for the second shot. From the tee, I want the golfer to feel slightly uncomfortable about the decision, because that’s fun. If you’re not feeling uneasy about getting past that bunker, you’re playing the wrong set of tees. Or your name is Dustin Johnson. —with max adler

eNJoy the extra room Is that middle bunker in the fairway really nerve-racking? It’s your prerogative to take it out of play. Choose a club that can’t reach it and swing freely, knowing you’ve made the fairway as wide as possible. The trade-off is a longer approach with likely not as good an angle in. As a course designer, when I give, I must also take away.

life iN the faSt laNe On this hole, if you play to the right of the bunker, the tee shot requires more accuracy. This section of fairway is less than 20 yards across, and the hole’s most penal hazard, the Intracoastal Waterway, will soak up a wild miss. But if you can squeeze one in there, the fairway runs fast with no further trouble ahead. Downwind, you might leave yourself just a wedge. And the left greenside bunker won’t factor as much in your approach, so you can continue to play aggressively.

right in the heart

a reaSoNable CompromiSe

Jim mandeville/nickl aus

Going left of this bunker is an easier drive than going right. This wider section of fairway is about 30 yards across, and there are plenty of places to play from if you overcook the tee shot too far left. You’ll have a couple of trees, some native sand and the fairway of the neighboring hole. The only concern is, you can’t go too far down this fairway because of a second bunker. From the middle tees, that bunker is 245 yards out. If there’s even a remote chance that your driver could dribble in, use a shorter club.

Illustration by Chris O’Riley

Even some greens have a bunker in the middle. The short par-3 14th at Desert Mountain’s Chiricahua course in Scottsdale is one I built. Maybe it’s us course designers being ornery, but if golfers have a short iron, I think asking them to hit a specific section of a big green is fair. This one is a beautiful and strategic shot. may 2016 | golf digest india

Play Your Best Swing Sequence t’s not often you hear a top pro say he’s imitating another player’s swing. But Brandt Snedeker, at 35, is so self-assured and forthcoming he says he’s trying to let his head turn up through impact “just like Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam.” He has been working on the move for more than a year, and his driving distance has exploded. He’s averaging seven yards longer

Brandt Snedeker More freedom of motion equals more distance

18 golf digest india | may 2016

than he did last year, 10 more than in 2014. But without trying, Snedeker bears a resemblance to one of his idols, Tom Watson. Not only does Snedeker look like a young Watson, the Nashville native also plays fast. Particularly on putts: no practice stroke, one look, and go. And like Watson, Snedeker is a mudder. Take his final-round 69 in horrible conditions to win at Torrey Pines this year.

Snedeker’s teacher, Butch Harmon, likes what he sees below. “We’ve worked hard, especially on his move through the ball,” Harmon says. “Brandt used to hold his head back, which would sometimes cause his body to slow and his hands to flip over. That’s a hook. Now he can go at it hard without worrying about hitting it left.” That’s an enviable feeling for any golfer. —roger schiffman

RIGhT-ElBow folD

ThumB’S up

No RuNAwAY CluB

Butch Harmon says his student Brandt Snedeker used to play the ball too far forward, which put his right arm too high. “It restricted his ability to swing back,” Harmon says. “Now the ball is back a little, hands forward. That relaxes his right elbow, so it can fold.”

On the takeaway, Snedeker’s right thumb comes off the grip. “He doesn’t try to do that, but it doesn’t hurt anything,” Harmon says. “It’s back on the club in the next frame. It shows me he has a relaxed grip.” Harmon says it’s not something for golfers to copy, but it’s OK for Snedeker.

See by the brim of Snedeker’s hat how his head swivels. That frees his upper body to turn. “I love how coiled he gets, and how he keeps the flex in his right leg,” Harmon says. “He makes a big turn, but the club doesn’t run away from him.”

▶ SNEDEKER’S DRIVING-DISTANCE GAINS

295.5 YDS

288.4 YDS

285.6 YDS

281.3 YDS

2016

2015

2014

2013 s o u rc e : s h ot l i n k

STAYING wIDE

fAST foRwARD

GETTING oVER IT

pRo-fIlE

Harmon says he likes how Snedeker keeps his hands away from his head at the top. “A lot of golfers collapse the arms, and the hands drop toward the head, so they lose power.” Also note that Snedeker increases his wrist hinge coming down—a classic power booster.

Through impact, you can see his head release with the ball. “He gets his weight over to the left again, maintains that lag, then lets everything go,” Harmon says. “I love the look of his right foot at impact—the heel is leading the toe as he pushes forward. He’s moving through it with his entire right side.”

Check out where Snedeker’s weight is at the finish: all the way in the left heel. “There’s no pressure in the toe of the right foot,” Harmon says. “His right shoulder is closer to the target than his left, and his belt buckle is pointing straight out, which means he’s fully through the shot.”

brandt snedeker 35 / 6-1 / 185 pounds Nashville driver Bridgestone JGR 9.5 degrees ball Bridgestone Tour B330 + PETER MILLAR shirt, $85, pants, $115 ADIDAS shoes, $200 BRIDGESTONE GOLF hat, $25

Photographs by Dom Furore

Play Your Best Curing Faults by Jim McLean

geT yourseLF In a gooD pLaCe Whatever’s making you nervous, you can’t make a good swing with a whiteknuckle grip. Before you set up, take a deep breath to clear tension. As you let the air out, feel the tension flow out with it. The tour players I coach, who constantly play under pressure, do this before every shot. Grip softly in your practice swing and focus on how that feels. Then re-create it in your real swing.

seve: FaIrWays are overraTeD

Why’d I Do That? You blow a drive dead right into the next fairway

20 golf digest india | may 2016

ou’re playing along fine when suddenly a tee shot gets away from you. High and right, into the adjacent fairway. And there’s a group there. You yell “Fore!” (yes, you have to), then go over and try to be clever: “Can I borrow your fairway?” Of course, you have to play a shot in front of them, the worst part. A high-right tee ball usually comes when you fear going left. Or you’re trying too hard to drive it straight. Either way, you tighten up. Your hands and arms don’t catch up to your body on

the downswing, and the clubface points right at impact. The mechanical mistake is, you turn your body too fast coming down, or your lower body slides ahead, causing a severe in-to-out path to go with that wide-open face. You need replacement thinking. Aim at an object along your intended line—a tree or bunker in the distance. Step into the shot from behind the ball so you get a good look at your target line. Waggle the club to get the tension out, then focus on making a free swing to your target.

We forget how talented—and how wild a driver—Seve Ballesteros was, even in his prime. In the second round of the 1980 Masters, his tee shot on 17 was so far off line, it found the seventh green. As Dan Jenkins noted, it was “roughly the equivalent of aiming at Kansas from New York and hitting Mississippi.” Seve hit a towering shot over the trees to 15 feet, sank the birdie and two days later won his first Masters. Jim McLean is a Golf Digest Teaching Professional. Illustration by Chris Gash

top illustration: tibor karpati • brain: jim luft • ballesteros: peter Dazelet/Getty imaGes

—joe parent, ph.D.

what’s in My Bag Play Your Best

Stuck in a groove I’m picky about keeping my grooves clean, and this EZ-Brush does the job. I even clean my grooves during practice.

jaMIe loveMark age 28 lives jupiter, Fla. story won 2007 NCaa Championship; four top 10s on Pga Tour in 2015-’16. accuracy is key a large part of my improved play can be attributed to hitting it straighter off the tee. That’s allowed me to take advantage of my length. That’s difficult to do when you’re in the trees. I have tons of confidence in my driver right now. water world I love to surf. I don’t do it as much as I used to, but I surfed a lot when I was at UsC. I like anything having to do with being on the water. stand-up paddleboarding or fishing. You name it: If it’s on water, I’m in. —with e. michael johnson

top left: RobeRt l abeRge/getty Images • pl ane: couRtesy of pIpeR.com

club

yards*

driver

300

3-wood

270

5-wood

250

3-iron

235

4-iron

220

5-iron

205

6-iron

190

7-iron

175

8-iron

160

9-iron

145

130

115

100

*carry distance Photographs by J.D. Cuban

drIver

FaIrwaY wood

specs Nike Vapor Fly Pro, 9.5˚, 45 inches, Oban Kiyoshi HB 75 shaft, X-flex, D-2 swingweight

specs Nike Vapor Fly (13˚, Oban Kiyoshi HB 85 shaft, X-flex) and Nike Vapor Fly (19˚, Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 shaft, TX-flex)

The pear shape of this driver is appealing. The low spin from the oban shaft has really helped me. IroNs specs Nike Vapor Pro, 3- through 9-iron, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts, Golf Pride Tour Velvet BCT 58 grips a pretty conventional blade iron. I don’t want anything fancy. I’m a tall guy (6-foot-4), so having irons 3 degrees upright and a half an inch more in length is a plus. wedges specs Nike Engage (47˚), True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shaft; Nike Engage (54˚and 58˚), True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts I changed lofts from 48, 54 and 60 degrees to my current setup. My yardage gaps are better, and I haven’t lost anything around the greens by having a 58-degree as my highest-lofted club.

I rotate the 5-wood and 2-iron depending on the course, but I’m starting to use the 5-wood more often to get more height on shots.

Frequent flier I’m in the process of getting my pilot’s license. I have 20-plus hours in the air so far. Since I was young, I’ve wanted to be a pilot. I’ve always had a strong fascination with airplanes. PUTTer specs Nike Method Matter B2-01, 36 inches, 3˚ loft, 72˚ lie, Golf Pride Pistolero grip I want to try the new Nike putter but haven’t gotten around to it. I’ve always liked the blade style. I prefer the softer edges. I like the mallet look, but the feel is too different.

Blue for Brazil The electric blue on my driver is part of Nike’s Olympic colors.

Grab on the greens The biggest difference with the new RZN Platinum is the softer cover really lets you nip it on chips and short shots.

School’s in session This training aid designed by Dave Pelz is easy to use and has really improved my alignment on putts.

Two-coin approach Most players have one special ball marker. I have two. My fiance gave me this large St. Sebastian coin, and I use a non-reflective dime when I get close to the hole, so my mark isn’t in anyone’s way. may 2016 | golf digest india

tibor karpati

Play Your Best Back to Basics

1 d riv e r s e tu p

Tilt Away From the Ball

5-Minute Clinic

Use these sticks to fix your swing by jason guss

lenty of teaching aids will help you groove your swing, but you won’t find many that are as cheap—or as easy to find—as alignment sticks. These thin poles can do everything from lining you up to your target to helping you make a better turn. A set of two might cost you $15 at the golf shop. But if you just came out of the snow season—like I did here in Michigan—you probably don’t even have to search for the golf-specific kind. The $2 versions from your hardware store were probably lining your driveway all winter to keep the plow from wiping out your lawn. Those work, too. —with matthew rudy

Jason Guss, one of Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers, is based at Hawk Hollow Golf Course in Bath Township, Mich.

Getting lined up so you’re square to the target is great, but leaving out one important alignment key will make it hard to launch your tee shots. You want to add some body tilt to your setup—the right hip set slightly lower than the left. If you hold an alignment stick in line with the buttons on your shirt and tilt away from the target, the stick will point to the ball at an angle—not straight up and down (left). That angle is also the shaft angle you want for a driver at address. The grip will be in line with the ball or leaning back slightly.

‘if you lined your driveway with markers this winter, don’t put them away just yet.’

2 p o w e r ge n e rato r

Mix a Shift with Your Turn Do you need to turn your hips? You bet. But it’s more than just spinning them back and through. Check out the third and fourth frames here: On the downswing, the stick moves closer to the target first, a lateral shift, then turns with the hips to match the stick on the ground.

22 golf digest india | may 2016

Photographs by Dom Furore

Back to Basics

Play Your Best

You can do anything with these alignment sticks. OK, you can’t hit a 300-yard drive. 3 s w ing check p oints

See Your Plane Back and Down Swing plane is a hard thing to see—and practice. Holding a stick against the end of your grip can help. Starting back, feel the guide stick slide down your left thigh (far left). This means you aren’t pulling the club too far inside. Halfway through the downswing, get that stick pointing at the ball, and you’re on the perfect plane (left).

l au nch an gl e

s w ing path

Set Up to Hit Up

Go Inside to Inside

You want to hit up with the driver, but how do you check? Do it with what I call the Poor Man’s TrackMan. Drop your driver on the ground next to the ball, measure a grip length in front and place a barrier like a pool noodle (above) or rolled-up towel. Set your spine angle with a stick as you did in the first drill, and hit drives. Your clubhead should easily clear the obstacle. If it doesn’t, play the ball farther forward and tilt back more.

Here’s one piece of familiar advice you can ditch: Swing down the line. The best swing path comes from just inside the ball on the downswing and goes inside again (and upward) after impact. Set a stick on the ground behind the ball at a slight angle to preview this path (left). If you point the stick straight at the target, you’re pre-setting the over-thetop path so many golfers struggle with. For the through-swing, place a second stick at an inside angle and prop it up on a headcover to pre-set an insideand-up path through the ball. may 2016 | golf digest india

hit it flush

every hole

my tips for playing 10 more good shots a round

extend through the strike

▶ The way I see it, you hit 18 approach shots every time you play. Except for putting, you do more of that than anything else. What’s your success rate? You probably catch a couple really solid, but I’d bet you’re pretty unsatisfied. With a few keys, I think you can hit more than half those approaches on or next to the green. That might give you another 10 good shots a round. Let me tell you a few things I do to see if they click. For starters, I play my best when I’m working with a feel, not a lot of technical stuff. One feel I like is coming through with my arms extended (right). Longer clubs go farther because the long shaft increases leverage. When you extend your arms, same thing: You’re getting the most out of whatever club you’re using. Plus, you’re pushing the club down and through for a solid strike.

26 golf digest india | may 2016

by henrik stenson

with matthew rudy

Photographs by Dom Furore

‘I don’t change my ball posItIon for stock shots.’

2 Having a consistent and sound setup position is clearly important, and it’s something all golfers can accomplish no matter what their skill level. I take that one step further. I’m very careful about my setup, and I don’t change where I play the ball

for most of my stock iron shots. If I’m hitting a 7-iron, I’ll play it just in front of center in my stance (above). If I’m hitting a 4-iron, the ball will be in the same place relative to my left foot, but I’ll move my right foot slightly farther away from the target to create a wider stance. Adjusting that way keeps

28 golf digest india | may 2016

the bottom of my swing in the same place for every shot. All I’m doing is changing the angle the clubhead comes into the ball. It’ll be a little steeper with short irons, and sweep a little more with the longer clubs. Why think about more variables than necessary when you’re getting ready to hit a shot?

▶ greens in regulation (2016)

71.9%

66.2%

henrik stenson

p g a to u r averag e

source: shotlink

keep the ball in one spot

3 stay compact going back

As much as you want to make a hard swing to maximize distance, going out of sequence and overswinging will cause you to hit it shorter and not as solid. I know when I try to get too much out of a certain club, I start sliding and shifting instead of feeling like I’m very stable and pushing into the ground with my legs. It starts with the backswing. Amateurs hear that making a big turn is important, but a long and loose move with your arms makes it almost impossible to come back to the ball precisely. Make what feels like a comfortable arm swing, maybe it’s only a three-quarter motion (left), then start the downswing with your legs. The feel you want is that you’re pressuring down from your thighs into the ground. With a more controlled swing, you’ll have plenty of speed and be able to take advantage of it with a precise strike. + hUgo boss shirt, $155 pants, $175 belt, $115

l e a r n h o w—a n d w h e n—

30 golf digest india | may 2016

to u s e t h e s e v e r s at i l e c l u b s by a n n a n o r d qv i st Some players think of fairway woods and hybrids as fall-back options for when you want to play safely off the tee or hit the ball somewhere near the green on a par 5. Not me. I see them as offensive weapons. On the last hole of the LPGA Championship in 2009, I was contending for my first major and facing a back-left pin from 195 yards. I hit my 21-degree hybrid to three feet and made birdie to win. ▶ As for my 15-degree fairway wood (the equivalent of a 3-wood), the best I ever hit it was on the par-5 18th hole in the final round of the ANA Inspiration last April. Looking down a 200-yard shot to an island green, I knocked it on and made a two-putt birdie that almost put me in a playoff. ▶ Choosing one of these clubs over the other is not just about distance. My maximum carry with the hybrid is 195 yards, and my 3-wood carry distance starts at 210, but the circumstances are important. Let’s take a closer look. —with guy yocom

3-Wood 2

3-hyBrid 2

32 golf digest india | may 2016

the 3-wood swing

the 3-hybrid swing

keep your center and push off

swing shorter and hit down

ecause I’m 6-foot-1 and long-limbed, my goal is a core-oriented swing without my arms and legs running away from me. It starts at address. I set my feet a little more than shoulder-width apart, with the ball a couple of inches inside my front heel to promote a sweeping strike (1). I align my feet a little left to program a swing path that will be slightly out to in for a fade. From there, I start back by turning my shoulders, keeping my upper arms close to my body. I make sure I feel centered as I load pressure into the instep of my right foot. I’m usually short of parallel at the top because I’m trying to keep my arms from drifting away (2). If you’re balanced and connected, you can go at it on the downswing. The fairway-wood swing is not a “careful” action— I’m often looking for maximum distance—but I stay conscious of the fact that center-face contact is just as important as speed. I feel like I’m swinging from the ground up. Growing up in Sweden, I’ve seen how speed skaters plant their rear foot and then push off. I try to do the same thing, letting my upper body hang back just a bit while I establish momentum from my rear foot and leg. The rest of the swing just happens. At impact, I want to swing level with the turf, taking little or no divot (3). And I finish in balance. That’s the sign of a powerful but controlled move. When to pick this club:

When to pick this club:

▶ Your lie is good.

▶ You’re playing from rough, sand or an uneven lie.

▶ There’s not much trouble around the green.

or average players, the hybrid is still new enough to raise a basic question: Do you hit it like an iron or a wood? I’d put it more in the iron category because you should hit down on the ball rather than sweep it. But because the hybrid I carry is a 3-hybrid and on the outer range of length, the swing is less down than it would be with a shorter hybrid. My stance is about the same width as with the 3-wood shot, but my ball position is slightly farther back to promote that downward hit (1). I also stand a bit closer to the ball, which makes the swing a little steeper. But I still want the same stable base with my feet and legs, especially when I’m in a bunker, as you see here. And I still want to direct the swing more with my shoulders and core than with my arms. Because the hybrid swing is steeper, it’s also a little shorter at the top (2). The most important thing here is to avoid trying to overpower the shot. I never swing at more than 80 percent. Swinging the hybrid harder doesn’t seem to produce longer shots for me. So I make my normal swing, remembering to stand tall at address and maintain my posture all the way through. Finally, I accelerate smoothly through the strike, taking just a small divot—or in this case, a little puff of sand (3). One final reminder: Always hit the ball first. The divot comes after.

▶ You have to carry a hazard.

▶ You’re playing into the wind.

▶ You’re playing downwind.

▶ You’re feeling loose, limber and aggressive.

▶ You need to land it softly.

▶ You have room to let it roll.

▶ You’re having an off day. Hybrids are more forgiving.

anna nordqvist has won five times on the LPGA Tour and has played on four European Solheim Cup teams. She is ranked third on tour in greens in regulation. + ADIDAS shirt, $55, sweater, $90, skort, $75, shoes, $120, hat, $27 TAYLORMADE glove, $22

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

coile 36 golfdigest.com Photograph by Walter Iooss Jr. 2016 | february

ed!

3 keys for big tee shots by riCkie foWLer

golf digest playing editor

gutter credit tk

You can hit it far. You’re probably not limited by your size or fitness as much as you think. I work out for a lot of reasons, and packing a few extra yards is just one. I’m 150 pounds, never been much more, but I’ve always been pretty long. The secret is not leaking any energy, not a single drop, at the top of the backswing. If one little part is loose or out of place, all the good tension you’ve created is undone. This feeling at the top of the backswing, I’ve heard other golfers call “coiled.” Sounds about right to me.

bonus tip Hitting driver off the fairway takes precision, but it’s not impossible. in fact, the shot is a little easier than it was five years ago because a lot of the new driver heads have a lower center of gravity. i’d say most single-digit handicappers should at least mess around with hitting it off the deck. even if you don’t have the confidence to do it in competition, just practicing this shot does wonders for your swing by training your shoulders to be level through impact. if you tip back and try to help the ball up, you’ll top it. come in too steep, and you’ll drive it into the ground. + PUMA shirt, $75, pants, $80, belt, $45, shoes, $160, hat, $26 TITLEIST glove, $24

the back knee stays bent If my right leg straightens at any point in the backswing, I give up a ton of leverage. I’ll end up swinging the club back farther, but what I lose is a strong connection to the ground with my right foot. Without stable footing, it’s impossible to hit the ball anywhere near your potential. You want to turn your weight on top of that knee, like a screw.

2 the arms ride on the chest See how my left shoulder is snug across my chest? If I were to let my upper arms stray any farther from my body, so they’re flapping around, I’d have a hard time syncing things up again on the downswing. Don’t be overly strict about this, because you want to stay relaxed, but it’s kind of like you keep your armpits more closed.

3 the left wrist sets flat Butch Harmon and I have worked on getting my hands a little higher at the top of the backswing so my arm plane is less flat—I want my hands higher than my shoulders. I really like how my left wrist is perfectly flat in this photo. It mirrors the clubface, which is square. From here, the chances of hitting the ball square go way up. You don’t have to worry about saving the swing on the way down. You can just uncoil. —with ma x adler

Photograph by First Lastname

may 2016 | golf digest india

peter yang

edited by max adler

Meet the Innovators & Influencers changIng the gaMe , Whether You lIke It or not ▶ one hundred years ago, Dr. Albert Einstein announced his general theory of relativity. Space-time bends and sags, and along this rumpled surface called the fabric of the universe, gravity sends spherical objects on crazy curved paths around black holes— not wholly unlike the greens at Oakmont. The Nobel Prize-winning physicist wasn’t much of a golfer, but his Princeton buddies did once drag him to Springdale Golf Club for a lesson. Frustrated, Einstein threw four balls in the air and commanded his instructor to catch. Then, in that intimidating German accent, he implored, “Young man, when I throw you one ball, you catch it. However, when I throw you four balls, you catch nothing! So when you teach, make only one point at a time!” ▶ One point we needn’t make is that Paige Spiranac is a whole lot better looking than Albert Einstein. She is the figurehead of our package on golf’s futurists, because in her own way, the social-mediasavvy “insta-star” has the potential to make a huge impact. What golf might look like 100 years from now is uncertain, but we do know it’s the people with the bravery to challenge traditions who will shape it. Inside are eight more individuals you’ve perhaps never heard of, but whose work could change the game you love beyond recognition. For the better, we think.

futurists may 2016 | golf digest india

Kris Hart 30

Jihyun Moon 38

minding millennials

making gr ass glow

▶ Golf has tons of admirable initiatives to introduce newbies to the game. Fewer are those whose focus is to prevent quitters. ▶ Kris Hart thinks a lot of them are college kids. Not the handful of elites on the varsity roster, but all the rest who, after books and beer, have only so much money to continue a recreational interest. ▶ Hart was almost another golf casualty. He loved the game, but in his senior year at Bryant University in Rhode Island, the uncertain future beyond the cozy womb of academia looming, he quit the team. He needed to study to get his financial license, and going to the golf course five days a week felt excessive. He didn’t want to stop entirely, but for the first time in his life he tasted what it was like to pay green fees. He passed the Series 7 exam and landed a job at Morgan Stanley. The lad from East Longmeadow, Mass., was confronted by the various horrors that attend public weekend golf in urban areas. ▶ A spark of an idea, followed by a brash move: Hart quit his job and founded CollegeGolfPass, which successfully negotiated with Boston-area golf courses to offer discounts to the city’s roughly 250,000 college students. ▶ In 2013, CollegeGolfPass merged with the National Collegiate Club Golf Association, which had 40 teams. Now that figure is 452. By introducing slick team-management and scoring software, as well as counseling club captains on details like how to navigate university bureaucracy to unlock funding, Hart made mildly organized golf cheaper and easier for a lot of people. ▶ “It might take only a week to get a club team up and running, though sometimes club sports directors are motivated to limit how much they have to oversee,” Hart says. ▶ With guidance from Hart’s organization, Olivia de Fouchier started the women’s club team at Wake Forest. “We use every outlet to recruit, from social media to posters,” de Fouchier says. The club used to charge dues, but is now entirely university-funded. Handicaps range from 2 to 20, and there’s one mandatory practice a week. ▶ Hart’s other mission is to stay engaged with golfers after they graduate. He has rebranded his seven-person, Boston-based operation as Nextgengolf, which also runs events exclusively for young people under a program called City Tour. As with collegians, Nextgen empowers gung-ho local coordinators to host one-day tournaments. There are no handicaps, with scramble and better-ball divisions, and a national championship. ▶ “I don’t love the term ‘governing body,’ ” Hart says, “but essentially we envision being the governing body for 18-34-year-old golf.” —max adler

Parente and design partner Dynes Unlimited Products, made an ace at the Phoenix Open, and a prototype appeared on Japanese television and outplayed two tour players in a skills competition. Parente foresees a unique combination of entertainment and educational appearances. The device could become a kind of electronic Johnny Appleseed, growing the game in a world where the age-old battle of man versus machine becomes a reality. At the end of the day, LDRIC’s performance is eerily similar to that of another golfer goofing his way through a clinic and amazing attendees with power, speed and accuracy. That guy was a young Tiger Woods. A quarter-century later, it’s his robotic namesake that might be changing the game. —mike stachura

▶ Our best attempts for golf at night— glow-in-the-dark balls and stadium lighting—are a mix of disappointing and unsustainable. The latter works for the occasional made-for-TV event or par-3 course, but when scientists are concerned the 24-hour flood from gas stations is disrupting ecosystems, it’s tough for golfers to justify stretching the power lines much farther. But what if courses glowed? What if the genetic material of the grass and trees was spliced with that of naturally bioluminescent organisms, like jellyfish and marine plankton? Dr. Jihyun Moon, the chief scientist at the San Francisco biotech firm Glowing Plant, is working on it. Actually, she’s more intent on creating trees that could replace city street lamps, but she allows that glowing turf for sports is another “fun idea.” Her husband’s a big golfer. Glowing Plant raised $500,000 on Kickstarter and is trying to deliver on its initial pitch to investors: a plant bright enough to be a child’s night light. So far Moon can make a tobacco plant—the fruit fly of vegetative species—dimly visible in a dark room, but also has projects like the glowing rose. “The prospect of seasonal items, like Christmas trees and stuff for Halloween, excites me,” Moon says. Products like these, she believes, would do much to assuage the fear and misconceptions surrounding genetically modified organisms. “I have a vision of our company educating people and changing the acceptance of GMOs.” The cost of synthesizing DNA on the Internet—drag and drop—and having your design shipped to you in the mail, is plummeting. Because one colleague works part-time, Moon says, “We are 2½ scientists and a business person.” That’s Antony Evans, whose TED talk includes a clip of the glowing jungle paradise depicted in the movie “Avatar.” In a British accent, Evans speaks eloquently of a “post-scarcity society” in which synthetic biology has solved all our food and fuel concerns. “Putting domesticated biotechnology in the hands of amateurs and teenagers will result in a diversity of creatures,” Evans says. “By democratizing these tools we can see the type of creativity we saw in the computer industry.” He didn’t mention alleviating teetime stress, but worry not. Back at the lab, Moon knows it’s an issue. —ma

Illustrations by Quickhoney

Photograph by First Lastname

‘i have a vision of our company educating people and changing the acceptance of gmos.’ —j i h y u n mo on

LDRIC 4

presenting p e r fe c t i o n ▶ You can marvel at the circuitry that makes the LDRIC swing robot generate 130 miles per hour of clubhead speed. You can be intrigued at how this collection of servomotors and computer-controlled drive systems, with just a few keystrokes, can perfectly imitate your over-the-top slice or Rory McIlroy’s power draw. You can even be amazed at how this portable machine is already rolling down fairways and beating tour

pros just as IBM’s Watson schooled Ken Jennings on “Jeopardy!” LDRIC can even get down into bunkers, not that he often needs to. But if you really want to understand how the most influential golfer of the next 25 years might not be human, all you have to do is watch kids at a First Tee clinic squeal with delight as LDRIC mocks his front man, Gene Parente. The robot’s voice and the mannerisms might be more Johnny Five than Hal 9000, but this machine can work a crowd. “Golf is an incredibly difficult game, and to see it done well and consistently is something that is alluring to the average player, the better player and the beginning player,” says Parente, the founder of Golf Laboratories, golf’s leading independent robot-testing source. LDRIC, the product of

42 golf digest india | may 2016

cover (and this page): silver top, boots: warner brothers costumes • pants: american apparel • previous spread: dress: a .l.c./pal ace costume • glove: g/fore

futurists

we’ll play at night on bioluminescent turf.

futurists

the best will train their brains instead of their bodies.

Henry Boulton 39

m e a s u r i n g m e n ta l t o u g h n e s s

▶ Ask a PGA Tour player how much he can benchpress, and you’ll likely get a fast, specific answer. But how do you quantify “soft” skills like mental performance and emotional resilience— which are arguably more important to winning? A handful of players are doing this with the technology in the FocusBand—a wearable device that tracks emotional state and stress response through electroencephalography readings. It might sound like science fiction, but Jason Day used one of the devices to build his distinctive eye-fluttering pre-shot routine—which he credits for moving him into a calm, hyper-focused state. Australian electronics engineer Henry Boulton developed the FocusBand

with his father, Graham, in 2009. “We were coaching some guys on the Australian and Japanese tours, and they had all the technique, fitness and diet, but they’d get to a tournament and fall apart. We started looking for products that would address the mental side, and we couldn’t find one. So we built our own.” Three sensors inside a bioprene headband measure brain activity and link the data to a smartphone app. By following the app’s exercises and responding to visual cues and sounds, the user can learn to change the reading on the app’s brain avatar from red (thinking) to green (creative). Boulton calls this green state mushin, Japanese for the “zone” or “no-mindedness.” The ability to measure brainwaves has been around since the 1920s, but interpreting these waves for the average consumer is a new frontier in performance training. The system a user gets with the FocusBand, while basic, offers analysis at the level you’d get with a body-

tracking device like Fitbit. “Once we defined the process, we were able to score the process,” says Boulton, who splits his time between Brisbane, Australia, and Aliso Viejo, Calif. “If you can change your scores you can change your results. Once you get those results, you get belief. That’s the edge the top players are looking for.” The device costs $600. Users can download apps specific to golf, yoga, baseball or general mental performance. Boulton is testing the newest FocusBand element, GPS Brain Tracka, which will allow users to review their brain state with each shot—showing the lift or hangover that comes with each outcome. Call it a real-time mental scorecard. “Usually, the starting point for training has been technique,” Boulton says. “You start with technique, work on fitness and then finish with mind training. We’re showing that you should be training the mind first. Get your mind right, and everything will get better together.” —matthew rudy

‘we started to look for products that would address the mental side, and we couldn’t find one. so we built our own.’ —h e n ry b ou lt on David Doguet 65

christian siriano/ the ruby: dress • g/fore: glove

i m p r ov i n g l i e s

▶ If the business of breeding better grass is a turf war, no one is more competitive than David Doguet. His complex in the San Antonio suburbs is called Bladerunner Farms, apropos of its sod-provider origins and sci-fi-like cross-pollination operation. ▶ Doguet (pronounced dough-gay) has made zoysia golf’s new super grass. Yes, zoysia, once characterized by quarter-inchwide blades that provided indestructible hairbrush lies but wouldn’t green up until early summer and reverted to tan at first frost. Traditionally, the coarse grass was used only for tees and fairways in transition-zone climates— where the winters were too cold for Bermuda and the summers were too hot for bent. Never was it the ideal choice. ▶ But Doguet’s various crossbred strains—finer-bladed, more diseaseand insect-resistant, less thirsty—have changed that. His latest creation, L1F zoysia, is a sensation. It has been chosen by Tiger Woods for the tees and green surrounds at his first American

course, Bluejack National in Montgomery, Texas. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw used it for the tees, fairways and green surrounds at their new Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, a future PGA Tour stop. Gil Hanse planted it at the 2016 Olympics golf course in Brazil. But only the renovated Golf Club of Texas has used L1F on the greens, making the Roy Bechtol design the first all-zoysia course in the United States. ▶ In June, Doguet will roll out M85 zoysia. He calls it the ultimate, a near grain-less strain suitable for fairways yet capable of handling the lowest mowing height any PGA Tour official might prescribe. It keeps its color without fertilization and is salt tolerant, so it’ll remain healthy despite poor water quality. Because its blades grow very slowly, Doguet predicts M85 fairways and greens will need mowing just once or twice a week. ▶ Of course, the proof is in the practice, not the test plot. Doguet hopes the first course to try M85 is a low-budget public course, to demonstrate that quality playing surfaces can be achieved even with modest maintenance. If that happens, Douget might have won the war. —ron whitten

Tommy Morrissey 5 ending handicaps

▶ Tommy Morrissey’s parents

knew he would be born without a right arm 15 weeks into the pregnancy. By the time he was crawling, he’d changed their minds about what was possible. He has been changing the minds of innumerable strangers since. The golfer from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., went on “Ellen” at 3. He captured the audience with a few funny desk-side non sequiturs, then amazed the host by smacking high, straight beauties down an alleyway behind the studio. In the past year, he has appeared on Golf Channel, addressed classrooms and gymnasiums of his peers, conducted clinics as far away as the Indonesian Masters and, most recently, traveled to Germany to film a spot for the hit TV show, “Klein Gegen Groß,” which translates to “Big vs. Small.” Tommy calls the base of his right arm “Nemo” after the Disney fish character similarly challenged by a dwarfed flipper. Tommy’s imitations of the pre-shot routines and swings of his PGA Tour heroes always draw laughs, and his arsenal of trick shots, like hitting balls from his knees or out of mid-air, are amazing. “The message is antibullying, but it’s not a pity party,” says Tommy’s dad, Joe. “He wants to show that there’s really no such thing as a handicap and that everyone has their version of awesome. . . . Tommy is about as good an interview as your typical 5-year-old, but when that tee goes in the ground, he knows what to do.” Up next for Tommy is a tour to inspire wounded veterans. He’ll visit Fort Belvoir, Walter Reed, Andrews Air Force Base and, oh, yeah, the White House. —ma

may 2016 | golf digest india

s e a r c h i n g f o r g o l f b a l l s yo u c a n ’ t l o s e

▶ Golf courses could save money if the primary rough was mowed less often, but thick grass slows play as golfers search for balls. Courses could save even more money—plus help the environment—if they had more unmaintained areas of tall vegetation that needed no irrigation or chemical treatment. But such spots would inevitably eat up more wild misses, slowing pace of play even further.

The solution, according to British golf architect David Williams, is to amend the Rules of Golf to allow the use of a ballfinder device. Let a golfer beam in on his hidden ball, play it (or drop with penalty if unplayable) and move on. Because the use of distance-measuring devices in competition is permissible under Local Rule, Williams says allowing a ball finder for everyday play is well within the spirit of the game. Like a range finder, a ball finder would simply replace a caddie function. Just one device is on the market, in Europe, and only for balls containing an electronic chip. The only golf ball containing a chip in the United

States is in limited production for use at Topgolf practice facilities. Doesn’t matter, Williams says. If the rules allowed it, inventors would be motivated to perfect hand-held devices by incorporating all sorts of technology. Could be as simple as magnetic printing on the cover, or as complicated as zeroing in on objects with the volumetric mass density of a golf ball. The rules of golf are revised every four years, and the next revisions will be issued in 2020. Williams is campaigning to have the rules committees of the USGA and R&A give serious consideration to his proposal before then. —rw

‘it’s as if the viewer is standing on the tee with the players.’—dav e c ol e Paige Spiranac 23

c h a n g i n g pat h s t o s ta r d o m ▶ Just over a year ago, the women’s golf team at San Diego State posted a trick-shot video on YouTube—ball down skirt, ball down shirt—and the video, so far, has been viewed nearly 2½ million times. Last July, one of the players, Paige Spiranac, won a statewide tournament in Colorado, where she grew up, and a week later the headline on a post on totalfratmove.com announced, “The Whole World Is About To Fall In Love With Paige Renee, This Smokeshow Golfer From SDSU.” She woke up one morning to find that she had more than 50,000 followers on Instagram. ▶ “I didn’t take it so well, right away,” she says. “I was crying a lot in my room, because I didn’t know what was going on, and I was freaking out.” She now has 650,000 followers and has (mostly) stopped freaking out. All by herself, she has made golf seem at least slightly interesting to a significant number of people who never used to think about it at all. She has also, indirectly, made the strongest conceivable case for relaxing golf-course dress codes for women. ▶ The vast majority of Spiranac’s fans are males between 15 and 30-something, and—judging by the nature of their comments on various websites—it’s possible that her last name is the longest word they know how to spell. Nevertheless, her sudden celebrity has been useful. “Golf has always been my No. 1 priority,” she says. “I wanted to play on the LPGA Tour, but financially I didn’t think I could swing it.” ▶ She can now afford to try, thanks to an endorsement deal from Callaway. Last December, she played in the Ladies European Tour’s Dubai Ladies Masters on a sponsor’s invitation, and, although critics complained that she embarrassed herself, she was actually impressive, because she shot two rounds in the 70s despite being subjected to a level of media pressure that maybe only Michelle Wie can appreciate. ▶ Spiranac now hopes to play her way onto the tour, by way of Q school, ideally within two years. Her addiction to the range and the gym shows the necessary work ethic. If she succeeds, she’ll have earned it. And, if she doesn’t, she’ll find another way to make a mark—maybe by working with juniors, something she has enjoyed. She loves golf, and she’s just 23. She’s going to be around for a while. —david owen

46 golf digest india | may 2016

Dave Cole 49

replicating re alit y

▶ As good as high-definition broadcasting has become, watching a golf tournament on television is still a different experience than standing a few feet from Rory McIlroy in real life. David Cole wants to blur that distinction. Cole is the technical wizard behind NextVR—a California company that has begun producing virtual-reality programming for a growing population of premium smartphone users. Cole’s cameras have brought viewers inside events as disparate as the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, the Democratic presidential primary debates and NASCAR’s Daytona 500. Using arrays of remote-operated Red Dragon cameras, NextVR lets viewers eavesdrop in places where cameramen might otherwise disturb the action. To see the footage, you need a compatible smartphone—mostly Samsung devices—and a $100 headset to hold the screen in front of your eyes. “The cameras build a replica of what is around them, and we project a replica of that onto the walls of the viewing area,” says Cole, who has co-authored 29 virtual-reality and adaptive-computer-learning patents. “We ‘detach’ the viewer’s head and put it where the cameras are. In golf, it’s as if the viewer is standing on the tee with the players.” At Chambers Bay, Cole worked with Fox to broadcast tee shots and putting on several holes, as well as action in the practice area. Viewers could control the different feeds, and real-time scoring updates scrolled across the display. “Iron Man golf viewing,” Cole calls it. This summer, the next wave of flagship Android smartphones will hit the market—most with a new chip that supports virtual reality. Add the launch of new self-contained virtual-reality devices like the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, and more than 20 million people will have access to Cole’s content by the end of 2016. It’s why venturecapital groups and media conglomerates like Comcast and Time Warner have invested more than $30 million in NextVR since last year. “Manchester United has 650 million fans around the world, and only a tiny fraction will ever get to Old Trafford to see a game,” Cole says. “In golf, I can think of some major events you’d want to give people the experience of attending, the reverence of being there.” Amen Corner, anyone? —mr Photograph by First Lastname

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David Williams 66

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futurists

watching golf will be an immersive experience.

the

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Bryson DeChamBeau & golf is only a part 48 golfdigest.com | month 2016

Photograph by First Lastname

futurists

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is on a mission, of it By jaime Diaz Photograph by First Lastname

PhotograPhs by Walter Iooss Jr.

lot month 2016 | golfdigest.com

may16 golf digest india 49

ertain golfers seem destined to enter the game’s history as genuine characters. Of course, top performers often only appear to be so, because even normal traits placed under a magnifying glass can start to look like eccentricities. But the truest criteria for character status are personality, an appealing narrative and a distinctive natural style. To make the cut, it must all add up to being interestingly different.

At 22, Bryson DeChambeau already checks all the latter boxes as he turns professional after a spectacular late burst as an amateur. In less than a year, the relatively unknown kid from Clovis in California’s dusty Central Valley has become the golf insiders’ favorite topic of curiosity. There’s no doubt he’s interestingly different. As a former physics major at SMU, where he skipped his senior year after the school’s golf team was ruled ineligible for postseason play, DeChambeau has a game built on the principles of two arcane science-based golf tomes: The Golfing Machine, by Homer Kelley, and Vector Putting, by H.A. Templeton. Kelley’s 1969 book was the basis for DeChambeau’s decision five years ago to create a set of irons that are all the same length. On the course, he sports a distinctive cap evocative of Ben Hogan—though as a knit by Kangol it harkens to Payne Stewart and Calvin Peete, the slimmer lines modulating a head and features that resemble Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. The jock theme is reinforced by DeChambeau’s 6-1, 200-pound physique, but the science-geek persona gains traction with his pastimes like table tennis, shuffleboard and slacklining—walking along thin straps of tubular webbing stretched between trees like a tightrope—all of which he says improve his “proprioception.” (Quick translation: coordination.) Of course, DeChambeau can play. Last year he became only the fifth player, joining Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Ryan Moore, to win the NCAA and U.S.

50 golf digest india | may 2016

Amateur championships in the same year. In the seven pro events DeChambeau played in his amateur apprenticeship leading up to the Masters, he made six cuts, including a T-2 at last year’s Australian Masters. His ambitious goal is to capitalize on the seven sponsor exemptions he can count on this season to earn his PGA Tour card, as Jordan Spieth did in 2013. DeChambeau knows he has a presence, and he has a mission. His most stated goal is to influence the game’s multitudes and bring more people to golf. He has been inspired by two meetings with Arnold Palmer, whose example of giving back on a large scale he expects to emulate. Because at this point in his life, Bryson DeChambeau is pretty sure he can do anything. Consider his explanation for being able to write his full name backward with his left hand, which could be taken as the DeChambeau Manifesto. “It’s not talent, it’s just practice,” he says in a voice that sounds like it belongs to an older person. “If I wanted to learn Arabic or Russian, I could. Or tie my shoes in a new way, I could. Why? Dedication. I’m not really smart, but I’m dedicated. I can be good at anything if I love it and dedicate myself. And I love history. I love science. I love music. I love golf. I love learning. I love life. I love trying to be the best at anything and everything.” Yes, DeChambeau can come on strong, in a way that could easily come off as grandstanding to his peers. But it’s telling that he’s well-liked by the young amateurs he has long competed against and has been wellreceived by pros. “Bryson is an amazing person who is on a very well-thought-out path that is totally his own,” says Maverick McNealy, the 20-year-old All-American from Stanford whose first name suggests he’s in tune with the disrupter tradition of his father, Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy. Maverick says DeChambeau “takes flack sometimes because a lot of people don’t understand or deal well with people who are different. But mostly he’s earned respect.” With veteran tour players, DeChambeau is deferential and polite, an extension of being taught at an early age by his father, Jon, a former mini-tour and club pro, to treat playing partners and officials with consideration

and appreciation. The many who have snuck glances at him on the practice range have noticed that DeChambeau puts in Vijay Singhlike hours, only at a faster pace. But the real connection comes from admiration for a committed player who realized at a younger age than they did a crucial truth: Regardless of whether a player is orthodox or unorthodox in style, that player must find and trust his individual way. “He’s a very mature guy, and he’s engrossed in believing what he’s doing is right, and I love that,” says Adam Scott, who was paired with DeChambeau in Australia and has since picked his brain about green reading. Adds Rory McIlroy, who in Dubai was intrigued enough with DeChambeau to try out his clubs and on Sunday at Bay Hill shot a 65 to his playing partner’s 66: “Bryson has real control of his golf ball. He has real belief in his method. He’s got a really, really bright future.” DeChambeau’s confidence in front of a microphone won’t hurt. In January at Abu Dhabi, where he led after a first-round 64 before fading to T-54, he met the international media and found the stage invigorating. “It’s a platform where you can speak your mind and say what you want for the world to hear,” he said. “I’m embracing it. I’m liking it. It’s enjoyable. It’s something I look forward to doing quite honestly for a long time.” In the course of providing insights about himself, DeChambeau can easily drop allusions to Newton’s Second Law of Motion; his favorite passage from the Bible, Colossians 3:23 (“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men”); and anecdotes from the lives of Einstein and Edison. And, of course, he can make obscure citations from The Golfing Machine, like directing those interested in the Zero Shift swing to Chapter 10, Component 7, Variation A. DeChambeau first read the book when his coach, Mike Schy, the director of a teaching center at Dragonfly Golf Club in Madera, Calif., tossed it to the then-15-year-old to quell a torrent of questions about technique. Although Kelley’s work has a cult following, it’s often associated with contributing to the high-profile flameouts of Bobby Clampett and Mac O’Grady. There’s a growing sentiment that the modern tour player has become so reliant on science-based technology and biomechanics that it’s inhibiting natural ability. Meanwhile, the selftaught Bubba Watson and the slightly quirky Spieth have moved the pendulum back toward valuing and trusting individual style. But now DeChambeau, with the certitude of a 22-year-old but not without nuance, maintains there is harmony between the two approaches. “The book has been misunderstood,” he says. “Because it’s based on science, people assume it’s going to dictate that you swing

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futurists

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not really smart, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m dedIcated. . . . I love tryIng to be the best at anythIng and everythIng. Photograph by First Lastname

month 2016 | golfdigest.com

futurists

why was [moe norman] able to hit it dead straight every time? it wasn’t that he was thinking about everything. more like he was thinking about nothing.

one way, when actually the principles allow for all sorts of individual differences. It’s just going to look different with every body type. That’s the key that drew me to it: It’s about the individual. I want people to understand that golf is not just a one-way street, that you can do it a bunch of different ways.” In his wheelhouse as an aspiring apostle, DeChambeau crafts a few more extemporaneous paragraphs before neatly wrapping up: “What the book does is provide a baseline of technique that helps your body automatically go back to something that’s reliable for the task at hand. Look at Moe Norman. Why was he able to hit it dead straight every time? It wasn’t that he was thinking about everything. More like he was thinking about nothing—his mind was on automatic. He found his baseline, then let himself be an artist, not a machine. That’s the ultimate triumph in golf.” Following the principles of the book is what compelled DeChambeau at 17 to create a single-length set that allows him to repeat the same posture and swing plane with the 3-iron through the lob wedge. The clubs, which are 37½ inches long, the length of a standard 6-iron, are set at a 72-degree lie angle that is 10 degrees more upright than standard. To achieve a consistent swingweight, all the heads weigh 278 grams. In his Golfing Machine-built swing, DeChambeau uses oversize grips that he holds mostly in his palms, with very little wrist cock. That minimizes face rotation— encouraging accuracy—but produces very little lag in the downswing, discouraging power. He applies plenty of force with the width of his swing and the full and fast rotation of his body through the ball. The most notable characteristic of DeChambeau’s action is that probably more than any player, his club traces the same path on the backswing and the downswing, which is the embodiment of the Zero Shift swing. With the driver, 3-wood and hybrid, DeChambeau uses conventional-length clubs. Still, his swing doesn’t look much different, an accuracy-oriented action—not unlike that of the similarly built Steve Stricker—designed to hit fairways and greens. “It’s a good swing for hitting it straight, but probably not one that’s going to produce dominant-type golf,” says Johnny Miller. “With hardly any hand action, I think you might lose the ability for that super distance control, and you lose some power. Being naturally big and strong helps Bryson make it work.”

52 golf digest india | may 2016

DeChambeau does have exceptional power in reserve. His normal driver swing, which he calls his “fairway finder,” is about 113 miles per hour (the PGA Tour average through late March was 112.99), and he produces drives in the 290-yard range (the tour averages 290.1). But when he decides to go for extra distance, DeChambeau will employ his “crank” drive, widening his stance and using more wrist cock to create clubhead speed of over 125 mph, producing drives of 340 yards and more. “Bryson understands his power sources,” Schy says. As DeChambeau proved in winning the U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields, he’s a good putter who says the green-reading formula he mastered from Vector Putting gives him an edge. His acknowledged weakness is wedge play. Neither he nor his teacher think having those clubs two inches longer than standard costs him dexterity, or that his no-wrist-cock method is too wooden. “It’s simple,” Schy says. “He barely practiced his wedges growing up. He was so determined to be a good ball-striker—which he became— he focused on full shots. It’s just about more practice.” Says DeChambeau: “I want to get better wedging it, and I will be.” a demanding teammate and student

ending the game to his will is a strength and a weakness. Bryson grew up a math-oriented A student who until his early teens excelled in soccer, basketball and volleyball. But he soured on team sports, his father says, “because he couldn’t handle the other players on the team not working as hard as he worked.” Once DeChambeau made golf his focus, he became a demanding student. “Bryson wanted everything proven to him before he would accept it, and the depth of his questions and his stubbornness in not accepting my answers made me realize I wasn’t the guy to teach him,” Jon says. “That’s when I took him to Mike, who I’ve known since we were junior golfers. He’s a phenomenal listener who can handle inquisitive kids. He’ll take a kid’s idea and translate it into a productive direction.” DeChambeau loved hanging around all the instructional gizmos in Schy’s facility, and, especially after committing to The Golfing Machine as his guide, he developed a preference for practice over playing that remains. “Bryson was totally about making his swing work for the future,” Schy says. “He understood that as a young player like no one I’ve seen.” DeChambeau could be a dispassionate “great experimenter” in the tent, but on the

course he had to deal with emotions. Though he had regional success as a junior and finished second at the Callaway Junior World event, his intense desire often got in the way. At SMU, DeChambeau did not excel in his first two seasons. His Christian faith sometimes added to the frustration. “There were times,” says his mother, Jan, “that Bryson would call home after a tournament he didn’t do well in and wonder, ‘Why is God doing this to me? I practice harder than everyone else.’ ” As a sophomore in 2014, he was ready to quit the game. “I was severely depressed,” DeChambeau says. “I was shooting 75s and 76s and becoming just a terrible, awful person to be around.” Schy came to Dallas and threw him another book, The Handbook of Athletic Perfection, by Wes Neal, a faithbased treatise. DeChambeau read it and had a realization. “I saw that I had made my golf score the center of my life,” he says. “That was my problem.” Soon after, DeChambeau played in the Western Amateur at Beverly Country Club in Chicago. He noticed that for the first time, he wasn’t too nervous to eat breakfast, wasn’t jittery on the first tee and didn’t curse after a bad shot. When an opponent sank a long birdie putt on the 18th hole to eliminate him, 1 up, Bryson offered congratulations and shook hands with all the officials. Feeling anger coming on from the loss, he called Schy. “When Mike answered I just got this overwhelming sensation of well-being,” he says. “I got so emotional, all I could get out was, ‘Mike, I get it.’ I finally understood it’s not about winning, it’s how you behave in every situation. Bad shot, good shot, that’s an opportunity to show my grace and character. I realized that if I do my best in every moment, that would include preparing for a golf shot totally. The paradox is that by making the golf incidental, my golf would be its best. That’s when my life took a different course.” The next year, DeChambeau won his rare double. “Those two victories were the biggest I’d ever had by so much, but combined, they didn’t compare to the feeling I had at Beverly Country Club,” he says. “People think Christianity is this kind of medication that makes things easier, when in fact it’s the toughest route you could ever go down. Because it holds you to a high, high standard— which is doing your best at every moment.” Because DeChambeau seems destined to face many special moments, expect an even more interesting character to emerge.

Rules The Golf Life

Then and Now A refresher on changes to the rules this century f you recall all those times you were urged to memorize The Rules of Golf but said, “Forget it, that’s what carrying around the booklet is for,” congratulate yourself for smart procrastination. The rules of the game have been updated numerous times since 2000, including hundreds of revisions or additions—some fairly significant. So had you committed as much of the book to memory as possible a decade or more ago, you might be out of touch with current mandates. If you’d like to get up to speed, here are a handful of the key changes that have taken place this century.

it used to be . . .

but now . . .

▶ If your ball moved after you addressed it, you were penalized regardless of whether you caused it to move.

▶ You’re only penalized if it’s more likely than not that you caused your ball to move after you addressed it (Rule 18-2).

▶ It was a penalty to smooth sand in a bunker before playing a shot from that bunker, no matter the intent.

▶ If the intent is to tidy and doesn’t improve conditions for your next shot in a bunker, you can smooth sand (Rule 13-4, Exception).

▶ You couldn’t share distance information about how far the ball was from the hole.

▶ You can ask or give yardages to other golfers at anytime (Definitions).

▶ Loose impediments could only be removed from a green by hand or by club, provided you didn’t press anything down.

▶ As long as you don’t press anything down on your line of putt, you can remove loose impediments by any means (Rule 16-1a).

▶ Caddies and partners were allowed to stand behind you, on or close to your line of play as you hit a shot, but not a putt.

▶ Unless inadvertent, your caddie, partner or his caddie can’t stand close to your line of play as you hit a shot or putt (Rule 14-2b).

▶ You addressed the ball when you took your stance and grounded the club, except in a hazard where only taking your stance constituted address.

▶ You’ve addressed the ball by grounding the club in front of or behind it. Generally, you can’t address a ball in a hazard without incurring a penalty (Definitions).

▶ Listening to music for entertainment was not addressed, therefore legal as long as it didn’t assist in making a stroke or play.

▶ Listening to music that might assist in making a stroke or play, or for a prolonged period, is a penalty (Decision 14-3/17).

▶ Discovering a 15th club in your bag before a round, declaring it out of play but still carrying it during the round was a penalty.

▶ A 15th club discovered in your bag shortly before a round and declared to be out of play is still OK to carry (Decision 4-4c/1).

—Cliff sChroCk

Illustration by James Yang

may 2016 | golf digest india

The Golf Life Rules

“Now my clubs can’t fall out.”

Wanna Bet? What the rule book says about your $10 match very day, in all corners of the United States, four golfers stand on the first tee and try to decide on a wager. Whether it’s well-known gambling games like a nassau or skins, or you’re playing for prize money in a Wednesdaynight league, you might be curious to know what the Rules of Golf says about gambling. But before we get to that, keep in mind that what you think is a harmless wager might violate a local, state or federal law. For example, Tarpon Springs (Fla.) Golf Course was caught up in a potential felony violation of state gambling laws in 2014, when the state attorney’s office investigated its numerous competitive golf leagues that presented cash to winners. The investigation never made it to court, but there were some tense moments for the course. The USGA and R&A don’t object to informal wagering among individual golfers or teams of golfers when it’s incidental to the game. However, “organized events designed or promoted to create cash prizes are not permitted.” Here’s a quick review of what is and isn’t acceptable gambling. —Ron KaspRisKe

In stroke play, how many shots would you be penalized if you hit a ball that came to rest outof-bounds and, not realizing it was out-of-bounds, played the ball?

A acceptable gambling

not acceptable

▶ The players, in general, know each other.

▶ Participation in the wagering is mandatory.

▶ Participation is optional and is limited to the players.

▶ Non-players being able to participate in the wagering (including auction-format gambling such as calcuttas).

▶ The money wagered is provided by the players. ▶ The amount of money is not generally considered to be excessive.

Three strokes. You incur a two-shot penalty for playing a wrong ball (Rule 15-3). You’re assessed a strokeand-distance penalty for the previous shot that went O.B. (Rule 27-1). Go back to the spot where you hit the shot O.B., and play on.

▶ Any type of gambling that could lead to abuse of the rules or handicapping to the detriment of golf’s integrity. ▶ Any event where the amount gambled is excessive.

▶ No one likes a tie, but if a match is halved, you can’t decide

the winner by stroke play. Conversely, if you “kiss your sister” in stroke play, you can’t use match play to decide the winner (Rule 33-6).

54 golf digest india | may 2016

Illustration by Christoph Niemann

amy mikler

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pop quiz

The Golf Life Mr. X

I was being fined $2,500 for “conduct unbecoming of a professional.”

Undercover Tour Pro The tour hits us with fines, and I’m fine with that hey get us out here for everything. Swearing, slamming clubs, confronting spectators, saying something critical about another player. How you spit. I understand why. We have fans and a big television audience, sponsors, and so it’s probably a good thing we’re not screaming at officials and kicking over port-a-potties, walking down fairways dropping F-bombs as far as sound will travel.

But let’s remind ourselves: We’re playing a sport outdoors, and there’s emotion involved. When I tap in for a quad or do something similarly infuriating, I can get pretty hot. Deep down, maybe just as hot as a player in the NFL, where they fine only for “excessive profanity.” Yes, I feel a strong urge to call myself a name and look for a pinecone to smash. If I don’t find one, I can restrain myself from going after a tee marker or a ground

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microphone, though not all guys do. (Eh, Sergio?) When I was a teenager, my friends and I laughed and cussed at every other shot. In high school golf, I could let the entire course know when I made a double. I was a bit out of hand. Now that I’m that same kid grown up and polished, my game’s a hundred times better, but I do wonder if I’ve lost a little of the competitive edge that comes with wearing that kind of intensity. I’ve been fined only twice in my career, which isn’t bad considering I’ve been out here almost a decade. I keep my curse words under my breath and save most of them for Thursday and Friday rounds when no one’s following our group.

The first time I got fined, it was for the word that rhymes with “hitch.” Either my ball or the cup was a son of one—I didn’t really make it clear. I just remember that I was near the lead on a Friday, and after I missed about an 18-incher, I just filled my lungs and let it out. The tour sent a letter to my house. I was being fined $2,500 for “conduct unbecoming of a professional.” I think it was the next day that Andy Pazder, the chief of operations on the PGA Tour, called me on the phone. He wasn’t mad. He was very polite, businesslike, and just ran through the protocols. If I wanted to make an appeal, I had two weeks to do so. Otherwise, I was to send a check. All PGA Tour fines go to charity. Two grand or 20, it all hurts. Sure, we make a lot of money, but you never know when you might be back on the mini-tours. My second fine was for being short to a volunteer. I had hit a drive into the rough, and the guy who planted the little yellow flag by it felt compelled to intercept me before I got there and say, “Oh, man, you’re not going to like that lie.” Now I really appreciate volunteers. These people sacrifice their vacation days to work for free, and our events couldn’t function without them. They love the game, and they put in long hours just so they can get a little closer to us. But I’m one of the best players in the world. I don’t need some 20-handicap explaining what a ball nestled in Kikuyu means for me. And I told him so in some colorful language. Some of the guys out here think disciplinary fines should be made public, to ensure there’s no preferential treatment. Me, I get why the tour keeps them secret—to protect our image—and I’m cool with that. Though I told everybody I knew my story with the volunteer, because I hit the next shot to 12 feet and made the putt. —with Max adler

Illustration by Gary Taxali

WHat a

good bunk

by d a I d leadb 58 golf digest india | may 2016

ker shot feels like the technique on greenside bunker shots is quite different than what you do on every other shot. The fact that you’re not trying to hit the ball first, and you’re entering the sand behind it, calls for a particular mind-set—and skill set. Whether you’ve struggled from the sand or just want a refresher for this season, let me give you some tips and feels for hitting quality sand shots. You’ll have a clear plan when you step in a bunker.

better

with ron kaspriske may 2016 | golf digest 2016 | may india

◀ going back

DUmP THE CoffEE The right arm and hand play an important role on bunker shots, and it starts with how they help take the club back. You want them to roll the clubface open so it’s pointing skyward immediately in the takeaway. This move puts the clubhead in position to skim through the sand under the ball. ▶ The feel of this rolling motion of the right arm and hand can be duplicated with a coffee cup. Fill it with sand, and hold it in front of you with your right hand. Now take that cup and toss the sand out like I’m doing here, turning your arm clockwise. This motion is just like a backswing that rotates the face open. Copy it, and you’ll be in position at the top.

going through

LET THE CLUB PASS THE HANDS

One of the differences between a bunker swing and a normal iron swing is the relationship between your hands and the clubhead through impact. With an iron shot, the hands should move past the ball just before the clubhead strikes it. In a bunker, you want the clubhead to slide under the ball before the hands get there. You’re “releasing the clubhead” by letting the right wrist bow. ▶ To skim the club through the sand, the clubface should be pointing skyward well past impact. If you looked at the club during your through-swing, the face would be looking back you, like you see below. + JOS A. BANK shirt, $115 CALLAWAY glove, $25 ROLEX watch HOUSE OF FLEMING belt

best bunker drill

mAkE rigHT-HANDED SwiNgS Photographs by J.D. Cuban

To improve your feel for bunker shots, practice swinging with your right hand only. Start without a ball and make some full swings back and through. Remember the coffee cup drill for the backswing and the bowing of the right wrist during the downswing. Try to slap the sand with the back of the clubhead. Gravity and the weight of the club will help it release properly and give you a good feeling for how big a swing you can make without the ball going very far. ▶ The one-handed motion makes it nearly impossible to cut off the swing too soon—a typical amateur mistake. Once you get comfortable, hit some bunker shots one-handed. Copy this feeling with both hands on the club, and you’ll be amazed how good you can be from the sand. may 2016 | golf digest india

editors’ choice

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our complete guide to the golf lifestyle

▶ It started 50 years ago when Golf Digest named America’s 200 Toughest Golf Courses, and it evolved into what has become the definitive measure of quality in architecture: America’s 100 Greatest Courses. Golfers have looked to Golf Digest’s rankings as the complete service guide for best public courses, resorts and destinations from the 50 states to around the globe. Our individual rankings from Best Teachers to Best Clubfitters have proved an invaluable tool for players trying to work on their game or get equipment suited to their swing. Golf Digest’s annual Hot List, launched in 2004, is universally considered by golfers and the industry as the ultimate review of golf clubs and balls in the marketplace. Now, for the first time, we extend our service franchise into rating the best of everything in the total golf lifestyle. What’s the best swing analyzer? Which tour operator should I use? What company do you recommend for shipping clubs? From the whimsical (ice chests and drones) to the downright life-saving (sunscreen and insect repellents), we’re proud to reveal the inaugural Golf Digest Editors’ Choice awards.

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Photograph by Adam Voorhes

••• f o r m o r e d e ta i l e d r e v i e w s / g o t o g o l f d i g e s t. c o m / g o / e d i t o r s c h o i c e 2 0 1 6

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resorts / the americas

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Courtesy of mukul BeaCh

hether it’s a buddies trip or a getaway with our significant other, what we seek from a golf resort is an experience greater than our usual weekend round. We want to be pampered on and off the fairways, at least a bit, with everything within walking distance. Caddies, not carts. No cab rides to dinner and drinks. We even shun elevators. Our favorite golf resorts have lodging that barely pokes above the treetops. ▶ Our choice resorts also offer multiple courses, and we’re partial to those layouts that offer fun, frolics and dazzling scenery, although we can’t resist the lure of a marquee ball-buster. Rental clubs are the hottest brands and perform better than anything we’ve swung at home. Merchandise in the golf shop is abundant, with a logo we’re proud to advertise. ▶ We editors agree that the accommodations must be comfortable, neither spartan nor gaudy, and the best service is that which never leaves us feeling self-conscious. Creature comforts become second nature: the shaving mirror in the shower, live piano music at breakfast, the fruit basket at the turn, the steaming scented towel as we walk off 18. ▶ We freely admit all this comes at a price that’s well above the normal household budget for golf. We wouldn’t be recommending these resorts if their experiences weren’t worth the cost. Of course, among our editors, there isn’t unanimity on every aspect. For instance, every top-flight resort these days features a palatial range packed with pyramids of practice balls. Some of us relish the opportunity to finally groove a swing, but others merely glance at it on the way to the first tee. That’s the joy of a great golf resort. It’s overstocked with activities and diversions, and we get to pick our pleasures.

california • the inn at pasatiempo Santa Cruz • la quinta resort & club/ pga west • the lodge at torrey pines La Jolla • ojai valley inn & spa • pebble beach resorts/ inn at spanish bay • the resort at pelican hill Newport Coast • rosewood cordevalle San Martin

carolinas • barefoot resort & golf North Myrtle Beach • kiawah island (s.c.) golf resort • montage palmetto bluff Bluffton, S.C. • pinehurst (n.c.) resort • sea pines resort Hilton Head Island

florida • hammock beach, a salamander golf & spa resort Palm Coast • innisbrook, a salamander golf & spa resort Palm Harbor • omni amelia island plantation resort • pga national resort & spa Palm Beach Gardens • reunion, a salamander golf & spa resort Kissimmee • streamsong resort • trump national doral Miami

hawaii

Courtesy of streamsong

••• Mukul Beach Golf & Spa in Nicaragua (top), Streamsong Resort in Florida (right).

• fairmont orchid Kohala Coast • four seasons resort hualalai Kailua-Kona • four seasons resort lanai Lanai City • four seasons resort maui at wailea Maui • grand wailea waldorf astoria resort Maui • st. regis princeville resort Princeville, Kauai editors’ choice items were reported and written by John Barton, Joel Beall, Peter Finch, Marty Hackel, Stephen Hennessey, E. Michael Johnson, Ron Kaspriske, Keely Levins, Tim Rosaforte, Matthew Rudy, Mike Stachura and Ron Whitten, with input from our international affiliates.

• auburn marriott opelika (ala.) hotel & conference center at grand national • renaissance birmingham (ala.) ross bridge golf resort & spa • reynolds lake oconee Greensboro, Ga. • sea island (ga.) resort

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mid -atlantic • colonial williamsburg (va.) • the greenbrier White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. • keswick hall and g.c. Charlottesville, Va. • omni bedford springs (pa.) resort • primland resort Meadows of Dan, Va.

midwest • the american club Kohler, Wis. • erin (wis.) hills • forest dunes g.c. Roscommon, Mich. • french lick (ind.) resort • giants ridge Biwabik, Minn.

northeast/ new england • crystal springs resort Hamburg, N.J. • omni mount washington resort Bretton Woods, N.H. • the sagamore resort Bolton Landing, N.Y. • stockton seaview hotel & g.c. Galloway, N.J. • turning stone resort Verona, N.Y.

pacific northwest • bandon (ore.) dunes golf resort • coeur d’alene (idaho) resort • pronghorn resort Bend, Ore. • sun valley (idaho) resort • sunriver (ore.) resort

rockies/ great plains • big cedar lodge Ridgedale, Mo. • the broadmoor Colorado Springs • keystone (colo.) resort • the prairie club Valentine, Neb. • the ritz carlton, bachelor gulch Avon, Colo.

southwest • the boulders Carefree, Ariz. • four seasons resort scottsdale at troon north • the inn at entrada St. George, Utah • jw marriott san antonio hill country resort & spa • omni barton creek resort & spa Austin

canada • cabot links lodge Inverness, Nova Scotia • fairmont banff (alberta) springs • fairmont jasper (alberta) park lodge • fairmont tremblant Mont Tremblant, Quebec

caribbean/bermuda • cap cana resort Dom. Republic • casa de campo resort and villas La Romana, Dom. Republic • one & only ocean club The Bahamas • playa grande club & reserve Dominican Republic • puntacana resort & club Dominican Republic • rosewood tucker’s point Bermuda • royal isabela Isabela, Puerto Rico • sandy lane St. James, Barbados

mexico/c. america • bahia principe Riviera Maya, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico • cabo del sol Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico • mayakoba resort Quintana Roo, Mexico • mukul beach golf & spa Guacalito de la Isla, Nicaragua • one & only palmilla San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico • quivira golf club Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico

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resorts / international great britain & ireland • gleneagles (scotland) • old course hotel (scotland) • trump turnberry (scotland)

continental europe • quinta do lago (portugal) • terre blanche (france) • verdura resort (italy)

africa/middle east • fancourt resort (south africa) • heritage le telfair golf & spa resort (mauritius) • westin abu dhabi golf resort & spa

asia • fuchun resort (china) • grand xiv naruto golf & spa resort (japan) • grand xiv nasu shirakawa golf & spa resort (japan) • kawana hotel and g. cse. (japan) • mission hills haikou (china) • onahama ocean hotel & g.c. (japan) • santiburi beach resort & spa (thailand) • southcape spa & suites (south korea)

australasia • bonville golf resort (australia) • cape kidnappers (new zealand) • kauri cliffs (new zealand) • lost farm lodge (australia) • the vintage (australia)

grand golf hotels You know a Grand Hotel when you see it: long driveways, stately columns, massive common rooms, and usually exceptional breakfast buffets for the grab-and-go golfer. The Breakers in Palm Beach is a classic example. A Grand Golf Hotel might not be a full-service resort or a 100 Greatest course, but it’s where well-heeled golfers love to stay. • adare manor (ireland) Undergoing Tom Fazio renovations • ananti penthouse seoul (south korea) • ashford castle (ireland)

• the breakers Palm Beach • the broadmoor Colorado Springs • the cloister Sea Island, Ga. • fairmont banff springs (canada) • fairmont jasper park lodge (canada) • gleneagles (scotland) • grand hotel Mackinac Island, Mich. • grand xiv nasu shirakawa the lodge (japan) • the greenbrier White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. • omni homestead resort Hot Springs, Va. • omni mount washington resort Bretton Woods, N.H. • the palace of the lost city hotel (south africa) • pga catalunya (spain) Reopens in late May • the sanctuary at kiawah island (s.c.) golf resort • slieve donard hotel (northern ireland) • trump turnberry (scotland) • west baden springs (ind.) hotel

boutique hotels The Boutiques (fewer than 50 rooms) might be just as luxurious as the Grand Hotels, but small and intimate. Great places to rekindle your romance. With golf. Inspiration: Greywalls in Scotland. • amanera (dominican republic) • casa palmero Pebble Beach • greywalls hotel & chez roux (scotland) • the lodge at prince’s grant (south africa) • the lodge Sea Island, Ga. • macdonald rusacks hotel (scotland) • mission ranch hotel Carmel, Calif. • pine crest inn Pinehurst, N.C. • royal golf hotel dornoch (scotland) • southcape spa & suites (south korea)

inns/bed & breakfasts Smaller than Boutique Hotels, inns traditionally were watering holes that could provide weary travelers some ale, a hearty meal and a bed for the night. And smaller still are B&Bs, which tend to be lodging in a private house—typically the

Stephen Szurlej

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••• Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand is ranked 16th on Golf Digest’s list of the World’s 100 Greatest Courses.

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owners live in the property and the half a dozen or so bedrooms have been converted to small guest rooms. Great Britain and Ireland are filled with these microbusinesses, and they vary greatly in quality, charm . . . and size. These are our favorites. • the bushmills inn (northern ireland) • links house at royal dornoch (scotland) • moy house Lahinch, Ireland • the old bank house Kinsale, Ireland • seven gables inn Pacific Grove, Calif.

golf pubs Is golf a ball-and-stick game that is celebrated at its end with a drink? Or is it a drinking game that involves a bit of ball-and-stick foreplay to work up a thirst? Either way, the 19th has always been our favorite hole. Here we don’t care if it’s raining and slow play is encouraged. • brooks’ bar & deck at edgewood tahoe Stateline, Nev. • cabot links cabot bar Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada • dunvegan hotel golfer’s corner lounge bar St. Andrews, Scotland • jigger inn St. Andrews, Scotland • mr. b’s lounge, pine crest inn Pinehurst, N.C. • oak room at sea island (ga.) • pebble beach tap room • porter’s in the forest at poppy hills Pebble Beach • sam snead’s tavern Hot Springs, Va. • st. andrews restaurant & bar New York City • trump’s bar at trump international golf links & hotel Doonbeg, Ireland

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golf schools /academies

hen it’s time to immerse yourself in your game, a great golf school should tick the right boxes: highly rated teaching staff, low student-to-teacher ratio, a variety of programs, good location and attractive lodging options. We broke the category down by region, singling out the best schools geographically and in the hottest golf-travel markets. You’ll find a good choice wherever you plan to visit, and at many price points. Costs vary within schools, from $250 for three hours at Vision54 to $6,500 for three days with Butch Harmon.

▶ arizona Vision54 Golf, Scottsdale ▶ california Pebble Beach Golf Academy ▶ florida Leadbetter Golf Academy, ChampionsGate; Jim McLean Golf School at Trump National Doral, Miami ▶ hawaii Kapalua Golf Academy ▶ middle atlantic Pinehurst (N.C.) Golf Academy ▶ midwest Todd Sones Impact Golf, Vernon Hills, Ill. ▶ northeast Michael Breed Golf Academy, Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, Bronx, N.Y. ▶ south-central Dave Pelz Golf School, Austin ▶ southeast Sea Island (Ga.) Golf Performance Center ▶ west Butch Harmon School of Golf, Henderson, Nev.

Top pGA Tour plAyers book from 50 To more ThAn 100 hours per yeAr. private aviation ▶ There’s no real air war in the skies over global golf. Owned by Warren Buffett, NetJets is the leader in private aviation, featuring more aircraft and more players sitting in their seats, with fleets in the United States, Europe and China. Wheels Up, a start-up company in 2013, has gained altitude in the market by signing Rickie Fowler and focusing on legs of three hours or less. Our editors don’t spend a lot of time in executive jets, so in this category we rely on our pals on the PGA Tour who fly private like we take Uber. Cost per hour depends on how many hours are purchased and the type of marketing relationship that is involved. Entry point for a tour player at NetJets starts at $150,000 for 25 hours of flight time on an entry-level jet. Players such as Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson book from 50 to more than 100 hours worldwide per year. ▶ NetJets ▶ Wheels Up

GOLF SCHOOL: MARC HOWARD/PEBBLE BEACH • RICKIE FOWLER/INSTAGRAM

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TRuMP INTERNATIONAL GOLF LINKS (SCOTL AND): DOM FuRORE • ILLuSTRATION: ALEx NABAuM • CRuISE: COuRTESY OF SILVERSEA CRuISES

tour operators

club shippers

▶ As anybody who has been on an international golf trip can tell you, there’s nothing like it. Whether you’re visiting Scotland or Ireland, continental Europe or the Far East, you’ll come home with memories that will last forever. We suggest you reach out to all four of these top tour operators by phone or online. Let them know roughly where, when and how you want to travel. They’ll assemble detailed sample itineraries, with a variety of price points, for free. Pick the one you like best and go—confident in the knowledge that your “trip of a lifetime” will live up to expectations.

▶ Trusting others with your clubs can seem like a bad idea. Those anxious moments at the baggage claim can make or break a golf trip. We all hear the airline horror stories. That’s why Ship Sticks, which launched its website in 2012, has found success. It has partnered with more than 3,500 facilities, picking up your bag at your golf club, place of business or home, then shipping it to your destination. It’s golf’s version of a personal courier.

▶ Carr Golf ▶ Celtic Golf ▶ Haversham & Baker Golfing Expeditions ▶ PerryGolf

▶ Ship Sticks, $50 (one-way ground shipping)

cruises

rom on-board lessons to in-port excursions to itineraries solely designed to appease the most well-traveled players, we reviewed dozens of cruise-ship companies looking for those that stood out in their efforts for avid golfers. Golf and water typically don’t mix, especially when you’re floating on it for the majority of your vacation. But these companies more than succeeded in meeting the wants and needs of golfers in a way that made it easy to concede that not all great golf trips need to occur entirely on dry land.

▶ barges European Waterways ▶ golf-cruise agent PerryGolf ▶ large ships Norwegian Cruise Line ▶ medium ships Crystal Cruises ▶ small ships Silversea Cruises ▶ yachts SeaDream Yacht Club

may 2016 | golfdigest.com

Throwbacks and modern headcovers leT you sTand ouT. gets | gear &

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headcovers

▶ Advances in lightweight

materials, strap systems and stand mechanisms, among other attributes, have raised the intrinsic value of bags. If designers make it easier to get to a pocket or lessen the load on your shoulders, back or legs, you’re likely to play better. From smaller single-strap offerings to lightweight carry bags to cart bags that could double as a piece of luggage, the adage about golf bags being equipment has never been more true.

▶ carry Ping Hoofer, $200 ▶ cart Sun Mountain C-130, $230 ▶ classic Original Jones, $140 ▶ hybrid Callaway HyperLite 5, $200 ▶ lightweight/ ultra-lightweight Sun Mountain 2Five, $220 ▶ specialty Ogio Special Ops, $180 ▶ standless/sunday Ping Moonlite, $90

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▶ knit Jan Craig, $39-$59 ▶ fabric Seamus, $55-$65

cleats / spikes ▶ Spikeless cleats have come a long way since those

plastic, sworled caps they used to be. The best new models use arms that give and grab to provide support and traction. Our top choice is flexible and anti-slip, has been used by Jordan Spieth to win

last year’s Tour Championship and FedEx Cup in the rain and includes a wear sensor that shows you when the cleats need to be changed. ▶ Champ PiviX, $15 per set

HEADCOVERS: BEN WALTON • BAGS, CLEATS: COURTESY OF COMPANIES

bags

eadcovers are golf’s most common first impression. They’re what you see even before shaking a playing partner’s hand. For that reason, we’re providing guidance for nailing the proper headcover. Prefer a knit, throwback look? Jan Craig has been selling them since the 1960s, when Jack Nicklaus sported Craig’s pom-pom knit headcovers. Looking for a newer-age look? Seamus offers an assortment of tartans. You can dress your clubs like never before.

junior clubs ▶ The top junior-equipment manufacturers have a clear focus: What type of clubs will take a juvenile’s swing to the next level? Golphinforkids has products that are designed to be lighter, forgiving and with bright colors to introduce beginners to the game. As children grow, U.S. Kids Ultralight’s fitting system tailors to their measurements and swing. And for advanced juniors, Ping Thrive’s perimeter-weighted irons and forgiving driver offer accuracy and distance. ▶ beginner Golphinforkids (five clubs, bag), $171 ▶ intermediate U.S. Kids Ultralight (nine sizes, $30-$230 for single clubs, sets) ▶ transition Ping Thrive (10 clubs, bag), $599

club transport ▶ If carrying your bag is a non-

swing & game analyzers ▶ The best app lets you make reference lines and compare your motion to tour models. The bodyand club-based devices show basic speed and body metrics; topof-the-line launch monitors and motion-capture systems provide detail fit for a teaching pro.

starter, that’s where carts come in. Pushcarts aren’t overly techy, but the ability to fold them to fit easily into your car trunk is a must. Riding carts appeal to our culture of convenience, with the best fueled by electricity with even acceleration, comfy seats, a steering wheel you don’t fight and built-in connectivity. Technology continues to advance, leading to the New Age category, where you can surf across the course with your bag.

▶ pushcarts Big Max AutoFold FF, $270 ▶ riding carts Club Car Precedent i3, $564-a-year lease ▶ new age GolfBoard, $6,500

l aunch monitors

simulator

COURTESY OF COMPANIES

imulators are more than novelty items. They are highly instructional, offering instant analysis from your swing. The best use tracking and camera technology to produce accurate measurements like ball spin and speed, launch angle, and shot direction. Full Swing Golf captures these outputs thanks to light-wave technology in precise animation. More than 90 courses are available for play, illuminated in high-definition graphics. And with hundreds of side games, you never have to worry about burnout.

▶ Full Swing Golf S4 Simulator, starting at $25,900

▶ optical Foresight Sports GC2A with HMT, $13,190 ▶ radar TrackMan4, $18,995 (indoor unit), $24,995 (indoor/outdoor unit) swing analyzers ▶ professional GEARS, $24,500 (240hz), $39,500 (360hz) ▶ consumer Zepp Golf 2, $150 ▶ app V1 Golf, $5 game analyzers ▶ Arccos, $299 ▶ Game Golf Live, $299

divot-repair tool ▶ There’s no greater mistake

golfers make than not repairing a ball mark—unless it’s repairing a ball mark improperly. That’s why we like the Pitchfix Twister 2.0. It’s as ergonomically efficient as it is agronomically effective. A simple up-down jabbing motion with its retractable three prongs will eliminate evidence of your green in regulation. And earn you the gratitude of your superintendent.

▶ Pitchfix Twister 2.0, $16 may 2016 | golf digest.com

You're no fair-weather golfer, right? we've got You covered.

umbrella ▶ Once you’ve made a tee time, the last thing you want is uncooperative weather. But you’re no fair-weather golfer, right? We checked out the best golf umbrellas around and found the light and durable GustBuster Golf Umbrella to be the best. The two layers and vent keep wind from blowing it around. It’s offered in 62- or 68-inch diameters, but you wouldn’t guess that from how light it is. And if you can’t find a color you like, well, that’s on you. ▶ GustBuster Golf Umbrella, $60

travel cover

ragging your golf bag through an airport is the worst part of traveling to play golf. But this travel bag has something no other competitor has: legs. Pull out the wheeled legs on the Sun Mountain ClubGlider Meridian, and your bag suddenly feels more like four pounds than 40. The cushioned top hugs your clubheads so they won’t rattle around. And the fabric and hard-plastic bottom can take the beating when your bag gets tossed into the cargo hold.

training aids ▶ We picked the best training aids in three broad categories based on factors like originality, innovation, value and tour usage. The Impact Snap is a grip with a noise-making ball extending from the butt end. By making the ball clack in the right place and rest against your trailing forearm, you’re training a good release. The Laser Putt does just what it says—it extends a beam along your putter path and target line. The IKKOS uses a combination of specialized video and music played through your smartphone to help you train a stroke more efficiently. ▶ full swing Impact Snap, $89 ▶ putting Laser Putt, $159 ▶ mental/visual IKKOS, $42

74 golf digest india | may 2016

COURTESY OF COMPANIES

▶ Sun Mountain ClubGlider Meridian, $290

VIDEO

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olf's a game of honor, but some things need documentation—like a swing for your instructor or your foursome’s moment on the 18th tee at Pebble Beach. The best cameras in all three categories offer fast-frame rates to easily capture the quickest swings. The GoPro and the iPhone 6s Plus merge a highquality camera with the ability to easily move, edit and share clips. The Manta is the top choice for professional-caliber indoor studios.

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▶ video camera/consumer GoPro Hero4 Silver, $399 ▶ video camera/professional Manta GigE, prices vary COURTESY OF GOPRO

(approximately $650-$4,750) ▶ video/smartphone Apple iPhone 6s Plus, $749-$949

Photograph by First Lastname

month 2016 | golfdigest.com

2016

vest

t’s fair to say PGA Tour pros are wearing more vests than ever before. And for average players, the right vest is essential, too. They’re perfect for traveling, being easily packable. And no matter the climate, there’s a vest for the occasion. Playing in windy weather? Go for a vest with lining. In the South, you might want a lighter-weight material. In the rain, make sure it’s 100-percent waterproof. Fairway & Greene has multiple styles to meet any need.

app

▶ Fairway & Greene, Caves vest, $95

eyewear ▶ We all have different ideas of what makes sunglasses cool. We won’t tell you to trash your shades because of looks. Our focus: the quality of lens, the way they fit, and comfort. (UVA and UVB protection are a must.) Oakley’s Prizm lens maximizes your ability to see a range of colors and green contours. Maui Jim is available in more than 100 models. The varying shades of frames fit any look. ▶ golf performance Oakley Flak 2.0XL, $170 ▶ sport/casual Maui Jim, $169-$349

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igh-performance fabrics have made their way into golf hats. Our selections have made significant advancements to separate themselves from others. Panels on the inside of the New Era hats have been bonded with tape, as opposed to the typical stitching process. Why does that matter? It gives you a proper fit, and with lightweight and breathable fabrics, your temperature is regulated. Replacing sweat-stained hats is a thing of the past.

▶ A trusted rain jacket is the

most important piece of outerwear any golfer owns. Protecting you from the elements is crucial, but each jacket needs to allow for maximum movement and breathability. If you can’t swing freely and stay comfortable, you won’t play your best. These companies are the standard of excellence. It’s the small details that define great outerwear. You might initially think such suits are overpriced, but these brands will last a very long time and be worth every penny. ▶ heavy-duty Galvin Green, Arrow jacket, $560 ▶ lightweight Zero Restriction, $184-$435

▶ golf New Era, Contour Tech Tee 2.0, $40 ▶ sport/casual Cobra, Tour Fade, $28

CLUBWEAR

underwe a r ▶ Look no further for a prime example of how golf fashion has evolved over the past decade. Performance undies? Yes, really. These aren’t your grandfather’s boxers. And it’s not a marketing ploy. Companies such as 2UNDR and Dunning have taken compression shorts from the early 2000s and brought them to the next level. Utilizing performance fabrics with stretch properties has pushed the limits of comfort. They might make you laugh, but, hey, we’ve got a pair.

raingear

▶ golf performance Dunning, Merino Base Layer Trunk, $75 ▶ sport/casual 2UNDR, $25-$35

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▶ Consider a quality blue blazer for your next purchase. Why? It’ll be the most versatile item you own. A blazer works well in any setting: weddings, funerals and any occasion at the golf club. Ralph Lauren’s classic three-button blazer uses a blended fabric that makes it wearable in every season. Marry it with a pair of AG Green Label khakis, which are casual, comfortable and can be dressed up with a blazer. It’ll be your go-to look.

▶ blue blazer Ralph Lauren, $895 ▶ khakis: AG Green Label, $168

COURTESY OF COMPANIES

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grill

his is not the place to arbitrate the blood feud between charcoal-grill devotees and the loyal gas-grill opposition. We chose the best overall grill based on quality of construction, reliability, accessories and ease of use. The Big Green Egg charcoal “kamado cooker” comes in seven sizes and is as adept at searing a steak at 600 degrees as it is smoking a rack of ribs at 225. It’s like parking a barbecue Ferrari on your patio. ▶ The Big Green Egg, $399-$3,499

cigars ▶ Smoking a cigar is to golf what chewing sunflower seeds is to a baseball dugout. What some might find repulsive, others believe is a beguiling part of the game. A good golf cigar should be easy to light and burn evenly for several holes; it should be mild-to-medium bodied, so it doesn’t make you feel dizzy over four-footers; and it shouldn’t cost more than a sleeve a balls. Unless your selection is limited to whatever is on the beverage cart, consider our choices as the best cigars for golf. ▶ Arturo Fuente Double Chateau, $6 ▶ Macanudo Prince of Wales, $8 ▶ Nat Sherman Host Hampton, $7 ▶ Padron 4000 Natural, $8

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can prepare your body for optimal performance and injury prevention on the course. And if you’re willing to invest some real cash, taking advantage of some innovations in fitness products makes getting in shape easier than ever. Our choices single out those pieces of equipment that are simple and versatile to use, functional for golf training and, in many cases, affordable. Don’t want to fill your garage with stuff? We also recommend the best commercial gym for golfers.

▶ commercial gym Equinox ▶ dumbbells Bowflex SelectTech 552, $349 ▶ elliptical Cybex 770AT Total Body Arc Trainer, $8,000 ▶ foam roller SKLZ TrainerRoller, $40 (below) ▶ medicine ball Assess 2 Perform Ballistic, $395 ▶ resistance bands SuperFlex Lite Bands Packs, $40 ▶ stability trainer Bosu Balance Trainer, $130 ▶ strength trainer Surge 360, $2,000 ▶ stretching aid The True Stretch, $2,500 ▶ suspension trainer Redcord Mini, $190 ▶ swing-training bands Instant Replay, $109 ▶ treadmill Life Fitness Club Series, $5,500 ▶ universal FreeMotion Dual Cable Cross, $5,500 ▶ weighted bar ActivMotion Bar, $120-$160 (depending on weight) CIGARS: IStoCk • GRILL, FoAM RoLLER CoURtESY oF CoMPANIES

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▶ Fitness-training equipment

meat jerky

our to five hours on a golf course is a long time to go without some fuel for your body, but eating during a round can be impractical and distracting, often including empty calories. That’s why jerky is such a good option. The best types are healthy, portable, satiating and are made without significant additives and preservatives. Our choices were recognized mostly for their taste and how the meat was sourced. ▶ bacon Epic Bar Bacon, $30 for 12 bars ▶ beef Uncle Andy’s Tex's Tangy BBQ, $7.50 a package ▶ bison Tanka Bites Slow Smoked Original, $39 for six three-ounce packages ▶ chicken Caveman Buffalo Style, $5.80 a package ▶ pork Lawless Jerky BBQ Spare Rib, $6 a package ▶ turkey ShurkyJurky The Feme Bag, $6 a package

INSECt: tAvIS CobURN • APP: bEN WALtoN • JERkY, DRoNE CoURtESY oF CoMPANIES

Get a different perspective with a drone's bird's-eye view.

insect repellents ▶ When it comes to using bug sprays, news that the mosquito-spread Zika virus has been found in the United States should only add to golfers’ concerns about contracting insect-borne illnesses. Being outside, near water, in a large green space puts golfers at greater risk. Our choices for insect repellents do a prolonged (several hours) job of keeping bugs from biting and a decent job of not damaging our favorite golf clothes. ▶ Natrapel 8-Hour DEET Free, $8, six-ounce spray ▶ Off! Deep Woods VIII Dry, $8, four-ounce spray ▶ Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, $5, four-ounce pump

apps ▶ Whether you’re looking to kill time in a waiting room or track your favorite pairing, the best smartphone apps make the job faster, easier and more immersive. The Masters app matches the taste and tone of the event and broadcast coverage, offering an elegant, clean and easy-to-navigate interface. Super Stickman Golf 2 is an addictive golf-onsteroids ride that a 5-year-old can play instantly, but an adult can spend hours with it. ▶ event/service The Masters Tournament, free ▶ game Super Stickman Golf 2, free

drones Dramatic flyover footage of your favorite hole is just one of the golf-related ways to use a remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We divided our picks into two categories: high-end professional/enthusiast drones capable of carrying a high-definition video camera like a GoPro, and entry-level models. We based our ratings on factors like out-of-thebox ease of use, durability, standard features and overall value. Drones over .55 pounds now require a simple $5 FAA registration, available online. ▶ professional/enthusiast DJI Phantom 3 Professional, $1,259 ▶ hobby/entry level Parrot AR 2.0, $299

may 2016 | golf digest india

wine ▶ Going from a professional golfer to a professional vintner sure seems like a leap. But many, including some of the all-time greats, have made the transition—or at least lent their name to some surprisingly good wines. Tough as it might sound, we sampled as many offerings from the pros as we could find, checked in with some wine connoisseurs to confirm our opinions, and then assembled this group of choices based on varietals or, in the case of blends, the combination of grapes used.

▶ blended red (cabernet sauvignon, syrah, merlot, petit verdot, malbec) Jack Nicklaus Private Reserve 2009, $55 ▶ blended red (cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, malbec, cabernet franc) Ernie Els Stellenbosch 2005, $94 ▶ blended red (cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, merlot) Ernie Els Cape Winemakers Guild 2012, $89 ▶ chardonnay Annika Chardonnay Livermore Valley 2009, $40 ▶ sauvignon blanc The Goose, Upper Langkloof, 2011, $16 ▶ shiraz Greg Norman Australian Estates Reserve 2009, $30 ▶ syrah Greg Norman California Estates Camatta Hills Vineyard Reserve 2008, $40

salty snacks ▶ When it comes to nutrition, the 80-20 rule is not a bad way to live. Eat healthy and smart 80 percent of the time, and eat “fun” foods the other 20. If you’ve been chowing down on your fruits and veggies off the course, there’s no harm in a salty snack while you play. But here we give you the best of both worlds. Our choices are not only snacks we consider to fall into the fun-foods category, they’re also somewhat nutritional.

cooler

golf cart without a cooler is like a car without a radio. Fun-seeking millennials have reminded us what golfers in trucker hats have always known: A brewski on the back nine adds a little swing oil to the round. Enter the super-premium line of Yeti ice chests. Designed to keep food and drinks cold for days (and longer, depending on the outside temperature), the virtually indestructible coolers (and outdoor status symbols) have become the favorites of folks who don’t want to fish around for a beer in ice soup. ▶ Yeti, $199-$1,299

COURTESY OF COMPANIES

▶ chips Kettle Brand Potato Chips Organic Sea Salt, $3, five-ounce bag ▶ crackers Lance Whole Grain Peanut Butter Crackers, $4.50, eight six-cracker packages ▶ nuts Emerald 100-Calorie Packs Dry Roasted Almonds, $1, 0.6-ounce bags ▶ pretzels Newman’s Own High-Protein Pretzels, $2.50, seven-ounce bag ▶ seeds Eden Dry Roasted Salted Pumpkin Seeds, $3, four-ounce bag

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lip balm No one wants a match-winning congratulatory kiss from a pair of lips that are damaged, cracked or crusty. Your pucker needs to be moist and just as protected as any other part of your exposed skin during a fivehour round—sun or clouds. When choosing lip balm, the No. 1 priority is that it contain sunscreen (look for a label that boasts of a Sun Protection Factor, SPF, from 15 to 50). Other factors that should be considered are the exclusion of harmful ingredients, its moisturizing efficacy and, of course, flavor.

LIP BALM, SUNSCREEN: GETTY IMAGES

synthetic putting green ▶ Unless you’ve got a green thumb and a greens mower, it’s folly to install a practice putting green in your back yard. The types of turfgrasses best suited for putting surfaces—bents and ultradwarf Bermudas—require constant care, chemicals and nutrition. The solution is a synthetic putting green, with grass blades so fine they look and feel like real grass but without the daily maintenance. It’ll cost more to begin with, but you’ll have far more spare time for practice. ▶ Southwest Greens, prices vary by region of the country

▶ All Terrain Armor Lip Protection and Healing Balm, Peppermint, SPF 28, $3 ▶ Badger Sunscreen Lip Balm, SPF 15, $3.50 ▶ Beyond Coastal Lip Balm, Mint Leaf, SPF 15, $3

sunscreen & skin care

hen doing a pre-round inventory of what’s in your golf bag, we’re hoping sunscreen is included. Unfortunately, many products that offer adequate protection from the sun’s cancer-causing ultraviolet rays also contain ingredients that can be hazardous to your body. Our choices minimize or eliminate the inclusion of these ingredients and do a good job of blocking UV rays. A bonus: They won’t make your hands too greasy to swing a club and likely won’t burn your eyes while standing over a must-make putt. ▶ face Badger Sport Sunscreen Stick SPF 35, $10 for .65 ounces ▶ lotion Kabana Green Screen D Organic Sunscreen SPF 35, $20 for four ounces ▶ stick Z Blok Clear Zinc SPF 45+, $10 for .5 ounces

meal-replacement bars ▶ The first thing you’ll notice is that we’re not calling these “energy bars” or “nutrition bars” or anything that makes you think what you’re about to digest is as good for you as a banana or a handful of raw almonds. That being said, some meal-replacement bars are better than others. Our choices focused on those that have a good blend of simple carbohydrates, fiber and protein and limited amounts of sugar (in whatever form it comes). Bonus points were given to bars that included whole-food ingredients while not tasting like a cookie made from sawdust. ▶ Clif Kit’s Organic Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut ($20 for 12 bars) ▶ GoMacro Prolonged Power Banana + Almond Butter ($35 for 12 bars) ▶ Kind Dark Chocolate Nut & Sea Salt ($14 for 12 bars) may 2016 | golf digest india

India Digest On the European Tour

8Danny Willett things you might not know about

Danny is a former world amateur No.1.

He pushed Rory all the way in the 2015 Race to Dubai

The Sheffield lad rose to the top of the amateur game in 2008 and played in the Walker Cup in 2007, the same year he won the English Amateur Championship.

Eight years after beating Rory McIlroy in the Amateur Championship, Danny pushed Rory all the way over a thrilling season on the 2015 Race to Dubai. The new Masters Champion won the first event of the season, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, before pipping his good friend Matt Fitzpatrick to the Omega European Masters title in Switzerland. Heading into the season finale at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, McIlroy led by just 1,613 points over Willett in the Race to Dubai standings. Rory won the event to take the Race to Dubai accolades, but Danny had made his intentions for the future clear with a season that yielded two wins and seven other top tens.

Son of a preacher man…

Willett is the son of a Church of England vicar — the Reverend Steve Willett, whose parish church is in Sheffield — and a Swedish maths teacher, Elisabet, who works at a comprehensive school in Barnsley. Danny has often spoke about his dad in glowing terms, saying, “The best psychologist I know is my dad, because what he says is so grounded, and it's about whether you're doing right or wrong. When you're away from golf you need that balance, and he provides it." He is the third of four sons and was introduced to golf by his two older brothers.

He was contemplating missing the 80th Masters Tournament

Only last month Danny said he would not attend the 80th Masters Tournament if it conflicted with the birth of his first child. Thankfully his wife Nicole, whose due date was Masters Sunday, welcomed Zachariah James Willett to the world early (on March 29) and Danny was able to travel to Georgia to pick up his Green Jacket and become the first European Masters Champion in 17 years.

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He practised with Bernard Langer on Tuesday

He attended an American university

He has now won five times on The European Tour, but where was his breakthrough win?

Danny may have been a little under-prepared for Augusta after baby Zach’s arrival the week before the tournament, but he picked a perfect practice partner on Tuesday in the form of the great Bernhard Langer. The German legend is known for his pathologically meticulous nature and, before last week, had played 110 competitive rounds at Augusta compared to Danny’s four. You would learn more playing one round with Langer at Augusta than you would if you went round 100 times on your own.

Danny may well will be donning European blue come September for The Ryder Cup, but he spent part of his golfing education at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, where he became the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, and won many honours.

After a solid first full season on The European Tour, which saw Danny finish 58th in the 2009 Race to Dubai, his first victory came a few years later at the 2012 BMW International Open. It did not come easily though as Willett had to battle Marcus Fraser all the way for the honour, before prevailing on the fourth hole of a play-off. A magical chip from the rough behind the green set up a tap-in par to seal the win. Fast forward four years and a magical chip at the 17th hole at Augusta National played a huge part in Willett’s Masters triumph.

His Official World Golf Ranking was 102nd just 12 months ago. Now it reads nine.

Only a year ago, Danny was ranked outside of the top 100 players in the world. Today, the Yorkshireman is inside the top ten. Danny has always believed in himself, and those who follow The European Tour have seen why over the past few years as he has charged to the top of golf’s world order.

On the European Tour

Photograph by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

India Digest

may 2016 | golf digest india

India Digest On the European Tour

Matthew Fitzpatrick is hoping he will be able to take his game to the next level after firing a closing 67 to finish in a tie for seventh at the Masters Tournament. The Englishman was making his first appearance at Augusta National as a professional after playing as an amateur in 2014, and shared the low round of the day with champion Danny Willett and Paul Casey on Sunday. The 21 year old is no stranger to success, having won last season's British Masters supported by Sky Sports as he secured ten top tens in his rookie campaign on The European Tour. "Now that I feel that I can go low, particularly on a Sunday in a Major, once I've done it once, you sort of feel like you can do it again if your game is in the right shape

Lee Westwood is a veteran of 17 Masters Tournaments and he closed with a 69 to finish second at Augusta for the second time. The 42 year old was playing in the same group as Willett and an eagle at the 15th got him within one shot of the eventual champion before a bogey on the next saw his challenge falter.

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Photograph by David Cannon/Getty Images

Fitzpatrick takes conFidence From masters debut

SĂ¸renKjeldsen is aiming to use his tie for seventh at the Masters Tournament as a springboard for a successful season after experiencing "an amazing week" at Augusta National. The Dane made his first Masters appearance since 2010 after a brilliant 2015 season saw him reclaim his place in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking with a win at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and eight other top tenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on The European Tour.

Kjeldsen was 340th in the Official World Golf Ranking after the season's first Major Championship last year but is now up to 41st thanks to a second top ten of the 2016 campaign. "I made great putts and hit a lot of quality shots all the way round. All the way up to 16 where I had a great chance I am right in the tournament. Two soft bogeys after that kind of took me out of winning but it was great to finish with a birdie on the last.

The resulT aT augusTa means Kjeldsen has yeT To miss a cuT so far This season and he is now looKing To Turn made cuTs inTo wins wiTh The race To dubai To compeTe for and a ryder cup on The horizon. 84 golf digest india | may 2016

Photograph by Harry How/Getty Images

kjeldsen delighted with masters week

On the European Tour India Digest

Photograph by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

langer building momentum ahead oF senior open

ot since Tom Watson at Turnberry in 2009 has a European Senior Tour player come as close to victory in a Major Championship as Bernhard Langer rolled back the years at Augusta National recently. The German opened the tournament with rounds of 72 and 73, before a two under par 70 left him tied for third with Hideki Matsuyama at the close of play on Saturday as he made a bid to become the oldest Major Champion in history. No stranger to a Green Jacket, Langer has two to his name after winning in 1985 and 1993 and he will surely have his

“langer will cerTainly be one of the players to watch aT This year’s senior open championship but he will face stiff competition from a number of household names, including lasT year’s winner marco dawson, when we reTurn To carnousTie in july.” sights set on a third Senior Open trophy, and fourth Senior Major Championship victory, at The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex at Carnoustie in July. Langer will return to the course where he won his first Senior Open six years ago and, after finishing as runner-up in 2013 and winning again in

2014, he will certainly be in the running when the Senior Open Championship tees off on July 21. The 58 year old will be one of a number of Major Champions and Ryder Cup stars teeing-off on the Championship Course, where Langer won by one shot ahead of Corey Pavin in 2010. Andy Stubbs, Managing Di-

rector of the European Senior Tour, on behalf of the Championship, said: “Bernhard’s performance in this year’s Masters captured a lot of people’s imaginations and it bore a striking resemblance to the Open Championship performances of Tom Watson in 2009 at Turnberry and Greg Norman in 2007 at Royal Birkdale. “Langer will certainly be one of the players to watch at this year’s Senior Open Championship but he will face stiff competition from a number of household names, including last year’s winner Marco Dawson, when we return to Carnoustie in July.”

may 2016 | golf digest india

India Digest On the European Tour

7,302 yard West Course is no child’s play. In contrast to Terry, Fowler is left-footed but plays golf right-handed, and showed he is no slouch on the course during the Internationals Cup in Dubai at the start of the year, when he teamed up with fellow former Liverpool stars John Aldridge, DietmarHamann and Jason McAteer at Emirates Golf Club, host venue for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Scholes, one of the finest midfield players of his generation, appeared with his former Manchester United-team mate Phil Neville and One Direction’s Niall Horan alongside defending champion Rory McIlroy in last year’s Celebrity Pro-Am. Whilst the formidable foursome were ultimately unable to take away the team prize, which went instead to Martin Kaymer’s quartet, Scholes thor-

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oughly enjoyed the experience and is excited at the prospect of returning to Wentworth’s famed West Course. This year, Horan will be paired with Arsenal and Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who holds the Guinness World Record for the most ‘keepy-uppies’ with a golf ball in 30 seconds, and England’s Justin Rose, winner of the 2013 US Open. Other famous footballers set to return for the Celebrity Pro-Am after taking part in previous years include former Eng-

land stars Alan Shearer, Glenn Hoddle, Teddy Sheringham, Ian Wright and Jamie Redknapp. Former Manchester United players Peter Schmeichel and Dwight Yorke will also be reunited at Wentworth, whilst David Ginola and Gianfranco Zola promise to bring some flair to the fairways. Last year, thanks chiefly to the generous donations from the professionals, celebrities and the Tour Players Foundation, the Celebrity Pro-Am day raised in excess of £35,000 for charity.

Photograph by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images

ormer England internationals Robbie Fowler, Paul Scholes and John Terry are among the famous faces who will be swapping the football field for the fairways on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, when the BMW PGA Championship Celebrity ProAm takes place at Wentworth Club, in England. Terry, who made 78 appearances for England and captained Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2012, and Liverpool legend Fowler, the sixth highest goalscorer in Premier League history, will both be making their debuts in the event which raises the curtain on the BMW PGA Championship, when the professionals take centre stage. Terry, who is right-footed but plays golf left-handed, often takes his twins Georgie and Summer out on the golf course, but will find that tackling the

Photograph by Ian Walton/Getty Images

Football stars set to grace bMW Pga chaMPionshiP

On the European Tour

India Digest

Danny boy reaDy For green Jacket Party at k club

Danny Willett

is ready for a Green Jacket Party at The K Club as he prepares to make his first appearance in Europe as Masters champion at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation from May 19-22. Along with McIlroy, the Englishman will be the headline act in a field which includes his compatriots Matt Fitzpatrick and Lee Westwood and defending champion SørenKjeldsen, all of whom performed superbly at Augusta National last week. “Rory has done a magnificent job with the tournament, and what he is doing for the European Tour and golf in Ireland in general. I think with the field we are going to have there, amazing crowds as always and an iconic

venue like The K Club, it’s going to be a brilliant tournament. I am really looking forward to making my first appearance in Europe there.” It is no secret that Willett is, justifiably, one of the most confident players in golf. Like McIlroy, when Willett produces his best he plays the game with verve as well as a swagger which suggests he can achieve as much as the likes of McIlroy, Spieth and current World Number One Jason Day. Off the course, Willett remains confident but he is also grounded by a sense of realism and speaks with refreshing honesty. He does not yet believe he is at the same level as golf’s current ‘big three’, but is well aware that he is quickly becoming part of the conversation at the game’s top table.

Photograph by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Photograph by David Cannon/Getty Images

It Is no secret that Willett is, justifiably, one of the most confident players in golf. off the course, Willett remains confident but he Is also grounded by a sense of realIsm and speaks wIth refreshIng honesty may 2016 | golf digest india

India Digest On the European Tour

A DAy to remember for JAson in Austin

olympics winner to receive mAJor exemptions

ason Day won the WGC-Dell Match Play for the second time in three years with a 5 and 4 victory over Louis Oosthuizen in the final at Austin Country Club. Day's short game had been in brilliant shape all week and proved to be his most potent weapon on Sunday as he first defeated defending champion Rory McIlroy in the semi-finals and then overcame Oosthuizen, who like Day had a 100 per cent record coming into the final. Oosthuizen had beaten Rafa Cabrera Bello in his semi-final, and the 52nd seed topped off a week that had seen him qualify for the Masters Tournament by beating McIlroy in the consolation match to finish third. But the star of the show was Day, who overcame a back injury suffered on Wednesday prior to the tournament, to win his third European Tour title, and moved back to Number One in the Official World Golf Ranking. For South African Oosthuizen, it was a continuation of the fine form that saw him win the ISPS HANDA Perth International earlier in the year, for a player who had made the quarter-finals in the past two years at this event.

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the star of the show was Day, who overcame a back injury suffered on wednesday prior to the tournament, to win his third european tour title

Gold medallists in this summer's Olympic golf competitions will receive a oneyear exemption into the game's major championships. The men's champion in Rio will be exempt into the Masters, US Open, Open Championship and US PGA Championship in 2017, while the women's exemption begins with the 2016 Evian Championship - which takes place after this summer’s Games - and includes the ANA Inspiration, Women's PGA Championship, US Women's Open and Women's British Open in 2017. The game’s governing bodies gathered at Augusta National Golf Club to make the announcement ahead of the Masters Tournament. Masters Chairman Billy Payne said: “New audiences from all over the world, some for the very first time ever, will be exposed to our great sport and come to know and appreciate the amazing athletes and heroes in golf. From this greater visibility, we believe will evolve greater participation in our game, and it will be a certain beneficiary.” Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of the R&A added: “It was at Royal Birkdale in 2008 that some of the leading organizations in our sport announced golf's bid to return to the Olympic Games. I would like to recognize the efforts of my predecessor and President of the International Golf Federation, Peter Dawson, who along with many others was instrumental in achieving our collective aim of seeing golf rejoin sports greatest showpiece, the Olympic Games. All of us at the R&A are looking forward to seeing our great players join the finest athletes in the world.” While the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day would be exempt for the Majors regardless of winning in Rio, officials believe the nature of Olympic qualifying could produce a winner from the 60-strong fields who would really benefit from the exemption. Pete Bevacqua, the chief executive officer of the PGA of America, said: "From our perspective, whether it's someone that is in the top rankings of the world or someone who is that Cinderella story, in both ways it's a positive.

Photographs by David Cannon/Getty Images

LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION. DRAMA ON THE WORLD STAGE

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Inside the Ropes with

SSP ChowRaSIa

By Bharath Arvind

14 Professional career wins including four on the Asian Tour, three on the European Tour and the Hero Indian Open 2016. Currently 4th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and 35th on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings. A self-made professional with deep roots at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Golf Digest India caught up with SSP Chowrasia prior to his departure for the European Tour’s Real Club Valderrama Open de Espana and onwards to China. We wish him a successful season on the European Tour with more accolades to come. 90 golf digest india | may 2016

Your 3rd European Tour win came fittingly at the Hero Indian Open 2016. Your thoughts on the importance of this win? I had been in a position to win the Hero Indian Open four times prior to 2016. Finally this year I had that opportunity after the third round. I then spoke to Jeev Milkha Singh for advice as I always look up to him. He gave me a lot of pointers to boost my confidence and help me with the situation. He told me that your opponents may have a spate of 4-5 birdies at the start of the round, but that shouldn’t shake your confidence and focus. Opponents will also feel nervous after a string of birdies so you are not alone there. You will also get your chances to make birdies and once you make them, it puts the pressure back on them. And true enough, at the start of the final round, Anirban birdied the first 3 holes and I thought to myself that this is exactly what Jeev spoke about. I kept telling myself that I too will have my chances

and sure enough I made them count. Somewhere deep down those words from Jeev stood by me and helped me through. It was a very gratifying for me and my family. My wife, Simantini, who was even more affected than me after my narrow loss last year, was elated and overjoyed. It truly was a great feeling. My home club, Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) had organized a lovely celebration a few days after I returned and it felt great to see the genuine happiness on everyone’s face.

Goals and targets for 2016? I now have full playing privileges on the European Tour for the next two years. Prior to the Indian Open win I was on a conditional tour card and things were uncertain for me in terms of where I would be playing. All that changed overnight! I will focus on playing on the European Tour and look to win on foreign soil. All my wins have come on home soil hence this is an important target for me.

Photograph by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

India Digest Inside The Ropes

Inside The Ropes

India Digest

My pre shot routine is where I do all the thinking. I picture my shot and draw my target line 3

Describe a day in the life of SSP. Off Season- Since I now travel a lot for tournaments, I like to spend time on fitness when I am home. I usually wake up by 5:30am and then head straight to the course to practice. I spend a few hours there and then go for a work out later in the evening with my wife. I don’t do heavy weights, but focus more on mobility, strengthening & endurance. I work on my core because that is most essential for a golfer. In the past I worked very closely for a number of years with Pritam Saikia. So I know the exercises that need to be done and focus on them. The trainer here at my club also helps me with tips periodically. During Season- It’s early starts during tournaments, ofcourse depending on the tee time. In general, I eat an early dinner and try to call it a night relatively early. On the tour there are quite a few Indians now so we generally try to get dinner or spend sometime together before we retire for the evening. My wife also travels with me most of the time so it feels good and doesn’t get lonely or boring.

amateur golf and went straight to Q- School in 1998. Once I earned my PGTI tour card I was playing regularly in all tournaments. I have largely been self-coached. Before I started playing any tournaments I had met an Australian gentleman in RCGC who advised me to never change my swing. I had always kept that in mind and worked on my game by myself. However over time and quite naturally the swing needed some alteration. It wasn’t until I was on the Asian Tour that I started working with Pritam Saikia. I realized then that the guys on the tour were playing a level higher then me and in order for me to beat them I needed to make some alterations in my swing. So working with Pritam helped me and we worked on different areas of the game. I couldn’t continue working with him after a point because my travel schedule wouldn’t permit it. I also worked with Sundeep ‘Chimmy’ Verma and still am working a bit with him, but again our schedules are hectic so it becomes tough. I am currently in talks with a few coaches and will soon decide on one.

What goes on in your mind when you’re addressing the ball and about to start your takeaway? My pre shot routine is where I do all the thinking. I picture my shot and draw my target line. When I address the ball, I don’t think about anything except focus on the target line and start my swing.

Tell us about how you started playing golf and when you realized that you had what it takes to compete against the best in the world. Initially, my father never wanted me to pursue golf as he had worked on a golf course all his life at my home club. His concern was more out of financial constraints and challenges it entailed and how we would be able to overcome that. My mother was always supportive and would help me out. I had the passion to play and caddied for a long time to make money to be able to play the game. Neil Law, one of the members at the club, saw my passion and ability for the game and gave me his golf set. I used to practice a lot thanks to that and that helped me shape my game. Soon I realized that I wanted to turn professional. My father ofcourse was very sceptical and wondered how we would be able to afford it. However, with some money I put aside from caddying and with a little help from my mother (without dad’s knowledge), I managed to play my first pro event in 1997 at the Patna Open. Luckily from the very first event I started earning money and that helped me move forward. I never played

with wife Simantini at the hero Indian open 2016

‘SSP has shown tremendous guts and heart since he came out on the European Tour in 2008. He is such a happy person, always smiling, no matter whether he has had a good day or not‘ – JEEv Milka SingH

Tell us about your caddy and family support. When I’m India, my nephew Punit Chowrasia, who was with me at the Hero Indian Open usually caddies for me. I told him that if he has aspirations of playing then this is the best way to learn. In Asia and South East Asia a Malaysian named Addey caddies for me and we have a good rapport. In Europe, Marco an Italian caddy is with me. Marco and I were quite perplexed on how the season would pan out when we were in Thailand as the season didn’t get off to a good start. We were contemplating my travel schedule and then the Indian Open happened and that changed everything. Marco was also in Delhi for the tournament but was carrying someone elses bag. He will now be with me for the next two years on the European Tour. Now that there has been a little bit of success in my career, my wife and my nephews stay up to date with my daily scores and share that with my parents. My parents just need to know whether I’m ‘under’ or ‘over’ par and don’t really understand much else. My nephews, who also play golf, try and explain the finer details to my parents to help them better understand the nuances of each day. It’s quite hilarious to listen to my parents after I have come back from a tournament and hear them narrate about what they understood of the result. Despite being on a golf course all his life, my dad still doesn’t really understand pars, birdies and bogeys. may 2016 | golf digest india

India Digest Inside The Ropes

JeevMilkha Singh is one person that I am very close to on the tour and he is certainly a role model for me The winning moment Hero Indian Open 2016

Photograph by Bharath Arvind

I love spending time with my family and do that a lot when I am home. It’s nice to see them and the other youngsters in the family feel happy about where I am and where I am heading. The youngsters want to be like their ‘chacha’ but I tell them that they need to be better than me! I spend time with them and also with other youngsters at the club and help them in every way I can when I am present. I want to encourage them to dream and achieve.

Any mentors or role models? Jeev Milkha Singh is one person that I am very close to on the tour and he is certainly a role model for me. I share a lot of my thoughts with him. He has also gone through his struggles to get where he is and we have a bond.

Anything you wish to say to your sponsors? I definitely would like to thank Mr. H.R. Srinivasan (Vice Chairman & MD- TAKE Solutions) who is my sponsor. I was introduced to him by Jeev during the start of the Louis Philippe Cup (Pro Golf League) in 2012 when they were buying teams.

92 golf digest india | may 2016

Mr.Srinivasan took me on his team and one evening we all sat down for dinner prior to the start of the tournament and it was then that Jeev suggested to him that he should take me under his aegis for the future of my career. Immediately on hearing Jeev’s thoughts, Mr.Srinivasan very spontaneously verbally committed to it. After that I received the contract papers and have been extremely grateful for his support. I feel nice when I am around him and I do my best to meet him as frequently as possible. Our relationship is not like a sponsor and athlete, it’s a very strong friendship. I also would like to thank Titleist who sponsor my golf balls, glove and shoes and TaylorMade who sponsor my driver.

Your thoughts on the 2016 Rio Olympics and the importance of it for Indian golf? It seems quite certain that I should joinAnirban and represent India on the Men’s Olympic team. This is a very significant step for Indian golf especially for the youngsters who are watching us. This will give them great confidence because if someone from my background could make it then they

‘SSP has consistently displayed all characteristics of a true champion. TAKE Solutions recognized this very early on in his career and has supported him on his journey ever since. His tremendous success over the years has validated our judgement and we are proud to see SSP stand as one of golf’s most respected names. TAKE will continue to support promising golfers like SSP, Chikka, Khalin Joshi and Shubankar Sharma in its agenda to put Indian golf on the global map.’ – SrInIvASAn H.r., vICE CHAIrmAn & mAnAgIng DIrECTor, TAKE SoluTIonS

certainly can and should work hard for it. I really hope it serves as an inspiration for the younger generation to follow.

www.biguineindia.com

BiguineIndia

jeanclaudebiguineindia

India Digest Inside The Ropes

I would strongly urge youngsters to work hard and practice every day. Nothing trumps that. SSP’s favourites’ Golf course in India My home course- Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) and my second home course Delhi Golf Club Golf course around the world The Old Course- St. Andrews, Scotland - The Home of Golf Movie I don’t really get time for movies now, but any Aamir Khan movie as he is my favourite actor Music Nothing in particular, I listen to what my wife has on her phone or the radio Drink Fresh juices especially Orange Food I love Korean BBQ, Japanese cuisine and also Thai food Superstitions None really. I wear what I feel like on the day Essentials in your travel bag My travel pillow

Photograph by Bharath Arvind

What do you feel is needed to grow golf in India? This is a very relevant question and I am glad I have the opportunity to address it now. I definitely think golf has grown over the years in India. Earlier, players like Gaurav Ghei and Jeev Milkha Singh had already placed us on the world stage, which was a great achievement. Now there are quite a few of us at the international stage and this is where the government’s role becomes critical. We need a lot more public golf courses in our country to give more opportunities for upcoming talent and also grow interest in the game. Every state must have atleast two or three sustainable public courses.

We have two or three players representing India at the Olympics which is a great feat and all the more support from the government needs to come in. If this happens, then we will see the number of golfers India produces double or triple over the next few years.

Any tips or advice for youngsters planning to play pro golf. I would strongly urge them to work hard and practice hard every day. Nothing trumps that. They have a lot more opportunities today as compared to when we were rising. So they must make the most of it and stay focused to achieve success.

‘With three European tour victories he has shown his class. He’s always been a good friend, with a good heart and this Hero Indian Open win could not have happened to a nicer guy. SSP has a lot of friends and admirers on tour due to his commitment and of course his amazing short game which was on display during crucial moments in the tournament. I wish him the best always.‘ – JEEv MIlka SIngH 94 golf digest india | may 2016

Mid-round power snack? Banana & a Granola bar

Golf Course on your wishlist Augusta National- The Masters Mentor Jeev Milkha Singh Sport apart from golf Football Holiday destination. Home to be honest, since I am always travelling now What are you a sucker for? I love spending time with my friends and gossiping!

This is one of the greatest temples. This is more than 3,000 years of defiance.

this is ego

ASWAN

N I L E VA L L E Y

thisisegypt.com

India Digest Spotlight

The

Tour

10 pros, 1 dream The pGa Tour I

n the summer of 2015, with a dream of playing on the PGA Tour one day, 10 Indian professional golfers embarked on an 8-city, 45-day golf tour of the U.S. starting from New York City in June and ending in Columbus, Ohio in August. The tour covered some of the finest golf courses in Texas, Arizona, California, Washington and Minnesota. The league was organized by the Indo-American Professional Golf Association (theiapga.org), a non-profit, umbrella network of golf leagues across the US. Formed in 2014, the IAPGA

is crowd-funded by individuals with the hope of propelling more Indian professional golfers onto the PGA Tour or Web. com Tour. Indian golfers in the past have struggled to raise resources and make the transition from the Asian & European Tours to the PGA Tour. IAPGA aims to raise funds with the support of the Indo-American community to ensure Indian Golfers have a greater chance of qualifying for the Web.Com Tour & ultimately earn their PGA Tour Card. “Our goal for the IAPGA was to create just the right kind of

96 golf digest india | may 2016

environment for the players who really want to play on the PGA Tour. The idea was to get the players just what they need before heading to the arduous PGA or Web.com Tour including exposure to different conditions and turf in the United States, competitive practice during ‘Off season’ in Asia due to monsoons, the ability to source equipment and services of experts in the game and finally, a way to raise the funds that may be applied to the expenses of Qualifying school and the travel included.” – Gurbaaz Mann, Founder & Promoter, IAPGA

“THE GOAL FOR THE IAPGA WAS TO CREATE JuST THE RIGHT KInD OF environment for the players WHO REALLy WAnT TO PLAy On THE PGA TOuR. Gurbaaz mann

Spotlight

The Digest

Players and their PGTI 2015 Rankings

The Players - 2015

A strong list of pros took part in the inaugural tour in 2015. The golf professionals were invited on the basis of their rankings.

abhijit Chaddha #3

Shubhankar Sharma #6

amardip Sinh malik #15

ajeetesh Sandhu #16

Sujjan Singh #17

rahul bajaj #23

angad Cheema #30

abhishek Jha #45

2015 Courses Played

1. Washington D.C. - Lansdowne Golf course 2. Columbus Ohio - Bent Tree Golf Club & Longaberger GC 3. Cedar Rapids - Elmcrest GC homecourse for Zach Johnson 4. Minneapolis Minnesota Stonebrook GC Shakopee 5. Houston - Sweetwater GC, TPC Woodlands , Redstone 6. Phoenix - Whirlwind - Cattail and Devil's Claw 7. San Francisco - Bayonet 2014 Half Moon Bay 2015 8. Seattle - Redmond Ridge GC. (OKI Golf courses)

ashbeer Saini #78

“IAPGA wanted that more players can be helped through funding to come and qualify for the PGA tour. We believe that we are no less than any top players, hence all we need is a push in the right direction and funding to reach the dream.”- Rahul Bajaj

Gurbaaz mann Player manager

IT’S HIGH TIME THAT ASIAn PLAyERS RECEIvE RECOGnITIOn THEy DESERvE FOR THEIR SKILLS. I AM HAPPy TO WITnESS THE InITIATIvE OF IAPGA

LET uS SuPPORT THE IAPGA In OuR EnDEAvOuR TO DRIvE ASPIRInG TOP PLAyERS TO THE PGA TOuR

THE IAPGA IS A GROunD BREAKInG ORGAnISATIOn THAT WILL PRODuCE THE FuTuRE GOLFInG GREATS FROM AROunD THE WORLD

I FOuGHT LOnG AnD HARD TO MAKE IT On My OWn. THE IAPGA AIMS TO CHAnGE THAT By HELPInG PLAyERS ALOnG THE WAy. I BELIEvE IT CAn HELP MAKE THE WORLD’S BEST PLAyERS

JYOTI ranDHaWa

JEEV mILKHa SInGH

DanIEL CHOPra

arJun aTWaL

Seattle

The 2016 Tour

The plan for the 2016 tour is well underway with the participation of 60 – 90 NRI’s in each city in a Pro-Am format spread over two or three days. The tour will also conduct golf clinics for over 40 guests in each city as well as a Networking Dinner for the community in each city. The support of the Indian American Community will go a long way in motivating these golfers to step up their game and push them closer to their goal of playing on the PGA Tour. Photographs Courtesy IAPGA

New York City Columbus Washington D.C.

San Francisco

Tentative Itinerary (July-August 2016) • Seattle • San Francisco • Los Angeles

Los Angeles

• Dallas • Houston Dallas Houston

• Columbus • Washington D.C. • New York City may 2016 | golf digest india

India Digest Promotional Feature

THE FOUR DAY, 72 HOLE TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD AT KGA, IS SPECIALLY APPROVED BY THE PROFESSIONAL GOLF TOUR OF INDIA (PGTI) AND IS THE 2ND HIGHEST PURSE OF ANY DOMESTIC TOURNAMENT. Perhaps the most sought after Tournament on the domestic pro circuit is the Louis Philippe Cup which on a per player basis is the richest event on the PGTI Calendar. With Rs 1.2 crore being shared by only 24 players, it’s no wonder this annual team event has Indian pro’s jostling for spots. The Tournament format of the Louis Philippe Cup was conceived to increase the appeal of professional golfers to the general public by involving fans in a cityteam franchise type of event similar to the IPL cricket event. Fans are more likely to follow their cityteam’s performance in the tournament and read up on the profiles of their team members. This benefits the corporates involved with supporting teams as they get to interact with the players and form an association. The association between leading Indian corporate and Indian pros has been most successful outcome with at least 10 Indian players signing individual spon-

sorship deals with city team owners worth a cumulative INR 7 – 8 Crores as a result of the Louis Philippe Cup over the past 5 years. The Louis Philippe Cup has had a rich history featuring Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, AnirbanLahiri, Gaganjeet Bhullar, SSP Chowrasia and many other Indian star players competing regularly. It’s the only event each year which besides the rich prize purse reimburses players for air travel and provides 5 star accomodation as well as hospitality of breakfast and lunch to the players on a daily basis. The gala opening dinner and pro-am of the tournament has had a legendary following attracting Bollywood stars such as Ileana D’Cruz, Madhavan amongst others. It’s no wonder that the Indian players look forward to the Louis Philippe Cup each year and compete hard to be well placed in the year end rankings in order to get an automatic spot in the tournament.

The Introduction of Team Managers

Selection Criteria and Format

As per the team selection criteria, two players from the top 16 ranked professionals on the PGTI’s 2015 Final Order of Merit will play on each team and will be joined by the sponsor’s pick to constitute a three member team. The total purse of INR 1.2 crore is shared by 24 players.The strokeplay format mirrors the format to be used in Rio Olympics 2016 i.e. four day individual strokeplay rounds. This ensures that the interest of all teams remains till the end.

Past Winners 2015 Winner Runner-up 2014 Winner Runner-up 2013 Winner Runner-up 2012 Winner Runner-up

Ahmedabad Chennai Ahmedabad Bangalore Delhi Gurgaon Ahmedabad Bangalore

TEAMS The Eight teams are • Navratna Ahmedabad • TAKE Chennai • DLF Gurgaon • Jaypee Greens Greater Noida • Zion Hills Bengaluru • Dev Chandigarh • Hyderabad Blues • Laqshya Mumbai

Team Prize Money Distribution POSITION

PRIZE MONEY 1ST 36 Lacs 2ND 24 Lacs 3RD 18 Lacs 4TH 12 Lacs 5TH 9 Lacs 6TH 7Lacs 7TH 5.5Lacs 8th 4.5 Lacs Lowest Indiviual Score 3 Lacs Manager-Winning Team 1 Lac TOTAL ` 1.2 Crores

A 3 day training camp will be held at Zion Hills Golf County for all teams along with their respective team managers in preparation for the tournament. The introduction of team managers (Senior pro golf coaches) this year will serve to boost team morale, camaraderie and strategize the team’s game plan. Past winners, Team Navratna Ahmedabad had highlighted the importance of team bonding as a recipe for success and with the presence of eminent team managers, this year’s teams will certainly get a further boost.

98 golf digest india | may 2016

Promotional Feature India Digest R. Madhavan

Crowds gathered in large numbers to support the teams at KGA in 2015 Jeev Milkha Singh Kapil Dev Rahil Gangjee at the junior clinic

With three wins in four years, Team Navratna Ahmedabad is the most successful team in the mega event.

Schedule 2016

Jyoti Randhawa walks the ramp

Papa CJ and Ileana D'cruz add glitter to the gala dinner

May 27-29

Training Camp at Zion Hills Golf County for all Teams

May 30

Practice Round for Players at KGA Pro Am Gala Dinner at ITC Gardenia

May 31

Pro-Am

June 1

Round 1

June 2

Round 2

June 3

Round 3

June 4

Final Round & Prize Ceremony

}

KGA, Bengaluru

may 2016 | golf digest india

India Digest Promotional Feature

Louis Philippe Cup - Team Profile

Team Manager: Devang Shah

AHMEDABAD

2015 Asian Tour Stats

Mithun Perera

Rank

Earnings

USD171,784

Top 10s

DOB:

26 Dec 1986

Turned Pro:

2010

Sponsor's Pick

Age: 29

Home Club: Royal Colombo Golf Course

Career Highlights

3rd at 2015 Hero Indian Open (Asian Tour);Runner Up- 2014 Panasonic Open India (Asian Tour); Member – Winning Team, 2012, 2014 & 2015 Louis Philippe Cup; Winner- 2014 Standard Chartered Open, Sri Lanka; Winner- 2014 PGTI Eagleburg Open; Runner Up- 2013 Zaykabar Myanmar Open (Asian Tour); Winner- 2012 Standard Chartered Open, Sri Lanka

2015 PGTI Stats

Anura Rohana

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 18,61,066

Top 10s

DOB:

11 Sep 1973

Turned Pro:

2003

Age: 42

Home Club: Karnataka Golf Association

Career Highlights

Runner Up- 2016 PGTI Players Championship, Eagleton- The Golf Resort; 3rd at 2015 Golconda Masters & 2015 Western India Oxford Masters; Winner- 2014 BILT Open; Winner- 2012 PGTI Players Championship, Prestige Golfshire; Winner- 2011 The Global Green Bangalore Open;

2015 PGTI Stats

Shankar Das

Career Highlights

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 18,99,828

Top 10s

DOB:

12 Jan 1983

Turned Pro:

2002

Home Club:

Royal Calcutta Golf Club

Age: 33

Runner Up- 2016 Kolkata Classic; Winner-IndianOil Servo Masters 2015; Runner Up- 2015 PGTI Players Championship, Rambagh GC; Winner- PGTI 2014 Order of Merit; WinnerMcLeod Russel Tour C’ship 2014; Winner- 2013 PGTI Players C’ship, Panchkula GC; Winner2011 PGTI Players Championship, Poona Club; Winner- 2011 IndianOilXtrapremium Masters

100 golf digest india | may 2016

Promotional Feature India Digest

Louis Philippe Cup - Team Profile

Team Manager: Tarun Sardesai

BENGALURU

2015 Asian Tour Stats

Rahil Gangjee

Rank

Earnings

USD 106,042

Top 10s

DOB:

02 Oct 1978

Turned Pro:

2001

Sponsor's Pick

Age: 37

Home Club: Royal Calcutta Golf Club

Career Highlights

10th at Hero Indian Open 2016 (European Tour); 9th at Maybank Championship Malaysia 2016 (European Tour); Runner Up- 2014 Panasonic Open India (Asian Tour); 4th at The Championship 2014 (Asian Tour); Winner- 2004 Volkswagen Masters (Asian Tour)

2015 PGTI Stats

M Dharma

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 17,02,419

Top 10s

DOB:

2 Mar 1986

Turned Pro:

2005

Age: 29

Home Club: Karnataka Golf Association

Career Highlights

Runner Up- 2016CIAL Cochin Masters presented by PGTI; Runner Up- 2015 CG Open; 5th at IndianOil Servo Masters 2015; Winner- 2013 Tata Open;

Abhijit Chadha

2015 PGTI Stats Rank

Earnings

Rs. 26,82,203

Top 10s

DOB:

22 Aug 1991

Turned Pro:

2012

Age: 24

Home Club: Chandigarh Golf Club

Career Highlights

Winner- 2015 BILT Open; 3rd at 2015 PGTI Players Championship presented by Panchkula GC & 2015 TAKE Solutions India Masters (Asian Development Tour); Runner Up- 2014 PGTI Players Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ship, Nodia GC; Winner- 2012 Surya Nepal Masters may 2016 | golf digest india

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India Digest Promotional Feature

Louis Philippe Cup - Team Profile

CHANDIGARH

Team Manager: Jayanan 2015 Asian Tour Stats

Himmat Rai

Rank

Earnings

USD 139,473

Top 10s

DOB:

18 May 1987

Turned Pro:

2007

Sponsor's Pick

Age: 29

Home Club: DLF Golf & Country Club

Career Highlights

Runner Up- 2015 Ho Tram Open (Asian Tour); 3rd at 2015 Philippine Open (Asian Tour); Winner- 2011 ISPS Handa Singapore Classic (Asian Tour); Winner- 2011 DLF Masters; Winner- 2009 PGTI Players Championship, Tollygunge Club

2015 PGTI Stats

Amardip Malik

Rank

Earnings

Rs.15,29,302

Top 10s

DOB:

4 May 1985

Turned Pro:

2004

Age: 31

Home Club: Army Golf Course

Career Highlights

Runner Up- 2015 Tata Open; Winner- 2014 PGTI Noida Masters; Runner Up- 2013 PGTI Players Championship, Panchkula Golf Club; Runner Up- 2012 PGTI Players Championship, Poona Golf Club; Runner Up- 2010 BILT Open; Runner Up- 2008 ONGC Masters

2015 PGTI Stats

Sujjan Singh

Career Highlights

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 15,23,785

Top 10s

DOB:

12 Sep 1980

Turned Pro:

2005

Age: 35

Home Club: Chandigarh Golf Club

Runner Up- 2013 PGTI Players Championship, Chandigarh Golf Club; Winner- 2012 Taman Dayu Championship, Indonesia (Asian Development Tour); Winner- 2011 PGTI Players Championship, Oxford Golf Resort; Winner- 2010 Aircel PGTI Players Championship, Panchkula Golf Club; Runner Up- 2010 DDA Open Golf Championship; Runner Up- 2010 American Express Bangladesh Open

102 golf digest india | may 2016

Promotional Feature India Digest

Louis Philippe Cup - Team Profile

Team Manager: D. Vasu 2015 Asian Tour Stats

SSP Chowrasia

Rank

Earnings

USD 343,272

Top 10s

DOB:

15 May 1978

Turned Pro:

1997

Sponsor's Pick

Age: 38

Home Club: Royal Calcutta Golf Club

Career Highlights

CHENNAI

Winner- Hero Indian Open 2016 (European Tour); Runner Up- 2015 Hero Indian Open (European Tour); Winner- 2014 Panasonic Open India (Asian Tour); Winner- 2011 Avantha Masters (European Tour); Winner- 2008 EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters (European Tour); Runner up at Hero Indian Open (Asian Tour) in 2013, 2006 and 1999

2015 PGTI Stats

Chikkarangappa

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 48,87,440

Top 10s

DOB:

30 Sep 1993

Turned Pro:

2013

Age: 22

Home Club: Eagleton Golf Resort

Career Highlights

Winner- 2015 McLeod Russel Tour Championship; Winner- 2015 TAKE Solutions India Masters (Asian Development Tour); Winner- 2015 PGTI Players C’ship, Kensville G&CC; Winner- 2014 TAKE Solutions India Masters (ADT); Winner- 2014 - Surya Nepal Masters, PGTI Kashmir Masters, CG Open

2015 PGTI Stats

Khalin Joshi

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 26,39,763

Top 10s

DOB:

11 Aug 1992

Turned Pro:

2013

Age: 23

Home Club: Karnataka Golf Association

Career Highlights

Runner Up- 2016 Kolkata Classic; Runner Up-2015 Basundhara Bangladesh Open (Asian Tour); Winner- 2015 PGTI Ahmedabad Masters; Runner Up- 2015 McLeod Russel Tour Championship; Winner- 2014 PGTI Players C’ship, Noida GC; Runner Up- 2014 PGTI Pahalgam Masters; Runner Up- 13th TATA Open (2014) may 2016 | golf digest india

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India Digest Promotional Feature

GREATER NOIDA

Louis Philippe Cup - Team Profile

Team Manager: Vijay Divecha 2015 Asian Tour Stats

Rashid Khan

Rank

Earnings

USD 135,107

Top 10s

DOB:

15 Feb 1991

Turned Pro:

2010

Sponsor's Pick

Age: 25

Home Club: Delhi Golf Club

Career Highlights

Winner- 2014 SAIL-SBI Open (Asian Tour), Winner- 2014 Chiangmai Golf Classic (Asian Tour), Winner of 2014 PGTI Eagleburg Masters, Winner of BILT Open 2013, Winner of PGTI Players Championship 2013, Classic Golf Resort, Manesar, Winner of 2012 PGTI Players Championship, Coimbatore Golf Club, Coimbatore, Winner of 2011 Surya Nepal Masters, Winner of Asian Games silver medal in 2010

2015 PGTI Stats

Shamim Khan

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 19,80,140

Top 10s

DOB:

1 May 1978

Turned Pro:

1995

Age: 37

Home Club: Delhi Golf Club

Career Highlights

Winner- 2015 The Hemisphere PGTI Masters; Runner Up- 2015 Golconda Masters; Winner2014 IndianOil Service Masters; Winner-PGTI Players Championship 2013, Classic Golf Resort; Winner-2012 PGTI Order of Merit; Winner- 2012 BILT Open; Winner-2012 PGTI Players Championship, Classic Golf Resort; Winner- 2012 PGTI Players Championship, Poona Golf Club

2015 PGTI Stats

Udayan Mane

Career Highlights

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 22,21,507

Top 10s

DOB:

24 Feb 1991

Turned Pro:

2015

Age: 25

Home Club: Eagleton- The Golf Resort

Winner- 2015 Western India Oxford Masters; Winner- 2015 PGTI Players Championship, Rambagh GC; 5th at 2015 BILT Open; 6th at 2015 CG Open

104 golf digest india | may 2016

Promotional Feature India Digest

Louis Philippe Cup - Team Profile

Team Manager: Karan Bindra 2015 PGTI Stats Rank

Earnings

Rs. 1,45,250

Sponsor's Pick

Top 10s

GURGAON

Manu Gandas

DOB:

15 March 1996

Turned Pro:

2015

Age: 20

Home Club: DLF Golf & Country Club

Career Highlights

11th at Golconda Masters 2015; Silver Medal Asian Youth Games, China 2013; Winner, 2013 Tamil Nadu Amateur Open

2015 PGTI Stats

Shubhankar Sharma

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 20,65,445

Top 10s

DOB:

21 July 1996

Turned Pro:

2013

Age: 19

Home Club: DLF Golf & Country Club

Career Highlights

Winner- 2016 Kolkata Classic; Winner- 2016 PGTI Players Championship, Eagleton- The Golf Resort; Runner Up- 2016 Golconda Masters; 3rd at 2016 Basundhara Bangladesh Open (Asian Tour); Runner Up- 2015 TAKE Solutions India Masters (Asian Development Tour); Runner Up- 2015 PGTI Cochin Masters, Winner- 2014 PGTI Cochin Masters, Winner- 2013 All-India Amateur Championship at Royal Calcutta Golf Club

2015 PGTI Stats

Ashok Kumar

Rank

Earnings

Rs. 19,70,934

Top 10s

DOB:

20 July 1981

Turned Pro:

2002

Age: 34

Home Club: Delhi Golf Club

Career Highlights

Winner- 2015 CG Open; Runner Up- 2011 SRF All India Professional Golf Matchplay Championship; Runner Up- 2011 Haryana Open; Winner- 2010 DLF Masters; Winner2010 Global Green Bangalore Open; Winner- 2010 Tata Open; Winner- 2010 DDA Open Golf Championship; Winner- 2010 PGTI Order of Merit may 2016 | golf digest india

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India Digest Promotional Feature

Louis Philippe Cup - Team Profile

Team Manager: Rahul Ganapathy

HYDERABAD

2015 Asian Tour Stats

Gaganjeet Bhullar

Rank

Earnings

$98,334

Top 10s

DOB:

27 April 1988

Turned Pro:

2006

Sponsor's Pick

Age: 28

Home Club: Jaypee Greens Golf GC

Career Highlights

Winner- 2013 Indonesia Open; Winner- 2012 Ventian Macau Open; Winner- 2012 Yeangder Tournament Players Championship; Winner- 2011 Gujarat Kensville Challenge (European Challenge Tour); Winner- 2010 Asian Tour International; Winner- 2009 Indonesia President Invitational

Ajeetesh Sandhu

2015 PGTI Stats Rank

Earnings

Rs. 15,26,563

Top 10s

DOB:

10 Sep 1988

Turned Pro:

2008

Age: 27

Home Club: Chandigarh Golf Club

Career Highlights

Winner- 2016 Golconda Masters; Runner Up- 2015 BILT Open; Winner- 2012 DLF Masters; 3rd at 2012 PGTI Players Championship, Noida Golf Course; 3rd at 2011 SAIL-SBI Open (Asian Tour); Runner Up- 2008 HUDA-GTPL-Unitech Haryana Open

Om Prakash Chouhan Career Highlights

2015 PGTI Stats Rank

Earnings

Rs. 19,02,140

Top 10s

DOB:

31 July 1988

Turned Pro:

2002

Age: 28

Home Club: DSOI Golf Club

Runner Up- 2015 BILT Open; Winner- 2014 J&K Bank PGTI Pahalgam Masters; Runner Up- 2014 CG Open; Runner Up- 2014 PGTI Players Championship, Coimbatore Golf Club; Winner- 13th TATA Open (2014); Runner Up- 2014 CG Open

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Promotional Feature India Digest

Louis Philippe Cup - Team Profile

Team Manager: Bamby Randhawa 2015 Asian Tour Stats

Chiragh Kumar

Rank

Earnings

USD 187,275

Top 10s

DOB:

15 Dec 1983

Turned Pro:

2006

Sponsor's Pick

Age: 32

Home Club: Delhi Golf Club

Career Highlights

MUMBAI

Winner- 2015 Panasonic India Open (Asian Tour); Runner Up- 2015 Venetian Macau Open (Asian Tour); Winner- 2013 Sri Lanka Ports Authority Open; Winner- 2011 PGTI Order of Merit; Winner- 2011 BILT Open; Runner Up- 2011 Hero Indian Open (Asian Tour); Runner Up- 2011 AircelPGTI Players Championship, Chandigarh Golf Club; Runner Up- 2011

Mukesh Kumar

2015 PGTI Stats Rank

Earnings

Rs. 39,41,710

Top 10s

DOB:

1 Aug 1965

Turned Pro:

1984

Age: 51

Home Club: Army Golf Course

Career Highlights

Winner- 2015 Tata Open; Winner- 2015 PGTI Cochin Masters; Runner Up- 2015 IndianOil Servo Masters; Runner Up- 2015 PGTI Players Championship, Panchkula Golf Club;Winner- 2013 PGTI Players Championship, Chandigarh Golf Club; Winner- 2012 PGTI Players Championship, Poona Club; Winner- 2012 Indian Oil Xtra Premium Masters

Abhinav Lohan

2015 PGTI Stats Rank

Earnings

Rs. 16,65,485

Top 10s

DOB:

13 Dec 1989

Turned Pro:

2011

Age: 26

Home Club: DLF Golf & Country Club

Career Highlights

Runner Up- 2015 Western India Oxford Masters; 3rd at 2015 TAKE Solutions India Masters (Asian Development Tour); Runner Up- McLeod Russel Tour Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ship 2014; Runner Up- 2012 PGTI Players Championship, Golden Greens Golf Club; Silver medal at 2010 Asian Games, Guangzhou may 2016 | golf digest india

107

India Digest Tournament News

TourNameNT NewS iN a u g u R a l p u Ne

Chik

RM Y e a NgDeR

anirban lahiri named “2015 indian sportsperson of the Year” by Sports Illustrated India pipping the likes of Virat Kohli, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza and Pankaj Advani amongst others

h e s t 3 at C h a

iN g

p eN

Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta conjured two late birdies on the final day to win the inaugural Pune Open and his ninth professional title. The 31-year old shot a final round of five under 67, for a total of 15-under and one shot clear of 2nd placed Sri Lankan Anura Rohana and Delhi’s Rashid Khan. The win earned him INR 4.5 lakhs. Earnings: INR 6.94 Lakhs and PGTI Rolex Rankings: 6th as on April 28

s f iNi

Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa finished a creditable T3 at the Asian Development Tour’s US$150,000 Charming Yeangder tournament. The 22-year old finished 19-under par and one shot behind eventual winner, Thailand’s Lin Wen-tang. Chikka earned USD 10,500 for his effort in Thailand.

Mysore’s Yashas Chandra held on to his nerves and drained a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole avoiding a play-off and emerged as the champion of the 11th edition of the Delhi NCR Cup. Yashas, who trailed the overnight leader, Bangalore’s Jaibir Singh by a couples of shots overnight,shot a final round of two-over par 74 for an overall total of 7-over and won by a stroke over Amir Khan of Rourkee.The prestigious Delhi Golf Club witnessed the continuation of a glorious tradition as prominent amateurs from India, Thailand, Scotland, England, Wales, UAE and Nepal came together to compete in one of the most sought after events on the IGU’s calendar.

iNauguRal Bti OpeN

Sujjan Singh

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Kolkata’s S.S.P. Chowrasia was honoured as the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month for March, thanks largely to his win at the Hero Indian Open 2016. The 37-year old produced a gutsy display of golf to win his third Asian Tour and European Tour title by defeating 2015 Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Year AnirbanLahiri and Korean rising star Jeunghun Wang by two shots.

Delhi NCR Cup

Shiv Kapur finished T5 and his season’s best thus far at the US$ 1.25mn Panasonic Open Golf Championship at the Chiba Country Club, Japan. Kapur had a one shot lead going into the final round but a round of 1 over par 72 saw his chances of a 11-year title drought fade away. He earned US$ 51,960 for his effort in Japan.

Ajeetesh Sandhu

hiltON gOlfeR Of the MONth

Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh finished 3rd with a total of 14-under at the inaugural BTI Open in Bangladesh. The 35-year old professional was best amongst the Indians. His compatriot, 27-year old Ajeetesh Sandhu also from Chandigarh shot a final round of 7-under to finish T4 at 12-under par. The event was won by home favorite Siddikur Rahman after he beat countryman Md Sajib Ali in a playoff as they tied at 15-under after regulation play. Sujjan pocketed INR 2.1 lakhs for his effort while Ajeetesh collected INR 1.75 lakhs. Sujjan’s Earnings: Ajeetesh’s Earnings: INR 4.53 Lakhs as on April 28 INR 11.24 Lakhs as on April 28 PGTI Rolex Rankings: PGTI Rolex Rankings: 11th as on April 28 3rd as on April 28

Tournament News India Digest

L-R: Niraj Shirgaokar (MD, Ugar Sugar), Rajen Gandhi (Capt. BPGC), Afshan Fatima (Professional), KrishavTekchandani, Mayur Aiya (Director, Freightbridge Logistics)

Neha Tripathi, winner of HWPGT 2016 Leg 3 & 4

Gursimar Badwal delivers the winning speech after winning the Leg 5 at BPGC, Mumbai

Vani Kapoor - A three time winner this season

WOMeN's pRO tOuR

BiRla suNlife pRO-aM -pROMOtiNg WOMeN’s gOlf iN iNDia

The Birla Sunlife Pro-Am Golf Tournament which gives junior golfers the opportunity to hone their skills by playing alongside & competing against India’s finest professional golfers was held at Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC). The event, ideated by Mita Gowande - a Teaching and Playing Pro at BPGC- saw a total of 54 golfers participate including Women's Hero Order of Merit #1 Neha Tripathi, #2 Kiran Matharu, #3 Gursimar Badwal & #12 Sharmila Nicollet among others. The winning team was led by #11 ranked Afshan Fatima with team members Krishav Tekchandani, Niraj Shirgaonkar, & Mayur Aiya.

Delhi’s Vani Kapoor carded a 2-under par final round to win the INR 7 lakh seventh leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Classic Golf Resort, Gurgaon. The 22-year old finished with a 54-hole total of 6 under and one shot clear of runner up 27-year old Kiran Matharu who resides in the U.K. This was Vani’s third title in four appearances this season having won back to back titles in Ahmedabad earlier in the year. Chandigarh’s Amandeep Drall claimed her maiden title of the season at the INR 6 lakh sixth leg of the Hero Women’s PGT held at Oxford Golf Resort, Pune. The 23-year old’s winning total of even par over 54-holes was four shots clear of veteran runner up Smriti Mehra of Kolkata. Other winners on the Women’s PGT include Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal who won the fifth leg at BPGC, Mumbai where Neha Tripathi finished runner up. Earlier, Kolkata’s 24-year old Neha Tripathi had back to back wins in her hometown in Leg 3 & 4 held at RCGC and Tollygunge Club respectively. 20-year old Amateur Tvesa Malik from Gurgaon finished runner up in Tollygunge while Pune’s Shweta Galande was runner up in RCGC.

igu easteRN iNDia aMateuR gOlf ChaMpiONship 2016 Jaibir Singh

The IGU Eastern India Amateur Golf Championship was organized at the Tollygunge Golf Club Course, Kolkata. Jaibir Singh of Bangalore won the Championship after he defeated his closest rival Sunit Chowrasia of Kolkata 7&6 in the final that was played over 36-holes. The tournament featured the country’s top 32 amateurs battle it out in a match play format spread over 5 days.

Sunit Chowrasia

Leg 6 - Winner, Amandeep Drall with Saaniya Sharma (L) and Sharmila Nicollet (R)

gOlfeRs eNteR liMCa BOOk Of ReCORDs

Brijesh Patel

Ahmedabad’s Brijesh Patel and Siddharth Naik entered the Limca book of Records by playing across 10 courses in an alternateshot format within Ahmedabad on June 24, 2015. The duo teed off at 5.47am at the Army AEPTA Golden Katar course and ended the day at 5.16pm at Kensville Golf & Country Club. They previously entered the Limca Book of Records in 2014 by playing 182 holes in a single day. The duo is now attempting to set a Guinness World Record in June by attempting to play 270 holes in a cart (15 rounds) in 12 hours. The current record is 261 holes set by a Japanese pair in 2011.

Siddharth Naik

may 2016 | golf digest india

111

India Digest Club Round Up

ClUb RoUnd Up Initiative- Lady Caddies adorn Oxford Golf Resort In a fIrst of Its kInd InItIatIve In IndIa, oxford Golf resort Introduced 50 lady caddIes and Guest relatIons executIves from Bhutan to professIonally assIst Golfers. the ladIes went throuGh sIx months of extensIve caddy traInInG and are now also learnInG to play the Game.thIs Is truly a unIque development for IndIa and a welcome move for Gender equalIty and servIce qualIty. the stereotype of the male caddIe Is now offIcIally chanGInG on thIs pIcturesque Golf course In pune.

Community Golf in Ahmedabad

Arvind Infrastructure has developed the ‘Uplands’ project in Ahmedabad, a 135 acres low density residential township with a 9-hole (Par 3) Community Golf Course on 9.2 acres and a club on 3.6 acres. Designed by Pacific Coast Design- Australia, this is one of India’s first community golf courses open to the public during early mornings (for walkers), evenings (for everyone) and one full day on the weekend. People can walk, jog, exercise or picnic on the grass and make the most of the green space in a sustainable manner. The community golf concept also allows potential golfers and those who are looking to get into the game a walk on the course without playing, thus reducing the barrier to entry and encouraging more people to try the game. The Community Golf concept matches the Indian Golf Union’s push to expose more people to golf. Such initiatives in public spaces enhance revenue generation to cover maintenance costs.

112 golf digest india | may 2016

Formed

Meghalaya Golf Promoters’ Society The Indian Golf Industry Association (IGIA) organized India’s first North East Regional Golf Symposium in association with the newly formed Meghalaya Golf Promoters Society (MGPS). The symposium was graced by Chief Guest- Hon’ble Minister for Health & Family Welfare, IT & PR – Mr AlexanderHek. Also in attendance was Member of Parliament - Vincent Pala. The symposium was organized to bring together all stakeholders of the golf Industry to grow, develop and promote the game. The event was attended by over 55 delegates including Directors of Shillong Club, representatives from the State Tourism Department,Manipur Golf Association,REPTA- Narangi, Local Hoteliers,Airforceas well as local Golfers. The Meghalaya Golf Promoters’ Society (MGPS) was officially formed at the event with the mandate to develop & promote golf in the State of Meghalaya. The MGPS Committee consists of Mr Gaurav Bajaj – President, Mr Daniel Surong Jyrwa – Vice President, Mr Batkupar J Synrem – Secretary, Mr Jonathan Lawphniaw – Treasurer, Mr Jake S Majaw, Mr Deepak David and Ms Anjali Muktieh as founder members.

Club Round Up

India Digest

Sustainability- Golf Courses lead the way in water conservation

Amidst the acute water crisis that is being felt across the country, golf courses are setting a benchmark in the way of recycling water.

Eagleton Golf Resort in Bangalore has four Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) and a well-connected drain system with a capacity of 250 KLD (kilo litres per day). The Resort where India's No 1 golfer AnirbanLahiri trains, irrigates the facility only once in two days and twice a week during the monsoons. Calcutta Doob grass on part of the fairways needs very little irrigation. A local variety of grass mixed with Bermuda covers another part of the course. Course authorities need only five to six million litres of water for their entire irrigation needs.In addition to the treatment plants, 10 tankers of treated water are received from the Coca Cola beverages factory nearby through an agreement and a well-connected drainage system allows excess water to flow into man-made lakes on the course. Rain waterharvesting takes care of additional water needs. A water-table survey two years ago showed that the ground water around the resort increased primarily on account of the number of trees planted on the premises.

The Bombay Presidency Golf Club utilizes 8 lakh litres of water a day, none of which is drawn from the municipal corporation. The course has two STPs which have been in place for over 15 years and provide the course 10 lakh liters of water a day. Water is drawn from sewage lines from surrounding slums and in addition the course has 14 reverse bore wells and an ion exchange to soften water, which is then used for the toilets and showers. BPGC has four catchment areas across the course to harvest rainwater. The Willingdon Sports Club also in Mumbai only utilizes water from the nearby Love Grove Waste Water Treatment Plant to meet its entire irrigation needs.

Bangalore Golf Club, the oldest golf course in the city, set up in 1876, was

also the first to set up a treatment plant — in 2001. The water needs of the course are less than one million litres a day. The TTP works on a three-layer purification process and the cleaned water fills into underground tanks. This ensure perennial water supply for course irrigation.

Karnataka Golf Association, Bangalore set up its

own Tertiary Treatment Plant (TTP) back in 2004 and has been using water generated from it to irrigate its fairways and greens. During the summer, the KGA uses about 15-16 million litres of water and all of it comes from the TTP. The club laid a pipeline at its own cost – approx. INR 1 crore - and draws primary treated sewage water from from the Bellandur Lake. The lake has been severely polluted and its water is unfit for consumption. This treated water is used for irrigation. With these efforts, the club neither draws fresh water nor does it consume borewell water. Additionally, large water bodies on the course harvest rainwater through the year and hence the club doesn’t need to procure water from the municipality. KGA is in the process of installing solar cells on the premises to take care of 50 per cent of its electricity needs.

may 2016 | golf digest india

113

India Digest Travel

DeSert break in abu Dhabi Three special golf courses, including a links, make Abu Dhabi a hot new breakaway destination. By Stuart McLean

ike many South Africans who travel overseas, in the last year I’ve spent time passing through the Middle East airport hubs of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. The airlines of these three countries not only provide the most competitive fares in the industry, but will also fly you virtually anywhere in the world once you get there. The only downside is the number of extra hours you have to spend in the air, compared to direct flights from South Africa

to either Europe or the Far East. You could upgrade to business class to soften the discomfort of upright economy seats, but I have a better idea. Fly economy to Abu Dhabi, and take a three-day break between flights playing three of the best golf courses in the region. Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates, is fast developing its tourism infrastructure, and to my mind is a superior golf destination to neighbouring Dubai, based on having now visited both. Abu Dhabi has considerably fewer

114 golf digest india | may 2016

courses in terms of choice, but their top three layouts outplay their rivals by some distance in terms of the overall experience. While there’s a general sameness about the Dubai courses, those in Abu Dhabi are refreshingly unique in design terms. The two new ones have been built with tourism principally in mind. Yas Links does not conform at all to what you would expect playing golf in the Middle East. American designer Kyle Phillips (of Kingsbarns, Scotland fame) has introduced a wonderful replica of links golf to the desert. At

first it feels unnatural playing a Scottish-type links in balmy, windless conditions – never mind that the clubhouse has a swimming pool! Yet the sheer fun of the moment soon outweighs any regrets the purist in you may have about this being totally artificial. Yas Links, opened in 2010, is starting to appear in certain lists of the top 200 courses in the world. I’d hesitate to elevate it to that lofty status, but it does give you an idea of how positively it is being viewed by many golfers. It was ranked No 1 in the entire region by

Travel

India Digest

GARY PLAYER DESIGN Saadiyat Beach lies on the shores of the Arabian Gulf. In the foreground is the ninth green, with the 18th hole in the background.

p h otos C O U RT E SY O F G O L F I N A B U D H A B I

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115

India Digest Travel Golf Digest Middle East. And yet, for me, the most thrilling golf experience in Abu Dhabi is not Yas Links, but another 2010 birth, a Gary Player design called Saadiyat Beach. Playing it for the first time I initially thought, Wait a second, this is far too tough to be a resort course, but slowly I began to appreciate its combination of challenge and beauty, and it won me over. Saadiyat Beach is the first UAE course I’ve seen that occupies a site of exceptional beauty, on the shore of the Arabian Gulf. The sand you’re seeing alongside the course is beach sand, not desert sand. Virtually all the UAE courses are built inland, among housing estates and framed by skyscrapers, leaving the attractive bits of coastline for hotels and apartments. Saadiyat Island – one of several islands which make up Abu Dhabi the city – is the flagship development of a tourism drive, and is turning out to be one of the costliest pieces of real estate in the world.

Louvre abu Dhabi Apart from the 5-star hotels, one of the chief attractions on the island will be the Louvre Abu Dhabi, in association with the Louvre in Paris. It is finally due to open in 2016, at a cost of perhaps a billion dollars.The construction costs were but a fraction of what Abu Dhabi paid to be associated with the Louvre, and the art loans required to stock it. When the island is fully developed – incidentally, a Guggenheim Museum is also one of the projects for the cultural district – it promises to be a place of wall-to-wall 5-star luxury. The St Regis is a stunning beachfront hotel which overlooks Gary’s golf course. In fact, there’s a golf hole on each side of the building. At one point during the round we negotiated our way in a golf cart past the sunworshipping residents, driving from the oceanside sixth green to the seventh tee. We had an interesting com-

EIGHT HOLES SKIRT THE WATER AT YAS LINKS.

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TRIPADVISOR LANDMARK The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was completed in 2007.

YAS LINKS The par-3 17th hole, with the clubhouse and Ferrari World as a backdrop. Top: Inside the clubhouse.

Travel petition on that sixth hole with Italian tour pro Matteo Manassero. At the age of 20, Matteo, a highly likeable person, was a major star in the golfing firmament, having won four times on the European Tour, including the 2013 BMW PGA at Wentworth. He’s now 22, and no longer in the top 600 on the World Ranking. His fall has been further than that of Tiger Woods, and much more surprising, because he doesn’t have a bad back. Matteo escapes to Abu Dhabi every so often to work on his game, and as an ambassador to Golf in Abu Dhabi (GIAD for short, which had some people confused with the word Jihad when they saw it on the side of our bus), he was on the tee of the par-3 sixth hole that day, competing against us amateurs. Up for grabs was Matteo’s tour bag; if you could beat his score on the hole. Matteo wasn’t keen to let his bag go easily – the hole was playing nearly 200 metres with a sea breeze off the left, and they had placed the pin behind a bunker. Even he had to hit a 4-iron, and aimed away from the flag. But Matteo hadn’t reckoned on the fact that there were some useful women golfers in GoLf in abu Dhabi

For more information about rates, pre-packaged deals and golfing holidays, visit www.GolfinAbuDhabi.com, or email: info@golfinabudhabi.com There are three other courses in Abu Dhabi, not of the same quality as the three we visited. Al Ghazal, near the international airport, offers a true desert experience, with sand fairways and greens. Al Ain is a club with the unusual combination of golf, equestrian and shooting facilities. Abu Dhabi City GC is in the downtown area, with a two-tiered range, and floodlights for night golf on a 9-hole course.

India Digest

SAADIYAT BEACH Sand and sea meet on the challenging par-4 16th hole.

the field too. Playing from a forward tee, one of them hit a short iron close, and took the bag with a birdie two. Not really a fair fight. Gary Player’s course mesmerised me all day. The greens were superbly crafted, the land had gentle undulations, and the seaside setting was picturesque. There was a premium on driving the ball solidly, and into the right areas. There were literally hectares of sand on the property, all of them encased in a variety of differently shaped bunkers. Where my ball finished in an immense fairway bunker on the second hole, a par 5, left me with the longest stretch of raking I’ve done in my life. Walking backwards to the cart, I felt like a Buddhist carefully attending a Zen Garden, the tines of the rake forming one long straight line. Instead of calming the mind, though, it had the opposite effect. There were also some fearsome pot bunkers. The short par-4 tenth possibly had more bunkers than you find on the average South African course. There was a particularly deep one next to the green, and my

playing partner, Len Flaum, venturing into it, surprised a gazelle which was using it as its den. The back nine had some of the best holes and the finest scenery, twice stretching its green fingers towards the ocean. A salt water lagoon came into play, and the challenges never let up. Gary Player is on record in saying that he would like the European Tour to move the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship to Saadiyat Beach. It would certainly look great visually on TV, but the venue appears impractical in terms of spectator access. The clubhouse is relatively small, and the 18th, compared to the testing holes which precede it, is a somewhat innocuous short par 4. SpaciouS tour venue Our final round was played at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, which has hosted a European Tour event since 2006. I have seldom come across a more naturally perfect tournament venue than this one, and it would be senseless to move it elsewhere. It is reasonably close to the airport, there is a huge Wes-

tin hotel on site, and you have a feeling of great spaciousness wherever you are. The practice facilities are enormous, separate from the course, but just a short walk from the first tee. The clubhouse building, as you will have noticed from annual TV coverage of the tournament, is dominated by that iconic statue of a falcon perched on top of a golf ball. The course itself, a Peter Harradine design, is an impressively strong layout, parkland in nature with plenty of vegetation, and one which rewards solid ball-striking. Martin Kaymer won here three times, and his 24-under-par total in 2011 is evidence of how the modern tour professional can overpower courses like this with their sheer length off the tee. The greens, though raised at times and well-bunkered, are quite flat, so any time you hit the green it’s a birdie opportunity. Saadiyat Beach and Abu Dhabi GC are both run by Troon Golf, the American company which specialises in golf facility management. And a high percentage of their golf opera-

may 2016 | golf digest india

117

India Digest Travel

ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB The par-3 seventh hole.

tions employees at these clubs are South Africans. There were half-a-dozen at Saadiyat Beach, and at Abu Dhabi I chatted to Theo Potgieter, a qualified PGA professional, who is in his second year working for Troon Golf. “It’s a great working experience, because we get to spend time working in each area of a golf club, whether it be the pro shop or the kitchen,” he said. “It’s a busy working life, but factor in free board and food, no tax, and you can see the attraction for South Africans.” The starter at Yas Links when we played there was Monde Mpompo, the golf operations supervisor, who previously worked for Golf Data in the Western Cape. Yas Links is run more along the lines of a private club than a corporate facility. Its membership mainly comprises British expats, judging from the names on the honours boards. PGA teaching professional Martyn Hamer told me that the members play golf all year round, even in summer temperatures reaching 50C. “We ride carts, and have plenty of wet towels to keep us cool,” he said. The clubhouse at Yas Links was stunningly opulent, the

men’s locker room being the height of luxury. The pro shop’s hours were 5am to 10pm each day, and looking at the prices it was no wonder they liked to stay open for so long. A sleeve of Pro V1s goes for R350. A rental set of clubs costs nearly R1 000 for 18 holes, and a session on the range is R400. You can see where I’m heading with this: golf in Abu Dhabi is expensive, even if you’re from Europe and have a strong currency. The peak season rack rate at Saadiyat Beach and Abu Dhabi GC is R3 000 for a round from Sunday to Wednesday, and R4 000 if you wish to play Thursday to Saturday. Yas Links was R2 600 from Sunday to Thursday. You can virtually halve those prices if you play as the guest of a member, or in the twilight times. My advice would be to rather look at packages on the Golf in Abu Dhabi website which incorporate flights and hotels. Theme parks Abu Dhabi city does not have Dubai’s general buzz, vibrant nightlife, glitzy shopping malls and towering skyscrapers, yet it is a place of significant size and affluence. Morning rush hour

118 golf digest india | may 2016

is a sight to behold. Every car on the highways which flow through the city and its surrounding islands looks as if it has just left the showroom floor. Wave upon wave of SUVs and 4x4s. Yas Links reminded me of Ebotse Links in Gauteng when it first opened for play, before the general outline and look of the course was lost amidst all the housing developments. The holes at Yas Links are built alongside a natural large lagoon, which complements the character of Kyle Phillips’ design. The routing sticks closely to the water at all times, and there are as many as eight holes skirting the water’s edge. The back nine has five of them, starting on the 13th, a short par 3, and they are among the feature holes. We played our best golf at Yas Links, and Matteo Manassero was of the opinion that it was the easiest of the three courses in Abu Dhabi. The fairways were generously wide for most of the round, and the greens were on the slow side, due to irrigation problems. That and the good weather contributed to a sense of confidence you normally don’t experience in links golf. There was a course record

62 by a Japanese amateur when they won the 2015 Nomura Cup teams event at Yas Links. The course is surrounded by some of Abu Dhabi’s feature attractions, plus a cluster of hotels which are invaded by Formula 1 fans during the end-of-season grand prix at the Yas Marina circuit. Scary-looking rollercoasters which are part of Ferrari World frame the skyline, as does what appears to be the set from one of the Mad Max movies. It’s actually Yas WaterWorld, a theme park with plentiful water slides and a suspended rollercoaster. Not just for kids either. Our trio of middle-aged golfers spent a pleasant afternoon there having fun and getting soaked. On one ride you plummet feet first at speed through a narrow pipe which then does a 360-degree loop before spitting you out: and no, we didn’t take that on. SAADIYAT BEACH The Abu Dhabi city skyline rises above the golf course on Saadiyat Island.

ihab mokayed

Travel If you’re seeking more of an adrenalin rush, then Ferrari World is the place to go. The highlight is the Formula Rossa ride, which claims to be “the fastest rollercoaster on the planet,” accelerating to 240kph in under five seconds and zapping all eight goggled occupants into their seats with terrific G-force. At the end of a long straight the Ferrari red “car” launches itself into the sky over a “camelback,” before picking up speed again for a series of curves inspired by race tracks. It’s so overwhelmingly popular that it was the only ride that had a queue on the Saturday evening we were there. The waiting time was over an hour. Even more terrifying rides, with loops, inversions and corkscrews, are being built, that will soon make the Rossa look like child’s play.

India Digest

CompeTiTion winners

Len Flaum (left) and John Lloyd with Matteo Manassero.

Two Golf Digest readers travelled to Abu Dhabi in November on a R50 000 golfing experience courtesy of Golf in Abu Dhabi, accompanied by editor Stuart McLean. Leonard Flaum from Knysna won the October issue competition, and John Lloyd of Plettenberg Bay travelled with him on Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi for five days. They stayed at the 5-star Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal, and played three rounds of golf at Yas Links, Saadiyat Beach and Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Among the attractions they visited during the stay were Ferrari World, Yas WaterWorld, and the impressive Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the world’s top landmarks according to TripAdvisor. Ground transport was with Hala Abu Dhabi. “John and I, together with other international prize winners, were treated like royalty by Golf in Abu Dhabi,” said Flaum. “On arrival we received a Titleist holdall and a box of 12 Pro V1s. At Saadiyat Beach we were treated to a golf clinic by Matteo Manassero, and after the round there was a barbecue. I would like to thank Golf Digest for making this wonderful experience possible.”

THE BACK NINE AT SAADIYAT BEACH HAD SOME OF THE BEST HOLES AND THE FINEST SCENERY.

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India Digest Junior Golf

Future Superstars Little Master Junior Golf Tour (LMJGT) held the Future Champions Golf World Putting Finals Qualifier in April at JaypeeWishtown, Greater Noida. LMJGT is the only Tour outside of North America and Canada to hold this qualifier. The qualifier was held on the practice putting green over 18 holes with the distance of the holes varying from 15-36 feet. The top two qualifiers from each age division will be eligible to participate in the Future Champions Golf World Putting Final in San Diego on the 9th of July.

Lets check the layout

Winners Age Division

1st

2nd

13-18

Paree Chopra

Samika Sharma

9-12

Harbin K. Jawanda

Zoravar S. Star

8 & Under

Cameron Virk

Zara Anand

8 & Under Winner

Junior Pro-Am

The LMJGT held qualifiers earlier in January to select 36 boys and girls in the 5-17 age group to play in a pro-am with India’s top professionals. The juniors finally got their chance to play with the pro’s at Jaypee Wishtown, Greater Noida in a 9-hole tournament held in April. Featured professionals were Gaurav Ghei, Digvijay Singh, Vikrant Chopra, Chirag Kumar, Manav Jaini, Naman Dawar, Pratap Atwal, Toran Shahi, Ajai Gupta, Amandeep Drall, Ankita Tiwana, Ayesha Kapur and Mehar Atwal. The format of the event was a fun scramble where 2 scores per hole were recorded (1 for the pros and 1 for the juniors). The top four teams and the top two professionals received prizes.

Gaurav Ghei signing autograp hs

Girl power

WINNER: PRO VIKRANT CHOPRA,KARAN MEHTO ,JAI BAHL & RANVEER MITROO

Vikrant Chopra and his

winning team

RUNNER-UP: PRO PRATAP ATWAL.SARANSH YADAV,AGASTYA TANDON & NEIL.S. NAIR 1ST RUNNER-UP: PRO CHIRAG KUMAR,TANMAY RAKHEJA,ISHAAN KATARIA & ANISH NANGIA 2ND RUNNER-UP: PRO NAMAN DAWAR,RACHIT PODDAR,SHIVANSH DWIVEDI & AKARSH SHARMA

120 golf digest india | may 2016

India Digest Corporate Digest

Mercedes Trophy National Finals

Roland Folger, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India addressing the golfers

(L-R) Delhi's Karamvir Yadav, Mumbai's Ajit Parmar and Manish Jaitha of Pune Winners of the 16th Edition of the Mercedes Trophy Finals

he 16th Edition of MercedesTrophy culminated at a National Final at Oxford Golf Resort, Pune. The event featured 40 finalists from thirteen competitive qualifying legs held between Januar y and March in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, J a i p u r, B h u b a n e s w a r, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Greater Noida & Gurgaon. The three winners from the National Final will represent Corporate India at the 27th edition of the MercedesTrophy World Finals in Stuttgart, Germany in October. Globally, over 60,000 golfers from over 60 countries vie for the top honours in the tournament that defines sports, exclusivity, entertainment and glamour, with a class that epitomizes Mercedes-Benz. Adding to the excitement, Ravi Budhwar won a lucky draw which will see him travel to the British Open Championship in July and get a chance to play the Royal Troon Championship course a day after the championship.

Participants enjoying lunch with their families

Anisha Raheja of Kotak Wealth Management giving away a prize to Akhay Kilachand of Mumbai

121 golf digest india | may 2016

Aman Sharma (R) of Abu Dhabi Tourism giving away the Abu Dhabi Lucky draw prize to Rohit Sehgal of Chandigarh

Delhi's Anil Sethi, Sangita Sethi and Vinam Jain at the welcome dinner

India Digest Corporate Digest

Delhi qualifiers

(L-R) Harshpati Singhania, MD, J K Paper ; Uma Shankar Bhartia, MD & Chairman, India Glycols; Sanjiv Garg, CEO, Jindal Telecom; Raj Jain, CEO, Times Group

The 17th edition of the BMR World Corporate Golf Challenge commenced with the Delhi-NCR leg held at Classic Golf Resort, Gurgaon. Over 200 golfers teed it up with the aim to qualify for the National Finals. A total of 24 golfers (teams of 2 golfers) will qualify for the National Finals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8 from each qualifying leg held in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore. WCGC is the biggest international corporate golf team event involving more than 7500 corporate executives in 40 countries. India made its competitive debut in WCGC in 1999. India has had an illustrious history at the WCGC and is the defending champion courtesy the pair of Shashidhar Reddy and Sonam Chugh from Hyderabad who won the 2015 World Corporate Golf Challenge in Portugal.

Ranvir Bhandari, COO, ITC Hotels

122 golf digest india | may 2016

Vineet Nanda, President, Sales & Marketing along with Jyotsna Chauhan, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, Central Park

Rajeev Dimri, Partner BMR & Associates & Prathmesh Mishra, COO, United Spirits

Corporate Digest

Raghavendran B, COO, Cisco India & SAARC presenting the individual winner's prize to Kapil Dev

D Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO, Pepsico India

Day1

India Digest

Winners-Delhi qualifiers

Prize

Names

Winning Team

Pawan Puri arunjit Sodhi - 71 Points

RunneR uP Team

Vipan Sharma Vinam Jain - 70 Points

CiSCO CLOSeST TO Pin

amitava mehra

iTC CLaSSiC LOngeST DRiVe

Rajat nandrajog

inDian TeRRain STRaigHTeST DRiVe

Vineet Sharma

aLTRan CLOSeST TO Pin

Jaideep ahuja

Day2 Prize

Names

Winning Team

Deepit Singh Vedant Jhaver - 71 Points

RunneR uP Team

Prabhjot Cheema Chirag Paul - 70 Points

CiSCO CLOSeST TO Pin

Sheila Sangwan

iTC CLaSSiC LOngeST DRiVe

gaurav anand

inDian TeRRain STRaigHTeST DRiVe

Vikas anand

aLTRan CLOSeST TO Pin

monica Jajoo

THiS TOuRnamenT CeLebRaTeS CORPORaTe kinSHiP, PROmOTeS HeaLTHy COmPeTiTiOn anD aLSO PROViDeS an eSTabLiSHeD PLaTfORm fOR COnneCTing THe WORLD Of buSineSS TOgeTHeR uSing gOLf aS THe meDium. Nilanjan Roy, Global CFO, Bharti Airtel Mukesh Butani, Chairman BMR Advisors may 2016 | golf digest india

123

India Digest Corporate Digest

MuMbai qualifiers The second leg of the BMR World Corporate Golf Challenge national qualifiers was held at Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC). Over 200 golfers battled it out for their spot in the National final. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a look at the winners of the Mumbai leg. The third and final national qualifier will be held on May 13-14 at Prestige Golfshire, Bangalore.

Amit Kumar, Group President & Country Head, Yes Bank

Sharad Kachalia, Director, Navnit Motors

Former cricketer Ajit Agarkar finished Runner-Up on Day 1

(L-R) Rahul Hattangdi, Head Development Operations, Wadhwan Tech Spaces; Amod Khare, Partner, BMR Advisors; Sameer Tobaccowala, CEO, Shobiz Experiential Communications & Tashwinder Singh, Director, KKR

Shashi Kiran Shetty, MD, Allcargo Logistics

124 golf digest india | may 2016

Shalini D'Souza of Etihad Airways presents the straightest drive award to K. Balakrishnan of Kriscore Financial Advisors

Dev Bhattacharya, Business Head, Adity Birla Group

Bhaswar Paul, Head International Sales, Central Park

Corporate Digest

Day1

Bobby Parikh, Chief Mentor & Partner, BMR & Associates

We aRe ReaLLY PROuD TO Be aSSOCiaTeD WiTH THe BmR WORLD CORPORaTe gOLF CHaLLenge anD HaVe gOT TRemenDOuS ReSPOnSe FROm PaRTiCiPanTS aCROSS THe DeLHi anD mumBai eDiTiOnS OF THiS TOuRnamenT. THe aTTRiBuTeS OF PaSSiOn FOR exCeLLenCe anD THe aBiLiTY TO TaKe On neW CHaLLengeS FORmS PaRT OF OuR Dna aT BmR. We aSSOCiaTe THiS SPiRiT WiTH a HigH PeRFORmanCe SPORT LiKe gOLF.

Leo Puri, MD, UTI Asset Management

India Digest

Winners - MuMbai qualifiers

Prize

Names

Winning Team

akshay Puri Tarun Bali - 71 Points

RunneR uP Team

ajit agarkar Shabbir Rawjee - 69 Points

CiSCO CLOSeST TO Pin

aditya Pusalkar

inDian TeRRain STRaigHTeST DRiVe

Devesh Wadhawan

inDian TeRRain PLaYeR OF THe DaY

amit nigam

Day2 Prize

Names

Winning Team

gautam Balakrishna Sachin Johri - 73 Points

RunneR uP Team

Chirag Doshi Krishna Kilachand - 66 Points

CiSCO CLOSeST TO Pin

mr. Shashi Kiran Shetty

inDian TeRRain STRaigHTeST DRiVe

mr. K.Balakrishnan

inDian TeRRain PLaYeR OF THe DaY

Krishna Kilachand

Chirag Doshi, Walchandnagar Industries & Krishna Kilachand, Tyson Consultants

Ajay Chauhan, MD, Parle Products may 2016 | golf digest india

125

India Digest Corporate Digest

Madhavrao Scindia Charity Golf

L-R: Abhishek Mishra (Winner) and Ravi Chopra (Runner Up) receive trophies from Rajmata Madhavi Raje Scindia

he annual Madhavrao Scindia Golf Tournament was held at the DLF Golf & Country Club and saw around 120 select golfers compete over 18 holes for individual prizes including various contests in 11 different skill categories. The annual charitable tournament is envisioned to raise funds to support social development projects undertaken by the Madhavrao Scindia Foundation. Abhishek Mishra, MD, Fortune Star Real Estate Solutions won the tournament with Ravi Chopra, MD, Ravissance Developers. finishing runner-up. Jyotiraditya Scindia and Priyadarshini Raje Scindia,were the magnanimous hosts for the afternoon which saw Rajmata Madhavi Raje Scindia gracing the occasion and also handing over the trophy. The event is supported by DLF, YES Bank, Hero Cycles, EY, Coca-Cola, Indigo Airlines, Creyate, Maserati, Apollo Foundation, Sharda University and TaylorMade. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tournament is affiliated with The Duke of Edinburgh Cup, England - an annual international amateur golf tournament where qualifiers from nominated charity events in 12-15 countries across the world meet for a world final culminating at Windsor Castle, outside London. The two winners will have an opportunity to attend a formal dinner with a member of the Royal Family.

126 golf digest india | may 2016

Samir Arora, Imran Hai, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Abhimanyu Khanna

Corporate Digest

India Digest

Chekitan Sawhney, Pavan Puri, Pankaj Munjal and Arunjit Sodhi

Harry Dhaliwal, Anubhav Jain, Gurmeet Anand, Manav Sardana

Aakash Ohri

Usha Kothari, Farooq Abdullah, Neelam Pratap Rudy and M.Y.Khan

YES BANK iS proud to ASSociAtE with thE MAdhAvrAo SciNdiA Golf tourNAMENt, oNE of iNdiA’S prE-EMiNENt chAritY SportiNG EvENtS. Golf iN iNdiA iS BooMiNG, with A SurGE iN thE NuMBEr of GloBAl chAMpioNS ANd world clASS iNfrAStructurE, SupportEd BY SiGNificANt corporAtE proMotioN ANd MEdiA viSiBilitY.” rana Kapoor, Managing director & cEo, YES BANK

Kavita Singh

Kapil Dev & Murali Karthik

Shobhana Bhartia

Priyadarshini Raje Scindia, Ananya Raje Scindia and Charu Narain may 2016 | golf digest india

127

India Digest Event Review

India Golf Expo 2016

L-R: Aakash Ohri- Patron, Indian Golf Industry Association, Sh. Rajiv YadavSecretary (Sports), Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Anil Seolekar- President, Indian Golf Union at the inauguration

The 5th annual India Golf Expo 2016 was held on April 20-21 and saw over 400 delegates from 20 countries come together to shape the future of Indian Golf. The expo was organized by the Indian Golf Industry Association (IGIA) and supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Indian Golf Union (IGU) and Golf Course Superintendents & Managers Association of India (GCS & MAI). DLF Club 5, Gurgaon played host to the expo for the second consecutive year and was buzzing with visitors. Intense and fruitful discussions took place over two days resulting in a positive roadmap including Golf Tourism and boosting the number of players exposed to golf. The next few pages will capture the essence of South Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest Golf Expo in case you missed it. 130 golf digest india | may 2016

A fullhouse at the Opening address

OvER

2000 visitORs attEndEd

L-R: Anit Mehrotra- CEO, SGDC, Raj Khosla- Captain, Delhi Golf Club, Phil Ryan- Director, Pacific Coast Design

Event Review

India Digest

Speakers

Dr. Farooq Abdullah- Former Chief Minister, Jammu &Kashmir felicitated all participating clubs. Venkat Subramanium, President, KGA (seen here)

OvER

400

dElEgatEs

Mathew Davies, PGA (GB&I) in disussion with Jonathan Tomlinson of IMG

Phil Ryan, Director, Pacific Coast Design, Australia Community golf is the way of the future for India. Developers are required to set aside green spaces for the public and this can be coupled with Golf for the open space to be shared and revenue generating. It will also help grow the interest in the game amongst non-golfers.

Gregg Patterson, General Manager, The Beach Club, Los Angeles

Cui Zhiqiang, VP, China Golf Association China went through a golf boom from the mid-nineties up until 2013. A key issue for Chinese developers and clubs was the absence of sustainable resource practices. This is troubling China and India must address this at the earliest.

Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top golf course managers, greenskeepers & superintendents in full attendance at the IGU - GCS & MAI Turfcare Seminar

Rajiv Yadav, Secretary (Sports), Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports- â&#x20AC;&#x153;Golf has evolved into a younger sport and with the inclusion of Golf in the Olympics, it has been identified as a potential medal winning sport. Our focus now should be to further enhance our existing infrastructure to world class standards and propel grass roots initiatives. The government will work with the golf industry to achieve this.

D Sarkar, Commissioner - cumSecretary, Delhi Development Authority The ideal model for a public course is to set aside 100-150 acres of land with approx. INR 75-100 crore investment. Annual revenues of approx. INR 7cr will ensure a sustainable operation.

may 2016 | golf digest india

131

India Digest Event Review

Nuzhat Gul- Secretary, Royal Springs Golf Club

L-R: Laurie Watson- St. Andrews Links Trust, Alick BissetDP & L Travel, Katrina Morrison- Scottish Development International in a panel discusison

Golf clubs REpREsEntEd

Jesse Grewal- Director, National Golf Academy of India at the 2nd IGU-NGAI Teaching Summit at DLF Golf & Country Club

Anil Seolekar, President, Indian Golf Union â&#x20AC;&#x153;As the apex body of golf in India- The Indian Golf Union- has initiated an outreach program with schools & universities to grow the game and expand the base of players. If all golfing bodies and institutions work on a common agenda, we can achieve our goal of 500,000 golfers by 2026.â&#x20AC;?

John Neylan, Turf Grass expert at the IGU - GCS & MAI turfcare seminar

The Pro Shop was bustling with activity over two days

All major golf brands offered exclusive deals at the Pro Shop

132 golf digest india | may 2016

L-R: Cui Zhiqiang; Ju Kuang Tan, Golf Digest International; Paul Burley, IMG and Iain Roberts from Mission Hills at the IGIA Symposium

Event Review

India Digest

Speakers

On display - The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top golf machinery manufacturers in full strength

IntERnatIonal & domEstIc ExhIbItoRs

Christian Marquardt, MD & Inventor, SAM Putt Lab explaining the functional aspects of Putting

James Prusa, Director, Golf Courses & Laboratory, Sky72 Golf-Korea Meticulous financial planning in the early stages of a golf course project if neglected will haunt owners later. Key areas to bear in mind are the use of treated effluent water for irrigation needs, securing adequate finances and hiring a quality greens keeper at the very beginning.

Gregg Patterson, General Manager, The Beach Club- Los Angeles Y ou have to look at golf clubs as entertainment centres. The experience customers get minus the cost they incur will give them the value in returning to your establishment. Staff plays a pivotal role in this experience and will create the BUZZ needed to keep customers coming back and wanting more.

Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading teaching professionals at the IGU-NGAI Teaching Summit learning about the benefits of the latest teaching aids & technology

spEakERs

John Gransbury, Principal, HydroPlan- Australia Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is very prevalent in Australia and other mature golf markets. It is critical in replenishing and building the water table and also ensuring that golf courses are entirely self-sustaining.

Iain Roberts, Executive Director, Mission Hills Golf Club- China We now have over 50,000 members and 70% of our golfers are of Chinese origin. We also see demand for indoor facilities rising phenomenally.

may 2016 | golf digest india

133

India Digest Event Review

IGIA Board Members Name Mr. Anil Seolekar Mr. Aakash Ohri Mr. Devang D. Shah Mr. Brandon de Souza Mr. Rakesh Sharma Mr. Ravi Garyali Mr. Phil Ryan Mr. Mohan Subramanian Mr. Karan Bindra Mr. Anit Mehrotra Ms. Deepali Shah Gandhi Mr. Vijit Nandrajog Mr. Vinit Mathur Mr. A. K. Singh Mr. Rishi Narain Mr. Pravin Uberoi

Designation Patron Patron President Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Ex-officio IGU Invitee (RNGM) Invitee (GCS & MAI)

Gregg Patterson energizing the crowd with his ‘Potatoes & French Fries’ hand gestures to keep-customers smiling

NatIoNalItIEs REpREsENtED ovER

Suman Billa, Jt. Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, “The Ministry of Tourism is committed to working with stakeholders to boost Golf Tourism. Golf has been identified as part of the Incredible India campaign and we have to now work together with the golf industry to create realistic milestones by next year in order to make progress. We aredeveloping a micro site on the Incredible India website that will feature the vast variety of golf courses in India.

Smt. Tanvi Sundriyal, Additional Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism

Aakash Ohri, President, Indian Golf Industry Association, “The IGIA is pleased to see this event growing year after year and become the largest gathering of the golf industry in South Asia. We are pleased to have the support of all stakeholders in our endeavour to grow the game of golf and we invite them for next year.”

Caption this!

L-R: Patrick WynnPrestige Golfshire, Uma Balasubramaniam, Ernie Els Design & Brandon D’souza, IGIA

G.S. Mani, President, GCS & MAI

Yuri Taddiotto, PGA of Belgium on a lighter note with Hari Natrajan, TeeTime Ventures

Col. Pravin Uberoi, Secretary General, GCS & MAI

134 golf digest india | may 2016

Brett Hart (Rainbird) enjoying cocktails with Reg Varney (Otterbine)

Event Review

The Ministry of Tourism- Government of India with state Tourism bodies from Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh showcasing travel & tour packages.

Tourism Authority of Thailand

statE touRIsm BoDIEs

Waghmare Parshad Krishana, Directorate of Tourism, Jharkhand L-R- Indur Hirani; Sindhu Cherian & Eli Cohen of Ayala Natural Biological Systems; Sanjay Nadgouda, KGA

The TORO Company in full force!

India Digest

Richard Walne, MD, Australia & APAC

Harish Bijoor, Brand Marketing Guru – “Indian golf needs to invest in future inclusiveness by setting aside funds and resources to introduce golfers without charging them to learn the game. Sow the seeds for the future.”

Ravi Gariyali, MD, IPI

IGE 2017 DatEs aNNouNcED | apRIl 19-20 IN DElhI-NcR may 2016 | golf digest india

135

India Digest Event Review

IGIA Awards 2016 NomiNees aNd WiNNers 1. Best New 9 Hole Golf Course • Glade One (Ahmedabad) • The Belvedere Golf & Country Club (Ahmedabad) - Winner • Royal Jaipur Golf Club (Jaipur)

1 L-R: Kalyan S of Jacobsen & Mohan Subramanian of Rainbird present the award to Rajeev Chawla and Jasjit Singh of The Belvedere G&CC

2. Best New 18 Hole Golf Course • DLF Golf & Country Club- Gary Player (Gurgaon) - Winner • Pahalgam Golf Course (Anantnag) • Jaypee Greens Wishtown Golf Course (Noida) • Hyderabad Golf Association (Hyderabad)

4 L-R: Cameron Russell, TORO; FJ Singh, Oxford Golf Resort and Ravi Garyali, TORO

3. Best renovated Course • Delhi Golf Club- Peacock Course (New Delhi) - Winner • Poona Golf Club ( Pune)

2 L-R: Anil Seolekar, Vishal Bharti, DLF G&CC; Phil Ryan

4. most Tourist Friendly Course • Classic Golf & Country Club (Gurgaon) • Prestige Golfshire (Bangalore) • Royal Springs Golf Course (Srinagar) • Oxford Golf Resort (Pune) - Winner • Jaypee Greens Golf Resort (Greater Noida) • Kalhaar Blues & Greens (Ahmedabad)

5 L-R: Karan Bindra, DLF; NPS Dalmi, Qutab Golf Course and Anit Mehrotra, SGDC

5. Best Public Course • Qutab Golf Course (Delhi) - Winner • Panchkula Golf Club (Panchkula) • Kharghar Golf Course (Navi Mumbai) 6. Best driving range • Hamoni Golf Camp (Gurgaon) - Winner • Siri Fort Driving Range (New Delhi) • 4 Balls Academy (Gurgaon) • Chandigarh Driving Range (Chandigarh) • Touche Golf Academy (Bengaluru) • Mohali Driving Range (Mohali)

Brig. Sanjeev Mehra of DGC receives the award from Rakesh Sharma, Alert Golf & Brandon D’Souza

Manish Goyal, Hamoni Golf Camp; Wg. Cdr. Arun Singh, DG, IGU, Devang Shah, President, IGIA; Abhishek Ahlawat, Hamoni Golf Camp

iGia liFeTime CoNTriBuTioN aWard

K P Singh, Chairman, DLF Limited

136 golf digest india | may 2016

iGia ouTsTaNdiNG PlayiNG Career aWard

Rohtas Singh, Legendary Professional Golfer

Event Review

India Digest

Golf Digest India Awards 2016 1.

Eco-friendly Practices

Karma Lakelands

Best Golf Academy Facilities

DLF Golf & Country Club

Record Setting Club Golfers

SiddharthNaik&BrijeshPatel

Most Improved Course Condition

Prestige Golfshire, Bangalore

Best Golf Facility by State Development Authority

Mohali Golf Range

Best Heritage Golf Course

Hyderabad Golf Association

Ashwani Khurana, Karma Lakelands receives the award from Devang Shah

Suresh Muthu

Karan Bindra

Anitya Chand

Vivekanand

Mandeep Singh and Navjot Singh of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA)

Siddharth Ju Kuang Tan, Naik Golf Digest Brijesh Patel International

Ghouse Mohuddin Dayakar Reddy

The Awards Dinner

may 2016 | golf digest india

137

India Digest Tête-à-tête

Tête-à-tête with

Anil Seolekar

What will the IGU’s focus be for 2016?

IGU has embarked upon an aggressive mission to promote junior grassroots programs in schools and universities. In West and South India new initiatives are already underway by setting up golf facilities in schools and colleges. Our aim is to induct the next generation of golfers to the game.

A lot of players coming through the IGU system are making great starts in their pro career. What initiatives is the IGU taking to ensure a constant flow of quality players?

We have a high performance coach and are following international standards for nurturing players to become competitive. Personal interaction, mind, body and game development are the focus areas. We are now on a ‘Mission Olympics’ initiative program and have made a plan to hand pick 12-18 year old talent and give them the required boost, motivation and training to go the next level.

What happens after youngsters try out the game in schools?

We are creating more facilities, taking golf to schools and universities rather than expecting them to come. Once talent

140 golf digest india | may 2016

is identified, the IGU will dialogue with the clubs in the region to facilitate ease of access to the clubs and practice facilities for these players.

Tell us about the National Golf Academy of India (NGAI) coaching programs, Turfcare Seminars for greenskeepers, Referee Certification programs and other such initiatives that help grow the game.

IGU’s purpose and vision is broad based and focuses primarily on developing amateur golf. IGU organizes programs for greenskeepers and superintendents which are run zone wise with renowned turfcare experts from abroad such as Micah Woods and John Neylan. Year on year we get more technical teams to train superintendents and these programs have become very popular and are benefitting greens & turf development. We have initiated a university program in

Photograph Courtesy Indian Golf Union

An enterpreneur, investor, hotelier, sportsman, philanthropist & visionary, Anirudha Uttam Seolekar (Anil) is currently serving as President of the Indian Golf Union (IGU) – the apex body of golf in India for the 2016-17 term. Seolekar is also a founder of the Indian Golf Industry Association (IGIA) and served as its President in 2013. Anil was the Governor of the Games Village Youth Commonwealth Games in 2008 and has held various positions throughout his career. He is the Chairman & Managing Director of the Oxford Group. Golf Digest India caught up with him to learn about the IGU’s plans for the future of Indian golf.

Turf Management and will roll out this year with select universities. The National Golf Academy of India (NGAI) has over 400 coaches trained continuously across various categories through an ongoing program. We are now into discussions with the PGA of Europe to enhance the top level coaching and accreditation. The referee program is successful and we currently have a 136 top quality referees in the stream.

What plans does the IGU have to fund all the development activities envisaged?

CSR and corporates remain the means to help development. We are also getting the government to look at funding the various international tournaments, which they do to some extent. Golf now being an Olympic sport, we anticipate corporate funding coming in to develop champions over time.

Year on year we get more technical teams to train superintendents and these programs have become very popular and are benefitting greens & turf development

Tête-à-tête

Over 30 junior golfers were selected to attend a clinic by Anirban Lahiri during the Hero Indian Open as part of IGU's Mission Olympics

Photograph by Bharath Arvind

The Excellence Committee monitors the selected 12-18 year olds and they are managed and trained by the national high performance coach for mental, physical and skills perfection

India Digest

How is IGU leveraging the new CSR guidelines?

IGU has already initiated this outreach zone wise. We have proposed our various tournaments and initiatives ranging from the grassroots level to the All India level and will leverage the same with corporates under their CSR programs as a build up to the Olympics.

How does IGU select players for the National Squad and what sort of training do these players receive?

We have an order of merit in place and follow set practices to select the players. There are rigorous training programs and pre-qualification selection matches. Our high performance coach mentors and trains the players after they have been selected and prepares them for all aspects of competitive golf.

What steps is the IGU taking with the government to further grow the game in India?

IGU has delivered proposals to the government to set up academies, public courses with R&A support envisaged. IGU is also working with the Ministry of Tourism to support the various tournaments in which our amateur golfers travel abroad to represent India.

What does the Excellence Committee do?

It’s built into the above junior program as part of the ‘Excellence Program’ of the

IGU. The excellence committee monitors the selected 12-18 year olds and they are managed and trained by the national high performance coach for mental, physical and skills perfection. Overtime this will result in even more successful and competitive golfers emerging from India.

The IGU’s National Handicap Service (NHS) has over 3000 active users. What plans does the IGU have to ensure that the entire golfing community in India is on one handicapping platform?

In every other major golfing country, all golfers register as individual members of the National Golf Union, paying an annual membership fee and one of the benefits they receive as members is a Centralized Handicap issued by the national body. Individual clubs do not issue handicaps in other countries. This annual membership of IGU will entitle any IGU member to a number of benefits and we are in the process of announcing this important step very soon. The entire package of benefits will be very valuable to individual golfers as well as to clubs so they will all subscribe and the program will be universally adopted. In this way, the service that IGU provides to its member clubs will be enhanced and we will be able to serve the entire golf community better. IGU will be a service provider and facilitator for the growth and enjoyment of the game for the benefit of all stakeholders. This is what the vision is for IGU. may 2016 | golf digest india

141

India Digest 18 holes with Roland S. Folger

Holes with Roland S. Folger MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India

When did you start playing golf? 1988 in Singapore

How often do you get to play golf? On an average, twice a week

What do you love most about playing golf? A good walk in fresh air

Your thoughts on doing business on the golf course? The best combination! You really get to know your business partners

Current handicap? Lowest handicap you have had? Current- 24 Lowest- 20

What golf apparel/equipment brands do you lean towards? Adidas and Nike

On an average, how long do you drive the ball? 210m

Your dream car? Mercedes AMG GT S

What is your Favourite holiday destination? New Zealand (Golf, beach, food, sailing)

What is your Favourite dish at your home course? Fresh Italian pasta, salad and dry white wine

Favourite 19th hole drink? Cold beer

Who forms your regular Fourball? My wife plus any other club members willing to join

How about your dream Fourball? Martin Kaymer and Bernard Langer

Name your favourite Gentleman & Lady Pro golfers The same as my dream fourball

Favourite golf course – In India & abroad? India- I have not made up my mind yet Abroad- Cypress Point Golf Course, Monterey, California

Describe your most memorable experience on the course Playing a 100 holes –walking- in one day in our home course in Stuttgart, Germany (4:30am sunrise to 10pm sunset) Do you use any golf apps on your phone? Any gadgets to improve your game? None. It’s all in the mind anyway The most scenic course you have played? Cypress Point Golf Club, Monterey, California

Golf And Business... The BesT comBinATion! You reAllY GeT To know Your Business pArTners 142 golf digest india | may 2016

Total Number of pages (including cover pages) is 108 Monthly Magazine, Title Code: HARENG00969

World's Golf Course Designer of the Year

World's Best New Golf Course

TiTle Code: HAReNG00969