Golf Digest India - July 2016

VolumE 1 IssuE 3

RNI No. HARENG/2016/66983 july 2016 `150

Think Young | PlaY hard

PUT YoUr SWIng on AUToMATIC HoW To CArrY IT 2X YoUr WeIgHT CAn rICKIe geT YoU oUT oF JAIl? DevAng SHAH TêTe-à-TêTe + loUIS PHIlIPPe CUP 2016

HIT IT longer geT IT CloSer BY JASon DAY

Exclusive official media Partner INDIA

TiTle Code: HAReNG00969 mAy 2016 `150

Volume 1 issue 1

Jordan Spieth

Bubba Watson

Rickie Fowler

Henrik Stenson

Adam Scott

Rafa Cabrera-Bello

Louis Oosthuizen

Lee Westwood

Jimmy Walker

Thongchai Jaidee

Zach Johnson

FUtUrists

Think Young | PlaY hard

268 Best thinGs in GoLF oUr First editors' choice awards

PEN CHOICE.

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

THE

THE # 1 BALL AT THE 145 TH OPEN AND SINCE RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT. When players are competing at Royal Troon, with the game’s oldest major on the line, they’ll have

aniL seoLeKar president, iGU

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

exclusive official media Partner iNdiA

Justin Thomas

to contend with wind, weather and the famed “Postage Stamp” hole which demands the ultimate in precise distance control. That’s why the overwhelming majority will choose the superior performance and consistency of Titleist. Whether you’re competing for the Claret Jug or simply striving to be your best, the Pro V1® or Pro V1x™ can make a difference in your game. Visit titleist.asia to learn more.

© 2016 Acushnet Company. Source: Darrell Survey, Sports Marketing Surveys Inc.

DUSTIN JOHNSON

2016 U.S. OPEN

learn more at: taylormadegolf.com Š 2016 Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. #1 Fairway 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.

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

Contents 07/16

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

44 94

106 44

Cover Story: All In After some fragile moments, Jason Day turns inspiration into obsession.

Major Preview 72

by jaime diaz

PGA Championship: Inside Look A longtime member gives a memorable tour of Baltusrol and its history. by david fay

50

▶ Hit it Longer, Get it Closer Tips to help you play better tee to green.

Play Your Best 14

Butch Harmon The No. 1 key in bunkers

16

How to Carry it Two Times Your Weight

by jason day

54

▶ Hooked Golden State Warriors star Andre Iguodala has become a golf fanatic.

62

64

20

by jim m c lean 22

Swing Sequence: Annika Sorenstam

by carl lohren

24

Back to Basics The best swing thoughts to improve your game.

Can Rickie Fowler Get You Out of Jail?

by john feinstein 68

Why’d I Do That?

Try this simple game plan on shots over water.

Put Your Swing on Automatic This one move can make all the difference.

Alone: Harold Varner III With Tiger recovering, Varner knows what it’s like to be the only AfricanAmerican on the PGA Tour.

Wicked Wedges How to stick it tight inside 100 yards.

36

38

39

by shaun webb 26

Short Game Pitch it within inches, like a tour pro. by matt m c lean

28

Jack Nicklaus Strategy for monster holes

29

What’s in My Bag Danny Lee

43

by cameron m c cormick

10 golf digest india | july 2016

India Digest 12

by ryan herrington

78

European Tour The European Tour goes viral

84

Spotlight IGIA Award Winner-Best New 9-hole Course in India

The Core The King of Cardio

by rishi narain

The Core Test your swing mobility. by ron kaspriske

40

Style Shirts for summer. by marty hackel

41

Rundown: 25 Easy Ways to Speed Up Play

42

Golf Mansions Old money, new money and Masters money.

Women’s Golf Day Pros who mean business 88

Business Of Golf Features industry insights & updates from India & across the globe

89

Golfing CEOs Updates on corporate leaders making waves on and off the course

90

Players in the News Update on Indian Golfers around the world

92

Club Round Up Latest News from your favourite courses across India

94

Corporate Digest Louis Philippe Cup 2016

by matthew rudy 67

Editor’s Letter Summer camps across the country

Think Young, Play Hard Twenty-one-year-old Beau Hossler might be tour ready.

by ron kaspriske

by justin thomas

with ron kaspriske 58

The Golf Life

Closeout These 16 pros prove it’s OK to make a swingface. by max adler

106 Tête-à-tête

with Devang Shah

by bharath arvind

Tom Watson My secret to better golf Cover photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

day: walter iooss jr. • wing: will styler • iguodal a: Cody PiCkens • Cover fashion Credits: Page 65

Features

"The Toro mowers allow my crew to get the ultimate precision cut needed to ensure the best conditions for world-class players."

- Gordan Moir, Director of Greenkeeping, St. Andrews Links, Scotland.

Irrigation Products International Pvt Ltd 4/112, IInd Floor, East Coast Road, Neelankarai, Chennai 600041, Ph no: 044-24494387 / 389 Fax: 044-24494388 Email : sales@ipi-india.com, ipi@md5.vsnl.net.in, Website : www.ipi-india.com

Editor’s Letter T

Dear Readers,

his is our fourth issue and we thank our readers for the positive feedback and encouragement. At the outset we stated our intention of Golf Digest becoming a catalyst for the growth of golf in this country. We fully intend to follow through on this commitment during the coming year.

Summer is time for Junior Golf and this issue’s Club Round up carries news on junior camps taking place around the country. Our instruction features and tips as always are sure to help your game as well.

The Louis Philippe Cup Pro Team event was recently played at KGA in Bangalore. A nail biting finish on the final green crowned the star studded TAKE Chennai team as champions. This tournament encompasses various other aspects of entertainment which have become integral to sports today. Read all about the week of the event in our extensive coverage.

Letters to the Editor

I enjoyed reading the magazine and have also heard praises for the new content from many golfers. Keep up the good work! Many Congratulations!

—Saurabh Chopra, Golden Greens Golf Club, Gurgaon

A new section entitled “Golfing CEOs” updates readers on achievements on and off the course for several high profile golfers around India. We look forward to keep you all informed on what’s going on within the corporate golfing community.

The June edition has great coverage of golf activit ies across India. I keenly follow the segment that covers achievers and upcoming talent.

The coverage of junior events and significant coverage of women’s golf is a welcome feature to Golf Digest. Congr atulations to the Golf digest team in puting together the magazine in a new avataar ! Look forward to many issues covering home events and the Digest’s contribution to popularising the sport!

—Navita Mansingh, Gurgaon

Please keep writing and reading !!

All the Best and Happy Golfing Write to me at rishi@teamgolfdigest.com or on Twitter @RishiNarain_

Our members and golfers enjoyed the prominent coverage given to our unique model at Green Meadows Golf Acade my (GMGA). This will give much wider exposure to our Course/mod el and motivate us to work harder to take the Course to higher levels.

Very well digested write-up indeed. Enjoyed reading all the conten t as well. Many thanks to you all for the keen interest shown in taking up various causes.

—Deepak Rindani, President, GMGA, Rajko t

contact us Subscriptions subscribe@teamgolfdigest.com Phone: +91-9999868051 Marketing & Advertising nikhil@teamgolfdigest.com Phone: +91-9999990364 srijan@teamgolfdigest.com Phone: +91-9416252880

12 golf digest india | july 2016

Rishi Narain Editor

team Golf DiGest inDia Editor Rishi Narain Managing Editor Bharath Arvind bharath@teamgolfdigest.com Editorial Assistant Vineet Mann vineet@teamgolfdigest.com Assistant Art Director 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.

Play Your Best Golfer’s Wish List by Butch Harmon

%

What’s the scariest shot from a greenside bunker? ▶ Water over the back: 38% ▶ Buried lie: 34% ▶ Second try to get out: 16% ▶ Over a high lip: 12% source: Golf DiGest reaDers

verybody says amateurs can’t get out of greenside bunkers because they’re crushed by fear. Well, that’s part of it, but the bigger thing is, they set up in a way that makes it almost impossible to hit a good shot. They get bad results, so the fear develops, but the root cause is a poor setup.

A lot of golfers treat bunker shots like pitch or chip shots.

They set up with the ball in the middle of the stance and push their hands ahead so the shaft is leaning toward the target. That’s fine if you want to hit the ball first, but in a greenside bunker you want to hit the sand first.

With the ball middle, you catch it clean and skull it, or you try to shift back during the swing to get the club in the sand behind

E

the ball. That’s hard to do. If you go back too far, you hit it on the upswing—another way to skull it.

To set up properly, play the ball forward—opposite your front instep (below, left). Also, open the clubface before you take your grip. That will expose the bounce feature on the bottom of your sand wedge, which helps the club slide through the sand. With the ball forward, you can make your normal swing and enter the sand two to three inches behind it, the clubhead passing your hands through impact (below, right). That will happen naturally if you set up correctly, which is the best thing you can do to help your bunker game.

Butch Harmon is a Golf Digest Teaching Professional.

BUTCH’S BASICS

If your ball is in thick greenside rough, that’s when you want to play the ball middle and lean the shaft forward.

You’re setting up a downward strike so the club’s leading edge digs under the ball. Notice above, the clubhead is not passing my hands.

It’s more of a digging action, not the splashing or skimming action you want from bunkers.

pLAy IT Up

SLIde UNdeR

With the ball forward, you can swing into the sand behind it.

Let the clubhead pass your hands for a skimming action in the sand.

14 golf digest india | july 2016

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

FOOTJOY: SHIRT, $72, PANTS, $85, SHOeS, $190 • TITleIST: HAT, $27, glOve, $21 • HOuSe OF FlemINg: belT • ROlex: wATcH

Rule No. 1 in the Sand Get it right, and you’ll hit perfect bunker shots

edited by peter morrice

Play

Ground Force How to carry the driver twice your weight by justin thomas

s a freshman at Alabama five years ago, I could hit it decent with the driver, but nothing like today. In fact, even since I got on tour last year, I’ve amped up my distance. I don’t think too much about what needs to happen to send one 300 yards— in the air—but I know having an

A

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

explosive downswing has a lot to do with it. All anyone ever asks me about is why my feet are off the ground when I hit the ball, like you see here. That’s a big part of how I generate speed. Keep in mind, I weigh less than 150 pounds, so I need an extra power boost from somewhere.

That upward thrust sends more speed down to my clubhead through impact. But there’s more to good footwork than just creating power.

You need a blend of stability, balance and weight transfer, too, or you won’t get all you can out of your tee shots. So if you want to hit it longer, try copying all of the ways I use the ground. —with Ron Kaspriske

Play Your Best Power

Brace against the instep of your back foot as you swing to the top.

get a good Push as i complete my upperbody turn, my feet start to get active. all that weight i’ve been bracing against my right foot now has to move quickly to my left side. the way i do that is to get off my right heel as fast as i can while pushing hard against the ground with my left foot and turning my hips open. the faster i go from right to left, the more downward pressure i create—and that means more upward thrust coming next. this all happens so fast i don’t even think about it. the thing to understand here is, you should shift your weight toward the target before the club starts down. try this swing thought as a first move from the top: Push down, then swing down.

get Planted When i’m not hitting the ball real solid, it’s usually because i’m swaying to my right during the backswing. that happens because my feet aren’t planted on the ground like they should be. You want your lower body to feel rock-solid so you can wind your upper body against it and store power for the second half of the swing. a firm base also puts you in position to make a fast and powerful downswing without falling off balance. that balance helps you hit the ball in the sweet spot of the club, which translates your speed into distance. a good swing thought is to keep the inside of your right foot braced—especially at the heel—as you swing back.

Justin thomas, 23, won the CIMB Classic, his first PGA Tour victory, earlier this season.

293.5

13th

2016

▶ avg. driver carrY distance (in Yards)

7.0

7th

2016

▶ avg. driver hang time (in seconds) s o u rc e : s h ot l i n k

get some air at impact i’m practically off the ground. i reverse all of that downward pressure up through my legs, as if i were jumping. getting up on my toes helps create speed and a better position to swing up on the ball, which you should do with the driver to maximize carry. this “push off” might look radical—you don’t have to copy it to hit up on the ball—but use this visual as a reminder to accelerate the club into impact. to summarize: Brace against your right foot going back, then start down by pushing into the ground and turning your hips open. Finally, straighten your legs, particularly your left, into impact. You’ll add a burst of speed. groove this sequence, and it’s bombs away.

18 golf digest india | july 2016

+ POLO GOLF shirt, $90, pants, $98 raLPh Lauren belt, $1,250 FOOtjOy shoes, $280, glove, $30 tItLeISt hat, $28

Play Your Best Curing Faults by Jim McLean

“Gotta carry something?

Add five yards for a little cushion.”

keep your braIn In The gaMe In tough situations especially, make sure you stay 100 percent committed to the shot until the end of the swing. We often see hesitation show up when golfers don't quite trust their plan. If your commitment falls short, so will your swing—and that usually means a mis-hit. Decide on your club, then keep your grip pressure constant and stay all in on what you’re trying to do.

C

M

Y

CM

—pia nilsson and lynn marriott, vision 54

MY

CY

CMY

K

Why’d I Do That?

Simple 7-iron.

Over water.

Not so simple

20 golf digest india | july 2016

ou’ve got a nice fairway lie, comfortable iron to a big green. But the pin’s up front, over a pond or a deep bunker. Using your range finder, you get the exact yardage: 151.

Perfect 7-iron. But just when you need a solid strike, you miss it a touch. You watch in agony as your ball splashes in the water or disappears in the sand.

First, if you always think 7-iron from 150 yards, you probably carry it 145 and it rolls another five. Those five yards can be huge when you have to fly something. Most golfers fail to factor in bounce and roll when

Y

they determine yardages to the pin. Do yourself a favor on allcarry shots: Add five yards to your actual distance.

Second thing: When you’re facing an intimidating shot, realize what it’s doing to you. Now is not the time to firm up your grip. Do the opposite: Relax your body, especially your hands, arms and shoulders. This will allow a fuller turn, a freer swing and better contact. Your shots will fly higher and go farther.

And forget about that front pin. Would you rather have a 30foot putt from the middle of the green, or be in the hazard?

If Jordan Spieth had just played an 8-iron deeper into the green and left of the pin at No. 12 on Masters Sunday, he likely would’ve won another green jacket.

Instead, he took a 9-iron and tried to hit a left-to-right shot to the right hole location, where there’s no margin for error.

After a slight mis-hit, he watched his ball hit the bank and roll back into the water.

His quadruple-bogey 7 led to a T-2, three behind Danny Willett.

Jim McLean is a Golf Digest Teaching Professional.

Illustration by Chris Gash

brain: jim luft • spieth: j.D. Cuban

LeT’s see, ThaT’s 1 In, 2 ouT, 3 In . . .

Play Your Best Swing Sequence ordeValle, in Northern California’s wine country, will host the U.S. Women’s Open July 7-10. It’s the kind of place where Annika Sorenstam might have lapped the field. The course will demand accurate driving and solid putting—two trademarks of Sorenstam’s Hall of Fame career, which ended in 2008.

Of the players who will tee it up at Corde-

C

annika Sorenstam In her words, what made this swing great

22 golf digest india | july 2016

Valle, early favorites include world No. 1 Lydia Ko, 19; Inbee Park, who has six major victories in the past three seasons; and defending champion In Gee Chun. Add to the mix Lexi Thompson, who has improved her short game; relentless contender Stacy Lewis; and 2014 Open champion Michelle Wie. And don’t forget Amy Yang, who has five top-10s in the last six Opens, including two seconds.

“I wanted a simple swing I could repeat under pressure.”

Back to Sorenstam, who celebrates two anniversaries this year. Twenty years ago, she grabbed her second straight Open, at Pine Needles. Ten years ago, she won her third Open and 10th and final major, at Newport (R.I.) Country Club. That win capped a dominant run and provided a perfect bookend to a career that pretty much began and ended with a U.S. Women’s Open title. —ron sirak

SteadY Start

LoW and SLoW

tUrn to the top

the LegS Lead

pUSh for poWer

fULL-bodY reLeaSe

SorenStam’S open record

My goal was to build a simple swing that was repeatable under pressure.

I wanted my whole body working together with as few moving parts as possible. It started with a solid setup focusing on balance, grip and aim. Notice I had a wide stance, with my feet outside my shoulders.

That got me started in perfect balance.

I liked a onepiece takeaway, with the club, arms and shoulders moving together. That helped the clubhead stay low to the ground. I tried to keep my arms in that V formation from the setup and not hinge my wrists early. This helped me with my tempo.

The purpose of the backswing is to transfer weight to the right side by getting your back to the target.

To do that, you need to make a good shoulder turn. See how my left shoulder is under my chin at the top, and my hands are about headhigh, with the shaft parallel to the ground.

I did it well here.

The downswing starts with the legs and hips, and the hands and shoulders follow. That creates clubhead lag, because you maintain the angle between your lead arm and the clubshaft.

That’ll give you more speed at impact. The feeling for me was, my arms were behind me as I started to shift left.

Early in my career, my left arm was more bent at impact, but it’s OK here. I also wanted to keep my right foot on the ground as long as possible to push off for power.

This helped me get down and through to compress the ball, which especially helped with the long irons.

With the followthrough, the idea is to keep turning so your belly faces the target. If you drew a line from my right shoulder to my left knee, it would be straight up and down. That’s a full-body release, with all of the body weight on the left side. Plus, I’m nicely balanced at the finish, just like at address.

Wins 3 (1995, 1996, 2006) top-10 finishes 7 missed cuts 2 Low round 66 (Pine Needles, ’96) Years played 1992, 1995-2008 2016 U.S. Women’S open dates July 7-10 Site CordeValle, San Martin, Calif. defending champion In Gee Chun tV schedule (all times Eastern) July 7-8: 3-8 p.m. (FS1) July 9-10: 3-7 p.m. (Fox)

Photographs by Stephen Szurlej

Play Your Best Back to Basics

3 the release

Untie your downswing

“Players turn into Pretzels as they try to steer the club into the ball.”

1 a consistent stroke

Anchor your putting feel ▶ You can’t anchor the putter to your body anymore, which worked because it kept people from a major mistake: shoving the handle toward the target.

But you can still use the concept to practice a pendulum feel. Choke down on the club, stick it in your gut and make strokes (left). Use this feel when you go back to your regular grip. The ball will roll, not hop, and the logo line on the ball will track straight.

Don’t fall for these swing misconceptions by shaun webb

olf instruction is filled with incomplete, not-quite-right, outof-date or flat-out-bad advice.

The game is hard enough without following cliched or incorrect instruction, whether it’s well intentioned or not. Here I’m going to expose the most common of these misconceptions from the putter to the driver and replace them with tips and swing thoughts that you can incorporate in less time than it will take you to read these two pages. That will get you going down the right road, instead of going around and around in circles.

no

G

—with matthew rudy

Shaun Webb, one of Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers, is based at the David Toms Academy 265 in Shreveport, La.

24 golf digest india | july 2016

yes

2 crisper chips and pitches

Don’t be afraid to lift your head ▶ “Keep your head down” might be the worst swing advice ever. Staying down and keeping the body quiet on a pitch leads to an arms-only swing and trouble control-

ling contact (above, left). Instead, feel as if you’re getting taller through impact as you keep turning (right). It’ll help you use the bounce and control the swing’s low point.

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

illustration: zohar l azar • oakley: shirt, $65, pants, $75, belt, $60, shoes • rolex: watch gutter credit tk

5-Minute Clinic

▶ Lag and release are two of the most misunderstood terms in golf. Players turn into pretzels as they try to steer the club in the downswing, plus they waste a ton of clubhead speed.

Put that out of your head and think of two simple things as you swing down and through. Swing your hands in front of your right thigh (left, top), then feel like you’re pulling the end of the grip off with your left hand as your right hand moves under (left).

Do that, along with an aggressive body rotation, and you’ll achieve the ideal lag and release for increased clubhead speed and a better impact position.

4 clubhead speed

Find your driver freedom ▶ Every time a tour pro says he’s making sure his swing stays connected, another 20-handicapper loses 20 yards off the tee.

When you keep your upper arms locked to your sides (right), you make your backswing shorter and prevent the club from getting behind you. That’s a template for an over-the-top slice. Let your right arm move freely, until it gets at least as high as your left shoulder (far right). You’ll have more time to produce speed, and your hands will come down on a better path.

no

yes

Play Your Best Short Game by Matt McLean LeSS wriSt hinGe Keep the clubhead low to the ground going back by limiting wrist hinge. the shaft stays in line with your wrists and arms (right).

You’re using a shorter swing, so you need to create speed at impact from another source: the bigger muscles.

Babe ruth once said: “Small muscles choke; big muscles react.”

Feel your arms and body rotate through together. A good thought is, Lead shoulder turns back and up through impact (previous page). that prevents the club from digging and promotes clean contact.

Also, let your eyes follow the ball out. Don’t keep looking down.

tour-Style Pitching What the best players do to stick ’em within inches ou see it all the time at tour events: A player is a few yards off the green, faced with a delicate shot from a tight lie. The average golfer would likely skull it over the green or chunk it. But the pro nips it cleanly, and the ball lands on the green, skips once and checks up next to the pin.

Chances are, you’ve been told to use a lot of wrist hinge on these little shots, bringing the club up abruptly on the backswing and then hitting down sharply on the ball.

How many times have you heard: Hit down to get the ball up? But I teach a shallower swing. Focus on crisp contact, and let the loft on the club get the ball in the air.

Too much wrist hinge creates too steep an angle and too long a swing. As a result, most amateurs will decelerate through impact out of fear of hitting the ball too far. Think of a wide arc going back, the clubhead staying low to the ground, and firm wrist action. To see this technique on tour, check out Jason Day and Steve Stricker.

The shallow angle of attack that this type of swing produces helps the sole of the club slide under the ball.

That means solid contact and more backspin so you can control the rollout.

Y

—with RogeR Schiffman

Low throuGh, too

+ ADIDAS shirt, $65 shoes, $100 MAIDE pants, $108

the clubhead should remain low to the ground after impact as well (left).

Your stance should be narrow, and the feeling through the strike should be a dragging action, not a downward smash. this will help you impart backspin. try the Drag Drill. take your setup, and set the clubhead several inches behind the ball and slightly to the inside. then drag the club along the ground, into the ball, and to an abbreviated finish.

You’ll have to use your hips and upper body to rotate through. hit pitches replicating that body action. You’ll see better results fast.

Matt McLean is based at Fishers Island (N.Y.) Club and the Concession Golf Club, Bradenton, Fla.

26 golf digest india | july 2016

Photographs by Dom Furore

Play Your Best Strategy by Jack Nicklaus

What’s in My Bag

“There’s nothing wrong with making half a bogey.”

he toughest hole in golf might be No. 11 at Royal Troon, which hosts its ninth Open Championship this summer.

“Railway” (illustrated) is loaded with thick gorse along both sides, and the railroad tracks on the right are out-of-bounds. It’s 483 yards from the tips, with the prevailing wind against. When we played there in 1962, I made a 10 in one round and a 7 in another. Not fun.

The scorecard says it’s a par 4, but if I learned anything that week, it’s that sometimes that number is

T

Keep it clean My caddie, Mike Hartford, who used to work for Pat Perez, knows he can’t let my putter cover get dirty. I just think it looks really sharp when it’s clean.

irrelevant. Often you hear long hitters talk about a par 5 that’s easily reachable in two strokes as being a par 4½, but it’s the flip side—those very difficult par 4s—that require closer attention.

I bet your course has at least one par 4 that’s more like a 4½. It might play that way all the time, or only in wet or windy conditions. Once you identify the hole, consider if playing to the green in three strokes instead of forcing two shots will result in a lower average score. Since 1962, I’ve played Railway 4-iron-4-ironwedge a bunch of times.

—with max adler

danny lee age 25 lives Irving, Texas story Won 2008 U.S. amateur and 2015 Greenbrier Classic. engage to get ahead I flew to a tournament with Rickie Fowler last year, and he showed me how to boost my social-media clout. now I’m big on Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. Fans have been coming up to me this year, saying they love my Snaps. It’s fun! my rare downtime These days, I don’t have much time to relax. But I’m a huge video-game guy, either on PlayStation or computer games.

I leave my computer at home so it doesn’t consume my time at a tournament. I’m a big Bruce lee fan, too.

—with stephen hennessey

2. fINd a cOmfORTaBlE SpOT So you did the prudent thing off the tee and hit a club other than driver to make sure you stayed out of the gorse. Now what? You’re looking at a big number on the yardage plate, the wind is in your face, and you’re thinking you’ve got to absolutely mash a 3-wood to have any hope of making par, right? Wrong.

Same as the tee shot, the misses around this green are costly. There’s O.B. beyond the railroad tracks and some gorse bushes over the green, and the pot bunker left is no picnic. If you lay up to 75 yards, or a comfortable wedge distance, you leave an easy third shot into the green. Two-putt for a 5, and you haven’t made a bogey—you’ve made only half a bogey.

You’d think a stout yardage is the most obvious indicator that you’re looking at a tweener hole.

Does it require nothing less than your best drive and another solid long club to reach the green?

However, what you really want to ask is: How severe are the penalties?

On this hole at Troon, any tee shot missed left is in the gorse, where it’ll be a lost ball or an unplayable lie. With the latter, dropping two club-lengths away, into more gorse, probably isn’t going to help. Any miss to the right is the same deal or out-of-bounds.

If one side of this hole were a water hazard and you could take a drop from it into light rough, I’d be more inclined to hit the driver.

But the way it is, choosing a club off the tee that will find the fairway is essential.

28 golf digest india | july 2016

TWO BOGEYS WINS

Another notable par 4½ is the 17th at the Old Course in St. Andrews.

The hotel on the right is O.B., and the rough left is soft and deep, even when the rest of the course is playing firm. I usually drove with a 3-wood or 1-iron and then laid up short of the Road Hole Bunker.

If I made two 4s and two 5s in the tournament, that put me even with the field or sometimes a little better.

Illustration by Chris O’Riley

R&A/getty imAges

1. dON’T cHallENGE dOUBlE TROUBlE

ClUB

Line ’em up I line up every putt with the black line around the side of my Callaway Chrome Soft ball pointed at the target. It’s been my routine since my amateur days.

IRonS specs 4-iron: Callaway Apex Utility (Fujikura Speeder 904 hybrid shaft, X-flex). 5-iron through pitching wedge: Callaway MB1 prototype, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts, Golf Pride Tour Velvet 58 round grips I’ve used blade irons like this since I won the U.S. amateur. I don’t want to mess with it: My iron play tends to be a strength.

dRIveR

FaIRWay WoodS

specs Callaway XR 16 (8.5˚), Aldila Rogue Tour Black shaft, X-flex, 44.875 inches, D-2 swingweight

specs Callaway Great Big Bertha (15˚ and 18˚), Graphite Design Tour AD DI-8 shafts, X-flex, D-3

This used to be the weakest part of my game. But I’m hitting my highest percentage of fairways in my tour career with this driver.

on a tight course, or when my driver is a bit off, I’ll tee it up with my 3-wood. I tend to not lose much distance, and I can control it easily.

Just be yourself!

Most players and caddies have seen me Snapchatting on the putting green or during practice rounds.

When my phone comes out, they know the deal!

Fine-tuning iron I use this slidingweight Swing Trainer to warm up before I hit balls. It helps my feel and tempo.

It was developed by former pro Gabriel Hjertstedt.

Shining glory A cleanlooking U.S. dollar coin is my ball marker on the greens.

I haven’t seen anyone else on tour use it, and it’s the perfect size.

yaRdS*

driver

285

3-wood

260

5-wood

245

4-iron

220

5-iron

205

WedGeS

6-iron

190

7-iron

175

8-iron

165

specs Callaway Mack Daddy 2 (52˚, 56˚ and 60˚), True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts

9-iron

150

pw

140

gw

120

sw

105

lw

95

*carry distance

I added the 56 to my bag at the Masters. It gave me more options chipping off the tight lies. This setup has worked on the courses we’ve played since then.

PUTTeR specs Odyssey Works Versa #9, 35 inches, 5.75˚ loft, 72.75˚ lie I’ve been looking for the right putter since I went to the claw grip.

I like to feel the putterhead open and close through the stroke. This lets me do that well.

top left: Stan Badz/pGa toUR • Snapchat photo: coURteSy of danny lee

Tweener Hole The par 4 that plays like a par 5

Play Your Best

Photographs by Dom Furore

Hot List Equipment

Drivers The most flexible designs in golf by mik e stach ur a

cobra

cobra

NIKE

▶ King F6

▶ King LTD/Pro

▶ Vapor Flex 440

performance ½

performance 

look / sound / feel 

performance ½

innovation ½

innovation ½

demand ½

innovation ½

look / sound / feel ½

look / sound / feel 

demand 

demand 

callaway ▶ Great Big Bertha performance   innovation   look / sound / feel  ½ demand 

callaway ▶ Big Bertha Alpha 816  performance   innovation  ½ look / sound / feel   demand 

30 golf digest india | july 2016

callaway

cobra

▶ XR16/Pro

▶ King F6+/Pro

performance 

performance ½

innovation 

innovation ½

look / sound / feel 

look / sound / feel 

demand ½

demand ½

Photographs by Dom Furore

Hot List Drivers

nike

taylormaDe

PinG

wilson

mizuno

▶ Vapor Fly/Pro

▶ M2

▶ G/LS Tec/SF Tec

▶ FG Tour F5

▶ JPX EZ

performance  ½

look / sound / feel   

performance   ½

look / sound / feel ½

performance ½

performance 

innovation 

demand ½

innovation   

demand 

innovation ½

innovation 

look / sound / feel 

look / sound / feel 

demand 

demand 

titleist

performance 

look / sound / feel  ½

innovation  ½

demand 

▶ 915D2/D3 performance ½

look / sound / feel ½

innovation ½

demand 

taylormaDe ▶ M1 performance  innovation  look / sound / feel  demand 

sriXon ▶ Z 355 performance  innovation  look / sound / feel ½ demand 

000 golf 32 golfdigest.com digest india | | march july 2016 2016

Hot List Drivers ▶ How often do you purchase a new driver?

6%

43%

36%

15%

Ever y Ever y Ever y Ever y

year two to three years four to five years six years +

total distance (in yards) a robot swinging at 95 miles per hour hits a driver with a center strike.

s o u r c e : g o l f d atat ec h

$500 VERdICt Some drivers allow you to make small tweaks that better players like. That’s what’s going on here, especially with the two positions for the weighted cylinder that the company calls a gravity core. Better players tend to have a consistent impact location, so the gravity core can be placed to line up with that area. The cylinder goes in the heel or toe for a draw or fade, and it can be flipped with the heavy side up or down to match your contact sweet spot. For each loft setting, that’s four ball flights across a tight range (because good players want small changes, not 25 yards of draw bias).

Get the settings right, and you’ll get your preferred shot shape and maximum energy transfer.

COmmENts (L) The shape is unassuming. It felt soft but fast at the same time. (M) It’s definitely a better player’s driver, but it has just enough forgiveness. The adjustability is simple and effective.

PRICE

CALLAWAY GREAt BIG BERtHA $450 VERdICt Most golfers aren’t very good at getting the most from their tee shots. This driver is designed to improve three things golfers struggle with: ball speed, launch angle and direction. First, a thin, lightweight face keeps mis-hits from losing too much speed. Second, the lightweight construction, including a composite PRICE

CALLAWAY XR16/PRO $350/$400 VERdICt Most golfers need more speed and forgiveness from their drivers, but the trouble is, those two things often work against each other.

A big clubhead with a forgiving face can be harder to swing fast because its shape is aerodynamically inefficient. Callaway worked with Boeing to improve the way the XR16 moves through the air. The step feature on the crown helps reduce aerodynamic drag. But designers didn’t skimp on forgiveness. The lightweight titanium alloy in the body means more weight can be repurposed for a low center of gravity and stability on off-center hits. The shallow face is also lighter and thinner than last year to improve flex (speed) and save more weight (forgiveness).

COmmENts (L) The Pro version’s clean, compact head looks like a mean tank at address. (M) The forgiveness factor is high.

Aggressive ball flight and a lot of run. (H) The right metal sound, not harsh, not weak.

PRICE

34 golf digest india | july 2016

COBRA KING F6 $350 We know that drivers with an address profile this large are doing everything they can to emphasize forgiveness.

Thanks to selective use of a lightweight titanium alloy in the face and crown, the F6 gets that idea right. It’s got the highest stability on off-center hits in the Cobra family (and one of the highest in the game). Its large size also makes room for a greater difference in its two adjustable-weight settings.

Flipping the heavier, 10gram weight to the back will help you hit it higher, and leaving it in the front will produce a flatter flight with less spin. The result is two ball flights for each of the eight loft settings on the adjustable hosel.

COmmENts (L) The white line on the crown sets me up square. (M) Just enough crack mixed with a thud.

Some guts in the middle.

(H) With the weight back, everything launched nice and easy.

PRICE

VERdICt

COBRA KING F6+/PRO $400 VERdICt The problem with making a driver with adjustable weights is, well, weight. Movable weights require receptacles that can reduce the amount of weight you can move around. Cobra addressed this by making the slider channel out of lightweight carbon fiber. Consequently, there’s more weight in the sliding chip (18 grams) for more adjustability and a lower center of gravity for less spin and PRICE

better energy transfer. A carbon-composite crown and a lighter, titanium-alloy body saved mass to further stabilize the head. Altogether, the savings yield a driver with five settings at each of its eight adjustable lofts—or 40 drivers in one.

COmmENts (L) I could swing harder, and it didn’t make it spin more. (M) If I pushed the weight forward in the track, it did exactly what the label said: a low, penetrating bullet. (H) The sound is slightly muted.

With the weight back, my shots carried nicely.

COBRA KING Ltd/PRO $500 The technology in this classic-looking shape is under the hood.

And that’s not just because there’s a port in the sole that lets you look inside.

The cool part here is a center of gravity that’s nearly in line with the center of the face, something many in the industry have been chasing for a long time. Why? Because lining those two up results in shots that have the highest energy transfer with the least spin—fundamental to longer drives. Also, because the crown is made of a lightweight aerospace carbon composite (think International Space Station), the saved weight creates extra stability.

COmmENts (L) A consistent performer whether I swung hard or just wanted to hit a straight bullet. (M) A soft yet energetic sound.

You don’t have to have a high swing speed to hit it well. (H) Nice, solid thwack.

Felt light, effortless.

PRICE

VERdICt

NIKE VAPOR FLEX 440 $500 If the benefits of saving weight are so great (and they certainly can be), why use titanium if you don’t have to? That’s what’s going on here with the unique body structure behind the titanium face.

More than 60 percent of the clubhead is made of a light but strong carbon fiber reinforced with the resin polymer used in Nike’s golf balls. Because it’s one-third the density of titanium, the body saves mass to allow room for an adjustable weight slug that shifts the center of gravity from front to back to alter launch angle and spin (higher launch with the heavy end in back, lower spin with the heavy end in front). It also frees up the design for a taller face and a thinner, more consistently flexible sole channel. All of this makes the driver more forgiving with less spin.

COmmENts (L) The twotone helped alignment. You really have to hit this starting in third gear and let it rip. (M) No excessive noise, a pure transfer of power.

PRICE

VERdICt

NIKE VAPOR FLY/PRO $350/$400 VERdICt An all-titanium driver might not sound sexy these days, but Nike makes the case with these two models that combine flexibility in the face with stability in the body. The key improvement from last year’s model is a thinner crown. The saved weight is relocated lower in the head so shots launch with less PRICE

spin. Helping the entire face flex more on both models is the company’s trademark sole-channel feature. The wall has been thinned to less than a millimeter so mis-hits lose less distance. But all that face flexing is made possible by a more stable back side.

External beams and a deep sole cavity allow a better energy transfer to the ball.

COmmENts (L) I like the deep face. It looks forgiving. Sounded like a muted explosion. (M) Shocked at how stable the flight was, like the ball had a gyroscope in it. (H) The head shape frames the ball just about perfectly.

tAYLORmAdE m1 $500 The carbon-fiber crown exudes a secretagent kind of cool, but what’s particularly badass is how that lightweight structure fortifies the club’s undercarriage. The saved weight makes room for two sliding weights in a pair of T-shape tracks on the sole. Those sliders let you independently tweak ball flight high or low and left or right. But you’re not done. The adjustable hosel lets you alter the loft angle by plus or minus 2 degrees across 12 positions. Altogether, you have a head that provides nearly 2,500 potential settings.

And, oh, by the way, that sloping, aerodynamically sleek crown is the key to a lower center of gravity for less spin and better energy transfer at impact.

COmmENts (L) It’s like you’re swinging a light cement block—but in a good way. It’s a high, nospin monster, especially after you tune it. (M) Its performance matches its look: very high tech, very James Bond. (H) The twotone and the notch help alignment.

PRICE

VERdICt

PING G/Ls tEC/sF tEC $400 Ping successfully developed the idea that large, forgiving drivers like its new G line don’t have to come with an aerodynamic liability.

But what does that mean?

Ping engineers say its latest 460-cubic-centimeter behemoths glide through the air almost as if they were 3-woods. Ping accomplishes this by using aggressive ridges (turbulators) on the crown, sole shaping and a trailingedge cavity that reduces oscillation as the club approaches the ball. What’s not shrinking is forgiveness. The depressions on the back of the crown make the structure thinner. This allows Ping to use more mass low and deep for the most stable clubheads in company history. Besides the G, the line features the low-spin LS Tec and the slice-fighting SF Tec. COmmENts (L) Love the matte black. Consistent sound and feel. (M) No bad vibrations at all. Forgiving.

(H) Not crazy loud, but not quiet. Ball flight is higher but still penetrating.

PRICE

VERdICt

Photographs by Eddie Berman

tAYLORmAdE m2 $400 In the world of drivers, there are clubs designed to enhance our excellence, and there are clubs that love us like a grandmother despite our flaws. The M2 leaps happily into the latter category.

Built with a more forgiving, stable head than the M1, the M2 takes the weight

PRICE

VERdICt

james yang

CALLAWAY BIG BERtHA ALPHA 816 

crown, keeps the center of gravity low to help shots launch with less spin. The head also accommodates 19 custom shafts as light as 40 grams to maximize clubhead speed. Third, a sliding 10.5-gram weight in an aerodynamic channel in back makes left or right misses more playable.

COmmENts (L) Dig the matte black. You don’t have to be an MIT grad to figure out the adjustability.

(M) Nice, powerful ting.

Lets you know you got ahold of it. Power, even on less-than-stellar swings.

(H) The whole club felt hot, with narrow dispersion.

saved from its carboncomposite crown and distributes it toward the back of the club so mishits don’t lose too much distance. Extra stability is nice, but we also need help on those thin shots.

That deep, narrow channel in the sole makes those misses launch with more speed, more height and less spin. And when we can’t find the right loft, its hosel adjusts up or down 2 degrees.

COmmENts (L) The shape and the colors inspire confidence. (M) I could swing as hard as I wanted.

(H) A lively, clean clack, not mushy, more favorable than other carbon-fiber heads.

tItLEIst 915d2/d3 $450 The 915’s classic shape masks sophisticated technology.

It starts with the obvious, though. The wide, deep and long channel running across the sole enhances the flexing of the face in a uniform way, allowing the crown and sole to give simultaneously at impact.

That consistent flexing also allows shots to launch with less spin. Less obvious is the way its lightweight, variably thick face yields better perimeter weighting for a more stable head.

Extra weight deep in the sole and toe means lessthan-perfect hits end up flying closer to perfect.

With two head styles and its 16-way adjustable hosel that tweaks lie angle and loft independently, it’s the most accommodating Titleist driver ever.

COmmENts (L) More on the workable side than the raw distance side. But not lacking in performance.

(M) A lively sound off the face. Interesting that I hit longer shots with a driver shorter in shaft length.

PRICE

VERdICt

mIZUNO JPX EZ $400 When it comes to forgiveness, companies typically focus on keeping off-center hits from losing distance, or they try to minimize left or right misses. Doing both in one clubhead can be a challenge, but Mizuno answers the call with a large-profile design that has an adjustable weight. The eight-way adjustable head stretches to more than 90 percent of the USGA’s width and depth limits to inspire confidence at address and forgiveness on mis-hits.

A 10-gram weight chip fits into the heel or toe to reduce slices or hooks, or in the middle to boost stability on off-center hits.

COmmENts (L) I can see how it works for a person who has trouble getting the ball up. Not too much spin for the height. (M) A powerful blow. Feels like you really control the ball.

(H) Simple adjustability, and the hosel isn’t bulky.

PRICE

VERdICt

sRIXON Z 355 $350 Sometimes the most intriguing ideas are counterintuitive. This club seeks to improve your driving distance by making the clubhead heavier. This does two things: It boosts forgiveness and makes your swing more efficient.

First, the extra weight in the head increases stability on extreme misses on the heel and toe. Second, the heavier head helps keep the club on plane during the downswing so your impacts are more consistent.

PRICE

VERdICt

Third, the heavier head builds momentum coming into the ball for maximum energy transfer. The final key is a lightweight shaft with a balance point closer to your hands for control.

COmmENts (M) Got the right shape. Could use an alignment aid. When you hit it good, you feel it in a good way. (H) All-business looks. Sound a tad muted, but good and crisp.

250

Driven to Distraction Tips for testing ike any demo day you’ve attended, the Hot List Summit always buzzes when the drivers come out. But to get the most from your testing experience, you need to exhibit a little self-control, say our panelists, who’ve hit dozens of new drivers in search of the perfect one.

“It feels a little like speed dating,” said one of our longtime testers. “Some might be easy on the eyes but lack personality.”

Universally, our panelists cautioned against overindulging. “You can’t be swinging out of your shoes every time,” said one tester. “It’s so tempting to bash a bunch of balls as far as you can, but it will wear you out.”

Our panelists also agree that getting help from a clubfitter is critical. During this year’s Hot List Summit, Shanon Hoyt, a PGA professional and the lead clubfitter at the Golf Galaxy in Roseville, Calif., guided our players through loft and shaft recommendations during evaluations. “You need to find a driver with features that allow you to achieve optimum results,” Hoyt says, “and that depends on whether you need help with directional control, trajectory control or distance.

Or all three, in most cases.” —kl

L

WILsON FG tOUR F5 $380 For better players, too much spin with the driver is no good. As little as 500 revolutions per minute extra spin can cost a fast-swing-speed player 10 yards or more. So Wilson addressed high spin by doing something simple: It shifted the weight in the sole forward. This lowers the center of gravity to line up the meat of the club with the center of the face.

That means less spin, better energy and an optimal launch angle for more distance. Adjustable screws give you the option of putting as much as 11 grams in that weight port. Bonus: The sleek adjustable hosel works without removing the head from the shaft.

COmmENts (L) Nice and compact; looks substantial. Feels good, consistent coming off the face. (M) A bit of a hollow sound, but the ball really jumps with very little spin.

PRICE

VERdICt

(l) low-handicapper | (m) middle-handicapper | (h) high-handicapper

edited by ron kaspriske

“I don’t just want to be remembered as a golfer because of something I did at 17.”

think young, play hard

Smashin’ it Beau Hossler’s game might be tour ready

36 golf digest india | july 2016

eau hossler is surprised he still gets stopped by strangers wanting to know if he was that high school kid who played so well at the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club. Yep, it was him. And for the record, he doesn’t mind reliving that week. He started the final round in the top 10 before finishing T-29. It’s just that he likes to think a lot more has happened in the four years since. The 21-year-old from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., qualified for another U.S. Open, his third as an amateur, finishing T-58 in 2015 at Chambers Bay. He made the U.S. Walker Cup and World Amateur teams and won the Western Amateur and Jones Cup. He just finished his junior— and potentially final—season at the University of Texas with a sub-70 stroke average, five individual wins and multiple playerof-the-year nods.

But what hasn’t changed since Olympic is his competitive nature, something the die-hard L.A. Dodgers’ fan relies on when trying to win in everything from golf to table tennis. It’s what now has him on the precipice of a professional career.

B

Hossler hasn’t ruled out a return to college but is considering leaving after seeing fellow Longhorn Jordan Spieth, and other friends such as Smylie Kaufman and Patrick Rodgers, smoothly transition from amateur golf to the PGA Tour.

“To see those guys be successful so early, and knowing I can play with them, it gives me confidence,” Hossler says.

“To me, it’s all mental.

All golfers have a decision to either step on the gas pedal and get it done, or kind of ease off. I’m much more comfortable putting everything I have into it and staying aggressive.

And if it doesn’t work out, there is no regret.”

In contrast to the slightly awkward highschool senior who got plenty of attention during 2012 U.S. Open telecasts for his braces and an oversize Texas visor, Hossler is now an athletic 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. Where distance once was an issue, he has gained 40 to 50 yards off the tee.

“I used to hit it 240 yards [starting in high school], so I had to have a good short game to hold my own,” he says. “Now, I can compete more with length and my ball-striking. I’m a better all-around player.” —Ryan HeRRington

Photographs by Darren Carroll

The Golf Life The Core

The Core ▶ At the gym, which cardio

9%

stationaRy biKe

21%

36%

ost commercial gyms offer a variety of equipment designed to make your body leaner and your heart stronger. But which cardiovascular-training machine is the best for golfers? We asked a dozen golf-fitness experts, and nine out of 12 ranked the treadmill first or second.

“The best piece depends on the individual,” says Golf Digest fitness advisor Ben Shear. “But the treadmill is great for golfers because walking is such a huge part of the game. It can simulate hill walking and be used for steady-state cardio training or high-intensity interval training.”

Adds Golf Digest fitness advisor Ralph Simpson: “It also gets the nod for versatility and specificity. You can increase speed, elevation, train laterally or backward. Its only knock would be that golfers with lower-limb issues should use something with less impact on the joints, such as a stationary bike.”

Not surprisingly, stationary bikes finished second in the poll

M

because of their joint-friendly design and ability for users to interval train or focus on endurance. “It’s the best option for the money,” says strength coach Mike Boyle. “Mostly because it’s hard to get injured using one.”

Says Mike Voight, a clinical physical therapist from Belmont University: “Low compression

38 golf digest india | july 2016

can propel them with a forward or backward motion of the legs to create a balanced workout.”

Next on the list were climbing machines, though Boyle says VersaClimbers or laddermills are too strenuous to use regularly for most golfers. But climbing machines are probably the best in combining strength and cardio training, says fitness consultant Karen Palacios-Jansen. They also can move joints through a range of motion—especially key areas for golfers like the hips and shoulders, says Cody Carter, a fitness advisor for the SKLZ sportsequipment company.

What equipment should golfers ignore? Stair-climbing simulators and rowers did poorly in the poll. Most experts pointed out that users often operate these machines with compensatory movements instead of the intended muscle groups.

Jordan Spieth’s trainer, Damon Goddard, said most of the experts polled would probably prefer golfers get cardio training the old-fashioned way: jogging, sprinting, swimming, etc.

“Our top guys rarely, if ever, use cardio machines,” he says.

2

3

4

Stand with your upper body against a wall and your feet angled about 12 inches from it. Make sure your pelvis is tucked under your torso. Extend one arm so it’s perpendicular to the wall, and raise it over your head without bending it. The goal is to touch the wall while maintaining the body’s other contact points. Repeat the test with the other arm.

Is Your Back Holding You Back?

Our three-step plan to test and improve your swing mobility

polled: Trevor Anderson, Mike Boyle, Cody Carter, Michael Cummings, Damon Goddard, Dave Herman, Randy Myers, Karen Palacios-Jansen, Dave Phillips, Ben Shear, Ralph Simpson, Mike Voight.

5

6

1/Start by doing a single-leg deadlift holding a dumbbell on the same side as the trail leg. 2/While bent over, pull the dumbbell up until it’s chest high and then return it to the hanging position.

3/Swing the trail leg forward for balance and then 4/do a single-leg squat until your butt touches the box/bench. 5/Stand up on one leg and 6/push the dumbbell straight up to the sky.

Illustration by Brian Stauffer

f you’re off to a bad start this golf season, struggling to hit the ball the way you want, it’s natural to think the cause is a fault in your swing. “But sometimes the fault isn’t the cause, it’s a symptom,” says Golf Digest fitness advisor Ben Shear.

Sometimes poor shots are the result of a physical dysfunction that causes poor swing mechanics. The symptoms: poor contact with the ball even when you’re consciously trying to hit it solid; struggling to swing the club through the impact zone without straightening up; and routinely pulling shots left of your target or slicing them right of it—or both. If any of these describe the state of your game, stand with your back to a wall and take these three physical screening tests to see if you lack the muscle function necessary to hit great shots. —Ron KaspRisKe

I

—ron kaspriske

t h e o n e - e x e rc i s e wo r ko u t Short on time in the gym? Golf Digest fitness advisor Ben Shear created an exercise that trains the lower and upper body in one compound movement.

“It trains the hips, knees, glutes, back and shoulders in one shot,” he says. The only thing you need is a dumbbell and something to sit on for the squat portion of the exercise. A plyo box or bench will work. “The box can be as tall as you need it to be to do the squat portion of the movement,” Shear says. Do three sets of 10 reps of this exercise, and you’re done for the day. —RK 1

TesT no. 1

Illustrations by Brown Bird Design

if you failed The inverted triangularshaped muscle of your upper back, known as the latissimus dorsi or “lat,” is too tight.

This causes your swing to be short and narrow, resulting in thin and fat shots and/ or slices. To improve mobility, lie on your side, leaning back slightly on a foam roller.

Roll from hips to armpits for three minutes a few times a week. Also, stretch your upper-back muscles before you play.

TesT no. 2 Stand against the wall just like you did in Test No. 1 and extend both arms at the same time, pressing the palms together. Raise both arms over your head.

The goal is to touch the wall with your two thumbs without arching your lower back or losing any of the contact points created when you began the test.

if you failed The muscles around the thoracic spine (mid-back) aren’t functioning properly. This causes a loss of posture and limits your ability to rotate when you swing. Lie on a foam roller, and move it up and down your back. Stop in the middle and let your shoulders gently sink toward the floor while keeping your butt on the ground. Also, strengthen your oblique muscles with exercises like side planks and seated torso rotations.

TesT no. 3 Stand with the majority of your body—from heels to head—against the wall. Bend one arm 90 degrees, and place the upper portion of the arm against the wall at shoulder height. Now raise the lower portion of the arm, maintaining the 90-degree angle. Your goal is to touch the wall with the back of your hand while keeping the bottom part of your back from arching or pressing into the wall.

if you failed Shoulder mobility is an issue for you, and this likely causes you to hit shots fat, thin or your path into the ball is noticeably out-to-in (slices/pulls). Work on stretching the pectoral muscles (chest) and exercises that improve the external rotation of the shoulder joint. Even repeating this test can improve mobility. july 2016 | golf digest india

39

top illustration: zohar l azar

eliptical

on the joints is key. I like the stationary bike because most golfers will tolerate it as a warm-up versus other cardio equipment.”

As for cons, Shear says that riding a stationary bike is probably not the best thing for people with desk jobs or those who suffer from kyphotic posture, which is a rounding of the spine.

Ellipticals and arc trainers finished third in the ranking, mostly because of their ability to train posterior muscles like the glutes (butt) and hamstrings (back of the thighs). These muscles are often ignored, says Trevor Anderson of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy. “You

source: Golf DiGest reaDers

34%

tReadmill

The King of Cardio Our panel of experts picked the best sweat-inducing machine in the gym for golfers

machine do you spend the most time on?

exercises: brown bird design

RoweR

The Golf Life

The Golf Life Style by Marty Hackel

▶ Stripes on the collar? Cutter & Buck took a conventional striped shirt and spiced it up with a smart twist. cutter & buck $74

3

1

▶ This two-tone stripe shirt shines with its simple design made in a multi-functional, technical fabric. dunning golf $99

4 ▶ The vintageinspired chest stripe and contrasting collar will look sharp on the course or in a work meeting. lacoste $98

izod shirt, $60 greg norman shorts, $59 beltology belt, $60 under armour shoes, $200, socks, $12

5 ▶ Nike’s new slim-fit “blade collar” shirt, worn

by Rory McIlroy, is geared to a more athletic crowd. nike $90

6 ▶ The beauty of this color scheme is that it can be matched with any pair of slacks, especially solid white, red or navy pants or shorts. rlx golf $99

40 golf digest india | july 2016

Photographs by Weston Wells

While We’re Young!

25 easy ways to speed up play his certainly doesn’t apply to you.

You’re the fastest golfer you know, right? Right. Anyway, maybe you can still review this list of helpful tips for how to shave time off a round and, perhaps, pass it on to golfers who could really use it.

Just a thought. —Ron KaspRisKe

T

1. Play like you have only three hours to finish the round before the sun sets.

2. Ditch your headcovers. Taking them on and off all day is a serious time suck.

3. Play it forward at least one tee box.

4. Check the time when you tee off and check again every three holes.

For some reason, it helps make you play faster.

5. Mixed foursome?

Forward-tee players should ride with other forward-tee players. Back tees with back tees.

Illustration by Matt Chase

6. Agreeing to play “ready golf” is essential for a casual round. But you’ll play even faster if you keep putting until your ball is conceded or holed.

12. Approximate yardages instead of walking them off.

7. Only mark a short putt to clean it.

14. Always be moving forward. If you have to double back for anything— bag, cart, clubs— you’re losing time.

8. Don’t wait for dawdlers. They’ll start playing faster as a result.

9. First golfer on a par 3 gets the yardage and announces it to everyone.

10. First to hit on a par 3 stands at the ready to fill divot holes.

11. Glean as much knowledge as you can about your next shot while approaching it.

13. Waiting? Take as many practice swings/strokes as you want. Your turn? You get one.

15. Hit your ball first, then help others search.

They’ll typically find the ball without your help.

16. Always have a spare ball handy.

17. Two players in the same bunker?

The last one to hit rakes. The first one to escape marks and reads the putt during the raking.

18. Unless the cart is going to or from a tee box, there should never be more than one person in it.

19. A little radical for some, but leaving the flagstick in the hole saves a lot of time.

20. Refuse to leave the flagstick in?

First to putt out grabs the flagstick and waits to put it back. Always.

21. Have an exit strategy. Know where the next tee box is and be prepared to make a direct exit toward that box as soon as the hole is finished.

22. Jokes and stories are best told after teeing off, not before. Otherwise

you’re interrupting another player’s preparation.

23. Beverage cart approaching? Wave it over to where your ball is located, if possible. Play your shot, and then order. And keep the conversation brief.

24. Playing on the tail of the people in front of you will subconsciously push them to play faster, even if they try not to.

25. Nothing else working? In the age of smartphones and social media, it’s easy to document slow play. Single out the slow players on Snapchat, Instagram, et al.

If it does nothing else, it will serve as cheap therapy.

july 2016 | golf digest india

41

top illustration: zohar l azar

Stripes aren’t new to golf attire. But how they’re being used is. Today’s stripes of various widths in modern, technical fabrics are represented in most apparel collections. The fresh choices here will add variety to your outfits. Pro tip: Match your belt to the color of your shorts or to one of the major stripes from your shirt.

The Golf Life

2

StyliSt: Paul Petzy • GroominG: mary Guthrie for timothy Priano/aBtP

Be a Star in Stripes Six shirts to help you stand out

The Rundown

The Golf Life Real Estate

Shortcuts by Tom Watson Play Your Best

When E.F. Hutton’s old place goes on the market . . .

37% 13% 8%

42%

How long 5 before your tee time HDCP do you show up at the course? ▶ 30 minutes ▶ A good hour ▶ Right to the tee, baby! ▶ In time to hit 10 range balls

42% 34%

source: Golf DiGest reaDers

Golf Mansions Old money, new money and Masters money

Palm Beach’s ultimate society pad

toward an imaginary ball. Then hold your driver across your shoulders and mimic the backswing and through-swing. The club represents shoulder plane.

You want to make sure that your shoulder plane stays the same throughout the motion.

It should be perpendicular to your spine. Turn your shoulders this way when it comes time to actually hit shots, and you’ll return the club consistently to the same impact position. Now you’ve got the secret.

Even if you don’t have old money, you can look like you do. E.F. Hutton’s 1921 Palm Beach mansion is on the market for almost $15 million, and it comes with many of the original pieces of art acquired by Hutton and his wife, Marjorie Merriweather Post, for their 8,500-square-foot winter home. The property has seven bedrooms and 8½ bathrooms, and it sits on the ultra-posh Everglades Club, down the street from Donald Trump’s Mar-aLago—which Post and Hutton built from 1924-’27. Property taxes are $149,880 per year.

Tom Watson is a Golf Digest Playing Editor.

You often hear about tour players moving to Florida because of the income-tax savings. What does that look like in real life for somebody who has more than $40 million in earnings? Check out Lee Westwood’s 9,500-square-foot Palm Beach Gardens mansion, which is on the market for just under $11 million.

Built in 2013, it has six bedrooms and 8½ baths, plus a vast secondfloor entertainment terrace overlooking Old Palm Golf Club. Property taxes are $177,024 yearly, on top of the $60,000 monthly mortgage.

Own a true Masters suite in Texas Few words say more about Ben Crenshaw than putting and Texas. You can get some of both at the two-time Masters champion’s elegant Austin villa, listed at $5.7 million.

The six-bedroom, 6½-bath home has the expected high-end fixtures, but how many homes can boast a back-yard synthetic putting green used by one of the game’s legendary flat-stick wizards? Property taxes are $50,152 yearly. —matthew rudy

42 golf digest india | july 2016

Sam Snead said you don’t make the same swing with every club because the amount of spine tilt (how much your upper body bends forward) changes based on the length of the club. Your spine angle will be tilted down more when swinging shorter clubs. That’s why it’s important to keep your shoulder plane perpendicular to that tilt instead of turning your shoulders at the same angle for every club.

My Secret to Better Golf Maintain your shoulder tilt f you’re not happy with early returns this season, check your shoulder turn. That’s what helped pull me out of a long period of indifferent golf. During one particular range session, I identified a flaw in my downswing: I was dipping my right shoulder coming into impact, which caused me to fall back with my upper body. I realized that when my shoulder plane stayed the same in relation to my spine as I swung back and through, everything else—arms, hands, clubhead—would fall into a foolproof groove. In short, I discovered my secret to better golf.

To feel this, copy what I’m doing here. Start at address with your upper body tilted

I

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

POLO GOLF: SHIRT, $90, PANTS, $198, BELT, $990 • G/FORE: GLOVE, $35

No major? Don’t be too sad for Lee Westwood

Hutton: Courtesy of robert stevens/bHs • WestWooD: realtor.Com • CrensHaW: Courtesy of roxan Coffman ProPerties

ELEMENTARY WATSON

july 2016 | golf digest india

43

ALL IN after some fr agile moments , jason day turns inspir ation into obsession by jaime dia z

there’s an easy “hi, mate” openness and humility to Jason Day. The 28-year-old Australian calls himself “a boring person,” equating

golf’s other 20-somethings to “the popular kids in school . . . I’m just the nerd in the back.” Day’s attempt at a recent press conference to explain

his combination of power and touch—“Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy had a baby, and I was it”—was slightly, though charmingly, off. It’s why he lets his wife, Ellie, do his tweeting. ▶ But Day’s warmth is the reason his ascension to World No. 1 last September, shortly after winning his first major championship, at Whistling Straits, has been a popular one in the caddie yards, equipment trailers and tournament offices of

professional golf, and especially among the tight group of players and

families who, like the Days, regularly travel and try to normalize tour life in a luxury RV. ▶ “Jason has a sweet nature that’s pretty laid-back, even when he’s got to be intense,” says fellow Aussie and friend Geoff

Ogilvy. “Most players, especially the really good ones, aren’t like that.”

Photographs by Walter Iooss Jr.

july 2016 | golf digest india

45

Day is unlike his peers in another, seemingly opposite way. From age 10 to 13 in a rough side of Rockhampton, a Gold Coast town north of Brisbane, Day got into a lot of fistfights. Though many took place in schoolyards, they were still the gasping, desperate kind that ended when one party quit or got hurt, although the stress of a quick rematch could loom.

It’s not the background of most professional golfers. As Lee Trevino, a brawler in his public golf years in Dallas and El Paso, told Golf Digest’s Guy Yocom, “Think twice before throwing the first punch, because you’re making a big commitment.” It’s true that the first time Byron Nelson saw Ben Hogan, the fellow 13-year-old was boxing against another Fort Worth caddie named Joe Boy. Chi Chi Rodriguez fought for sodas in the streets of San Juan, Ian Woosnam and Fred Funk boxed as kids, and Esteban Toledo was once a talented professional fighter.

But these days, from The First Tee’s Nine Core Values and beyond, fighting has pretty much been drummed out of golf.

Day fought mostly as a result of the violence in his home. Earlier this year, he revealed on David Feherty’s television show that his father, Alvyn, was an alcoholic who physically abused Jason and his mother, Dening. Not long after Alvyn’s 6-year-old son showed immediate talent and enthusiasm for hitting shots with a 3-wood recovered from a garbage dump, the father began taking Jason to local junior tournaments and applying an extraordinary pressure to perform. At 11, Day says, “If I played bad golf, he’d beat me up.”

When Jason was being bullied in school, or, as the only Asian kid in his class (his mother is Filipino), was taunted with racial slurs, he dreaded his father finding out.

“He’d tell me, ‘If you don’t fight that kid tomorrow, I’m going to beat you up when you get home,’ ” Day says. “So I’d get in a fight.”

Alvyn died of stomach cancer when Jason was 12. Not surprisingly, the leftover turmoil and anger within his son, now without a strong authority figure, led to an aimless period of drinking and more fighting.

Day says he doesn’t remember much about those days. “Maybe I’ve blocked it out,” he says. “I look back on the influence my dad had on my life and career, and I just try to take the best parts of what he had.” Although on “Feherty” he said, “Every now and then I think about him and absolutely hate him.”

But Day recalls, and sometimes draws on, the sensations of being in those early fights.

“Anything can happen, so you have to control your attitude and stay strong,” he says.

“Another person is trying to hurt you, and you’re trying to hurt them, so if you make a mistake, you’re in trouble. My dad was the way he was, but he also gave me a motto:

46 golf digest india | july 2016

‘ you go, “i c an’t fo cus on running away. i have to face this straight on.” ’ —jason day never say die. Just to keep pushing and pushing, fighting until the end. He put it in my head that you’re always going to fight, and you’re always going to beat them. At the same time, my mother, who is the hardest worker I know, told me that the best thing about me was that I never give up. If I have an extra gear, that’s where it comes from.”

Although he hasn’t been in a fight since he was 13—“I would suck at it now”—Day knows there is a hardness from those days deep within. He accessed it in winning the WGC-Match Play in 2014 and 2016, and in his insistence during those mano-a-mano battles on making opponents putt short ones that might normally be conceded.

The increased self-awareness that has been part of Day’s growth as a player is reflected in a lexicon that clearly sees tournament golf as a psychological battle. He favors terms such as “fight or flight,” “instant” versus “delayed” gratification, “being comfortable with being uncomfortable,” avoiding “self-sabotage,” and the need to “walk toward the fear” to describe his feelings and thoughts during competition.

At Bay Hill, where he hung in and came

night and day After winning twice in his first eight seasons on the PGA Tour, Jason Day broke through last year with five wins and added three more early in 2016, through the Players. His career results: year

events

cuts made

wins

top10s

2006

7

5

0

0

2008

28

13

0

2

2009

18

14

0

2

2010

24

18

1

5

2011

21

18

0

10

2012

17

13

0

4

2013

21

21

0

7

2014

15

14

1

6

2015

20

18

5

11

2016

10

9

3

6

year

181

143

10

53

Day played the Nationwide Tour in 2007 with one victory and seven top-10s and 14 cuts made in 19 tournaments. top-10s in majors masters T-2 (2011), 3 (2013), T-10 (2016) u.s. open 2 (2011), T-2 (2013), T-4 (2014), T-9 (2015) open championship T-4 (2015) pga ch. 1 (2015), T-8 (2013), T-10 (2010)

from behind to win on the strength of his short game—he did the same thing a week later at the Match Play, particularly in beating McIlroy in a tense semifinal—Day admitted the stress of making up for poor ball-striking presented a test he used to be unable to pass. “It’s so uncomfortable, you feel like you want to run away,” he said.

“Times like that are where you go, ‘I can’t focus on running away. I have to face this straight on. I’ve got to fight for this win.’ ” Breaking through has been liberating and energizing. Seeing what’s possible, he has stepped up efforts in every area. Under trainer Cornell Driessen, the 6-foot, 190-pounder has focused on strengthening his core for greater speed and to guard against more injury to what has been a troublesome lower back. Caddie, coach and father figure Colin Swatton guides Day through the technical and mental challenges, as he has done since Jason was 12. Day has also increased his texting correspondence with childhood hero and friend Tiger Woods, saying “If you’re going to pick a brain, it would be his.”

And if you’re going to pick a power player, it would be Day. Employing driver clubhead speed in excess of 120 miles per hour, at Whistling Straits he became the first player to shoot 20 under par in a major. But Day’s biggest improvement over the past 18 months has been with his now-familiar high-tech mallet putter.

According to statistician Peter Sanders, before Day’s victory at the RBC Canadian Open last July, Day’s make rate on putts in the crucial range between four and 10 feet was below the tour average of 60 percent. But since then and through the Players Championship, that rate has risen to over 70 percent, gaining Day about 2½ strokes per tournament.

His goals? As many wins as possible, multiple majors, including the career Grand Slam, and surpassing Greg Norman’s 331 weeks at No. 1 (Woods’ record of 683 is apparently unassailable). In short, Day is all in.

“I’ve never been so committed to myself,” he said before winning the Players for his 10th PGA Tour victory. “I’m motivated to extend the gap between me and No. 2. I’m going to work as hard as I can and see where it goes.”

Day’s prospects dramatically improved when his mother mortgaged their home and used her husband’s life-insurance policy and a loan from her brother to get Jason away from his behavior in Rockhampton and into the highly regarded Kooralbyn boarding

school—with a first-class golf program whose alumni included Adam Scott—several hundred miles away. There, Day and Swatton connected, with the troubled adolescent having “a moment of clarity” to suppress the rebellion he was feeling for authority and deferring to the teacher.

Almost immediately, Day demonstrated the obsessive work ethic of a young man hungering for approval and validation. Inspired by Woods’ instruction book, How I Play Golf, Day began rising at 5 a.m. to practice and play before classes.

Under Swatton, Day developed a game reminiscent of Norman’s in the stability, compactness and speed of his swing, the height of his ball flight, and his skill with the short game and putter. Day dominated his age groups in Australia, and in 2004 he traveled to San Diego and was a winner in the Callaway Junior World Championships.

By 18, he had turned pro, and in 2007 he joined the Nationwide Tour. In his first year, he finished fifth on the money list and qualified for the PGA Tour. He famously said, “I can take Tiger down.” (Says Day today: “When you’re that young and you’re full of confidence, you don’t say the greatest things.”)

Day appeared to have been rescued. But his past made the road ahead complicated and confusing. “Anytime he was given good feedback, it was so unfamiliar to him, he didn’t like it,” Swatton says. “He still struggles with complimentary stuff.” The kid who had grown up being criticized wasn’t sure he was good enough. On the PGA Tour, amid the game’s best players and the toughest setups, Day began to question himself and proved mentally fragile.

From 2008 through 2013, Day won once in 129 PGA Tour starts. His lone victory came in the Byron Nelson, where, with a one-shot lead, he hooked a middle iron into the water on the 72nd hole and made bogey but survived when Blake Adams did the same thing.

At the 2013 Masters, Day arrived at the 16th tee on Sunday with a one-stroke lead but admitted later, “My body just froze.” Two consecutive bogeys led to a third-place finish behind Scott. As the winless years went by,

Day fought complacency, burnout and frequent injury. Before his first Masters in 2011, in which he tied for second, Day was giving serious thought to quitting the tour.

“He wasn’t having fun, and he was searching,” Swatton says. “Countless times on the range and on the golf course, we’d have these conversations, and he’d ask, ‘Why do you think I don’t win more?’ I would always say, ‘Jase, you will win more often when you want to win more.’ I’m sure he thought, Yeah, what the hell does that mean?”

In essence, Day was still in a fight—but this time with himself. Again, he didn’t quit.

“I had to go through something like that to experience what it is to fail, and fail hard,” he says. “Even though I hated it, I needed it in my career.”

“We were both so young, figuring everything out,” Ellie told pgatour.com last year.

“People always thought he was so mature, but he did really immature things back then.

He played video games all the time. He was still throwing golf clubs, and I’d see him cussing on the golf course. He had phases where he would almost give up.”

Today, Ellie says, “He’s a machine.”

At the end of 2012, a year in which Day’s adjustment to the birth of his son, Dash, coincided with his worst career finish on the FedEx Cup points list (daughter Lucy arrived in November of last year), Swatton, Ellie and longtime manager Bud Martin all told Day he wasn’t working hard enough. “Jason’s

+ ADIDAS shirt, $80, hat, $28

naturally a hard worker, so that pissed him off,” Martin says, “but it needed to be said, and he took it the right way—as a challenge.”

Day began using the principles of FocusBand, which measures brain activity and cognitive function. A routine that begins when Day arrives at his ball and features standing on the target line with fluttering eyes shows Day how to use the “right brain” hemisphere that can access “the zone” and what that feels like—and how to replicate it.

When Day encountered vertigo in the second round of the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, falling on his final hole, he shot rounds of 68-74 on the weekend despite the lingering effects to finish T-9. Day took it as a positive, saying the adversity “helped me to see how far I could really push myself.”

In the next major, the Open Championship at St. Andrews, Day had a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to get into a playoff but left it short. On the plane to Toronto for the RBC Canadian Open, Day realized that he had played with great consistency—his only three bogeys coming during the windblown second round—and possessed a new serenity. “It felt like it changed me and the way I look at myself,” he says. When he got off the plane and into the limo, Day told Martin, “I’m going to win this week.”

The day before the tournament, Day sat down with filmmaker Kevin Foley (brother of coach Sean Foley) to talk about his life. “He was still raw from St. Andrews, and his eyes looked right through me and burned into the camera,” Foley says of the film, “Never Say Die,” which was nominated for an Emmy.

“There was this intensity, like a light had gone on, and he couldn’t wait to play again.”

On Sunday, Day birdied the 16th and 17th holes, and on the 72nd, faced a 20-foot leftto-right downhiller much like his last birdie putt at St. Andrews, for the win. Before hitting it, he told Swatton, “I ain’t leaving this short.”

Before the putt went in, Day let out a throaty yell of celebration: “It was a good way to turn around really quick and know that I can do it and show people that I can do it and stomp my foot on the ground and say, ‘No, that’s enough. I can get it done.’ ” Three weeks later, in the PGA, Day took a two-stroke lead into the final round, the third consecutive major he led through 54 holes.

On the par-5 11th hole, a spectator yelled “Choke!” causing Day to readdress the ball.

He then “melted” a drive of almost 400 yards, drawing a thumbs-up from Spieth, outdriven by more than 75 yards. Day says he was most proud after his 67 for a three-stroke victory when Spieth congratulated him and said, “There was nothing I could do.” A month

48 golf digest india | july 2016

‘until l a st ye ar, jason truly never knew why he wa s pl aying.’

—colin swatton later, after winning the BMW Championship by six strokes, Day was No. 1.

What happened?

The main breakthrough was developing the calmness to close. Day won only once the first seven times he led PGA Tour events after three rounds, but after winning the Players, he’d done it five consecutive times.

Unlike most players, Day can be candid about the effects of pressure. Asked last year at the Tour Championship whether he would think about the FedEx Cup’s $10-million bonus, he said, “Yeah, of course it would pop into my brain. It did in 2011, and I choked.”

Day recently recalled his first such failure as a pro, at a 2007 Nationwide Tour event he led after three rounds: “I shot 80. It was a pretty good 80. I hooked my ball off the first tee, hit a little girl. I was kind of shaken up after that, but yeah, I learned a good lesson obviously on how to handle pressure that day—also not to break up with your girlfriend the night before.

That definitely doesn’t help.”

Says Swatton: “Until last year, Jason never truly knew why he was playing. Maybe initially it was for his dad, and maybe for me, and his wife and kids. He had extrinsic goals based on money, to the point that he bought things to unconsciously create pressure to perform. Every time we talked about how good Tiger was, I’d say to Jase, ‘Why does he do it? Why does he love it?’ And the reason I did is that I wanted him to find his intrinsic motivator. Because no one can find it for him.

“I believe he has finally realized in a deeply held way, I really, truly want to be the best player in the world,” Swatton says. “I see it in his new ability to win multiple times. It means he loves winning. And that means Jason loves the practicing and every aspect of preparation, because he knows it will help him win. Now it feels like the journey is just beginning again.”

Says Ogilvy: “It’s noticeable in his focus that Jason is really set on getting as good as he can. It lets him activate one of his best gifts, which is being very good at getting better. He’s kind of Hogan-like in that respect. He likes to get all the information, take what’s right for him, and then ingrains it with really hard work. It’s why everything about his technique is so sound and efficient and textbook, all the way through the bag.”

Norman knew how to stay on top, and he

hopes, that like he did, Day will concentrate on more variety in his iron play. “It comes down to the work equation, which Jason understands,” Norman says. “I would urge him to err on the side of caution with the load he puts on his lower back. There isn’t a power player on this planet who hasn’t had back problems over the years.”

Expect Day to keep consulting Woods in what could be perceived by both as a passing of the torch. Even if Woods’ texted words seem unremarkable—“just be yourself and stay in your world” is an example, according to Day—the fact that they are coming from the player Day reveres most makes them gold.

“For some reason, when he sends the same stuff to me, I can finally concentrate,” Day said after winning at Bay Hill. “It just means so much more, you know?”

Another Yoda moment with Woods, before the Players, might have been simple, but it struck Day as more profound. “I asked Tiger, ‘Did you ever struggle with being the best?’ And he goes ‘No.’ Because he tried to enjoy the process. And he tried to get better.

Didn’t matter how good he already was. Every time he teed it up, he just tried to learn from it, and he got better. And that’s it.”

Maybe it is. For Jason Day, it’s the good fight.

LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION. DRAMA ON THE WORLD STAGE

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

LIVE SCORING

LATEST HIGHLIGHTS

Follow the drama at: europeantour.com

hit it longer, get it closer by jason day with ron k a spriske

DAY’S DO’S AnD DOn’tS iron play

power

don’t: swing back as far as you can do: feel in control at the top

O

pinions vary on the proper length of the backswing, mostly because some big hitters take the club back super far—and who doesn’t want to hit the ball longer? The important thing to remember is, you should never swing back so far that you lose control of your body or the club.

As I’m often reminded by my coach, Col Swatton, the fewer moving parts you have in your swing, the fewer that can break down. It’s so true. I like to feel as if my backswing ends just before the point when my hips would start to sway away from the target (previous page). It feels compact, but I’m wound up, and there’s plenty of energy stored. So forget the old standard of swinging the club to parallel at the top.

Find out what’s best for you.

driving don’t: turn hard through the ball do: keep your head back at impact

S

cience has proven that hitting down on the ball with the driver is a sure way to lose distance. And that usually comes from making an aggressive upper-body move at the start of the downswing. You want your club level with the ground or moving upward when it strikes the ball. Do that, and the ball will come off the face with less backspin and the necessary trajectory to maximize distance.

So how do you sweep the ball? Where you play it in your stance (off the left heel) is important, but so is body position coming down. Your lower body should shift toward the target, but your upper body should lean away from it (left). This shallows your attack and creates room to swing powerfully from the inside.

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

july 2016 | golf digest india

51

75.3%

percentage of time jason hits the green when playing from the fairway.

◀ alignment

◀ pitching

don’t: line up for a straight shot

don’t: pitch from a full-swing setup

do: visualize your normal ball flight

do: start small and keep it smooth

T

T

he mistake I see many amateurs make is that they set up to the ball like they’re going to hit it on a straight line to the flagstick. That alignment is good if you’re laser-straight with your irons, but most golfers I know have a little curve in their shots—and that curve is pretty consistent.

If that’s the case with your game, you’re better off adjusting your alignment so your ball has a chance of tracking into the target with your typical ball flight.

In other words, if your shots tend to curve a little to the right, align your body a little left of your target.

After you adjust your alignment, stare down your target and keep visualizing the shot you want to hit, even after you look back down at the ball. You might have seen my eyelids sometimes flutter before I address the ball. That’s when I’m clearing my mind of everything except my target.

here’s no need to apply a huge amount of power to a pitch shot—you’re going 50 yards at the most. So you don’t need to stand as wide as you do when you’re making a full swing with an iron or wood. Getting narrower with your stance also reminds you to swing back and through at a smooth pace—otherwise you’ll fall off balance.

Setting up in a standard full-swing position prompts a lot of golfers to take too big a hack at the ball. They usually realize somewhere during the swing that they’ve got too much power on tap, so they decel and hit the shot fat or thin.

If you set up in a narrow, slightly open stance and make a smooth swing back and through, the ball will come off the clubface high and soft. Then it’s just a matter of regulating the length of your swing to make the ball go the distance you want.

iron play ▶

chipping ▶

don’t: try to make a precise strike

don’t: slide the club under the ball

do: let the club naturally accelerate

do: follow it with the clubhead

A

+ ADIDAS shirt, $65, pants, $85, belt, $60, shoes, $200, hat, $28 TAYLORMADE glove, $22

52 golf digest india | july 2016

W stats: shotlink

nother thing I see in a lot of pro-ams is that my partners try too hard to control or steer the club on iron shots. Maybe because the ball is on a tight lie, which causes anxiety, or the target area is smaller than it is for a tee shot. Whatever the reason, this steery motion leads to a weak strike because the club is not swinging freely or with much speed.

Instead, let the swing’s momentum build as the club approaches the ball. The clubhead should be moving its fastest through impact—not before. This will allow you to hit the ball with maximum power and give you enough time to square the face at impact. You’ll know you accelerated correctly when the club is wrapped around you at the finish.

hen hitting a chip shot, you obviously want the leading edge of your wedge to get under the ball. But you shouldn’t try to make that happen with wrist action. Too many things can go wrong when you start trying to time a wristy swing.

Instead, let the club’s design work for you. The ball will briefly roll up the clubface before vaulting toward your target. The key is to not quit at impact in fear of hitting the shot too far. You have to follow the ball with the clubhead. In reality, the clubhead should start tracking left of the target after impact, but feel like you keep it moving forward long after the ball is on its way. It’s like a good putting stroke: Chase the ball to the hole.

percentage of time jason makes par or better after missing the green.

61.2%

Elis voluptiis aut et es dolorporepti ut faccae. Ut illam re lam nectur, ommo volore volorum qui corum, sequat.

Modiate stiore commos dem ut as custo ium fugit enimodit

has b ec om

54 golf digest india | july 2016

gutter credit tk

photographs by cody pickens

gutter credit tk

the

wa

rr

io

fanatic olf a g

s’

n a

e r d

u g i

a l a od

e

r

hooked

Photograph by First Lastname

Iguodala, a 12-year veteran of the National Basketball Association, is co-captain of a Golden State Warriors team that set a league record by going 73-9 this season, and the swingman earned MVP honors in the 2015 Finals. “That’s all good,” he says, “but let’s talk about golf.” • The bug has bitten. When he’s not on the hardwood, the 6-foot-6 Iguodala—pronounced ig-uh-DAH-luh; his father is Nigerian, and Andre grew up in Springfield, Ill.—can often be found doing something golf-related. Watch that LPGA tournament on Sunday? Andre did.

See that article about how to get out of a greenside bunker? Andre did. Did you stop by the local golf store to get your swing analyzed by a launch monitor?

Andre did. • “I think he wants to be a golf pro when his NBA career ends,” says his business manager, Rudy Cline-Thomas. • We kinda believe it, too. We visited with Iguodala, 32, during this year’s NBA playoffs at his home course, Contra Costa Country Club in Pleasant Hill, Calif., and learned his obsession with golf is genuine. He’s a gregarious golf partner and a sponge for any knowledge about the game. Read for yourself. —i n t e rv i ew e d by ro n k a s p r i s k e am i a golfer? I’m getting there. I was

about a 36-handicap three years ago.

At the beginning of last summer, I was around a 22. And now I’m a 15.6. I’m trying to get down to about a 12 by the end of this summer. The golf game is up and coming.

His game is on point. Putting is probably his only weakness, but he still never seems to three-putt.

same tempo and distance going back and through. Simple. ●

i’ve been reading golf digest for a while.

The first magazine I got when I subscribed had Arnold Palmer and Kate Upton on the cover. I keep it on my iPad, so on the road I can read it and watch all the videos. It’s interesting, David Leadbetter just talked about getting out of the sand, and he said to take the club back like you’re throwing a cup of coffee out over your right shoulder.

That tip works. It’s helped my wife, Christina, out a lot because she always struggles getting out of the sand. ●

christina is getting addicted to golf, too.

She’s in the early stages where she gets really frustrated, and she hasn’t quite figured out that golf is a game of controlling emotion. When she gets that, she’ll not only become a better golfer, but it will help her become better at playing bad lies throughout life. ●

my son, lil’ Andre, has a great swing, but

●

he has no interest in golf. Maybe that will change one day. ●

coach of mine, Pete Myers. He taught me how to hit a draw, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

team will ask how we did. On my good days, he’ll say, “Andre beat me.” And then they’ll ask me, and I have to explain about handicaps and how Steph has to give me strokes.

I wouldn’t say I beat him, but with the handicaps in there, I’ve done it a few times.

●

●

●

To hit a draw, you want an in-to-out clubpath. What I try to do is think about a clock.

If 12 o’clock is a straight path, I try to take it inside to 1 o’clock and then I swing it back outside to about 7 o’clock. I want to swing to right field and turn my hands over.

18 holes in, maybe 36. A few times on the road, if we’re in a city for a couple of days, or usually in the playoffs, when you have three days’ rest, I’ll play between games.

I mean? I see people who say they parred a hole, and I’m like, “Uh, you just made a triple bogey.” I count strokes. I count penalties. No gimmes. None of that.

●

●

I played with a teammate, but I’ll leave him out of it. We had a home night game, and right after, we flew to another city. We landed around 1 a.m. I woke up around 8 and got a round in. We played the same day, and we had a big win, so you might say golf got me relaxed and focused for the game.

by yourself, but you’re always playing against yourself. when i’m playing, I forget about everything in life. I forget about all the problems I have. And if they creep in, I just take it out on the ball.

●

●

●

i started playing with an old assistant

golf is a game of opposites, I’ve learned.

●

my best round is an 83 at Old Macdonald

at Bandon Dunes. Love that course. I also shot an 86 at Augusta. ●

the augusta trip was fun. It was a present for winning the 2015 NBA Championship.

Steph Curry and I were able to go. Our coach, Steve Kerr, hooked it up with some of his friends. The experience was amazing.

Being able to stay just above the pro shop and take in all the history . . . just great. ●

oh, and i birdied no. 2, the par 5. I hit a

nice little shot from about 50 yards out and tapped in for a birdie. ●

steph’s golf game is very similar to his

basketball: He doesn’t have many flaws.

He’s a 0.6-handicap. He can drive it 285 to 290 yards. His iron game is amazing, and he’s got great touch around the greens.

56 golf digest india | july 2016

when steph and I play, the guys on the

whenever we have an off day, I try to get

one time i played on the day of a game.

lydia ko came to our practice one time.

She was in town for a tournament in San Francisco. She didn’t know I was such a big fan of the LPGA. I watch the girls play as much as I watch the guys. I feel like their fundamentals are great. They never miss.

You can learn a lot from their swings. ●

anyway, Lydia joined us in a putting contest on the hardwood, and I was talking to her about left-hand low versus left-hand high. And she suggested I try left-hand low inside of 20 feet and left-hand high outside that. I roll the ball so much better now.

i’ve got two sets of clubs, and I love

reading about all the new ones online.

I’m a Nike athlete, so I mostly play their clubs. But I did get a set of those PXG irons recently. i really keep score. You know what

with golf, you’re sometimes playing

●

the farthest I’ve hit a driver was 341 yards. I hit a cartpath, though. ●

i went on trackman today, at Golfsmith,

and I hit three drives over 300 yards, including two that carried that far.

I use the Zepp sensor to measure clubspeed, and I’ve swung the driver 125 miles an hour. That’s pretty fast. In control, I can still be at 115 to 118. That’s all the speed I need. ●

i can spin a basketball on my finger.

A golf ball? Impossible.

gutter credit tk

Andre

the key to a long putt is to have the

+ nIKe shirt, $90 pants, $110 hat, $35 shoes, $100

Photograph by First Lastname

month 2016 | golfdigest.com

57

editor’s note Forty years ago, Golf Digest published a series of articles

by Carl Lohren adapted from his bestselling book One Move to Better Golf.

Lohren, a highly respected player, became an instant hit as a teacher. Wrote Deane Beman, the former U.S. Amateur champion and PGA Tour player who later became tour commissioner: “Carl knows more about the golf swing than anybody living. . . . [His teaching] will appeal to an intelligent, organized mind because it provides something you can believe in.” In this article we revisit the original piece, and Lohren, now 78 and still teaching full time, adds some updates to help you get your swing on track—and become automatic.

put your swing on

au to matic my one move can make all the difference by carl lohren with ro ge r schiffman Let’s get right to the point. In my 1975 book, One Move to Better Golf, the motion under discussion was how the left shoulder should turn to start the backswing. I actually didn’t care for the term “move,” but the editors of Golf Digest loved it. I prefer “trigger” or “starter button” because this move initiates the action. When the left shoulder starts, it swings the arms and hands back in a rhythmic motion, and they in turn help pull the shoulder around and into the backswing. This concept is as valid today as it was 40 years ago.

The trigger is an easy way to get coiled or wound. It’s like pushing a boulder off the top of a hill: You start it rolling, and the momentum keeps it going. This trigger puts your swing on automatic because everything else falls into place. Not only does it create the Photographs by Dom Furore

right backswing sequence, it prompts the lower body to start the downswing and sets the club on an inside path to impact. That’s how you create power and hit a draw.

There are four things that occur on the backswing if you start with the left shoulder: 1 The body stays in the area it started, so you remain centered for solid contact.

2 The radius of the swing, which is from the left shoulder to the left hand, is fully extended, unifying the upper left side.

3 Your swing is on the correct plane.

4 You achieve a full body coil.

With a proper grip and setup, these four fundamentals combine to simplify your quest for solid contact and maximum power.

They lead to a reflexive or automatic downswing, in which the clubhead lags and then fires through impact. If you get the start of the swing right, which I’ll explain here, you’ll experience extraordinary results. july 2016 | golf digest india

59

Get into the shot like Hogan did 1 the pre-set

it starts with the

pre-shot routine

B

efore I tell you about the backswing trigger, you need to learn the correct way to get into your setup. I model it after the legendary Ben Hogan. He always started by aligning his shoulders well to the left of the target, and by the time he squared his stance, his shoulders were still 15 to 17 degrees open to the target line. This allowed him to start the backswing by moving his left shoulder out (in front of him) and around, which got his arms and hands on a long route to the top.

To understand what the long route is, consider the opposite: the short route. Imagine your shoulders in a closed position at address. When the left shoulder turns back from there, the arms and hands go to the inside and arrive at the top rather quickly.

That’s the short route, and it causes the hands, arms, right shoulder or right hip to start the downswing, usually by “throwing” the club away from the body on an out-to-in path. The result typically is a weak slice.

With the Hogan swing—starting with the move I’m teaching here—the hands and arms are still going back when the lower left side of the body involuntarily starts forward. In effect, the long route allows the lower body to get a head start on the downswing. There’s a mental requirement to have this involuntary downswing: There has to be a cognizance of the target before the shot begins. It’s much like a dog lying in a blind, then seeing a bird flying overhead and suddenly perking up.

Modern players who best demonstrate a similar action are Jim Furyk, Jason Day and Martin Kaymer. Watch how their lower bodies start the downswing while their hands and arms are still swinging back.

The shoulders-open setup is perfectly natural. Because the right hand is slightly lower and out past the left hand on the club at address, the right shoulder is lower and out past the left shoulder. Also, the hips are open about 12 degrees, the shoulders about 17 degrees. This puts the body in a top-tobottom spiral, ready to start winding up.

60 golf digest india | july 2016

Place your left hand on the club in the correct position. Then stand slightly behind the spot where you’ll take your stance, looking at your target. Angle your body 45 degrees toward the target, with most of your weight on your left foot and your right foot pointing at the ball.

2 the step-in Take a small step forward with your right foot, about two inches, shifting most of your weight to that foot.

The right foot is closer to the target line than it will be at address.

While taking the step, move your hands toward each other and the club to the ball. This tilts your shoulders away from the target and keeps them open and sets your sternum over your right foot.

The stance has three requirements: (a) no more than a 30-degree bend of the lower spine; (b) open shoulder and hip alignments; and (c) a six-inch tilt of the shoulders, with the sternum just behind the center of your feet.

3 the stance Place your left foot in its final position, then set your right foot the same distance from the target line, so your stance is square. Stand as far from the ball as you can provided you don’t: (a) alter the 30-degree angle in your lower spine; (b) close your shoulders; and (c) move onto your toes or get tight from your arms reaching.

Adding a waggle and foot movement, you’ll have an urge to start the swing. This urge is necessary to create athleticism over mechanics. The routine takes five seconds, but it’s vital to making you a better player.

I

what exactly is the ‘one move?’

want you to think only about your left shoulder starting the swing.

During the takeaway, turn your left shoulder out and back. Imagine a point in space that’s about four inches in front of you at address, floating halfway between your left shoulder and your chin. Turn your left shoulder to that point on the takeaway, and the rest of your backswing will follow correctly.

When the left shoulder swings out, the right shoulder pushes back. This creates the torque of the left-side back muscles early in the swing, because the hips are open and the shoulders are closing when

they turn back. This ultimately will lead to the club coming into the ball on an inside path for maximum clubhead speed.

From this shoulders-open position, the hands stay in front of the body for the first half of the backswing. Compare this to the short route I described earlier, where the hands and arms move quickly to the inside—they don’t stay in front. When they do, it takes longer for them to get to the top—the long route—and the back muscles have a chance to wind up. That allows the left hip to start a lateral movement toward the target before the hands complete the backswing. It keeps the hands from “hitting

from the top,” a common fault. Do it correctly, and the right side stays passive. The result is a solid strike because the body leads the club, creating a delayed hit. Most bad shots come from an early hit from the right side.

When you swing back properly and let the left leg and hip start moving laterally before the hands reach the top, you doubletorque the left side of the back. The lower body moves away from the upper body, increasing the coil. Then the club naturally falls onto an inside path to impact, so you can accelerate through the ball, start it to the right and hit a draw (above). Best of all, you’re putting your swing on automatic. + ADIDAS shirt, $75, pants, $85, belt, $20, shoes, $90 PING hat, $20

IN THE PINES How to Hit a great recovery

A

t my home club, Medalist in Hobe Sound, Fla., miss a fairway, and there’s a good chance your ball will end up on pine straw. The maintenance crew rakes the straw to define the edges of sandy areas, so it’s a very present and integral part of the golf course that you have to learn to play from.

The biggest mistake I see visitors make is losing their footing. The stuff is super-slippery, so you have to kick it away so your cleats can get in direct

62 golf digest india | july 2016

contact with the ground. If you just twist side to side like you’re settling into a bunker, your feet will stay on top of the needles, and you’ll have a tough time making a balanced swing.

The other big key is to grip down an inch or so.

With a flat stance you might not realize it, but the straw makes the ball sit up like it’s on a tee. Choking down makes the club shorter so you’re less likely to slide under the ball. Ball-first contact might be more critical here than off any other surface.

off a sketcHy surface BY RICKIE FOWLER If the ball is sitting precariously, you’ll probably have to hover the clubhead at address to avoid inadvertently moving the ball.

Finally, resist the urge to try to pick it clean. Play the ball back in your stance and go down and get it, as if you were ripping a big divot in the fairway. The lack of resistance from the straw is a cool sensation. tour sauce When you’re on pine straw, it probably means you’ve got something blocking your shot.

Whether it’s a pine tree or palmetto bushes like

+ PUMA shirt, $70, pants, $80, shoes, $160 COBRA hat, $26 TITLEIST glove, $27

here, my escape method never varies. Biggest thing is avoiding whatever’s in front of me, so I aim wider to the side and force myself to curve the shot more.

To hit a big draw, I shut the face at address, aim right and swing normal. To fade, I open the face, aim left and swing. It might feel like you’re in trouble, but the straw can help you catch the ball clean, so it’s a perfect lie to bend one. —with max adler Rickie Fowler is a Golf Digest Playing Editor.

Photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

With Tiger recovering, Harold Varner III knows what it’s like to be the only African-American on the PGA Tour arold Varner III sat in front of his locker at the Golf Club of Houston going through the dreaded ritual of packing up his golf bag— dreaded when you’re doing it on Friday. Varner had just missed the cut at the Shell Houston Open “by a million,” in player-speak—eight shots on the leader board.

“I shot seven over par for two days, and I can honestly say I didn’t have a bad time,” he said with a smile. “I’m just not hitting the ball well, but I know it’s there. I’m good at this game. I know it’s in there, and I’ll find it.”

Most PGA Tour rookies would be beating themselves up after missing a fifth cut in seven starts. They wouldn’t be fun to be around, either.

Varner is fine.

“I play golf for a living,” he says. “How can I complain?”

Varner is 25 and earned his spot on the PGA Tour last fall by finishing 25th on the Web.com Tour money list. When he teed it up at the Frys.com Open last October he was thrust into a new role: With Tiger Woods sidelined again by back surgery, Varner was the only active African-American player on tour. Which is fine—at least for the moment.

“People say to me, ‘Do you know you’re the only AfricanAmerican on the tour?’ And I say, ‘No s---; tell me something I don’t know,’ ” he says, laughing. “Hey, it’s 2016, and we’re still talking about this?

Well, we are, and I guess we will be until there are more of us out here again.”

64 golf digest india | july 2016

Photographs by Dom Furore

gutter credit tk

H

Alone

by john feinstein

Photograph by First Lastname

‘you need more programs where you can go out and play for free, or for 100 bucks a year.’

Varner learned the game from his father, Harold Jr., who has sold cars for about 40 years. The son grew up outside Charlotte and played as a kid at Gastonia Municipal Golf Course (now Catawba Creek) for $100 a year.

“Could play anytime I wanted to, Monday through Friday,” he says. “When I started to get good, the members would invite me to play on weekends.”

Varner is a firm believer that one of the ways to get more minorities and kids from middle- and lower-income families involved in the game is through programs like the one he benefited from at Gastonia Municipal.

“I’ve spent time working with The First Tee,” he says. “They do good work. But the program really isn’t set up to get more kids to grow up to be good golfers. It’s more like a daycare program; teach kids right from wrong. That’s all good. But the sport is still too expensive. You need more programs where you can go out and play for free,

66 golf digest india | july 2016

or for 100 bucks a year. If you do that, all you really need to teach a kid about golf are the basics. Then, if he or she has the desire and the talent and the access, they can get good at the game. That’s what I did.”

After graduating from East Carolina with a degree in marketing, Varner spent two years on the Web.com Tour, finishing 30th on the money list in 2014 before grabbing the 25th—and last—regular-season big-tour spot last August. Some would have been tortured by that final Sunday outside Portland, Ore., where Varner was in and out of the top 25 as the afternoon wore on.

He says he wasn’t that nervous. “I played very well out there for two years,” he says.

“I believed if I didn’t make it that day, I’d make it through the playoffs. I have a lot of confidence in myself.”

Varner began his rookie season well, finding himself tied for fourth after three rounds of the Frys.com Open before a finalround 79 plummeted him to a tie for 48th.

He bounced back to finish T-5 at Mayakoba and T-13 in Honolulu. After the slump that culminated in Houston, he made another check at Hilton Head and had a T-9 in San Antonio and a T-8 outside New Orleans that

helped him move up to 66th on the FedExCup points list by early May. “It’s been an adjustment, like for any rookie,” he says. “There’s a lot more alone time on this tour. Guys do their own thing more. On the Web, people tend to eat together, hang out. Not so much here. But I get along with everyone. Least I think I do.”

Players and tour officials all say the same thing: They like him, and they’re rooting for him to succeed.

“We need more guys like him out here,” says Steve Wheatcroft, who often plays Tuesday money games with Varner.

Wheatcroft was referring to Varner’s personality. He could also have been referring to his race. Varner knows that.

“I don’t want to be politically correct, I want to be correct when I’m speaking,” he says. “I believe I can play a part in changing the history and the future of this tour.”

He smiles. “At the very least, it’s a good goal to have. And there’s no reason for me not to achieve it.”

Swingface is OK There’s no need to be embarrassed as a friend ever said that you make a funny face when you hit a golf ball? Something about the way your lips or chin or eyebrows or neck or whatever twists up like you’re about to brain someone with an ax or pass a kidney stone. Maybe your friend said you looked like a pit bull finding a cheeseburger, or a walrus in mating season. Whatever the analogy, the intent was to make you self-conscious. Don’t fall for this. It’s a tactic as mean-spirited as asking someone if they inhale or exhale in the downswing. As these

H

photos prove (and we’ve got thousands more, trust us), the best players and teachers in the world show some swingface now and then. Though being relaxed and composed through impact is desirable, going after that little ball is just as important, if not more. You’ve got to let out some shaft. Because if you ever want to be really good, under-swinging is just as stunting as over-swinging. The moment of release is the moment of truth, the moment of becoming your true self, and it’s no time to be polite. Go get it. —max adler

birdie looks You know these stars, but maybe not these faces: from top left J.B. Holmes, Carl Pettersson, Rick Smith, Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson, Suzann Pettersen, Justin Thomas, Colt Knost, Jim McLean, Patrick Reed, Brandt Snedeker, Matt Kuchar, Padraig Harrington, Jonas Blixt, Sei Young Kim.

july 2016 | golf digest india

67

J.D. Cuban (5), Dom Furore (5), Walter Iooss Jr. (1), Getty ImaGes (3), ChrIs stanForD (1), stephen szurleJ (1)

Closeout

how to stiff it inside

WI CKEd

100 yards

WEdgEs by cameron mccormick if you try to regulate the distance you hit your

wedge shots by changing the length of the swing, you’re not as accurate as you could be. ▶ Golf instruction is partly to blame. You might have been told to handle different distances by pretending your arms are like the hands on an imaginary clock face, and that you can dial in a specific shot by swinging back or through to a number on the clock. A backswing to 9 o’clock might result in a 30yard shot, for example, but a backswing to 10 o’clock will send it 40 yards. That’s a logical idea, but it’s flawed. Why? Two swings can be the same length, but if the clubhead speed at impact isn’t the same, the ball will go different distances. Conversely, swings of different lengths but the same speed will produce roughly the same distance.

It’s not magic. It’s physics. ▶ With that in mind, I’m going to teach you how to hit wedges pin high from various distances by changing your swing speed—that’s how Jordan Spieth and I do it when we work together. To keep it simple, these shots will fly about the same height. You can experiment later with trajectory. For now, practice these stock shots, and you’re on your way to becoming a wicked wedge player. —with ron kaspriske

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

july 2016 | golf digest india

69

one backswing

longer range

▶ Distance control on less-than-full wedges begins with making the same backswing no matter how far you have to go. A consistent end point lets you focus on downswing speed to regulate yardage. Start in a narrow stance with most of the pressure on your lead foot, the ball just back of center. Hinge the club up— that adds loft to the shot—and keep turning until your left arm is parallel to the ground (below). That’s as far as it should go. Now you’re ready for any downswing.

▶ For medium- and long-range wedge shots, swing the club and rotate your body toward the target at a faster pace. You can see here (below and right) that the follow-through is longer for shots in the 40-to-60yard range. That’s a result of added speed. Note how I rotate my entire body toward the target—legs, too.

I think of it like gears on a bicycle. Start with three gears (swing speeds), and see how far the ball goes with each. You’ll develop your own yardage system.

close to the green ▶ The shortest wedge shots require commitment.

By that I mean, you have to resist the urge to stop the swing right after impact. Keep the club moving, and its design will prevent the ball from going too far.

As you start down from that halfway-back position, maintain your weight on your front foot and turn your body. You don’t have to swing with a lot of effort, but finish with your chest facing the target and the club’s shaft pointing at it (above). That’s commitment.

70 golf digest india | july 2016

cameron m c cormick, a Golf Digest Teaching Professional and the PGA Teacher of the Year, is based at Trinity Forest Golf Club outside Dallas.

30 days to better golf Get a tip every day for a month by signing up for our new online game-improvement program. Cameron McCormick and several other PGA professionals provide the lessons, from driving and putting to fitness and equipment, and we’ll email you one a day for 30 days. Get started now at golfdigest.com/go/30days.

+ UNDER ARMOUR shirt, $70, pants, $80, belt, $40, shoes, $200 TITLEIST hat, $25

InsIde Look

pg a 16

a longtime member gives a memorable tour of baltusrol and its history

gutter credit tk

gutter credit tk

a l a n p. p i t t m a n

Photograph by First Lastname

july 2016 | golf digest india

73

pg a

b y d av i d fay

16

editor’s note Golf Digest Contributing Editor David Fay joined the United States Golf Association in 1978 and was the executive director from 1989-2010. He was a member at Baltusrol for more than 30 years.

M

y aunt and uncle (not golfers) lived about one mile from Baltusrol.

Uncle Pete and Baltusrol’s golf professional, 1928 U.S. Open winner Johnny Farrell, were members of the Holy Name Society at the local Catholic church. Thanks to them, I got, as a Christmas gift in 1966, a seven-day, grounds-only pass to the 1967 U.S. Open.

The memories from that week as a 16-year-old are indelible. It’s what got me hooked on golf.

74 golf digest india | july 2016

The course is so expansive and bucolic, yet from a number of vantage points, you get great views of the Manhattan skyline less than 25 miles to the east.

If you have only 60 to 90 minutes to spare, Baltusrol has a bunch of loops on which to skip around and play. My favorites: holes 1-4 of the Upper before hopping over to Upper’s 15-17 and finishing on the Lower’s 18th, one of the game’s great reachable-in-two par 5s. Through necessity, I’ve often played the Lower’s 18th much like Ed Furgol in the final round of the 1954 Open: snap-hook drive, punch out left onto the 18th Upper fairway, then play the approach shot(s) back to the 18th Lower green.

Another favorite loop is playing holes 1-5 on the Lower, then walking less than 30 yards to play the 18th Upper, one of the best finishing par 4s in golf. Both 18th greens are set just below Baltusrol’s stately clubhouse.

No American golf club does a better job of preserving and presenting its visual history of photos, scorecards and trophies. A history 121 years rich, and counting.

I love everything about Baltusrol except its most photographed hole, the par-3 fourth on the Lower. The hole itself is good, but that damn stone wall guarding the green just doesn’t seem in balance with the other 35 holes. It has a Florida look. I wish in the redesign that Robert Trent Jones Sr. had opted for a grass slope, kind of like the 12th at Augusta National, where a ball just might hang up on a tuft of grass near the edge of the pond.

Photograph by First Lastname

gutter credit tk

“ t h at da m n sto n e wa l l g ua r d i n g t h e g r e e n j u st d o e s n ’ t s e e m i n b a l a n c e w i t h t h e ot h e r 3 5 h o l e s .”

gutter credit tk

Highlights: I got 126 player autographs, including Ben Hogan’s. I watched Jack Nicklaus and Deane Beman fiddling around on the practice green with a Bulls Eye putter, painted white. It turned out that Jack was to use “White Fang” to win the championship. I got my first live glimpse of Arnold Palmer as he was striding up to the fifth green in a practice round. His forearms were huge, and his golf shirt was light blue.

Doug Sanders told me to buzz off after I’d asked for his golf glove. (Hey, it wasn’t a crazy request—I’d read that Doug used a fresh glove for each round, so if he was going to toss it anyway, why not give it to a young fan?) And I followed Nicklaus and Palmer for the entire final round. There was even a color photo in some golf publication of Arnold and Jack on the 14th tee—and me, sitting on the grass in the first row, up against the gallery rope.

Most first-time guests want to play the Lower Course, site of two of Nicklaus’ four U.S. Open titles and Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship victory. But the members are partial to the Upper, site of the 1936 Open. The Lower is a brute. The Upper is far more nuanced, built into the side of Baltusrol Mountain (more like a bunny slope) with wild greens. Both courses were built in 1922

by A.W. Tillinghast. True, the range isn’t great, but it’s a helluva lot better than those found at other Tillie gems such as Winged Foot, Somerset Hills and Quaker Ridge.

Playing a few holes on the Upper on a late afternoon is one of the joys of the game.

Photograph by First Lastname

month 2016 | golfdigest.com

75

F

speed golf and great moments or a few years in the early 1990s, my fellow member and great friend Joe Wortley and I had an early-morning routine of playing 18 holes of speed golf.

We’d show up a few minutes before 7 a.m., flip a coin—Upper or Lower?—get our double caddie and take off. No searches beyond 20 seconds were allowed for errant shots. When we’d approach the green, we’d take our putters, chipping/pitching clubs and drivers and send the caddie out ahead to the next hole’s drive zone. Flagsticks remained in the holes, and we were very, very generous with conceded putts. If we came upon grounds-crew members work-

ing on the greens, we’d play approach shots well short of the green, pick up and move on so as not to interfere with their work.

Our rounds averaged one hour, 46 minutes (Joe’s a CPA), with one hour, 27 minutes being our best. These scores weren’t for “handicap purposes,” but so what?

I never won one of Baltusrol’s big club titles—one that is posted on a plaque in the clubhouse—because I was not a goodenough player. But one year, I won a handicapped flight in the club championship when my opponent and friend, Rick Wheeless, sailed his 1-iron tee shot on the first extra hole (No. 1, Lower) out-of-bounds left onto Shunpike Road. That shot added to the

many memories I had accumulated over the years from the opening hole on the Lower: ▶ At the 1967 Open, I’d witnessed Beman holing out a 4-wood in the first round for an eagle 2. Many years later, I got Deane to donate that 4-wood to the USGA Museum. ▶ On Day 2 of the 1980 Open, I was standing near the first tee watching USGA starter John Laupheimer explain to Seve Ballesteros the mechanics of why he was DQ’d from the championship for arriving too late to the first tee. Sad, but there was no choice. ▶ Not sad—pretty funny, actually—was the Jim Thorpe story at the first tee in the first round of the 1993 Open. This was told to me and many others by Ron Read, the

f r o m t o p l e f t : 1 3 t h g r e e n ; b u n k e r s at 1 5 ; s t e v e t h o m p s o n s ta r t e d c a d d i e i n g f o r p r o m m o n e y 2 5 y e a r s a g o ; n o . 1 t e e .

c lo c k w i s e , f r o m to p l e f t : p r e p w o r k ; d e w a r t ; m ac k t h e b o r d e r c o l l i e ; lo g o f r o m t h e 1 0 7 -y e a r - o l d c l u b h o u s e .

pg a 16

USGA’s veteran starter, and confirmed emphatically years later by Jim. (“Damn right it happened.”) Ron, momentarily confused, thought that Thorpe had already played his tee shot dangerously close to the O.B. fence left. So when Ron saw Jim tee his ball, he did what any conscientious rules official would do: advise the player to announce the ball as a provisional in the event his original had rattled around the trees and fence and was in bounds.

The only problem was that Jim had not yet played any ball. Jim, in the midst of milking the grip, stepped back and using colorful language, growled that the USGA was messing with his head even before he’d hit his first shot in the U.S. Open!

76 golf digest india | july 2016

baltusrol g.c.

lower

hole

yards

par

hole

yards

par

1

478

4

10

464

4

all times eastern

2

378

4

11

444

4

july 28-29

3

503

4

12

220

3

4

195

3

13

462

4

5

424

4

14

430

4

july 30-31

6

482

4

15

459

4

7

505

4

16

230

3

11 a.m.-2 p.m. (TNT), 2-7 p.m. (CBS)

8

374

4

17

650

5

9

211

3

18

553

5

out

3,550

34

in

3,912

36

total

7,462

70

tv schedule

1-7 p.m. (TNT)

july 2016 | golf digest india

77

India Digest On the European Tour

On the European Tour India Digest

The European Tour goes viral wonderful wood claims Bmw PGa championship title

PoulTer nameD as fourTh Vice caPTain for ryDer cuP PhotograPh by david Cannon/getty images

Whether it's watching highlights of their rounds, or seeing what they had for breakfast, fans are closer to professional athletes in 2016 than ever, thanks largely to social media. Platforms like Twitter allow people to follow professional golfers around the world as they train, compete, relax and enjoy the perks of life on the European Tour. While we know that almost three million people for Rory McIlroy and over two million people follow Ian Poulter, there are dozens of European Tour pros that many fans are not aware of on Twitter. Here's a look at five we think are worth following.

Graeme mcDowell

Graeme McDowell is the most high profile player to make this list. The ten-time European Tour winner has over 700 thousand followers but is worthy of plenty more. Gmac offers a good range of professional and private life posts, all flavoured with his Northern Irish sense of humour. He posts daily and is always keen to interact and answer his Twitter fans.

Thomas Bjørn

The oldest player on our list, and youngest in terms of time on Twitter, is Thomas Bjørn.

The 15-time winner just joined the Twittersphere in April and has since kept his followers more than entertained with photos, emojis and even a competition or two. The Great Dane has even attracted some celebrity followers, with the likes football legends Matt Le Tissier and Robbie Fowler interacting with him.

chris wooD

Chris Wood has been keeping his 30,000 followers entertained on Twitter since 2011 and no matter where he is in the world, he keeps his fans up to date with the latest course conditions, lost bag updates and football skills. The BMW

PGA Champion has a great relationship with the other players and is never shy in having a humourous dig at them on Twitter. The 28 year old also has one of the strongest emoji games on Tour.

Darren Clarke, the European Captain for The 2016 Ryder Cup, has named Ian Poulter as his fourth Vice Captain for the contest against the United States at Hazeltine National in September. The 40 year old Englishman will bring not only a wealth of experience to Clarke’s backroom team, having played five times for Europe in the biennial contest, he will also bring the famous passion and commitment that has made him one of the most fearsome competitors in the tournament’s 89 year history. In his five outings – 2004 at Oakland Hills, 2008 at Valhalla, 2010 at Celtic Manor, 2012 at Medinah and 2014 at Gleneagles – he has helped Europe to victory on four occasions and, even in the one reverse at Valhalla, the 12 time European Tour champion still emerged as the top points scorer from either side that week, with four points out of five. Poulter has notched 12 wins and two half points from the 18 Ryder Cup matches he has played to date, but it was his performance at Medinah in 2012 – where once again he emerged as top points scorer from either side – that resonates strongest. With Europe trailing 10-4 and seemingly down and out, Poulter rallied with an incredible run of five birdies in a row to close out his Saturday afternoon fourball match with Rory McIlroy against Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson. It gave Europe the impetus it needed to go on and complete the most remarkable comeback in Ryder Cup history the following day, Poulter, of course, adding another point with a final green victory over Webb Simpson in the singles.

Thomas PieTers

Thomas Pieters made a name for himself in golf when he won in back-to-back starts on Tour in 2015. However, he’s been making a name for himself on Twitter since 2011. The young Belgian has fully embraced social media in recent months and is always on hand to share an on-site photos, his informal goals, or a throwback photo of him and Thomas Bjørn. Pieters is also first to retweet videos when he does things like this.

chris Paisley

Chris Paisley also joined in 2011 and is one of the most active players on Tour when it comes to Twitter. The 30 year old is a keen Newcastle United fan, which is evident in a lot of his posts, however he is always good for a course photo or a video of his caddy having a go on a tricky par three. Chris is also one of the best users of slow-mo video on Tour, often sharing range videos to show off his impressive swing.

PhotograPh by ross Kinnaird/getty images

chris wood came through an attritional final day to claim the biggest win of his career at the BMW PGA Championship. The 28 year old Englishman stormed into the lead by matching Danny Willett’s tournamentrecord front-nine 29 from Friday, and at that stage led by four from clubhouse leader Rikard Karlberg, who had burst through the field with a sensational 65 to reach eight under par at Wentworth Club. A wayward tee shot on the tenth saw Wood drop his first shot of the day, and although he bounced back with a birdie on the 11th after his approach spun back to a couple of feet, he was loose off the tee again at the 12th and registered three bogeys in four holes from the 14th.

That left him just one ahead of Swede Karlberg on the 18th tee, but Wood completed a par five with relative ease to card a closing 69 and nine under par total.

PhotograPh by andrew redington/getty images

Ever wondered what it is like to stand on the tee with Masters Champion Danny Willett during the BMW PGA Championship, or take a 360 degree tour around exclusive areas such as the locker room and players’ lounge and play a hole with Tommy Fleetwood? Well wonder no more as the European Tour continues to drive innovation with BMW by giving fans an entirely new digital experience through Virtual Reality and enhanced 360 VR with augmented graphics during the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club. For the first time, fans with Virtual Reality headsets found themselves right in the heart of the action to experience and not just watch the event through a range of initiatives to complement the tournament coverage.

Joining forces with creative agency Brandwidth, the European Tour took fans on a groundbreaking Virtual Reality behind-the-scenes Tour of the clubhouse, players’ lounge, practice range before playing the opening hole with Tommy Fleetwood in practice.

Top Five European Tour Players To Follow On Twitter

PhotograPh by riChard heathCote/getty images

78 golf digest india | july 2016

july 2016 | golf digest india

79

India Digest On the European Tour

On the European Tour India Digest

French Open welcomes world’s best

RoRy seals home gloRy with stunning finish

PhotograPh by stuart Franklin/getty images

Rory McIlroy delighted the fans at The K Club as the home favourite overcame a stern challenge from Russell Knox to win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation. The Northern Irishman had spoken coming into the week of what a first professional win on Irish soil would mean to him and he fired a closing 69 to make it European Tour win number 13 in County Kildare. The result is all the more impressive considering he had missed the cut at this event the last three seasons and he becomes the first home winner since Shane Lowry won as an amateur in 2009.

The four-time Major Championship winner came into the final round with a three-shot lead but was overtaken by Knox with three holes to play before two stunning approach shots gave him an birdie-par-eagle finish and a 12 under total. That handed him a threeshot win over Knox and Bradley Dredge, who had made a final day surge of his own with a birdie-birdie finish in a 66. McIlroy becomes the first player to win a European Tour event he has hosted and he will donate his winning prize of €666,660 to the Rory Foundation.

the Winner at le gOlf natiOnal On July 3 Will cOllect 64 pOints tOWards the ryder cup WOrld pOints list and One milliOn pOints tOWards the eurOpean pOints list, With subsequent pOints alsO increased fOr Other players making the cut. in 2009, and McDowell twice in a row in 2013 and 2014.

Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke, Y.E. Yang, Paul Lawrie and Mike Weir, all of whom boast one Major title to their résumé, will be joined by three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington and former World Number Ones Luke Donald and Lee Westwood.

Among those from the World's Top 50 are the English trio of Chris Wood, winner of the recent BMW PGA Championship;

80 golf digest india | july 2016

Matthew Fitzpatrick, the Nordea Masters champion, and Andy Sullivan, a three-time winner on the 2015 European Tour.

Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat, a two-time winner last season, Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Dane Søren Kjeldsen, who both enjoyed an excellent first half of the season; Swede David Lingmerth, the 2015 Memorial champion on the U.S. PGA Tour, and of course French Open defending champion Bernd Wiesberger from Austria will also

bring their considerable talent to the 100th Open de France.

Victor Dubuisson spearhead the French challenge alongside Alexander Levy, Grégory Bourdy, Grégory Havret, Raphaël Jacquelin, Julien Quesne and Gary Stal, among others.

Given the historic nature of this year’s centenary edition of this year’s French Open, coupled with the fact the tournament clashes with the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational, the winner at Le Golf National on July 3 will collect 64 points towards the Ryder Cup World Points List and one million points towards the European Points List, with subsequent points also increased for other players making the cut.

The 100th Open de France will also count as two events played in the 2016 Race to Dubai.

PhotograPh by getty images

Matthew Fitzpatrick won his second European Tour title at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club as he eased to a three-shot victory at the Nordea Masters. The Englishman came into the final day with a five-shot advantage and while he saw that cut to two around the turn, he kept his head on the back nine to sign for a 71, get to 16 under, and hold off the challenge of Lasse Jensen and Nicolas Colsaerts.

Fitzpatrick had ten top tens in his rookie season in 2015 including victory at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports, and this week's victory will go a long way to securing his place in the European Ryder Cup Team to face the United States at Hazeltine in the autumn.

wondeRful wu makes histoRy in austRia

Ashun Wu made history at the Lyoness Open powered by Sporthilfe Cashback Card as he became the first Chinese player to win multiple European Tour titles, and the first to claim one on European soil, courtesy of a one-shot victory over Spain’s Adrian Otaegui. In a tense finale at Diamond Country Club, the 29 year old looked to be sailing to victory when he reached the turn, but a double-bogey at the tenth followed by a bogey at the 11th opened the door for several other challengers. Indeed, Wu and Otaegui were tied for the lead stepping on to the 17th tee but the Spaniard could not get up and down from a greenside bunker on the penultimate hole and dropped a shot. When Otaegui narrowly missed his birdie putt at the par three final hole, Wu was left with two putts for the victory and he duly obliged to sign for a closing 69 and a 13 under par total. Otaegui finished second on 12 under, with Englishman Richard McEvoy another stroke back after dropping his only shot of the day at the 18th.

PhotograPh by mark runnacles/getty images

T

he 100th Open de France will welcome one of the strongest fields in the tournament’s rich history when the majority of Europe’s biggest names descend up Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in three weeks’ time. World Number Three and four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy, along with Masters champion Danny Willett, will headline a superb cast which includes nine Major winners, 21 European Ryder Cup players and 31 of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Of the other Major winners set to star in Continental Europe's oldest national open, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell have both lifted the Stoïber Cup, presented to the Open de France champion: Kaymer back

PhotograPh by andrew redington/getty images

Fitzpatrick cruises to victory in Sweden

Wu and Otaegui Were tied fOr the lead stepping On tO the 17th tee but the spaniard cOuld nOt get up and dOWn frOm a greenside bunker On the penultimate hOle and drOpped a shOt july 2016 | golf digest india

81

India Digest On the European Tour

On the European Tour India Digest

Watson Returns To Where It All Began

PhotograPh by getty Images

T

82 golf digest india | july 2016

om Watson has confirmed that he will make a sentimental journey to where it all began when he returns to Carnoustie, the scene of his first Open Championship victory, next month in search of a fourth Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex.

It was back in 1975 that Watson rolled up at the famous Scottish links course, only to discover that he could not play a practice round on the Sunday because the course was closed due to the qualifying competitions being held that day.

Watson then played the first round of links golf in his life at nearby Monifieth, but showed he was a quick learner by going on to capture the first of five Open Championships at the initial attempt, beating Australian Jack Newton in an 18-hole play-off.

So began a love affair with the Home of Golf which has entered a fifth decade, and Watson cannot wait to take a trip down memory lane from July 21-24, when he attempts to add to the Senior Open titles he won in 2003, 2005 and 2007 – all of them in Scotland.

The 65 year old is relishing the chance

to make another sentimental journey to the jewel in the crown of the county of Angus, which also hosted the Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex in 2010, when Bernhard Langer won his first Senior Major.

Yet, initially, Watson admits he detested the style of golf which was to define his career.

He recalled: “I have vivid memories of that first visit to Britain. I remember flying into Edinburgh with John Mahaffey and Hubert Green and our wives and driving to Carnoustie. I was excited and wanted to play, but Keith Mackenzie, then secretary of The R&A, told us the course was closed to us, whether we were exempt or not.

“He was very apologetic and offered to fix us up with a game at Monifieth, so that was my first look at the famous links turf. It was hard as a rock that year and really fiery.

I hit my first shot on a links course straight down the middle and somehow lost my ball.

I dropped another and kept walking – then found my first one 50 yards to the left.

“I have to tell you I didn’t like it one bit! I wasn’t happy with blind shots and unlucky bounces which could derail your round.

However, I managed to put it behind me,

even though I didn’t care for this type of golf. I was just fortunate that I was playing well and there was little wind that year. That Open was a steep learning curve for me.”

Carnoustie has a reputation as the hardest course on The Open rotation, and Watson is not inclined to disagree. He added: “The course has the toughest three-hole finish of any Open venue. Your game needs to be really solid to perform well there.”

Watson will be joined at Carnoustie by a glittering cast of around 30 fellow Major Champions, including Bernhard Langer, who won the first of his two Senior Open titles at Carnoustie six years ago. Also playing are Mark O’Meara, Tom Lehman and a host of European legends such as Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Angel Jiménez, plus newcomers John Daly, Todd Hamilton and Jean Van de Velde. Watson welcomed Daly, the 1995 Open Champion, into the fold in his rookie season and said: “It’s wonderful to see new names arrive each year. That’s the great thing about Senior golf – the blend of the old and the new.” july 2016 | golf digest india

83

PhotograPh by m. Fresco/eVenIng standard/hulton archIVe/getty Images

PhotograPh by Ian macnIcol/getty Images

Defending champion Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand and Major winner Trevor Immelman of South Africa will be among the top stars headlining the US$750,000 King’s Cup. For the first time in the history of the King’s Cup, the tournament will be sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya from July 28 to 31, 2016. Thaworn won the 2014 King’s Cup for a record 18th Asian Tour title and will defend the prestigious trophy against a strong line-up which includes the 2008 Masters Tournament champion Immelman. At the age of 49, the evergreen Thaworn continues to shine on the Asian Tour where he has won the Order of Merit crown twice and notched 18 victories, a record on the region’s premier Tour. With His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej celebrating his 70th year as the King of Thailand, Thaworn is eager to keep the revered trophy on home soil.

PhotograPh by VIctor FraIle/getty Images

TITLE HOLDER THAWORN AND MAJOR WINNER IMMELMAN HEADLINE KING’S CUP

India Digest Spotlight

Spotlight

An Exciting 9-HolE cHAllEngE

IGIA AwArds 2016 Best New 9-Hole course in India

The Golf Academy at Belvedere

I would like to extend my gratitude to the IGIA for bestowing us with this award at the India Golf Expo 2016. This recognizes the tireless efforts put in by every person associated with Belvedere Golf & Country Club, who made sure that no stone was left unturned in the creation of state of the art infrastructure.

This award presents us a greater responsibility to maintain our standards to the optimum level and provide our aspiring golfers, a world class golfing experience consistently.

–Rajeev Chawla, Head Club Sales & Marketing

The Belvedere Golf & Country Club, Ahmedabad

S

pread over 100 acres, The Belvedere Golf & Country Club in Adani Shantigram, Ahmedabad is one of India’s largest exclusive social clubs. It boasts of a 3113 yards, Par 36, 9-hole golf course. Designed by Late Col. K. D. Bagga, the course features six water bodies and 32 bunkers. The course won the Indian Golf Industry Association (IGIA), ‘Best New 9-Hole Course’ at the India Golf Expo 2016. The IGIA Awards are nominated by a jury of industry stalwarts & determined by an online poll open to the entire golfing community in India.

The state of the art facility includes a 22 bay driving range. The complex also has a training & game analysis room with a sophisticated V1 Pro video analysis tool & Sam Putt Lab which uses ultrasound to analyse putting strokes.

Built within Adani’s Shantigram township the club offers numerous services to rejuvenate and unwind. If you are in Ahmedabad, do take time out to visit this gem

84 golf digest india | july 2016

For more information: Shivani Saroha,

The Digest

+91 9099903987; Email: info@belvedereshantigram.com

Facilities & Amenities gym & Spa  Spread over 5,500 sq. ft with latest equipment & machinery  Aerobics, Martial Arts, Cardio, Weight Training & Endurance  Steam & Sauna rooms & 8 massage rooms including couple rooms  Whirlpools & Rassoul Rooms indoor games & Entertainment  5 Table Tennis Tables, 6 Billiards/Pool Tables  Card room that can host 70-75 people, with four exclusive cabins  30 seat mini-theatre  Gaming zone & 2 exclusive TV lounges Business centre  Spread over 7500 sq. ft. area  Conference Hall for 30 pax  3 Meeting rooms  2 Pre-function areas for business lunches  A well equipped Library outdoor games Area  4 Tennis Courts and a Basketball & Volleyball Court.  7500 sq.ft. Skating Rink  4 indoor badminton courts & 2 Squash courts Swimming pool & Deck area  Kid’s Pool  Pool Bar  Barbeque Decks 52 Premium Residential Rooms other facilities  Kids Play Pen ,Yoga Lawn, 1500 sq.ft.

Exhibition Hall  4 Boutique stores including a florist, gift store and café

july 2016 | golf digest india

85

India Digest Spotlight

Spotlight

World Women's Golf Day

India Digest

Pros Who Means Business Golf Digest India talks to pros & former pros whose penchant for entrepreneurship made them successful off the course as well. This is the first in a series of features on pros who have established their own businesses. To share your story, please email bharath@teamgolfdigest.com

Gurbaaz Mann Turned Pro Year: 2003 Home Club: Chandigarh Golf Club

Neelam Sihota Rohini Majithia

Bubbles Suneja, Rohini Majithia, & Ashwini Bahadur

Women's Golf Day – a four hour golfing experience took place in over 400 golf courses in 25 countries across the world on June 7 between 4-8pm. Delhi Golf Club, led by Delhi Golf Club Ladies Section (DGCLS) played host in India with the participation of over 60 ladies which included first timers, juniors, staff children (under the golfing girl child initiative), amateurs and teaching professionals. Participants ranging from age 18-80 sported red t-shirts over the 9-hole round.

A fun gathering after the round included food, prizes and quizzes to keep everyone entertained.

Winning Team Arshia Mahant & Gurbani Singh awarded by Sita Nanda

Gurbaaz Mann is one of the most talented professionals to have emerged from the city of Chandigarh in recent years. Gurbaaz picked up the game at the age of six and by 17 he won his first amateur title. He turned professional at the age of 21 after topping the Indian tour’s Qualifying School in 2003. Soon after, he won the Surya Nepal Masters in 2005. In his quest to enhance his game, Gurbaaz found out that most of his concerns were equipment related.

Gurbaaz worked to improve his technique by trying to perfect a certain motion which he believed to be the key to hitting the ball better. Soon enough he realised that the technique is based on two prime factors- the equipment and the conditions at hand.

Gurbaaz’s curiosity and penchant to improve technique and equipment led him to collect the data from other players and assess results. This marked the start of an entrepreneurial ambition. Gurbaaz set up his base in US to pursue his new found dream of changing the way the teaching and fitting industry works.

With a strong understanding of the functional physics of the game, he established the Falcon 1 Golf Academy in Columbus, Ohio. With his own uniquely crafted equipment fitting and teaching method, Gurbaaz works with players & instructors by building equipment protocols to improve their game and teaching methods respectively.

The main idea to set up this business was to create a sustainable income stream to fund his own playing career as well to help other players to see effective results in a short time frame.

Business Mantra l If you’re not prepared to fail and learn, business is not your forte l Work smart before you work hard

Meena Khanna, Anuva Saurabh, Nandita Rao & Tara Laroia

Anjali Chopra with the juniors

86 golf digest india | june 2016

Mala Bawa & Ashwini Bahadur

The DGCLS is led by Lady Captain Sita Nanda along with her team comprising former Lady Captains Bubbles Suneja, Meena Khanna and Nutan Kataria . Former IGULS chairperson Anuva Saurabh, A level Referee Neha Majithia, Teaching Pro Anjali Chopra, Ashwini Pai Bahadur, Monica Tandon, Mala Bawa, Aru Atwal, Devika Kapoor, Neeraj Ghei and Deepali Shukla.

Lady Power

Aru Atwal & Nonita Lal

ola JJ Chak : 2007 Turned Pro Year imbatore Home Club: Co Golf Club

“My vision was to own a label that was stylish, well designed and of the best quality but yet affordable to every golfer” After having a much decorated amateur career, representing India for many years and winning a silver medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games, JJ tried his hands on the pro circuit.

In 2013, after two poor seasons on tour, he realized that it was time to open new doors. Growing up as a competitive golfer, JJ always made an effort to look as good as he could on the golf course. However, the best brands were out of his reach because of their exorbitant prices. So after hanging up his boots as a pro golfer, JJ started working on his passion project.

JJ Chakola now runs a golf apparel and accessories label called 3 B E L O W (www.3below.co) JJ began 3 B E L O W with a completely empty slate. He had a very clear vision of what he wanted the brand to stand for but had no idea what the journey would be like. His mother who has been involved in the garment industry for many years played an instrumental role and her insight helped him a lot in the formative stage.

Three years down the line, JJ is thoroughly enjoying himself and also playing Golf recreationally. In his own words, “enjoying the game more than I have in a long time” Business Mantra: l Almost every day you will question yourself, about what you’re doing and whether you’re doing it right. This is normal. Take chances: Nobody’s ever been remembered for playing it safe. l When your gut and your intellect are at loggerheads, go with your gut. l Always keep one eye fixed on your cash flows.

july 2016 | golf digest india

87

India Digest Business of Golf

Business Of Golf

BuSIneSS Of GOlf Features industry insights & updates from India & across the globe. To contribute updates on events, conferences or other happenings email bharath@teamgolfdigest.com

indiAn Golf indusTry AssoCiATion

The IGIA, the body responsible for representing the golf course development, maintenance and operations industry and peripheral golf business activities, held another board meeting in June at the KGA in Bengaluru where it commissioned a research paper on the size and prospects of the golf industry in India. Ken Research was appointed as the research agency and the report is likely to be ready by end of 2016 and will be available to member companies of the IGIA. The IGIA Board also resolved to work closely with the IGU in its mission to setup golf academies across the country to promote junior golf. Road shows and clinics conducted by professionals will be held during IGIA mini conferences in different regions. The IGIA also confirmed dates for the 6th annual India Golf expo 2017 as April 19-20 in Gurgaon.

seleCT Golf ConferenCes ACross The world 2016 Asia Pacific Golf Summit - Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Thai Royal City of Hua Hin, Thailand.

2016 PGA Fashion & Demo Experience in Las Vegas, August 15–17 2016 HSBC Golf Business Forum - Marriott Sawgrass Resort, Florida and Spa from 28 November – 1 December Managers Association of America (CMAA) and the Club Managers Association of Europe (CMAE) 2016 Business Management Institute (BMI) International, to be held in London, England, October 6-11 Golf Business 2017- Florida, Feb 6-9, 2017 2017 PGA Merchandise Show- Jan 25-27, Orlando, Florida London Golf Show- Glow Bluewater- Aug 26-28 India Golf Expo 2017- April 19-20, Delhi

88 golf digest india | july 2016

Updates on corporate leaders making waves on and off the course. To share updates with us email bharath@teamgolfdigest.com

Creating Club Culture Gr

The 5th Asia Golf Tourism Convention (AGTC) took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand with the attendance of 643 delegates from 37 countries. Organized by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO), the convention witnessed more than 4200 prescheduled meetings between 220 buyers and 155 golf resorts, golf courses, hotels, ground handlers and tourist boards from every golf destination in the Asia Pacific region. Over 143 buyers also participated in post-AGTC family trips playing 8 different golf courses. The Indian golf tourism industry was represented by 10 golf tour operators promoting both inbound and outbound golf tourism.

Representing India were Arun Iyer (My Golf Tours), Shakti Dogra (Plan Your Holiday), Jayendra Vyas (Harbour Corporate Travel Services), Vipan Sharma (India Golf Connexions), Gajendra Singh Panwar (Tee Traveller) and Uday Marwah (Uday Tours and Travels) to name a few.

Inbound packages to India covered Golf Course from Kashmir to Kerala. Golf packages on offer included Royal Springs- Kashmir, DLF GC- Gurgaon, Jaypee Greens- Greater Noida, Classic Golf Resort- Gurgaon , Rambagh GC- Jaipur, RCGCKolkata, Tollygunge- Kolkata, Kalhaar Blues & Greens- Ahmedabad, Kensville GC- Ahmedabad, Gaekwad Baroda, BPGC- Mumbai , Oxford Golf Resort- Pune, Boulder Hills- Hyderabad, Eagleton Golf Resort- Bengaluru, Zions Hills Golf County- Bengaluru, Prestige Golfshire- Bengaluru, Coorg Golf Links, CIAL- Kerala amongst others.

GolfinG CEos

G eG

paT Terso

viDya BaSarkoD, PreSiDenT- SaLeS & MarkeTing jayPee infraTech recently moved to European

n

engineering firm Ramboll. She will serve as DirectorGlobal Operations at Ramboll Engineering Centre based in Gurgaon. Vidya was instrumental in bringing the US $1.5 mn Avantha Masters tournament to Jaypee Greens Golf Resort, Greater Noida. Vidya is a regular golfer and member of Jaypee Greens. Her love and passion for the game has made her a regular on the Delhi corporate tournament circuit as well.

Tips from

AsiA Golf Tourism ConvenTion

India Digest

Gregg Patterson spoke at the India Golf Expo 2016 & is considered the Guru of Club Marketing & Management

“I Started playIng golf after I joIned jaypee In dec.

2011. I uSed to play atleaSt thrIce a Week at jaypee greenS. that remaInS my home club. noW after havIng ShIfted to gurgaon, I can manage at the moSt only tWIce a Week over the Weekend. “

across the world. Gregg spoke to Golf Digest India about his secrets to enhance revenue at clubs.

needinG Tribe

People need people – Their Tribe, unique, welded together through experience, amplified through stories told “round the campfire”.

People hunger for The Magic great tribes provide – a powerful intangible something that transforms the routine into the exceptional and the ordinary into the profound. They push the envelope and release the animal spirits – with drink, with food, with music and with dance.

And when a club has Tribe and when the tribe has Magic, members of the tribe will sell the house before they’ll sell the membership.

CreATinG mAGiC in your Club

Successful Club Managers pay attention to the fundamentals, a tribal checklist that includes: Insiders and Outsiders – those who are members and those who aren’t.

The Burden of Proof – through an admissions committee, selectively chosen.

Warriors and Heroes – champions, presidents, managers who’ve “done good” and are considered The Best.

Holy Texts – that explain “the good – bylaws / house rules / newsletters.

Bonding Opportunities – tourneys, locker room, card room etc.

Rites of Transition – old enough to compete in the club championship.

Myths – stories of members long dead, told around the cocktail table and in the newsletter.

Opportunities to Break Bread and Tell Stories – an active dining room and bar.

Annual Rituals and Communal Celebrations – holiday weekends.

Moments of Madness – parties that feature too much food, booze, music and dancing.

And clubs with Tribal Magic – win.

More tips and ideas froM GreGG in the auGust issue

Sanjay PurohiT, Managing DirecTor, Levi STrauSS inDia will join Mumbai-

based private equity firm Samara Capital as Partner - Consumer and Retail practice. In his immediate role, Purohit has been named chief executive of Sapphire Foods, set up by Samara Capital in 2015, to acquire and lead the Yum Restaurants business in India.

Sanjay is an avid golfer and member of BPGC, Mumbai. He has been a regular at KGA, Bengaluru prior to his return to Mumbai.

“I became a corporate member of WIllIngdon SportS club, mumbaI In 2007 and began playIng there. I have been In love WIth the game ever SInce.”

venu MaDhav, ceo, coffee Day

scored a hole-in- one on 14 th May at Army MEG Golf Course, Bengaluru.

Venu hit a 6 iron off the tee on Hole #13 and couldn’t believe his eyes when the ball disappeared into the cup 153 yards away.

“moSt of my cloSe frIendS are golferS and have been goadIng me to play for Several yearS. thIS neW year of 2016 I made a reSolutIon that I have to learn golf and SurprISIngly I kept up my commItment. I am noW truly addIcted to It!”

uMang BeDi, Managing DirecTorSouTh aSia, aDoBe has joined

Facebook as its Managing Director for India to build and maintain strategic relationships with top clients & regional agencies in the country. Bedi is a keen golfer and is active on the Bengaluru corporate golf circuit as well.

“I learned my golf at coorg golf lInkS and played on and off In bengaluru. noW, I am lookIng forWard to the varIouS courSeS In gurgaon and hopefully play a feW more roundS thIS year”

july 2016 | golf digest india

89

India Digest Players in the News

pga tour

Players iN the News

Anirban Lahiri delivered his best finish of the ongoing PGA Tour season with a tied sixth result at the Dean & Deluca Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas. Lahiri, the reigning Asia No. 1 and a rookie on the PGA Tour, closed the tournament with a two-under-68 in the final round to total nine-under-271 for the week at the Colonial Golf Club. It was also Anirban’s first top-10 in the United States since his tied fifth finish at the 2015 PGA Championship.

Anirban also played his second U.S. Open and 9th major championship but failed to make the cut at Oakmont, which witnessed gruelling weather and tough conditions.

Ladies European Tour

Aditi Ashok continued to impress as she finished T31 at 3-under par 210 at the Tipsport Golf Masters held at Golf Park Pilsen, Czech Republic. Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark won the event with a total score of 198 (-15) through 54-holes.

Players in the News India Digest

IndIan golf unIon cIrcuIt

11- year old golf prodigy, Shubham Jaglan, won his first U.S. Kids European Junior Championship by a massive 13 strokes in the Age 11 category at the Craigielaw Golf Club in Longniddry, Scotland. He finished 9-under par in the 54-hole tournament. He was the only golfer with a sub par total in a field of 72 players. Shubham's wire to wire victory was sealed with a final round of 6-under par 66 with an impressive 7 birdies.The tournament is a prelude to the prestigious World Championships in August at Pinehurst, North Carolina. Jaglan had finished second in the competition in 2015.

Queen’s cup - asIan tour

Australian Scott Hend enjoyed a one-shot triumph at the Queen’s Cup for his second title of the season and ninth Asian Tour career victory. The big-hitting Aussie overcame a two-shot deficit with a final round of four-under-par 67 at the Santiburi Samui Country Club, Thailand to pip home talent Gunn Charoenkul, who signed off with a bogey-free 66 for his best finish on Tour. Chiragh Kumar was the best placed Indian finishing at T23 and 12 strokes behind Hend at 3-under par for the tournament. Other Indians who made the cut were himmat rai (T37), rahil Gangjee & ssP Chowrasia (T39).

VanI clInches 4 th tItle of the season!

ladIes asIan golf tour

90 golf digest india | july 2016

Delhi’s Kartik Sharma won the IGU YES Bank Southern India Junior Boys Championship by finishing 2-under par over 72-holes at Eagleton Golf Resort, Bengaluru. Finishing two strokes behind him was Chandigarh’s Karandeep Singh Kochhar.

Shubham Narain of Delhi won the Telangana Amateur Golf Championship at the Hyderabad Golf Association (HGA) finishing 5-under par through 72-holes.

Sunit Chowrasia finished runner-up five shots behind.

Chandigarh’s Aadil Bedi claimed the IGU YES Bank Karnataka Junior Boys Golf Championship at Clover Greens Golf Club, Bengaluru. His winning score of 4-under par through 72-holes was two shots clear of Runner-Up Manav Bais of Gurgaon. In category B, Delhi’s Harshjeet Singh Sethie won with a score of 3-over par with Eshaan Sethi finishing as Runner-Up eight strokes behind.

Chennai’s Shivnaren Srinivasan won the Tamil Nadu Amateur Golf Championship at Coimbatore Golf Club with a total of 1-under par. Aalaap IL of Bengaluru finished RunnerUp two shots behind.

Pune’s Shahir Nadaf finished first at the 2nd IGU National Qualifier at Golden Greens Golf Club. His score of 5-over par over 54-holes was two shots clear of Runner-Up M Kanishka Sinha. The top 10 players automatically qualify for all IGU categorized events.

Bengaluru’s Anisha Padukone won the ladies category of the IGU Army Ladies & Junior Girls Golf Championship held at the AEPTA Course in Delhi, with a score of 7-over par in the 54hole tournament. Tvesa Malik finished as Runner-Up two shots behind. In Category A junior girls, Gaurika Bishnoi finished at 4-over par with Ridhima Dilawari finished one shot behind.

asIan deVelopment tour

Delhi’s Vani Kapoor continued her superb form and came up with another scintillating performance to win the 8th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour. The 6 Lacs event was played at Eagleton Golf Resort from 15 th -17 th June, 2016. Vani carded a superb 4 under 68 to clinch her fourth title of the season in a wire to wire victory with a total score of 16-under 206 over 54-holes. Gursimar Badwal finished second with a total score of 222, followed by Amandeep Drall and Neha Tripathi in tied third position at 224.

Vani Kapoor also finished T5 at the Ladies Asian Golf Tour’s Hongkong Ladies Open played at the HongKong Golf Club.

Her 54-hole total of 3-under par was only 2 shots behind the local winner Tiffany Chan (A). Other Indians in the field included Amandeep Drall (T32 at 5-over), Sharmila Nicollet (T37 at 6-over par) and Neha Tripathi (T53 at 11 over par).

Bengaluru’s Aalaap IL claimed the IGU Southern India Amateur Golf Championship at Prestige Golfshire, Bengaluru. His score was of 5-under par over 72-holes was tied with runner-up Tapendra Ghai of Delhi in regulation play. However, Aalaap claimed victory on the 6th playoff hole. Kolkata’s Sunit Chowrasia finished T3 and one stroke behind at 4-under par.

U.S. Kids European Junior Championship

Feroz Singh Garewal

Samarth Dwivedi recorded his first Top 10 finish on the Asian Development Tour in four starts after turning pro earlier this year. He finished T8 at 8-under par at the PGM Port Dickson Championship in Malaysia earning himself US$ 1,141. Patna’s Aman Raj, who also turned pro this year, finished T15 at the PGM Penang Championship in Malaysia a week after the tournament in Port Dickson. His final score of 10-under par in only his second tournament earned him US$ 620. Feroz Singh Garewal of Chandigarh finished T32 in Port Dickson and T33 in Penang. Earlier he was placed T12 at the ADT Ambasador in Taipei.

Feroz turned pro in 2015 and has been regular on the ADT with the aspiration of qualifying for the Asian Tour. Aman and Samarth turned pro after reaching the final stage of the Asian Tour qualifying school and have been playing the ADT this year. Aman and Samarth were part of the team who represented India at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship, Nomura Cup at the Yas Links Golf Club, Abu Dhabi at the end of 2015. Aman was the highest placed Indian in the field, finishing T5 in the tournament.

Aman Raj july 2016 | golf digest india

91

India Digest Club Round Up

Club Round Up

ClUb RoUnd Up To share news on your club or updates from across the country, please email bharath@teamgolfdigest.com

Summer Camps

We take a look at some junior camps conducted across the country this summer

Chandigarh Golf Academy

dates: June 1–10 Teaching pro: Mahesh Kumar participation: 15 juniors Activities: Basics of game, Physical & Mental fitness

Clover Greens Golf Course, Bengaluru

dates: Apr 11-24, May 16-29 Teaching pro: Rahul Ganapathy participation: 53 juniors Activities: Sports Fitness, tug-o-war, boot camp, yoga

Oxford Golf Resort, Pune

dates: April 19–30, May 3–14 & May 17–28 Teaching pro: Simon Dennis assisted by Md. Rahman participation: 40 juniors Activities: Basics of Golf , Mental & Physical fitness training,Yoga, Treasure hunt

DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon

dates: May 23–June3, June 6–17 & June 20– July1 Teaching pro: Raju James Joseph, Kaka Kohli, Md. Yamin, Deepinder Kullar participation: 21 juniors Activities: Introductory learning on basics of game, Lessons on Golf Traditions, Golf Techniques

India Digest

Junior program at RCGC & Protouch Golf Academy

The program runs not only through the summer but also throughout the year The Royal Calcutta Golf Club, is a pioneer in introducing one of the largest junior golf programs in India with the purpose of inducting more children to the game, teaching and nurturing talent and producing champions. What began in 2003 with 20 juniors has since come a long way under the guidance of Indrajit Bhalotia and theProtouch Golf Academy.

With over 15 National Golf Academy of India (NGAI) certified instructors, the program now has over 250 juniors. Scientific coaching, world class practice facilities, top quality training equipment and the application of sports science have been the keys to success. The program has produced promising young golfers like Manvi Halwasiya, Surya Prakash, Tutul Ali, Sunit Chowrasia and most recently Viraj Madappa.

The Junior Program is open to non-members as well. The program also supports caddies and underprivileged juniors, providing them with coaching, equipment, facilities and assisting them financially. Events like Inter-School Golf, Members vs.

Juniors etc. are organized every year to provide a competitive platform for the juniors to showcase their talent. In 2015, over 135 juniors golfers from 23 schools took part in the RCGC-PROTOUCH Inter School Golf Tournament. The RCGC Junior Program has been an integral part in developing a base of over 600 young golfers in the city of Kolkata.

Clover Greens Golf Course, Bengaluru

Oxford Golf Resort, Pune Chandigarh Golf Academy

Legendary Putter maker

Wiestaw Kramski visits Golden Greens

World renowned putter maker Wiestaw Kramski recently held a clinic at the Ultimate Golf Academy at Golden Greens Golf Club in Gurgaon. The clinic saw over 25 top Professionals, Juniors and Amateurs interact with the master craftsman. Present were Top Amateur and Juniors like Gaurika Bishnoi, Siffat Sagoo, Seher Atwal, Ridhima Dilawari and Aniket Sawant along with professionals like Gauri Monga, Meher Atwal and Gaurav Pratap Singh to name a few. “After being unable to find the ideal putter for myself, I decided to build one instead”, said Kramski. The endeavour took almost three years but was well worth it. Having won numerous Global accolades he has finally bought his brand of High Precision Putters to India. “Seeing the talent in the country is really exciting and I want to be able to help players by providing the perfect putting solution for each individual”.

Sundeep Chimmy Verma, head coach at the academy said, “Being a coach I am always looking to increase my knowledge and for putting there can no one better than Mr Kramski to learn from”.

Contributed by Shaurya Singh

Rehabilitation

Delhi Golf Club The Belvedere Golf & Country Club, Ahmedabad

The Professional Golfers Association of India (PGAI) conducted a six day coaching camp for Juniors in the 10-17 age group at The Belvedere Golf & Country Club in Adani Shantigram, Ahmedabad. Over 50 children experienced golf for the very first time at the Grassroots Level Camp.

The camp was led by Jasjit Singh, an NGAI Class ‘A’ Teaching Professional and former IGU National High Performance Manager as well as former National Coach for Indian Teams with the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

His presence ensured that the children enjoyed their introduction to the game. Participants also received two Golf T-Shirts & a Cap as a motivational kit.

The fee was subsidized at Rs.500/- per child to encourage as many juniors to participate which included new golf balls and the latest golf equipment. This intensive camp covered the various aspects of the game. A total of 3 coaches made sure that the kids received adequate individual attention and first-hand golfing knowledge throughout the camp.

92 golf digest india | july 2016

John Neylan

In its endeavor to keep the Lodhi Course in excellent condition, the Delhi Golf Club brought on board John Neylan (an experienced Australian agronomist) to assist with the rehabilitation of the Course. The course condition had deteriorated over the past few years and to avoid the need to completely relay the Greens, the club took a progressive step by utilizing Neylan’s experience to develop a plan of action. The results are already showing with the fairways showing a marked improvement. The work on the Greens is far more tedious and requires frequent coring to be done which temporarily poses as an inconvenience to golfers but is well worth it in the long run.

The Greens are already in better shape from an agronomist's perspective and in a matter of a few months the course will witness high quality greens on a consistent basis. By choosing this option the club has saved a significant amount of money as relaying greens becomes heavy on the wallet. DGC will also play host to the 100th All India Ladies Amateur Championship from December 12-18. july 2016 | golf digest india

93

India Digest Corporate Digest Louis Philippe Cup

TAKE Chennai Triumph At Louis Phillipe Cup

Louis Philippe Cup

Corporate Digest India Digest

SnapShotS of the tournament

e lowes

Himmat Rai of Dev Cha ndigarh shot the tou rnament's lowest rou of 7-under 65 on Day nd 1 leading his team to a second place finish

A

ed th ru card Bengalu Day 2 n Hills n io o Z f 7 o der 6 hadha of 5-un bhijit C

t round

Gaganjeet Bhullar's stellar 6-under par 66 in round 3 propelled NSpor ts Hyderabad into contention for the final day

final StandingS TEAM POS. 1

2016 CHAMPIONNS- TAKE Chennai L-R: Team Sponsor-HR Srinivasan, Khalin Joshi, SSP Chowrasia, Chikkarangappa & Team Manager-Divakar Vasu

The 5th edition of the glamorous 1.2 crore Louis Philippe Cup Pro Golf League took place from June 1-4 at the KGA, Bengaluru. It witnessed a mix of star studded glamour & ramp walks at the Gala Dinner at ITC Gardenia, a celebrity Pro-Am featuring movie stars, corporate honchos & India’s top Lady Pros and capped off by highly competitive golfing action over four days by 8 city teams. The cheers and support from the local crowd at the tournament was reminiscent of a football game. The final day saw massive crowds throng the fairways and greens and cheer every shot. The 18th hole transformed into a stadium with a massive gallery witnessing the culmination of a week of scintillating golf & glitz. The next few pages will take you on a tour of what transpired over that exhilarating week in Bengaluru.

TEAM TAKE CHENNAI

NAME

TEAM SCORE

TEAM PRIZE

CHIKKARANGAPPA S KHALIN JOSHI

-21

36 Lakhs

-18

24 Lakhs

-17

18 Lakhs

SSP CHOWRASIA 2

DEV CHANDIGARH

AMARDIP MALIK SUJJAN SINGH HIMMAT RAI

3

NSPORTS HYDERABAD

OM PRAKASH CHOUHAN AJEETESH SANDHU GAGANJEET BHULLAR

4

LAQSHYA MUMBAI

MUKESH KUMAR ABHINAV LOHAN

-16

12 Lakhs

-11

9 Lakhs

-10

7 Lakhs

-5

6 Lakhs

-5

5 Lakhs

Winner loWeSt indivi chiKKarangduapal Score pa (thru 72 -10 (278) *Chikka & Chira -holes) gh we

In victory and glory

re tied 10-under but wo n on a count-bat ack

CHIRAGH KUMAR 5

ZION HILLS BENGALURU

ABHIJIT CHADHA M DHARMA RAHIL GANGJEE

6

NAVRATNA AHMEDABAD

ANURA ROHANA SHANKAR DAS MITHUN PERERA

7

DLF THE CREST GURGAON

SHUBHANKAR SHARMA ASHOK KUMAR MANU GANDAS

8

JAYPEE GREENS GREATER NOIDA

UDAYAN MANE SHAMIM KHAN MANDEO PATHANIA

Lowest Indiviual Score Prize-CHIKKARANGAPPA Massive Crowds thronged the KGA on the final day

94 golf digest india | july 2016

TOTAL

3 Lakhs 1.2 Crores

a Mumbai ragh Kumar of Laqshy

In Sublime form: Chi

* The best two scores from each team determined a team's score for each day july 2016 | golf digest india

95

LouIS PH

India Digest Corporate Digest Louis Philippe Cup

E CuP IPP L I

A New initative

Training Camp Zion hills golf CounTy Bengaluru

Right before the teams lit up KGA with action packed golf, players & manage rs spent some quality tim e bonding and training in a quain t setting at Zion Hills Golf Co unty on the outskirts of Beng aluru.

Louis Philippe Cup

Corporate Digest India Digest

Laqshya Mumbai's Abhinav Lohan working with team manager Bamby Randhawa on Trackman

Vijay Divecha sharing his wisdom with Mandeo Pathania (Jaypee Greens Greater Noida)

Jayanan Satgopal, Team Manager Dev Chandigarh masterminded the team's exemplary performance

Tarun Sardesai, Team manager Zion Hills Bengaluru strategizing with M Dharma

Divakar Vasu team manager of the winning team TAKE Chennai collected a cheque of 1 lakh as his tips did the trick for his team

Local Lad M Dharma (Zion Hills Bengaluru) works on his short game

Karan Bindra, Team Manager DLF The Crest Gurgaon kept his young squad motivated for all four days

The Introduction of Team Managers

The pros perfecting their craft over the 3-day camp

96 golf digest india | july 2016

Rahul Ganapathy team manager NSports Hyderabad played a pivotal role in Gaganjeet Bhullar's performance of 6-under 66 performance on day 3 after suggesting a 5 degree adjustment in the lie angle of his irons

The introduction of team manager s (Senior pro golf coaches) this year served to boost team morale, camaraderie and formulate the team’s game plan .

Managers played a pivotal role in guiding and encouraging their team s each day and they could be seen on the course closely monitoring their team 's performance.

Coaches were very active throughou t the week moving across the course on buggies while helping read lines , choosing clubs and advising on strat egy.

july 2016 | golf digest india

97

India Digest Corporate Digest Louis Philippe Cup

Louis Philippe Cup

Corporate Digest India Digest

a star studded dinner The Louis Philippe Cup Gala Dinner presented by The MAN and SBI Exclusif Wealth Management was hosted by ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru.

The evening was filled with glitz & glamour and witnessed the congregation of India’s top professionals, the crème of the sports fraternity, celebrities, corporate leaders and well known faces from the fashion & lifestyle realm.

The soiree was held a night before the coveted Etihad Pro-Am for the Louis Philippe Cup. Celebrities & pros walked the ramp along with team managers & sponsors to much cheer from the star studded audience.

Vani Kapoor & the host of the evening Virender Razdan, GM, ITC Gardenia

A Touch of Class: Ankita Tiwana & Sujith Somasunder Sunil Thomas- Editor, The MAN, Girish Venkat- Head Sales, SBI Wealth Management & Actor Parvathy Nair

Sharmila Nicollet & Ajit Agarkar kick started the glam evening

The youthful Vijay Divecha shows the boys how it's done

Upping the style quotient: Neha Triphati & Papa C J

98 golf digest india | july 2016

Amardip Malik Chikka in high spirits doing the lungi dance

Amardip Malik- Bringin' the SWAG

The charming Nikki Ponappa & Syed Kirmani

july 2016 | golf digest india

99

India Digest Corporate Digest Louis Philippe Cup

Louis Philippe Cup

Corporate Digest India Digest

Lady pros: Nikki Ponappa, Neha Tripathi, Vani Kapoor, Ankita Tiwana & Sharmila Nicollet Ravi Garyali (IPI), Syed Kirmani & Vita Zinna (IPI)

L-R: Virender Razdan- GM, ITC Gardenia, Pranab Barua - Business Director, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, Nikhil Bajaj - Etihad Airways, Ashish Dikshit -Business Head, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle

Uttam Mundy- Director, PGTI & Devang Shah

Sumanth Subramanium, Mani Ratnam (Film Director), H R Shrinivasan (TAKE Solutions)

George Menomparampil- Team Sponsor, Zion Hills Bengaluru leads his team out on the ramp

Rishi Narian & Charu Sharma

100 golf digest india | july 2016

N Shreedhar Reddy & Rahul Ganapathy (NSPORTS Hyderabad)

Sooraj Bhat (COO-Louis Philippe and Allen Solly) & Venkat Subramanium (President, KGA)

Pranab Barua addresses the party

Fashionista Shalini Chopra

Kings of the ramp: Devang Shah & Pranav Shah (Team sponsors Navratana Ahmedabad)

Actors Parvathy Nair & R Madhavan

India Digest Corporate Digest Louis Philippe Cup

Louis Philippe Cup

Corporate Digest India Digest

A tryst with the stArs

The Etihad Pro-Am for the Louis Philippe Cup took place a day before the tournament with many top corporate golfers and celebrities from various walks of life rubbing shoulders with the pros. The team of Pro Chikkarangappa, Paritosh Ganapathy, Chetan Meda and Kiran Gowda, with gross and team net scores of 56 and 52 respectively, won the Etihad Pro-Am.

Tournament Director & Chief Referee Sampath Chari

Mani Ratnam (Film Director)

Papa C J- It was tough to keep him away fromthe cup

Syed Kirmani & Ashish Ballal

Charu Sharma

Pranab Barua

Ajit Agarkar & R Madhavan pose with the coveted Louis Philippe Cup

Corporate honchos in full force - T Sukumar(Epson), Varun Berry (Britannia), Himmat Rai & Tarun Rai (JWT)

102 golf digest india | july 2016

Sharmila Nicollet stares down as her putt drops in

Nikhil Bajaj (Etihad Airways), Retd. Major Gen. Jaideep Mitra (Grand lucky draw winner), Neerja Bhatia (Eithad Airways) & Parvathy Nair (Actress)

All Smiles for Lady Pros at the Pro-Am: Ankita Tiwana, Vani Kapoor & Neha Tripathi

Looks like a solid back hand by Krishna Bhupathi

Prateek Pant (Sanctum Wealth) strikes a perfect pose

Sandeep Madhava - KGAn

Dev Bhattacharya (The Aditya Birla Group)

Raju Shahani(Christel House) july 2016 | golf digest india

103

India Digest Corporate Digest Louis Philippe Cup

Louis Philippe Cup

intercity Pro-Am held during round 1 of the louis Philippe cup

Corporate Digest India Digest

Junior clinic Inspiring the Next Gen

Over 100 aspiring junior golfers attended the junior clinic conducted at KGA during the Louis Philippe Cup. They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to take tips from their heroes and rubbed shoulders with them in a golf dart challenge. The clinic was conducted by Chikka, Himmat Rai, O P Chouhan, Abhinav Lohan, Udayan Mane, Shubhankar Sharma and Rahil Gangjee.

Winners L-R: Mithun Perera, Shankar Das, Rajiv Vasa, Anura Rohana, Devang Shah, GS Thimmiah & Jyotin Gor

Zakir Hussain - Amateur from NSports hyderabad

The winning team received a dozen golf balls each

Runner Up L-R: Ramesh Bhatia, Udayan Mane, Vidhit Tulshan, Yash Jindal, Mandeo Pathania, GS Thimmiah, Sanjay Sapra & Dhruv Singh

Second Runner Up L-R: H.R Srinivasan, Khalin Joshi, S.S.P Chowrasia, Dhananjay Das, Mani Ratnam, Peter Prem (KGA), Sumanth Subramanian & Chikka

104 golf digest india | july 2016

L-R: Vivek Rao, Ravi Sharma & Col. Anil Kumar - Amateur's from Zion Hills Bengaluru july 2016 | golf digest india

105

India Digest Tête-à-tête

Tête-à-tête with

Devang Shah

Tête-à-tête

Having built one of the India’s best Championship courses- Kalhaar Blues & Greens in 2012, Devang Shah has been actively involved in the development of golf in India over the past several years. His love for the game led him to get involved with the Indian Golf Union (IGU) where he serves as Chairman of the Junior Development Committee, enthusiastically introducing more youngsters to the game.

Devang was recently appointed as President of the Indian Golf Industry Association (IGIA) which works towards the promotion of the game and organizes the annual India Golf Expo. Devang also owns the Navratna Ahmedabad Pro Golf team which has won three out of five Louis Philippe Cup titles. Golf Digest India caught up with Devang at the recently concluded Louis Philippe Cup 2016 at KGA, Bengaluru.

By Bharath Arvind

Kalhaar Blues & Greens was also crowned ‘India’s Best Golf Course 2015’ at the World Golf Awards in Portugal

What prompted you to build a championship course at Kalhaar Blues & Greens?

We felt a need to have a championship golf course in Ahmedabad. I started my career by playing golf at the Army Golf Club and then after that I started playing at a new 9-hole facility that came up in 2003. Being a real estate developer I always wanted to create a property which I would leave behind as a legacy for everyone to enjoy. I think what we did correctly was to get the right golf course architect on board at the very beginning.

Nicklaus Design has done numerous golf courses across the world and they are the number one real estate golf course designers. They guided us very well and they are very particular about the way they design courses and properties employing stringent USGA standards. This has what has made Kalhaar a true championship golf course.

How has the occupancy of the real estate around the course been & how many of the regulars are residents?

We have now completed about 420 villas around the golf course and people have started moving in. Many are using the property on weekends and holidays as of now with a large number also planning to move in permanently. Several people have already made Kalhaar their first home.

106 golf digest india | july 2016

India Digest

What plans do you have for Kalhaar?

Presently, we are making a golf clubhouse as well as a sports clubhouse. We also plan to have a hotel with banquet facilities and a spa. Essentially we are trying to cover all areas of rejuvenation and promote a stress free and healthy lifestyle for people to embrace.

Environmentally sustainable initiatives being practiced?

Yes absolutely. We are a green project. We have approximately 14 lakes and they cover in excess of 40 acres. We are about a 500 acres property which includes the golf course, real estate and infrastructure. The entire property is drained into these lakes. We harvest a tremendous amount of rain water and the excess rain water is drawn back into the soil thereby increasing the water table.

We are also in advanced talks with the Sanand Municipal Sewage Treatment Plant which has come up just about one kilometre from us. We will use that treated water for golf course irrigation and for real estate garden maintenance. However, the golf course in any case is entirely sustained on rain water harvesting so the treated water will mostly be used for real estate maintenance.

Advise to other developers for sustainable and viable operations?

Water is the key for any real estate development or golf course. Rain water harvesting has to be employed and every drop must be conserved or harvested. Storing this water in artificial lakes is essential for sustainability and increasing the water table. This water can fulfil the entire needs of the golf course. Lakes also create an ecosystem for flora and fauna to thrive thereby improving the ecology of the area. Just to give you an idea, when we built these lakes the land was absolutely arid and barren. Now we see a variety of birds living on the golf course. In winter we get migratory birds and it is beautiful to see over 500 birds around the course at that time.

Also installing good irrigation and drainage systems is essential for the golf course with excess water running back into the lakes. In our case about 35-40% of the irrigation water drains back into the lakes. july 2016 | golf digest india

107

India Digest Tête-à-tête Kalhaar Blues & Greens, Ahmedabad

What needs to be done in India to grow the game?

I am very clear on the fact that the game needs to go to the schools. As part of the Indian Golf Union’s junior development program of which I am the chairman, we are starting with schools in Ahmedabad as a model program. We are taking golf to the schools rather than the schools coming to the course. Once this model is successful I plan to take it to other cities where there is golfing infrastructure available. Tier 2 & 3 cities will be the focus. Tier 1 has issues with infrastructure and the golf courses are not that empty either. The idea is to make it really affordable for parents to get their kids to learn the game. In the smaller cities most of the golf courses and driving ranges remain empty most of the year. If we want to grow the number of golfers we need to focus on getting more children into the game. Our target is kids from Grade 4-9 initially and we will teach them golf for free at the schools during their free periods as well as before and after school hours. I believe Juniors and kids are where the growth will come from.

108 golf digest india | july 2016

Total Number of pages (including cover pages) is 116 Monthly Magazine, RNI No. HARENG/2016/66983

Office Furniture

Designed to respond

The

System

Featuring The Liberate Chair

Now open at PS Continental, 1st Floor, 101, 83/ 2/ 1, Above Porsche, Topsia Road South, Kolkata. Mob: +91 98307 74009 FEATHERLITE COLLECTIONS: #16/A, Millers Road, Vasanthnagar, Bangalore - 560 052. | Tel: 080 4020 9631 | Email: sales@featherlitefurniture.com Ahmedabad | Ananthpur | Bhubaneshwar | Chandigarh | Chennai | Coimbatore | Davangere | Durgapur | Ernakulam | Goa | Guwahati | Hubli Hyderabad Imphal | Indore | Jaipur | Kochi | Kolhapur | Kolkata | Kurnool | Ludhiana | Lucknow | Mangalore | Madurai | Mumbai | Mysore | Nagpur | New Delhi Noida | Patna | Pune | Rajkot | Ranchi | Raipur | Salem | Secunderabad | Shimoga | Siliguri | Thiruvananthapuram Tinsukia | Tirupathi | Vijayawada Vishakapatnam | Nepal Dealers enquiry solicited: +91 93428 27325 | nitinsrivastava@featherlitefurniture.com

www.featherlitefurniture.com

Golf Retreat

RNI N0. HARENG/2016/66983