Golf Digest Middle East - February 2023

FEBRUARY 2023

KO FOR IT

Lydia Ko is aiming to win her second Aramco Saudi Ladies International crown in Jeddah

6 Editor’s Letter

February gets a green theme at Hero Dubai Desert Classic. by matt smith

The Starter

8 Doha Golf Club

International Series expands to Qatar. by matt smith

Mind / Body

12 Journeys

James Piot: from college to LIV. with keely levins

14 Going the Distance

What’s the secret to longevity and good golf? by jerry tarde

45 Dominate on the Greens Try my two simple drills to help you hole more of those putts. by lydia ko

48 It’s In The (Corn) Hole! We study pro Joel Dahmen’s cornhole toss frame by frame. by david leadbetter

50 Meet TaylorMade’s Stealth Fighters The innovation champs unveil highly anticipated 2023 range.

66 The 4,238th Best Swing Coach He’s giving out pearls here.

Features

17 High Hopes For Heroes Mission accomplished for Team Europe at Hero Cup in UAE. by matt smith

20 All Set For Another Classic Get set to witness the latest chapter in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic’s history. by matt smith

COVER STORY

24 Popularity Pole Adrian Meronk targets the very top in 2023 after his best 12 months on DP World Tour. by matt smith

30 Numbers Game World No. 1 Lydia Ko sets her sights on another Aramco Saudi Ladies International crown. by matt smith

34 Airtime for new show ‘Full Swing’ How the upcoming Netflix docuseries captures what life is like on the PGA Tour. by shane ryan

40 Liv’s Latin Launchpad

All eyes on Mexico as expanded LIV Golf schedule gets set to take off at Mayakoba’s El Camaleón course. by shane ryan

Hot List 2023

PART 1

53 The Process Our judges assess the year’s equipment based on months of research, meetings with our scientists and two weeks of player testing. by the editors

57 Drivers

Everybody wants more distance. These 10 hotfaced drivers are ready to give you the yards you never knew you had. by mike stachura

antonin kélian

The grass is looking greener

Sustainability on and off the course is the aim of the game during a hectic month across the Middle East

By Matt Smith

EACH YEAR, I come away from the DP World Tour Desert Swing refreshed, impressed and surprised at how the brains behind the four-week golf-fest across the UAE manage to come up with innovative and original ways to keep things fresh, despite the region’s connection with top tournaments going back nearly 40 years.

Already this year we have witnessed another trump card in a strong hand as the inaugural Hero Cup delivered new-look entertainment in spades. With star players such as Rory McIroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland stepping aside, 20 Ryder Cup hopefuls attempted to impress onlooking Team Europe Captain Luke Donald at the matchplay event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, where Francesco Molinari’s Continental Europe took on and defeated Tommy Fleetwood’s Great Britain & Ireland.

While the result was fairly immaterial, it allowed Donald to run the rule over prospective candidates for the showdown against the Americans in Rome this coming September, while also getting all involved familiar with team-play events and the bonding that is crucial to success. With Rory, Rahm and Hovland shoo-ins for the trip to Marco Simone in September, a number of new names certainly played their way into the reckoning. Now Donald’s challenge is whittling his squad down to the right 12.

Speaking of Rory, we are already sailing into 2023 at a fair clip and the new(ish) year brings the biggest golfing names to the region for one of the biggest dates on the sporting calendar as McIlroy resumes an elusive quest.

Yep, the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic is here once again — with a funky new look no less, thanks to new title partners Hero MotoCorp — as the world No. 1 seeks a third crown.

The 34th edition will be sure to deliver all the drama the fans will be after — along will plenty of kids’ entertainment and some late-night partying to boot.

As ever, sustainability will be a prominent factor at Emirates Golf Club, and you can play

your part as the on-site entertainment zone — Tournament Town — takes on an environmental theme this year, hosting a series of hands-on workshops. As the DDC continues its mission to cut down on waste and protect biodiversity this year’s event will be the most sustainable yet.

A series of environmental measures are being implemented — including the ongoing process of eliminating single-use plastic, installing water dispenser systems around the Majlis, and controlling waste. One new addition is the new-look media centre, where the roof will be covered with solar panels, plus two 100m solar panel systems will be installed at the venue.

The public can get hands-on by helping to plant 2,000 native Ghaf tree seeds in Tournament Town. That is one way to keep things green around the greens.

Keeping things even greener, if you are planning to visit the Desert Classic, be sure to pick up a copy of our Daily News publication at EGC or check it out online at GolfDigestME.com. The daily newsletter is PEFC Certified, using sustainably managed forests and controlled sources, as is Golf Digest Middle East

The February show rolls on into Saudi Arabia for the men’s and ladies’ Saudi International events at Royal Greens just outside Jeddah, with a collective $10 million on the table — equally divided across the two tournaments — for the men and women. Adding to a packed February in the Middle East is the Asian Tour’s expanded International Series, with Oman (Al Mouj Golf, February 9-12) and Qatar (Doha Golf Club, February 16-19) making a welcome bow.

Throw in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, and world-class golfing entertainment is never far away.

editor-in-chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer managing partner & group editor Ian Fairservice

editor Matt Smith art director Clarkwin Cruz editorial assistant Londresa Flores instruction editors Luke Tidmarsh, Euan Bowden, Tom Ogilvie, Matthew Brookes, Lea Pouillard, Alex Riggs chief commercial officer

Anthony Milne publisher David Burke general manager - production S. Sunil Kumar production manager Binu Purandaran

THE GOLF DIGEST PUBLICATIONS

editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde senior director, business development & partnerships Greg Chatzinoff international editor Ju Kuang Tan

GOLF DIGEST USA

editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde general manager Chris Reynolds editorial director Max Adler executive editor Peter Morrice art director Chloe Weiss Galkin managing editors Alan P. Pittman, Ryan Herrington (News) chief playing editor Tiger Woods playing editors Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari, Bubba Watson, Tom Watson

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Destination Doha for a new departure

When the DP World Tour released their schedule for the 2023 season, it was noted that there was no slot for the Qatar Masters on the schedule.

But as the dust settles on a fantastic football World Cup, sports fans can rest assured that they will still get their fix of golfing action this year as the Asian Tour’s International Series will make its inaugural bow at Doha Golf Club from February 16-19.

The Asian Tour has seen a significant surge in prize money and the elevated International Series has expanded further, adding stops at Doha and Muscat to its 2023 calendar, alongside the likes of tournaments in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and England.

It has been a blessing in disguise for Doha GC, as the $2.5 million International Series event will attract a strong field with Official Golf World Ranking points on offer for the LIV Golf stars who have taken to playing more on the Asian Tour. We have seen the likes of Patrick Reed and Peter Uihlein line up alongside some of the brightest Asian talents at International Series events to bring the game to wider audiences across the globe. Now we can expect more of the same in Doha.

Opened in 1998 and designed by Peter Harradine, the 7,437-yard championship course was one of the first grass golf courses in the Middle East, and gained popularity with gigantic cacti around numerous water hazards, skyscrapers offering a formidable backdrop. It will certainly challenge the top golfers as it plays as one of the longest courses in the region — so big tee shots should be the order of the day. –matt smith

Qatar

Doha Golf Club

Qatar course set to welcome the Asian Tour’s International Series to town

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

‘The LIV Offer Sounded Phenomenal’

I was about to finish college, I had no sponsors, and I wasn’t among the highest-ranked college players

By James Piot, with Keely Levins

My dad is a good player. He took me to a range when I was little. I knew immediately this is what I wanted to do. ● ● ●

My older brother, Glenn, and I spent all of our time at Fox Hills golf course in Plymouth, Michigan. A bunch of us would play every day for golf balls, $5, a hot dog. I was the youngest, so I played with a chip on my shoulder. They stopped including putts inside 10 feet in putting contests because I made them all. I love chasing perfection in golf even though it’s impossible. ●

I played college golf at Michigan State. We would play intramural basketball in the offseason. Coach worried about injuries, but we loved it. Working together as a team is what makes college golf so fun. Competition sharpened my game. I thought: ‘How can I win?’ instead of ‘What’s my scoring average this week?’ Short game was the answer. I tightened up the skills I’d developed from those contests as a kid to become consistent in a way other guys weren’t. ●

At the 2021 US Amateur at Oakmont, my goal was to qualify for match play. Never did I think I’d be holding that trophy. When the winning putt fell, my college and high school golf buddies, coach Casey Lubahn from Michigan State, my family, everyone

was there. It felt like it was too perfect to have actually happened.

My agent set up a call. Ten people from LIV were on it. They couldn’t tell me who they had signed or were pursuing, but they said it would be a team format. I loved the PGA Tour events I played in, but every guy did his thing and then vanished. To be part of a team with a bigname pro mentoring me sounded like the right way to start my career. For a guy about to finish school with no sponsors who wasn’t among the top-ranked college golfers and had just missed two PGA Tour cuts, the LIV offer sounded phenomenal.

● ● ●

I talked it over with my family, my swing instructor for over a decade, Brian Cairns, and my college coaches. There were a lot of unknowns about LIV, and I had the US Open and sponsor’s exemptions at Memorial and Colonial. I could earn more PGA Tour starts — or I could miss more cuts.

● ● ●

If you’re thinking about your legacy, you want to play the PGA Tour. But this is a great opportunity for a guy out of college with no financial security. As I thought about the political side, I realised it’s a golf decision. I signed a two-year contract. My agent wouldn’t be happy if I told you for how much.

I bought a GCQuad launch monitor, but otherwise I’m kind of cheap. I live at home with my parents, though I’m looking to rent a place in Jupiter. Half my clothes are Michigan State gear. I still practise at the two public courses I grew up on.

Week 1 at LIV Golf, I didn’t know who would be there, if I would be the only young guy, whose team I would be on. Sergio picked me. He texted our group chat that night: “Hey, who wants to have dinner?” Sergio Garcia’s offering to have dinner with me?

I haven’t lost any friendships over joining LIV. I’ll get chirps from random people on Twitter, but I only care about what my inner circle thinks. LIV criticism is less heated outside the US. I’ve gotten to travel places I never thought I’d go, but I don’t fly private. I fly Delta. I like getting the points. ● ● ●

At every hotel they have a room for food, and each night there are at least 12 guys hanging out. Harold Varner III helped me feel like I belong. We competed every practice round, and he points out where I need work. I’ll be spending the off-season getting bigger and adding speed. He also taught me the attitude you have to carry out here: You have to think you can win. People say we’re in it only for the money, but that’s not true. ● ● ●

I’ve talked to Majed al Sorour, CEO of Saudi Golf, a few times. He wants to see younger guys win. That’s big for me, seeing how much he believes in us. ● ● ●

When LIV started signing more guys, people tweeted: “James Piot’s going to be bumped out.” But from what I’ve heard, LIV has stayed true to the contracts we’ve signed.

● ● ●

I don’t want to miss out on playing the majors. I’ve avoided debates about whether LIV players should. Playing the Masters was the coolest week of my life. I’m not exempt, so I’m putting my energy toward qualifying. My goal is to try to get into a major and see what I can do. I just want to win golf tournaments.

JAMES PIOT (“PIE-OT”) LIV GOLF AGE 24

LIVES

CANTON,

MICHIGAN

Driving back to michigan state after missing cuts at the Masters and RBC, I was bummed. Then my phone rang. My agent was calling with an offer from LIV Golf.

What’s the Secret of Longevity and Good Golf?

Don’t run with chainsaws and other life-saving tips

By Jerry Tarde

Ionce wrote a book with sam Snead, and the most remarkable thing about it was the title: Pigeons, Marks, Hustlers and Other Golf Bettors You Can Beat. The cover showed Sam holding two pigeons. He had an instinctive way with all critters and was a natural wonder himself. Nothing could be more indelible than watching Sam kick the top of a door jamb from

a standing start to win a bet, which he could do well into his 80s. He had good genes — his great grandmother lived until 106. Fred Couples may be breaking his age and Bernhard Langer may be the oldest winner on the Champions Tour, but Sam grew old the most gracefully.

When I asked him the secret to longevity and good golf, Snead gave me his stock answer: “If you swing it back

short when you’re young, you’ll never get it back when you’re old.” And he talked about tempo: “The harder you hit the nail, the slower you take the hammer back.” Sam was also known as a teetotaller, but I personally observed him stop at the clubhouse bar during tournament play and order a “daiquiri — extra sweet.” Could that have been his secret?

HIGH-KICKIN’ AT AGE 67 Sam Snead with Seve Ballesteros at the 1979 Ryder Cup

photograph by phil sheldon/popperfoto/getty images

The first celebrity I ever played golf with was Joan Fontaine, the glamorous movie star of the 1940s whose chauffeur drove her to meet me at Winged Foot in a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. She said her secret was to always walk the course: “It’s good for your health and your swing.” Just last year, Clint Eastwood told me his secret to aging was simply: “I wake up every morning and don’t let the old man in. If you think you’re old, if you talk about it enough, you will be.”

I’ve been searching ever since the sport psychologist Bob Rotella quoted Satchel Paige to me: “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?” This question about aging I’ve come to ask all my golf buddies, especially doctor friends. What’s your secret?

Bill Perocchi has no medical training, but the co-chairman of Pebble Beach Company gave me the best advice that I have the hardest time following: Drink 100 ounces of water, and walk 10,000 steps every day. A new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that vigorous walking not only extends life but significantly reduces the risk of dementia. (Actually 6,000 to 8,000 steps might be optimal, the equivalent of about 12 holes.)

When I asked Dr Neal ElAttrache, the lead physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rams, he said: “Avoid carbs and foods that cause inflammation.” That’s all the stuff we like — sugars, processed snacks, red meat, bread, fried food, soda. I think it was Bette Davis who said: “Old age ain’t no place for sissies.”

“A happy life is a longer life,” says Dr Phil Ozuah, CEO of Montefiore Medical Centre. “The happiest people are grateful. The unhappiest are entitled. Be grateful.”

“Approach every day as another opportunity to excel,” says Dr Frank Camissa of the Hospital for Special Surgery. His colleague Dr David Altchek says: “Always focus on posture” to escape the back pain that shortens a golfer’s life. “Eat, drink in moderation and don’t ever smoke,” says Dr Jeff Small, a urologist at Bridgeport Hospital.

I like the two things Dr Steve Packer, who runs Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, told me. “In the world’s Blue Zones, where the largest percentage of people over 100 live, there’s a tremendous sense of community and being engaged,” he says. (1) Join a club. Golf is the rare endeavour that allows older men to make friends. (2) Do everything with a purpose — from exercise to hitting a golf shot. Don’t just go through the motions.

Dr. Rotella, the author of Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, said he once studied centenarians: “They’re all highly committed to something — whatever it is, it should get you up in the morning. They have an optimistic attitude. My father lived till 101, and by then all his classmates were gone, so survival was about staying positive. Keep the legs in shape — it not only helps your golf swing but maintains good balance and prevents falling.”

If you play golf, you don’t need a doctor to tell you: Get a skin cancer exam every year. Use twice as much 30+ SPF sunscreen as you think you need. I skipped my annual at the start of the pandemic and eventually was diagnosed with melanoma on my face, requiring three surgeries, but fortunately it was Stage 0. Golfers need to be extremely vigilant about skin care and medical check-ups.

a host in this world, not a guest. Live with urgency. Soak in the beauty of His eternal creation.”

Barney Adams, the Texas Golf Hall of Famer, said: “Tee off from the set of tees where you can find the golf course. Leave your ego in the clubhouse.”

“Mine is simple,” Tom Watson emailed me. “Do the next right thing. Give yourself to people less fortunate than yourself. And have faith in a higher power. Simple, isn’t it?”

What else have I learned about long living? There’s no excuse for not wearing comfortable shoes. Make your bed in the morning. Take a half-hour nap in the afternoon. If you like, drink a glass of red wine at night — it will improve your disposition and your spouse’s. Avoid all ladders and chainsaws. Change your wedges every other year so that you always have sharp grooves. Never follow a bad shot with a dumb shot. When you’re going to lay up, lay up. Give and you shall receive.

Jerry Tarde is collecting more secrets to longevity and good golf.

As is often the case, Nick Price had the most sensible answer to my question: “Spend more time with the people who make you laugh, and always have something to look forward to.”

I called my friend Doc Giffin, age 94, who was Arnold Palmer’s amanuensis, and asked him what Arnie would say: “Keep hitting golf balls as long as you’re able,” he replied. It reminded me of Ben Hogan’s advice: “Every day you miss practising takes you two days to get back to where you were.” Hogan also said: “Drink ginger ale — it improves the feel in your fingertips”. One other tip from Arnie: “Get the ball to the hole, no matter what.”

Spider Miller, the legendary Walker Cup captain, told me: “Keep looking through the windshield, not the rearview mirror.”

Sam Reeves, the cotton merchant who knows everybody in golf, said: “Be

Keep travelling to places you haven’t been. I remember Sandy Tatum telling me to make your “circle of life” as wide as possible because one day it’ll be a bedroom, and then it’ll be a bed.

I think most golfers don’t want to die in their sleep. Surrounded by family and friends may sound ideal in theory, but who doesn’t envy Bing Crosby’s finale: The Associated Press reported that he collapsed after a golf game with three friends on a course in Spain. When reached for comment, his widow, Kathryn Crosby, said: “I can’t think of any better way for a golfer who sings for a living to finish a round.” She spoke to one of his pals who played with him and remarked. “He told me that Bing had a very good round, and I’d like that to be said.”

Maybe the secret to a long life and good golf is knowing when it’s over.

‘There I was, leading a daily double life …’

A poignant tale of destiny and polygamy— and one man’s personal struggle to come to terms with his two wives and two lives.

HIGH HOPES FOR HEROES

BY MATT SMITH

Team Europe feel the love ahead of Ryder Cup after successful Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi

It was mission accomplished for Team Europe at the inaugural Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi — with more than a little fun and camaraderie thrown in for good measure.

Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup hopefuls assembled at Abu Dhabi Golf Club for a team-bonding exercise and a bit of healthy matchplay competition, too.

It was Continental Europe who emerged victorious over their Great Britain & Ireland counterparts, with playing captain Francesco Molinari leading his men to a 14½-10½ win against Tommy Fleetwood and Co.

But, besides the result and the trophy-presentation fanfare for the crowds in the UAE capital, the most important job at hand was the coming-together of those hoping to make the 12-man European team preparing to take on the might of the United Stated at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome come September as they aim to wrest by the Ryder Cup trophy from their great rivals.

Giant Pole Adrian Meronk was all smiles as he was mobbed by his teammates after holing the winning putt for Continental Europe, but the biggest grin was plastered across Ryder Cup captain Donald’s face after witnessing a successful week in Abu Dhabi for all involved.

“It was all such a useful exercise,” he told Golf Digest on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which was keeping the DP World Tour UAE Swing party going at Yas Links. “It actually went better than expected. It was a great competition. I’m so happy with the way everyone was so into the team aspect of the event. So I got a lot out of it. Indeed, I’d like to see more team competitions on the schedule.”

One significant gain for Donald was getting to know his potential players for the Italian showdown — especially some of the younger faces he is a bit less familiar with since his own Ryder Cup exploits as a player. With a handful of virtually guaranteed players making way to give others an opportunity (Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland all took a back seat), Donald seized the opportunity to run the rule over as many candidates as possible.

“It was fascinating to see how they all reacted to the team atmosphere,” he added. “And how they reacted to the pressure situations you get in matchplay much more than strokeplay. So it was a great learning experience for me, a dry run for what I will face in Italy. There is much to learn. Communication with the vice-captains is so important. Getting their input — and that of the two team captains — was so good. There is a lot going on in these things.”

With some of Donald’s older chums possibly absent after making the move to LIV Golf — Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia are legends in the Ryder Cup annals and Henrik Stenson was initially pencilled in to skipper the Europeans before his change of heart and announcement to swap the DP World Tour for the new series — there is a whole host of players with high hopes of getting on the plane to Rome later this year as Europe aim to avoid defeat on home soil for the first time in 30 years.

One man eager to make his Ryder Cup debut is Guido Migliozzi, given it will be hosted in his home country for the first time.

“I mean, I love it,” the Italian said of the Hero Cup experience. “It’s good because we feel the pressure because it’s not just us players on the course. It’s the whole team. It’s something beautiful.

“I arrived thinking I would give 100 per cent to make the Ryder Cup team in my home country. Now it is 200 per cent.”

Donald now has a healthy dilemma as so many players rose to the occasion in the UAE. Both captains thrived, while Meronk was certainly one of the stars alongside Nicolai Hojgaard (who was a late replacement for his brother Rasmus), Antoine Rozner, Matt Wallace and Robert McIntyre.

“I know now I have a nice pool of players to pick from,” said Donald, who has six captain’s picks to go with the six automatic qualifiers. “We don’t just have a good team. We have a strong squad.”

One thing for certain that Donald has still to learn though, is how to make those tough phone calls to those who don’t make the cut.

LUKE DONALD

HERO CUP RESULTS

CONTINENTAL EUROPE GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND

FRIDAY FOURBALL

Thomas Pieters Alex Noren 1-UP Tommy Fleetwood Shane Lowry

Francesco Molinari Nicolai Højgaard HALVE Ewen Ferguson Richard Mansell

Sepp Straka Adrian Meronk 4&3 Seamus Power Robert MacIntyre

Victor Perez Guido Migliozzi HALVE Callum Shinkwin Matt Wallace

Thomas Detry Antoine Rozner 2-UP Tyrrell Hatton Jordan Smith

SATURDAY MORNING FOURSOMES

Thomas Pieters Alex Noren HALVE Ewen Ferguson Richard Mansell

Sepp Straka Thomas Detry 1-UP Tommy Fleetwood Tyrrell Hatton

Francesco Molinari Nicolai Højgaard 3&1 Callum Shinkwin Matt Wallace

Antoine Rozner Adrian Meronk 1-UP Jordan Smith Robert MacIntyre

Victor Perez Guido Migliozzi 3&2 Shane Lowry Seamus Power

SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOURSOMES

Francesco Molinari Nicolai Højgaard 2&1 Ewen Ferguson Richard Mansell

Antoine Rozner Adrian Meronk 2&1 Callum Shinkwin Matt Wallace

Thomas Pieters Alex Noren 2&1 Tommy Fleetwood Jordan Smith

Sepp Straka Thomas Detry 1-UP Shane Lowry Tyrrell Hatton

Victor Perez Guido Migliozzi 2&1 Seamus Power Robert MacIntyre

SUNDAY SINGLES

Thomas Pieters 3&2 Tommy Fleetwood Antoine Rozner 5&4 Tyrrell Hatton

Nicolai Højgaard 1-UP Seamus Power

Alex Noren 5&3 Robert MacIntyre

Adrian Meronk 1-UP Callum Shinkwin Guido Migliozzi 4&3 Richard Mansell

Francesco Molinari 3&2 Shane Lowry

Victor Perez 4&2 Jordan Smith

Sepp Straka 5&4 Ewen Ferguson

Thomas Detry 2&1 Matt Wallace

14½ TOTAL 10½

I know now I have a nice pool of players to pick from. We don’t just have a good team. We have a strong squad.

HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC RETURNS FOR 34TH EDITION, WITH THRILLS ON AND OFF THE COURSE

BY MATT SMITH

All set for another Classic

For those who were lucky enough

to be at Emirates Golf Club last February, you still had to peer through the rapidly darkening dusk to catch a glimpse of Viktor Hovland posing with the Coffee Pot trophy after his epic victory completed another entry in the fascinating history of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

It was worth the trouble to mark the ‘I-was-there’ moment, when the young Norwegian made the most of Rory McIlroy’s disastrous dunk into the water on 18 to then deny veteran underdog Richard Bland a famous underdog tale in the playoff.

While the then 48-year-old Englishman’s story never unfolded, Norwegian Hovland’s epic triumph was still more than worthy of its place in the annals of a tournament that returns to the Majlis Course from January 2629 for its 34th edition.

The DP World Tour Rolex Series event is now worth a record $9 million in prize money, and the stars are assembling once more as they aim to become the next hero in the Dubai Desert Classic saga that goes all the way back to 1989 and Mark James’ thrilling win over Peter O’Malley.

Many superstars have since written their own tales in the event’s history, including Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Jose Maria Olazábal, Mark O’Meara, Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau, and there is no little stardust on show to thrill the fans this time around.

World No. 1 McIlroy is back searching for a third title, while the big guns are all out to stop him, including the likes of Lee Westwood, Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood, Henrik Stenson, Shane Lowry, Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters and Tyrrell Hatton.

“It is hard to believe the tournament is now more than 30 years old,” Simon Corkill, Dubai Desert Classic Executive Tournament Director, told Golf Digest Middle East. “From those early days, and much like Dubai itself, we have seen growth beyond our wildest expectations. The hard work and dedication of an incredible number of people have got us to this point, and it is our duty to ensure we develop, nurture and grow in the years to come.”

One of the biggest developments in the build-up to the latest edition of the Middle East’s oldest tournament happened off the course as Hero MotoCorp were recently announced as title partner, rapidly following

the motorcycle manufacturer’s sponsoring of the inaugural team matchplay Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi, and extending a partnership between Hero and the DP World Tour that began in 2015 at the Hero Indian Open.

“We continue to have a long-term partnership with the DP World Tour, and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic is an extension of this engagement,” said Dr Pawan Munjal, Chairman & CEO, Hero MotoCorp. “We are delighted to be associated with this iconic event as part of the traditional Desert Swing. It surely promises to be an exciting start to the season, and we look forward to seeing world-class golf on display.”

As the tournament brings together global stars to put on a performance to remember, there will be plenty of off-course entertainment and culinary treats for the fans eager to grab a slice of history in the making.

There will be plenty on offer to keep visitors of all ages engaged throughout the weekend, including live music, wide-ranging food and drink options, a dedicated kids’ day, plus the inaugural Junior Dubai Desert Classic gets going on January 21 and 22 to get the festival started.

Continuing on from the success of the 2022 edition, the 2023 tournament again is free entry to the general public, while there are a range of luxury hospitality packages also available at the Dallah Lounge and Sky Deck for those wishing to watch the action in style.

Plus there is the return of the bigger and better Tournament Town, designed to delight the youngest of fans as well as the young at heart.

Also, Emirates Golf Club on-site restaurant Jones the Grocer is hosting a Picnic Lunch with a golf twist each day, where diners can watch all the action while snacking al fresco on salads, sandwiches, cheese and charcuterie, fruit platters, sweets, barbecue treats and drinks.

OPPOSITE PAGE:

LEFT: Rory McIlroy was on course for a third Dubai Desert Classic title at Emirates Golf Club last year until he found the water on the 18th hole

Viktor Hovland held his nerve as darkness fell in Dubai to claim the 2022 DDC title, defeating Richard Bland in a playoff

DESERT CLASSIC SCHEDULE

Jan 21 Saturday

Junior Dubai Desert Classic

Jan 22 Sunday

Junior Dubai Desert Classic

Jan 23 Monday

Official practice day

Jan 24 Tuesday

Pro-Am 07.15-09:27 (two tee start)

Practice from 12.10 from 1st and 10th tee

Jan 25 Wednesday

Pro-Am 07.15 - 09:27

Practice from 12.10 from 1st and 10th tee

Jan 26 Thursday — First Round

Gates Open 07:00

Tee off from 07:10-08:50 & 11:30-13:10

Tournament Town closes at 23:00

Jan 27 Friday — Second Round Gates Open 07:00

Tee off from 07:10-08:50 & 11:30-13:10

Tournament Town closes at 23:00

Jan 28 Saturday — Third Round Gates Open 07:00

Tee off from 07:30-12:45

Tournament Town closes at 23:00

Jan 29 Sunday — Final Round Gates Open 07:00

Tee off from 07:30-12:45

Tournament Town closes at 23:00

Getting There

As parking spaces are limited, spectators are urged to take the metro to Al Khail Metro Station, where you will be delivered to Emirates Golf Club’s doorstep. Park and ride options are also available throughout the ciy to take you to the venue.

Tournament Town

On top of the ever-popular food trucks, Tournament Town has a whole lot more to offer all weekend,with plenty of entertainment and activities including bouncy castles, arts and crafts, mascots and much more. And the party will continue long after sunset with live music on stage to keep you on your dancing toes.

There will certainly be the thrills and spills on the course as some of the world’s top golfers battle it out to follow in the footsteps of greats such as Ballesteros, Montgomerie, Couples, Els, Woods all the way through to more recent superstars such as McIlroy, DeChambeau and Hovland, to get their hands of the famous Coffee Pot trophy.

For the kids (and the big kids) there will be plenty of action away from the fairways too as, throughout the weekend, there will be a variety of acts across the venue including bubble artists, stilt walkers, children’s entertainers, magicians, graffiti artists and musicians.

There are also complimentary workshops with a sustainability vibe on Saturday and Sunday, including the opportunity to make your own seed ball to take home and plant, DIY workshops and an urban farming workshop.

On Kids’ Day (Friday) make sure you get down early as the first 500 kids through the gates receive a free Baskin Robbins ice-cream, along with face painting, plus three special performances of an Alice in Wonderland show throughout the day.

All in all, there will certainly be yet another Classic story to remember.

BY MATT SMITH

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANTONIN KÉLIAN KALLOUCHE

ADRIAN MERONK IS COMING OFF THE BEST 12 MONTHS of his career, but the giant Pole is not content to reflect on what he has already achieved and is mapping out a moresuccessful season in 2023 — with a spot on Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup team firmly in his sights.

Never hard to spot on the fairways, thanks to his 6ft 5ins frame, signature fluorescent shirts and shock of blond hair, the 29-year-old burst onto the golfing scene last summer with a sensational surge to claim the Horizon Irish Open at Mount Juliet, closing with a birdie-birdie-eagle-par streak to finish three clear of Ryan Fox, pocket just shy of €1 million and take home his first DP World Tour title.

It was the crowning achievement in a campaign that saw multiple top-10 finishes — including the Dubai Desert Classic and DP World Tour Championship — and an eighth-place finish in the season-long Rankings race.

That momentum has carried over into the new season and Meronk already has a title under his belt as he claimed the ISPS Handa Australian Open in Melbourne in December — and he has no plans to ease up.

“Last year was the best of my career so far, and I was really pleased after Ireland how I finished the year in Australia,” he tells Golf Digest Middle East. “So I am coming into the new year and new season with a lot of new experiences and also a lot of confidence ahead of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

“I am looking forward to topping 2022. I know it will be difficult but I believe I can go even further this time around and I have been preparing for the tournaments that lie ahead.”

With Europe taking on the US at Marco Simone Golf Club, Rome in September, Meronk has already had a taste of team golf this year, holing the winning putt for Continental Europe against Great Britain & Ireland at the Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi.

“I started my year with the Hero Cup here at home, and that was exciting and an honour to be part of that set-up, with this being a Ryder Cup year too,” he says, explaining how, like many golfers such as Tommy Fleetwood, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Adri Arnaus and Adrian Otaegui, he has relocated to the UAE to take advantage of the year-round golfing climate.

“I have been spending a lot of time here in between tournaments and I know all the courses well,” he says. “Even when I was playing at Jumeirah Golf Estates at the 2022 DP World Tour Championship in November, it felt like my home from home — it had a real home-course feel for me, so to start the year with events like the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in the UAE is a great way to kick things off.”

ON THE UP Victories in the Irish Open and Australian Open have set Adrian Meronk up to take aim at an even more successful 2023

While things have certainly taken off on the course, Meronk still enjoys flying under the radar when not competing and is “not quite” at the Rory or Tiger levels of fame.

“Yeah. Not quite,” Meronk says with a laugh. “To be honest, at home in Poland — a bit like Viktor [Hovland, who can go about his daily life in anonymity in his native Norway], I guess — nobody really knows golf, so I only get recognised on the courses. It is a good thing as I am quite relaxed and do not get too many people pestering me. Even in Dubai, where there are a lot more golf fans, I am relatively free to go about my business. Again, it is really only at the courses where people recognise me and stop me to wish me well and say hello.

“It suits me, as I am not chasing fame or anything like that. But it is always nice when someone knows you, congratulates you and tells you they follow your career. I love those gestures.”

But back to ‘Mission 2023’ and Meronk is determined to become more of a household name, with the Dubai Desert Classic front and centre after last year’s near miss.

“I am aiming to get off to a strong start,” he says. “The Rolex Series events in the UAE are big ones to help be bag some big Ryder Cup points. That will be on my mind, as well as all the other guys, as we get closer to Rome in September. The Hero Cup was a great warm-up, getting to know the other guys as well as Luke Donald, the captain. It is a good experience for sure and hopefully the UAE Swing and Desert Classic will set the tone for the rest of the year.”

One thing that irks Meronk, who entered the top 50 in the world for the first time on Christmas Day, is the current state of the Official World Golf Rankings, where recent changes mean points are slanted in favour of the PGA Tour, with larger fields being rewarded rather than the quality of the players taking part — with the likes of Jon Rahm labelling it “laughable”, and Tiger Woods admitting it was a “flawed” system.

“After the changes, it has been really unfair for us playing on the DP World Tour,” says Meronk. “We are getting much less ranking points than the PGA Tour guys, even when the fields are very strong, with the likes of Jon Rahm, Viktor, Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick all playing. “If I had performed like I did in 2022 even two years ago, I would have been inside the top 50 easily much earlier. But last year I barely made it in, despite playing against some of the best in the world and the top 10 in the world. So it is pretty unfair for us guys at the moment.”

With full PGA Tour cards on offer for the top 10 in the Race to Dubai rankings that are not already eligible on the US tour, Meronk is also targeting a berth there to help advance his career.

“That is another one of my big goals this year,” he says. “I am playing the Masters, plus some more invites off the back of that, so I will be looking to get used to the environment over there in America and hopefully that will help me in the years to come. It has always been my goal to compete on the highest level and, right now for me that is the PGA Tour. That is my goal.

“Looking further ahead, I would see myself competing in the biggest tournaments in the world and on the PGA Tour, being consistently in the top 20 and among the best players in the world. I believe I belong there and I will do everything I can to get there.”

A CHANCE MEETING TO BUILD ON SUCCESS IN THE UAE

“It was a chance meeting with Adrian at one of the golf courses of Dubai where it all began. Being Polish myself, we struck up a conversation. It was early 2021, the same time that I was launching White Eagle Sport — a golf events management company, organising corporate golf days and golf tournaments for the brands. What impressed me the most was his humility and hard work. Soon after the decision was made and Adrian became the brand ambassador for White Eagle Sport in March 2021 as we believed he would be the next superstar in golf. The rest, as we say, is history and he proved us correct. His humility and hard work remain the same even after the success he has enjoyed over the last two years. That is the main foundation and values of our company. We are proud to have him as our brand ambassador and hope to see him reach greater heights.”

Marta Biswas — founder and CEO, White Eagle Sport

FLYING START Adrian Meronk (above rear) helped Continental Europe to victory over Great Britain & Ireland in the inaugural Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi

‘THE HERO CUP WAS A GREAT WARM-UP AND HOPEFULLY THE DESERT CLASSIC WILL SET THE TONE FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR

IBy Matt Smith

t seemed inevitable that the 2023 Aramco Saudi Ladies International would be welcoming its strongest ever field in its four-year history at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club this February 16-19 after the recent announcement of a phenomenal prize increase from $1 million to $5 million.

But the stellar cast is set to exceed all expectations, with a who’s who ready to tee up on the Ladies European Tour flagship event just outside Jeddah.

England’s Georgia Hall returns to defend the title she won in such style last year — finishing five strokes clear of runners-up Kristyna Napoleaova and Johanna Gustavsson — as stars of the ladies’ game such as Linn Grant, Charley Hull, Celine Boutier, Leona Maguire, Anna Nordqvist and Lexi Thompson aim to deny her glory in Saudi, alongside rising stars Chiara Noja, Pia Babnik and Ines Laklalech.

However, one name set to draw more attention — and crowds on the course — is Lydia Ko, with the world No. 1 confirming that she will make the trip back to Saudi Arabia for the competition she won in 2021.

Less than two weeks after the men tussle for the PIF Saudi International crown over the same 18 holes at Royal Greens, the ladies will take to the course — competing for the same prize money as their male counterparts for the first time in history at a major golf tournament. And newly married Kiwi Ko is ready to charge into the new year on the momentum of a phenomenal 2022.

The New Zealander was the youngest player reach the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings in 2017 at just 17, and she returned to the top last month — overtaking friend and rival Nelly Korda thanks to three LPGA Tour victories and nine other top-five finishes in 2022.

The last of those wins, the CME, earned her the biggest winner’s cheque in women’s golf history: $2 million. At the end of the tournament, she had plenty of other trophies to pose with as she was Player of the Year and won the Vare Trophy for best scoring average.

And then after all of that, Ko capped it off by getting married to fiancé Jun Chung in Seoul’s massive Myeongdong Cathedral five days after Christmas.

“I remember my time at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International very fondly, having won the title here a few years back,” Ko said. “I’m looking forward to returning to Saudi Arabia to build on my 2022.”

Ko also expressed her delight at the increase in prize money at the Saudi Ladies International — and what such a move means for the future of the game.

“I’m thrilled to see golf is moving in the direction towards equal prize money — it is something I believe all the ladies on tour have been striving hard for. I’m grateful to those backing the women’s game who have believed in us and are committed to taking the sport to the next level. We’re moving in the right direction, and I believe it’s only going to get much better from here for women’s golf.”

Ladies European Tour CEO Alexandra Armas echoed Ko’s sentiments, saying: “This is a message to all young women that golf is for them, and they can pursue the sport as a passion and as a career.”

The Aramco Saudi Ladies International will be the Ladies European Tour’s first of two visits to the Kingdom in 2023, with the Aramco Team Series event returning later this year, comprised of five events staged across the globe including England, Spain, the US, and Singapore.

Majed Al Sorour, the Deputy Chairman and CEO of Golf Saudi, welcomed Ko to the already burgeoning field for the Saudi Ladies International. “We are thrilled that Lydia, the world’s best golfer, will join us to compete in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF. We look forward to welcoming them once again to be a part of our iconic event at our Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in the Kingdom.

“The increased prize purse for the upcoming Saudi Ladies International reflects the commitment of Golf Saudi, Aramco, and all the sponsors and partners of the tournament, to advance women’s golf while having a direct impact on the game on the ground here in Saudi Arabia.”

Ko — now 25 — once said 10 years ago that she planned to retire by the age of 30, but given her recent success and the big changes happening to the ladies game, it appears she is still pondering when that decision will finally come.

“When I feel like it is the time for me to retire, I will only know at that time, but I don’t want to leave the game and regret that I should have stopped then rather than trying to keep going and keep going and lose passion for golf,” she said recently.

“Sometimes I have a long day at the golf course, and I’m, like, I’m retiring tomorrow. And then some days you have great days, and you think this is why we play. My role model is kind of like Lorena [Ochoa, who retired at the top of her game]. I’m sure if she continued playing, she would have dominated. I’m, like, thank goodness she wasn’t playing when I came on tour. But I want to retire while still playing good golf.”

Players to watch

Linn Grant

Lydia Ko

Atthaya Thitikul

Georgia Hall

Charley Hull

Lee-Anne Pace

Carlota Ciganda

Johanna Gustavsson

Manon De Roey

Ana Pelaez Trivino

Chiara Noja

Caroline Hedwall

Olivia Cowan

Ines Laklalech

Pia Babnik

Bronte Law

Laura Beveridge

Anna Nordqvist

Nicole Broch Estrup

Leona Maguire

Hannah Burke

Alexandra Forsterling

Marianne Skarpnord

Kristyna Napoleaova

Lexi Thompson

In Gee Chun

Hannah Green

Gaby Lopez

Jeongeun Lee6

Nanna Koerstz Madsen

Patty Tavatanakit

Alison Lee

Gemma Dryburgh

Aditi Ashok

ARAMCO SAUDI LADIES INTERNATIONAL

BY SHANE RYAN

BEST IN SHOW Justin Thomas (left) and Jordan Spieth are two of the star players featured in the new Netflix series, “Full Swing”

he standard for any access-based sports documentary has to be “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” which debuted on Netflix in 2019 and has become a top-10 show in 56 countries for the streaming service. The ripple effects for a relatively niche sport have been staggering. The United States is now the biggest market for F1 online merchandise sales, and viewership is up 40 per cent.

Now it’s golf’s turn.

“Full Swing”, the eight-episode series documenting a year in professional golf, debuts February 15 on Netflix. If the creators were ever worried about a dull season, the emergence of LIV Golf tempered those fears. It might be hyperbolic to suggest that the show will transform professional golf, but there is a chance, at least, that golf could become a cultural sensation by the time the boys tee it up at Augusta National in April.

On the Saturday of the FedEx St Jude Classic last August, I met a small crew from “Full Swing” who arrived in Memphis to cover the rookie-of-the-year race. Cameron Young was the favorite, but players like Sahith Theegala and Mito Pereira still had hope, and all three were in the field at the PGA Tour’s first playoff event. Mary Stamm-Clarke, a freelance producer for Vox Media Studios, which is filming “Full Swing” for Netflix, had the job of following Theegala on the front nine with her production assistant, Patrick Rodgers. They knew from experience that Muralidhar Theegala, Sahith’s father, would happily wear a microphone while he followed his son. Sure enough, he was rarely silent that day, chatting with anyone in the vicinity. When he high-fived a fan, Rodgers drove up in his cart with a release for the man to sign.

Late on the front nine, Rodgers spotted Michael Beard, the head men’s golf coach at Pepperdine. Theegala had won every national player-of-the-year award while playing for Beard in 2020, and the crew wanted him to wear a microphone, too. He wasn’t so eager. “I’m just here to cheer him on,” he told Rodgers. “I want this to be about him.”

As if by instinct, Stamm-Clarke appeared at his side. “That’s all we want,” she said, pleasant and reassuring, but also conveying the inevitability of his acquiescence. “We just want it to be about him.” Even as she spoke, she was preparing the microphone, and soon it was clipped to his shirt — he was now part of the show. After complimenting StammClarke on her powers of persuasion, I wondered what came next. “Now you let it breathe,” she said.

Stamm-Clarke, originally from London, had worked with Vox previously on shows about surfing and tennis, and she knew her way around people. Beard walked alone for another hole before Stamm-Clarke approached again to ask if he would join Theegala’s father. There was no need to ask him to talk. If he was around Muralidhar, that would be inevitable. He obliged and soon fell into the conversational orbit.

As I found out later, this hustle was in vain, and nothing

BEHIND THE SCENES

Brooks Koepka and putting coach Jeff Pierce get in some practice (right); Cameron Young, PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for 2022 (below)

from that day was used in the final cut. Still, it was a fascinating insight into how this docuseries is made. The producers refuse to stage anything or to ask for second takes of organic moments, but they do occasionally feed conversational topics to their subjects. Mostly, though, the team’s job is to be the invisible observers through the long hours, punctuated by moments of frenetic preparation — like dropping everything to visit a player’s house when he finally gives the OK or jetting off to Detroit, as producer Dan Wilson and his crew had done two weeks earlier, when Tony Finau, one of the show’s featured players, was on the verge of winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

One of the title options Netflix rejected for the show was “The Long Game”. It would have been thematically appropriate for how the crew operated — being there, relentlessly, until lightning struck. If lightning struck enough times throughout the year, the team might have enough material for a storyline, an episode, or even a whole season of TV.

Chad Mumm, chief creative officer at Vox and the lead producer of “Full Swing”, said the show has been in the works for a long time. As far back as 2014, when he was running Vox’s ad agency, he met with the PGA Tour in Ponte Vedra Beach to pitch an SB Nation-style team community. The tour chose a different partner instead, but its media team loved Mumm’s pitch, which included an original series. They stayed in touch and played golf together each year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The timing was finally right in 2019. By the end of their round at Shadow Creek, they had hashed out an informal plan of how the deal would work, and Mumm had exclusive rights and a signed deal later that spring. “Chad’s pitch was: ‘It’s got to be truthful,’” said Chris Wandell, the tour’s vice president of media-business development. “‘Whatever we do, whoever provides access, it’s got to be real. It can’t be an infomercial for the PGA Tour.’”

To sell the show, Mumm needed players, and he started that process in April at Augusta National. He didn’t have a pass to get near the famous oak tree where the VIPs mingle, so he printed out the name and picture of every agent for every player he wanted to sign, studied the pages as he stood against the ropes and waited for them to appear.

His biggest hindrance was that he couldn’t pay anyone, but he could offer exposure and the ability for the player to dictate the extent of Netflix’s access. That was enough to sign Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau and Justin Thomas. (“Signing,” in this case, grants Netflix the rights to use the footage shot off the course, like in a locker room or at a player’s home. The player determines his level of participation, but signing signals a willingness to give Netflix access.)

Every player I spoke to, from Finau to Joel Dahmen to Max Homa to Matt Fitzpatrick to Theegala, said he was a fan of “Drive to Survive”, and having that point of reference for the potentially career-altering benefits made it easy for them to commit. By the summer of 2020, Netflix had emerged as the primary suitor, and Mumm turned his attention to the majors. Once again, he started at Augusta National, and Wandell was critical to this process: “We’re doing it for the sport, not for us,” Wandell told the governing bodies, and to Mumm’s surprise, the reception at Augusta National was positive.

By 2021, Augusta was on board, and so was Netflix. The crew began what would become a yearlong effort in late 2021 at Tiger’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. With additional big names like Brooks Koepka agreeing to participate, the first interviews were conducted. Crucially, these were audio only. “We found that if you stick a camera in their face, they go into media-training mode,” Mumm said. “It just kind of clicks into the same platitudes. If you take the camera away, and you just set a mic on the table, their whole posture changes, and it’s just a conversation.”

The audio will be used over B-roll footage, and to the viewer, it’s indistinguishable from filmed interviews. It’s an ingenious method of mining material that a player might not divulge in front of a camera. The technique proved so successful that it was used to explore controversial topics

such as LIV Golf. Lose the camera, and the words flowed. One of the players they interviewed at the Hero World Challenge was Fitzpatrick. He wasn’t part of the original plan for the series, but Vox already had Thomas and Collin Morikawa from Excel Sports Management, and Mark Steinberg, agent to Tiger Woods, encouraged the film crew to give Fitzpatrick a look. When Vox signed him, it was almost as a favour to Excel, which had been supportive of the show from the start. “Fitzpatrick comes in and sits down for his interview,” Mumm recalled, “and we were like: ‘Oh, my God.’”

Part of their astonishment was with Fitzpatrick’s analytical approach. The team was used to interacting with golfers who were competitive to their core and exuded swagger. Fitzpatrick, obsessed with the data points he meticulously keeps on every aspect of his game, was studious by comparison. In his matter-of-fact way, he explained how his numbers showed incremental improvement and how that grind would inevitably pay off even against the best players. He became one of the show’s best stories when he won the 2022 US Open.

The one player who didn’t even bother to bring his agent to the studio was Koepka. He drove there alone, stayed for 90 minutes and was more vulnerable than anyone expected. At

KOEPKA REVEALED HE WOULD LAY IN BED AT NIGHT UNABLE TO SLEEP, GRIPPING AN IMAGINARY GOLF CLUB, AGONISING ABOUT HIS GAME.

one point, he spoke about the perception that he doesn’t care and was adamant that he did — a lot. At night, he told them, he would lie in bed next to his wife, Jena, unable to sleep, gripping an imaginary golf club and agonising about his game. All he thinks about, he told them, is golf — even at 2am.

At that point, Mumm shared a look with Paul Martin, the co-founder of Box to Box Films, the producer of “Drive to Survive”, and they had the same thought: ‘We’ve got a show.’

The crew’s first full-field event was at Torrey Pines in January 2022, but the first time they ever shot golf happened because of a happy accident. In Hawaii, Joel Dahmen had tweeted that he and Harry Higgs would face a team to be named later on January 24 at a course called Goat Hill Park the week of Torrey. Netflix tagged along to find Dahmen with a bag of White Claws and dozens of fans waiting for him. “It was this six-

man scramble, the kids were ringers, and it was this awesome, sunset vibe,” Mumm said. “That was our first shoot, and we just thought: ‘Golf needs this. It needs the anti-country club.’”

That day formed the backbone for an episode, and though Dahmen worried he would be cast in the role of a “clown”, he believed the crew came to understand the nature of the relationship between himself, his wife, Lona, and his caddie, Geno Bonnalie. Soon, cameras were everywhere, including a Taco Tuesday night at their home, and when I joked with Dahmen that they kept coming back because the other golfers were too bland, he laughed. “I think that’s exactly what happened,” he said. “Like, we’re going to go film this guy, and suddenly it’s like, nobody wants to watch that. So it was back to me and Geno — best friends who play golf and laugh at each other because we get to do this for a living.”

Dahmen was comfortable with granting full access, but others drew boundaries. Homa declined a home visit the week of the Genesis Invitational at Riv-

iera. Theegala, who describes himself as an “aggressive introvert” in a family full of extroverts, had similar reservations. “My family gets energy from people, and I’ve always been awkward and not wanting to talk to people,” he said. “I still get nervous and have anxiety about any kind of social interaction.”

He made his parents — immigrants from India who poured much of their modest income into Sahith’s development and who, according to Muralidhar, faced incidents of racism along the way — promise not to say anything too embarrassing. After Theegala failed to close out potential wins with the cameras around, his caddie, Carl Smith, gave the crew a hard “no” at the BMW Championship as Theegala attempted to qualify for the Tour Championship.

Tony Finau’s background is similar in some ways to Theegala’s — immigrant parents and little family money — but he leaned more toward Dahmen’s perspective. It helped that Finau’s agent, Chris Armstrong, was a major F1 fan and knew what to expect. “I was open for the challenge and exposure,” Finau said. “The good thing for me is that I’m different, my background is different, my journey’s different. I have five kids; I come from a huge family. I have a whole different perspective, and people are going to see that right away.”

For Netflix, the good luck that began at Goat Hill continued when Justin Thomas won the PGA Championship. Thomas’ father, Mike, became a central figure because of the complex dynamic of being both coach and parent. Early in the week at Southern Hills, Justin struggled with swing issues and admitted that he often gets annoyed at his dad for being too soft as a coach. This complicated relationship paid off in a big way when the crew was embedded with Team Thomas in the tense moments before he defeated Will Zalatoris in a playoff. (The PGA Championship was a fertile weekend for Netflix, which had also signed Pereira, who lost his

‘FITZPATRICK COMES IN AND SITS DOWN FOR HIS INTERVIEW, AND WE WERE LIKE: OH, MY GOD.’

SCENESTEALERS

Matthew Fitzpatrick (top) and Scottie Scheffler have major storylines

FAMILY LIFE

Tony Finau, with his wife, Alayna, and daughter Sienna-Vee, was an eager participant

chance to win with a double-bogey on the 72nd hole and was consoled in the parking lot afterward by a group of his fellow Latino players.)

At least one signing happened almost by accident. At the 2021 US Open, Mumm had a long meeting with Bryson DeChambeau’s agent, Brett Falkoff, to secure his participation. That never panned out, but at a nearby table, Ian Poulter looked at his phone and pretended indifference, long after he had finished eating. When the meeting ended, Mumm decided he had nothing to lose and introduced himself. Poulter was happy to talk and told the Netflix team that if they were making “Drive to Survive” for golf, he was their man. Poulter would become an important figure when he made the transition to LIV Golf. He wrestled with the decision, and this struggle is apparent in the show.

Early discussions with Rory McIlroy, who would end the year ranked No. 1 in the world, yielded an unsatisfying compromise: McIlroy would likely be in for a second season of the show but didn’t want to be a full participant the first season. As the year went along, though, the crew noticed he kept appearing in their shots to the point that it seemed like he wanted to be on camera. At the Open Championship, a series producer pitched him again. McIlroy reiterated that he hadn’t signed, so Mumm offered a compromise: “You’ve been around our cameras the whole time,” he

said, “so what if we just film you, and you tell us if it’s too much?”

They filmed him all week at St Andrews, through the heartbreaking loss to Cam Smith, and he never balked at the presence of cameras. The problem was the loss. It was understood that if he won, he would sign on, but when the narrative changed, the reluctance returned, and that cast doubt on whether Netflix could use the footage.

That’s when Mumm decided to throw a Hail Mary. He flew to the Tour Championship in Atlanta and arrived at the clubhouse early Monday morning, hoping to score a private meeting with McIlroy. Mumm was meandering around the hallways, reflecting on the futility of the mission, when he saw McIlroy eating breakfast by himself in player dining. Mumm approached, was invited to sit, and gave his five-minute pitch: You’re the de facto spokesman for the PGA Tour, you’ve got a major platform, and it might never be this important again.

“I’m in,” McIlroy said. Three hours later, they signed an agreement.

McIlroy would become a critical part of how Netflix tells the story of LIV Golf. In the documentary, he holds hushed, seemingly private conversations with other players, all with a camera less than five feet away and a boom mic hanging above his head. At times, the content seemed so personal that the crew offered to back off, only to have McIlroy insist they stay. In addition, having McIlroy on board gave them the inside access to the secret meeting of

players he organised with Tiger Woods at the BMW Championship.

Netflix maintained its ties with the featured players who went to LIV, too, including Koepka, Poulter and Dustin Johnson. A crew travelled to the first LIV event in London. Although initially ambivalent about whether the LIV story had been “good” for the documentary, Mumm believes it created tension, and tension creates a story. All the producers had to do was show the player decisions in real time, whether the players came off as sympathetic or not. One of the episodes, Mumm says, will focus extensively on the LIV drama, but it’s a theme that runs throughout the series, and he predicts that even hardcore golf fans will be surprised by their access.

As the heat picked up in Memphis that August morning and StammClarke followed Theegala, Mumm made it a point to find Scottie Scheffler on the putting green to secure a home visit before they wrapped shooting for the year. By the clubhouse, producer Dan Wilson, tall and athletically built, filmed Pereira in his workout trailer. Wilson was obviously comfortable with the players, and he told me that the moment he knew he was “in” came when a grinning Scheffler shoved him as he passed by in the locker room — one jock’s token of affection for another.

The goal was to wrap shooting at the Tour Championship in August, but they wound up going two months longer, concluding at the end of October when they shot with, among others, Paulina Gretzky. By then, Mumm felt “excited and exhausted”. I asked about the pressure — this was his creation and maybe the most personal project of his career.

“It’s hard at every single point,” he said. “You’ve got to build the trust, the access. You’ve got to make sure you’re there, that your cameras are there, that things are in focus. Then you get it all in, and you think: ‘How do we make this a story? How do you make the energy come out?’ The stakes are so high because it’s the first non-”Drive to Survive” show made for Netflix, and it’s golf.

“It’s terrifying,” he said. “It has to be awesome.”

‘I HAVE A WHOLE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, AND PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SEE THAT RIGHT AWAY.’

Latin launchpad

LIV’s

THE CIRCUIT’S SECOND SEASON GETS UNDER WAY IN MEXICO AMID THE USUAL CONTROVERSY AND RUMOURS

it is all systems go for LIV Golf’s 2023 launch, and there is a distinct Latin flavour to proceedings as the circuit’s second season gets the first of its 14 events under way on El Camaleón at Mayakoba Golf Course in Mexico from February 24-26.

The famous golf club joins Sentosa in Singapore, Real Club Valderrama in Spain and The Grange in Adelaide as new global destinations for the 54-hole, no-cut LIV Golf League, where players will compete in concurrent individual and team tournaments, while three US venues have also been confirmed in Arizona, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

Following a successful inaugural season, which began at Centurion just outside London in June and climaxed with the Team Championship in Miami in October, LIV Golf Mk. 2 has doubled in size, with $25 million in prize money on offer at each of the 14 events ahead of the $50 million team finale.

When the series kicked-off in Hampshire last summer, there was a distinct English flare on show amid the fanfare, with Spitfires and Lancashire Bombers flying overhead alongside the Red Arrows as the likes of legends Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter took a bow in front of their home fans.

And this time around it is opening with a Latin vibe, as it heads to El Camaleón in Mexico for the curtain-raiser.

Mito Pereira, who narrowly missed out on winning the 2022 PGA Championship, is widely expected to tee up alongside fellow Chilean Joaquin Niemann, while home hopes Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer will proudly be waving the Mexico flag on home soil.

El Camaleón at Mayakoba Golf Course is the destination for the curtain-raiser to the 2023 LIV Golf League season

While the schedule for LIV Golf’s second season is still a work in progress, we know that things will begin on the El Camaleón course at Mayakoba on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, with further stops in Arizona, Australia, Singapore, Oklahoma, Spain and West Virginia already on the slate.

LIV Golf is also expected to return to Centurion Club outside London, and again hold the Team Championship finale at Trump Doral in Miami, while stops in New Jersey and Washington DC are also expected.

Meanwhile, the main focus is El Camaleón, known for its famous cave bunker on the fairway of its signature seventh hole.

As you may recall, Mayakoba has been the site for the World Wide Tech-

nology Championship for the past 16 years on the PGA Tour, but will now be playing host to the newest circuit on the world golf scene as the club’s agreement with the PGA Tour has reached its conclusion.

“The PGA Tour and World Wide Technology are working together to identify new host site options and will determine a new direction in the near future,” read a Tour announce -

ment late last year, drawing a line under the affair.

With the American circuit and LIV Golf at loggerheads in the media and the US courts — with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson banned from playing in PGA Tour events — it is clear thePGA Tour wants to distance itself from Mayakoba now they are hosting a rival tournament.

However, their loss is LIV’s gain as the flagship course in Mexico is a sight to behold.

El Camaleón is situated on the exclusive Riviera Maya oceanfront in Mayakoba’s 620-acre resort and residential destination that takes in tropical jungle, dense mangroves and natural lagoons.

Oh, and there is also the small factor that it was designed by LIV’s CEO and commissioner Greg Norman.

Also, the past two World Wide Technology Championship winners are Graeme McDowell and Pat Perez — both now LIV Golfers — not to mention Mexico’s two finest golfing exports Ancer and Ortiz.

Sergio Garcia is also said to be designing a course at Mayakoba, scheduled to open in 2024.

So, it seems like a match made in heaven, and no surprise that the club and series are aligning their interests.

Niemann is eager to get started alongside Pereira in Latin America — and hopefully on his Torque team.

“I imagine him playing LIV with me,” Jaco said recently. “It would be ideal for him to be on the team, but that is not yet known. I hope it is. For me, at least, it would be ideal if he was on the team.”

After a series of big-name signings

CONFIRMED LIV GOLF VENUES FOR 2023

LIV Golf Mayakoba

February 24-26

El Camaleón Mayakoba Golf Course, Mexico

LIV Golf Tucson March 17-19

The Gallery Golf Club, Arizona, US

LIV Golf Adelaide April 21-23

The Grange Golf Club, Australia

LIV Golf Singapore April 28-30

The Serapong at Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore

LIV Golf Tulsa May 12-14

Cedar Ridge Country Club, Oklahoma, US

LIV Golf Valderrama June 30-July 2

Real Club Valderrama, Spain

LIV Golf Greenbrier August 4-6

The Greenbrier, West Virginia, US

throughout 2022 — with the likes of Smith, Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson joining the ranks after the inaugural season began — Pereira is expected to be the first in the Class of 2023 to make the move.

“Basically, we’re looking for maybe seven players, something like that,” Norman said in November.

With regards to the new global venues, he added: “LIV Golf is truly a global league dedicated to expanding the sport throughout the world, and these destinations for the league’s 2023 launch showcase our commitment to tournament play at the highest level. These venues have played host to signature moments in golf, and we’re excited to build new traditions for the sport while delivering a first-class fan experience at some of the world’s best courses.”

And with more US stops also confirmed, he added: “LIV Golf’s expansion to new US markets adds to the growing excitement for the league launch in 2023. More fans across the country and around the globe will experience the LIV Golf energy and innovative competition that has reinvigorated the sport, and these championship courses will contribute to the transformative season ahead for players, fans and the game of golf.”

LIV is expected to announce the rest of its 2023 schedule in the coming weeks.

OUT OF THE TRAPS

El Camaleón has plenty of ominous hazards to challenge the world’s best golfers

NATURE TRIAL

Mayakoba is situated on the Riviera Maya and features tropical jungle, mangroves and lagoons.

DOMINATE ON THE GREENS

Try my two drills to hole more putts

By Lydia Ko

statistically, 2022 was perhaps my best season ever on the LPGA Tour. In 22 starts, my scoring average was a career-low 68.99 strokes, and 76 per cent of my rounds (65 of 85) were under par.

Much of my success could be traced to my putter. Through the seasonending CME Group Tour Championship, I led the tour’s strokes gained/ putting (+1.360) and putts per greens in regulation (1.722) stats. Because of my putting ability, I’m frequently asked

for pointers, even from other players. I don’t want to give away all of my secrets, but here are two of my go-to drills that I work on before every tournament. If you incorporate these into your regular routine, you’re going to control your line and speed better and hole a lot more putts. Give them a try.

—with madeline macclurg

LYDIA KO, 25, is the youngest winner in LPGA history (age 15). She has 25 global titles, including two majors.

BODY

Lydia Ko won Rolex Player of the Year honours for the second time in 2022

ROLL IT DOWN THE PLANK TO START IT ON LINE

Find a flat putt on the practice green and line up a ruler or similar with the hole. Place the ball down toward the back of the ruler, and hit some putts, trying to keep the ball on the ruler (above) all the way to the end.

What’s happening if you can’t keep it on the ruler for very long? If it drops off to the left, the putter face is closing through impact (for righties). Conversely, if it drops off to the right, the face is opening. This drill is one of my favourites because it gives me instant feedback on my face control. You know if your putts are starting on the line you chose.

TAILOR YOUR GRIP TO THE LENGTH OF PUTT

If you have a sharp eye, you might notice that I alternate between a conventional and lead-handlow grip. I typically use the conventional grip on longer putts because it gives me a greater feel for the length and pace of the stroke needed to hit the ball the required distance.

The lead-hand-low grip gives me more face stability on shorter rolls that require a more precise stroke. In general, I putt with a lead-handlow grip inside 15 feet and switch to the conventional grip outside of that. See if this strategy helps you with lags and holing the short ones.

MISS THE GATE FOR ACCURACY

My other go-to drill is popular with a lot of tour players because it trains you to make contact with a square face — and start your putts on line — while helping you get a feel for the speed of the greens. Find a straight putt about six feet from the hole. Next, create a gate a little wider than your putter head on your start line with the ball on the other side of the gate. The goal is to swing the putter head through the gate and then strike the ball — hopefully holing the putt. Keep practising this way and note what’s going on. If your putter hits either of the tees before striking the ball, you know you’re not delivering a square face to the ball. You’re hitting it with a glancing blow, and the ball is starting o line. When you can miss the gate on command, you’re going to have a good day on the greens.

IT’S IN THE HOLE!

What you can learn from Joel Dahmen’s cornhole technique

By David Leadbetter

IS DESCRIBED by some as a bit of a cornhole, em, exponent. I hear he’s even considering entering Cornhole Tour School (not to be confused with Korn Ferry Tour school). That said, let’s get to his action.

Joel’s motion is very easy on the eyes. His rhythm jumps off the pages at you. Known for extreme accuracy and controlling his trajectory, he throws every bag like he’s carving a 5-iron into a tight pin.

Looking at this toss more closely and

breaking it down, he’s very smooth in his approach, as you can see in the first few photos here. He starts using the ground, lowering his body and allowing vertical forces to come into play — he’s perfectly poised for a quality release.

I particularly like — and this is important for you amateur cornholers to copy — the way his arm starts to go backward in frame No. 3. Look how he gets his right hand in a pronated position and then lets it supinate in frames No. 4 and No. 5. This move takes real talent and hours and hours of practice.

JOEL DAHMEN

Now let’s examine the secret to his checkmate accuracy. Just before releasing the bag with a flick of the wrist from his right arm, we can see in frame No. 5 that Joel is getting taller. See the upward tilt to his hat as he follows through?

Also pay attention to the harmony between his body action and arm swing, because this synchronised movement is crucial.

Not to be overlooked is the role of Joel’s right forefinger and how it points at the cornhole as he finishes

his graceful toss. This is evidence that he is in total control of the bag. There’s no way this one wound up being a woody. (For those of you who don’t play, that means a bag that is stuck on the board at the conclusion of a frame.)

You should also note his beautifully relaxed finish — being balanced up on his right toes at the end of the toss says it all. This action is going to last for many years to come.

So what can you learn from Joel’s cornhole prowess? Just like a good golf swing, there is no rush or jerkiness to

his action and no stress on his body. He looks like he’s doing nothing more than tossing junk mail into the bin.

Side note: I played marbles as a kid, and I was good at confiscating my classmates’ collections by knocking them down from about 10 yards out. It’s all in the wrist, as Joel would likely tell you. Or maybe he wouldn’t, especially if you’re playing him for cash. The takeaway for you here: Dahmen is a cornhole shark, and it’s best to be on land when he’s looking for fish.

—with ron kaspriske

STEALTH FIGHTERS

TAYLORMADE HAS BEEN MAKING GREAT strides in recent weeks, with their highly anticipated new-look Stealth range hitting the stores amid much fanfare.

If the news that the industry leaders in technological innovation have boosted their ranks with the signings of leading female stars Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson joining the likes of Tiger Woods, Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Charley Hull in the TaylorMade stable wasn’t enough of a hint, now you can try the new range for yourself.

Here we take a look at each of the new drivers, fairway woods and irons that has the pros lining up to get a shot.

TAYLORMADE STEALTH 2 DRIVERS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

The TaylorMade Stealth 2 drivers take another bold step in moving to fully carbon composite constructions with special attention to making mis-hits more like centre hits. The changes include a new variable thickness carbon composite face that o ers improved ball speeds for ocentre hits. Meanwhile, there’s even less titanium in the body, freeing up more mass to add more stability. The trio includes the low-spin Stealth 2 Plus, which o ers a sliding weight to tweak ball flight; Stealth 2, the neutral flight, highforgiveness option ideal for most golfers; and Stealth 2 HD, the most stable with draw-biased weighting to fight slice.

All models feature an adjustable hosel that changes loft by plus/minus two degrees. RRP AED 2,845-AED 2,945 (TBC)

COOL THINGS

When TaylorMade debuted the carbon composite face last year, it made it 40 per cent lighter than a titanium face. In the Stealth 2 drivers, it’s lighter still, just 24g. That frees up more mass to explicitly pinpoint the optimal centre of gravity position and forgiveness. The face is constructed by 60 distinct layers of carbon fibre that are arranged to provide a more flexible perimeter with thinner means more flexible sections, leading to more consistent ball speed all across the face. It’s more than just making a thicker centre and thinner perimeter A new body construction also reduced the non-carbon sections to almost none, freeing up more mass for use in the sliding weight and at the rear base The freedom to move mass to specific regions is what sets the Stealth 2 family apart, Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s senior director of product creation for woods, said. “We’re starting to break the trade o between a low-spin, lowforward CG type of club and the forgiving one.’”

TAYLORMADE STEALTH 2 FAIRWAY WOODS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

The Stealth 2 family of fairway woods and hybrids benefit from a new lightweight carbon composite crown section that extends around the edges of the perimeter to save more weight and lower the centre of gravity for better launch and increased energy transfer. The line includes highforgiveness, draw-enhancing fairway woods and hybrids (HD), easier launching, faster-faced standard models and better player options with the more iron-like flight of the Stealth Plus hybrid and multiple adjustability and driver-like face of the titanium Stealth Plus fairway wood.

Prices TBC

COOL THINGS

Figuring out ways to lower the centre of gravity (to help shots launch higher) and fixing mis-hits (because the vast majority of impacts occur below the centre of the face) seem crucial. For the new range, that meant the weight-saving benefits of a traditional carbon composite crown weren’t enough. These clubs extend the carbon composite around the edges of crown so that it overlaps into the rear and side skirt portions of each head. That allows the saved weight to be used elsewhere

TaylorMade is on its 4th-gen better-player titanium fairway woods, but this one easily is the most playable for average golfers. Past versions have used a massive steel weight pad and that is now adjustable. There are eight possible positions that allow the user to up the forgiveness by nearly 20 per cent and increase the spin. “We wanted to see if there was something we could do to make that more appealing to a wider audience,” said Bystedt. “So this system completely changes the club without you having to change the whole club or put a di erent head on there.”

TAYLORMADE STEALTH HD IRONS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Designed with the slower swinger in mind, the Stealth HD irons o er a low-profile clubhead designed to create a lower centre of gravity to promote a higher launch with a draw bias. The step-down sole helps mitigate the e ect of shots hit a tad heavy.

Price TBC

COOL THINGS

The low-profile clubhead is a di erent look, but when players start hitting better shots, any opposition to the shape tends to quickly melt away. Especially when the shape is a main contributor to helping get the ball in the air and promotes a draw bias.

The shallow face height combines with a wide sole to drive the centre of gravity low. The shape combines with a multi-material cap-back that is significantly lighter than the steel it is replacing, driving the centre of gravity lower and making the club easier to square at impact. Further, because there is no badge bonded to the back of the club, it allows the face to move more freely.

The average player tends to make contact with more turf than they need to, so creating a sole design that helps the club exit the ground easier is almost a necessity. For the Stealth HD (HD stands for ‘High Draw’, by the way), that not only meant a wide sole, but one precisely shaped.

Specifically, the sole features a “step-down” feature in the rear of the sole that helps prevent digging while still being able to maintain a wide sole. But the design doesn’t stop there. There is a noticeable curvature of the sole from heel to toe that not only prevents heel and toe digs in certain lies, but promotes contact slightly higher on the face, which enhances launch and spin.

THE HOT LIST TURNS 20: OUR MISSION HASN’T WAVERED

▶ When we launched this golf-equipment evaluation enterprise 20 years ago, we said the buying process should start with the Golf Digest Hot List. For the team here that puts it together, it’s an unwavering commitment to providing a comprehensive guide that makes the golf-club universe intelligible for you. It takes us nearly a year to get it right. Multiply that by 20 and you have the knowledge behind this year’s list. The two lead editors responsible for the Hot List have each been covering equipment for the past 30 years. They live for moment of inertia, carboncomposite fibres and artificial-intelligence algorithms, meeting with R&D folks of every level to find, as we said in 2004, “the clubs you should try right now”. Our 20th Hot List, fuelled by three weeks of research and testing at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona, has 134 winners that are universally better than they have ever been.

GOLF CLUBS ARE NO LESS CONFUSING NOW THAN THEY WERE TWO DECADES AGO. THAT’S WHY WE WORK TO GET IT RIGHT FOR YOU

THE PROCESS

the hot list judges assess this year’s

equipment based on months of research, meetings with our scientists and two weeks of testing with players like you

▶ The judges , listed at right, cast the only votes in the Hot List, but they gather insight from two independent panels. The Scientists advise us on Innovation, and players like you evaluate Performance and Look/Sound/Feel. Those criteria are not equally weighted, as indicated at right. A product’s final score is based on its weighted average in the three Hot List criteria. All scoring is based on a 100point scale. All player testing and meetings were conducted at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club and Harrah’s Ak-Chin in Maricopa, Arizona.

Note: The clubs evaluated for the Hot List meet a few guidelines. First and foremost they must be what we consider to be “new” through the spring of 2023. In other words, they must be the flagship products for those companies in those categories. Should a company introduce, or be scheduled to introduce, the next version of that product in spring 2023, then we do not consider its predecessor.

innovation

30%

In consultation with our scientists and based on interviews and our review of technical documents, this grade reflects how a particular technology advances the category in all aspects, how that technology is explained to the public and to our editors, and to what degree a company commits to fitting the vast majority of golfers with this entry. look• sound•

20%

Using input from the player panelists, our judges evaluate the relative excellence of the visual, auditory and tactile experience of using a particular club. The more the club resonates with our understanding of what a golf club should be, the higher the grade it receives. In short, this is a grade of what the player experiences when viewing, holding, swinging and hitting the club.

Based on interviews with our player panelists on their evaluations of clubs within a category, the judges assess the utility of each product. In other words, this is a grade of what happens to the ball when a player hits it. Foresight Sports GCQuad and Rapsodo MLM2 Pro launch monitors are used at every hitting station. Fitters monitor players to help them dial in the proper fit before they provide their evaluations.

All judging is based on a 100-point scale for each criterion under each club category.

(Note: Starting this year, Demand is no longer one of the criteria used in the Hot List.)

GOLD Products earned a score of 93 to 100

SILVER Products earned a score of 88 to 92.99

HOT

DICK RUGGE

Senior Technical Director (retired), USGA GEORGE SPRINGER, PHD

Paul Piggott Professor of Engineering (emeritus), Stanford University

FITTERS

ERIKA LARKIN

Director of Instruction, The Stable at Creighton Farms

PLAYERS

GARY ABBOTT, 35 Waterloo, Ontario

Handicap: 15 THOMAS B ALLEN, 58

SCIENTISTS

CHRIS MARCHINI

MARTIN BROUILLETTE, PHD

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sherbrooke

Director of Golf Experience, Golf Galaxy, Coraopolis DEAN JACOBS

District Master Fitter, Golf Galaxy, Phoenix

TOM MASE, PH.D. Professor of Mechanical Engineering (emeritus), Cal PolySan Luis Obispo

TEACHERS MOLLY

BRAID

Teaching Professional, Westmoor CC JASON GUSS

Middletown, Ohio Handicap: 6 HANK BARTOS, 60 Bend, Oregon Handicap: 11 ALEJANDRA BEDOYA, 24 / Bogota, Colombia

Handicap: 5

JOHN MCPHEE, PHD

Professor, Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo

Director of Golf Performance, Jason Guss Golf Academies

RICKY BROWN, 44 Fort Worth, Texas Handicap: 4 RYAN CONDON, 29 New York City Handicap: 14

LIST COORDINATOR DARIA DELFINO

TOM DAVIS, 71

Maricopa, Arizona

Handicap: 16

STEVE LACHMAN, 65

Prescott Valley, Arizona

Handicap: 8

DAVE GOLDBERG, 55 N Potomac, Maryland.

Handicap: 18 SEAN HARPER, 50 Delaware, Ohio

Handicap: 8

PETER LEE, 55

San Diego, California

Handicap: 9 DAN LUPO, 30 New York City, NY

Handicap: 14

LARRY MCCOY, 58

Wilton, Connecticut

Handicap: 6

SHANE POPHAM, 34

Crestview H, Kentucky

Handicap: 15

BOB MCRAE, 68 Maricopa, Arizona

Handicap: 13 ANAND MUDALIAR, 40 Philadelphia, Penn.

Handicap: 9

PAUL IANNIELLO, 61

Scottsdale, Arizona

Handicap: 5

RYAN KROLL, 47

Chanhassen, Minnesota

Handicap: 8

JOSH MACERA, 26

Cranston, Rhode Island

Handicap: 1 WEI MAO, 52

Sacramento, California

Handicap: 15

GENE PAEK, 47

Dublin, California

Handicap: 6 MICHAEL PEÑA, 47 LA, California

Handicap: 4

ALEX REINHART, 38 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Handicap: 12 MATT SINGER, 50 Anchorage, Alaska

Handicap: 12

ARCCOS SAYS

The No. 1 stat-tracking system offers equipment-data insights for Hot List

Equipment, and increasingly the selling of equipment, is about data and statistical analysis. There is no shortage of advanced technology to analyse how clubs work — and how they work for you (visit a qualified clubfitter if you want to get clubs optimised for your game). However, what about the data we have on what modern clubs are doing for average golfers? Well, for that, there is no better source than the GPS sensor-driven stattracking app from Arccos Golf. To date, Arccos sensors have recorded more than 600 million shots from average golfers across the planet. Together with Arccos, we’ve dug up a few equipment-related nuggets from the database. They’ll be labeled “Arccos Says” in the coming issues, and to get things started, here’s a quick one about the decline of distance and the increase in accuracy as you age.

According to Arccos, as we move from our 20s to our 60s, we lose almost 50 yards in distance. Even more distressing, the bulk of that drop (about 35 yards) happens after age 50. What we lose in power, however, we gain in accuracy. Arccos data reveals that players in their 20s and 30s hit the fairway barely 40 per cent of the time. However, golfers in their 60s and 70s are hitting more than half their fairways, and those in their 70s hit the short grass 55 per cent of the time. As for that loss in distance, maybe oldsters should take heart from the ageless Bernhard Langer. At 65, Langer’s drivingdistance average in 2022 was nearly 272 yards. That’s longer than his driving distance when he won his first Masters at the age of 27. —Mike Stachura

BK SUHR, 39

Orlando, Florida

Handicap: 2

DAN WOODHEAD, 38 Omaha, Nebraska

Handicap: +3

GO TEAM Our players and editors spent 2,432 person-hours testing clubs for more than two weeks at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

FROM FIRST-TIMERS TO OLDTIMERS, EVERYBODY WANTS MORE DISTANCE OFF THE TEE. THESE 10 HOT-FACED DRIVERS ARE READY TO GIVE YOU THE YARDS YOU NEVER KNEW YOU HAD ILLUSTRATIONS BY ISTVÁN SZUGYICZKY • PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOM FURORE, BEN WALTON AND JD CUBAN

CALLAWAY

PARADYM/PARADYM X/PARADYM ♦♦♦ RRP AED 3,195 / TBC

WHAT IT DOES: These three models all feature thin titanium faces and distinctive weighting systems to optimise three different ballflight trajectories. The carbon-composite body is free of titanium and other metal support structures except for the newest version of Callaway’s flex-enhancing ‘jailbreak’ brace behind the face. The use of carbon composite also saves about 20g for engineers to use along the perimeter to enhance forgiveness.

WHY WE LIKE IT: For Callaway, the driver isn’t just a story about how fl exible the face can be designed or how much mass a lightweight body might save. Those attributes are a given. What makes these drivers special is how the faces and the intricate carboncomposite bodies are integrated to maximise distance and minimise dispersion for each player type.

WHICH ONE’S FOR ME? Paradym targets players seeking forgiveness and less spin. The large-profile Paradym X is for slicers and those seeking a higher launch. The compact Paradym

spins

least for elite players who rarely stray beyond the centre of the face.

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

◆◆◆

the

PLAYER COMMENT

“Really jumps from the get go — explosive. A lot more hang time than any driver I hit. Floats with authority. So easy to drive the head through the ball.”

PARADYM ♦♦♦

COBRA

AEROJET/AEROJET LS/AEROJET MAX RRP AED 2,595

WHAT IT DOES: When you have players on your staff breaking all kinds of records related to distance (eg: Kyle Berkshire’s 236-mileper-hour ball speed), it makes sense to pursue technology that helps golfers swing the club faster. Cobra’s aerodynamics research team says its sleek driver shape alone adds three yards before even considering other structural improvements.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Cobra supplies ample rocket fuel at impact by using a clubface that wraps around the sole and features 15 separately designed ‘hot areas’. An internal weight bar affixed inside the front of the sole lowers the centre of gravity. It’s elevated slightly above the surface like a bridge, allowing the wraparound face to flex underneath it for more speed.

WHICH ONE’S FOR ME? Fast swingers will get the most out of the LS’s ultra-streamlined shape and low-spin delivery. The standard Aerojet offers a neutral flight with balanced weighting and extra stability. The Max offers the highest flight and features internal and external weighting that help minimise a slice.

LOFTS 9, 10.5 (AEROJET LS); 9, 10.5, 12 (AEROJET, AEROJET MAX)

Demo this club at eGolf Megastore, or buy online at egolfmegastore.ae

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

PLAYER COMMENT

“I love the athletic look and large, easy-to-square clubface. Like a teacher grading on a curve, the results can be better than what your swing deserves.”

AEROJET LS

AEROJET MAX

MIZUNO

ST-Z 230/ST-X 230/ST-X 230 PLTNM

WHAT IT DOES: A fast-flexing titanium-alloy face has been a point of pride for Mizuno, but that technology can take you only so far. Real progress is made when the rest of the body contributes to the face’s ability to deliver more ball speed. A cut-through slot in the front of the sole is filled with a polymer that allows more flexing in the lower part of the face. A 5g steel bar inserted into the polymer lowers spin further to optimise launch conditions.

WHY WE LIKE IT: The multilevel face-thickness pattern creates more consistent ball speed across a wider area and is further enhanced by the weight-saving carbon-composite crown and sole sections. A heavy back weight also provides stability on mis-hits.

WHICH ONE’S FOR ME? The ST-Z features a deeper, more neutral centre of gravity for less spin and maximum mis-hit forgiveness. Placing additional mass toward the heel on the ST-X encourages a draw and offers players a better sense of control or where the clubhead is at all times. The ST-X PLTNM version is 30g lighter to help slower swingers deliver more speed at impact.

LOFTS 9.5, 10.5 (ST-Z); 9.5, 10.5, 12 (ST-X); 10.5, 12 (ST-X PLTNM)

Coming soon to eGolf Megastore

RRP AED TBC

“The sound at impact has a deeper note than I would have expected. Easy to launch with a penetrating ball flight.”

PING G430 MAX/G430 SFT/G430 LST/G430 HL RRP AED 2,995 - AED 3,195

WHAT IT DOES: The engineers at Ping like to say: “We don’t really drop things that tend to be working.” The G430 line continues to employ a heavy dose of forgiveness, stability and the aerodynamic efficiencies of turbulator ridges on the crown. But the G430 line-up further amplifies an ultra-forgiving design by introducing an improved variable-thickness face pattern and structural support for more energy transfer at impact.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Ping gets ample credit for the big things, like its clubhead stability, but it does the little things well, too. The G430’s face curvature, with less loft on the lower portion of the face, reduces spin so that weaker shots fly more efficiently.

WHICH ONE’S FOR ME? The MAX performs well on mis-hits and yields a higher ball flight. The SFT adds a second draw setting for increased slice fighting. The LST is more compact and uses a carboncomposite crown to lower the centre of gravity for the lowest spin and flattest flight. The HL versions use a lighter shaft, grip and head to boost power and launch in slower swings.

LOFTS 9, 10.5, 12 (MAX, HL); 10.5 (SFT); 9, 10.5 (LST)

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

SFT ST HL

PLAYER COMMENT

“The sound is not too loud or muted. Large sweet spot with a medium to high flight. You can take a big rip, and you’re not going to lose much accuracy.”

WHAT IT DOES: Driver design involves much more than the use of a special titanium in the face that allows it to flex better. Srixon’s engineers know that the key to making a more flexible face is to get the rest of the body to contribute at impact. That’s why there’s an accordion-like system of stiff and flexible regions surrounding the face along the top line, crown and sole.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Srixon strives to make a better driver without resorting to a carbon-composite crown, and it starts with a special titanium alloy in the face that maximises energy. A thin titanium crown — thinner than a greeting card — saves additional mass on top. All of this contributes to a body with stiff and flexible regions that surround the face and work into the crown and sole.

WHICH ONE’S FOR ME? The ZX7 produces a penetrating flight for better, more exacting swings. The ZX5 uses a stable head on mis-hits and yields a consistently higher ball flight to help most average golfers. Although nearly as forgiving, the LS version uses a front sole weight for less spin and a slightly lower flight. LOFTS 9.5, 10.5 (ZX7, ZX5); 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 (ZX5 LS)

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PLAYER COMMENT

“The shape of the head isn’t crazy, and the matte finish is clean — no distractions. Springy feel, reasonable misses. A consistent, flat trajectory on the LS.”

WHAT IT DOES: The carbon-composite technology of last year’s ground-breaking drivers has received an upgrade. The amount of titanium has been reduced to just a thin frame around the carboncomposite face. This means more forgiveness and even lower spin. Last year’s breakout carbon-composite face is now variably thick for more flexing across a wider area.

WHY WE LIKE IT: A carbon-composite face isn’t magic, but its extraordinary weight-savings better delivers the mass of the clubhead into the ball. It also weighs about half of a titanium face, and the lighter the face the more effective the trampoline. The head improves stability by balancing more mass front and back.

WHICH ONE’S FOR ME? The Stealth 2 will do the job for most average golfers: forgiving with a 20-per-cent larger sweet spot. The Stealth 2 Plus is the low-spin model designed for better players looking for slight draw or fade adjustments. The HD model fights that dreaded low slice by putting more weight toward the heel, building a more upright lie angle and increasing launch. LOFTS 8, 9, 10.5 (STEALTH 2 PLUS); 9, 10.5, 12 (STEALTH 2, STEALTH 2 HD)

“Understated but exceptional looks. It’s elegant, like it was designed in a secret Air Force hangar. Energetic in my hands, forceful at impact.”

WHAT IT DOES: With aerodynamic improvements, Titleist continues its objective of increasing swing speed. Even something as subtle as shifting the sole weight to the back end of the body improves the way these drivers move through the air. The club’s power comes in the form of faces that are smartly optimised for certain player types: The TSR2’s face design helps mis-hits, and the tourpreferred TSR3 boosts centre hits.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Titleist realised that chasing more off-centre-hit stability and forgiveness was costing its drivers performance. By shifting the centre of gravity slightly forward and lower, the clubheads generate more distance through a higher launch and less spin. This shift also yields more clubhead speed.

WHICH ONE’S FOR ME? The ultralight TSR1 targets sub-90-milesper-hour swings. The TSR2 is the most stable and helps mis-hits the most. The TSR3 is for those who consistently strike the centre of the clubface. The TSR4 is a more compact, very low-spinning option for players who swing fast but launch it too high.

LOFTS 9, 10, 12 (TSR1); 8, 9, 10, 11 (TSR2); 8, 9, 10 (TSR3, TSR4)

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PLAYER COMMENT

“The profile is sleek like a race car. Everything screams fast with no stop signs. I like the way the ball travels down range and rolls out. Pretty forgiving, too.”

WHAT IT DOES: The least expensive of the PXG drivers might lack the sophistication of the company’s 0311 line, but the 0211 isn’t missing the muscle. A thin, high-strength titanium face translates into better deflection at impact for increased ball speed. The face also receives the same high-tech robotic polishing as PXG’s highprice models to ensure those precise thicknesses are maintained to maximise performance. Weight has been redistributed to the perimeter for maximum forgiveness on those off-centre hits, which might be the most useful technical enhancement of all.

WHY WE LIKE IT: It might sound ridiculous, but PXG (a company that established its brand by charging exceptionally high prices) is doing more lately to make quality clubs affordable. Just two months after its debut, the 0211 was selling for much less. That might not be a prudent or sustainable business model, but it’s something no other brand of substance can say. Folks at PXG joke that the 0211 line is the gateway drug to the brand. Maybe or maybe not, but at a third of the price of other drivers, it’s an awfully strong entry point to the game.

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“The design’s simplicity is a breath of fresh air. It has a deep, thumping sound that definitely makes you feel like its going a long way. Really hard to hit this off track. Effortless.”

LEARN FROM THE 4,238TH BEST SWING COACH IN AMERICA

He’s giving out pearls here

Anyone c A n plunk down hundreds, if not thousands, and take a lesson from one of the best golf coaches on the planet. But you’re really missing out if you don’t heed the advice of this guy. He has been giving lessons at Ed’s Golf Range and Bait Shop since 1986, and he guarantees to impact your handicap by at least five shots.

GRIP

“Hold the club gently like it’s a baby bird? Wrong! Grab it like you’re trying to strangle a banana. Ever see someone hold a sledgehammer gently? Plus, if you hold on tight enough, you’ll never need to replace your grips.”

BACKSWING

“When should it end? It depends on how far into the pond you’re trying to throw your driver.”

CHIPPING

“Let the bounce of your wedge do the work? That’s rich! I mean, everyone knows the best shots are hit with the back of the club.”

LAYING UP

“Check the yardage to the green and locate any hazards that come into play. If there’s trouble, take a short iron, play the ball back in your stance, adjust your belt bag and lay up.”

BREATHING

“Should you inhale or exhale during the backswing? From the looks of your game, you should be holding your breath.”

AVOIDING DOUBLE BOGEYS

“Think, If I miss the green, where’s the easiest place I can get up and down from with the extra ball in my pocket? ”

HITTING A CHECKING WEDGE SHOT

“Grab your wedge, gripping almost down to the metal — then extend the butt end of the club to the nearest good golfer to hit the shot.”

BUNKERS

“Best thing you can do is aim at them. That way, you’ll never be in one.”

WIND

“OK, so it’s blowing 25 to 30 in your face and someone told you to swing easy. Smart thinking. Then walk forward 50 yards and do it again.”

LAG PUTTING

“Instead of that tiny hole, visualise your target as one big manhole with the cover off. That way, when you leave it 10 feet short or hit it 15 feet past, you’ll know you just suck at putting.”

PRACTICE

“Start by hitting your wedges to several different greens and don’t move on to the longer clubs until you hit four or five on target. You know, like around June.”

SLICING

“If 90 per cent of golfers do it, how bad can it be?”