GOLF DIGEST - MARCH 2021 by Motivate Media Group

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Tee Sheet 03/21

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

Features 12 That’s (Almost) a Wrap A dozen reasons why the 2021 Desert Swing was (and still is) a doozy.

Welcome to the ‘Beast in the East’, a card wrecker without our guide to AESGC’s toughest hole.

by kent gray

cover 24 Viktor Hovland and the New Way to Get Good The 23-year-old Norwegian found a home in Oklahoma and a method surfing the Internet for swing help just like the rest of us.

al ain esgc: courtesy of the club • chipping: chris shonting • hot list: justin metz

by matthew rudy

Hot List 2021 part 1

4 Editor’s Letter Rory McIlroy is the new voice and conscience of the pro game and golf is better for it.

The Starter 6 Karen Country Club Welcome to the familiar home of the European Tour’s newest event. by kent gray

Play

10 Shiv Says Dubai-based Asian Tour winner Shiv Kapur has some advice for those eyeing the ambitious new Emirates Amateur Golf League. by kent gray

18 Golf Digest Schools Chipping with no more chili-dips. by jessica dickson 20 Opportunty Knocks New Dubai resident Nicholas Fung just wants a run of events to sink his teeth into.

by the judges

43 Gender Neutral Every club in this issue could be right for the right female golfer, with some vital caveats. by mike stachura

by kent gray

be at 1 22 Stroke Index 1 How to tame the 10th at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club. by gavin chappell

8 Bunker Basics How to hit high, soft sand shots.

66 The Loop How TPC Sawgrass’ 17th stacks up to other famous islands.

by tom ogilvie

by coleman bentley

Cover photograph by Dom Furore

40 Say Hello To Your New Best Friends Meet all the people who help us evaluate golf equipment, and learn about our process.

44 Why You Should Get Fit Three editors and a rabbi reveal the life lessons in their custom-fitting experiences. by stephen hennessey, chris powers, alex myers and rabbi marc gellman

50 Drivers Highly specialised models are the best way to address your shortcomings.

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

Editor’s Letter

Well Considered KENT GRAY kent.gray@motivate.ae • Twitter: @KentGrayGolf / @GolfDigestME

efore any event worth its salt, a list of usual suspects is rounded up and herded into the media centre one after another, some more reticently than others. Seasoned hacks who once filed into said marquees for the preview Q&As are now getting used to logging in online, a remote new reality, sadly. Thankfully, one constant has remained - the heightened anticipation when Rory McIlroy is in town, or beamed on screen. You don’t ever want to miss an audience with the fourtime major champion. The 31-year-old Northern Irishman rarely shies from a question, no matter how mundane or curly. What’s more, his unfiltered responses, whether you agree or not, are generally well considered and always thought-provoking. Only occasionally has McIlroy seemed truly disconnected from reality and in his defence, that was back in his 20s when one can be excused for confusing chasing a ball around a field with a stick for millions of dollars with anything like hard work or societal importance in the real world. Golf’s walking headline, Bryson DeChambeau, noprefix required Patrick Reed, joker Henrik Stenson and introspective Martin Kaymer are others who guarantee a decent yarn. But McIlroy has become something different - the voice and conscience of professional golf. McIlroy’s recent video conference ahead of the Phoenix Open was exhibit A. Players don’t usually hang about when the questions dry up but the former world No.1 expressed disappointment at not being asked for his thoughts on new material in the Distance Insights report. The interviewers were done but McIlroy clearly wasn’t, not with the USGA and R&A loudly hinting that rules adjustments are on the horizon. “Well, we can open back up the mics if you’d like,” the moderator said. “Sure, I would be here all day for that,” McIlroy retorted. What followed was either a deluded youngster’s misguided thoughts on a game under-siege from technology, complete with associated backhander to the report’s authors, or an interesting twist on a complicated problem. It all depends on which side of the fairway you stand on this increasingly vexed issue. “I think the authorities, the R&A and USGA, are looking at the game through such a tiny little lens,” McIlroy said. “What they’re trying to do is change something that pertains to 0.1% of the golfing community: 99.9% of the people that play this game play for enjoyment, for entertainment. They don’t need to be told what ball or clubs to use.

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“We have to make the game as easy and approachable as possible for the majority of golfers. Honestly, I think this distance insight report has been a huge waste of time and money, because that money that it’s cost to do this report could have been way better distributed to getting people into the game, introducing young kids to the game, introducing minorities to the game. “I heard [USGA executive director] Mike Davis say something about trying to protect the game for the next 100 years. This isn’t how you do it. This is so small and inconsequential compared to the other things happening in the game. It’s the grassroots, it’s getting more people engaged in golf – that’s where they should be spending their money, not spending it on the distance insight report.” McIlroy is correct of course. Golf is much bigger than the professional game. When was the last time your amateur partner wished out loud they hit the ball shorter or further sideways into the trees? Or a club had to close membership or turn away potential juniors (who love hitting the ball a mile, by the way). But it’s also not that simple either. Ball and club manufacturers want us to believe we can hit it just like Rory if we have the right kit which makes equipment rollbacks a touchy, multi-billion-dollar subject. Conversely, you can’t easily lengthen precious gems like the Old Course at St. Andrews. Perhaps bifurcation is the way, one set of equipment guidelines for the pros and the status quo for the rest of us? “I would be all for that,” McIlroy said. “If they want to try to make the game more difficult for us or…try to incorporate more skill to the game, yeah, I would be all for that, because I think it only benefits the better player, which I feel like I am.” The game, as far as Davis is concerned, is already bifurcated with tees ranging from 5000-7000 plus yards. Therein lies the problem. Like COVID-19, there is no easy solution, no silver bullet. The next move from the USGA and R&A will be fascinating, as will be McIlroy’s reflected thoughts. There’s a reason why he’s won the chairmanship of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council, which earns a three-year term on the tour’s powerful policy board. As the PGA and European Tours steam towards a global circuit, expect to hear more from a well-read thinker unafraid of the consequences of his considered opinions. The game is better for it. Now, if he could just figure out how to have the final say on Sunday at Augusta National. A grand slam would make McIlroy’s already important voice even weightier.

editor-in- chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer managing partner & group editor Ian Fairservice editor Kent Gray art director Clarkwin Cruz editorial assistant Londresa Flores instruction editors Luke Tidmarsh, Euan Bowden, Tom Ogilvie, Matthew Brooks, Alex Riggs chief commercial officer Anthony Milne publisher David Burke gener al manager - production S. Sunil Kumar assistant production manager Binu Purandaran t h e g o l f d i g e s t p u b l i c at i o n s editor-in- chief Jerry Tarde director, business development & partnerships Greg Chatzinoff international editor Ju Kuang Tan

“Honestly, I think this distance insight report has been a huge waste of time and money…”

golf digest usa editor-in- chief Jerry Tarde gener al manager Chris Reynolds editorial director Max Adler executive editor Peter Morrice art director Chloe Galkin managing editors Alan P. Pittman, Ryan Herrington (News) chief pl aying editor Tiger Woods pl aying editors Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson

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6 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

“We look forward to showcasing Kenya to an international television audience.”

Karen Country Club Welcome to the familiar home of the European Tour’s newest event by kent gray fter the pandemic-enforced cancellation of last year’s Magical Kenya Open, the European Tour’s return to Nairobi this month is a triumph in itself. But the East African nation has doubled down on its comeback with the Kenya Open (March 18-21) to be followed by the new €1million Kenya Savannah Classic (March 23-26). Both events will be played at leafy Karen Country Club on the outskirts of the capital city. The Savannah Classic is the 16th new event created by the European Tour since its resumption last July following a three-month suspension due to COVID-19. It also restores the 2021 Race to Dubai to 42 tournaments following the cancellation of this month’s Oman Open. The Kenya Open, first played in 1967, boasts Seve Ballesteros (1978), Ian Woosnam (1986), Christy O’Connor Jnr (1990) and Trevor Immelman (2000) among its former champions. It became a full European Tour event in 2019 when Italy’s Guido Migliozzi claimed the title by one shot.

Photograph courtesy of IMG Kenya

Play Bunker Basics with Tom Ogilvie

“Don’t hit at the ball, swing through it with speed with an out to in swing path.” Soft Sandy

WATCH THE VIDEO ▶ Scan the QR Code to watch Tom bring this lesson to life.

Five steps to escape deep bunkers and land it soft VEN THE SIMPLEST of bunker shots evokes anxiety in most amateurs. The fear factor ratchets up further when you find your ball in a deep bunker and are faced with a high lip to clear with a pin cut tight to the trap. But a high escape from sand that lands soft isn’t as tough as we often make it. Simply follow these five basics and you be on your way to momentum saving sand saves.

THE CLUBFACE Using a higher lofted club such as your sand wedge or lob wedge, open your club face to promote a higher trajectory and a softer landing. It’s essential for a higher flight to maintain an open clubface through the shot. BALL POSITION Position the ball adjacent to your left heel. This allows you to have more time to slide the club under the ball with an open club face. Practice by drawing a line in the sand just inside your left heel to help you understand where the ball should be positioned.

THE SWING You have to commit to bunker shots. Even though you’re trying to play a delicate shot, acceleration through the ball is key. I see many high handicap players hesitant to swing through bunker shots. Don’t hit at the ball, swing through it with speed with an out to in swing path. CONTACT Draw a line just behind the ball during your practice which will be your reference point for contact. This practice will give you good feedback on your strike. Stick to the basics and you’ll soon fear the sand no more. Tom Ogilvie is a PGA teaching professional at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai. For more information, visit dubaigolf.com

joachim guay

STANCE Your stance should be much wider than your normal set up position with a focus on more flex in the knees to lower your centre of gravity. Keep your feet square to the target with your lead foot flared open. It’s also very important to have a little more pressure on your lead food; the weigh should never be on your back foot.

The Gulf Club EAGL

Shiv says The three-time Asian Tour winner has lent his name to the new EAGL ast experience tells Shiv Kapur that the ambitious new franchisebased Emirates Amateur Golf League (EAGL) is a viable concept. So much so, he’s put his name behind it. The three-time Asian Tour winner talks about his ambassadorial role for golf’s answer to IPL cricket and has some advice for EGF amateurs keen to put their game under the glare of the television cameras when the Ryder Cup-style league launches in November.

●●●

Going back to 2013 when I did my own version of a golf league for professionals in India, it created a lot of buzz and excitement. It’s very exciting to play in and as spectators, it gives you something new and edgy to watch. ●●●

I think golf in general needs a bit of a shake-up. If you look at the success of the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and team events, they really bring in a larger audience. It also attracts a newer audience into the game. People support teams better than they support individuals. ●●●

When I sat with [EAGL founder] Mr. Sudesh Aggarwal and his team, I thought it’d be really cool if we had something like this for professionals, but the fact that it is being done for amateurs, I feel like this is the future of golf… the first of many leagues around the world. Now that Dubai is home for me, I thought it is a perfect platform for me to associate with because this is where the real growth of the game will come from. ●●●

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Being a brand ambassador is an allencompassing role in a way. It’s about advising them from my experience in the golfing world having been a professional for 16 years now. Also, having done a golf league myself, my learnings to help them not make the mistakes I made. ●●●

Why did my league not see a second season? A couple of reasons, I think. I didn’t realise how much hard work it takes. I remember the week before the league, I was playing a Challenge Tour event in Ahmedabad and it ended that I won that week. I literally finished the prize distribution

and I was on the phone for three hours after that, trying to set everything up for the next week. I was up every night and talking to my guys, firefighting, dealing with team owners, sponsors, players. ●●●

It also kind of coincided with a bit of a financial crisis in India as well. Most of my team owners at the time were in the real estate business which was booming. And when year two came around, I was happy to hand the reins over to somebody else to do it but a lot of the team owners didn’t have the kind of funds that they had the year before. So it kind of died a natural death.

“If I’m picking purely on one factor, it’s mental toughness…heart and guts.” ●●●

Why will the EAGL be different? I think the number one thing, and Mr. Aggarwal sees eye to eye with me on this, is that the team owners must see value for the sustainability and the long-term success of the league. Your team owners need to go away happy. If a team owners stick with you for a long period of time, everything else falls into place. The most important stakeholder are your team owners. ●●●

The second most important stakeholder is the title sponsor. The big value add that you’re giving them, compared to other amateur tournaments, is live television. That broadcast, which has never been done in the amateur game at the club level, I think brings a lot of value. ●●●

From a team franchise point of view, there’s a value associated from the media side, from the sponsorship side, from the central pool, from the possible merchandise sales. There’s a whole plethora of opportunities and you can actually make it a very viable business venture, let alone the fact that there is so much pride associated with owning a franchise.

In a format like this you’re looking for somebody who has a good short game, good course management skills and somebody who’s willing to fight till the end and never gives up. You see a lot of people out there with a lot of ability but they have a meltdown at the first sign of adversity. Mental toughness is something that I would be looking for if I was building [one of the 24-player] squads. ●●●

You do need a balanced squad, so you would have a couple of players that can hit it a long way. But overall, if I’m picking purely on one factor, it’s mental toughness… heart and guts. That will see you through any match. ●●●

Ian Poulter is a classic example of somebody I’m talking about. He’s got heart. With all due respect to him, you wouldn’t pick him purely on his driving ability or his iron play. He’s a great putter, and he is mentally one of the toughest guys out there. If you

could have 24 Ian Poulters in your squad, you will never, ever lose. ●●●

How should amateurs prepare for the EAGL? You can sometimes overprepare I think, hype yourself for an occasion. It’s like back in school, when you have an exam, last-minute cramming isn’t going to help you. I’d say don’t even touch your clubs the day before the tournament. You see this even with rookies on professional tours. They’re out there banging balls the whole of Wednesday and come Thursday morning, they are physically tired. ●●●

I’d also say you need to know the courses that you’re playing. You’re not playing your opponent, you’re playing against the course. Work out a good game plan and stick to it. If you’ve decided you’re going to hit 3-wood off the tee, don’t suddenly take out the driver just because you’ve made a bogey on the previous hole and you are mad. —with kent gray

●●●

If a luxury car company is sponsoring a professional golf tournament, they’re hoping to get the TV coverage and the eyeballs of the fans watching these events. The professional golfer is not necessarily their consumer. Those viewers, those fans are actually inside the ropes in the EAGL. So, you have a direct link to your clients. ●●●

This is going to be very exciting for the amateurs. Firstly, you get to experience what professional golfers experience on a day-to-day basis. It’s a feel of a professional tournament, and a feel of a Ryder Cup where you’re playing not just for yourself, but you’re playing for a team or a squad. It’s live on television, so there’s nerves and butterflies. ●●●

Photographs by Joy Chakravarty

a dozen reasons why the 2021 desert swing was ( and still is ) a doozy by kent gray

Tyrrell’s a treat

THAT’S (ALMOST) A WRAP

“Definitely pinching myself. It’s just very surreal to be that high in the world rankings. I don’t look at myself or — I don’t know how to sort of word it. I guess I’m very — yeah, I’m struggling to find the words how to put it across but I’ll just say it is very cool to be where I am at the moment.” 12 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

(3): getty images • angry golfer: european tour

iven his giddy run of form over the past 16 months – victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship triumph was his fourth in 20 starts – has Tyrrell Hatton surpassed Tommy Fleetwood as Europe’s chief major champion in waiting? Perhaps. The Englishman unquestionably crept above Rory McIlroy to fifth in the OWGR. The only European above him? Jon Rahm, also the owner of four Rolex Series gold stars. You’ve got to love the ball-striking, the icy-calmness closing out events and the honest self-assessments, both during rounds and afterwards.

What’s the story, Rory?

ory McIlroy, welcomed back to the UAE capital for the first time since 2018, complied one of those uniquely Rory rounds on Thursday in Abu Dhabi that makes golf look easy. But almost inevitably after the 64 – “a lovely way to start the year” – and two further mostly stress-free rounds to snare the 54-hole lead, the Northern Irishman found a way to let the title slip. Again. A fourth third placing to go with four bridesmaid finishes means the Falcon remains almost as elusive as a certain green jacket for Rors. Here’s hoping he’ll be back next January.

What next for Abu Dhabi?

peaking of the 17th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, anyone else excited to see what the Desert Swing opener will be like co-sanctioned by the mighty PGA Tour? Yup, us too. Nothing’s official yet but it seems Abu Dhabi, the Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship and DP World Tour Championship at JGE will get the full U.S. treatment in 2022. McIlroy might find it even tougher to snare the fabled Falcon.

“Hi, I’m Tyrrell...and I’m an angry golfer”

f you’re feeling glum, pop up a thumb”. The European Tour’s social media team always seem on point but how about the timing of having eventual champion Tyrrell Hatton front their latest ditty, #AngryGolfers? “I’m not quite sure why they chose me,” Hatton drolly told on-course commentator Tim Barter a round after previewing the soon-to-be-released viral video with a double thumbs up to mock a rare wayward drive on the National layout. Classic stuff and a fun new goto to help us all defuse potential on course meltdowns. march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

Casey can

f Abu Dhabi champion Tyrrell Hatton is Europe’s new chief major champion in waiting, then countryman Paul Casey is firmly back in the conversation as the best player without a big, with all due respect to Lee Westwood. Casey’s effortless power and a smiling jaunt to the Dallah Trophy ensured the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic has another worthy name on its stellar roll call of champions and leaves us to wonder how he hasn’t landed a major. Yet.

ow good was Alexander Levy’s reaction to his ace (a 9 iron from 177 yards) on the 15th in the third round in Abu Dhabi? It was peak 2020 (rolling into 2021) as the Frenchman looked around for affirmation from the galleries to be greeted by near silence. Damn you COVID. As Levy rolls on into 2021 behind the wheel of a new BMW X850i, here’s hoping there will be even fewer gallery restrictions next year.

“I think a lot of good stuff [is still to come], honestly I feel like I’ve regained my youth. I mean that sincerely and, yeah, I’m so happy.”

Majlis makeover

The dirty D word

ou had to feel for the hard-working team at Emirates Golf Club as patchy pictures of the Majlis’ normally pristine greens were beamed around the globe during the Desert Classic. The great news is it won’t be long until those images are a distant memory with the course to close May 2 for a complete rebuild of the putting surfaces to USGA specifications. The greens had come to the end of their lifespan – roughly 20-25 years in the harsh desert environment – but will be rolling smoothly once more when the course is reopened in late September.

ith distance almost a dirty word in golf nowadays, Bryson DeChambeau finds himself the game’s new anti-hero, with all due respect to Patrick Reed. Thankfully, Saudi was another reminder that ridiculous length off the tee doesn’t guaranteed fairways in reg, much less trophies (Dustin Johnson’s victory notwithstanding). In the clamber to dial back the ball, we should remember that and the fact the next-gen love seeing athletes hit bombs. Are we trying to lure newcomers to the sport or tell them that improved athleticism isn’t really wanted? Remember too that Kevin Na contended. As DeChambeau (T-18) said himself, a distance advantage will always be a distance advantage no matter how long the course is or how far the ball flies. But that doesn’t mean the big boofers will always win. This is golf after all. The only guarantee is that you’ll never beat this maddeningly brilliant game.

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(4) getty images

2021 Lev-ity

No.1 for a very good reason

ow good is Dustin Johnson, even when he’s not at his best. The most impressive aspect of the world No.1’s second Saudi International win in three years was his unflappable response to a catalogue of miss reads on the tricky Royal Greens putting surfaces. The only time the reigning Masters champion did get angry – if you could call a light slap on his own thigh after bogeying the 16th in the final round “angry” – Johnson responded by very nearly driving the next. A par 4. Job done.

Enough already COVID

“I’ve been playing some really good golf the last six months. Hopefully, I’m going to continue to play this kind of golf. I’m seeing a lot of the same things each and every week, and that’s what I do… I’ve got a great team around me that helps me kind of stay in that form so that I can perform at the highest level each and every week.”

ust when we all thought the horrors of 2020 were behind us… ▶ Here’s hoping the cancelled Oman Open can be rescheduled for later in the year because Greg Norman’s Al Mouj Golf design in Muscat is one of the courses that give Middle East golf tourism a great name.

he Kingdom might be home to the youngest of the Desert Swing events but boy, aren’t Golf Saudi in a hurry to make up for lost time. Even before one of this year’s strongest fields (it was only early Feb.) teed it up at Royal Greens, the governing body announced Jack Nicklaus has put his name to a new private course in the Qiddiya megaproject 40 minutes southwest of the capital Riyadh. And that Saudi Aramco was backing a four-event, $4 million series of Ladies European Tour events in New York, London, Singapore and KAEC. Talk about Kingdom come. It’s going to be fascinating to see what the golf landscape looks like in a decade’s time.

Qatar Quality?

nyone else surprised a year has passed since the European Tour put its 2020 season on ice following Jorge Campillo’s victory at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters? Yeah, it feels much longer than that to us too. With the coronavirus-enforced demise of the Oman Open a timely reminder to take nothing for granted, the return to Education City is our last chance to enjoy some top-level desert golf before the long haul to the Race to Dubai decider at JGE in late November. The quality of the field in Doha, now that a potential two-tourney Middle East detour has become a one event hit and run mission, will be telling. Whatever happens, at least it looks like we’ll all play on after Qatar. What a year – and a Desert Swing – it has been.

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johnson, campillo: getty images • al mouj gc: sutton motorsport images • Qiddiya: golf saudi

The course Jack is building

Body Golf Digest Schools

No More Chili-Dips Make crisp contact every time you chip BY JESSICA DICKSON

18 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

“Redirect your attention to in front of the ball.” OTATING THE HEAD toward the target during the downswing is something many great players do to complete their full swings. Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam come to mind. This technique also can help your chipping—especially if you chunk these shots a lot. Just like for a full-swing iron shot, the goal in chipping is to strike the ball before the club hits the turf. If you redirect your attention to a spot in front of the ball when you practice, you’ll help get your body to rotate toward the target in the through-swing, which is key to making ball-first contact. You don’t slap at the ball; you swing through it. You can see here that I’m looking ahead of the ball before I hit it—and I keep rotating my head after impact. Doing this allows me to make a smooth swing, letting the ball get in the way of the correct technique. Give it a try, and if it helps your contact and control, remember how this feels when you go back to looking at the ball on the golf course.

jessica dickson, a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher, is director of instruction at Shadow Wood Country Club in Bonita Springs, Fla.

Photographs by Chris Shonting

The Gulf Club Fingers Crossed nicholas fung asian tour age 30 lives dubai, uae

Photographs by Getty Images

“The hardest part is to time everything to be at your best when the opportunities are so limited…” Opportunity Knocks New Dubai resident Nicholas Fung just wants a run of tournaments to get his teeth into hen nicholas fung secured a precious invite into the European Tour’s hastily arranged Golf in Dubai Championship last December, it was the Malaysian’s first official start in nine months. Quite when or where he’ll tee it up next is anyone’s guess. Such is the lot of pros outside the cradle of the PGA and European Tours. It’s not that the 30-year-old Asian Tour winner hasn’t been proactive in trying to keep his game sharp while he hurries up and waits for playing opportunities. Indeed, just days after wife Suki Loh gave birth on August 8 to the couple’s first child, “incredible Hannah” as the proud new Dad proudly describes his baby daughter, Fung departed locked-down Kuala Lumpur to take up residency in Dubai. “I needed to find a place to practice and allow me to continue to improve my game,” said Fung who boasts 19 professional victories and edged Jazz Janewattananond by a stroke to claim his Asian Tour breakthrough at the 2017 Queen’s Cup in Thailand. He’s found a great ally in Dubai Golf who allow Fung unrestricted access to their three properties, Emirates G.C, Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club and Jumeirah Golf Estates, the latter not so incoincidently the host of the Golf in Dubai Championship. “The decision to move was primarily because Malaysia was under lockdown but the UAE is a great supporter of golf and the golf courses are incredibly supportive of tour pros, generously allowing us access to their practice facilities. “There is a wide range of highquality courses and with the European Tour hosting multiple events in the Emirates, I believe it is the right place

to base myself and practice.” Being a range rat at JGE certainly helped Fung get his start in the European Tour’s final regular-season event of an alarming 2020 on Fire. That and the sway of P4M, the golf management company whose CEO, Marc Potter, was part of the team that got the DP World Tour Championship off the ground on Fire’s JGE sister course Earth more than a decade ago. Fung signed for rounds of 71-71 to agonisingly miss the cut by a stroke. But given the state of the world, it wasn’t hard to accentuate the positives. “Yes, to miss the cut was frustrating but I was incredibly happy to be back on tour after such a long layoff. I was perhaps a little rusty and didn’t quite have the competitive feeling but it felt good be back and see the positives from all the work I put in these past nine months. “The hardest part is to time everything to be at your best when the opportunities Nicholas Fung agonisingly missed the cut in the Golf in Dubai Championship on Fire at JGE by a single stroke

are so limited and you’re not sure when the next event will be. But I got a lot of positive vibes during the week, which is not easy after so long off.” Fung’s fourth and final start on the 2020 Asian Tour was at the Bandar Malaysian Open in early March before the season was suspended by the pandemic. He’s awaiting an official announcement about a resumption but is hearing whispers of a May restart and hopes to be back playing fulltime byJune. He’s due back in Dubai this month after spending quality time with his family over the festive period, practising at TPC Kuala Lumpar and keeping the bank manager happy by giving the odd lesson. He’d love a start in the European Tour’s Qatar Masters later this month but simply has to work around an uncertain future. “It is really difficult for the pros, especially on the Asian Tour having only the ability to play four events [last year]. But I am lucky enough to still be able to do coaching in Malaysia as a side income and have had the support of friends and sponsors in these difficult times.” Difficult times. Also known as the new norm. Despite the scheduling mysteries and all the on-going career uncertainty, Fung has somehow managed to remain positive. “I am extremely motivated to perform at a high level again,” said Fung who won the 2010 Vietnam Open just months after turning professional and counts three EurAsia Cup appearances amongst his accomplishments. “Actually it [the downtime] has been good and has allowed me more time to prepare, and work on my game. I have been able to work on the mental side of things as well as my fitness, strength, and conditioning. “It would be great to secure two or three wins on any tour and get my world ranking [924th] back up. The Olympics would be a dream competing for Malaysia. “I feel I have put in the hard work necessary during this past year and ultimately just need the opportunity to play and compete.” —by kent gray march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

Play Course Management

Beast in the East Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club is next off the tee in our series designed to help you tame the toughest holes in the Middle East. Here, AESGC Golf Manager Gavin Chappell outlines his strategy for the beastly 10th

Photographs courtesy AESGC

HILE THE TWO other par 5s at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club offer birdie opportunities, the 10th, in stark contrast, more than lives up to its billing as stroke index 1. Even more skilled golfers will gladly take a par here and run to the 11th. From the hole’s length, to the various bunkers in play from the tee, to second shots and regulation approaches that must avoid the large lake guarding the front and the right side of the green, there is no let up when you arrive at the hole we dub “the Beast in the East”.

tee shot: Finding the fairway is the first challenge as any drive finishing in the rough, or even worse, the sandy waste area, will put you on the back foot for the rest of the hole. The landing area is relatively generous but as you approach 300 yards off the tee it starts to narrow so big hitters need to keep that in mind. The right of the fairway will lead to a better angle for your second shot; anything left will prove more difficult. second shot: If the fairway has been found off the tee, the next task is to move your second shot down the hole as far as possible. The two strategically placed fairway bunkers will be in your mind and both need to be avoided if you want a chance of hitting the green in regulation. Hugging the left side of the fairway is the prudent play as anything right will leave you a long carry over the water.

approach: Even after two good blows you are going to have a midiron into the green. Hopefully you are on the left side of the hole to make your line to the green a safer one that doesn’t require a carry over the lake. Anything coming up short or right is going to see you reaching into your bag for another ball. Missing in the greenside bunker is not the worse play. finishing off: The green is generous in size and slopes steeply from back to front. If you find yourself just off the putting surface short of the green, be positive chipping into the up slope. Conversely, if you end up over the green don’t get caught out by the speed of the green when chipping or pitching from the back, as your ball can easily run further than you had imagined. Once on the green, you still need to keep your concentration as the subtle breaks can lead to three putts. For a long putt, concentrate on lagging it close and avoiding a card wrecker. Par here is more than acceptable. – with kent gray

Gavin Chappell

PAR 5

Black

678 yards

Blue

638 yards

White

603 yards

Red

567 yards

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

by MATTHEW RUDY photographs by DOM FURORE

VIKTOR HOVLAND THE NEW WAY TO GET GOOD

HOW A FEARLESS AND INSATIABLY CURIOUS SECOND-YEAR PRO FROM NORWAY DEVELOPED HIS SWING USING THE INTERNET

of a wave of new tour players who are using the most democratic of the modern instruction tools— social media—to redefine the relationship between athletes, coaches and the information they share. It’s the new way to get good. A CHUBBY, 5-FOOT-6 KID

HE TREATED HIS SWING LIKE A SET OF LEGOS, TINKERING, ADDING AND SUBTRACTING.

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IN A YEAR WHEN GOLF (AND THE WORLD) was knocked sideways by a pandemic, a guy who gained 40 pounds in four months broke the U.S. Open with 200 miles per hour of ball speed, the woman who won the AIG Open Championship couldn’t get into the next LPGA major and arguably the greatest player of all time waited seven extra months to defend his Masters title on an empty, dormant Augusta National, can you really say any story is, well, surprising? Still, Viktor Hovland would like to have a word. The second-year pro from Norway has been on a heater. A member of the celebrated 2019 class that includes Oklahoma State teammate Matthew Wolff and PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa, Hovland validated his formidable college credentials—the 2018 U.S. Amateur and NCAA team titles and low-amateur finishes at the 2019 Masters and U.S. Open—with two PGA Tour wins in his first year as a professional. Both of them came in dramatic fashion. In February 2020 at the Puerto Rico Open, Hovland made a 30-footer for birdie on the last hole to beat Josh Teater. In December, he made a 12-footer in Mexico to best Aaron Wise. Even the disarray imposed on the tour schedule could not push Hovland off path. He bought an anonymous McMansion in Stillwater, halfway between the Oklahoma State campus and Karsten Creek, the Cowboys’ home course, and did pretty much what he has done since he was a 12-year-old swing nerd who had 19 hours of daily Norwegian winter darkness to fill. He watched movies, listened to music and devoured countless hours of online golf instruction and treated his swing like a set of Legos, tinkering, adding and subtracting while using the directions as a reference, not a blueprint. Hovland, 23, has to be the first elite tour player to teach himself the game from scratch in the dark in a second language from YouTube. He’s just one

One of the traditional ways tour players have gotten good is to play for a blue-chip program like Oklahoma State. OSU has produced a lot of them, from Bob Tway and Scott Verplank to Charles Howell III and Rickie Fowler—players who helped the program win 11 national titles. Those titles require talent, and Cowboys coach Alan Bratton was in Scotland at the European Boys Team Championship in 2013 to fill the pool. His main target on the Norwegian team was Kristoffer Ventura, a 6-foot-3 specimen equipped with a tour-player starter set of skills who would end up playing four years in Stillwater. But Bratton couldn’t stop watching a chubby, 5-foot-6 kid with an untucked shirt and Oakley blade sunglasses who came from the same high school in Oslo, Norway, as Ventura. “Viktor was a little soft and had a different-looking swing, but that swing repeated, and I loved how he competed,” Bratton says. “He might have been only the fourth or fifth best player on that team, but I fell in love with him. I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of great players, and I thought I saw some of the same traits in him. When I was recruiting Rickie Fowler, I had a plan to watch him and then watch other people, but I couldn’t stop watching Rickie. It’s rare to see him frustrated. He tries shots, and he’s fun to watch. Viktor is the same way.” That Hovland was even swinging a golf club as a high schooler was an act of providence. His father, Harald, had spent a year as a visiting engineer on a project in St. Louis and had bought some clubs during that stretch to kill time at a practice range that was on his way to work. When the year was up, he brought a junior set of clubs back to Norway for his son to try, and by age 11, Viktor was committed. The Hovlands entrusted Viktor’s embryonic game to James McGowan, a transplanted Austra-

CHECK YOUR LEAD WRIST TO SLICE-PROOF YOUR SWING “Before I talk about the position of my left wrist, which helps me consistently square the face at impact, you might be curious about that pumping action I sometimes do at the top of the swing,” Hovland says. “To hit a power draw, I slow down the transition from backswing to downswing by pumping the club twice. It’s like a rehearsal, and it helps me create more clubhead speed. If you try it, you might find it also improves your timing, allowing you to complete a fuller backswing before starting the downswing. Another thing that can help you is getting to the top in a good position with your lead wrist. My lead wrist is in flexion (left), which means it’s slightly bowed (palm down). If your wrist is extended (palm up), the clubface will be open at the top. You’ll have to do something in the downswing quickly to close the face, or you’ll probably slice it. It’s a lot easier to avoid a slice if you fix your wrist position at the top of the swing.”

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

SPEED EVERYTHING UP TO GENERATE MORE POWER “My project has been increasing clubhead speed. To do that, I’m trying to make everything in my swing faster. It makes my hand path longer, my turn bigger, and I’m pushing harder off the ground (photo, far right), which translates into a faster clubhead. That’s a big difference from what many amateurs do. They try to swing faster but don’t turn their hips or shoulders more. That restricts speed. It should feel like you’re letting the clubhead go (near right) instead of directing it through impact with your hands.”

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lian who has been teaching at Norway’s Drobak Golf Club for more than two decades. From the start, Hovland’s thirst for information and work ethic set him apart. “The first player from Norway to make it to the PGA Tour, Henrik Bjornstad, was a member here when Viktor was a junior. I coached Henrik, too, and he didn’t work as hard as Viktor did,” says McGowan, who taught Hovland from ages 11 to 17. “In the summer, it stays light until 10:30, and even then, Viktor’s parents spent a lot of time waiting in the parking lot for him to finish.” The flipside of those endless summer nights is about six hours of daylight in the winter. That translated into hundreds of hours of Web surfing and beating balls at the Fornebu Indoor Golf Centre—and Hovland interrogating McGowan about everything from the latest swing trends on tour to his TrackMan numbers. “I didn’t have one myself at the time,” McGowan says, “but Viktor had a TrackMan at school he could use, so he would work on the numbers to see if what we talked about worked.” The Stack-and-Tilt method was strong on the tour at that time, but Hovland bypassed it without a second glance, preferring to work on adding some Dustin Johnson lead-wrist flavor to his swing to produce more power. “He just kept improving, and there were no flat spots on the way,” McGowan says. “Viktor’s only weakness was putting from around 10 feet, which was the birdie length he mostly had. If he had made more of that length, he would have gone extremely low much more often.” Hovland’s growth coincided with a massive proliferation of digital-golf coaching personalities across every platform from Instagram to Twitter to YouTube to Facebook. George Gankas parlayed his social-media reach—including a quarter-million followers on Instagram—into real-world work with tour players like Wolff and a spot on Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers list. The U.K.-based teaching pair of Andy Proudman and Piers Ward have more than 700,000 subscribers for their “Me and My Golf” YouTube channel, and they offer everything from a $19 monthly content-streaming membership to pre-packaged $100 “Break 90” video series. They are just some of the brands in that game. Do a search for how to fix your slice, and YouTube will offer up more than 1.1 million videos. Hovland was comfortable with that world from the start, and he learned quickly how not to drink from the information firehose. “I started young getting into the golf swing, so I feel I have a pretty good understanding of what’s going on and how it relates to what I’m doing when I hit a ball,” Hovland says. “There’s the valuable stuff, and the stuff you hear and throw out, and then there’s the gray area in between, where you don’t really know. You try it out and see how it goes and leave yourself some breadcrumbs so that you can get back to where you were.” In its best form, that meant taking lots of trips to the golf-information buffet—where gripPhotograph by First Lastname

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Photograph by First Lastname

ACCURACY STARTS AT ADDRESS “One of my tendencies is to aim too far right, and that’s when I get into trouble off the tee. My stock shot is a little fade. But when I’m lined up right of my target (photo, near left), my instinct is to push my hand path out to make my swing go more left. But that changes my swing path and makes it harder to produce a quality fade. To avoid that, I make sure my shoulders and hips are in line with my target (far left). Don’t ignore the importance of checking your alignment.”

adjustment tips from tour legends are mixed with recorded lectures from sports scientists about the importance of understanding moment of inertia. But by the time Hovland was in his second year at Oklahoma State, in 2017, his variables were varying, and he was having trouble digesting the remote coaching he was getting from Denny Lucas, a Florida-based coach he had found through Instagram. Hovland’s ball flight had flattened to where he was having trouble holding greens with longer clubs. Legendary OSU coach Mike Holder might have sent Bratton the player out to hit a few more buckets of practice balls during Bratton’s All-American senior year in 1995, but Bratton the coach had to take a 21st-century approach. “We felt like he wasn’t understanding something the coach was telling him remotely,” Bratton says. “So over the Thanksgiving break, he went to see the coach in Jupiter. That helped him get it, and when he came back, he had all this height. He built momentum from there and really hasn’t looked back. I just love the way he plays—confident, not afraid.” INSTANT SUCCESS ON TOUR

That fear element—or the lack of it—is what makes players like Hovland, Wolff, Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau so different. They came on tour ready to win because they had seen their peers do it. DeChambeau was runner-up in the Australian Masters as an amateur in 2015 and tied for fourth in Hilton Head in his 2016 professional debut. Wolff won the 2019 NCAA individual championship in May and on the PGA Tour in July. The next month, in starts four, five and six, Morikawa went T-2, T-4 and won. Hovland finished 12th as an amateur in the 2019 U.S. Open and was a millionaire before he pegged it for the first time as a professional the next week, at the 2019 Travelers Championship, thanks to an equipment deal with Ping. “Look at what Wolff did over those few weeks in 2019,” Bratton says. “Turning pro didn’t make him any better or make him a different player. He was capable as an amateur. It’s a matter of telling a player the truth about the skill set you need to play at a given level, establishing an environment where they can do that, and then free them to understand for themselves that they can win.” The step into professional golf only reinforced the same drive in Hovland that had transformed his body from chunky to chiseled and validated the personal experiments he conducts on his swing. “There are always things to improve, and I have always liked to work,” Hovland says. “But I think a strength for me is the ability to say, Yeah, something might be a valuable piece of information for somebody, but it’s not necessarily for me. I’m not vulnerable to going to somebody and just giving my brain to them. I want to learn things for myself.” Hovland’s experience winning in Puerto Rico paid in more ways than just the $540,000 check. He dumped two chips on the 11th hole on

Sunday, leading to a triple bogey and laying bare the realisation he shared with everybody in the interview after saving the day with his putter. “I suck at chipping,” he said, with his widest trademark smile. “That’s something I know I’m going to have to improve if I want to play my best at this level.” For Bratton, Hovland’s openness and willingness to judge his game unemotionally make him a virtual unicorn in professional golf. “I love his honesty—and the confidence to be honest. To say, ‘I suck at chipping’? No tour player will make himself that vulnerable,” says Bratton, who caddied for Hovland at the 2018 U.S. Amateur and 2019 Masters and U.S. Open. “The first European Tour event Viktor played in, he did that double-pump, top-ofthe-backswing thing he does in a real round. My phone blew up with people sending me clips of it, so I called him and said, ‘What are you doing? When did you start that?’ He said, ‘This morning.’ He did it as a drill, and it felt good, so he put it in. It was the same thing at the U.S. Open. He had pretty much the best driving week anybody has ever had. The next week, in Hartford, he was trying the double-pump thing on a couple of holes. The confidence to do that shows who he is.” Hovland addressed his short-game shortcoming head-on. Before the COVID quarantine hit, Hovland worked early in tournament weeks with legendary coach Peter Cowen—who helped Brooks Koepka and Gary Woodland with their short games—on using the bounce on his wedges more effectively. By sliding the club instead of digging it, Hovland could control the loft on his shots more precisely, and the club was less prone to dig the way it did in Puerto Rico. The work—and the enforced downtime when the tour shut down in March—gave Hovland time he says was reminiscent of when he was 12 years old, when it was all about playing golf for fun and looking for answers online. The hunt led him to some of the online material created by Jeff Smith, a Las Vegas-based instructor who works with sev-

IN THE SUMMER, IT STAYS LIGHT IN NORWAY UNTIL 10:30, AND EVEN THEN, VIKTOR’S PARENTS SPENT A LOT OF TIME WAITING IN THE PARKING LOT FOR HIM TO FINISH.

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

eral young tour players, such as Aaron Wise and Patrick Rodgers, out of TPC Summerlin. Smith and Hovland had mutual friends, so Hovland was comfortable reaching out to ask if Smith would be willing to look at some video of his swing. “He was on a fact-finding mission,” Smith says. “What were the different views of his swing? What could he take away? Viktor has a high IQ related to golf, golf instruction and swing mechanics. He’s always thinking. He’s a highly intellectual individual. He doesn’t show it off by downloading information onto you, but he can tell really quickly when something passes the sniff test or not.” Smith described what he thought were the elements of Hovland’s swing that worked together to produce his elite ball-striking and told Hovland that he didn’t think he needed to make any big changes. “It was more about helping him understand his tendencies and why they showed up when they did and doing problem-solving,” Smith says. “When a certain shot pattern shows up on the course, how do you clear that up?” In typical Hovland style, student and coach met up live for the first time in Boston before the first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs because, hey, there’s no time like the present. “Viktor’s generation of players, they want to know,” says Smith, whose Instagram account has become a popular analytical storehouse for millennial swings on the PGA Tour. “You present them with the information, and they take it and decipher it and make the determination about what to do with it. The previous generation believed you dug it out of the dirt, and you knew it when you felt it. The problem is that you could spend the rest of your career trying to find what you had again.” The two did not do much in terms of technical changes, but what they did do is work on doing the same things at a faster rate. “There was a lot for me to gain just by deciding to swing harder,” Hovland says. “So I spend a segment of practice time just swinging the club as hard as I can.”

I CALLED HIM AND SAID, ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHEN DID YOU START THAT?’ HE SAID, ‘THIS MORNING.’ HE DID IT AS A DRILL, AND IT FELT GOOD, SO HE PUT IT IN.

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Smith says the truth is that Hovland might not have much room to improve his elite ball-striking, so increased speed, by default, is where it’s at. “You give Viktor a 7-, 8-, 9-iron, and it’s right on the flag. Now the idea is get a 7-iron in your hand where you used to have a 5-iron. He’s been sending me videos where he’s swinging 120 miles per hour.” Hovland’s driver speed last year, 113 miles per hour, put him 109th in that category, slower than players like Kevin Na and Lucas Glover. Ramping it up to 120 would put Hovland around the top 20, among players like Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson. Mix 15 more yards off the tee with Hovland’s top-10 ranking in strokes gained on approach shots, and it’s easy to speculate about the closeness of the race between Hovland and Wolff to be the next Cowboy to win his first major. AT HOME IN OKLAHOMA

Experiencing the close-knit Oklahoma State golf fraternity even for a day makes it easy to understand why Hovland wasn’t tempted to spend his money to relocate in Orlando, Jupiter, Dallas or one of the other popular tour-player hot spots. The team facility at Karsten Creek is built with the connective tissue of players going back to the earliest days of the program, in the form of memorabilia, donations and time—the stream of players returning for Pokes football games, pro-am fundraisers and for no reason beyond shooting the breeze with players to pass on some institutional knowledge. Hovland’s comfort level in Stillwater is obvious, and a house is one of the few things he has spent his tournament earnings on. If you didn’t know who he was, you would think he was still a student. When Hovland was enrolled, he rented a room from teammate Austin Eckroat’s parents, who had bought a place so that they could keep an eye on their son from nearby Edmond. Now Eckroat lives at Hovland’s place, and for most of the COVID spring and summer, they lived golf’s version of “Groundhog Day.” “Viktor was already the most boring person, so it wasn’t a big change: Work out, eat, go to Karsten, come home and watch a war movie,” says Eckroat, who is playing his senior year for the Cowboys and getting ready for a pro career. “It was weird to be playing all that golf without having something to prepare for. Viktor never stopped working. I’ve never seen anyone hit so many balls. You go out with him, and it doesn’t feel like anything he’s doing blows you away, but the ball always stays in front of him. He’s just relentless.” Outside golf, Hovland used his time to experiment with different diets, intermittently fasting before settling on a routine that is a mix between professional athlete and recent college student: takeout from Panera Bread interspersed with two giant fruit smoothies and a never-ending bowl of popcorn. Despite his Scandinavian roots, Hovland doesn’t drink like a European. “Once in a

USE A WEDGE THE WAY IT’S DESIGNED “Hitting high, soft pitches used to be a challenge because of the flexion of my lead wrist (small photo, right). Flexion is good in the full swing, but it makes it harder to get the ball way up—you hit down on it too much. To take advantage of a wedge’s loft when pitching, I now grip the club stronger with my left hand, meaning turning it away from the target, but weaker with my right hand. This combo puts my left wrist in extension (right) and lets the club glide, not dig, along the turf to create good loft.”

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CREATE DIFFERENT CHIPS FROM ONE SWING “I mostly play low chip shots, but on tour you need to elevate the ball, too. My basic chip setup is with the ball in the centre of my stance and my hands slightly ahead of it (middle photo, left). To chip it higher or lower, I don’t change where my hands are or what I do during the swing—all I do is change my ball position. For a shot that flies lower and runs out, I play the ball just in front of my back foot (far left). For a higher shot, I play the ball off my instep and open the face (near left). Then I’m free to pick my landing spot and let feel take over.”

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blue moon, he’ll go out, and that’s one of the best nights, but after a drink or two he’s a total liability,” says Eckroat, inserting the needle. “But he can go out and be himself and nobody bothers him. He gets recognised, but in Stillwater, people mind their own business. It’s simple, stress free.” Hovland says he feels a duty to Bratton and the Cowboys team to pass on his experience and advice just like Howell, Fowler and Peter Uihlein have. For his part, Eckroat is the only college senior in the country who has two of his best friends in the top 15 of the world ranking. The week of Hovland’s win in Mexico. Eckroat got a spot in the tournament because of his ranking in the PGA Tour University standings—a system designed to provide a path for top college players to transition seamlessly to the Korn Ferry Tour. While Hovland was on his way to winning, Eckroat tied for 12th. “They had a party on the beach after the tournament, and Viktor was just as happy for me as I was for him,” Eckroat says. “That’s the guy he is. You watch him work so hard, and he shows you that you can do it, and he roots for you to get there with your own hard work.” The joy Hovland gets from immersing himself in the process of improvement was one of the first things that drew Bratton to him. “The second time I saw him, he had a different grip, and he had changed his shot shape from a hard hook to a little cut,” Bratton says. “It was obvious he had put a huge amount of time into getting better. Guys like Viktor and Bryson try their thing while continuing to be themselves. They’re sculpting their games more than building them. You have to decide who you are and own that. At the elite level, that means being yourself every day.” Photograph by First Lastname

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

What’s in My Bag Viktor Hovland driver

age 23 lives Stillwater, Okla. story Winner of two PGA Tour events, including the 2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic. can’t wait I started playing at age 11. My father brought some clubs back to Norway from St. Louis where he had been working. Growing up, I never had a specific club I really wanted. However, after going through clubfittings or when I got a club for my birthday, I was always super excited. Just to get some new equipment to play with—regardless of what it was—I couldn’t wait to try it out. I couldn’t get out to play fast enough.

▶ The head says 9 degrees, but I have it set at 7.75 degrees. I don’t want to spin the ball too much, so I use this low-spin version of the G425 family. The movable weight is on the heel. My driver miss is a little leak to the right, and having the weight in the heel lets me close the head at impact better. fairway wood specs TaylorMade SIM, 14.5°, Mitsubishi Tensei Blue AV Raw 85 TX shaft. ▶ It’s the versatility of the club that I like. I can hit it kind of low and chasing off the tee so that I can get pretty decent yardage out of it. At the same time, I can hoist it in the air. From bad lies I can be really aggressive and chomp it out of there. irons specs Callaway X Forged UT (2), Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 X shaft; Ping i210 (4-PW), KBS Tour-V 120X shafts.

driver

290

▶ I’ve gone back and forth since turning pro. What I found is that the i210s are best for me. They give me a lot of forgiveness. I’m able to flight my irons better with them, and that’s when I tend to play my best. I have more control.

3-wood

268

wedges

2-iron

243

4-iron

222

specs Ping Glide 3.0 (50°, 56°), Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks (60°); KBS Tour-V 130X shafts.

5-iron

208

6-iron

193

7-iron

180

8-iron

166

9-iron

156

142

130

54˚wedge

116

60˚wedge

—with e. michael johnson

club

yards*

* carry distance

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line it up ▶ I prefer less spin rather than too much, and the Pro V1 is lower-spinning than the V1x. I mark it with a simple black line. I have no awareness of where I’m aimed without it.

loose change ▶ The inside of my golf bag is pretty boring. There’s just a bunch of random tees, coins and perhaps a new Sharpie that I got that week. I don’t have any superstitions or things of note.

▶ I had a Glide 3.0 60-degree, but then I experimented with the Vokey and changed my chipping technique a little bit. I found that I don’t need the same grind I needed before. I also found I was a little better from 70 yards and in flighting the ball. putter specs Ping PLD DS 72, 36 inches, 2.5° loft, Winn putter grip. ▶ I’ve always been a bit of a Tiger fanboy and wanted to use an Anser-style putter. But I picked up a counterbalanced mallet putter at Oklahoma State and noticed my stroke became so much better. I wasn’t pulling it as much, and my speed control was better, too. A win-win.

beach boy ▶ I won the 2018 U.S. Amateur and was low amateur at the 2019 U.S. Open, both at Pebble Beach. The course sets up for my fade well, especially on the holes that run along the water.

hovl and: dom furore • clubs & coins: j.d. cuban • pebble beach: david cannon/getty images

specs Ping G425 LST, 7.75°, Project X HZRDUS Black 60 shaft, 45.75 inches.

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DRIVERS

▶ Better Shots

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march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

the hot list

SAY HELLO TO YOUR NEW BEST FRIENDS g a m e - c h a n g i n g c l u b s a r e e v e r y w h e r e y o u l o o k— p r o v i d e d yo u s ta r t yo u r s e a r c h w i t h t h e 2 0 2 1 h o t l i s t. w e c o n s i d e r e d 2 7 0 e n t r i e s ; 1 3 7 w o n m e d a l s . ▶ After a year in which we were forced to make the best out of having a lot less, the golf-equipment industry has a message for 2021: More is finally here. Exhibit 1A is this year’s Hot List. Our 18th ranking of the game’s most intriguing golf clubs produced the most winning entries ever. Not only that, within our 137 winners are dozens of permutations of models, settings and styles totaling more than 560 options. Like all the new golfers taking up the game, the clubs that will make you play your best golf ever—the clubs that will become your new best friends—are increasingly individualised. There is not one driver or iron or putter everyone must have. But the one driver, iron or putter that you must have is definitely here in these pages. One thought resonated this year: Embrace the unknown. It’s so easy to try something different through the technology of a launch monitor and the expertise of a good fitter. New thinking energises your old game. Be open to what you might find in this year’s Hot List. After surviving a year of less, get ready for your Year of More. ▶

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THE PROCESS

t h e j u d g e s c a s t t h e o n ly v o t e s o n t h e h o t l i s t, b u t t h e y g a t h e r i n s i g h t f r o m t h r e e p a n e l s : s c i e n t i s t s , r e t a i l e r s a n d p l ay e r s l i k e y o u .

▶ c riteria

▶ h ot l i st j ud g es

OUR JUDGES, listed at right, cast the only votes in the Hot List, but they gather insight from three independent panels. The Scientists advise us on Innovation. Retailers assess Demand. Players evaluate Performance and Look/Sound/ Feel. A product’s score is based on its weighted average in these four criteria, with Performance, Innovation and Look/Sound/Feel largely determining the total score. All scoring is based on a 100-point scale for each of the four criteria, relative to the entries in a category. performance

look • sound • feel JOHN McPHEE, PH.D.

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.

MIKE STACHURA

Professor, Systems Design Engineering,

Senior Editor (Equipment)

University of Waterloo

E. MICHAEL JOHNSON

DICK RUGGE

Equipment Editor

Senior Technical Director (retired), USGA

JOEL BEALL Staff Writer

GEORGE SPRINGER, PH.D. Paul Piggott Professor of Engineering

▶ hot list coordinator

45%

(emeritus), Stanford University

demand

Based on interviews with our player panelists, player-testing data and other sources, 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. (Note: Foresight Sports GCQuad Launch monitors are used at every hitting station.) i n n o vat i o n

▶ f i t t er

An assessment of the reputation, interest, intrigue and excitement about a particular product, considering market presence, tour use, relative value and consumer satisfaction through consulting research from Golf Datatech, other published resources and a panel of leading retailers.

DARIA DELFINO

▶ sc i en t i sts

GARTH MURSZEWSKI Manager of Golf Services, Dick’s Sporting Goods/Golf Galaxy, Coraopolis, Pa.

▶ p l ay ers MARTIN BROUILLET TE, PH.D. Professor of Mechanical Engineering,

30%

All judging is based on a 100-point scale.

University of Sherbrooke BRET T ARGALL • 51

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

Handicap Index: 13.9 gold DAVID LEE, PH.D.

Products earned a score of 93 to 100.

Professor of Physics, Gordon College JON BRIGGS • 48 Handicap Index: 9.2

s i lv e r

Products earned a score of 88 to 92.99.

TOM MASE, PH.D. Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo

KEVIN DORN • 55 Handicap Index: 11.1

97-100 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

88-96 ★ ★ ★ ★

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70-87 ★ ★ ★

51-69 ★ ★

≤50 ★

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

the process

▶ team hot list Our player panel, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.

ALEXIS FLORIO • 20

JOSH MACERA • 25

DAVE RUGGIERI • 54

JASON FRYIA

Handicap Index: +3.1

Handicap Index: +0.1

Handicap Index: 1.9

Owner/General Manager, Golf Exchange, Cincinnati

WILL GRAVES • 50

OLIVER MARTEL • 26

ZACH WILCOX • 24

Handicap Index: 10.6

Handicap Index: 1.9

Handicap Index: 12.5

CHRIS MARCHINI General Manager, Golf Galaxy, Pittsburgh

ALEC LAZIEH • 20

LARRY McCOY • 56

BRIAN ZIMMERLI • 37

Handicap Index: 9.2

Handicap Index: 5.2

Handicap Index: 17.6 KEN MORTON JR.

▶ r etai l ers

Director of Retail and Marketing, Haggin Oaks Golf Super Shop,

KEN NAPPI • 41

Handicap Index: 1.8

Handicap Index: 7.7

headshots and hot list summit: j.d. cuban

Sacramento STEVE LET TERLE • 25

LEIGH BADER General Manager, Joe & Leigh’s Discount Golf Pro Shop, South Easton, Mass. DAN LUPO • 28

LEELA NARANG BENADERET • 50

Handicap Index: 16.1

Handicap Index: 3.1

BUDDY CHRISTENSEN Owner/President, SHANE POPHAM • 32

Golfdom, McLean, Va.

Handicap Index: 13.3

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GENDER NEUTRAL

all 137 golf clubs on the hot list will work for women

j.d. cuban

▶ The question comes fairly regularly when the Hot List makes its

annual appearance. Where are the women’s clubs? Our answer: You’re looking at them. We don’t mean to be flippant, but because we believe so strongly in the value of clubfitting and because manufacturers have greatly expanded their selection of lofts, shafts and head styles, every club on the Hot List can work the same for a female golfer as it will for a male golfer with the same specs. We know this from the women golfers on our panel and because fitters tell us frequently that female golfers are vastly better served today than in the past. “Many of our female students fit nicely into men’s irons and drivers,” said Nick Clearwater, vice president of instruction at GOLFTEC, the nationwide instruction and fitting chain. Clearwater believes the typical women’s-flex shaft is too weak for women players who can swing their 7-irons at 50 miles per hour or faster. “It’s quite rare for a female to be fit into shafts softer than an A-flex [senior flex].” For perspective, a study by Foresight Sports revealed that the average LPGA Tour player carries her 7-iron 145 yards, and the average female-recreational player hits a 7-iron 65 to 115 yards. Conversely, the average male-recreational golfer hits his 7-iron 115 to 155 yards. This suggests two things: First, female golfers, like their male-golfer counterparts, shouldn’t be narrowly classified. Second, maybe some of us shouldn’t be carrying 7-irons anymore.

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Given the right fitting scenario, golf clubs are gender neutral. “There is nothing inherent about a ‘players iron’ that makes it only for a man,” says Jason Fryia, owner of the Golf Exchange stores in Ohio and Kentucky, a Golf Digest 100 Best Clubfitter. “In reality, very few men and women fit into that iron anyway. We absolutely sell more pre-configured women’s sets to our female customers than we do players irons, but we also don’t hesitate to fit a female who is a better golfer into any club that achieves her goals. Manufacturers do a good job offering custom options to fit a variety of skill levels.” But strength is a consideration. Many women should focus on clubs that offer lighter head weights, says Bob Kitchen, owner of the Maple Hill Golf Centre in Grandville, Mich., a Golf Digest 100 Best Clubfitter. “If you’re just putting a light shaft in a heavy head, that won’t work for women,” he says. The pre-configured set for those with slower swings is the smarter option. Though not part of our Hot List evaluations, these holistic collections of woods, irons, wedges, putters and even bags provide a full-service approach to many average female and male golfers. They address the challenges of higher launch with larger heads, wider soles and lighter, more flexible shafts and are a great option for beginners. We believe if you can’t fly an 8-iron onto a green and have it stay there, maybe one of the complete sets listed here is a better choice: Callaway Reva, Cleveland Bloom, Cobra F-Max Airspeed, Ping G Le2, TaylorMade Kalea 3.0 and Tour Edge Moda Silk. However, women should still consider the latest technology featured in this issue. Some tips for any player, female or male, who might be speed-, distance- or trajectory-challenged: Woods: Loft is your friend. Many drivers on this year’s Hot List can be adjusted to lofts of more than 13 degrees. Start there and go lower only if your clubfitter demonstrates that you would benefit from less loft. You will want to look at higher-lofted fairway woods and hybrids, too. If Dustin Johnson has played a 7-wood, we’re thinking it’s also worth your consideration. Irons: Consider starting your set with the 6- or even the 7-iron. You will get better distance gaps with fairway woods and hybrids in the lower lofts. The 5-degree gaps in modern short irons will properly space your yardages. You might even need fewer than 14 clubs. Wedges: Seek graphite shafts that match your irons for more control over the scoring clubs. Putters: A 33- or even 32-inch putter with a properly weighted head might be best for producing consistent strikes. But our larger point is that the right clubs from driver to putter are described in these pages, regardless of whether you are a new player, an ambitious veteran, a struggling 90s-shooter or a topflight amateur—man or woman. —MIKE STACHURA

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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fitting

WHY YOU SHOULD GET FIT FOR CLUBS three editors and a r abbi walk into a clubfitting. yes, they walk out with new gear, but also hope for where their games are headed ▶ For the entire 18-year history of the Hot List, there has been one constant: the undisputed value of getting custom-fit for new clubs. Although we frequently extoll the virtues of clubfitting, it’s not often we tell you what it’s like to get fit, how the experience is no less—and no more—daunting than hitting a shot off the first tee on a busy Saturday morning, and, most importantly, how results can be both game-changing and soul-soothing. What follows are four stories on recent fittings from three of our editors and our part-time contributor and full-time spiritual advisor Rabbi Marc Gellman. Let their wisdom be an inspiration to see how far new clubs—the right clubs—can take you. For club fitting visit www.egolfmegastore.ae/accufit

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march 2021 | golfdigestme.com 45 Illustrations by Zohar Lazar

fitting

name: steve hennessey, 32 handicap: 14 type of fitting: driver

A driver fitting at off-course retail: Trust the process ▶ Investing in a clubfitting shouldn’t be a tough sell, but golfers find excuses. I’m not good enough to get fit, or I hit my driver just fine, or the new stuff’s not any better than what I play—all might sound like you. That was me—until I received a proper clubfitting. Golf Digest 100 Best Clubfitter Paul Ferrone at Downtown Golf in Stamford, Conn., got me dialed in with new irons two years ago. After a session with that kind of insightful golf-gear expert, your mind opens up to the possibilities. That’s why I accepted the assignment of getting fit for a driver in December, despite loving my recently purchased gamer, an anti-slice model that I thought was working just fine. Clubfitting involves a lot of high-tech gadgetry these days, but you shouldn’t be overwhelmed: First, it’s a guaranteed way to get better. Second, it’s easy to educate yourself so that you can have a meaningful dialogue with the fitter. Familiarise yourself with the basics of what launch-monitor numbers mean. I’ve paid enough attention to Bryson DeChambeau’s mad-scientist explanations to know high launch and low spin are crucial to maximising distance. When you go for an indoor fitting, you might be hitting into what looks like a video-game screen, but the numbers are more important than those Toptracer-like trajectory lines. Ball speed (like Bryson’s quest for 200 miles per hour) is the basis for distance, but I know that my launch angle needs to be double digits to get the most out of my un-Bryson-like swing. If my ball’s spin rate stays in the high 3,000 revolutions per minute, I’m sacrificing serious yardage. If you go into a fitting unprepared, you have to rely on the fitter’s interpretation of your swings, and you won’t know what questions to ask. It’s similar to bringing your car to a mechanic. Without a general understanding of the basics, you enter the transaction wondering if you will be taken advantage of. I visited my neighborhood Golf Galaxy store in East Hanover, N.J., with a goal of lowering my typical spin rate with some of the new models for 2021. To my surprise, my one-year-old driver had competition. (Now, don’t expect a year-old driver to be obsolete, but I wasn’t fit for this driver, so lesson learned.) I was carrying one of the new anti-slice drivers the farthest—almost 10 yards longer than my current gamer. But then my fitter handed me a driver I never would have considered, one that’s played on tour. Swing after swing produced competitive distance, and the dispersion was tight. An important takeaway: Consider how you like to play golf. For me, keeping my tee shots in play makes golf feel more like a vacation and less like yard work. The tour model also felt great with a pleasing sound at impact, attributes I know are important after nine years of taking notes from our testers at the Hot List. My decision came down to three options: I could choose more distance based on one long hit, better consistency, or I could stick with my current driver. I hit each club 15 to 20 times with different shafts to make sure I had as much data as possible. I’m

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sure the fitter sensed my reluctance when he told me, “You know, you can take some time and think about it if you’re not ready.” That’s a sign you’re working with a legit operation. My fitter was patient as I took a few more hacks before we reviewed the launch-monitor data. With the pro driver, my spin rate was the lowest, and it turned my slice into a legitimate fade, so I walked out with a new club. In the end, I opted for consistency—I’ll hit the gym for more distance. The few chances I’ve had to visit the range have produced the same results I saw in the indoor sessions. I’m happy I trusted the data. With the right bit of pre-fitting self-study, you should, too. name: christopher powers, 28 handicap: 8 type of fitting: putter

Putter intervention: technology and a top-level fitter ▶ When I received an email that I’d been volunteered for a putter fitting by Senior Editor Mike Stachura, I assumed it was an intervention. (I’d earned a reputation of “serial three-putter” on our old office putting green.) It read: “I’d be forever indebted to you if you did this,” but it might as well have said, “Have a seat; we have something to say to you.” Before that email, it would not have crossed my mind to get fit for a putter. I thought my issues were completely mental. No magic wand could save me. I quickly learned that a putter fitting won’t cure everything, but it’s more important than I thought. Jon Bock, the master fitter and builder at Club Champion who took me on my putter-fitting journey, simply bent my old putter’s lie angle 1 degree. This was before I even glanced at the hundreds of putters surrounding the practice green. While I was rolling a few, Bock asked questions about my putting problems. I told him I’m great from distance but abysmal from five feet and in. Clearly Bock was an expert on equipment and the technology at his disposal (he’s been doing this for 15 years), but he was also once a teaching pro. He threw all of this knowledge into a blender and scoured the green for a few putters. My miss is a pull, 99.9 percent of the time, and when it’s not, it’s a push because of overcompensation. Bock noticed I open the face on the backstroke and cut across on the through-

similar to bringing your car to a mechanic, you enter the transaction wondering if yo u w i l l b e ta k e n a d va n ta g e o f.

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stroke. He used what looked like a leftover droid from “The Mandalorian” that measured more things about my putting stroke than I knew could be measured. He called the droid “Sam.” Later, I realised that was short for its name: SAM, as in Science and Motion PuttLab. You have probably heard of launch monitors for driver fittings, but launch monitors and devices like the SAM PuttLab, the Quintic and other systems like Odyssey Fits are bringing that kind of data to putter selection. First roll I was 15.2 degrees open on the takeaway and 6.5 degrees open at impact. To make a putt with that stroke, I would have to aim like I was trying to miss. My “rotation consistency” was about 58 percent. Does that sound good to you? Unless you are running for elected office, it shouldn’t. Bock said the average for a decent player like myself (8-handicap) is 70 to 75 percent. Woof. What’s rotation consistency? The ability to repeat the relationship between the putter face and the path of the stroke from takeaway to follow-through. Some high-speed cameras can see that, but so can my new friend SAM. It was a teachable moment. Bock laid out four putters: two big-name models, one other putter that we are not going to talk about, plus an Evnroll ER5 Hatchback, which I’d never heard of. (Pro tip: Just because you haven’t heard of it isn’t a good reason not to try it, especially when you’re working with a top-level fitter.) Naturally, I was drawn to the more famous name brands. I didn’t even take the Evnroll seriously at first. (The “other” was dead from the start.) Still, Bock noticed immediately that the Evnroll was the one. I rolled in almost every putt, and the perfect clicking sound was like getting instant feedback. He made some slight adjustments to the loft and lie angle, and I rolled in four more without blinking. Was this the one? “I’ll just say it now, 110 percent, this is your putter,” Bock said. This might be the most important thing I learned from the fitting: Forget what you think you know. Trust your fitter. Trust the results.

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The results showed that 110 percent was an understatement. My rotation consistency went from 58 percent to 90! I went from having the putter 6.5 degrees open at impact to 3.2 degrees, and 15.2 degrees open on the takeaway to 11.2. On the follow-through, I was 3.2 degrees closed, as opposed to 0.6 degrees open when I first rolled a few. All of this with a putter I initially scoffed at. The final stats revealed that my overall consistency—which takes alignment, impact, path and rotation into account—was 75 percent, the same average as a PGA Tour player! “Even on your misses, they still rolled perfectly,” Bock said. “That’s a huge advantage.” In other words, technology. Shockingly, the measurements on this putter weren’t all that different from the one I had been using. Just a quarter of a degree change in loft and lie angle. In other words, these minor changes, changes I didn’t know I needed, made a monumental difference. The right putter with the right specs has brought out the perfect stroke I knew I had in me all the time. name: alex myers, 38 handicap: 8 type of fitting: wedge

A fitting with the guru of wedges ▶ “If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.” I’ve heard people say that before, but I’ve never quite believed it when they do. That is, until I met Bob Vokey. On this day, the legendary clubmaker spent more than three hours with me, most of which involved watching my golf swing, and yet he was beaming just as much after as he was when I first showed up to the Titleist Performance Institute for the eponymous Bob Vokey Tour Experience. It should be noted that I’m beaming, too. For years I’ve played off-the-rack Vokey wedges, but now I’ll play actual Vokey wedges. I tried to explain to my

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

fitting wife that this would be like wearing a dress hand sewn by Gianni Versace only much more useful. After all, how many times can you wear a dress? We start with a pep talk/lecture from the man who has helped create short-game magic for everyone from Seve to Tiger. I learn more about terms like bounce and grind and camber as Vokey takes me through a display of wedges lying on a table. “I make what the players want,” Vokey says flatly. “It’s not rocket science.” But it seems that way as he riffs through different grinds he has developed through the years, who played them and when they were put in play. He says technology changes in wedges as fast as it does in drivers. Though I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, Vokey quickly reassures me. “You don’t find the grind,” he says. “The grind finds you.” Not surprisingly, a private audience with the man who has had a hand in countless major championships and is the most popular person on the range at PGA Tour events isn’t cheap. The price of the Vokey Experience is $2,400. But that includes your time with the affable “Voke” as he’s called—a session that mirrors the process he takes the best players in the world through—and a set of four wedges built for you that can be customised down to color of label and stamping. Spots are limited, and you have to book the session months in advance. After our initial show-and-tell lesson, it’s time to go outside to the real classroom, a beautiful grass range that is an oasis in an industrial park. I hit wedge after wedge as Vokey watches where the shots go. More importantly, he uses a monitor to look at things like my swing path and how I’m digging into the turf. Every few swings I’m handed a new or tweaked club as we test different grinds, shafts and bounces. It’s similar to other clubfittings I’ve done except for the fantastic tales Vokey shares. Also, those other fittings were never interrupted by 11-time tour winner Scott Hoch calling to ask for a new set of wedges. Get in line,

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Scott! It’s my turn. Despite being nervous to hit shots in front of one of the most famous clubmakers in history, I feel at ease with Vokey, who turns 82 this year, because of his infectious energy and positivity. “I’m the highest-paid club washer around!” he says while wiping a wedge down between shots. I’m most excited to fine-tune the specs on a 60-degree. It’s my favourite, to the point I half-jokingly refer to myself as “Mr. 60” around the Golf Digest office. In any event, the process is fun and fruitful as we find a combination that works enough for me to become the first person to hole a 40-yard shot from a particular location. By that point during the three-hour session, I had already decided to heed Vokey’s advice to diversify my portfolio of shots around the green by not just using my favourite club all the time. In Bob I trust. After receiving my clubs a few weeks later, I couldn’t wait to put them in play. In just the second round with my new favourite toys, I holed a difficult pitch with my shiny 60. As I grinned from ear to ear, I couldn’t help thinking that I wish Voke was here to see it. The real Mr. 60 would have been even happier. name: rabbi marc gellman, 74 handicap: 15 type of fitting: full bag, remote

A rabbi finds virtual (golf ) salvation ▶ Let’s get one thing straight. It is the archer not the arrows. Lee Trevino was legendary in his young days for beating guys for money by hitting the ball with only a Dr Pepper bottle. Great story, but for mere mortals even a bag of Dr Pepper bottles is not going to do the job. The arrows matter, and here is why: You probably can’t do much to change your swing, but you can change your sticks so that they fit your swing, and this makes a difference you can see and feel.

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launch angle and spin rate and landing angle and the confluence My story: Two new knees and an assortment of health issues of Saturn and Jupiter have made the choices close to infinite. The kept me from the game for almost 10 years, but thanks to God and conventional wisdom is that in-person fittings are the most thora team of doctors and physical therapists, I’m healthier than I have ough option for clubfitting because you get a chance to hit the been in years. It was time to return to the game I love and hate and shaft/clubhead combination you are considering. After experiencmostly adore. Through the kindness of my pals at Golf Digest, I ing telefitting, I’m not sure I agree. I’m betting that telefitting is was hooked up with master fitter James Lee III at Ping for a full bag. Clubfitting is always a hit-and-miss proposition. Success obvi- the best option for most of us. For example, I can’t repeat the same swing 40 or 50 times to get a fair comparison between clubs. I’m ously depends on the skill of the fitter, and like great surgeons (and also a victim of club lust. At one point I tried to get James to fit great rabbis) there aren’t that many truly great ones around. me for some Ping Blueprints, which are sexy muscle-back blades Finding a great clubfitter is like shopping for a therapist. You played by Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen, Tony Finau and a know you are screwed up, but it’s very hard to find a person who bunch of other super-elite, super-human golfers. I’m clearly not can unscrew you. All this is a truly daunting task, but it’s worth a them, but I’m prone to human desires. What I needed was a fitter/ bit of time and diligence to seek out people who are dedicated to therapist who could get me to listen to the truth about what tools the complex task of fitting arrows to archers. COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into every normal endeavor, my body needs to golf the way it can right now. Like the painful breakup of that first high-school crush, this is a message better and clubfitting is no exception. Companies like Ping are thinking of fitting in a COVID-inspired but truly creative and remote way. received long distance. Our therapy/fitting session also allowed James to gently guide me toward the virtues of a 9-wood, which Ping’s master fitters are set up on a Zoom site so that each fitter my inflated ego could never have accepted previously but now I can do several fittings a day remotely. They call it telefitting. I find exhilarating. Proper terminology also helps. My new 40-gram signed up for a session armed with the basic measurements of ulralight graphite shafts are labeled SR, which no longer means my decrepit body, a video I took of my swing from a face-on and side-on view and some other stuff like my favourite ice cream “senior” but “soft regular.” Yes, I’m playing gender-neutral golf shafts, and my ego and game are better for it. flavor and novel (Rocky Road and Moby Dick). The hard part? I So I say that remote telefitting sessions from any major club had to accept what my swing really looks like now. All this information lets good fitters know, remotely and with brutal honesty, manufacturer or golf-fitting company that offers the service are not just easy but desirable. You are trading the immediate advice what they are dealing with. James, a truly charming, patient and of a salesperson for the remote advice of an expert. For me, it was wise man, took me through all the numbers and choices, some of which were critical and did not show up on any swing monitor. a good trade. James was terrific and was firmly resistant to my preconceptions and bad ideas. I now trust him with my deepest Example: “Do you really need a 3-wood when you don’t hit it well secrets. Next week I’m calling James for a wedge consult and for off the deck?” Touché, James. Touché. Even with videos and data, clubfitting is a mix of art and science. his take on the meaning of my latest dream: I’m playing golf with a bagful of Dr Pepper bottles. The possible combinations of shafts and clubs and loft and lie and

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J.D. cuban

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A DRIVER MADE JUST FOR YOU

drivers

t h e b i g g e s t h i t s h a p p e n o n ly w h e n y o u f i n d a d r i v e r t h at m at c h e s yo u r n e e d s . w e c o n s i d e r e d 2 4 e n t r i e s ; 1 4 m a d e t h e l i s t. ▶ Using adjustable hosels and countless movable-weight settings, equipment designers have been trying to invent the perfect driver that could fit everyone. Turns out even with the infinite possibilities of adjustability, drivers can never be one-size-fits-all. Highly specialised models are the best way to address your shortcomings. That’s why this year’s Hot List features almost as many drivers targeting anti-slice needs as it does those touting low spin for tourlevel swing speeds. The same inner workings that benefit the skills of the best of us transmogrify to remedy the flaws in the worst of us—all without sacrificing looks. Titanium faces are uniquely engineered for each loft, and driver crowns are lighter so that more weight can be repositioned one way for one kind of golfer and the opposite way for another. Even adjustability can be tailored to a scratch golfer’s flight window and the hack’s barn door. This progress has shown us that though the big hit is back, the big miss is fading. The search for a driver built only for you just got easier. ▶

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march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

drivers

ma x ls

speed

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“The more muted sound doesn’t match the explosive carry. Pure and cushioned feel when hit most anywhere offcentre. The rounded toe envelops the ball.” c a l l away

RRP AED 2,495

EPIC MAX • MAX LS • SPEED

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

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look • sound • feel

★★★★½ demand

★★★★★

▶ The technology that launched 2017’s GBB Epic, Callaway’s most successful driver in two decades, receives a makeover for 2021 using artificial intelligence. The “jailbreak” tech—internal twin vertical bars near the face that join and stiffen the crown and sole—covers a wider area with horizontal brackets to expand the stiffness of the entire body. The objective is to concentrate all the flexing in the face for more ball speed across a larger zone. This flexible face also gets the A.I. treatment with some counterintuitive thickness patterns that required computer simulations to identify. The three clubheads try to address the needs of different player types: The Max is the most forgiving and is designed to have the highest launch. Conversely, the Max LS launches the ball lower with less spin. Both the Max and Max LS have a sliding rear weight: The Max has more room in the heel for a draw bias, and the Max LS is easier to adjust for a fade. The aerodynamic-shaped Speed has the same forward centre of gravity as last year’s Mavrik but with extra forgiveness for off-centre strikes. l o f t s 9 , 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ( m a x , s p e e d ) ; 9 , 1 0 . 5 ( m a x l s ) ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

52 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

Photograph by First Lastname Listed alphabetically

in association with

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“The matte black and gunmetal finish on the front makes it easy to set up at address. The lightweight feel doesn’t take away from the power at impact: I was able to generate more speed.” cobra

RRP AED 2,095

RADSPEED • XB • XD

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★½ demand

★★★★

▶ A single driver, no matter how much adjustability it has, can’t address every player’s need. Cobra, in fact, believes adjustability should be used more strategically. That’s why it developed three models that take saved weight and push it selectively toward locations at the front, rear or heel to solve three distinct challenges. Cobra’s Radspeed, the standard model, features 70 percent of the weight forward for better players who want low spin and maximum energy transfer on centre hits. The XB pushes almost three-fourths of its discretionary mass toward the rear to provide maximum forgiveness on off-centre hits. The XD has a weight slug toward the heel to create a draw bias so that slicers can find the fairway more often. A slick new carbon-composite layer (now about half the thickness of a credit card) wraps around a strip of titanium in the centre of the crown and covers half the club’s surface area. Computer milling ensures the tightest tolerances on the curves in the face that help optimise launch, spin and dispersion on mis-hits. l o f t s 9 , 1 0 . 5 ( r a d s p e e d ) ; 9 , 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ( x b ) ; 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ( x d ) ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

Photograph by First Lastname

Photographs march 2021by| Dom golfdigestme.com Furore and Ben Walton 53

drivers

st-x

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“Every shot felt like I flushed it, even when I knew I didn’t. The ball really springs off the deep, responsive face. The head looks and feels light and smooth.”

mizuno

RRP AED 2,095

ST-Z • ST-X

performance

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★½ demand

★★

▶ These two drivers benefit from large, lightweight carbon-fiber sections on the top and on the sole to produce different ball flights and to resolve various performance challenges. The way this works is that the lightweight carbon-fiber panels reposition each driver’s centre of gravity. The ST-Z features sections in the sole’s heel and toe that lower the CG to produce a neutral ball flight with lower spin and maximum forgiveness on off-centre hits. The ST-X boasts a larger panel stretching across the toe and centre of the sole. This leaves a heavier, all-titanium section concentrated in the heel. The heel bias is bolstered by an 11-gram fixed weight screw that helps slicers return the clubface to square at impact. (A lightweight option on the ST-X includes a sub-40-gram shaft.) A forged superalloy titanium face insert features a new variable-thickness pattern for better flexing on off-centre strikes, and the wave shape in the sole extends the hottest area to include impacts lower on the face. l o f t s 9 . 5 , 1 0 . 5 ( s t - z ) ; 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ( s t - x ) ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

54 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

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in association with

LST

SFT

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“The ribs on top draw your eye to the ball, and I love the feel and pleasing click at impact. The adjustability let me dial in my ideal launch and spin rate.” ping

RRP AED 2,850

G425 MAX • SFT • LST

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★★ demand

★★★★½

▶ Drivers that push size and shape to the extreme for maximum forgiveness have one key drawback: They don’t have enough mass left to let you adjust the centre of gravity. Conversely, drivers with adjustable weights don’t leave enough mass to pursue forgiveness. Pish posh, say Ping’s engineers, who design some of the most stable drivers in golf. Their latest models boast the company’s highest moment of inertia, which quantifies the club’s stability on off-centre hits, and a 26-gram movable weight (on the Max version) that’s 63 percent higher than its predecessor, the G410 Plus. How can that be? The key is reducing the structure of the all-titanium body, particularly up top. Using an internal web of ribs, the crown gets as thin as three dollar bills stacked on top of each other, lowering the CG compared to previous Ping drivers. That’s especially true in the low-spin LST version, which helps faster players produce a flatter trajectory. Meanwhile, slicers will benefit from 23 grams slugged in the heel on the SFT model, which also is lighter to make it easier to control. l o f t s 9 , 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ( m a x ) ; 1 0 . 5 ( s f t ) ; 9 , 1 0 . 5 ( l s t ) ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

Photograph by First Lastname

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

drivers

0811 x+ proto

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“I love the shape, size and finish. Easy to square and one of those clubs that’s very stable. I was even confident enough to choke down and hit it off the fairway.”

pxg

RRP AED 3,695

0811 X PROTO • 0811 X+ PROTO

performance

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★½ demand

★★★

▶ Originally offered last spring as a limited run of prototypes for PGA Tour players, these two drivers resonated because they meet the needs of two swing types. Now they have evolved to incorporate material changes to the face and crown that bring better ball speed, more efficient launch conditions and greater forgiveness. The theory is that golfers swing downward or upward into the ball. Those with a downward strike produce too much spin, and the X model lowers spin because of its lower face height and lower centre of gravity. Players with an upward attack angle need more spin to keep the ball in the air to maximise distance. The X+ with its higher crown and higher launch fits this player. Both clubs use a faster-flexing titanium-alloy face for better ball speed and lower spin. Meanwhile, the crown mixes a centre wedge of lightweight carbon fiber flanked by titanium. The lightweight composite saves weight, and the stiffer titanium braces the body so that the face springs more effectively. l o f t s 9 ( x ) ; 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ( x + ) ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

56 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

Photograph by First Lastname Listed alphabetically

in association with

zx5

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“The feel is soft and compact, but the ball still came out hot. Great carbon-fiber blend and sharp red lines. Plays both draws and fades easily.”

s r i xo n ZX7 • ZX5

performance

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★ demand

★★½

RRP AED 2,245 • RRP AED 2,095

▶ When Srixon talks about the big changes to its drivers this year, it’s not about overt shape transformations or new materials culled from the rings of Saturn. No, these changes are measured in tenths of a millimeter, but they fundamentally alter how much flex is in the clubface. The funny thing is, making the club progressively thinner, softening certain curves and reformulating layers have nothing to do with the face itself. It’s what the company calls its “Rebound Frame,” which makes the face flex more by changing the stiffness around the face. This approach includes a 30 percent thinner section at the front of the crown, a strip of a thinner titanium alloy around the frame for extra flex and a larger carbon-fiber crown and internal sole ribs that add rigidity. The ZX7 features a more penetrating, lower-spinning trajectory combined with adjustable weights in the heel and toe to tweak the centre of gravity. The ZX5 stretches longer front to back for more forgiveness on off-centre hits and a higher flight. l o f t s 9 . 5 , 1 0 . 5 ( z x 7 ) ; 9 . 5 , 1 0 . 5 ( z x 5 ) ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

Photograph by First Lastname

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

drivers

sim2 ma x d

sim2 ma x

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“The crisp graphics help the club look smaller and more nimble at address. Clean sound and feel. The club isn’t heavy but still felt meaty. I even saw higher swing speeds.” tay l o r m a d e

RRP AED 2,475

SIM2 • MAX • MAX•D

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★½ demand

★★★★★

▶ Known for their aerodynamically angled sole, the SIM drivers of last year changed how shape improves speed. This update of the SIM platform is a fundamental change in how that head is made. The goal is to increase forgiveness for three types of players through a construction that eliminates titanium from everywhere except the face and replaces it almost entirely with lightweight carbon fiber. This frees up more mass to be redistributed so that the lowspin (SIM2), mid-launch (SIM2 Max) or anti-slice (SIM2 Max D) users get more bang at impact, wherever that impact might be. First, two carbon-fiber shells form the top and bottom to save weight. They are joined by a light, forged-aluminum ring that circles the perimeter and locks into a titanium cupface that has a variable thickness precisely milled in the back. Finally, the tungsten weight in the angled keel is heavier and farther back than before to stabilise offcentre hits. The design features a more responsive sole slot and a resin injected behind the face to push the springlike-effect limits. l o f t s 8 , 9 , 1 0 . 5 ( s i m 2 ) ; 9 , 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ( m a x ) ; 9 , 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ( m a x d ) ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

58 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

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in association with

tsi2

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“A classic pear shape that’s still stable at impact. It has the same sound all over the face. Instills confidence at address to swing hard and watch it go straight.” titleist

RRP AED 2,825

TSi3 • TSi2

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★★ demand

★★★★½

▶ How much better can titanium be? Titleist went to Mars to find out. These drivers use a titanium alloy (ATI 425) in the face originally developed for NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander. In other words, it’s light, flexible, strong and resilient—just the right material to smash a golf ball. This alloy’s strength-to-weight ratio allowed the designers to pursue a more aggressive variable-thickness face to get more distance. Ball speed is great, of course, but using a lighter material improves the forgiveness in these heads, too: The deeper and lower centre of gravity offers increased stability on strikes toward the heel and toe and low and high. The result is consistent spin and launch conditions for a more efficient ball flight—even on less-efficient impacts. Titleist made aerodynamic shaping a priority for both heads, but each features a different look and focus. The TSi2’s larger shape speaks to its overall forgiveness and higher launch. The more compact, flatter-launching TSi3 uses its extra mass in an eight-gram rear perimeter weight chip that fits into five settings. l o f t s 8 , 9 , 1 0 , 1 1 ( t s i 2 , t s i 3 ) ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

Photograph by First Lastname

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

drivers

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“The colors camouflaged a head I’d normally find big. Good swings got great results; bad swings stayed in play. Power draws for a fader like me. The energetic feel inspired confidence.” c a l l away

RRP AED 2,350

BIG BERTHA B21

performance

★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★ demand

★★★½

▶ Callaway engineers admit that designing a driver for the average golfer—the cut-across-it slicer who could benefit from any change— is more difficult than trying to squeeze out a few more yards for a good player. Average golfers battle so many problems that the solution for one might work against solving another. The B21 tackles the challenge by rethinking shape and weighting. For example, low spin might be vital for elite, fast-swinging players, but it could also help bad golfers who generate too much distance-robbing spin, especially sidespin. That’s why weight is concentrated forward to lower the centre of gravity for less spin. (The confidence-inspiring face is the largest in Callaway’s lineup, designed with input from artificial intelligence.) But front-weighting works against stability on off-centre hits, so the B21 uses a light, carbon-fiber crown to save weight that can be pushed to the extremes of its oversize triangular shape. Using this saved weight in the heel along with a 45-gram shaft can help average golfers square the face, too. l o f t s 9 , 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 . 5 ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

60 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

Photograph by First Lastname Listed alphabetically

in association with

dr aw

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“Serious and mean in look and results—metallic without sounding tinny. Consistent distance and trajectory even on less-than-ideal swings.” clevel and

RRP AED 1,499

LAUNCHER HB TURBO • DRAW

performance

★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★ demand

★★★

▶ These drivers are dedicated to the principle that if you strip away the sexier technologies of recent years (adjustable hosels, movable weights, channels, slots and bars), you have a lot more mass to play with to produce the kind of forgiveness that regular golfers need. Lose those non-essential features and Cleveland’s team says it saves some 35 grams in this design, resulting in a stable, lower-spinning head. The key is a large internal weight pad that is placed low and deep against the back of the head. Further lowering the centre of gravity is the way the crown steps down from the topline. This design makes the head more rigid so that the face rebounds more effectively on mis-hits, especially higher up. In addition, using a cupface design that wraps around the crown and sole creates a larger trampoline for extra spring on mis-hits. Rather than creating an anti-slice version that pushes excessive weight into the heel at the expense of overall off-centre-hit performance, the draw version tweaks the face angle closed while still keeping the CG deep for forgiveness. l o f t s 9 , 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ( h b t u r b o ) ; 1 0 . 5 ( d r a w ) ; n o n - a d j u s ta b l e

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

Photograph by First Lastname

march 2021 | golfdigestme.com

in association with

drivers

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“Very solid, unified feel coming through with lively feedback at impact. Crisp, meaty sound. Feels easy to draw or cut. Ball speed and carry are consistent, and dispersion is minimal.” honma

RRP AED 3,195

T//WORLD GS

performance

★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★½ demand

★

▶ The logic behind a channel in the sole to improve the way the face flexes has been established. But Honma rethought the slot’s overall function. Instead of a straight slot running heel to toe, this channel bends at an angle on the toe side, sort of like a crankshaft. The slot gets wider and deeper in this section to provide an extra boost where the face needs more help transferring energy to the ball. The shape also helps toe hits curve back toward the centre. This is just one way to make your worst hits better. There’s also the light and thin crown, which is not carbon fiber but titanium that is thinner than the lead in a mechanical pencil. The thinking is that titanium’s superior stiffness concentrates more flexing in the face. Meanwhile, beyond the slot there’s more help on the sole for mis-hits. A tungsten weight chip provides a deeper centre of gravity for more stability, and its placement toward the heel makes closing the face easier. The rotating hosel adjusts loft, lie and face angle while keeping the shaft’s orientation unchanged for more consistent performance. l o f t s 9 . 5 , 1 0 . 5 , 1 1 . 5 ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

62 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

Photograph by First Lastname Listed alphabetically

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in association with

drivers

p l ay e r c o m m e n t

“The modern gray-black matte finish feels aggressive. Robust sound and pure feel even on mis-hits. Great mid-height ball flight, not too much spin.”

pxg

RRP AED 1,995

0211

performance

★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★½ demand

★★★

▶ This PXG driver doesn’t have the adjustable sole weighting that is prominently featured on other PXG drivers, but it’s not missing much else. What’s here are all the features for faster ball speed, less spin and full-face forgiveness—all without the usual ultra-premium PXG price. The face is made of a titanium alloy that generates more springlike effect, and the crown has a carbon-fiber centre section that saves weight that is then repositioned low and on the perimeter for extra stability on off-centre strikes. The titanium toe, heel and front sections of the crown stiffen the transition area surrounding the face so that more energy can be delivered into the ball. The rails in the sole are designed to control vibration at impact and further lower the centre of gravity to reduce spin. A backweight in the sole further enhances forgiveness on off-centre hits, and it can be tweaked with one of eight screw weights to create a heavier, more forgiving head or a lighter one that’s easier to swing. l o f t s 9 , 1 0 . 5 , 1 2 ; a d j u s ta b l e

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

64 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

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66 golfdigestme.com | march 2021

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