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june • 2021

Tee Sheet 06/21

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

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▶ l a s t s ta n d the u.s. open will see the end of a design era in major championship golf

Features cover 32 The Genius of Jordan Spieth The clever way he found his swing could be a model for you, too.

39 Drive, Blast, Putt Pro tips on three key scoring shots.

BY JORDAN SPIETH

42 The Last Stand of Rees Jones The added significance of this year’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

BY DEREK DUNCAN

6 Editor’s Letter Phil Mickelson’s Kiawah Island triumph has inspired a gameimprovement awakening.

The Starter 8 The Nairn Golf Club There will be keen UAE interest when this famed Scottish links hosts the 126th Amateur Championship.

BY KENT GRAY

12 Year of the Comeback The defining thread of 2020-’21.

20 Swing Sequence My approach to stance width and shot-shaping.

BY JOHN FEINSTEIN

BY COLLIN MORIKAWA

14 It’s Time to Play & Stay We’ve turned the traditional Stay & Play on its head.

24 Pain Gains Beware the injured golfer?

Let’s not even go there.

BY RUSSELL PHILLIPS

18 Tempting Entrée Former Lions scrumhalf Mike Phillips is a starter for the EAGL’s big dress-rehearsal.

BY KENT GRAY

be at 1 28 Stroke Index 1 Tame the 18th hole at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

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Hot List 2021 part 4 55 Irons Ask “Who are you” to start to your iron search.

BY MATTHEW BROOKES

Play 10 Take 5 Your lame excuses for not warming-up pre-round or range session? Gone forever.

BY MATTHEW BROOKES

30 What’s In My Bag Will Zalatoris.

WITH E. MICHAEL JOHNSON

66

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66 Undercover Caddie The true toll of looping on tour.

WITH JOEL BEALL

56 Game Improvement Helping golfers get the distance, shot height and feel they want.

62 Super Game Improvement Creating a set of irons designed to disguise flaws.

Cover photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

royal st. george’s: david cannon/getty images • spieth: walter iooss jr. • illustration: freak city • iron: dom furore

BY RON KASPRISKE

Editor’s Letter

For the Ages KENT GRAY kent.gray@motivate.ae • Twitter: @KentGrayGolf / @GolfDigestME

IR NICK FALDO’S A Swing for Life has been submissively swung open after being condemned to a life of dust collection for too long. Mark my words, Sir Nick’s sage words won’t be returned to my treasured golf library either until my grim midlife crisis is solved, nor before the bookshelf is thoroughly dusted, apparently.

Phil Mickelson is entirely responsible for this despairing journey of self-improvement.

See, my short game is absolutely and utterly horrendous and Lefty has inspired me to finally do something about it. When I say bad, I mean worse than beginner level which makes me wonder what I’ve been doing with my life the past 40 years. It’s never been great but just lately it’s got to the point where I’m a serious candidate to meet Tyrrell Hatton at an Angry Golfers (not so) Anonymous meeting.

I fancy my chances with a 3-iron from 200 yards more than I do with a wedge from a perfectly fluffy lie with no more than a yard or two of completely defenceless fringe to negotiate. The prospect of having to get my ball up and over a bunker gives me cold sweats.

Land it soft? Yip, I saw that on TV once. An escape from a bunker? Yikes. Around every corner of every green a card-wrecking shot bladed into oblivion or an equally demoralising flub lurks.

And then Lefty goes and wins the 103rd PGA Championship and inspires middle-aged blokes with aches and pains and involuntary wedge spasms everywhere.

“There’s no reason why you can’t accomplish your goals later in life… it just takes a little more work.”

Given I struggle to activate my calves getting up off a chair, have never been accused of hitting bombs and couldn’t possibly get away with sporting Lefty’s retro shades, I’ve pretty much accepted a major championship is beyond me now. But if Phil the Thrill reckons a little hard yakka is all it takes, I’m all in. My lofty goal?

To hit chips and pitches somewhere remotely close to the middle of the clubface more often than not.

Because Lefty is a bit busy right now, I’ve re-engaged Sir Nick to work on my short game shortcomings with his wise musings. So far, so good. After consuming chapter 8 - Chipping and Pitching, My Short-Game System –no less than six up and downs followed in my next round. There was ample misery in between but at least now I have a technique to cling to and hone. I’m so excited, I might even go out and practice instead of trying to

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figure it out mid-round. Round after frustrating round.

It’s ridiculous that I haven’t sought help earlier.

Phil’s win in a tournament that honours the men and women of the PGA of America is a timely reminder for anyone struggling with any part of their game to seek out one of the hard working members of our very own UAE PGA. We don’t normally do plugs in these pages but know that new Al Hamra teaching professional Malcolm Young has transformed the author’s putting while a simple takeaway tip in the April issue from Dubai Creek’s Euan Bowden has suddenly produced mid and long iron ball-striking that makes the inability to find the middle of the clubface with a simple little pitch even more confounding.

So book a lesson and read on in these pages to invest in your future happiness. Phil promises it will be time well spent.

“This is so much fun it’s worth the effort, worth the hard work it takes to be in this position,” Mickelson said after eclipsing Julius Boros as the oldest major champion. Who are we to argue with 50 years, 11 months and eight days of experience and increasingly brilliant Phil-isms?

Seriously, how cool was Lefty’s sixth major triumph?

As seismic as Hideki Matsuyama’s Masters win was for the global game, Mickelson’s win for the ages was an awakening. Even hobbled Tiger was “truly inspired”. The golf ball really doesn’t care how old you are.

We arrived in South Carolina talking about the potential of this month’s cover star Jordan Spieth claiming the grand slam. We left marvelling about the potential of a grand slam for Lefty at fabled Torrey Pines.

Normal service will surely resume with the young bomb and gouge brigade set to dominate the U.S. Open. But if you believe in fairytales, and why not after Augusta and Kiawah, then don’t be surprised if Mickelson consigns his six previous U.S. Open runner-up finishes to history with back-to-back, Phil being Phil major wins. And after Lefty’s glorious grand slam, Lee Westwood will be rewarded for a life’s great work with a breakthrough claret jug at Royal St. George’s.

Sure, dreams are free. But then, “…it just takes a little more work.”

I’m off to the practice green then, after digesting a few more pages of Sir Nick’s wisdom. Or perhaps it’s time for the book next door, Gary Player’s Don’t Choke.

Not even Phil said this was going to be easy.

“It’s a timely reminder for anyone struggling to seek out one of our very own UAE PGA teaching professionals.”

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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 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

Scan the QR Code to read, download and share the latest, and back issues, of Golf Digest Middle East.

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GOLF DIGEST and HOW TO PLAY, WHAT TO PLAY, WHERE TO PLAY are registered trademarks of Discovery Golf, Inc. Copyright © 2021 Discovery Golf, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Volume 72, Issue 2. GOLF DIGEST (ISSN 0017-176X) is published eight times a year by Discovery Golf, Inc. Principal office: Golf Digest, 1180 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10036. Discovery Golf, Inc.: Alex Kaplan, President & GM; Gunnar Wiedenfels, Chief Financial Officer. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and at additional mailing offices.

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8 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

The Nairn Golf Club There will be keen UAE interest when this famed Scottish links hosts the 126th Amateur Championship

BY KENT GRAY

ld tom morris, five-time Open champion James Braid and famed course and equipment designer Ben Sayers all played a role in the sculpting and development of The Nairn Golf Club which is set to host The Amateur from June 14-19.

With views across the Moray Firth to Black Isle and gorse as menacing a hazard as the wind, the COVID-19 reduced field including Dubai-based England age-group international Josh Hill, are in for an exacting test of golf in a championship where starts in The Open, The U.S. Open and the 2022 Masters will be on the line. The Nairn G.C., in the Highland council area 27km east of Inverness, was founded in 1887, two years after the inaugural Amateur Championship won by Scot Allan Macfie at Royal Liverpool. Englishman John Ball holds the record for most wins with eight while former champions include Bobby Jones, José María Olazábal and Sergio Garcia. nairngolfclub.co.uk

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Photograph by David Cannon/Getty Images

Play Pre-round prep with Matthew Brookes

Take 5 It’s hot but that’s no excuse not to warm-up before every round and range session T’S SO IMPORTANT to warm up for your round or range session and I see so few people do so. Hitting a golf ball requires the same amount of muscle contraction as doing a three rep max in the gym and you wouldn’t do that without a warm-up. It’s been proven that doing dynamic exercises or even better, resistant band exercises, before hitting balls can greatly prevent injuries and even increase distance.

Here are five simple exercises you can complete before you next play to help get into the swing of things from the get-go.

Best of all, all you need is a golf club.

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

club hinge

joachim guay

Starting in a tall standing position with the club being held in contact with your chest and stomach, relax the knees a fraction and hinge from the hip until the club sticks out between your legs.

Creating a “tail” is the reference to look for to ensure you’re at the correct angle.

“Dynamic exercises before hitting balls can prevent injuries greatly and even increase distance.” single leg balance with torso rotation In golf posture on one leg and with a club across your shoulders, rotate your shoulders, whilst keeping your balance.

overhead extension Starting in golf posture holding onto the club at each end, raise your arms above your head for set reps with a smooth controlled movement.

lateral leg swings assisted deep squat Starting in golf posture, have a long iron in front of you and apply a downward force into the ground through the club. This will help engage the core and keep you more stable during the exercise.

Then squat down as deep as you can, keeping the chest tall and preventing the knees from dropping inwards towards each other.

Using a club for balance, swing one leg across the front of the body between the club and your other leg.

Matthew Brookes is a PGA teaching professional and golf specific fitness trainer at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht club’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai.

▶ victory at last Lydia Ko wondered if she would win again.

On Tour by John Feinstein

Play

Other sports don’t allow slumpers to linger.

Year of the Comeback Tour pros of all ages are rediscovering their mojo E HAVE WITNESSED tournaments without fans—which gave us, if nothing else, a break from screams of, “Get in the hole!” Perhaps in an act of karmic grace, we have witnessed what can best be described as “The Year of the Comeback.” They are familiar names to anyone who follows golf: Lydia Ko, Jordan Spieth, Stewart Cink, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Mike Weir, Hideki Matsuyama, Ariya Jutanugarn. And Lefty.

julio aguil ar/getty images

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All are major champions. All have endured droughts, some bad enough to draw whispers—loud ones in a few cases—that they might not win again.

Cink’s last victory had been the 2009 Open Championship (which is best remembered for Tom Watson not winning at 59), and Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, had not won in 13 years.

Ko and Spieth were the biggest mysteries to those who think they understand golf. Ko won on the LPGA Tour in 2012 at age 15. She won two majors by age 17 and was No. 1 in the world for 84 weeks. When she won the LPGA Medheal Championship in April 2018—five days after turning 21—she had 15 LPGA Tour victories. Then her game—shockingly—went south.

She went through the usual changes that players often make when they struggle: She changed swing coaches and caddies. She bottomed in August of last year when her World Ranking fell to 55. But then something started to click. She had nine top-10s in 15 starts. Finally, in April she shot 65 in the final round of the Lotte Championship to win by seven shots.

Ko, 24, was dazzlingly honest after her victory when she talked about not winning. “When it doesn’t happen, you do doubt yourself,” she said. “If I said I didn’t doubt myself at all, it would be a lie. I wondered if I’d ever be back in the winner’s circle.”

Spieth traveled a similar path. He won the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open at 21 and the Open Championship two years later. Then, having won 11 times

on the PGA Tour and ranked No. 1 for 44 weeks, he stopped winning after 2017, hardly contending.

Spieth then found a spark this year with three top-fives before winning the Valero Texas Open in April. Like Ko, Spieth was candid about his struggles: “There were a lot of times I wondered if I’d be here,” he said. Then he hedged: “I never doubted in myself to get to where I wanted to go.” Then back to fully candid Jordan: “A lot of times it’s hard to see the positive going forward.”

Great players rarely doubt themselves publicly when they aren’t playing well. Privately is different, especially when you have won a lot and stop winning. Golf is unique in that a player can go years without winning and still be around to win again. Other sports don’t allow slumpers to linger.

Cink, 47, began the comebacks with a victory in September at the Safeway Open and again at the RBC Heritage in April. He’s at an age when most guys are thinking about playing with the 50-and-older set. No doubt his game was affected by wife Lisa’s battle with breast cancer, and her recovery is surely connected to his renaissance.

Garcia’s win at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October, at 40, was his first on the PGA Tour since his dramatic victory at the 2017 Masters.

Jutanugarn ended her winless streak in May, the first victory in almost three years for the former world No. 1. Weir, 50, won on the PGA Tour Champions in May for his first victory since 2007.

There are many reasons why out-

standing players lose their way. Ko and Spieth likely had too much thrown at them because they were so good so young. They might benefit from being reminded that, “There’s a reason why golf is a four-letter word” as Greg Norman put it so eloquently years ago.

Koepka and McIlroy are both fourtime major champions who should be entering their peak years. Koepka won the PGA in 2019, meaning he had won four of eight majors in two years. Then injuries intervened, and he stopped winning. Koepka ended his 18-month winless streak in February but is again dealing with knee problems.

McIlroy’s winless string dated only to 2019. But he hit a nadir unlike any in his career when he missed the cut at the 2021 Players and Masters. McIlroy admitted he had made a mistake by trying to hit the ball farther after watching Bryson DeChambeau overpower Winged Foot to win the U.S. Open last fall. The honesty wasn’t a surprise; the mental mistake was stunning.

Then there is Matsuyama. In 2017, at age 25, he had five PGA Tour titles and 13 victories worldwide. Then he stopped winning. But on Saturday at this year’s Masters, Matsuyama shot 65 to take control of the tournament and hung on to become the first Japanese man to win a major championship.

McIlroy distills what they’ve all been through in three simple words: “Winning is hard,” he said after winning in May for his 19th PGA Tour victory. Perhaps that’s the lesson.

All golfers—from weekend hackers through Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Kathy Whitworth (who won 88 times)—go through periods when it’s hard to play their best. The reasons might be different, but the feeling when you find a way to win again is the same, as best explained by McIlroy. “Relief, And satisfaction.” june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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THE GOLF STAYCATION PERFECTED

Golf Digest Middle East’s inaugural Play & Stay is coming to Radisson Dubai DAMAC Hills and Trump Dubai An 18-hole tournament on Friday washed down with a sumptuous post-round brunch before a blissful overnight stay at Dubai’s swishest new hotel. Wake up to breakfast and a late check-out too? ▶ Yes, you have come to the right place for the perfect UAE golf staycation. ▶ Golf Digest Middle East, in association with Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills, are hosting their first ever Play & Stay on June 11-12.

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For just AED999, you and a friend (twin share or double) will enjoy a one night stay at Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills and joyful play at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai. The price covers one spot in the Golf Digest Middle East tournament so is perfect for couples – non-golfers can chill at Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills’ impressive new ‘The Hills Pool Deck’ and revitalise in the Dreamworks Spa while you are amassing stableford points at an impressive rate on Trump Dubai.

It’s no problem if you’re a couple that golf together or a pair of golfing pals looking for an epic weekend away either; both twin share or double rooms are available and a second spot in the tournament costs just AED 350.

Did we mention special activations from That Dubai Girl, beard trims from Bristles & Mane and fun challenges courtesy of our pals at TEPfactor? eGolf Megastore will also have a pop up store at the hotel for all your grab and go golfing necessities with special promotions on balls, gloves, caps, tees and other accessories. Get in.

Want more? Keep reading for all the nitty gritty.

The Play Opened just over four years ago, Trump International Golf Club, Dubai quickly found its way into the Golf Digest Middle East Top-10 courses ranking.

Home to 27-holes of challenging yet fun Gil Hanse-designed golf, state of the art game improvement facilities and an array of golf retail and dining options, Trump Dubai is playing host to the individual stableford tournament with a 1.30 pm shotgun start.

There’s two divisions for both men and women – Div A for 0-12 handicappers and Div B for 13-24 handicappers) and the usual men’s and ladies longest drive and nearest the pin on course challenges. With eGolf Megastore supplying the prizes, you’re going to want to bring your A-game!

The Stay Sign up for the inaugural Golf Digest Middle East Play & Stay and you’ll be one for the first to stay at the new Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills. The hotel has been designed with an understated style, offering panoramic golf course views from many of the 481 rooms and suites. There are four dining outlets with Hessa Street Kitchen, the hotel’s Asian themed restaurant which serves tasty Indian curries and South East Asian culinary delights, at the heart of the weekend’s post-golf festivities.

Non-golfers will get a double dip at some serious poolside R&R and can avail a special discount in the elegant Dreamworks Spa. Fret not if you decide to golf on Friday though as the The Hills Pool Deck and Dreamworks Spa will also be available for you on Saturday courtesy of a specially negotiated late check-out.

We told you this was good! june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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THE ITINERARY FRIDAY, JUNE 11 10am Guest arrival and check in at Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills Pick up your wristband and orientation pack.

10:30am Prep, pamper and play Non-golfers can chill at the impressive new ‘The Hills Pool Deck’. Enjoy fun challenges courtesy of our pals at TEPfactor. That Dubai Girl Beauty bar will be offering complimentary treatments from some of Dubai’s best glam squads, beard trims by Bristles & Mane and neck and shoulder massages from Dreamworks Spa who are also offering 30 percent off full spa treatments throughout the weekend. eGolf Megastore will also have a pop up store with special promotions.

1:30pm Golf Digest Middle East 18-hole individual stableford at Trump International Golf Club Dubai (Shotgun start) 7:30pm to 10:30pm Evening Brunch for 2, Hessa Street Kitchen at Radisson Hotels Dubai DAMAC Hills Fill your boots at Dubai’s newest Asian brunch with unlimited drinks and a feast of food.

Later After party at either Hessa Street Kitchen, The Hills Pool Deck or FireLake Grill House Restaurant and Bar Head to any of the above three venues where you’ll get four free drinks tokens redeemable on selected drinks.

SATURDAY JUNE 12 6:30am to 11am Rouse and repair Breakfast for 2 at Hessa Street Kitchen, 30 percent discount at Dreamworks Spa 11am until late pm Sunshine sessions Special pool package at The Hills Pool Deck Up to 9pm Late check out Catch the Euro action being shown live in Fire Lake Grill House

The Pricing

999

The Golf Digest Middle East Play & Stay in partnership with Radisson Hotel Dubai DAMAC Hills FOR 2 PEOPLE is priced at AED999 for two people and includes one spot in the 18-hole tournament. If the second person wishes to tee it up as well, add AED350.

Spots in the golf staycation like no other are expected to sell fast, so jump online to secure your room now.

Book now at GolfDigestME.com/PlayAndStay 16 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

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emirates amateur golf league

Tempting Entrée

INDUSTRY IDENTITIES AND A FORMER SIX NATIONS STAR AMONG THE BIG NAMES ROLLED OUT FOR THE EAGL’S SUMMER DRESS-REHEARSAL

Phillips will lead the ‘European Seves’ in the June 20 event which is designed to showcase the ambitious new franchise-based amateur league slated for a November launch.

The one-day event will give the eight four-man teams a taste of the ‘tour pro experience’ the EAGL is promising later in the year. The event will be capped with a gala dinner and prize presentation, as well as a special UAE Golf Industry forum.

This against the backdrop of the final round of

The EAGL will raise the bar and set distinctive high standards for amateur golf in a pro-style setting.

18 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

the U.S. Open although the participants may be more interested in a reply of the two-hour live broadcast of the Mini-Series being promised for social media channels.

The brainchild of Dubai-based businessman Sudesh Aggarwal, the EAGL will offer businesses and individuals the opportunity to own a team franchise in a business model similar to that of the IPL. “Our vision is to give a new dimension to amateur golf in the UAE and create a tour that is at a different level to those in other countries,” said Aggarwal.

“The franchise model has not been seen before in golf and we are excited to be able to showcase this new approach. The series will create a business proposition that benefits corporates, investors and team owners in enhancing their marketing efforts through multiple event channels and on and off-course branding opportunities as

eagl: Joy Chakravarty • phillips (2): getty images

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mateur golf ’s answer to cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to be launched with a sprinkling of rugby star dust. ▶ Welsh Six Nations legend Mike Phillips has been named as one of the playing captains for this month’s Emirates Amateur Golf League (EAGL) Mini-Series on the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

European Seves captain Mike Phillips

Uniquely qualified ▶ By luring three-time Asian Tour winner

well as providing a platform for a truly world-class networking experience.”

The series proper, which is officially sanctioned by the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) and backed by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) and the Dubai Sports Council, boasts European Tour pro Shiv Kapur as its ambassador.

“The EAGL will raise the bar and set distinctive high standards for amateur golf in a pro-style setting where the competitors will be treated like Tour professionals for the day with bespoke team shirts, names on lockers, branded golf carts, valet parking, media coverage, on-course branding and more,” said EAGL League Administrator Priyaa Kumria.

“The league has been envisioned to take corporate golf to a new level and give those who take part a sense of what it feels like to play in a professional team event. This Mini-Series event will showcase many of the unique highlights the full series will feature later in the year.” – kent gray

The EAGL team have ambitious plans to raise the bar for corporate golf in Dubai and the UAE which should be applauded.

Shiv Kapur as an ambassador, the EAGL has already signalled the seriousness of the region’s ambitious new franchisebased amateur golf league. Nick Tarratt’s appointment as Tournament Director ahead of this month’s EAGL Mini-Series ups the ante further.

The former Director of the European Tour’s Middle East division, Tarratt’s involvement in golf administration dates back to the early 1980s when he started his career at The Belfry for the PGA. He was a key member of the 1985 Ryder Cup organising committee at the fabled Warwickshire resort and worked as an Official Referee during Europe’s historic 16½ - 11½ victory.

“We are delighted that Nick can join us with immediate effect for this exciting golf project,” said EAGL founder and CEO Sudesh Aggarwal. “Nick has huge and perhaps unique experience of organising golf events around the world, especially in Dubai…we are all excited by the commitment, passion and experience he will bring to our group.”

Tarratt will assist in all areas of planning as well as acting as the Rules Official and Senior Auditor of Handicaps for the tournament.“It’s great to be able to join the EAGL team and get back into mainstream golf,” said Tarratt.

“I have taken a sabbatical over the last two years for personal reasons and am returning fully energised, batteries recharged and excited to hit the ground running for this summer project. Sudesh and the EAGL team have ambitious plans to raise the bar for corporate golf in Dubai and the UAE which should be applauded.

“There is huge potential for the EAGL vision longer term and I’m sure it will be well received by players, sponsors and the golf industry in this pilot project.”

EAGL MINI-SERIES 2021 team

sponsors

captains

Abu Dhabi Roars Dubai Tigers English Roses Mena Golfers Indian Lions Emirates Players Asian Jumbos European Seves

Abu Dhabi Golf Club Dubai Sports Council Gulf News Worldwide Golf Khaleej Times Emirates Golf Federation ARN GE&E

Khalfan Al Kaabi Chris May Mark Rix Rick Bevan* Rajeev Khanna* Ismail Sharif* & Khalid Yousuf** Robbie Greenfield Mike Phillips

* Denotes non-playing captain, ** Denotes playing captain

june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

19

Play Tour Technique

Get Set Ball-striking success starts at address

BY COLLIN MORIKAWA

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MATEURS OFTEN STAND OVER THE BALL with their feet too wide apart. I understand the appeal—they want to feel more stable throughout the swing, and a wider stance seems a logical way to achieve that. Ever notice how many tour pros have both feet anchored to the ground at impact? Not everyone—some pros get up on their toes for more power—but most know having both feet planted is such a stable position when you’re swinging through the hitting zone. It helps provide consistency to ball-striking. ▶ That said, there is such a thing as being too wide. It hinders body rotation and truncates the swing. This is something my coach, Rick Sessinghaus, and I keep an eye on as it pops up periodically when I address the ball. When my stance is too wide, my tendency is to slide away from the ball in the backswing,

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“If your stance is too wide, you’ll struggle to rotate.”

rather than making a good turn off the ball with my upper body. Often this leads to my right hip sliding outside my right ankle during the backswing, or my right shoulder dropping too much and too far back, getting my swing out of sequence. The club gets blocked by my body in the downswing—we call this “being stuck”—and I leave the face a touch open to my target at impact. If you see me miss with a spinny shot to the right of the fairway or green, I was probably too wide at address.

When amateurs get too wide, their lower body gets locked off and they don’t rotate toward the target in the downswing like they should. The only way they can generate clubhead speed is with their arms. When you swing like that, you become too reliant on timing and the hope that you can get the clubface in a good position for a solid strike with your hands and wrists. Good luck trying to improve consistency.

So how should you stand over the ball? The key is to set your feet just

wide enough that you feel stable and balanced—but not so wide so that you can’t arrive at a fully rotated finish position with your belt buckle facing the target. For me, a good checkpoint with a middle iron is making sure that my feet are just a hair wider than my shoulders.

This gives me just enough width to keep my head and chest centred over the ball in the backswing, but I’m not so narrow that I can’t fire my hips through and arrive in a balanced finish with my lower body fully uncoiled.

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

Body Tour Technique

“You don’t need to make big changes to shape it.”

When I’m holding any wood, I stand a little wider, but again, not so wide that I feel locked down. If you’re going to err, a little too narrow is better than a little too wide. And you’ll know when you’re too narrow if you can’t maintain your balance during a practice swing.

Next time you’re hitting balls or waiting for your next shot on the course, take a second to note the width of your stance and adjust if it appears or feels a little off. It’s easy to forget about width of stance, but a simple tweak can turn your ball-striking around in a big way.

Changing topics, my go-to shot is a cut, and I’ll stick with it on the vast majority of tee shots. You might think pros are always shaping their shots to fit the hole—so for me, fades on dogleg rights and draws on dogleg lefts—but

22 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

I don’t know anyone who is equally comfortable shaping the ball both ways, and veering away from your stock shot can lead to a big miss. The one exception I’ll make is when it’s windy.

If it’s whipping off the left and there’s trouble down the right, I need to hit a shot that draws into the wind and holds its line. Hitting a cut into a 30-mph gust coming from the left is a bad idea.

Instead of manipulating my path or my swing to hit a draw, I alter my setup. We know from using launch monitors that to impart the right-toleft spin necessary for a draw, I need to aim my clubface where I want the ball to start and swing on a path that is open when compared to the face.

For righties like me, that combination makes the ball start right of the target

and then curve toward it, because the face is closed in relation to the path.

You can check that here at address (above, left). For my normal cut setup, you wouldn’t be able to see my left thigh or a sliver of my left arm from this view.

Here, my feet and shoulders are aligned a little right of my target and the clubface is set where I want the ball to start.

When it comes to the actual swing, I make an effort to move the club along my foot line, which makes my path in to out in relation to the target. If all you did was make this adjustment, you would draw the ball so long as your clubface is closed to that swing path at impact (above). You don’t need to make big changes to shape it. Simply alter your setup and swing along your body line.

—with daniel rapaport

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PAIN GAINS The old adage warns to beware the injured golfer.

Sure, but wouldn’t you much prefer to play on injury-free? If so, lend Russell Hill, the proud father of Middle East amateur No.1 Josh Hill, your attention. In the first of a two-part series, the osteopath specialising in golf at Optimal Fitness identifies the most common golf injuries, why and how they happen and how to prevent frustrating time on the sidelines.

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A

rnold palmer once famously described golf as “…deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.”

The same can be said for writing an article on golf injuries and trying to succinctly explain why they happen, what to do if you do get injured, how to prevent recurrence and importantly how best to avoid them altogether. My passion for keeping golfers on the fairways of the UAE means I’ll do my best to honour The King by summing up this complicated subject and offering simple solutions to playing on injury-free.

Perceived by outsiders as a gentle pursuit, golf is not a sport that many people associate with sports injuries. However,

Amateur Aches

INJURY BREAKDOWN: Pros v Joes

PROFESSIONALS Wrist/hand: 37% Low back: 24% Shoulder: 10% Elbow: 7% Knee: 7%

someone to these injuries. The golf swing is a highly explosive athletic movement that relies on the whole body moving in a powerful, fast and sequentially integrated fashion.

Movement occurs from the ground, to the feet and up into the knees, pelvis and spine and from the club head into the hands, through the arms, elbows, shoulders and into the spine. To allow this highly complex movement integration to occur effectively, each

body dysfunctions increasing stress

The spine, and particularly the lower back, account for the greatest overall incidence of injury (up to 36.4%) for amateur golfers. The elbow (up to 33%), the wrist and hand (up to 32%), and the shoulder (up to 18.6%) are the other most frequently injured sites for weekend warriors. Injuries to the lead side (left side for right-handed golfers) are five times more frequent than the trail side (84.5%) A number of factors contribute to the common golf swing injuries: • Over-swinging • Poor body mechanics and suboptimal swing mechanics • Poor conditioning • Lack of flexibility • Poor ground reaction forces • Age • Sitting in buggies • Overuse and over-practice • Not warming up the muscle/joints for the required movements properly • Rotational stress placed on the spine, ankle, knees, hips and neck • Incorrect grip and setup • Traumatic force to the body resulting in a poorly executed swing • Making swing changes that the body does not have the capacity to adapt to • Intermittent Play Published research concerning risk factor is of relative low quality but most golf injuries generally occur as a result of a joint, cartilage, muscle, ligament, fascia, tendon, bone or disc having to absorb more stress/strain than it can cope with at that particular moment in time.

To understand golf injuries and how to avoid them we first have to understand the mechanisms that predispose

a study from the Centre for Injury Research and Policy in Columbus, Ohio shows that in the U.S. alone, the game is responsible for more than 30,000 emergency room visits every year. Research has also found that 35.2% of all golfers will have sustained an injury within the last 12 months and 69.7% of the injured golfers miss games and practice sessions due to the injury. Many injuries resulted in a forced absence of a least a month.

The game is still in the early stages of understanding injuries, strength and conditioning and injury prevention. It has come a long way in a short time, however, and continues to grow at a rate that is a challenging and fun to keep up with.

AMATEURS Low back: 36.4% Elbow: 33% Wrist/hand: 32% Shoulder: 18.6% Knee: 9%

joint along the chain has to maintain its own mobility, flexibility, stability, and local/ global muscle strengths to sustain its individual integrity and function. If a joint in the chain is missing any one of these vital elements, the stress load will have to be absorbed by another structure. This structure might not have the ability to absorb this load effectively and this invariably leads to a breakdown into injury and pain.

Max load capacity of lower back pain Poor abdominal muscle activation Thoracic spine reduced movement Reduced range of hip motion Buttock muscles not working Fully functioning body with no pain Daily stresses taking the body towards breakdown in pain Threshold exceeds load capacity of the lower back and we breakdown into pain

Modern Curse

You’re injured. What now?

L

I

THE QUICKER THESE THINGS ARE DEALT WITH, THE SHORTER THE RECOVERY WILL BE. 26 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

JOINT-BY-JOINT APPROACH Joint–Primary Need Ankle – Mobility (sagittal) Knee – Stability Hip – Mobility (multi-planar) Lumbar Spine – Stability Thoracic Spine – Mobility Scapula – Stability Gleno-humeral – Mobility

f you do injure yourself, the best course of action is to consult a medical practitioner as soon as possible as the quicker these things are dealt with, the shorter the recovery will be. Far too often I see patients where the injury happened a few weeks earlier and they had left it to calm down because they thought it would get better on its own. That rarely transpires. In fact, the delay often makes it harder for the practitioner to help get you back out on the golf course quickly.

Like any medical consultation, the practitioner will go through a full case history covering the pain, the onset, the nature of the pain and past medical history. Then, if appropriate, they’ll run through the necessary medical and orthopaedic tests to come to a diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan. The primary goal of treatment is to reduce pain and achieve full recovery of the injury. In addition, the practitioner has to fully assess and treat the mobility, flexibility, stability, and local/ global muscle strengths and weaknesses.

Usually the practitioner will demonstrate a number of exercises to help reduce the pain further and to start addressing the dysfunctions found.

Post treatment continuum that will help to reduce the reoccurrence of such issues include resolution exercises, rehab and restorative exercises before moving into strength and conditioning and the implementation of an effective pre-round warmup routine.

WARM-UP

R

esearch shows that 65 percent of all golfers do not perform a pre-round warm up. While the influence of a warm-up on injury prevention is unclear, the evidence suggests a positive effect.

The ‘RAMP’ approach can guide an effective warm-up: raise – body temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, blood flow and joint fluid viscosity activate key muscle groups mobilise key joints and range of motion specific to the sport potentiate high intensity dynamic exercises to mimic performance

previous page, skeleton: getty images • josh hill sequence: masam ali

ets look at a commonly occurring example of a sedentary worker who does not create much opportunity to exercise during the week, plays golf once or twice at the weekend and has the occasional back pain that stops him playing golf for a month or so a year. Long periods of sitting have a tendency to reduce range of motion in the ankles, hips and upper back and reduce strength and stability in those muscles that support the posture and stabilise movement.

If we compare this to the diagram (far right) illustrating the Mike Boyle and Gary Cook mobility and stability continuum, you should notice as we work through the body the joints alternate between those joints that are mobile and those that are stable. By appreciating this we start to understand that the vital areas of movement in our example are starting to diminish.

As golf is a rotational sport, if we have lost this movement in these areas we actually start to ask the lower back to absorb these additional stresses which it is not designed to do. In addition to movement/mobility dysfunctions with our sedentary lifestyle, we have the de-conditioning of the local and global musculature. This is important as muscles not only contract to provide the power to move but also work hard to decelerate movement and absorb much of the mechanical stress before it gets to the ligaments and joints. So if you have a joint under stress due to absorbing more movement than it is designed to, and an increased stress on all the local, ligaments, tendons, joint capsule, cartilage, fascia and bone as a result of the muscle unable to effectively distribute these stresses, it is only a matter of time before the body breaks down into pain.

A GOLF MOVEMENT ASSESSMENT THAT EXPOSES THE FUNCTIONS AND DYSFUNCTIONS IN MOBILITY, FLEXIBILITY, STABILITY AND MUSCULAR STRENGTHS/WEAKNESS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. GOLF SWING SEQUENCE: Transformational Zone Analysis

BACKSWING

IMPACT

FOLLOW THROUGH

Neck ▶ Rotation left ▶ Side bent left

Neck ▶ Rotation right ▶ Side bent right

Neck ▶ Rotation right ▶ Side bent right

Upper back ▶ Rotation Right ▶ Extension ▶ Side bent left

Upper back ▶ Rotation left ▶ Flexed ▶ Side bent right

Upper back ▶ Rotation left extended

Right Hip ▶ Flexion ▶ Abduction ▶ Internal Rotation

Right Hip ▶ Moving into extension ▶ Abduction ▶ External Rotation

Russell Hill

I would also highly recommend a golf movement assessment that breaks down and exposes the functions and dysfunctions in mobility, flexibility, stability and muscular strengths / weakness. Having identified these, an appropriate exercise program can be implemented and if you regularly

Right Hip ▶ Extension ▶ Internal Rotation ▶ Abduction

exercise already, it can run in conjunction with any existing program if implemented skilfully. It is also important to have these reassessed at regular intervals to make sure that the desired results are being achieved and to reset a new program with new goals once the initial outcomes

have been achieved.

Next month I’ll run through common injuries and how best to deal with them. Before then, a parting thought.

One of the most common injuries in the UAE is sunburn. Please use suncream as manual therapy is not possible with sunburns.

A former professional squash player and coach, Russell Hill qualified from the British School of Osteopathy at the age of 27. With his MENA Tour playing son Josh Hill, the world record holder as the youngest winner of an official WAGR event, developing into one of the hottest prospects in English golf, Russell has spent the past decade furthering his education to specialise in golf injury prevention, treatment, movement assessments, rehab and golf fitness. Hill Snr not only treats local golf enthusiasts but is the official provider to the MENA tour and treats European and LET players when they’re passing through the UAE.

Play Course Management

Classic Closer Our monthly guide to taming the region’s stroke index 1 holes has gone off-piste. Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club professional Matthew Brookes heads to arguably the toughest finishing hole in Middle East golf

“Shorter hitters could do worse than to play the hole as a par 5.”

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urvey the scorecard for the stroke index 1 hole at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club and your gaze needn't wander past the 12th. But few would argue that the 18th is the club’s hardest hole. Indeed, few who play here regularly don't have at least one tale of a score ruined by this deceptive stroke index 3 brute.

The closing par-4 is 421-yards off the blue tees and the majority of the time plays into a one and even two club breeze. It’s looks a very straight hole to the eye but the fairway has a slight left to right shape, most certainly for the bigger hitters. With The Creek running down the left side, your tee shot is easily pushed to the right but that in turn nudges you towards waste-land that is hugged by yet more water. Any ball leaking right is in as much danger of getting wet as a pull or hook.

S

off the tee: Let’s talk about how to play the hole in the predominant wind. That's a breeze that's relentlessly into you, making the closer play up to 40 yards longer. Bigger hitters can get a driver away with a fade being the safer shot shape to leave somewhere around 140 yards into the green.

Shorter hitters could do worse than to play the hole as a par-5. A 220-yard drive will leave you a 170-yard shot to carry the water and when that wind is blowing that can be very daunting. Those feeling confident can go for it but the safety-first option is to hit a 100- yard lay-up, which will then leave a similar distance to the middle of the green.

approach & closing out: The green isn’t an easy target and pin-hunting doubly difficult with it being two-tiered.

There’s bunkers to the left side and the water that wraps around the front and right hand side of the putting surface.

Aiming your approach to the middle of the green is always the safest bet but watch a shot that starts out a little too close to the bunkers…the wind here can easily suck your shot towards the water.

Clubbing up is almost always the prudent play with your approach and especially when The Creek is huffing and puffing. Remember, when it’s breezy, swing it easy. Get that ball flight down with less spin and more control and you’ll have the best shot at escaping this brilliant closing hole with a number to be proud of. Just ensure you concentrate till the last putt drops - the challenge on the 18th keeps coming at you with the large, undulating surface the scene of more than a few three-putts on any given day. Enjoy!

18th

PAR 4 Black

421 yards

Blue

421 yards

White

391 yards

Red

329 yards

Green

298 yards

Matthew Brookes

Photograph courtesy of DCGYC

Play Equipment

What’s in My Bag Will Zalatoris driver age 24 lives Plano, Texas story Six top-10s on the PGA Tour through early May, including second place at the Masters. home improvement During the break caused by the pandemic last year, I was rooming with fellow Korn Ferry Tour player Davis Riley. We bought a hitting mat and a net and rearranged the living room in our apartment so that we could hit balls. We set up the TrackMan and often hit balls until midnight. It was a really good way to work on our games, and thankfully the neighbors never complained.

specs Titleist TSi3, 9°, Fujikura Speeder 757 TR X shaft, 44.5 inches. ▶ I got this driver the week before last fall’s U.S. Open and immediately had success with it. Minimising the effect of mis-hits is important to me, and off-centre strikes are much better with this driver. It also gives me the medium-flat trajectory I prefer. fairway wood specs Titleist TSi3, 16.5°, Fujikura Atmos 8 Red shaft, 42 inches. ▶ There’s a little more loft on my 3-wood for a couple of reasons. My old one was going too far, and I needed to bring it back about 20 yards, so we added loft and shortened the shaft. I’m also a low-spin player, so the extra loft helps keep the ball in the air. irons specs Titleist U500 (3), Nippon NS Pro Modus 3 shaft; Titleist T100 (4-PW), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts, Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord grips.

driver

305

▶ These irons have been in the bag for about 18 months. I love that they have a little less offset. That’s a good look for me.

At my swing speed I tend to get more flyers than most players, but the sole design with more camber helps minimise those.

3-wood

274

wedges

3-utility

256

4-iron

240

specs Titleist Vokey SM8 (50°, 55°, 60°), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts.

5-iron

222

6-iron

210

7-iron

196

8-iron

178

—with e. michael johnson

club

yards*

9-iron

168

pw

157

50˚

141

55˚

129

60˚

108

* carry distance

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my own spin ▶ A lot of guys on tour play the Titleist Pro V1, so I needed more than just a line. I put my initials and 99 on it. The 99 comes from a game at Dave & Buster’s where I always hit 99 by throwing a football.

hittin’ the books ▶ Wake Forest is very special to me. I attended on an Arnold Palmer Scholarship and was first-team AllAmerica in 2017.

This yardage book is just a nice reminder of all those great memories.

▶ We square off the leading edge on the 50 and 55. It just looks better to me. On the 60, I like the wider sole for bunker shots, and the leading edge sits close to the ground.

The stamping you see here is a quote from Butch Harmon about how thin I am. putter specs Odyssey White Hot Pro 7 Long, 5.5 degrees, SuperStroke grip. ▶ I’ve had this putter for a little more than two years. It has a double-bend shaft that looks better to me. I like how the outside lines frame the ball. For an armlock-style, it doesn’t have much loft, only 5.5 degrees.

I cut the shaft down a little, so I use lead tape to keep the swingweight I want.

open tradition ▶ They gave this valuables pouch to every player at last September’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot. I used one before that from the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock. I’ll just keep cycling through them from every U.S. Open I play.

Photographs by Cooper Neill

by RON KASPRISKE photographs by WALTER IOOSS JR.

x golf digest | issue x . 2021

Photograph by First Lastname

THE

GENIUS 2

2

2

A +B = C

OF

JORDAN

F=ma

HE WANTED A CONFIDENT, RELIABLE SWING. HE FOUND IT IN A CLEVER WAY Photograph by First Lastname

issue x . 2021 | golf digest

x

ATHLETIC FROM THE START Among the improvements Jordan Spieth and his coach, Cameron McCormick, have worked on is to get Spieth in a more athletic setup. A deeper hip hinge at address (right) puts him in position to make a more dynamic swing.

IF

the moment of truth, the strike, and worked backward. Spieth is now in a place where he’s “giving himself permission to go after the ball,” McCormick says, and he has returned to predominantly hitting a “bullet cut,” meaning a lower-flying drive that starts a little left and works back to the right and rolls out once it lands.

Spieth is not chasing yards. He’s keeping his tee shots in play and relying on his irons and short game to challenge the field regularly since finishing tied for fourth in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. Spieth ranked in the top 25 in strokes gained/approach the green and top 15 in putting average on tour through April.

The key is that at the top of the swing, Spieth senses the club is in great position to create the feel he wants through impact. “He’s swinging much more like he did when he first came out on tour,” McCormick says.

Specifically, Spieth takes the club back on a steeper angle than he returns it to the ball.

He doesn’t roll his forearms clockwise through the middle of the backswing, and the butt end

A GRIP THAT WORKS BETTER FOR HIS BALL FLIGHT Since recovering from a painful injury to his left hand, Spieth has been able to strengthen the orientation of his hands on the club so the right palm is turned slightly more under the shaft (below). This gives him better control of the clubface, so he doesn’t lose many shots to the right.

If social distancing during the pandemic has revealed anything noteworthy about how PGA Tour pros go about their business, it might be just how much thought Jordan Spieth puts into every shot he hits. Without large galleries to muffle what is said inside tournament ropes, Spieth’s conversations with his caddie, Michael Greller, have been a fascinating peek inside the mind of one of the game’s most thoughtful and determined players.

“He’s worked very hard over a long period to get his swing to where, when he takes the club back, he’s only got a picture in his mind about the ball flight he’s trying to create. That’s what he’s talking [to Michael] about,” says his longtime coach, Cameron McCormick. “His swing is now jelling with what he sees. There’s no conflict.”

A victory (the Valero Texas Open) and four other top-four finishes in a stretch of eight events earlier in 2021 speak to the resurgence of Spieth and the golf swing that won three majors.

McCormick says that Jordan 3.0 is a blend of what he did right earlier in his career and some new wrinkles—and how he arrived at this point is what’s really interesting.

“We reverse-engineered the swing changes starting with creating a good feel at impact and then building the rest around that,” McCormick says. “We recognised that if he started feeling better about impact, then pre-impact, then transition, the jigsaw-puzzle pieces fit together really well. Make sense?”

It does, but that’s not typically the way elite golfers go about improving. Diagnostics usually follow the sequence of the swing, starting at address. But Spieth and McCormick went directly to

june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

35

of the shaft points inside his target line as he approaches the top. But in transition, things dramatically change. As Spieth begins to unwind aggressively starting with hip rotation, the shaft flattens with the butt end now pointing at the ball or even outside the target line. From there, Spieth knows he can just turn hard and produce the ball flight he sees in his mind during those in-depth conversations with Greller.

If you want to know what that move feels like, Spieth and McCormick talk about the club going from “light to heavy.” It’s light as Spieth takes the club back, by virtue of the shaft being more vertical in orientation. But when Spieth transitions into the downswing, the club starts to feel heavy in his right hand, because the shaft is lying down or flattening.

“That’s what some people call the slot or the hitting position,” McCormick says. “The earlier he can set that hitting position, the better he feels about it. It’s funny, but when he won at Valero and finished third at Augusta, he actually

36 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

got to the point where he was setting it up way too early. He couldn’t wait to get there.”

Overcooking a great swing feel aside, Spieth is mostly doing everything right with his full swing these days, McCormick says. He’s gripping the club slightly stronger after recovering from a hand injury that forced him to hold the club in a weaker position in recent years. That weak grip helped contribute to his predominant miss right of the target. He’s also standing more athletically over the ball (a deeper hip hinge), McCormick says. And when he swings through the impact zone and gets into the follow-through, it’s a result of good body turn and a feeling of passive hands.

He can still hit a draw and get some extra distance when he needs it, but it’s not something Spieth looks to do often.

“With his covered cut, you’d expect he’d lose some carry distance because he’s launching the ball lower,” McCormick says. “But honestly, so what, he’s still hitting it around 300 yards and control trumps distance.”

GOOD ROTATION IS KEY Spieth isn’t trying to guide the clubhead into the ball with his hands.

Instead, impact is a result of good body rotation toward the target in the throughswing (above). He gets the club in the position he wants at the top of the swing and then it’s turn, turn, turn.

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DRIVE

BLAST

PUTT THREE WAYS TO RAISE YOUR GAME

by JORDAN SPIETH

confidence comes when you’re looking forward to what happens next, not thinking about what came before. To get some of that in your game this summer, I’m going to help you with three important shots—off the tee with the driver, from a basic greenside bunker and on the green. When you have more control over the clubface, a better impact point in the sand and a clear visual of the best line for your putts, you’re going to shoot lower scores.

Photographs by Walter Iooss Jr. and Ben Walton

Let’s start with your tee game. If you want to keep your drives in play, focus on the position of your lead wrist at impact. You can see here (above) that the back of mine is flat and facing my target. If you wear a watch, think about rotating it in the downswing until the face is pointing at the target as the club meets the ball. Do that, and I promise you’ll straighten the curve in your drives. Turn the page for my advice on bunkers and putting. — with matthew rudy

june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

39

CLIP THE SAND CLOSER TO THE BALL Taking classic advice to the extreme, a lot of amateurs strike the sand a few inches behind the ball and end up hitting weak bunker shots with no spin. My contact point is about an inch behind the ball, which gets it to launch and spin much better. It’s just like hitting a flop shot out of the rough. Try this: Draw a line in a practice bunker and make swings where you enter the sand right in front of it. Then graduate to hitting shots still focusing on that line—real or imaginary. You’ll soon groove the proper contact point and be able to treat bunker shots like opportunities instead of penalties.

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Photographs by Walter Iooss Jr. and Ben Walton

OBSESS ON THE ROLL, NOT YOUR PUTTING STROKE With putting, the place you should spend most of your attention is on improving the connection between what you see and what your stroke makes the ball do. Set up a practice station where you determine the ideal combination of line and speed for a breaking putt, and then make a gate with two tees at the apex of the break. Your job is to roll the ball through the gate on its way to the hole—which gets you visualising the entire path of the ball, not just some vague aiming spot. Be sure to vary the putts (and the width of the gate). This type of practice makes your routine more focused on seeing the roll, instead of obsessing about the stroke. For me, that’s an important key to making clutch putts late in tournaments.

issue x . 2021 | golf digest

x

BY DEREK DUNCAN PHOTOGRAPHS BY J.D. CUBAN

T H E U . S . O P E N AT T O R R E Y P I N E S R E P R E S E N T S T H E

THE LAST STAND OF

END OF A DESIGN ERA IN MAJOR-CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF

IGER WOODS double fistpumped and howled to the sky amid delirious screams of a rapturous gallery. He had just rolled in a birdie putt to tie for the lead on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open, and for several minutes in June 2008, the 18th green of the South course at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., was the blinding but bittersweet centre of the sports universe.

Though it would not become official until the next day after a 19-hole playoff with an unblinking Rocco Mediate, the 2008 U.S. Open was the Emperor’s most emphatic conquest. Woods’ 14th major title (and sixth since 2005) seemed like the latest inevitable step toward an unprecedented 19 majorchampionship trophies. But Woods played through pain on a severely damaged leg that afterward required surgery. Eleven years would pass before he would win another major, the 2019 Masters at 43. No one could have predicted it then, but that moment at Torrey has increasingly represented glorious victory presaging the collapsing twilight of one of golf ’s greatest major-championship epochs.

The return of the U.S. Open to the South course at Torrey Pines in June marks the twilight of another significant era in major-championship golf: 2021 is likely to be the final time a men’s major championship is contested on a golf course prepared by architect Rees Jones, who remodeled Torrey Pines in 2001 and renovated it again in 2019 ahead of this year’s event.

During the past 33 years, Jones modified 12 courses for the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, covering 22 tournaments and four Ryder Cups. No other living architect has come close to matching his widespread association with major-championship golf or the influence on how these competitions look and play. Every design decision— fairway widths and orientations, tee adjustments, putting-surface expansion and contour, tree removal, bunker locations and depths—plays a role in determining how tournaments unfold and who is most capable of contending. Jones’ architecture has impacted the fortunes of a generation of major-

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championship winners with a mirror dimension of also-rans and what-ifs.

But the U.S. Open and PGA Championship will travel in new directions beginning in 2022, ones not likely—at least as it appears—to include the name or imprint of Rees Jones.

If Torrey Pines ends up being the last time Jones’ design ideas are presented in a men’s major, it’s for several reasons. The first is that for most of the next decade the USGA and the PGA of America are moving their tournaments beyond his consultation—the announced U.S. Open lineup indicates the USGA is refining its footprint, settling on a market-driven East Coast-West Coast rotation of courses that includes Winged Foot, Shinnecock Hills, Oakmont, Pinehurst No. 2, Pebble Beach and to-be-determined California-based courses. The PGA of America is venturing more widely but to sites it has visited this century, mixing in several additional venues such as Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia (2026) and PGA Frisco, a Gil Hanse design at the new PGA headquarters in Frisco, Texas, (2027 and 2034). The first vacant dates aren’t until 2028 for the U.S. Open and 2030 for the PGA Championship.

More significantly, an increasing

jones style The 223-yard 16th (right) plays to a green set on a promontory. Previous pages: The 387-yard second features deep bunkers and a perched green.

stress test Drives will have to carry a new fairway bunker at the 449yard par-4 10th hole for the best angle to right-side flags.

number of core championship courses have embraced contemporary architectural trends at odds with Jones’ modernist style, restoring their designs to the more natural, organic appearances of their early years. Looking toward the future, clubs are turning back to their past. Baltusrol’s Lower course (site of the 2029 PGA Championship) and Congressional’s Blue course (the 2031 PGA), two clubs Jones had remodeled in preparation for previous PGAs and U.S. Opens, have each undergone substantive redesigns during the past 18 months based on the historical interpretations of Hanse and Andrew Green, respectively, rather than Jones.

The program changes are important

because course architecture does affect tournament outcomes. If the players are the actors in major-championship theatre, and the governing bodies are directors capable of manipulating drama via site selection and course set-up, architects are set designers who construct the stage and scenery against which the characters strain. Years before Woods sank the famed birdie putt, Torrey Pines was a beloved but scruffy public course with scenery that overwhelmed the quality of the golf. Jones completely remade the 1957 William F. Bell design for the Open, adding length and fairway hazards, rebuilding every putting surface and shifting several greens, like the third, fourth and 14th, june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

45

trouble all around Neither long nor short is a good miss at the 195-yard par-3 third.

closer to the property’s canyon edges.

The green pads were propped like pedestals with deep, bracketing bunkers recessed into their bases.

Jones extended the championship tees at the par-5 18th 75 yards and installed two bunkers in the left rough.

An existing bunker farther down the fairway on the left was adjusted and expanded toward the tee. This is the bunker Woods drove into during the final round; had it not been modified, his tee shot likely would have settled in the rough. Without a raised bunker face near his ball, it’s not certain Woods would have laid up for position like he did; he might have gone for the green in two to increase the likelihood of making the birdie he needed to tie, a choice that

46 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

would have brought the pond fronting the green (also enlarged by Jones) into play. Without Jones’ modifications, the 72nd hole—and the entire tournament—would have set up differently.

The most obvious alterations made for this year’s Open include the reconstruction of the long northward running par-4 fourth. The fairway was widened as far as possible toward the left-side cliff overlooking the ocean and Torrey Pines State Preserve, though the rolled edge of land, rather than forming a hard precipice, means the hole can only get so close to the drop off.

The fairway bunkers on the par-4 10th are now staggered to create short and long landing areas requiring a risk assessment from the tee. Jones added two

carry bunkers to the left of the driving zone at the cross-canyon par-5 13th and built a new tournament tee on the par-4 17th, creating an angle that now brings the steep ravine on the left more into play. Bunkers throughout the course were reconstructed and adjusted, pulling them flush to the mowing lines, allowing the USGA to bleed fairways into them, and the championship tees now max out at 7,652 yards.

Jones believes these amendments make an already respected tournament course even stronger. “Torrey Pines has proven to be a championship test that the players like,” he says. “It’s a course that fits their eye, but it’s a test. The greens will hold their shots, but there are hazards around the greens and

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places you can’t miss it. Yet it’s still recoverable.” With few true doglegs, most of the holes set up to receive straight drives, or drives cut or drawn off flanking bunkers. The elevated greens, typically featuring some orientation of back-to-front slope, offer visibility and relatively level hole locations separated by tiers or steps.

Says Greg Muirhead, senior designer who joined Jones’ architectural firm in 1984, “Our concept has always been ‘greens within greens,’ where if you hit a really good approach shot, you’ll have a relatively level putt, but if you miss that spot, you’ll have to come over some contour. We’ve never really done fall-away greens or a lot of false fronts.

We try to make the greens a reasonable size and receptive.”

These architectural qualities— visibility, defined strategies and hole outlines, elevated green platforms and the ability to recover—have categorised much of the Jones approach to course design and major-championship golf.

The architecture engages in a social contract with the player—it’s not there to trick but to enforce, with an offer of fair treatment for expertly executed shots.

“The pros can score well at Torrey,” Jones says. “It’s going to be their own

what’s your line? The new tee at the 440-yard 17th brings the steep ravine into play.

48 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

fault if they don’t achieve their goal.”

His bunkering, as found at places like Torrey Pines or Bellerive, is edged with clean, artistic lines that curve and play with height and depth, suggesting a beaux-art formality. This sense of composure and tradition, and an almost self-conscious commitment to the proportionality between crime and punishment, runs through most of his tournament courses. “In my career the most important thing has probably been to make sure a recovery shot can be achieved and not to over-penalise a slightly errant shot,” he says. “That’s what the players most criticise.”

David Fay, USGA executive director from 1987 to 2010, worked closely with Jones on numerous remodel projects,

JONES’ ARCHITECTURE HAS IMPACTED THE FORTUNES OF A GENERATION OF MAJOR-CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS.

including overseeing the reconstruction of the greens at Pinehurst No. 2 in preparation for the 1999 U.S. Open, based on specs taken from the 1962 U.S. Amateur. (Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have overseen the most recent alterations of the No. 2 course.)

“Rees was governed, in my opinion, by the old outline of what a championship course should be,” Fay says, adding that it’s a view he inherited from his father, Robert Trent Jones, who gained the nickname “The Open Doctor” for his famous (some would say infamous) alterations of courses like Oakland Hills, Baltusrol Lower and Firestone Country Club for major events. (Rees inherited the Open Doctor nickname, too.) It’s an outlook, espoused by executive doyens like Richard Tufts, Joseph Dey, Sandy Tatum and P.J. Boatwright from the 1950s through the ’80s, that places a premium on accurate driving to narrow fairways, the use of trees and rough, fast and firm greens, and insistence that there should be a penalty for wayward shots. In Jones’ case the penalty should be firm but never absurd.

Fay says Jones was faithful to the notion that the championship course should be a stern challenge that yielded only to excellence. “I felt that way, too,”

keeping up with jones u.s. open and pga winners and runners-up on courses remodeled by rees jones. *Parenthesis indicates World Golf Ranking at time of the event

u.s. open The Country Club / 1988 Curtis Strange (5), Nick Faldo (12) Hazeltine National G.C. / 1991 Payne Stewart (7), Scott Simpson (60) Baltusrol (Lower) / 1993 Lee Janzen (41), Payne Stewart (16) Congressional C.C. (Blue) / 1997 Ernie Els (7), Colin Montgomerie (6)

jones: Peter GreGoire

send it The reachable 568-yard par-5 18th should provide lategame theatrics.

Fay says. “I thought that once a year I wanted these guys to feel like they’ve been in a fistfight. I want to knock them out of their comfort level. It’s what Sandy Tatum said: ‘We’re not trying to embarrass the greatest players; we’re trying to identify them.’ But I think his thought-cloud, that he never actually uttered, would be, But if we embarrass them a little bit, that’s OK, too.”

Jones first collaborated with The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., to bolster its defenses for the 1988 U.S. Open. Using vintage photographs from the early 1900s, he helped reestablish the club’s foundational turn-of-thecentury aesthetic. Many designers view it as the profession’s first historical restoration. Curtis Strange defeated Nick Faldo in an 18-hole playoff, and the tournament’s popularity prompted other clubs to hire Jones to oversee their modifications. A significant number of jobs involved remodeling his father’s work. Hazeltine National, Baltusrol and Oakland Hills called. At Congressional, Jones rebuilt much of the Blue course for the 1997 Open, regrading fairways to open up sightlines and remove blind tee shots. After walking a decrepit Bethpage Black in the mid-1990s with Fay, who spearheaded

the organisation’s push to bring the Open there and to other public facilities like Torrey Pines, Jones agreed to rebuild the course for no charge (the USGA provided the construction fund). Once considered among the country’s great courses, the Black had fallen into disrepair and off of this magazine’s ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. After the renovation and the 2002 Open, the Black returned to the list where it currently resides at No. 40.

Though he can’t claim credit for creating the theaters themselves (that belongs to A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross and others, even his father), Jones’ set pieces usually allowed the skills of the best players of the moment to radiate.

The stages he prepared “fit the eye,” as he puts it, and made it possible for professional players to visualise different shots while dropping sand bags on errant contestants. More often than not the architecture melded with the temperament of tour pros, who want to know the exact lay of the land, what is being asked of them on any given swing and to trust there will be no gimmickry or unexpected surprises on the other side.

At Congressional in 1997, three players—Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie and Tom Lehman, ranked seven, six and three in the world—battled down to the end. Woods and Phil Mickelson, ranked one and two at the time, finished in those same positions at Bethpage in

Pinehurst (No. 2) / 1999 Payne Stewart (13), Phil Mickelson (11) Bethpage State Park (Black) / 2002 Tiger Woods (1), Phil Mickelson (2) Pinehurst No. 2 / 2005 Michael Campbell (80), Tiger Woods (1) Torrey Pines G. Cse. (South) / 2008 Tiger Woods (1), Rocco Mediate (158) Bethpage State Park (Black) / 2009 Lucas Glover (71), Ricky Barnes (NR), David Duval (NR), Phil Mickelson (2) Congressional C.C. (Blue) / 2011 Rory McIlroy (7), Jason Day (19) Torrey Pines G. Cse. (South) / 2021 To be determined

pga championship Sahalee C.C. / 1998 Vijay Singh (16), Steve Stricker (45) Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands) / 2001 David Toms (19), Phil Mickelson (2) Hazeltine National G.C. / 2002 Rich Beem (73), Tiger Woods (1) Baltusrol (Lower Course) / 2005 Phil Mickelson (4), Thomas Bjørn (31), Steve Elkington (129) Medinah C.C. (No. 3) / 2006 Tiger Woods (1), Shaun Micheel (NR) Oakland Hills C.C. (South) / 2008 Padraig Harrington (3), Ben Curtis (77), Sergio Garcia (6) Hazeltine National G.C. / 2009 Y.E. Yang (110), Tiger Woods (1) Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands) / 2011 Keegan Bradley (115), Jason Dufner (78) Baltusrol (Lower) / 2016 Jimmy Walker (48), Jason Day (1) Bellerive C.C. / 2018 Brooks Koepka (4), Tiger Woods (50) Bethpage State Park (Black) / 2019 Brooks Koepka (3), Dustin Johnson (1)

june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

49

cliffhanger The beauty of Torrey Pines belies its difficultly, like the daunting 486-yard par-4 fourth along the Pacific.

2002. The 2019 PGA at Bethpage came down to the No. 3 player, Brooks Koepka, holding off Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player.

“I think my legacy is that I helped crown the proper champions,” Jones says. “Tiger Woods won a lot on courses I re-did. Bethpage and Torrey Pines are probably the ones that we transitioned most to bring the championship game into a public arena, and Tiger won on both of those. East Lake, too—Tiger sure made it look good [in 2018].”

Though there’s nothing currently scheduled, it’s not a given that Torrey Pines will be the Open Doctor’s last house call. Once Bethpage and Hazeltine National host the Ryder Cup in 2025 and 2029, they will likely re-enter the pool of courses to be considered for future majors. West Coast venues will also be prioritised, and if Torrey Pines can replicate the kind of bittersweet magic it did in 2008, it could

50 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

EVERY DESIGN DECISION PLAYS A ROLE IN HOW TOURNAMENTS UNFOLD AND WHO MIGHT CONTEND. be awarded an upcoming date. Then again, even if Torrey Pines, Bethpage or Hazeltine are extended a major, another decade might pass in the interim, giving each time to pursue other architectural directions.

Speaking of bittersweet, an ironic coda to the Rees Jones era is that the architect who introduced the practice of historical restoration at Brookline seems to have been displaced by a

movement of restoration, at least as it pertains to major championships.

Just over a decade ago, Hanse restored the North course at Los Angeles Country Club, bringing back the George Thomas elements from the 1920s that had been gradually modified out of recognition. The impressive reveal— which included tree removal and tee lengthening—helped earn it the 2023 U.S. Open. Around the same time, Hanse was consulting with The Country Club, implementing adjustments that helped the course land next year’s Open, the first since 1988. In addition to these two U.S. Open venues, Hanse will be the architect of record for six of the next 10 announced PGA Championship destinations, including Southern Hills in Tulsa (2022), Aronimink, PGA Frisco (twice), The Olympic Club Lake course in San Francisco (2028) and Baltusrol Lower. His work at these courses, with the exception of the newly devel-

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twilight round The sun appears to be setting on an era of major-championship remodels.

oped PGA Frisco complex, involves reestablishing the design concepts of the original architects, just as he did for Winged Foot’s West course before the 2020 Open.

“If you’re on a roll, it tends to keep going,” Jones says. “That’s what’s happening with Gil. People like working with him.” Jones has been there, too.

Two other future PGA Championship sites have received similar treatment by course builder Andrew Green. After its East course was awarded the 2023 PGA, Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., hired Green to overhaul its design to reestablish the lost 1925 Donald Ross character. Green’s renovation of Congressional is even more radical, essentially a new build that reimagines the entire property as a pre-treed, Golden Age throwback. Other storied tournament locations like Inverness Club in Toledo (Green) and Oakland Hills’ South course (Hanse) have likewise strengthened their position for upcoming events through full-throttle restorations back to their original Ross foundations, and Medinah Country Club near Chicago recently hired the Australian firm of Ogilvy, Cocking and

52 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

CHAMPIONSHIP COURSES HAVE EMBRACED THE MORE NATURAL, ORGANIC APPEARANCES OF THEIR EARLY YEARS. Mead to develop a comprehensive masterplan for changes to its No. 3 course, inspired by features from its past.

The 2020s are the new 1920s, and players who contend for Open and PGA titles in the next decade will do so under changed major-championship paradigms. The restored, originalist principles of many of the upcoming venues—including wider fairways, an absence of trees as hazards, more expressive green contours (possibly necessitating slower speeds), bunkers that shade more toward the penal than the benign, the occasional random bounce and generally more hide-and-seek than “fits the eye”—represent modes of de-

sign that seek to promote varied shots above punishing purely poor ones. How players adapt to the new looks and demands of these clubs will determine the next roster of greatness.

Then again, the greatest players have always proven they can win anywhere.

Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer required no special setups. Woods has won at Augusta National, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, and played exquisitely at Royal Melbourne in Australia—all courses that demand power, finesse and creativity. He has also won at muscular point-to-point designs like Medinah and Bethpage. The latter style is what we can expect from Torrey this year, where thick rough and bunkers positioned to defend each landing area will mandate contenders drive the ball powerfully and straight and be able to recover from deep traps around the greens, all in accordance with the traditional Open dictums espoused by Dey, Tatum, Fay and even Jones. It will be a physical, nailbiting grind topped-off with a reachable par 5 at the finish capable of providing late-game explosions of drama. If this is the end of the Jones era, it’s likely to go out with a bang.

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▶ “Who are you? Who, who, who, who?” That song lyric by the rock band The Who is a fitting start to your iron search. As clubmakers continue to splinter the market into several categories—for the Hot List, we group by Players, Players Distance, Game Improvement and Super Game Improvement—it’s important consumers are honest with themselves about what they need from their irons. Is it a hint of forgiveness with the workability, thinner topline and sole width that appeals to better players?

Are you seeking to regain that lost half-club to Father Time without using something that resembles a shovel? Perhaps it’s a slightly bulkier iron that offers enough forgiveness to let you reach the front of the green on a slight mis-hit. Or maybe you’re relatively new to the game or don’t possess the skills others have. Iron sets with wide soles and thick toplines—or even all-hybrid construction—can provide you with the confidence you need. So, who are you? That’s a question only you can answer. Once you figure it out, the following pages have an iron set just for you. ▶

june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

55

game-improvement irons

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★★

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

“The ball rockets off the face with a climbing, driving trajectory.

Love the silver-clubhead, black-badge combo.”

★★★½

APEX DCB

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★½

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

“A muted, solid tone, but the ball screams off the face. One of the longer irons I hit—as much as 10 yards longer than some.”

demand

demand

c a l l away

performance

★★★

RRP AED 6,475

cobra

RRP AED 4,095

RADSPEED

▶ The Apex name has long been associated with clubs for better players, dating to when it adorned many noteworthy Ben Hogan iron models. Callaway now has expanded its Apex family to include a game-improvement iron that lives up to the name’s heritage. The forged, carbon-steel body features a cavity-back that is a little deeper and a sole a tad wider than the standard Apex, but there are many shared technologies. Chief among them is a cupface that wraps around part of the topline and sole to maximise rebound on the 4- through 9-irons. The company also continues its use of tungsten encased in microspherefilled urethane, which allows for centre-of-gravity positions that produce a launch angle one would expect to see in a gameimprovement iron, despite slightly stronger lofts. The stock steel shaft is designed for average golfers as well. True Temper’s Elevate ETS 85 shaft is lightweight (one-thirds lighter than a standard steel shaft) to increase your swing speed but with enhanced tip stability to keep the clubhead steady at impact.

The name might suggests it’s for better player, but this iron is an appropriate way to bring Apex to the game-improvement crowd.

▶ The use of 3-D printing to make the cavity badge is super cool.

Less flashy but no less impressive are the guts of the club to help golfers get the distance, shot height and feel they want. Cobra delivers on all counts starting with its clubface design. Forged from 17-4 stainless steel, the variable-thickness face features a deep undercut channel on the inside to generate more rebound and height. To save weight that’s redistributed elsewhere, Cobra uses a unique engineering process in which weight is removed from the topline, leaving a channel, and replacing the removed material with all-black carbon-fiber strips to create the appearance of a thinner topline. The process, first used in the company’s Speedzone irons, also removes two grams of weight from the topline in the 4- through 7-iron. As with all golf club designs, the ability to place weight where you need it is key. The Radspeed irons accomplish this by using heel-toe weighting in which a 10-gram screw is placed in the toe and three grams are added to the heel to create a low centre of gravity for better launch despite the clubs’ strong lofts. Shifting the weight relative to the CG also has the benefit of boosting speed and forgiveness.

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

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

56 golfdigestme.com | hot list 2021

Listed alphabetically

in association with

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★★ demand

★★★★½

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

“I discovered a smooth swing with this iron. The distance is good, and the ability to shape shots is there. Pretty consistent distance.”

mizuno JPX921 HOT METAL

RRP AED 4,375

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★½

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

“The reliability of impact and deep sound are comforting. The look at address inspires confidence.”

demand

★★★★★

ping

RRP AED 5,250

G425

▶ Creating a hot face in an iron without resorting to the cupface and L-face designs found in a lot of the clubs on our list is a difficult endeavor. However, Mizuno achieves it by using a special kind of steel called chromoly 4140M, a material that has been used in high-tech bicycle frames. With a high strength-to-weight ratio, the steel allows Mizuno to make a face as thin as 1.9 millimeters in certain areas, resulting in more flexibility that produces surprising distance. Three additional ribs added to a structure inside the topline further stabilise the frame and optimise feel.

You might need a doctorate degree in acoustics to understand the sophisticated work Mizuno has done in the area of sound throughout the years, and the company has done it again here, delivering a pleasant tone at impact—not an easy accomplishment in a face this thin. Having learned that a substantial portion of its iron orders are for mixed sets, Mizuno fine-tuned the specifications of the entire Hot Metal family to better align the irons and their lofts, making for a seamless transition for those who might want to pair the Hot Metal long and middle irons with the Hot Metal Pro short irons.

▶ Ping’s G-series irons have been the mainstay of the Ping iron family and one of the game’s best-selling iron franchises since they were introduced in 2003. For the most part, the performance goal of these irons has been forgiveness—as one would expect from a game-improvement iron. However, with its latest iteration—the G425—the goal is to increase ball speed while boosting forgiveness even more—all in a shape that doesn’t go to extremes. To answer the speed question, Ping engineers designed a more flexible, freemoving face to amplify ball speeds. They achieved this through a heat-treatment process to strengthen the 17-4 steel used for the clubhead, allowing for a variable-thickness face 10 percent thinner than the G410. The top-rail undercut and cascading sole design (in which the sole gets thicker as it moves farther away from the face) combine to increase deflection to launch the ball higher and faster.

The iron’s aesthetics are not ignored, either. The clubhead features a slightly shorter blade length to provide a crisper, sharper look.

The introduction of these irons was delayed from fall until this year, but Ping loyalists are likely to agree the holdup was worth it.

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

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

june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

57

game-improvement irons

performance

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★

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

“Probably the best looking club out here. I’m a sucker for a black finish. The distance not only is there, but it’s predictable.”

★★★½

G710

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★½

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

“The thin topline invokes a sense you’re ready to stripe the ball inches from the cup. The feel is top tier.

You don’t feel the mis-hits.”

demand

demand

ping

performance

★★★

RRP AED 6,195

pxg

RRP AED 5,295

0211 [2021]

▶ Ping’s G425 seeks to add speed, but it can’t match what the company calls it’s longest iron to date—the G710. Like its predecessor, the G710 irons use a maraging-steel face insert surrounded by a 431 stainless-steel hollow body. The face provides metalwood-like flex that launches the ball higher. This allows for slightly stronger lofts throughout the set without sacrificing the shot-stopping ability that comes with height on iron shots.

Tungsten weights in the toe and heel supply extra stability on off-centre hits to help mitigate the loss of ball speed. That’s important because it provides golfers more distance control. The wide sole makes it easier to glide through the turf (and when taking more turf than desired, too). A thin layer of hot melt—a polymer that can be melted—is placed behind the face to ensure a pleasant sound. If you’re looking to work on specific areas of your game, each iron comes with an Arccos embedded sensor in the grip to automatically record and analyse every shot taken during a round when paired with the Arccos Caddie app. Golfers receive a 90-day free trial of the app and extra sensors to use on other clubs when purchasing six or more irons.

▶ Makers of luxury automobiles often create more affordable versions to extend their reach to a different audience. PXG is adopting the golf-equipment version of that strategy with its 0211 line. Immediately noticeable is the absence of rivetlooking weights on the clubhead that have been a design feature of the company’s irons since its inception. In creating the new 0211, PXG relied on technologies from the company’s Gen3, including a hollow body filled with a soft polymer toward the back of the clubhead that creates a strong rebound at impact. The amount of soft polymer progressively decreases from the long irons to the short irons as the need for ball speed becomes less important in the scoring clubs. A firmer polymer behind the thin face maintains structural integrity. Although some companies use toe weights to move the centre of gravity closer to the centre of the face, in this iron that is achieved by modifying the upper back surface: removing mass from the heel side and repositioning it to the toe side. The irons in this set boast lofts that are 3-degrees stronger than on the original 0211, so expect a slightly lower launch with less spin.

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

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

58 golfdigestme.com | hot list 2021

Listed alphabetically

in association with

performance

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★½

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

“Aggressive swings are rewarded with more distance with limited risk.

The forgiveness in such a sleek look is surprising.”

demand

0311 XP GEN3

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★½ demand

★★★

pxg

performance

★★

RRP AED 12,950

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

“The somewhat thicker topline combines with the heavier bottom to pull the club through the ball and any ground you might take.”

s r i xo n

RRP AED 5,195

ZX4

▶ The XP in the club’s name stands for “xtreme performance.”

The neat trick is how the iron achieves this with a clubhead that isn’t obnoxiously large—a refreshing change from some in this category. Maintaining the company’s hollow-construction roots, the fast-flexing face is supported by two polymers inside the head: One is soft to foster speed and provide a cushiony feel; the other is firm to reinforce the face. A 360-degree channel along the perimeter expands the sweet spot and gives those who miss the centre of the face the opportunity to get away with less-than-perfect swings on occasion. Some of the saved weight is redistributed lower and along the perimeter of the clubhead for additional forgiveness and stability. One really cool feature of this iron is the computer-milling of the grooves. The benefit of computer-milling is it gives PXG’s engineers more control over the groove geometry. This results in grooves that approach the USGA limit for maximising spin. It’s hard to find fault with PXG’s strategy. The company has made an iron that delivers valuable benefits to golfers who typically struggle, and it does it in a design that doesn’t scream game improvement.

▶ Perhaps the greatest benefit of using artificial-intelligent design is that it can produce far more potential iterations in a shorter period of time than humans are capable of. Srixon employed a new simulation process on its ZX irons that replicated numerous impacts, evaluated the performance and automatically updated the design for the next try. After literally thousands of potential face designs, the result is a variable-thickness pattern milled into the backside of the high-strength steel face insert to maximise ball speed and to provide the necessary durability. The design also minimised the amount of weight needed to do so—saving nearly 3 percent of the mass of a conventional face. Because this category tends to feature stronger lofts, Srixon addresses the potential trajectory problem by making the face profile lower, the sole wider and placing 10 grams of tungsten low. The wide sole (featuring the company’s V-sole shape) has the additional advantage of helping you hit fewer fat shots. The long and middle irons—to the 7-iron— have wider and shallower grooves, and the grooves in the short irons are narrower and deeper to apply the proper amount of spin for the shot being struck.

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

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

june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

59

game-improvement irons

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★½

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

“There is a lightness that makes you feel you can move it through impact with the ball rebounding crisply from the face.”

demand

SIM2 MAX

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★½

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

“Futuristic style seems like it just rolled off a Detroit autoshow floor. Great muscleback look with a strong ball flight, even when hit thin.”

demand

★★★★★

tay l o r m a d e

performance

★½

RRP AED 4,095

titleist CNCPT CP-04

RRP: TBC

▶ For more than a decade, TaylorMade has produced irons with thin faces or slots in the sole to make the hitting area more springy at impact. The focus here is once again on speed. It’s relatively easy to create faster ball speeds in a hollow-body iron in which the face can easily flex, but the task is more challenging in a cavityback design—especially if you want to preserve feel. TaylorMade found a solution by replacing the steel back of the clubhead with a composite badge. The badge provides the necessary reinforcement for the thin, flexing face and supplies ample feel. Using the badge also reduces the club’s mass because the badge is lighter than the steel it’s replacing. This saved weight is shifted to dial in the proper centre of gravity. Also, the cone-shaped variablethickness pattern behind the face is positioned differently in each iron to mitigate two common misses. In the long irons, it’s closer to the toe to reduce the likelihood of a fade. In the shorter irons, the weight shifts toward the centre and heel to minimise a pull. To further assist sound, a new damping system features a softer polymer blend and multiple contact points across the face to channel away those pesky unwanted vibrations.

▶ Although it might not seem like it with the rising number of pricey new clubs residing in golf shops, innovation in equipment usually is restricted to some degree. Companies might have a lot of theoretical solutions to produce a club that generates more distance and forgiveness, but those ideas either can cost too much to produce or cannot be properly manufactured in quantity given current methods and design. Four years ago, Titleist tossed that convention aside and set out to achieve a new level of performance with the ability to make more than a handful of them, cost (and cost to the consumer) be damned. The result was its CNCPT line of irons, a high-tech pursuit of ball speed and distance. The CP-04 is the most game-improvement iron in the family, boasting a larger size and more offset and using the same “super metal” material found in other CNCPT irons to max out ball speed. The CP-04 irons also break ground with an average of 100 grams of tungsten built internally into the heel and toe for improved stability. For perspective, that’s nearly double the tungsten used in Titleist’s other game-improvement iron, the T300, which averages 52 grams in the long and short irons.

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

Coming soon to eGolfMegastore

60 golfdigestme.com | hot list 2021

Listed alphabetically

in association with

performance

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★

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

“Consistent shot shape and distance control.

The smoothness of feel is among the best of the irons I’ve hit.”

★★★★½

T300

★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★½

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

“This is the way the ball should sound coming off the club. It doesn’t look like a lot of forgiveness, but it’s hidden in there.”

demand

demand

titleist

performance

★½

RRP AED 4,445

honma

RRP AED 6,895

T//WORLD GS

▶ The ability to produce distance in an iron means little if the player can’t control it. That led Titleist to create a silicone-polymer core and position it behind the centre of the clubface. Doing so allowed designers to make the face thin for more pop and the hottest area of the face larger for more consistent results. It’s a noticeable departure from the AP1 iron it replaces. The AP1 used a hollow-body construction in the long and middle irons to create speed; the T300 is a cavity-back throughout. The blade lengths, sole widths and hosel lengths of the irons flow progressively through the set, providing help in the long irons and more control in the short irons. An average of 52 grams of tungsten in the heel and toe of the middle and long irons further fosters the kind of off-centre-shot performance average players need. Along with the wide sole, the tungsten lowers the centre of gravity, allowing the lofts to be slightly stronger without sacrificing shot height.

The stock shaft is True Temper’s AMT Red, a lightweight, higherlaunch shaft that is lighter in the long irons to deliver more clubhead speed. In the short irons the shafts are heavier to promote more control—ideal for this player segment.

▶ Honma has built a reputation in Asia for irons that have the look of carefully refined craftsmanship. It’s a fair assessment because the attention to cosmetics in its irons is unrelenting. It might be overshadowing its commitment to the technical side, though. The head in this iron uses a zippy high-strength steel face that wraps around the sole for more ball speed. On the sole, a heavier steel is used to drop the centre of gravity, creating a sufficiently high launch despite the strong lofts. The real hero, however, is the attention the Honma pays to aiding shots struck on the toe—a spot where average players tend to make a high percentage of their off-centre impacts. Not only has the company placed a tungsten weight in the lower toe area, it has added a smartly designed slot in the sole that gets wider as it moves toward the toe area, producing more spring and making those nagging toe strikes behave closer to that of a centre hit. The sub-100-gram Nippon NS 950 Pro Neo shaft nicely matches the needs of most middle-handicappers.

Despite all of these technology advancements, Honma hasn’t sacrificed the cosmetics it’s known for. This iron looks as sharp at address as it does in the bag.

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

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

june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

61

super- game-improvement irons

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★★

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

“A fresh look with an approachable topline that hides the thicker bottom.

Plenty of distance and stability.”

demand

BIG BERTHA B21

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★★

look • sound • feel

★★★★

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

“The black hides the bulkiness of the club. These irons limit left-to-right flight to keep you in play and toward the green.”

demand

★★★★★

c a l l away

performance

★★★★

RRP AED 4,375

clevel and

RRP AED 3,995

LAUNCHER HB TURBO

▶ Whether a developing golfer or one with a rusty swing, highhandicappers typically struggle with three areas of the game: distance, forgiveness and launch. To address those challenges, these irons have a cupface enhanced by artificial intelligence that produces hundreds, if not thousands, of face designs in the time it would take a human to do a handful. This helps Callaway create different thickness patterns for each iron face. That’s important because compression at impact for a 5-iron is much different than it is for a wedge. However, an “active” face will tend to vibrate, and that can lead to poor sound and feel. To avoid any unwanted vibration, Callaway uses urethane microspheres (urethane with microscopic glass bubbles filled with air) behind the face to produce a pleasing feel at impact. Elsewhere, tungsten weighting in the toe—low and farther back—helps golfers get the ball airborne quickly. Callaway complements this cool technology with a fundamental approach to super game improvement: You will find a wide sole, wide topline, large face and large offset here—all attributes that help golfers achieve solid contact with a good amount of forgiveness.

▶ Club designers are used to working on irons that look like, well, irons. That type of design, however, does not always produce the kind of help necessary to mitigate misdirected shots. That’s why Cleveland went outside the typical design box with this allhybrid-like iron set designed to mask as many flaws as possible.

Although speed is always welcome (and is present in these irons thanks to a face that is 5 percent thinner than its predecessor), it’s forgiveness these players need most. That comes from a centre of gravity that’s six millimeters deeper and three millimeters lower than typical cavity-back irons. That means players have a better chance of hitting the ball above the CG, which helps golfers launch the ball more easily, and the deeper CG helps mis-hits, too. The hybrid-like construction is smartly managed throughout the set by progressively transitioning the sole width (wider in the lower lofts, narrower in the higher lofts) and maintaining the turf-forgiveness of a full hollow construction. The progressive shaping plays another role, too, as it makes the look of the middle and shorter irons easier to stomach for those hesitant to play an all-hybrid set.

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

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

62 golfdigestme.com | hot list 2021

Listed alphabetically

in association with

performance

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★★

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

“Delivers consistent shots and lets me work the ball, even if I haven’t mastered that skill yet.”

demand

SIM2 MAX OS

★★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★★

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

“Absolutely pured the ball.

The weight is comfortable to swing, and the slim top is easy to look at.”

demand

★★★★★

tay l o r m a d e

performance

★★★★

RRP AED 4,095

titleist

RRP AED 7,175

T400

▶ A lot of companies go to great lengths to hide the forgiveness features of super-game-improvement irons in as sleek a package as possible. The Sim2 Max OS is a good example.

Housed in an appealing cavity-back clubhead, this iron borrows liberally from its SIM2 Max counterpart, including a through-slot speed pocket to maximise face flex, especially on shots hit low on the face. The company’s venerable invertedcone technology, which places a variable-thickness structure behind the face, is positioned differently in each iron to line up with where impacts frequently occur to expand forgiveness with added ball speed: more toward the toe in the long irons to reduce the likelihood of a slice and more toward the heel on short irons to reduce the tendency to pull those shots. Upping the distance game is the use of stronger lofts, up to 2 degrees stronger than the SIM2 Max. Because players in this category are reluctant to play wedges with less forgiveness (or if they do, they probably shouldn’t), TaylorMade extended the lineup of irons here to include a gap, sand and lob wedge for those wanting a consistency of look and playability throughout.

▶ Titleist’s iron line over the years has evolved from appealing strictly to better golfers to expanding to other player types. Still, the super-game-improvement-iron shopper had been shut out until now. Building off its experience creating a similar club for the Asian market and its expertise in strong-lofted, high-launching utility irons, Titleist embarked on making a full set for those who need help generating ball speed. The outcome is an iron with a wide, hollow-body construction designed to maximise forgiveness on mis-hits. To assist in that endeavor, loads of high-density tungsten (up to 100 grams in some irons) are used to not only enhance forgiveness but produce a low centre of gravity to foster launch. An extremely thin L-face insert in the 5- through 7-irons offers extra yards in those clubs. Of course, golfers who tend to swing slower benefit from every gram saved, making the 43-gram Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Lite+ grip (seven grams lighter than the regular Tour Velvet 360) a smart choice. Also new is the set configuration and lofts: Players in this category often use hybrids instead of long irons, so the T400 starts at the 5-iron. The pitching wedge is a super-strong 38 degrees.

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

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

june 2021 | golfdigestme.com

63

in association with

super- game-improvement irons

performance

★★★★½

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★ demand

★★

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

“This iron can send it with the best of them. The light weight generates all kinds of speed. It has a sizeable sweet spot with a crisp sound.”

x xio ELEVEN

RRP AED 6,125

performance

★★★★

i n n o vat i o n

★★★★½

look • sound • feel

★★★★½

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

“This blends iron-wood performance with a more traditional iron look.

My shots had a nice, boring trajectory.”

demand

★

x xio PRIME

RRP AED 12,500

▶ Reducing weight is an important part of making super-gameimprovement irons, but XXIO’s strategy with the Eleven is to selectively add weight to each grip to help the golfer swing better. XXIO believes that focusing on the biomechanics of the least-skilled golfers can help them execute a more reliable swing.

Specifically, brass and rubber weights are placed in the butt end of the grip of each iron to raise the balance point higher than would otherwise be possible. This promotes a better wrist cock and hand position at the top of the backswing, resulting in a more effective move into the ball. Still, the graphite shaft for this iron is hardly hefty: It weighs only 48 grams. XXIO’s effort here extends beyond the shaft, though. The irons are a four-piece construction with tungsten weighting positioned low to help golfers launch it high. Launch, however, is not enough for this player. They need a power boost, too. The high-strength-titanium face insert features a grooved channel around the perimeter on its backside to expand the flexible area of the face and increase ball speed. In a nod to slower swingers, the standard set is just five clubs, starting at the 6-iron and going through the pitching wedge.

▶ XXIO’s Prime lineup of clubs is perhaps best known for selling at a premium price. Although that’s true, in this case you get something really good for what you pay for—extreme and unique technologies designed to make average-golfer swings more productive. Rather than designing clubs that attempt to fit all players, XXIO Prime doesn’t compromise on ways to address the swing flaws of slower swings. This means lightweight construction with faces that flex as much as possible. Each iron has a titanium face with a groove around the bottom and toe area to improve the iron’s springlike effect and shift it lower and more in line with where impacts occur. Generating ball speed isn’t as valuable without a higher launch. These irons help golfers get the ball up in the air quickly through a lower centre of gravity achieved by two high-density tungsten nickel weights in the wide sole. That’s an important trait in a club with lofts 2 to 3 degrees stronger than many irons. The shaft is extremely lightweight at less than 50 grams and uses weights in the butt end of the grip to hike the balance point closer to the hands, promoting better hand position at the top of the backswing.

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

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

64 golfdigestme.com | hot list 2021

Listed alphabetically

AED 99 only

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Play On Tour

Undercover Caddie Think you could carry a 40-pound bag for a living? ne of my first events 30 years ago was the PGA Tour’s old Tucson Open. I remember seeing caddies who looked beat up. They were not so much standing next to their bags as they were angled over them, their bodies overloaded by this invisible weight. I recall being sad and almost embarrassed for them. It just seemed like they had let themselves go. I called my dad and told him about it, promising that wouldn’t be me. ▶ What a stupid kid I was. Now I’m one of those guys bent over the bag who looks like a sparring partner for the heavyweight champ. ▶ We are by no means athletes, but our work is a workout. We were getting our steps in well before step-counting became a thing, and we did it carrying a 40-pound bag. That type of activity offers health benefits but can do a number on you, too. People think we all have back problems. Some do, but more often we pull something picking up or putting down the bag. If you’re wondering why most of us don’t use two-strap bags, it’s because guys find one strap easier to maneuver. And, to be honest, you don’t look like a pro two-strapping it. We’re more likely to have problems with our knees and hips. It’s all about how you manage the pain.

O

We don’t work 52 weeks a year, but we also don’t get many breaks. It’s hard to miss extended time for major surgery unless your player tells you your spot will be there when you return. Knee arthroscopy—“clean and go” as we call it—is probably the most common procedure out here. Anything else is Advil and ice.

Being in the sun six times a week can wreck your skin if you’re not careful. It can also drain your energy, and the more tired you are, the more prone you are to mistakes.

But what I realised—almost too late—is that the physical stuff isn’t the hardest part. It’s the psychological hurdle of signing up to be a vagabond.

I’m in a different bed every week. My first 10 years, I would room with so many

caddies that I was lucky to get a bed at all, much less one to myself. That lack of consistency can affect your body and your sleep. Flying isn’t easy; neither are eighthour road trips. Then there’s the diet. The tournaments do a great job now of providing a healthy spread, but that wasn’t always the case. Used to be a steady rotation of dollar burgers and deli meat.

I didn’t complain. I was in my 20s, but I didn’t really understand what that diet was doing to me.

Financial stress is also a factor. If you aren’t with a top-60 player, you aren’t saving money. That might be OK if you’re single but not if you’re supporting a family.

I’d say upward of 120 regular caddies struggle with bills.

Also, players outside the top

66 golfdigestme.com | june 2021

60 are more prone to slumps and switching caddies. Anyone with tenuous job security knows this can age you faster than a call from the IRS. It wasn’t until I was in my late 30s that I finally stopped looking at missing consecutive cuts as a disaster. We’re also competitors. We want our guys to succeed, and we take their setbacks as hard or even harder. Yes, we’re part of a team, but a lot of what happens is out of our hands, and that doesn’t exactly alleviate our stress.

Back to family. Forget money; it’s difficult to have a strong relationship when you’re away that often. You don’t want to be the person who wakes up and realises your job cost you love, and trust me, there are plenty of examples out here of that. I’m happily married, but we met late in life, too late to have kids of our own. It is a “what if” that took me some time to come to peace with.

When I was starting out, several vets warned me to pace myself with how I handled myself socially away from the course. People might think the job is all

fun, but there aren’t as many laughs working at the course as you might think. We get those off the course, and often it involves sitting around a table with beers. I have a lifetime of stories because of those nights. When you’re sharing a common area with three other caddies, it’s hard not to have a couple of drinks a night. But if you don’t manage it, it will manage you.

Caddies used to sit and watch their guys warm up on the range. Now we’re the ones warming up, getting our stretches in. Quality sneakers and ice -gel packs are essential. Arm-guard sleeves look ridiculous, but they keep our arms cool and unburned.

The massage-therapy guns help, but nothing is better for your body than a few laps in the hotel pool. The bond we share with each other is also important for airing out complaints and knowing none of us is alone.

After 30 years, my mind and body have a few scars, but I still love it. The spirit is still there, and I love to compete. I might be bent over at times, but at least I’m still here. —with joel beall Illustration by Freak City