Golf Digest Middle East - June 2023

DJ KHALED

JUNE 2023

SHOT OPTIONS

Holes like the par-4 sixth at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course will give players space and choices not typical for a U.S. Open.

6 Editor’s Letter Los Angeles gets set for another blockbuster as US Open comes to town.

BY MATT SMITH

The Starter

8 Play And Stay Take advantage of our great offer to play two of the region’s finest courses.

BY MATT SMITH

Mind / Body

10 Journeys

Leonie Harm: ‘The Doctors Didn’t Think I’d Live’

WITH KEELY LEVINS

12 Undercover Caddie The five best loopers on the PGA Tour right now.

WITH JOEL BEALL

14 A US Women’s Open Unlike Any Other Pebble Beach produces magical finishes.

BY JIM NANTZ

16 Country Strong

Russell Dickerson plays sold-out shows and Augusta National.

BY ALEX MYERS

18 Unforgettable

My dad has dementia, but he hasn’t forgotten the game he loved.

BY LORENZO BENET

54 Skim Away Your Fears

How to wedge it close off tight lies.

BY KEVIN SPRECHER

56 Swing Sequence Pierceson Coody

BY DAVE ALLEN

58 What’s in My Bag Cam Young WITH RON KASPRISKE

66 The Loop We roll out golf’s red carpet.

BY COLEMAN BENTLEY

Features

18 A Winning Match

eGolf Megastore and Bettinardi are a perfect partnership.

BY DEAN CHEESLEY

22 The Journey Man

Troon’s Mark Chapleski reflects on a journey that took him around the globe.

BY MATT SMITH

26 Course Development Catching up with Abdullah Al Naboodah.

WITH MATT SMITH

COVER STORY

28 All I Do Is Win

Enjoy golf the DJ Khaled way.

BY COLEMAN BENTLEY

36 Showtime

The US Open returns to LA after 75 years.

BY DEREK DUNCAN

44 Secrets of the Tour

Why the best putters are Australian. BY

LUCAS HERBERT

Hot List 2023

PART 5

61 Wedges

We all miss greens. These clubs feature the kind of helpful technology that can turn your short game into a strength.

BY MIKE STACHURA

Action! The scene is set for another major drama

US Open set to become a box-office smash at Los Angeles Country Club

By Matt Smith

MAJOR SEASON is in full swing following a thrilling PGA Championship where Brooks Koepka confirmed his return to full fitness and with a restored confidence after two years of frustration and internal conflict over his game.

All roads now lead to LA and the Los Angeles Country Club — right next to Hollywood, where so many dreams have been born and broken. The famous old club is preparing to host the US Open for the first time in its history from June 15-18.

The one and only time the US Open was previously held in Tinseltown was 75 years ago at the Riviera — and saw the creation of one of golf’s greatest storylines as Ben Hogan claimed his first major.

Rough, tough and very, very long, like Oak Hill the LACC set-up will not be for the faint-hearted. So it is no surprise that some familiar faces are being touted for the season’s third major. The passthe-parcel world No. 1s Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm will fancy their chances, while nine-yearitch Rory McIlroy will go once again in search of an elusive fifth major. Don’t be surprised to see Koepka up there once again, and the likes of Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Smith, Justin Thomas and PGA runner-up Viktor Hovland should not be too far away either.

Following on from Michael Block’s Hollywoodstyle heroics at the PGA Championship, it’s time to sit back, grab the popcorn and see who scripts the win in LA.

As expected, there will be no Tiger Woods teeing it up for the 123rd iteration of the famous tournament he has won three times, but one familiar face will be there having gone the hard way round. Sergio Garcia Monday-qualified in Dallas in late May to make the field as the 2017 Masters champ was no longer exempt. As thrilling as it was, it felt like there was something missing at the PGA Championship. It was the first major since 1999 that the diminutive Spaniard was not in the field when fit (he had to skip the 2020 Masters due to a positive Covid-19 test). Garcia shot consecutive rounds of 66 at Bent Tree Country Club and Northwood Club to tie for fourth place and book his spot at the US Open — and it will be great to see him at the highest level once again in LA.

But back to Brooks. He has a bit of a thing for New York and his two-shot victory at Oak Hill was the third major he has won in the state. As he heads to LA, he is now the third active golfer to have five majors. The other two? Not-so-young pups Tiger and Phil Mickelson.

Koepka’s success at Oak Hill last month was no fluke — as his second-placed finish at the Masters backs up — and the 33-year-old now five-time major champ had been plotting his assault on the 2023 majors all the way back at the start of the year.

Koepka showed remarkable astuteness and confidence while competing at the PIF Saudi International at the beginning of February outside Jeddah and discussing his hopes for the season.

While he only managed a three-under total for a tie of 46th place, 16 strokes behind winner Abraham Ancer at King Abdullah Economic City, the American knew his game was just where he wanted it to be as he geared up for a big season now he was back to full fitness.

“I usually get off to a slow start and I am just trying to play some rounds and shake off the rust from the winter break,” he told me. “I normally don’t really get going, where I feel like I am firing on all cylinders, until March, so I am just getting some rounds under my belt. I will be ready to kick it into gear ahead of the Masters. Nothing has changed and I plan my year around the majors and will make sure I am playing well for those.”

As I said, fairly astute!

Back on UAE shores, the Golf Digest Middle East Play & Stay is back, offering golfers the chance to play two of the finest courses in the region at Yas Links and Yas Acres on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island as part of a great deal, overnight stay at the Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi – Yas Island with evening brunch and brekkie included on June 9-10.

If you want to get take advantage of this great offer and play two great courses before the summer heat takes over, check out pages 8-9 for more details and how to book.

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Link up with your pals at Yas Island

Golf Digest Middle East’s latest Play & Stay event will allow you to enjoy one of the region’s most iconic courses

With the Golf Digest Middle East Play & Stay event on June 9-10 comes one final chance of the season to play one of the Middle East’s most iconic golf courses. For just AED 1,295, you and a friend can enjoy a two-day staycation on Yas Island with one playing spot in each round at Yas Links Abu Dhabi and Yas Acres Golf & Country Club, either side of a luxury pampering at Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi. Following a fun nine holes at Yas Acres (below) and a Crowne Plaza evening brunch, Saturday’s tournament will be a day to remember as competitors follow in the footsteps of some of the world’s greatest golfers at Yas Links. Designed by Kyle Phillips, the course is a warm-weather links, using two million cubic yards of sand to create the masterpiece. The course offers challenges with the Arabian Gulf breezes and undulating layout, but beware the stunningly difficult three-hole closing stretch which has been the scene of many a ruined card.

—matt smith

Emirates

Yas Island

photograph by jacob sjoman

‘The Doctors Didn’t Think I’d Live’

The car hit me at full speed. I woke up five days later not knowing how bad things were. Now I’m chasing the LPGA Tour

By Leonie Harm with Keely Levins

The last thing I remember is my mom saying good night to me on that Thursday. I woke up five days later. The doctors didn’t think I’d live, let alone become a professional golfer.

My parents wanted a sport they could play with my brother and me. They tried golf and loved it. I was tall, so I hit it far immediately. I started playing competitively when I was 10. We joined St Leon-Rot, a club an hour and 20 minutes north of my hometown in Germany because the practice facilities were so good, and they supported junior golfers. My parents raised us to set goals and to find joy in life through purpose. The mentality in our house was simple: If you have the opportunity to get something done, why wouldn’t you get it done?

LEONIE HARM

I landed in front of a woman who was on her way to the bus stop. She was a trained German military paramedic and knew exactly what to do when someone landed at her feet, bleeding out of her ears. She talked to me so that my brain didn’t shut off. Another witness called an ambulance. They got there quickly but didn’t think I’d survive.

● ● ●

LET, EPSON TOUR

AGE 25 LIVES STUTTGART, GERMANY

At the hospital, I was put into a medical coma. After a day, my vitals were stabilising. Keeping me in the coma risked long-term damage, so they woke me up. Nobody knew what the extent of my brain damage would be, or if I’d be able to walk again. Somehow, I was OK. The first question I asked was if I could play in the German Girls’ Championship, which was a few weeks away. I had no idea how bad things were.

● ● ●

● ● ●

When I was 15, I started to play more internationally. I wanted to become the best junior in Europe. I started waking up at 5am to run. I did it to be fit for golf but also because I didn’t like how I looked. I felt horribly overweight. I look at pictures now, and I don’t see myself like that.

● ● ●

The traffic lights in our town didn’t turn on until 6am. That Friday, I crossed the street on a blinking light when a car was coming at 45 miles per hour. Maybe I didn’t see the car. The driver saw me but didn’t react. She was drunk. She hit me full speed. I flew over the car, hitting the concrete. None of it made it into my long-term memory.

My fractured left ankle required surgery. My hip was broken. I had broken ribs, collapsed lungs and a basilar skull fracture. My inner left ear imploded because I had a broken petrous bone — one of the hardest bones in the body. I had hematomas in my brain and a severe concussion. In the aftermath, my mom spoke with the driver on the phone. I don’t know what happened to her. She battled addiction. I don’t blame her for what happened. I hope the accident sparked positive change in her life.

● ● ●

I was frustrated. Right when I was on the verge of doing great things in golf, I had to stop and let my body heal. I spent

two-and-a-half weeks in the hospital. Five weeks later I got the boot off my left ankle and started playing again.

● ● ●

My first tournament back was the British Girls. My inner ear wasn’t fully healed. It got badly infected in the wind. I withdrew and had ear surgery. Since then, it feels like I have an earplug in my ear. My balance is also permanently affected. I can’t ride a bike. I learnt how to play with it, focusing on rhythm, weight shift and ground connection. When the wind is coming off the left, I tend to fall forward a bit in my follow-through.

● ● ●

In 2014, my mum was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer. Doctors said there wasn’t much they could do — research into her type of cancer is limited. That felt wrong, and I wanted to work in the field to fix it. I chose to attend the University of Houston because they said I could study anything. I started in 2016 and studied biochemistry to get into cancer research.

● ● ●

After my first semester, I lost my mum, the most important person in the world to me. I was heartbroken and barely sleeping. Leaning on the values my parents taught me pulled me out of it. I know she’d want me to work hard toward my goals. I climbed up the World Amateur Golf Ranking, reaching No. 4, the highest of any German golfer ever.

● ● ●

I turned pro after graduating in 2019, played three events, and then the pandemic started. The Ladies European Tour paused the season. I got an internship at CureVac, where they work on vaccine development. As much as I loved it, I’m not ready to commit to that life. I want to get on to the LPGA Tour. In 2022, I failed to qualify through the LPGA Q Series. Now, I’m a rookie on the Epson Tour, where the top-10 players on the money list earn LPGA Tour cards. Money out here is tight.

● ● ●

After the accident, I learned that life could be over at any time, and we have to be OK with that. I want to live my life making the best decision I can in each moment. That way, whenever it ends, I’ll be content and proud of where I am. I’m not afraid of dying.

Undercover Caddie

The best loopers on the PGA Tour right now

One of the dumbest knocks we hear on a recurring basis is: “You know what makes a great caddie? A great player.” Well, that’s nonsense. There are a ton of caddies who have taken their players to another level as well as ones who have weighed their players down. I realise a list of bad caddies might be juicer, but let’s stick with the good ones.

I’m going to fill you in on a “great-

est caddies” ranking that a friend and I were putting together recently. These are guys currently looping on the PGA Tour, so we don’t discuss the likes of Peter Coleman (Bernhard Langer), Fanny Sunesson (Nick Faldo), Herman Mitchell (Lee Trevino) and Andy Martinez (Johnny Miller). Furthermore, the No. 1 spot belongs to Jim (Bones) Mackay, and this column already covered why he’s the best, so we’re going to focus on the best of the rest.

Paul Tesori

Let’s start with a recent example of a caddie making a positive difference. Cam Young brought in Tesori and instantly almost won the WGC Match Play, and the two followed up with a T-7 at the Masters. To me, Tesori is the total package. He’s a former tour player, so when he speaks to his guy, the voice is coming from someone who has been in those shoes. He does his homework. Remember, he worked for Vijay Singh,

and the big Fijian does not suffer fools. Tesori always tries to see the positive in a situation, and players need that type of reinforcement. He is a social chameleon. Just look at his former bosses: Singh, Sean O’Hair, Jerry Kelly, Webb Simpson, Young. Those are five different dudes with personalities that range from personable to aloof to cold to goofy (in no particular order).

Tesori is an upstanding guy, which goes a long way in the caddie barracks. When he was taking the Cam Young job, he called Chad Reynolds, then Young’s caddie, to let him know. Tesori didn’t need to do that, but he did because he’s the type of guy who wants to do things

the right way. When young caddies ask me for a role model, I point to Tesori.

JJ Jakovac

JJ has been a caddie for only 12 or so years, which is a puppy in caddie years, but even before he hooked up with Collin Morikawa, JJ was legit. It’s no coincidence that Ryan Moore’s best run of his career was with JJ. Having JJ on the bag is having a voice of reason in your ear at all times. If you go to a tournament practice round and hang around later in the afternoon, you’ll see JJ roaming the course, trying to pick up any piece of intel he can. A number of caddies do this type of legwork before an event, but I don’t know if any do it as consistently and thoroughly as JJ. That’s part of the homework, sure, but when JJ gives his piece of advice, a player knows it’s not an opinion but based off his research. That means a lot because players don’t care for opinions.

Brett Waldman

A bunch of great loops for whatever reason haven’t reached the same level of fame as the guys casual fans recognise. For me, Waldman epitomises that group. I’ve lost count of how many players Waldman has worked for in the past 20 years, and I’m sure he has, too. That might have a stigma to it, but I look at it as a positive because the reason he sticks around the tour going from bag to bag is because players know he’s good at what he does. He’s another former player (are you noticing a pattern?) and an astute tactician. Having him inside the ropes is like having a computer simulation giving a player real-time readouts of every scenario involved with every shot. He helped guide KH Lee to a win at the 2021 Byron Nelson, and he had Daniel Berger going in the right direction last year before injuries knocked Berger out. Last I saw he’s with Stephan Jaeger. Don’t be surprised if Jaeger picks off a top-five finish at some point this summer if Brett is with him.

Steve Williams

My fellow caddies likely just swallowed their gum seeing Williams’ name. He is, to put it lightly, a divisive figure among our ranks. Part of that could be envy — he is one of the most famous caddies because of his time with Tiger Woods, and he’s unquestionably the

wealthiest. He also holds himself in high regard. He thinks he’s part of the show, so to speak, and that tends to rub caddies the wrong way. That type of conviction was needed when working for Woods. It took courage to challenge Woods, which Williams did, and Woods expected a certain type of professionalism that Williams always upheld.

Here is an unpopular opinion: Fans didn’t like Williams because he could often be a brute to galleries, but things were always crazy around Tiger, and marshals were rarely prepared for the crowds. If Williams didn’t protect Tiger, no one would have. Williams’ approach to things doesn’t work for everybody. His short-lived marriage to Jason Day was a mismatch. Jason was in a vulnerable place that needed affirmation, even a bit of cuddling, but Stevie went drill sergeant on him thinking tough love would do the trick. That said, I personally don’t think Adam Scott wins the 2013 Masters without Williams and his stubborn will on the bag.

Michael Greller

Greller is the spiritual successor to Bones. I know the conversations between Greller and Jordan Spieth make for good TV, but the next time you watch, really listen to Greller because he can say a lot by saying little — or nothing at all. That’s a point all of us hope we can reach. Some folks believe Greller needs to challenge Spieth more, but that misses two obvious points: (1) He already does that often, and (2) Part of what makes Spieth so good is he plays with a wild imagination. On the latter point, Greller knows as well as anyone that whatever short-term gains could be attained by reining Spieth in will be negated by the long-term effects of taming that curiosity and creativity.

From a personality standpoint, Greller is an Alpha who doesn’t need to let anyone know he’s an Alpha, who is liked and respected by all because he treats everyone as an equal. If he and Spieth ever split up, there will be a bidding war for Mike’s services, including the broadcasters. —WITH JOEL BEALL

Undercover Caddie feels bad for leaving Joe LaCava off the list, but he deserves it for being a Giants fan.

A US Women’s Open Unlike Any Other

Pebble Beach has a way of producing magical finishes

By Jim Nantz

WHO TO WATCH

From top: Rose Zhang, Atthaya Thitikul, Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko.

,

Th e US Women’S open is being staged at Pebble Beach Golf Links on July 6-9 for the first time in its history, and I believe it will be a watershed event for women’s golf. There is an intrigue and excitement around this important moment in the game, and everyone whose heart resides full time in Pebble Beach is saying it’s one of the most anticipated events to ever hit the Monterey Peninsula. It also will be the most solid affirmation yet that women’s golf has arrived. Since it was first played in 1946, the US Women’s Open has visited many of the great cathedrals of golf: Winged Foot, Oakmont, Olympic, Pinehurst and Baltusrol come immediately to mind. But Pebble Beach takes it to a new level. Its beautiful setting, brilliance as a competitive test and magical way of producing dramatic finishes and time-capsule shots is unique: Tom Watson chipping in at No. 17 in 1982; Jack Nicklaus clanging a 1-iron shot off the flagstick at the same hole in 1972; Gary Woodland pitching across that same green to within two feet of the hole in 2019. A player at the Women’s Open will do something similar, if not at No. 17 then surely elsewhere. Pebble Beach and players in the heat of competition there always deliver.

Given the history of women’s golf at Pebble Beach, it’s surprising the Women’s Open hasn’t been played there already. Few courses in America had such an early start at conducting important women’s tournaments. After the course opened in 1919, the first tournament of note played there was the Pebble Beach Championship for Women in 1923, which continued (save for a break because of the Second World War) until 1951. The great Marion Hollins, who had close ties to Pebble Beach and its founder, Samuel FB Morse, won the tournament seven times before her passing in 1944 at age 51. Hollins more than incidentally had a hand in design-

ing Cypress Point and commissioned the design of Pasatiempo to her friend, the legendary Alister MacKenzie.

That was only the start. The US Women’s Amateur was played at Pebble Beach in 1940 and again in 1948. Pebble Beach then hosted the LPGA Weathervane Transcontinental Women’s Open (what a name!) in 1950 and ’51, won by Babe Zaharias and Patty Berg, respectively. The California Women’s Amateur was staged at Pebble from 1967 until ’86 and featured winners such as Amy Alcott, Patty Sheehan and Juli Inkster — World Golf Hall of Famers all. Most recently, the Carmel Cup college tournament for women

Who rates as favorites in this momentous championship? The short list includes Aramco Saudi Ladies International champ Lydia Ko, the 2022 LPGA Player of the Year who won three times last year and might be approaching her prime. Atthaya Thitikul, 20, won twice last year and was LPGA Rookie of the Year. You can’t overlook Minjee Lee, the defending US Women’s Open champion, who at age 26 has won two majors and eight tournaments overall. A victory from In Gee Chun, Nelly Korda or Brooke Henderson wouldn’t surprise anyone, either.

was started in 2022. More striking than the women’s competitions at Pebble Beach is the fact that, as a public course, anyone can play there. There is no happier sight to me than wandering over to the course from my home and seeing smiling families playing.

The texture of the golf will be different and fascinating to watch. Pebble has never been a bomber’s paradise, especially under US Open conditions. It’s about precision play and handling the elements, course set-up, demanding architecture and major-championship pressure. Players can expect cool temperatures and wind, although it’s not likely to rain much. They will see a course that is firmer and faster than they are accustomed to playing, and rough that is a little taller.

My pick is a sophomore at Stanford University who has yet to play in a mainstream LPGA event. That player is Rose Zhang, who already has a special USGA championship résumé. Zhang won the US Women’s Amateur in 2020 and the US Girls Junior in 2021. She won the NCAA Championship individual title in 2022. This April, the week before the Masters, on the day I was calling the semifinals of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament, she won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. When I arrived at Augusta three days later, she was the talk of the town.

That’s powerful stuff, but consider this: In the autumn of 2022, Zhang played for Stanford in the Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach. In the second round, Zhang shot a 63 that included seven birdies and an eagle. She set the women’s course record at Pebble Beach.

Could Zhang become the first amateur to win the US Women’s Open since Catherine LaCoste in 1967? I wouldn’t rule it out. As we know, magical things often happen at Pebble Beach.

Jim Nantz’s goal this summer is to play North Berwick when he visits to broadcast the Scottish Open.

Favourites include Saudi Ladies International champ Lydia Ko, Atthaya Thitikul, Minjee Lee, In Gee Chun and Nelly Korda

Country Strong

Nashville’s Russell Dickerson plays sold-out shows — and Augusta National

By Alex Myers

On a magical day in late February, Russell Dickerson played golf on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National in the morning, then played a sold-out show in Atlanta that night. Not too long ago, the country music star couldn’t have imagined either of those things taking place — let alone happening in the span of several hours.

Let’s start with Dickerson’s golf, or lack thereof, until a few years ago. The Nashville resident estimates he had played five rounds in his life. “Since sixth grade, all my energy and focus has been on music,” Dickerson says, which is something you would expect to hear from someone who grew up in a place known as “Music City”. When he hired golf-loving tour manager Taylor Watson, things changed.

“He would be like: ‘Hey, there’s this course right down the road,’ like: ‘We got tee times if you want it, if not, whatever,’” Dickerson says. “So we would just rent some clubs, take a couple hours, blow some steam off.”

But as a 6ft 4ins lefty, renting clubs wasn’t easy. Dickerson eventually got fitted for a new set, which has become arguably the most important piece of cargo he travels with as his interest in the game has intensified.

“You know how it always goes: You hit those one or two shots, and you’re hooked,” says Dickerson, who doesn’t maintain a handicap but recently shot a career-best 81 at Spanish Oaks Golf Club in Austin. “Now it’s like, of course I’m gonna wake up and go play golf as much as I can on the road.”

With a wife, Kailey, and a young boy at home — and another on the way — Dickerson plays most of his

golf when he’s travelling. When he is on the course, he loves listening to music and often pauses to jot down song ideas on his phone, sometimes inspired by a phrase used by a playing partner. Dickerson counts fellow musicians Charles Kelley, Thomas Rhett and Darius Rucker among his golf buddies, but he’s always looking to expand his contacts — especially if it helps get him on a new course.

“It’s amazing what you can get with a couple concert tickets,” Dickerson says with a laugh.

Dickerson’s music career, however, didn’t develop quite as quickly as his love of golf. After graduating from Belmont University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in music, he took more than six years to sign with a record label. During that time, he had few soldout shows as Dickerson performed in front of sparse crowds that sometimes wouldn’t even give him so much as a golf clap. Looking back, though, he’s happy with how things unfolded.

“I wouldn’t change a thing,” says Dickerson, whose self-titled third stu-

Dickerson often jots down song ideas while on the course.

catherine powell

dio album was released in November. “Obviously you want to blow up and play Madison Square Garden as fast as possible. But every dorm lobby we played, every college cafeteria where they’re just like: ‘Oh, God, why? We’re just trying to eat lunch,’ all those shows and all the miles are so worth it.”

Like a mini-tour pro grinding a path to the PGA Tour, Dickerson always believed he was close to breaking through. The guitarist dug his success out of the dirt — or, rather, plucked it — finally hitting it big in late 2015 thanks to one song, “Yours.” Well, one music video, that is — one cheaply made music video. The song’s subject, Kailey, served as videographer, director and editor, setting up a camera on a tripod in the back of their SUV. Another friend drove as Dickerson sang with an oncoming thunderstorm providing a natural dramatic backdrop.

“I knew deep down this was a hit song,” Dickerson says. “It got to the point we were like, we’re just gonna shoot a video, we’re gonna do it ourselves. So I just start walking down this road, I’m singing to the song, pouring my heart out to my wife behind the camera. Man, you couldn’t pay a billion dollars to get a music video like this.”

“Yours” went viral to the tune of nearly 70 million views and counting on YouTube. In 2016, it got another boost by being named The Knot’s top new wedding song of the year, all from a video that Dickerson estimated cost about $6 in gas money to make.

Being budget conscious while pursuing your dream is another way Dickerson feels connected to professional golfers, even though he had never seen them up close until attending the 2022 Masters. Although he’s got a great support system in place, ultimately, he’s a solo act.

“I don’t have a duo, I don’t have a band. You know, it’s just me, and everybody is counting on me, so I can relate to that,” Dickerson says. “If I don’t wake up in the morning, if I don’t write the songs, if I don’t make the hit records, if I don’t do this, everybody underneath

me on my team is going to struggle. Just like with any of those players, if you don’t win, you don’t get paid.”

When it comes to improving his golf game, Dickerson has mostly taken a solo approach as well, having never taken an official lesson, but he’s “totally open to all critiques” from playing partners. He wanted to give Zach Johnson’s caddie, Brian Smith, a shout-out for his help when they were paired in the Arnold Palmer Invitational pro-am in March.

“He got me to move the ball back in my stance a little bit, close my shoulders,” Dickerson says, “and the next drive was an absolute bomb.”

Dickerson could have used that advice the week he played at Augusta National, but he was still happy with the 91 he shot. The whole morning of his round was so surreal that he can’t even remember what club he used to hit the green on No. 12, a video highlight that lives on his Instagram feed.

As a Tennessee lifer, though, he’ll never forget seeing Peyton Manning in the clubhouse that morning. However, seeing is all he did as Dickerson

decided not to approach the Volunteers legend and NFL Hall of Famer because he “didn’t want to be that guy”. We’re pretty sure you can’t be “that guy” when you have four No. 1 singles (and counting) on the Country Airplay chart, but that’s the attitude of someone who didn’t find success overnight. Dickerson calls his career rise “steady,” and he’s ready for the next progression.

“We’re stepping into those bigleague venues this autumn, which is kind of scary,” he says of the upcoming leg of his tour. “You know, when you see the word ‘Arena’ on your tour list, it’s like, all right, man, we got some tickets to sell.”

Maybe Dickerson will go say hi to Manning next time he’s at Augusta National. Better yet, at this rate, maybe Manning will come say hello to him.

Alex Myers might actually give country music a try after this one.

Unforgettable

My dad has dementia and cannot remember my name, but he hasn’t forgotten the game he loved

By Lorenzo Benet

When I call my 90-yearold father at his assisted-living complex in Peterborough, New Hampshire, he greets me with his usual refrain. “I’m alive,” he cracks, his favourite one-liner ever since his wife, Jonna, called in 2017, urging me to get to New Hampshire quickly. “Come now — it

might be the last time you speak to him while he still remembers who you are.”

My father suffers from vascular dementia, brain damage caused by a loss of blood flow to the brain that impairs a person’s memory and ability to think and reason. He has lost all short-term recall but has some familiar and motor memories more reliant on the brain’s

cortex and deeper structures, which survive longer. My father cannot remember my name or that he fathered six children and later directed the Public Works Department in Nashua, New Hampshire, his hometown. What he can recall is playing golf.

His introduction to the game came as an adolescent looper during the Second

World War, caddieing at Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts. “I carried doubles on the weekends,” he boasts from his wheelchair in the dining room at his complex. “I can’t tell you what I made caddieing, but it was better after the war when the soldiers came back and hit the courses,” he says.

My dad hit them hard, too. His proph-

ecy in the 1950 Marblehead High yearbook read: “Pete Benet” will “card a record 56 on the links.” In the 1960s, when he was on military leave, he would come home from local tournaments, victorious in his classic Arnold Palmerstyle, black V-neck sweater, carrying a new golf bag and umbrella, inevitably.

A US Air Force pilot, he volunteered for a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1967 when I was eight. He flew reconnaissance missions at 30,000 feet over the DMZ, a relatively safer task than his earlier assignments — piloting airdrops from low-flying C-130s over the same dangerous turf. My parents divorced after he returned from the war. My father remarried and was stationed abroad for several years before retiring to Nashua. After college, I moved to California and started playing golf in my late 20s. Separated by 3,000 miles, we played about a dozen rounds together in all, but we talked about the game constantly.

Growing up, connecting with my father was never easy. He was always far away, and our relationship endured lots of painful arguments and disagreements. As the years went by, golf helped us heal and form a bond.

In 2005, when he was 72, he was driving with Jonna to their vacation home on Tybee Island in Georgia and suddenly got confused and lost, panicking behind the wheel. Later, he had trouble swinging his custom Warrior woods. His mental health steadily declined, along with his memory. “Just like that, he didn’t want to play anymore,” Jonna says. “He was a proud man.”

Twelve years later, when I flew to Nashua at Jonna’s urging, his memory was fading fast. Conversations became a struggle. “Hi, it’s Lorenzo, your son from Los Angeles.” I’d ask about the weather or what he was having for lunch, and then he would interrupt, “What’s your name? And where do you live?”

“Dad, how are you feeling?”

“I’m a tired old man, and I get very confused about what I should do, could do and have done,” he would say.

During the pandemic, I worked remotely and started playing golf regularly again with my son, LJ, who had moved home. One day I mentioned this to my dad.

“Golf?” he said, his voice perking up. “I used to play golf.”

My game was a mess. I couldn’t break 100 and had a terrible slice. “To hit a

straight ball when you want that, contact the ball first, then the ground,” he offered, as though he was a kid looper again giving advice on the fairways of Tedesco. “You may still hit a slight draw, but it will be straight.”

He paused and declared: “There’s playing golf, and then there’s playing good golf — two different things.”

I called again and picked his brain — how to set my stance (“back foot slightly behind the front”) and what club to use to pitch from a slope before the green (“use a lower-loft club”). His favourite club was a 7-iron because “when you get closer to the green, you can use it for your approach and use it for chipping”.

His voice is gravelly and somewhat disjointed, but these conversations gave me chills and drew tears, reminding me of talks we had when I started the game. “I was a fair putter,” he explained, mimicking a wrist stroke from his wheelchair on my recent visit to Peterborough. “Read the greens and the surface, and adjust to the needs of the break on the green. Putting is the biggie. It ain’t easy.”

In September 2021, my father was hospitalised with a severe back injury. I flew in from California and drove to Nashua with my sister to meet Jonna before we went to the hospital to see him. We all knew he wouldn’t be returning home. I slipped into the den and rifled through his golf bag, pulling out a dusty, vintage Wilson 4300 driver. I went outdoors and swung mightily, tears filling my eyes as I tried to drive away decades of frustration, disappointment and anger down a long, make-believe fairway.

Back in LA, I sometimes play with the vintage Patty Berg signature Wilson putter I stole from his bag that day. When I play nine holes, I carry my bag like the Marblehead looper I know, knew and love, his missives echoing through my head: “Putting is the biggie. It ain’t easy. Swing through the ball.”

My father is always in the moment now, just like he tells me to be on the course.

“The secret to golf is to play a lot,” he says. “The more you play, the better you will be.”

Something else, Dad: It makes me feel alive.

LORENZO BENET is a writer living in Los Angeles.

A WINNING MATCH

Bettinardi Golf and eGolf Megastore are a perfect partnership in the Middle East

By Dean Cheesley

As eGolf Megastore sought to expand our offerings and further enhance the experience for customers, we set our sights on forging a partnership with a distinguished putter manufacturer. Bettinardi Golf, renowned for their tour validation and exceptional craftsmanship, stood out as the ideal partner for us. As an avid golfer and someone who simply wants the best for his game, I had long admired the quality and performance of Bettinardi putters, which had earned the trust and validation of top professional golfers on various tours.

In 2017, when exploring this partnership, I understood that Bettinardi would not only bring prestige but also provide golfers with access to the very best putters on the market. Armed with this vision, I reached out to Bettinardi, expressing my admiration for the brand’s track record of producing tour-validated putters of the highest quality. Once I had met with Bob, outlined our position in the market as the leading golf retailer, and showed our in-store facilities where people could not only try out the putters but also have the opportunity to discuss putter performance with one of our PGA fitters, ensuring the best fit for their game, Bettinardi saw an opportunity to expand their reach and share their exceptional putters with a wider audience. Recognising eGolf Megastore’s reputation for providing golfers with top-tier equipment and expert advice, dedication to customer satisfaction, and commitment to excellence, the partnership seemed like a natural fit.

After careful discussions and negotiations, we proudly became the Middle East’s authorised distributor of Bettinardi

putters. This collaboration brought together two entities with shared values and a mutual commitment to providing golfers with superior equipment. With the addition of Bettinardi putters to our inventory, our customers were now able to experience the remarkable craftsmanship and precision engineering that had earned Bettinardi its reputation.

As a company, we’re always looking to offer the best to our loyal customers, and given Bettinardi’s prowess in the custom putter world with their ‘Hive’ collection, this seemed like a fantastic opportunity to create a regionally specific putter of our own

Due to their limited production and exclusive one-of-a-kind nature, the Hive collection putters are highly sought after by collectors and golf enthusiasts alike. Every new release of Hive putters generates excitement within the golfi ng community, often resulting in rapid sell-outs.

The term ‘Hive’ refers to the manufacturing facility of the company, where skilled craftsmen meticulously handcraft each putter with the utmost precision and attention to detail. The Hive collection is known for its limited-edition designs and unique aesthetics, which often push the boundaries of putter craftsmanship. Each putter in the collection is individually crafted and represents a fusion of cutting-edge technology, innovative materials and exquisite design. Given the region’s ability to purchase special ‘money-can’t-buy’ items, whether that be luxury cars, property, or unique putters, I felt this is something we had to offer our consumers at eGolf.

As our partnership flourished, eGolf Megastore and Bettinardi continued to work together closely, sharing insights to further improve our offerings. This collaboration led to the development of exclusive customisations and limited-edition designs (some of which

you can see throughout this piece), making eGolf Megastore the only retailer in the Middle East to offer these unique UAE-inspired putters.

We love the idea not only because these putters are regionally specific and highly limited for players and collectors alike but also because they are still some of the best-performing putters money can buy. What’s not to like?

We’re already in the final stages of producing these Dubai-inspired putters with Bettinardi, working and collaborating to ensure they become some of the coolest and most unique putters a UAE golfer could wish for! Customers and collectors should keep their eyes peeled on the eGolf Megastore social media channels for a special chance to purchase one of these putters as soon as they are released.

Visit eGolf Megastore to view the range of limited-edition Bettinardi putters.

JOURNEY MAN THE

troon international’s mark chapleski is retiring after a well-travelled and intriguing journey across the globe, and he has a few tales to tell…

by matt smith

YOU EVER

Those are the words of advice from a man who should know.

Mark Chapleski has been immersed in the world of golf for as long as he can remember and now — after a long and eventful journey that has taken him around the globe from the United States to Japan and then the UAE — the Troon Executive Vice President will retire at the end of July following 24 years with the golf and club management team.

It can be strange sometimes when you set out on one path, with a plan in mind, and you end up somewhere completely different. Mark explains this is exactly what happened after his academic career and a faltering attempt at life on the pro tours.

“I got pretty good in junior year in college,” he tells Golf Digest Middle East at The Els Club in Dubai. “I was an honorable All-American, and was planning to be All-American first or second team the following year, but my senior year didn’t pan out as planned. I didn’t play as well, putt as well, as I hoped, and that was pretty much my career done right there. There was another guy on my team who went on to play professionally for 10 years, but for me it never worked out. I played a few events on the PGA Tour, and I tried other tours like in South America, but my pro career was pretty much over before it began.

“I never thought I was going to be in the golf industry. I figured if I didn’t make it, I would become a stock broker or do something in the investment world, but I just kinda fell into it.”

So as it was, Mark hung up his spikes. Then an opportunity arose at just the right time for him to prolong his time in the golfing realm.

ABOUT

never would have made much money on the tour.

“Yeah, so I decided to get into the industry and joined the PGA of America Programme as an apprentice at Yuma, I was in the golf shop, or doing whatever needed doing as an assistant pro.”

Following three or four years serving at the country club in the Southern California Desert, the next chapter in Chapleski’s journey began and it led to one of his bucket-list destinations.

“After I got out of college, I met a guy who happened to be called Don King — not that one,” the now-62-year-old laughs. “I grew up in Michigan and other than travelling to play golf, I hadn’t been about. Don said there was an opportunity in Arizona at Yuma Country Club, if I wanted to come out. It’s a place that never rains and plenty of great weather. So I just up and left. The rest is history.”

And it is quite a history.

“I actually got my game back for about eight months while I was out there,” he adds with a shake of the head. “I had forgotten about this. My clubs got stolen and it was right after that I found something in my game. It’s not like today with all the technology to help you — if your clubs got stolen, you started changing stuff, because you had had the old ones so long anything else is unfamiliar.”

With a shrug, he adds: “Anyway, I still couldn’t putt worth a damn so I

“I knew I had to make a move or I could end up stuck there at Yuma forever, so I upped and went to Palm Springs in California and got a job working at Marriott Desert Springs, then the high-end Vintage Club. I was only there for six months when someone told me that a very well-known pro Craig Williamson, the man behind Kapalua on Maui, was opening a new club — in Hawaii.”

Ko Olina Golf Club was the place where Mark would call home for the next 10 years, and he remembers it fondly.

Troon Executive Vice President Mark Chapleski will retire at the end of July, following 24 years with the golf and club management leader. Chapleski has led the Troon International division since 2017, growing the company’s international portfolio to 40-plus facilities in 20 countries.

IF

WANT TO LEARN

LIFE FROM AN EARLY AGE, take up caddieing. As a 10 or 11-year-old, the stuff you will hear, it will open your eyes to the big world out there like no other way. It is an experience money can’t buy, listening to men talk about things going on in their lives and discovering words you didn’t know existed!”

“Hawaii had always been on my radar since I was a kid, watching ‘Hawaii Five-0’ with my dad, so I made the decision to head for O’ahu Island, and that is really where I cut my teeth on the business side of things in the industry. This was a start-up, so we were doing everything from scratch and I learnt a lot.”

While Mark was learning the basics, he was also part of a bit of sporting history — just one of his many fascinating tales.

“Craig came up with an idea — I guarantee you he was the first to do this — to put the Ko Olina ‘ladybug’ logo on the back of the shirts,” he explains. “Legend says that if a ladybug lands on your shoulder, you can blow it off and make a wish. This is 1990, no one had anything like this on their shirts, and I

thought: ‘Hey that’s a bit weird.’

“But after the first year, the shirts had gone from around 10 per cent of merchandise sales to around 90 per cent… and now almost every sport has shirts with sponsors and things on the back shoulder. That was great to be part of.”

Mark climbed his way to Director of Golf Operations at Ko Olina when news came through in 1999 that the club was being sold to Marriott. Mark was on the move again — and this time ended up on Troon’s doorstep.

“I knew [Troon COO] Bruce Glasco from my days in Michigan on the amateur golf scene,” he says. “I think he was VP at Troon at this point, so I sent in my CV — they were expanding pretty fast — got hired and moved to Scottsdale, back in Arizona.

“That’s when the call came in that a team from Troon was needed to go to do due-diligence on six golf courses in Japan. So a team including myself and Bruce went over there, and soon after [then part owner] Goldman Sachs said we need to open an office in Japan, because there was a lot of work to be done.

“We started the office in Japan with a team of four or five people. What was meant to be a short due-diligence trip

turned into four years — four interesting years — working with bankers like Goldman, Morgan Stanley, all these guys. We were there to analyse and value their golf courses.”

The culture of golf was quite different to in Japan, so it was a challenge to know just what was required and Mark was learning as he went along.

“Golf in Japan was a day-long event back then,” he says. “The guys would go out in the morning, play nine holes then stop for lunch. Mandatory. You go in, get drinks, food, the lot, and then get back out for the back nine. By the time you add in transport, post-round bath and everything else, the whole day was gone.

“However, we could see that was changing. The younger generation didn’t want all this. They wanted to get a round done in four hours as they had other things to do. So, we helped create what is now the second largest golf industry in the world.”

Mark’s next stop would finally see him settle — the UAE in August 2004, and since then he certainly has seen some changes both to the golfing scene and the city of Dubai as a whole.

“They were looking for someone to

From top: Chapleski with Bill Clinton; Playing golf in Hawaii with Michael Jordan in 1995; Chapleski playing golf; At opening of Velaa Private Island in the Maldives; Velaa Golf Academy by Olazabal with VP of Agronomy Robin Evans (left) and Troon COO Bruce Glasco (right)

run the opening of Montgomerie,” he says. “I recall my first visit here from Tokyo. I think there were maybe five clubs at the time — Abu Dhabi, AD City, Nad Al Sheba, Creek and Emirates Golf Club. But the Montgomerie was being built and that’s what we were brought in to oversee.

“It has been quite a transformation since then. We went from one golf course at the Montgomerie, then the second one came up at the Els Club — there was no Sports City or anything, complete green field out there at the time.

“It is completely different now as a city and even the golfing scene is much more mature — and I feel Troon coming in helped create what we have today. The teaching and academy side has gone through the roof, too. From having the Butch Harmon Academy with us, and what that brought to the region, meant it really raised the standard of coaching across the board, Jumeirah Golf Estates raised their game, Pete Cowan came in, and you can really see it in the quality of the players we are producing in the UAE now. To get to where we are today has been an amazing trip.”

As Mark gets ready to step away from the coalface — and wind down the

mark’s passion for the game is surpassed only by his compassion for people and those providing firstclass service to our many members and guests. while i am sad to see him retire, i know he will be making an impact in whichever community he settles in.

air miles — what is next for the Troon legacy in the UAE now that the likes of Yas Links, Saadiyat Beach and Yas Acres have joined the Viya portfolio?

“There are still more courses that are being talked about and being planned, so I think the UAE will continue to be our home base,” he says confidently. “It is such a central location and has a great air lift with Emirates. We are still bullish about what this region holds for golf in the future. I believe there is a big opening for golf tourism in this country and it is something that we are definitely working on.”

Whomever comes in next certainly has some big shoes to fill, and hopefully they will have just as many tales to tell.

Troon is a global leader in club management and development, with more than 40-plus facilities in 20 countries.

From top: Troon Golf with Colin Montgomery (left to right) ~ Mark Chapleski, Robin Evans, Colin Montgomerie, Jef Spangler, Ken Kosak, Christo Diamandopoulos, Bruce Glasco; Chapleski speaks to the Jazzy Golfer at Address Montgomerie 2019; Chapleski at Asia Pacific Golf Conference 2019

–bruce glasco, troon coo

ABDULLAH AL NABOODAH TALKS ABOUT HIS NEW ROLE WITH THE EUROPEAN TOUR GROUP AND HOW THE GAME HAS GROWN IN THE REGION

With Matt Smith

bdullah Al Naboodah was recently appointed Non-Executive Director of The European Tour Group — which looks after the DP World Tour, Challenge Tour, Legends Tour, G4D Tour and the Ryder Cup in Europe.

Al Naboodah, who is also Chairman of Al Naboodah Investments and an Executive Board member of Saeed and Mohammed Al Naboodah Group, a major Emirati family-owned conglomerate with more than 60 years of history in the Middle East region, took time out to chat to Golf Digest Middle East about his new role and the state of the game in the UAE.

He has been a pivotal figure in the development of golf in the UAE over the last 20 years. In 1988, the Al Naboodah Group helped build Emirates Golf Club, the first grass golf course in the UAE which hosted the first European Tour event in the region, the Dubai Desert Classic, a year later.

He took up golf himself in 2006 at the Dubai Creek Golf Academy, reaching a single-figure handicap within 18 months. Since then, he has played a key role in grassroots golf in the Middle East, including as Vice Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation from 2008-2012 and Chairman of Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club, while his businesses have supported a number of players and junior golf projects.

Congratulations on the new role. What will this entail in terms of your contributions to the European Tour team?

My relationship with the European Tour Group began about 14 years ago. Since then, I’ve got to know many people who work in the organisation, so I’ve always had an unofficial working relationship with the Tour. Now that has become more formal with a position on the Board of Directors. I think it is important for the Middle East to have a voice in the Tour, given the strong presence and relationships the Tour has in this region. I’m proud that I can be that voice at board level. I will be attending regular board meetings and select tournaments, particularly in the Middle East. I will also join strategic meetings where required and attending future European Tour group strategy dates. I will also bring all of my network and all my own experience from across the Middle East to help the European Tour Group. There is a strong opportunity for the Tour to continue its commercial expansion in this region. DP World is a fantastic partner for the Tour to have. I see that partnership, and those kind of relationships, growing in the future.

You have been involved in golf in the region for quite some time now. How did you get into it and can you tell me a bit about your journey?

To be honest, I love sport and I’ve been involved in several different sports over the years.  I was Chairman of the UAE football club Al Ahli for a number of years. Where golf is concerned, it’s always been a passion. I’ve been involved with the Emirates Golf Federation in the UAE and helped support a number of professional and amateur events. Too many years ago to remember, my family’s company actually built Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek Golf Club. I’m a regular at the Creek playing every Saturday.

You were the mastermind behind the Invitational at Creek and Yas Links, would you ever consider trying to resurrect an event along

similar lines now we have seen the game grow in the UAE?

Yes, absolutely. We’ve had some discussions along those lines, so watch this space.

And how is your own golf game? You have certainly played with a few top players. Up and down! You’re right, when you play with top players your game is going to be suitably knocked up a level and I’ve been in pretty good form recently. There’s a good summer ahead and lots of playing opportunities which I’m really looking forward too, including my trip to Ireland which I do every year, and trips to the United States and Europe.

The talent production line in the UAE keeps on going with the likes of Josh Hill, Toby Bishop and Chiara Noja making big steps.

It’s great to see, I’ve been watching all of them develop over recent years. Let’s hope they’re the first of many. The two Challenge Tour events we held recently in Abu Dhabi will really help with development and allow players to compete against other talented players from around the world. Increasing engagement in the Middle East is a key focus for the Tour. We have a great opportunity to do that and develop golf across the Middle East region at both the professional and amateur level. There is already a lot of work taking place among the amateur federations in the Middle East to promote golf, so hopefully that production line you mentioned will continue and get even better.

And we now see young Maya Palanza Gaudin blazing a trail at Augusta [she won the Masters Drive, Chip & Putt event], do you think the talent production will continue to grow?

I was thrilled to see Maya’s achievements in Augusta. Maya played with us in the pro-am in my tournament last year — the RAK Championship presented by Phoenix Capital — she’s improved incredibly since then and put in a lot of hard work.

Obviously, the facilities in the UAE are worldclass. There was once a concern that there were too many courses and not enough players here and now with 20-plus courses and more in the pipeline, what do you see as the key to this continued success?

Clearly the courses have been operating at capacity for a few years, through club memberships and tourism. Dubai is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world and with the courses that we have planned that can only help us to become one of the best golfing destinations in the world.

NEW GROUND Abdullah Al Naboodah has been appointed Non-Executive Director of The European Tour Group

ALL I DO IS WIN

By Coleman Bentley

Photographs By Mary Beth Koeth

Khaled, who was raised in New Orleans and Orlando before moving to Miami, tried golf in his teens. His best friend lived next to Bay Hill Club. “We was crazy,” he says. “We would try to jump golf carts over bunkers.” Now 47, Khaled only recently has become captivated by the game. Now the music industry’s busiest man is up to his eyeballs in golf and loving every second of it. He just got fitted for a new set of PXGs, each club custom stamped with everything from the title of his 2007 album “We the Best” on the face of his driver to

For 10-time Grammy-nominated producer, modern-day philosopher and unwavering beacon of positivity

DJ Khaled, life boils down to four things: family, music, God and golf

— not necessarily in that order.

the names of his two sons, Asahd, 6, and Aalam, 3, on his 8-iron. He just got his first official handicap: 14. He’s even planning to host a charity golf tournament.

Between those formative days and our interview on a beautiful spring afternoon at Miami Beach Golf Club, a lot has happened for Khaled. Born to first-generation Palestinian-American parents and raised a devout Muslim, Khaled loved R&B and hip-hop from a young age, especially Run DMC’s seminal live album “The Apollo ’86”. “That was one of my favorite records to scratch and cut

up,” Khaled says. “I was amazed about all the breaks [breakbeats, a type of drum beat commonly ‘sampled’ by DJs] on the record, and that’s why DJs loved it so much.”

Reconciling his love of hip-hop and rap with his faith, Khaled has forged a clean style, focused on themes of ambition and gratitude. “God gave me life, and he gave me a blessing, and I show my gratitude every single day,” Khaled says. “I love golf because it’s like my connection with God, too. It’s kind of like my one-on-one time with him.”

In the early 1990s, Khaled got his break in the music industry as a host for the Miami-area radio station 99 Jamz, right as some of his favorites like Biggie, Tupac, Nas and Jay-Z (who turned in a verse on Khaled’s epic 2022 track “God Did”, now the name of his putter) began dominating the airwaves. That led him to a DJ gig with the hip-hop group Terror Squad and eventually his debut album in 2006, “Listennn … the Album”.

Khaled’s follow-up “We the Best” produced a top-20 single in “I’m So Hood”, but it was his triple-platinum-

certified 2010 hit “All I Do Is Win” that made Khaled really famous. Khaled’s 2022 album “God Did” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and earned five Grammy nominations.

Although music remains the pillar of Khaled’s professional empire, golf has become his mute button — a fortress of solitude for the top-40 Superman. As we sit chatting in a golf cart, a warm

Atlantic breeze picking up around us, Khaled admits that he has played seven days a week for the past month. His Instagram, followed by nearly 34 million people, is littered with clips of him striping tee shots with his new catchphrase: “Let’s go golfing!”

If you’re a man whose entire life is based on the rhythm and music of words, why not use the gerund? “Ev-

ery day after I wake up and pray, I’m screaming it,” Khaled says about these four syllables. “If the weather’s beautiful, I jump out on my balcony and scream: ‘Let’s go golfing!’ My kids are running around the house: ‘Let’s go golfing!’ I’m screaming it on my Instagram: ‘Let’s go golfing!’ I walk outside. I jump in my car, and if I’m at a traffic light, my fans pull the windows down

and start screaming: ‘Let’s go golfing!’ If I’m at a concert, they’re screaming: ‘Let’s go golfing!’

“I want to be clear: This is not a joke. This is something that’s part of my life. Everywhere I go they scream ‘Let’s go golfing!’ It’s just something that comes out of my soul and my heart. It’s a beautiful slogan that came from a true organic space in my life, and

you’re gonna see a lot of things with ‘Let’s go golfing!’ You’re gonna see some beautiful things.”

Khaled’s golf wisdom, which pours from him like a sermon at every opportunity, suggests a player with many miles on his spikes, but he started playing seriously only about two years ago, when, as the pandemic began to stabilise, he took his neighbours up on a long-standing offer to slap it around.

“They always invited me to play, and I never had time. Well, I realised I had time. I just didn’t make time. That’s what golf is teaching me. Life is now. We gotta stop saying we don’t have time for things. We have to make time.

“God said: I’m gonna stop everything; everybody get focused and recharged.” Khaled continues. “God put me on that golf course. I went and played with my neighbours and some friends. It was so beautiful. We had so much fun, and for not playing in such a long time, my swing was there. I was hitting them. God was telling me: ‘Yo, Khal, watch what we gonna do now. We’re gonna get you more focused.’ Golf taught me to be more calm — not changing who I am because I have a lot of energy but the way I deal with things. Take time. Don’t trip. Don’t work off your emotions. Something that used to irritate you, brush it off, keep it moving. Go hit another nine holes.”

How, then, do golf’s stuffier elements react to the Tasmanian Devil-like whirlwind that is DJ Khaled, rolling up to the front gate blasting his own music in his Rolls-Royce, hyping up everyone as he rolls through the clubhouse in eyewateringly rare Masters-themed Jordan XIs? Apparently selling nearly five million records worldwide will earn you a lot of cred, even with golf’s parochial power brokers.

“I have a trillion texts on my phone right now. Everybody wants to play, from Miami to Scotland, England to Barbados, Jamaica to the Bahamas, Cal-

ifornia to Vegas. Sometimes you have to tone stuff down, but I always gotta be me, and I encourage everybody in the world to be yourself because that’s the truth. Every course I go to, the love is amazing. I walk in with love, and I leave with love. That’s who I am.”

That’s the Khaled way, and it flows through all facets of his life. As our cover shoot winds down, he begins launching balls (also emblazoned “We the Best”) into the South Beach sky until, much like a take in the studio, he gets one that feels just right.

“When I’m done playing golf, and I walk into the studio, I have a clear mind,” he says. “On this new album, a lot of my great ideas came from me sitting on the golf course or me walking the fairway and just thinking. A lot of my great ideas come out when I jump in the car on the way home after a beautiful day of golf, and I’m driving home, and I’m saying: ‘Man, I got a dope idea. I’m gonna go lay it down in the studio.’”

If all of this seems like a jarringly holistic approach to a game of precise yardages and calculated Indexes, that’s because for Khaled golf is a workout of the mind as much as the body, a point he keeps returning to. When it comes to the company he keeps, vibes are everything. Sometimes he plays with his star-studded “PAR BOYZ” crew, including the likes of Mark Wahlberg and former major-league outfielder Reggie Sanders. They’ll bump JayZ or Khaled’s own songs in the cart. “Once in a blue moon” they’ll sip on something nice. Other times, though, he will play by himself in silence. Like seemingly all things in Khaled’s life, golf comes down to gut feel — a deep knowledge of inner self and the confidence to trust it, a combination that

‘If the weather is beautiful, I jump out on my balcony and scream, “Let’s go golfing!” My kids are running around, “Let’s go golfing!” [It] comes out of my soul.’

has served him well, whether facing a forced carry or a sold-out arena.

“My happiness is my family and my kids and loving God, but golf makes me happy, too,” he elaborates, a wellspring of pithy wisdom and catchy quotes. “I got a mandate that I’m putting in my life: It’s OK to be happy. When I come out to the course, I end up being happy. I’m smiling, I’m laughing, I’m talking. We being competitive, but it takes all the distortion away, all the negativity, everything that’s going on in the world.”

But what happens when golf strikes back, as it sometimes does? How does the world’s preeminent optimist deal with a bad day doing a good thing?

“I’m gonna tell you straight up. I was playing with Bob [a man Khaled looks to as his unofficial golf sensei]. It was me and him by ourselves one day. I had some good shots, and then I had some bad shots. But while I was playing, I stopped and I said: ‘Golf is like life.’”

Of course, only a few million people have ever drawn that comparison. Somehow it rings differently coming from the self-made mogul. “It’s not easy, but it’s beautiful. Even when you have a bad shot, that’s when you take it all in and look at the scenery. Look at how beautiful Mother Nature is. Look how beautiful these people are that work day and night to keep these golf courses beautiful. That Zen will make you have a good shot. When you have a bad shot, you gotta step out of it and say: ‘Yo, chill, relax.’ The next shot is going to be the saviour, right?

“If I’m on the tee box and it goes right into the next fairway, I don’t get mad. I’m already thinking about that 8-iron or that 4-iron I’m gonna pull out. I’m gonna hit a stinger that’s gonna go right down the middle. If you ain’t coming out here with confidence and greatness, stay in the golf cart and be my caddie. Matter of fact, don’t even be my caddie. Follow behind me because we only getting busy over here.”

So what about Bob? Who is this mysterious figure who plays such a massive role in Khaled’s golf life? He appears out of thin air during our interview, beaming and nodding at Khaled’s answers from behind a pair of oversize sunglasses. Bob has close-cropped silver hair, is impossibly tan, and has calves that would make Phil Mickelson jealous. He’s the guru’s guru. While Khaled has taken formal lessons, Bob serves as

the primary steward to Khaled’s game.

“I met Bob through a great friend of mine named Jamie,” Khaled says. “He came over to my house for lunch before we played golf one day so that we could get to know each other because when you set a tee time, you want to know the kind of people you’re going to play with.

“Once [Bob] could tell I was serious about it, he gave me a few pointers, and they ended up really shaping my game. He has a style that’s really swagged out — a perfect golf swing, not too hard, effortless. It’s almost to a point like, come on, this is too beautiful. He made me breathe. He’s like: ‘Yo, slow down. Walk like you’re going to play.’ I ain’t even got a club in my hand yet, and he’s talking about how we going to walk. I said: ‘Man, I like this guy.’”

Obviously, Bob is down to play 36 at a moment’s notice. However, how does Khaled’s wife feel about all the time he has been spending at the club working on that walk? After all, he and Nicole Tuck — he lovingly refers to her as “My Queen” — have been together since the early aughts. Something must be working.

“When I’m playing golf through the weekdays, I still gotta run my business,” Khaled says, again choosing the long way around. “If I pick up my phone or check an email while I’m on the golf course, I’m in a better mood to deal with stuff. If you catch me on a golf course, the business deal is gonna be a lot better.

“When My Queen calls me on the golf course, it’s the same thing. I’m like: ‘Baby, whatever you want. Go shopping. Do whatever you want.’ She loves it when I golf.

“My kids, they fell in love, too,” he says. “We built a golf course in our backyard — just got it done today, actually — so they’re both golfing every day. On the weekends they come out and play with me. They also take lessons, but they are natural with it. I’m

telling you, some people are just natural with it, but you can’t be natural and take it for granted. You gotta perfect it. At a young age, I can already tell they are going to be playing golf for sure. I’m not putting it on them. They naturally want to play golf.”

There is one fatherly stipulation, however: Now when the Khaleds go on family vacation, it has to be somewhere with a bucket-list golf course nearby. What dad says goes.

On the whole, Khaled’s shaman-like aura is tough to pierce. I expect him to eventually break character, but after a while it becomes clear that he simply is the character. It isn’t an act. It’s just him. As we wrap up, however, I notice a novelty headcover in his bag that seems at odds with his monastic mojo: a lion’s head with Rasta-inspired dreadlocks. He admits John Daly gave it to him, and, of course, there’s time for one last story.

“You know John Daly,” Khaled begins, as if everyone is mutual friends with the two-time major champ. “We met up at an, um, secret location. He says: ‘Khal, I got love for you, I’m a fan,’ but he ain’t never seen me play golf. It’s a par 3. He tees up my ball. He’s giving me pointers. I embrace it because he’s a legend — and he did teach me something that I wasn’t doing — but at the same time I was like: ‘He has no idea this is about to go on the green.’ I took my 8-iron, and when I hit it, it sounded so good, everything looked right, and then it landed right on the green. He looked at me and goes: ‘That was [expletive] good!’ ”

Khaled might opt for slightly softer language himself, but the slogan’s sentiment still fits — a double dose of positivity whittled down to its bare essentials.

‘I encourage everyone in the world to be yourself. ... Every course I go to, the love is amazing. I walk in with love, and I leave with love. That’s who I am.’

THE STAGE IS SET

The versatility of the par-3 11th at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course will delight viewers.

THE US OPEN RETURNS TO LOS ANGELES

BY DEREK DUNCAN • PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIAN OAR

THE LAST TIME THE US OPEN TEED OFF IN Los Angeles, Harry Truman was president, Stalin still controlled the Soviet Union, interstate highways didn’t exist and “The Ed Sullivan Show” was 10 days from its debut. Ben Hogan had yet to win an Open, but that would change that week in 1948 with his two-shot victory over Jimmy Demaret at Riviera Country Club, Hogan’s third win at the course in 16 months, including two Los Angeles Opens.

LA had worked its magic and found a star. It centre-staged arguably the generation’s greatest player and set in motion one of sport’s most mythic comeback stories. Then, remarkably for a city so enamoured with sequels, nothing else happened. For reasons to do with the small number of clubs with the status, space and willingness — or availability — to host, the Los Angeles US Open franchise failed to launch.

The Open returns to LA this June on the diamond anniversary of Hogan’s win, to the North Course at The Los Angeles Country Club rather than Riviera. It will be like starting over. The North Course will be a novel experience for most of the field except for the few amateurs who competed on it during the 2017 Walker Cup. The design will also introduce elements that are atypical if not baffling for a national championship: fairways that are 40 to 60 yards wide (more in some areas) bordered by just a whiff of Bermuda rough, par 3s that can range from 300 yards to less than 90, with some elastic enough to play three or four clubs longer or shorter from day to day, and the jarring juxtaposition of the property’s rustic, barranca-split setting and the sparkling urban skyline of neighbouring Century City.

That Los Angeles Country Club is hosting the US Open at all is another storyline, one that’s out of character for the club. In a city where publicity and promotion are the oxygen it breathes (cer-

A BARRANCA RUNS THROUGH IT

There’s no room to miss at the par-3 fourth.

tainly in this part of town, straddling Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills near the edge of Hollywood), the club is famously spotlight averse. It hasn’t hosted a professional event since the 1940 LA Open, and it doesn’t fit neatly into the US Golf Association’s well-established mandate for large Open courses with room to support major infrastructure and high spectator traffic. The course is entirely hemmed in by commercial districts and surrounding estates, and getting people in and out will require considerable orchestration (having the adjacent South Course available to absorb necessary overflow makes the event possible).

John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer for the USGA, says Los Angeles Country Club represents the organisation’s updated philosophy

for considering US Open sites. “Over the years the business model at the USGA had become focused on the need to fit 40,000 people on to the course, and all the economic and market factors had to be there as well. When you consider courses like Merion or even Los Angeles Country Club where that isn’t possible, it ruled certain places out for the USGA,” he says. “We’ve changed that. The model today is based largely on where the players want to contest a US Open. We’ve asked the men and women: ‘Where do you want to win? What places do you want to go?’ It’s interesting to hear what’s important to them, and it has fuelled a lot of what we do because it just means more when you go to places that have that gravitas. The ghosts of the past matter.”

The calendar for the next two decades supports the idea of the Open returning to a group of historically established championship courses with architectural pedigrees. Pinehurst No. 2 has five Opens scheduled, and Oakmont and Pebble Beach each have four. Winged Foot, Shinnecock, Merion and Oakland Hills, with a total of 22 past Opens among them, round out the roster until 2051, and Los Angeles Country Club is on the books again for 2039. “We use the term ‘cathedrals of the game,’” Bodenhamer says, “and we think LA Country Club is one of those.” The expected attendance, he notes, will be a comparatively modest 22,000 spectators per day.

Architecturally, if not in tournament clout, Bodenhamer is correct. The North Course is one

of the great triumvirate of courses George Thomas designed in Los Angeles in the 1920s, with Riviera and Bel-Air Country Club, each built with William P (Billy) Bell.

Thomas’ genius was his ability to design strategically complex holes on distinctly different sites. He was a master at incorporating natural terrain and grade changes when available and constructing elaborate bunkers and other architectural apparatuses when not. In the canyons of Bel-Air, he routed the holes the only places he could — in the valleys — but used the foothill slopes and shoulders to exciting effect (the financial luxury to link the disparate sections via tunnels and elevators inside mountains plus a suspension bridge over the top certainly helped). At Riviera he could route the

FORKING PATHS

The drivable par-4 sixth presents a matrix of options.

holes any way he wanted over a largely featureless plain between two palisades, using a barranca and manufactured features to create the course’s strategic compositions. Los Angeles Country Club falls in between.

Thomas was an aspiring golf-course architect when he relocated from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in 1919. He joined Los Angeles Country Club, and shortly afterward assisted British architect Herbert Fowler in upgrading the rudimentary North Course. Thomas’ architectural ideas crystallised as he designed several other Southern California courses and began writing extensively on the topic. When the club asked him to remodel the North Course again in 1927, Thomas eradicated almost everything Fowler had designed by re-rout-

MANY OF THE GREENS WERE DESIGNED TO RECEIVE A RUNNING BALL BANKED OFF FLANKING MOUNDS OR RIDGES.

less agricultural land in the 1920s, and Thomas’ design accentuated the property’s openness, especially the upland holes of the second nine, by constructing broad fairways that could be played along different lines using slopes and high points to manoeuvre shots depending on how aggressive the player wanted to be. Many of the greens were designed to receive a running ball banked off flanking mounds or ridges.

Thomas’ ideas on lines of play and ground contour culminated in the concept of a “course within a course”. He advanced this idea at Los Angeles Country Club by building numerous tees at staggered distances and orientations to the fairways and greens, a novel concept in 1927. The daily tee set-up could be synced to different hole locations on the greens, changing the way the course played and sometimes even changing the par of the hole. The most famous example is the downhill par-3 11th, with tees fanned out along an upper elevation at distances ranging from 100 to nearly 300 yards. From the shorter tees the angle to the green is more diagonal from the right, and depending on where the hole is cut, the choice is to fly the ball on to the green or, for front pins, land it short and allow the fairway downslope to bounce it forward. As the hole lengthens, the tees shift to the left, impacting the angle and the tactics. Possibly playing as a drivable par 4, golfers hitting longer clubs might choose to use the banked Redan-like ground on the left to redirect balls toward back hole locations. Expect the USGA to showcase the versatility.

ing the holes, locating new green sites and adding the seductively intricate, eroded-edged bunkering he and Bell were known for.

The North Course plays through three environments. The par-5 first and par-4 18th, the only parts of the Fowler course that remained, roam side by side across the clubhouse plateau. Numbers two through eight drop to a lower section of land and then work their way toward the top of a shallow canyon and back, weaving over and along a broad, dry barranca that can intercept shots on five of the holes. Holes 10 through 16 circle atop an upland that tilts toward the course’s lower sections, and 17 returns to the flats along the barranca. This entire region of northwest Los Angeles, all the way to the Santa Monica Mountains, was tree-

In 2009, the club brought in architect Gil Hanse and partner Jim Wagner to renovate the North Course. Though it hadn’t been fundamentally altered the way venues like Oakland Hills’ South Course or Oak Hill’s East Course had, much of Thomas’ architecture was dulled. Restoring those faded aspects, including the “course-within-acourse” concept, motivated them. “Genius — the guy was a genius,” Hanse says. “When we were brought in to interview, and I remember this clear as day, we said that we want to put back George Thomas, and if that’s not what you want, then we’re not the right architects to hire.”

Putting Thomas back was a process that required significant tree removal (decades of eucalyptus, sycamore and pine planting had turned LACC into a parkland course with impeded views) to recapture the openness the architecture demands, especially on the upland terrace. The club also roughed up and remediated the barranca, which had become grassed over and lifeless. Billy Bell’s sensuous bunkers with chunky, grassy top edges were reconstructed, as were the greens, though it’s unknown how similar the contours are to what Thomas designed. The late John Harbottle rebuilt them in the 1990s, and Hanse and Wagner, without evidence to the contrary, took it on an act of faith that the previous work was loyal to what had

always existed. Those surfaces were laser scanned and reproduced and expanded back out to the edges of the bunkers from which they had receded.

The biggest move might have been the replacement of several original greens. Thomas had set the second green on the opposite side of the barranca on a kind of island, but by about 1970 it was shifted to a hillside in the trees, well to the right. The green for the eighth, a split-fairway par 5 playing from the opposite direction, was then extended into the location of the second’s old green site. After considerable discussion, the club agreed to re-establish it, and when the architects began digging, they found remnants of the old green. The same was true of the short par-4 sixth’s green that had been moved back and elevated — that too was rebuilt in its former location. The resurrection of the second green turns the hole into a monstrous 484-yard par 4 where the second shot must carry the barranca. The eighth green was subsequently returned to where Thomas placed it, and the hole skipping left to right and then right to left over the barranca loses nothing for being 65 yards shorter.

“Working at LACC taught us a lot about restoration, but I think more than anything it made Jim and me better architects,” Hanse says. “It enlightened us to the ‘course-within-a-course concept’, and the angles, strategy and different tees aligned with different hole locations. That was hugely important to us in our design for the Olympic Course in Rio and continues to be something in our new work that we always focus in on and talk about.”

The fairways at LACC will rival the widest in modern US Open history, and the challenge for Bodenhamer and the USGA will be to set up the course in a way that honours Thomas’ architecture — which is exhilarating for members and match play and a range of skill sets — yet still tests the world’s best players in every facet. The key will be to make the turf play firm and fast — not compared to a typical PGA Tour set-up but truly firm and fast, something closer to the pre-wall-to-wall irrigation days of Thomas. Bodenhamer understands that importance and expects that balls will be “squirting all over the place”, making controlling distance and calculating runout paramount to success. The Bermuda rough will be cut at less than three inches to start the week and then monitored to find the right height where balls will drop to the roots and not sit up.

“The slope of the ground is the defence for the angles,” Hanse says. “If the balls are running, it will change the angles and the approaches.” The heavily tilted fairways at the third, fifth and 10th holes, for instance, will force players to either walk their drives along the spines and risk being too wide, or carve shots into the slopes to minimise run-outs on the low side. The choice should tie back to hole locations that are far more diverse after the green expansions, particularly Thomas’ re-

TEMPEST OR TEACUP?

The maddening, delightful 15th can play just 85 yards.

established “molar” putting surfaces at the third, fifth, 12th and 14th holes. Flags can now be placed in front positions in the roots of the teeth, so to speak, directly over deep bunkers. The players will have to contemplate challenging these forward pins or risk being above the hole, leaving treacherous downhill putts. To be above the hole on any of the greens on the North Course is to be out of position, and being over greens is to be dead.

Although balance is key, the tee and cupping flexibility give Bodenhamer setup options and opportunities not usually on the table. For instance, the sixth hole, a fascinating downhill par 4 where players can drive the blind green over a hillside or lay back at incremental yardages to align a pitch into the length of a skinny putting surface,

THE FAIRWAYS WILL RIVAL THE WIDEST IN MODERN US OPEN HISTORY, BORDERED BY A WHIFF OF BERMUDA ROUGH.

might play shorter on some days than the par-3 seventh running along the barranca that can be set up at nearly 300 yards. The teacup 15th, its green shaped like the fat end of the Nike swoosh, can measure 130 yards but is likely to be marked some days at something closer to 85 yards.

Bracketing the 15th are five enormous holes that will sort out the contenders as they come to the finish. Four of them are par 4s that can stretch to well past 500 yards each, and the other is a 633-yard par 5. The North Course can measure nearly 7,600 yards, but the length won’t necessarily favour the longest hitters. “When I think of the North Course and how we might set it up, the player that does his homework and really studies the architecture will benefit,” Bodenhamer says. “We thought that

way at The Country Club last year with Matthew Fitzpatrick winning, and he got to know it in 2013 when he won the Amateur there. I think LACC is going to be like that, too, because there are strategic nuances there that, if you understand them, you have an advantage.”

If understanding and repeat viewing matters, look for Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler, who learnt the design in-depth during the Walker Cup, to fare well. Patrick Cantlay is familiar with the North Course from his days at UCLA a few blocks away, and Max Homa set the course record of 61 during his days at Cal. After 75 years, the city is once again ready for golf’s premier event, and no matter who wins, Los Angeles Country Club is certain to come out a star.

SECRETS OF THE

I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT MANY OF THE GAME’S BEST ON THE GREENS HAIL FROM AUSTRALIA. WHAT ARE WE DOING DOWN UNDER TO RATTLE THE BOTTOM OF THE CUP MORE OFTEN? I JUST DECLASSIFIED IT

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JENSEN LARSON

T UR’S BEST PUTTERS

BY LUCAS HERBERT

My home country, Australia, produces a lot of great putters. My theory is that the greens back home are not as manicured and smooth as they are in the United States, so we have to get very good at rolling the ball on less-than-perfect surfaces. When we come to the States, it’s like putting in a video game. Since the strokes gained/putting stat was introduced in 2011, four Aussies — Greg Chalmers, Aaron Baddeley, Jason Day and yours truly — have ranked No. 1 on the PGA Tour in that category. Chalmers did it twice. Another, Cam Smith, was top 10 twice.

You can learn quite a bit from our methods — like how Badds is all wrapped up in the putt, not his stroke. I also like how Jason is so deliberate in his process. Me? I’m not very mechanical. I practise in a way that makes my stroke as free as possible when I play. That’s my first “secret” to share with you. Don’t think on the greens so much. Try to hit every putt with an empty mind. That will put more flow in your stroke. If you want to putt like an Aussie, keep reading.

—WITH DAVE ALLEN

INSTRUCTION

MAKE A STROKE, NOT A STRIKE

I spend five minutes a day working on the mechanics of my stroke so that when I’m on the course, I don’t have to think about it. The proper motion is already ingrained. That way, my mind is free , and all I’m picturing is the ball going into the hole at the ideal angle and speed. If there’s a feel that I have for the stroke, it’s that I’m pouring putts into the hole much like you would pour milk into a bowl. You probably wouldn’t tip the milk carton straight over and pour really fast. It’s a smoother delivery. When putting, I want the clubhead to collect the ball. There’s no abrupt strike, and I don’t feel like I’m accelerating or decelerating. I’m just letting the momentum of the club move the ball on my intended line (above). If you need a visual, my putter moves like the pendulum on an old grandfather clock.

LUCAS HERBERT has won four times on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour combined, including the 2020 Dubai Desert Classic. He led the PGA Tour in seven putting categories in 2021-’22.

LEVEL OUT YOUR PATH

Several years ago, I was having trouble keeping my left arm straight through impact. I was lifting my lead elbow and the clubhead and getting too ‘hitty’ with the stroke. It was the one thing I had in common with many amateur golfers. To create some topspin and get the ball rolling on line, you might feel like you have to hit up on the ball. Actually, you need a much more level strike.

To correct my stroke, I started practising left-hand low, meaning I reversed the positions of my hands on the handle (right). I putted so well that way that it became my full-time grip. Left-hand low makes it easier to keep the back of my left wrist and elbow down. Subsequently, the putter stays low and releases properly ( below). People rarely think about what happens after impact, but the face needs to stay down and continue to move around the arc, square to the path.

ADJUST YOUR SPEED

I have an unusual way of factoring speed on the greens. Many good putters try to hit every putt so that the ball finishes at the same distance past the hole on a miss. Not me. I treat every putt di erently. On one putt, the optimal holing speed might be four feet past the cup. On another, it’s six inches.

Why switch it up? I’m trying to hit each putt at a speed that is going to “lip in” if I catch an edge. I determine that by how I think the ball will react with the back of the cup. If the putt is super fast, I want the ball trickling in so that it hits the flagstick holder at the bottom of the cup (below, top photo). If the putt is slow, the ball should hit between the top and bottom of the cup’s liner (bottom photo).

Varying your speed gives you more of a chance at success from putt to putt.

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One spot in 18-hole tournament (individual stableford format) at Yas Links Abu Dhabi with 1pm shotgun

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MATCH THE FACE AND PATH

Before a round, I’ll do this drill to groove my stroke: We’ll find a straight uphill putt and place a special mat down (called a Wellstroke) that helps me see the arcing path my club should travel on to roll the ball in. My path is not dead straight along my putting line. Trying to keep the putter on a straight line forces you to get your hands more involved in the stroke, and that makes it harder to square the face at impact.

If you haven’t already, try switching to an arcing stroke. Work on it by setting up a gate of tees (right) that forces your putterhead to move on a slight curve. The gate should be slightly wider than the width of your putterhead, and the goal is to make a straight putt (below) without crashing into the tees. The amount of arc varies slightly depending on your putter and body type, but standard is about 12 degrees of curve on either side of the ball. The goal is to keep your putterhead square to the path at all times. This drill really improves the muscle memory for a good stroke.

GET USED TO MAKING THE ONES YOU NEED TO MAKE

My mainstay drill on tournament days is the “five-foot-circle drill” (above). Place 12 balls down evenly apart in a five-foot-diameter circle around the hole. Use a hole with some slope so that you get 12 putts of the same length. Most of the time I’ll hole all 12, but should I miss one, I’ll go back and sink that putt at the end of the drill — or I have to start over again. I’m often confronted with five-footers on the first two or three holes out on the course, and this exercise gives me the confidence to sink those putts (the ones that can make or break a good round). Because I’ve made a ton already with this drill, I’m relaxed hitting them when I play. This drill also forces you to focus on starting the ball on a good line, which is far more important than speed on these “should make” putts.

RATCHET UP THE PRESSURE

This drill is one I’ll frequently end a practice session with and I won’t allow myself to go home until it’s completed. Set four balls down in a spiral pattern at 5, 10, 15 and 20 feet from a hole. Then hit them (above). Add up the total distance of putts made and repeat this four-ball setup three more times to different holes. The goal: Make 75 feet worth of putts in a maximum of 16 tries. Just as if you were playing a tournament or an important match, you want the mind-set of trying to make each putt, for sure, but should you miss, leave the the ball as close to the hole as possible. This is great for improving speed control, and, more importantly, getting you comfortable with holing putts when pressure is mounting. Use it, and you’ll soon become a clutch putter. Just don’t tell anyone about this drill. It’s our secret!

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SKIM AWAY YOUR FEARS

Learn to adjust your approach to wedge it closer off tight lies

By Kevin Sprecher

some of you might not see the short grass as your friend. You’d much rather have a little cushion under your ball. Why do these tight lies unnerve so many of you? First, as with any closely mown lie, there’s a tendency to want to add loft to help get the ball in the air, which causes the clubhead to bottom out too soon. Second, it’s easy to get tentative and want to slow down through impact, which also brings the fat shot into play. To stop chunking, you have to adjust your approach and think about hitting the ball lower, not higher. You also can’t be afraid to hit the shot with a little speed, which requires a shallower angle of attack. Here’s how to do all of these things and become more efficient off tight lies.—with dave allen

KEVIN SPRECHER is the director of instruction at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York.

The easiest way to bring the trajectory down is to choose a less-lofted club, such as a gap or pitching wedge. You can always grip down on the handle an inch or two to take some distance off. Set the clubface slightly open and play the ball one to two inches forward of centre at address, like you would an iron. Your weight should lean slightly forward. These adjustments will help you use the sole of the club more effectively so that the club is less likely to dig.

As you start your backswing, take the club away slightly to the inside with very little wrist hinge (photo, above left). This

DRILL CASH IN YOUR WEDGES

• How the clubhead interacts with the turf is critical to hitting the ball solid o tight lies. The club needs to be skimming the turf. You don’t want the leading edge coming in too sharp, digging and carving out a huge divot. To get you comfortable with how to shallow your angle of attack, imagine your ball is sitting on a large poker chip (below, top photo). You can also use a coin. Hit some wedge shots trying to sweep the ball o the chip without making it fly or laying a mass of sod over it. If you can consistently leave the chip in place you’re going to be money from tight lies and control your distance a lot better.

produces a flatter, more U-shape backswing plane and takes some speed off your swing, creating a lower launch angle. Imagine you’re swinging a fairway wood instead of a wedge. It will encourage you to swing the club more around your body (above, right) and help you sweep the ball off the turf. Make sure to rotate your body through the shot with some pace. Do not slow down. If you want more spin and grab, picture the ball travelling through the lowest window of your house about 10 yards in front of you. Increase the speed of your body rotation and return the clubhead to the ball with a slightly forward-leaning shaft.

STICK IT AT THE TOP

For Pierceson Coody, patience is everything

By Dave Allen

DESPITE BREAKING HIS RIGHT arm last season, Pierceson Coody still managed to lead the University of Texas to a national title, then turn professional and win his third start on the Korn Ferry Tour. He was on the cusp of earning his PGA Tour card when he broke the hamate bone in his left hand, but a hot start to 2023 — including a second Korn Ferry win in Panama in February — has him closer to living out his PGA Tour dream in 2024. Coody has already shown he has the mettle and length to compete on the

PGA Tour, turning four sponsor exemptions into three made cuts, including a T-14 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. Despite his smallish stature (5ft 9ins, 175lbs), the 23-year-old can crush it. In seven Korn Ferry starts this season, the third-generation professional golfer — father Kyle played on the Ben Hogan and Nike tours in the 1990s and grandfather Charles won the 1971 Masters — is averaging 317.7 yards off the tee. Older twin brother, Parker, who also plays on the Korn Ferry Tour, ranks second at 332.5 yards (through April 23).

“Obviously he and his brother have good golfing genes, but they work hard, they’re hungry, and they’re constantly on the grind,” says Troy Denton, who coaches both Coodys along with Will Zalatoris and Sebastian Munoz. “When you watch Pierceson, he flushes it every time. His swing is money.”

Though Pierceson’s ball-striking is elite, he still has the potential to hit it farther, Denton says. Pierceson has a tendency to lock his right hip early in the backswing, causing his arms to lift from his body and restrict the amount of turn

he gets. As a result, his transition can get a little rushed. Denton is also trying to get Pierceson to set the club sooner on the takeaway so that he doesn’t suck the club inside with too much width.

“The feel of it is that the wrists are hinging about knee-height, but it’s more like hip-height,” Denton says. “I have him do set, turn and hit drills, so that he can feel the proper set and then make a full, deep turn with the right hip.”

To tie it all together, Denton has Pierceson hit balls from a paused position at the top of the backswing so that

he can feel his upper body fully coiled — and let it rip from there.

“If he sets it at the top, he feels like he can simply rotate his chest through with a quiet clubface,” Denton says. “He doesn’t have to rush it. He’s going hard at it, but he’s hitting the ball hard with his body, not his hands. There’s no slowing down or guiding going on.”

It doesn’t appear as if there’s any slowing his path to the PGA Tour, either.

“He’s going to get his tour card,” says Denton, “and he’s going to play good out there — that’s a fact.”

AGE 26 LIVES Jupiter, Florida

STORY

Eight top-three finishes in his first 34 PGA Tour starts, including runner-up at the 2022 Open Championship.

CAREER SHOT

I’m an equipment junkie — always trying to find the right combination of stu . You want to make sure you have the right mix of wedges. I have a 58-degree wedge with virtually no bounce. I use it for practising ospeed stu because it punishes you for digging too much and being too steep.

—WITH RON KASPRISKE

WHAT'S IN MY BAG : CAM YOUNG

DRIVER

SPECS Titleist TSR3, 9°, Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White 70 TX shaft, 45 inches.

This driver went in the bag at the Scottish Open last year. It’s standard length and neutral settings. It’s as vanilla as it gets. I can hit a variety of drives with it, but I’m usually going full bore, trying to hit a little draw.

FAIRWAY WOODS

SPECS Titleist TSR2+, 15°, Fujikura Ventus Black 80X shaft.

I had a 16.5 degree 3-wood in the bag, but that left too big a yardage gap between my driver and 3-wood — probably a good 50 yards. I can hit this 15-degree fairway wood something like 275 yards in the air easily.

IRONS

SPECS Titleist T200 (2-iron), Titleist T100 (4-, 5-iron), Titleist 620 MB (6- through 9-iron), Nippon NS Pro Modus3 Tour 130X shafts, Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align grips.

I sometimes use an 18-degree 5-wood, but I’m mostly playing the 2-iron. It’s more consistent o the tee. The short irons are blades, and when I hit one correctly, it does what I want it to.

WEDGES

SPECS Titleist Vokey SM9 (48°, 53°, 58°), Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks (62°), Nippon NS Pro Modus3 Tour 130X shafts.

I have four wedges but only two lengths. The 48 and 53 are the same, and the 58 and 62 are, too. It helps me control my yardages. I like the muted-colour shafts on the wedges I use around the greens. It puts my focus on the clubhead.

PUTTER

SPECS Scotty Cameron Phantom X5 tour prototype, 34.75 inches, SuperStroke Flatso 2.0 Zenergy grip.

This putter has a head shape that is fairly popular on tour, but it’s uniquely mine. It has a long knuckle neck that makes it face-balanced instead of having toe hang. I like the look of it because everything is 90-degree angles.

EASY ON THE EYES

I always mark with a quarter. There’s no real significance. I use one because anything smaller is tough to get out of your pocket, and anything bigger is annoying to look at on the green.

NO COMPLICATIONS I keep it simple in the bag: alignment sticks, range finder, tees, balls, etc. I’m also anti-superstitious. If I park in a spot and shoot

make it a point to

I wanted a little more height on approaches. The spin’s about the same, maybe 100 revolutions-perminute difference.

TODAY’S WEDGES BRING OUT THE SHORT-GAME WIZARD IN ALL OF US

PLAYER COMMENT

CALLAWAY

JAWS RAW/FULL TOE

RRP AED 850

WHAT IT DOES: The raw face and 37-degree wall angle on the grooves enhance the sharpness for increased grab, particularly on shots from 80 yards and in where players want a shot that stops after one hop. The new groove design gets help from micro-milled grooves between the grooves. These are milled at a 20-degree angle, helping spin on even shorter shots, specifically chips and pitches. The result is the most aggressive grooves in company history

WHY WE LIKE IT: Callaway uses tungsten for the first time in a wedge (sand and lob wedges only) to position the centre of gravity in line with the middle of the face for maximum control and feel. The new Z grind — a more forgiving, low-bounce option — is an excellent addition to an already impressive line-up.

CLEVELAND

CBX ZIPCORE/FULL FACE 2

RRP AED 745

WHAT IT DOES: A thoughtful mixture of technology good enough for tour players yet designed to mask the flaws of those less skilled. A low-density material inside the lower hosel, neck and sole areas moves the centre of gravity in line with the sweet spot and increases forgiveness by 26 per cent vertically and 10 per cent horizontally. That helps shots come off more consistently.

WHY WE LIKE IT: The sole design smartly changes through the lofts, which takes the agonising task of knowing what grind to use out of the equation. The C-shaped sole on the highest lofts boasts the most heel-and-toe relief for maximum versatility. The revamped Full Face model features a larger face and is designed for the player looking for even more forgiveness.

PLAYER

CLEVELAND

RTX 6 ZIPCORE/FULL FACE

RRP AED 745

WHAT IT DOES: Cleveland’s innovative ZipCore technology involves removing weight from the lower heel area and using it elsewhere. In this latest update, 21 grams are redistributed to increase the moment of inertia (forgiveness) to mitigate the loss of distance on mishits, particularly on shots struck high on the face.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Although ZipCore is a true game changer, it would be criminal to overlook the new face finish that uses blast media and laser patterns. It is applied differently for low lofts (46 and 48 degrees), middle lofts (50 and 52) and high lofts (54 through 60). The idea behind the varying applications is to produce consistent spin between the wet and dry conditions — something all you dew-sweepers out there can benefit from.

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

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

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

“Really felt like you were grabbing the ball out of the sand. It just stops on a dime. Really good control around the greens.”

“For such a large clubhead, this wedge effortlessly glides through the sand. This is like a cheat code for the bunker.”

COMMENT “Instills confidence on every kind of short shot. You always feel under control. You could stop the ball on a basketball court.”

RRP AED 795

WHAT IT DOES: There are plenty of subtle features that better players will appreciate. As usual with Mizuno, it starts with the grainflow forging process that has been refined over the past 50 years at its facility in Hiroshima, Japan, to deliver a soft feel. The upper portion of the clubhead is flared to produce the high spin and penetrating flight that provide control on shots into the green.

WHY WE LIKE IT : The T22 is one of the few forged models in this category. Mizuno takes pride in off ering a variety of options in wedges just like it does with irons. Those include four finishes and four sole grinds in which the heel and toe relief increases as the lofts increase. Also, the X grind has extreme heel, toe and trailing-edge relief to bring out the short-game artist in you.

PING GLIDE 4.0

RRP AED 1,110

WHAT IT DOES: From full shots to nip spinners around the green, one groove shape doesn’t fit all. The Glide’s lower lofts have grooves with a 20-degree sidewall to optimise volume on full shots where more turf is taken. On the higher lofts, the sidewall increases to 28 degrees with a sharper groove edge to maximise grab. One additional spin tactic: A new face blast adds texture to the hitting surface for additional friction.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Getting golfers into the proper fit has been Ping’s mission almost since the company’s inception. That extends to the short game. Four swing-specific options range from a thin sole S-grind for players who take shallow divots to the bunker-friendly E-grind that is based on the iconic Eye2 lob wedge.

TAYLORMADE

MILLED GRIND 3

RRP AED 795

WHAT IT DOES: The challenge for the third iteration of this wedge was straightforward: produce a club that appeals to tour players and add the aggressive spin all golfers seek. To achieve this, the sole has undergone changes. The standard bounce has a slightly wider sole, the low bounce sits closer to the ground with more camber, and the high bounce is wider than the MG2 and features increased camber.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Elite players have no trouble generating tour sauce with wedge shots, but average golfers need all the spin they can get. This wedge maintains groove-edge sharpness through a process that leaves the face and grooves unplated. In addition, the face has tiny, raised ribs between the grooves to add surface roughness to increase spin on short shots.

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

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

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

1 finish

specs 17 options (46-60 degrees); 4 sole grinds; 2 finishes

“Soft feel yet all the energy you need. I love the versatility: You can hit chips low or high, and it has a sweet thump from the sand.”

COMMENT

“This is my full-swing star: never digs, crisp feel, consistent medium-high flight and extremely versatile around the greens.”

PLAYER COMMENT “Effective bounce with excellent stopping power. Easy to keep low or float it. Good spin on knockdown shots.”

PLAYER COMMENT

“The

WHAT IT DOES: The SM9 builds on the SM8’s centre-of-gravity position in front of the face that assists squaring the club at impact. This version slightly raises the CG vertically by adding weight higher in the clubhead. Progressive hosel lengths also raise the CG, which promotes a lower, more controllable flight.

WHY WE LIKE IT: The SM9 features the first groove revision in a Vokey wedge since the SM6. A new “spin milled” cutting process creates the entire scoreline instead of just part of it. The result is a more consistent scoreline edge radius, allowing the grooves to be sharper and closer to the USGA limit. Confused by all the options? Here’s some advice from designer Bob Vokey: Go with more bounce in the sand wedge and less bounce in the lob wedge.

PLAYER

WHAT IT DOES: Milling is Bettinardi’s bailiwick, and that extends into its wedges. The forged carbon-steel head features a milled sole and machined grooves along with a new ladder-milling technique high on the back flange. This process removes less material compared to the company’s classic honeycomb pattern that ran the entire area of the back flange. The result is a higher center of gravity, allowing for a lower trajectory with higher spin on full shots.

WHY WE LIKE IT: Yes, Bettinardi makes more than putters. In fact, this is the fourth version of its HLX wedge, but this model is more user-friendly. A new RJ grind, named for company founder Robert J Bettinardi, has higher bounce with more heel and toe relief for players looking to manipulate the wedge on shorter shots.

specs 11 options (48-60 degrees); 2 sole grinds; 2 finishes

PXG 0311 3X

RRP AED 799

what it does: The 3X stands for the three-step forging of the 8620-carbon-steel clubhead. A taper from heel to toe allows the clubhead to open easily and keeps the leading edge closer to the ground. A slight camber from front to back allows the bounce to be effective on full swings with plenty of relief on flop shots. The hightoe design positions the center of gravity in line with where the ball is struck on open-face shots. The grooves are milled and extend across the face, providing grip on shots struck out on the toe. why we like it: Sometimes simplicity can be an asset. The seven lofts with one sole grind avoid any consumer confusion and cover just enough bases — not an unimportant consideration for a product often sold direct to the consumer.

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

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

specs 23 options (46-62 degrees); 6 sole grinds; 4 finishes

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

“It cuts through the turf with ease and has the ability to hit delicate greenside shots.

A nice thump out of the bunker.”

sound and feel are the standard in this category. A nearly perfect wedge with an exquisite subtle crisp pop.”

COMMENT “I get good distance on full shots, and the ball checks nicely on pitches into the green. The sole slides along the grass like it has rollers.”

ARCCOS SAYS . . . Let

skill level determine your greenside approach

It’s a debate golfers have with themselves all the time: Should I use fewer clubs around the greens for all short-game shots or really mix it up?

The data from Arccos Golf, the stat-tracking app, is definitive in its recommendation: It depends how good a player you are. Better players (10-handicappers or lower) perform better using a variety of clubs rather than fewer clubs. Higher-handicappers, however, fare better when focusing on fewer clubs around the greens. The data shows scratch players did best when using five to six clubs for short-game shots but performed far worse when using only about three clubs.

The reason is that scratch players typically have good short-game skills and can use different lofts to their advantage. The reverse is true for higher-handicappers. Unlike better players, less-skilled golfers probably benefit more from familiarity than attempting to execute a variety of short-game shots.

“In my experience, 15-handicappers and above have more swing thoughts than lower-handicappers. That means they are trying to remember more over every shot,” says Molly Braid, teaching professional at Westmoor Country Club in Wisconsin.

“To perform better, we know thinking is the last thing we need to do more of. In this instance, the fewer clubs used the better.”

Braid suggests using the same club to keep it simple around the greens for those less skilled. “To hit the ball lower with more roll, set up with the feet closer together and weight toward the target. This will allow you to keep the clubface square or a little closed,” she says. “If you want to hit the ball higher, stand slightly wider and take some pressure off the lead foot. This will promote a shallower swing path that helps get the ball up. It’s simple, but effective.” —EMJ

what it does: These are more than their high-toe shape. The raw face, which rusts over time, combines with the same raised microribs found in the Milled Grind 3 wedges to provide surface roughness that leads to more spin. The addition of the new chrome finish allows those with MG3 wedges to match their set. Not to be overlooked is the four-way cambered sole that works with a low leading edge to improve turf interaction

why we like it: TaylorMade studied the wedge-impact locations of some 130,000 golfers and found nearly two-thirds made contact toward the toe. That’s why this high-toe shape has grooves that extend across the face in lofts 54 degrees and higher. That’s worth taking note of for those without refined short-game skills.

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

highlight here is in the bunker and around the green. It has a really soft touch with chip shots of all kinds.”

And the Nominees for 2023 Are . . .

With the US Open headed to La La Land, we roll out the red carpet for golf’s biggest stars

By Coleman Bentley

Best Performance in a Leading Role

• Jon Rahm

• Scottie Scheffler

• Rory McIlroy

Best Performance in a Supporting Role

• Michael Greller

• Bones Mackay

• Tiger Woods’ physical therapist

Best Wife in a Leading Role

• Jena Sims

• Kelley Cahill

• Antonia Prida

Best Costume Scripting

• Viktor Hovland

• Tony Finau

• Billy Horschel

Lifetime Achievement in Golf Twitter

• Max Homa

• Phil Mickelson

• Brandel Chamblee

Best Visual Effects

• Toptracer technology

• Bryson DeChambeau’s weight loss

• Gary Woodland’s stingers

Best Performance in a Villain Role

• Greg Norman

• The US Open rough

• Patrick Cantlay’s pace of play

Best Animated Short

• Tyrrell Hatton

• Francesco Molinari

• Kurt Kitayama

Best Tournament Director

• Andy Bessette at the Travelers Championship

• Drew Donovan at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

• Chance Cozby at the WM Phoenix Open

Best Original Screenplay

• Ben Griffin — Desk Job Dreamin’

• Brooks Koepka — Return to Glory

• Tom Kim — A Star Is Born 2

Best Cinematography

• Slow-motion of Scottie Scheffler’s footwork

• Blimp shots on the Hawaii Swing

• Patrick Reed’s tee toss at Rory McIlroy in Dubai

Best Original Song

• “Augusta” by Dave Loggins

• The Players Championship Theme

• Jordan Spieth narrating his own shots (spoken word)

In Memoriam

• “Bomb and Gouge”

• The WGC Match Play

• Those Augusta National pine trees