Golf Digest Middle East - June 2024

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Scottie saga

Professional golf is the best soap opera on the planet right now

By Harry Grimshaw

With the US PGA in the rear view mirror, the main talking point from that wasn’t the obvious winners story of Xander Schauffele picking up his maiden major by holding off Bryson DeChambeau at Valhalla Golf Club.

But before the tournament even began it seemed to be stories surrounding that were catching the limelight before the tournament even began.

Rory entered the week coming off his 26th PGA Tour victory at the Wells Fargo Championship, to then announce that he had filed for divorce from his wife Erica Stoll the very next day with whom he has been married to for seven years.

Xander took the firstround lead with a 62, tying the record for lowest round at a major championship and breaking the course record of 63 to lead by three, impressive.

Next up for the gents is the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2 in mid-June which will be very tasty.

Nelly Korda is still dominating the ladies game. After scooping her fifth consecutive LPGA Tour win in April, she withdrew from the next tournament, wanting to rest up and not be worn out mentally.

A decision ending up to prove dividends, as after a tie for seventh in the Cognizant Founders Cup, the 25-year-old was back to business in her very next outing with her sixth win of the season at the Mizuho Americas Open, taking her on-course career earnings for this year alone to just shy of $3 million.

The LIV / PGA Tour / PIF deal is still ongoing so there’s no news there. But LIV is back in action in June, after a few weeks off, as they have a double-header in Houston and Nashville. An interesting note about the Houston venue, it’s actually where Anthony Kim won his last PGA Tour event back in 2010 – there’s more about that inside!

Things then got more surprising.

Prior to the second round commencing, at 6am local time Scottie Scheffler got into traffic violation with a police officer outside the gates of Valhalla, which ended up in him being arrested and end up in jail! Excuse me? Scottie is the most placid person on planet earth.

After being released on bail after a few hours sat in a cell, warming-up, he went onto shoot a five-under 66, and sit in a tie for 4th. Sorry, what?? Excuse me while I just pick up my jaw from the floor.

Fair play to Scottie.

He wouldn’t go onto win but did slot home a tie for eighth in the second men’s major of the year. Making it his 11th top-10 in his past 16 major starts.

With the temperature turning up in the United Arab Emirates for the next few months over the summer, there is still plenty of golf on offer. So much so, JA the Resort Dubai and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club are both offering summer membership packages, you can head to our website or social media channels to find out about those.

But if you want to keep your golf indoors, how about a bit of Five Iron Golf, it’s the largest golf entertainment destination in Dubai, marking a historic arrival in the Middle East – more about that in this month’s issue also!

We have even wrapped up the end of the golfing “competitive season” with our “Gulf Club”, see if you appear in our collage of club competition winners!

editor-in-chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer

managing partner & group editor

Ian Fairservice

editor Harry Grimshaw

art director Clarkwin Cruz

editorial assistant Londresa Flores

instruction editors Conor Thornton, Scott Edwards, Alex Riggs

chief commercial officer

Anthony Milne

publisher David Burke

general manager - production

S. Sunil Kumar

production manager Binu Purandaran

THE GOLF DIGEST PUBLICATIONS

editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde

senior director, business development & partnerships

Greg Chatzinoff

international editor Ju Kuang Tan

GOLF DIGEST USA

editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde

general manager Chris Reynolds

editorial director Max Adler

executive editor Peter Morrice

art directors Chloe Weiss Galkin

managing editors Alan P. Pittman, Ryan Herrington

playing editors Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson

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Tel: +971 2 677 2005; Fax: +971 2 657 3401

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Motivate Publishing Ltd, Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London, NW1 3ER, UK

Email: motivateuk@motivate.ae

Fit for a king

Arguably, the best known course in Morocco

By Harry Grimshaw

In 1971, His Majesty King Hassan II, gave Morocco’s capital city Rabat, Royal Golf Dar Es Salam. Constructed within the palace walls, purely for his love and passion for the game of golf. Built, fit for a king.

Originally designed by Robert Trent Jones, Royal Golf Dar Es Salam offers 45 holes of pristine golf split over two 18 hole courses and one nine hole course.

Since 1971, the domain has played host to the exclusive Hassan II Golf Trophy. Originally staged as an invitational pro-am and attended by only a handful of top professionals, the winner would receive a gold dagger inlaid with jewels. Winners included, Billy Casper, Lee Trevino, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els.

Having regularly hosted the DP World Tour and as of 2023, the PGA Champions Tour, Royal Golf Dar Es Salam’s Red Course (‘House of Peace’ in Arabic) was revamped by Architect James Duncan in 2017 and made “incredibly hard” quoted by Eddie Pepperell.

With tree removal and bunker reconstruction being the first amendments, it was the greens that were made dramatically larger than the old ones, now creating a lot more contour on them and a beast of a challenge.

Now the Red Course stretches over 7,600 yards and will play host once again to the Asian Tour’s USD 2 million International Series Morocco, between the 4th – 7th July 2024.

Red Course, Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, Rabat, Morocco

Morocco

Royal Golf Dar Es Salam

Undercover Caddie

We don’t care—not anymore, at least. That’s probably not the answer fans expect to hear from caddies about the battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, but, like many of you, we are fatigued with the daily drama. Though it affects our livelihoods, it’s hard to get worked up over something we have no say in. Before coming off as ungrateful, let me say this: No one has benefited more from the recent cash infusion into golf than caddies. The players? Please. I hate the narrative of the haves and have nots when it comes to players; it’s the haves and have mores. Most of the players complaining are not superstars, which makes the noise even more deafening.

Caddies have seen the trickle-down benefits from the higher purses. On the PGA Tour last year, 26 guys made more than $6 million, meaning caddies for those players (assuming they worked the entire year) made at least half a million. Sixty-two players made more than $3 million, so a quarter-mil is a safe assumption for their loops. Five years before, the number of players that reached those thresholds were five and 29. Ted Scott has made more money in the past two years working for Scottie Scheffl er than many pro athletes. It’s not generational wealth, but it is wealth, and those who say money doesn’t buy happiness have never been poor. I’ve been with multiple guys who finished in the top 10 on the money list, and I’m in a much better position now with a player who, well, we’re not close to the top 10 in earnings. For the first time, being a caddie is a sound financial decision.

But with our newly padded bank accounts comes a cost: The job is not as fun as it once was. There’s too much talk about greed, power and control. The state of pro golf remains the top discussion, and you can’t escape it. (Note to all pro-am contestants: If you want to turn off your pro, ask him what he thinks of all this on the first hole, which I’ve now seen half a dozen times.) Also, caddies have been even more sidelined when it comes to what “matters” with the sport because for all the talk about reimagin-

ing what pro golf should be, caddies are not part of the discussion.

For example, earlier this year, my player and I were with two other player-caddie combos in a practice round, and one of the players has serious sway with the PGA Tour. This player-leader was going on and on about the tour’s new partner, the Strategic Sports Group, how players are finally going to have a say in how the tour is run, how forward-thinking the tour will be, blah, blah, blah. This blabbering went on for three holes. Eventually, this player turned to the third caddie in the group, who has been out here for decades, and asked what the caddie thought. “I’m just waiting for y’all to talk about someone besides yourselves,” the caddie said in a Southern drawl. Everyone laughed, but us caddies, well, we laughed for a different reason. After the round, the quick-draw caddie shook his head and told me, “They have no idea. They’re the CEO complaining about first-world problems to the mailroom clerk.”

I understand why some paint this as a war between good and evil. Given all the things Saudi Arabia has been accused of, I understand the hesitation toward LIV and the worry of that money coming into the tour, but caddies have a somewhat different view. It wasn’t long ago that caddies were in a lawsuit against the PGA Tour. We were forced to wear bibs that displayed tournament sponsors, and we didn’t get any cut of the money. If we protested, we were threatened with tour expulsion. We were also asking for simple health care benefits. Not until Jay Monahan took over did the tour finally start to treat us like human beings, but we still don’t get a cut of those bibs. We have a ton of hurt feelings on our side toward tour leadership. Players are being forced to pledge allegiance to one tour or another, but we are loyal to our players, and that’s it. Heck, even that can be misplaced loyalty. One of my friends was let go by a big-name player. They had a good run together, but the relationship—as they tend to do in this business—had run its course. There was nothing acrimonious

at first; my friend took a short sabbatical before the new season because his player promised a bonus that would get him through the unemployed months. Unfortunately, months went by, and the bonus never came. Fast forward to LIV, and my friend, still looking for a bag, got work on the other circuit. Later that summer, he found out his old player’s family had been telling other players not to pick my friend up and that the PGA Tour would strongly discourage it given the LIV ties. My friend ended up losing an opportunity to grab a job from a player who is consistently in the FedEx Cup Playoffs; he had been contacted by a player’s agent and had come to an agreement, but the final call never came. He attributes that drop to those whispers. As for LIV, one of my fellow caddies discussed in this column why working on LIV during its inaugural season was one of the best decisions he made. Two years later, most of those perks are gone, including having travel expenses covered. Some team captains, like Brooks Koepka, take good care of their caddies. Brooks is loyal to his looper, Ricky Elliott, and whatever you think about Brooks, he doesn’t treat Ricky like a butler. That grace extends to the rest of the caddies on his team. It’s not the standard, and though the guaranteed money remains a selling point, a lot of players are not paying out the 8- to 10-percent cuts like players often do on the PGA Tour. While we’re here, many say the framework agreement between the Public Investment Fund and the PGA Tour took away some of the stigma that comes with defecting to LIV, yet I have plenty of friends on LIV who still feel like they’ve been excommunicated from the game.

So, yeah, we really don’t care who wins golf’s tug of war. No matter who comes out on top, we know we’re the ones that will ultimately have to carry the rope away. —WITH JOEL BEALL

Undercover Caddie once spent his FedEx Cup bonus on a vacation, where his wallet was stolen.

‘Being compared to Rory, is something I have obviously heard for a while now’

I wouldn’t say I got sick of it as a kid, but maybe now that I am older I get a bit more annoyed when people ask me.

By Tom McKibbin with Harry Grimshaw

Growing up and playing golf in Northern Ireland was pretty good. I started playing when I was seven with a friend who I used to play football with in the street. His dad was a keen golfer, and they were going up to the driving range, so I went up with them every couple of weeks or so, it came pretty naturally. Then I started to really enjoy it and began getting lessons pretty quickly.

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I started playing at Holywood Golf Club, purely because Rory (McIlroy) was from there. There were just loads of people to play with, loads of juniors and loads of people my age to play with. Then when Rory was starting to win his Majors the buzz about the place was pretty cool.

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As an amateur, I managed to play in a few decent professional and amateur tournaments and saw what the standard was like. I realised the cuts were under par and you had to play well, so I definitely just got better, faster and quite naturally.

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I was meant to go to the University of Florida in the states just when Covid hit, but it was very hard to juggle the school work being back at home and then having to do the exams in the states. Plus, everything being pushed back a year and having to do double the work I just decided to go a different way. Looking back at it now, I think I’ve made a good call!

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The rise since turning pro has been

fast. I think playing 2022 on the Challenge Tour really helped. The players out there are very strong, and some of the courses they play on there are tough, with cuts at four or five under par. That definitely got me ready for the step up to the DP World Tour.

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I don’t think at the time I quite realised how prestigious and how big of a tournament winning the European Open was. It was sort of only after I had won when I saw the names on the trophy, did I realise what I had won. But to win my first DP World Tour event is something I’ve dreamed of happening. For it to happen in just over two years of being pro, was probably even more special. I’m going back to defend it in Germany in a couple of weeks time, so I’m looking forward to that.

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Being compared to Rory, is something I have obviously heard for a while now. I wouldn’t say I get sick of it, because it’s obviously cool and an honour to be compared to Rory. But I think when people just keep asking, it

does get a bit annoying. I wouldn’t say I got sick of it as a kid, but maybe now that I am older I get a bit more annoyed when people ask me. Don’t worry, this isn’t one of those times! Ha!

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The first time I actually met Rory was in 2015 out here in Dubai at The Els Club. Now a days he’s a very busy guy between playing golf and outside of golf! But we do stay in touch. It’s hard when we’re sort of halfway across the world, but when he’s over here playing on the DP World Tour, I’ll always try and get a practice round in with him.

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At the start of this year, I decide to stay in Dubai when I had my weeks off and it’s been great. It’s definitely helped my golf to just play and practice a bit more consistently, instead of just being at home in the wind and rain and hitting balls at the driving range, then you go onto a tournament not really prepared. So it’s definitely been very beneficial to my game. I play most of my golf at Trump International Dubai with Richard Mansell and Ewen Ferguson who live here, but we tend to play all of the courses across the UAE as well.

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I just want to do much more of the same in 2024. Obviously with the ten PGA Tour cards that are up for grabs is a goal but I wouldn’t say I try to put too much pressure on myself. If it happens, it happens. Knowing that there’s a reward for finishing high up on the Race to Dubai Rankings is pretty cool. So I’ll just try to keep on playing well and try to get one of those.

Five Iron Golf

The ultimate golf and entertainment destination in Dubai

FIVE IRON GOLF, a globally recognised leader in golf and entertainment, is proud to announce the most expansive venue to date in Dubai.

Spearheaded by entrepreneurs Matthew Csillag and David Zabinsky, alongside General Manager Andrew Bostock, this endeavour marks a significant milestone in delivering unparalleled golf, leisure, and culinary experiences to Dubai’s dynamic landscape.

With a strategic multi-unit franchise agreement spanning six sites in the UAE, the team has secured exclusive development rights in the region.

Strategically positioned within a bustling cluster of Marriott Hotels, the location at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina is easily accessible to residents and tourists alike.

Five Iron Golf’s flagship Dubai location offers a sprawling 32,038 square feet of luxury with 17 state-of-the-art simulators powered by Trackman Golf. Each bay includes Five Iron’s multi-angle camera system for swing analysis, while six are equipped with TruGolf Multisport technology, providing a variety of sports experiences.

Additionally, guests can enjoy the latest, top-of-the-line Callaway clubs with every booking. Free on-site valet parking ensures a seamless experience for all guests. The venue promises an unmatched environment for seasoned players or leisure enthusiasts to play, practice, and socialise.

The location features four bars, including an outdoor beach-themed bunker bar

with a nine-hole mini-golf course offering stunning views of the Dubai Marina. Additionally, guests can enjoy a VIP membersonly lounge, a private room with three simulators and a bar, an indoor putting green, work pods, table games, a sauna, a gym, and a locker room, ensuring guests have a complete experience.

“We are thrilled to join forces with Five Iron Golf to introduce this groundbreaking concept to Dubai,” declared Matthew Csillag, an entrepreneur with roots in the financial industry. David Zabinsky, a UAE-based entrepreneur, echoed Csillag’s sentiment: “Our vision is to deliver an exceptional golf and entertainment experience, paving the way for the sport’s growth in the Middle East.” He emphasised, “We are committed to creating an environment that welcomes seasoned professionals and newcomers alike, establishing Five Iron Golf as the industry leader in the region.”

Five Iron Golf is positioned to revolutionise Dubai’s golfing scene, blending luxury, accessibility, and community engagement. Jared Solomon, CEO and Co-Founder of Five Iron Golf, expressed excitement for the expansion: “This partnership underscores our dedication to bringing the Five Iron Golf experience to diverse communities worldwide. That commitment is why we’re thrilled to collaborate with Matthew, David, and Andrew to introduce our innovative and proven model to Dubai, further cementing our status as leaders in the global golf and entertainment industry.”

THE LOCATION FEATURES FOUR BARS, INCLUDING AN OUTDOOR BEACH-THEMED BUNKER BAR WITH A NINE-HOLE MINI GOLF COURSE OFFERING STUNNING VIEWS OF THE DUBAI MARINA

Five Iron Golf Dubai is preparing to open its doors to the public in the late summer of 2024, joining a global network that includes franchises in several countries. With the inaugural domestic franchise already open in Louisville, Kentucky, Five Iron is preparing for Erie, Pennsylvania, to join the ranks this spring, followed by Port Chester, New York; Yukon, Oklahoma; St. Louis, Missouri; and Upstate New York in 2024 and 2025.

This expansion underscores Five Iron’s vision and commitment to democratizing golf, welcoming enthusiasts and novices alike, and solidifying its position as a global leader in the industry. With a pipeline of 20 additional units, Five Iron Golf is poised for significant growth.

For more information and updates on the Dubai location, please contact dubai@fiveirongolf.com or visit FiveIronGolf.com.

GOOD FOR THE SEOUL

Pre-tournament, and home favourite, World Number 9 Hyo-Joo Kim, lived up to the pressure surrounding her to claim the Aramco Team Series Korea by three shots at the New Korea Country Club.

Leading by two shots heading into the final round, the Major winner held off newly appointed Golf Saudi Ambassador, Charley Hull‘s Sunday surge, as Kim carded a final round of 68 (-4) to end the week on 10-under par.

“I haven’t won on the Ladies European Tour (LET) before” said Kim. “So this is very meaningful and makes this win all the more special for me.

“My performance this season has been disappointing. Ending the tournament in Korea on a positive note feels like a turning point for me. I feel confident and energised to perform well in upcoming tournaments like the U.S. Open and the Olympics.”

Earlier in the day, Team Kang were crowned Team winners after the quartet of USA’s Danielle Kang, England’s Lily May Humphreys, China’s Tian Xiaolin and amateur Kyu Ho Lee combined to post 23-under par which was eventually the winning score.

For it’s debut in South Korea, Golf Saudi was partnered with KOLON Group, the Official Host Partner, in bringing top-tier global talent to Seoul. The partnership leveraged KOLON Group’s experience in organising premier events such as the Kolon Korea Open on the Asian Tour, this collaboration delivered a world-class experience for both players and spectators.

Hyo-Joo Kim lives up to the hype with victory in Korea

“I haven’t won on the LET before. So this is very meaningful and makes this win all the more special for me”.

CENTURION

Ladies European Tour rides the Aramco Team Series train to leafy St. Albans

The Centurion Club, home to the first-ever Aramco Team Series event, returns in July for Round Three of the 2024 series. With successful Aramco Team Series presented by PIF editions already ticked off this year in Tampa and Korea, it’s London’s turn once again to bring some of the world’s top 108 female golfers onto English soil for the

PREVIOUS LONDON EDITIONS

2023 Individual: Nelly Korda

USD $1 million prize funded Ladies European Tour event.

Organised by Golf Saudi, as always 36 teams of 4 will battle it out over the opening two days in the team event, which allows the amateur competing in the fourball, to contribute to the final result.

As well as the team event, there is a three-day individual strokeplay competition played alongside, with our winner crowned on Sunday afternoon with points on offer for the Race to Costa Del Sol and Rolex World Rankings.

A host of top superstars have their names etched at the Centurion Club’s Aramco Team Series history books across the previous three years includ-

ing World Number One Nelly Korda, Germany’s Olivia Cowan and England’s Georgia Hall to name just a few.

Headlining the field at the start of July are the English trio of World Number Seven Charley Hull, ATS London 2023 Team Champion Georgia Hall and ATS London 2022 Individual Champion Bronte Law. Dubai-based German and Golf Saudi Ambassador Chiara Noja who has the ATS Jeddah 2022 Individual Champion to her name will be teeing it up in St. Albans as is American Alison Lee, the ATS Riyadh 2023 Individual Champion.

One of the newest championship courses in England, the Centurion Club which was opened in 2013 is a combination of classic treelined holes and rolling inland links. With 80 bunkers and four major water features on the course, accuracy off the tee is a premium.

2023 Team: Georgia Hall (c), Kylie Henry, Lea Anne Bramwell and amateur Michael Austick

2022 Individual: Bronte Law

2022 Team: Nicole Garcia (c), Kelly Whaley, Madelene Stavnar and amateur Mia Baker

2021 Individual: Marianne Skarpnord

2021 Team: Olivia Cowan (c), Diksha Dagar, Sarina Schmidt and amateur Andrew Kelsey

There is even a nod looking back to the United Arab Emirates with the Centurion Club, as Managing Director Scott Evans, having helped set up Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club some three decades ago, experience leading to putting on another global show.

“THE BEAUTY OF THE GOLF INDUSTRY, IS IT GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO TRAVEL AND GROW”

KARL WHITEHEAD has spent his whole life consumed by golf. Either playing it, watching it, studying it, competing in it or working in it.

Having a career encompassing five countries throughout the last two decades, the Englishman has recently been appointed as the new Cluster Club Manager of VIYA Golf in Abu Dhabi. No stranger to the Middle East, since February, Karl now covers Yas Links Golf Club, Yas Acres Golf and Country Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.

Golf Digest Middle East sat down with Karl at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club during the week of the Challenge Tour’s UAE Challenge, as he discussed his “trip” around the world.

WELCOME BACK TO THE UAE KARL, AND CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW ROLE AS CLUSTER CLUB MANAGER, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE ROLE ENTAILS?

Sure, so VIYA Golf is basically an extension of Dubai Golf, which I think everyone within golf in the UAE is familiar with. Dubai Golf manage Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club and Emirates Golf Club. At VIYA Golf in Abu Dhabi, here we manage three golf courses, Yas Links Golf Club, Yas Acres Golf and Country Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club where we are today.

Ultimately we are responsible for managing all three courses independently and try to work together as three in a cluster to obviously maximise our experience, our commercial performance and the quality of asset that we have.

IT’S BEEN QUITE A VOYAGE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ON OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES WHICH HAS COME FULL CIRCLE. WHAT’S YOUR JOURNEY BEEN LIKE TO THIS POINT?

It’s been quite the journey! I’ll try and make it quick, as it’s been an interesting one. It started in the UK as a graduate at the University of Birmingham. My career then started at The Belfry in England in 2005 as a Golf Professional, before moving onto the Marriot Forest of Arden as a Golf Co-ordinator. It was then a hop across to Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010 for a stint as a Golf and Membership Executive before going back to Forest of Arden as Golf Operations Manager. Those early years were very good for grounding me in terms of starting my career.

My first role internationally was actually here at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in 2012 as Operations Manager – that was an amazing opportunity to be able to work at a beautiful club like this. From here I went to Montgomerie in Dubai as their Director of Golf for a couple of years and then I went to The Els Club Dubai to be their General Manager until June 2020. So it was about eight and a half years in the UAE total. I then went across to Cambodia and the Vattanac Golf Resort in Phnom Penh for a couple of years as General Manager, before then becoming Director of Operations for Golf Saudi in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Now I’m back here in the UAE and in Abu Dhabi looking after these three clubs for VIYA Golf.

So it’s been an amazing adventure. A lot of opportunity, a lot of growth, and a lot of learning. I think that’s the beauty of the golf industry, it gives you a chance to travel and grow.

IT’S BEEN AN AMAZING ADVENTURE. A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY, A LOT OF GROWTH, AND A LOT OF LEARNING.

Dubai Creek Golf Club

Emirates Golf Club

Jumeirah Golf Estates

Yas links Abu Dhabi

Saadiyat Beach Golf Club

Yas Acreas Golf and Country Club

HOW HAVE THE PREPARATIONS BEEN GOING FOR THIS WEEK’S UAE CHALLENGE ON THE CHALLENGE TOUR AT SAADIYAT BEACH? A BIT TRICKY WITH THE WEATHER WE HAVE RECENTLY HAD?

So this has been a bit unique, with the weather conditions we had last week! But usually with these events preparation starts over 12 months in advance. When you’re doing your business plans and your budgets, these events are in the calendar. Everything you do is built around it. The UAE Challenge is an iconic milestone event. Whether it’s the operation of the agronomy plan, it’s all work towards these types of big, professional events so that you can complete it and obviously deliver something special. Everything you do in the lead up to that is part of it. Then 12 weeks out, you start to really ramp it up and peak for this week. Last week we had incredible storms and rain, which completely challenged and derailed us so we had to do some special things to recover and get the course back to where it is. That included bringing in our resources from the other two clubs.

We had about 120 people in agronomy at one stage working at the same time, and we had operational departments supporting them. So the team worked incredibly hard. They went above and beyond. You’re talking 18 hour days. The level of commitment was very special and thankfully a week later, here we are with something that’s looking very special. So a slightly “unique” challenge this time around. But we made it!

IT’S THE, THE SECOND TIME THE CHALLENGE TOUR HAS BEEN HERE. THAT MUST BE A TESTAMENT TO THE CONDITIONS, AND THE COURSE ITSELF.

It is, Corey Finn and the team have done an amazing job. This is a world class golf course. I think it’s fit to host an event of any stature. But Corey and his team are as good as any team in the world. They’re so committed, so dedicated, so good at what they do. This course is hard to beat, to be honest. They’ve done an amazing job.

HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR THE RESCHEDULED DP WORLD TOUR SEASON NOW HAVING THE ROLEX SERIES ABU DHABI CHAMPIONSHIP AGAIN AT YAS LINKS BUT NOW IN NOVEMBER? It’s amazing for us, the higher the profile of the event that we can host, the better. It’s something that inspires us. It’s why we do what we do. The team love having the opportunity to be around that and to deliver it. Yas Links deserves an event of that stature and Abu Dhabi as a destination, deserves an event of that stature. So for us, we’re privileged, we’re proud, we’re excited.

THE HIGHER THE PROFILE OF THE EVENT THAT WE CAN HOST, THE BETTER. IT INSPIRES US.

GOING BACK TO HERE AT SAADIYAT BEACH, SUSTAINABILITY AND CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT ARE HUGE FOR THE CLUB WHICH ISN’T AN EASY TASK THESE DAYS.

Exactly, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club was the first Audubon Internationally certified venue in the UAE, and it’s now even been re-certified. So it’s leading the way. The sustainability and environment care here is essential to everything we do. We have the turtle preservation and we have 194 different species of birds that are local and migratory birds as well. Obviously we have the gazelles roaming around naturally which just adds something a little bit more special to Saadiyat. With Corey’s help last year, we’ve changed to TSE water, we’ve changed the grass type as well, which uses less water, less pesticide, herbicide, and insecticide. So every decision is all about sustainability of the environment. We are trying to create something very special. So Saadiyat is definitely one of the leaders in the region.

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR EVENTS LIKE THIS ONE TO HAPPEN AT A VIYA CLUSTER VENUE, AND TO BE ABLE TO BRING INTERNATIONAL GOLFERS TO THE UAE.

It’s essential. I think it’s great for the UAE. The UAE is an amazing destination. So anything that can put it on a global awareness pedestal is a good thing. To give opportunity to the local golfers to compete against the best is amazing. That’s something we always need to do. We always need to give back and give opportunity.

For us as a business, we’re privileged, proud and honoured to host these kind of events. It’s what you strive for and having that in the calendar is a milestone to work towards to deliver something special, with hopefully many more to come.

AK returns to H- -Town

f this was something that the marketing team at LIV had planned in the pipeline, this is a clever one.

This month, LIV Golf Houston is being played on the former long serving venue of the PGA Tour’s Houston Open, Golf Club of Houston (formerly named Redstone Golf Club). Looking closer, this is the site as to where a few LIV players were crowned as PGA Tour winners; Paul Casey, Phil Mickelson, Matt Jones, Ian Poulter and yep you guessed it, Anthony Kim. 14-years prior, the now 38-year-old, secured the third and most recent of

Total Purse: $20m - Individual $5m - Team

Winner’s Share: $4m - Individual $3m - Team

GOLF CLUB OF HOUSTON (FORMERLY REDSTONE GOLF CLUB) IS THE SITE FOR LIV GOLF HOUSTON , THE VENUE OF ANTHONY KIM’S

LAST PGA TOUR VICTORY

his individual professional titles. It was then that the injuries started appearing for AK, resulting in him missing out on the 2010 Ryder Cup and being sidelined for three months.

In 2011 Kim finished in a respectable tie for 13th in the Houston Open but withdrew in the 2012 edition after an opening 79, seven over par was enough for him, resulting in a WD.

The achilles tendon injury in his left leg sidelined him, initially expecting to miss 9-12 months from the game. He was eligible for the 2013 season on a medical exemption but didn’t play a single event for 12 years.

Turbulent times for Kim followed, but he was given a life-changing opportunity to rekindle his golfing career this time back on LIV Golf in February as a wildcard player.

We will see what emotions with a return to Houston could bring back for AK as he battles it round the bomber’s paradise.

Back in the day AK was one of the longer hitters on tour, but as the game of golf has developed throughout the years he was away, it’s maybe a course that these days fits more into the hands of the likes of Dean Burmester, Bryson DeChambeau or Brooks Koepka.

THE 20-YEAR-OLD WHO IS CASHING CHEQUES AS THE YOUNGEST MEMBER ON LIV GOLF

The name Caleb Surratt probably wasn’t on your radar 12 months ago, unless you keep an eye on amateur golf.

After making a statement of himself on the amateur circuit over the past few seasons, you can maybe see why he chose to leave university and turn professional after receiving a lucrative offer any amateur would jump out to join Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII on LIV Golf.

During the summer of 2023, the then Tennessee sophomore, put up a noteworthy showing after representing the United States in the Arnold Palmer Cup and Walker Cup, coming out victorious each time. Additionally, he advanced to the matchplay Round of 32 at the U.S. Men’s Amateur – all added to his CV for receiving the offer from LIV Golf.

Caleb was entering the LIV Golf ring with further accolades to his name, he was the first “Vol” golfer to be tabbed a First Team All-American while also winning the 2023 SEC Championship individual title, the first freshman to do so since 2012.

Leaving the comfort of his teammates of amateur golf behind, Caleb now shares the range rubbing shoulders with Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Kieran Vincent. A team that claimed their first victory in the opening event of the 2024 season in Mayakoba. The three players each pocketing USD $750,000, and for Caleb an additional USD $33,000 for his T13 in the Individual event – not a bad first pay cheque as a pro! What would a 20-yearold spend all that money on?!

The dollars didn’t stop there, as the Legion XIII camp backed it up with a

second victory in Miami, now sitting pretty in second spot.

Caleb will be looking for plenty of “home” support during LIV Golf Nashville, a short hop from where he went to University in Tennessee as he looks to peg it up at The Grove, designed by LIV Golf CEO.

Coming up to nearly 80 years since the state of Nashville has welcomed “big-time” golf, McCrory Creek, which glides through the middle of The Grove will provide one of the most fascinating natural hazards in golf in a track that rewards adventurous golf.

Caleb’s kidding around

not

LIV GOLF

NASHVILLE

June 21-23

The Grove • Par 72

• Yards 7,368

Total Purse:

$20m - Individual

$5m - Team

Winner’s Share: $4m - Individual $3m - Team

TAKING HIS SHOT

STEPHEN CURRY WANTS TO MAKE GOLF BLACKER AND BROWNER, AND RAISE HIS GAME, TOO

by MAX ADLER / photographs by ROB LIGGINS

WE’RE COMING ON THREE DECADES SINCE TIGER WOODS STARTED SHAKING

THE WORLD ON ITS AXIS AND INSPIRING KIDS IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD, AND GOLF’S STILL AS WHITE AS EVER.

The number of Black pros at the highest level can be counted on one hand, and the elite amateur and college ranks don’t look much different. Several noble organisations have done great work introducing golf to kids who otherwise would not ever grip a club, but as far as keeping them in the game long enough to develop the skills and passion necessary to enter its flywheel of social connections, internships and careers—let alone play professionally—we’re basically flatlined.

To be sure, Tiger Woods’ cultural impact has been profound. The number of people of all feathers who play golf and/or regard it as a legitimate sport solely because of him is uncountable. Most criticism toward Woods’ lack of specific, deliberate action to diversify golf is simplistic. The sum of his choices led to the most dominant and thrilling golf ever played, and his TGR Foundation has delivered an impact commensurate with his star power in the realm of education. But golf’s other leaders might feel a missed opportunity. Not exactly a four-footer straight uphill to create ample access to driving ranges and courses in underserved communities, but it’s hard to imagine ever getting a better look than during the heart of Woods’ career.

The next in line with the greatest potential to make golf more closely resemble the makeup of our society plays point guard for the Golden State Warriors. Really? Really.

As a basketball player, Stephen Curry, 36, reaches a wide demographic that pro golfers don’t. Winning the 2023 American Century

Championship with a final-hole eagle during a summer when his handicap dipped as low as plus-3, Curry is the best celebrity golfer however you value skill against clout. Given his athleticism and competitive experience, his stated wish to one day play on the PGA Tour Champions isn’t ludicrous. “I don’t know what the path is,” Curry has said. “All I know is, when I’m done with basketball, I’m going to reasonably invest as much into my golf as I can to see how good I can get, and where that puts me 14 years from now, we’ll see.”

Curry’s various golf dreams, for himself and for others who look like him, are coming alive during a period of momentum like Tiger Woods never had. Golf is up for everybody post-pandemic, especially offcourse driving ranges and simulator lounges in urban settings. According to the National Golf Foundation, green-grass participation among people of color is up a million in the past decade after suffering a small dip around 2018, but the real headline is there are 5.6 million new offcourse golfers of color since the pandemic. That’s a big pool who could be inspired to get good at the real thing.

CURRY ROLLED UP TO THE GOLF DIGEST PHOTOSHOOT FOR this story in a Sprinter van with a deep entourage. After everyone got settled, which was easy at the commodious facility of the Stanford University golf teams, the first thing we did was record Curry’s swing on a GEARS biomechanical analysis system. Attaching all the reflective sensors correctly to the body takes a few minutes, during which the 6-foot-2 Curry humbly splayed his legs to bring his hazel gaze down to the median eyelevel of our crew, who were also attaching audio microphones for a video. There’s a special strain of patience at being swarmed that only superstars possess, and Curry has it in buckets. Polite and relaxed, he said he was eager to “nerd out.” Amazingly, GEARS founder Michael Neff would uncover in Curry’s swing just a few minor aspects that stood apart from PGA Tour averages. “We’ve tested hundreds of tour players, and most of Stephen’s numbers were right there. I was floored.”

If they were playing a friendly match today, Jordan Spieth says he would spot Curry six strokes, maybe more on a difficult course, but long-term Spieth is no doubter. “He’d be one of the longest right away on the Champions tour,” Spieth says. “He’d rip up par 5s, so it’d come down to how tight can he get his game from 150 yards and in because you can’t miss on both sides of the flag out there. Obviously, he has the clutch gene, but what impresses me most is his joy. As long as he’s been playing basketball, it’s never seemed like work to him.”

PETTY OPPOSING FANS ASIDE, IT’S HARD TO FIND ANYONE serious who has a bad word about Curry. You hear “selfless,” “thoughtful” and “gracious” a lot, and hardworking and talented seem insufficient to describe the NBA all-time three-point scorer (3,729 swishes and counting) who was snubbed by top colleges as short and scrawny

before eventually transforming the game with his shooting range, routinely attempting from eight and 10 feet behind the arc. Sure, his was a privileged childhood. Growing up the son of pro basketballer Dell Curry meant financial comfort and shootaround games with the Charlotte Hornets as a tween, but it’s an underdog’s journey that’s forged him. Before two league MVPs, four championship rings, 10 All-Star games and becoming a/the face of a major sport, Stephen’s defining moment was leading little Davidson to the Elite Eight when that college hadn’t won an NCAA tournament game in 39 years. The 2023 documentary chronicling this run, “Stephen Curry: Underrated,” produced by Curry’s own Unanimous Media, unavoidably contains some of the inherent bias of autobiography, but if a low seed ever needed to get pumped before a club championship, it’s a helluva watch.

THE CURRY CUP

To be underrated is to have low worth projected upon you by others—a depressing emotion most golfers typically handle all themselves—and capitalized it is the name of Curry’s “lifestyle brand.” The successful commercialisation of this term is tied up with Curry’s chances to change golf.

Curry’s foundation, Eat. Learn. Play.—which has raised more than $52 million for meals, books, schools and playgrounds in the Oakland area—operates with its hand out like all charitable organisations whereas Underrated is forprofit. It’s the name of a junior golf tour that’s landed heavy-hitting corporate sponsors, a basketball camp, a clothing line, and the future knows what else. In the scheme of Curry enterprises, which employs more than 70 people and gathers once a year for a multiday conference over which the man presides to hear presentations and realign dollars, the Underrated Golf Tour might be the purest example of the organisation’s motto “purpose for profit.” In the fall of its second season in 2023, the Underrated Golf Tour’s ledger reached the black for the first time—$6 million in sponsor sales against about $4 million in operating expenses—according to Thirty Ink secretary/chairman Suresh Singh, a

Lucky Cruz and Roisin Scanlon, both 15, won the boys and girls competitions, respectively.

successful Ontarian real estate developer and longtime golf buddy of Dell Curry, and all profit is being reinvested to expand the tour.

To those not familiar, the 2023 Underrated season comprised four tournaments across the United States for 48 boys and 48 girls ages 12 to 18, plus a season finale with a reduced field. The 2024 season will be the same, plus the launch of the tour’s European version at Walton Heath in London in May. For each event, only a handful of spots come via local qualifying, and so the costs—covering airfare, hotel, meals and transportation for every competitor as well as their parent and a special person, like a sibling or uncle or coach—rack up fast. However, being associated with Stephen Curry is regarded as good marketing, and aligning with his fledgling golf tour currently comes at a fraction of his normal rate. United Airlines credits most of the flights, Subway provides the lunches and corporations like KPMG and CDW supply ever useful cash. CSM, the entertainment agency that puts on several PGA Tour stops (providing signage, leader boards, tents, logistics, etc.) runs the Underrated events and sends a bill. Curry started the tour with a personal check of $1.6 million amidst warnings he wouldn’t be able to find enough competitive golfers of color to make it legitimate. Indeed, a good deal of the initial cash was burned on recruiting missions to junior tournaments all over the United States. As much weight as Stephen Curry’s name carries, junior-tour operators have their own agendas, and many weren’t exactly eager to cough up the names and contact information of their best players to some voice calling on behalf of some new tour who wanted to steal them away.

I attended the Curry Cup season finale at Lake Merced Golf Club in

CURRY’S GOLF DREAMS, FOR HIMSELF AND FOR OTHERS WHO LOOK LIKE HIM, ARE COMING ALIVE DURING A PERIOD OF MOMENTUM TIGER WOODS NEVER HAD.

San Francisco in August 2023. My experience was positive, and yet, with all risk of sounding tone deaf, it’s difficult to describe the shock of entering the guarded gates of a top private club and encountering a bustling scene in which whites are the minority. A DJ with full setup was pumping beats by the first tee, cycling through player requests for individual walkup music that ranged from Jay Z to Latino to Baby Shark. Nearly all the competitors were swagged out in Under Armour and Curry brand. In the gallery, dreadlocks and bold sneakers outnumbered gray combovers and penny loafers. Lots of collars, belts and tucked-in shirts, of course, but also No. 30 jerseys and gold jewelry. Digital leader boards and other grand buildouts amped the glory awaiting the winners who would shake hands with the tournament sponsors. Like basketball, football, track or any other sport with simpler access, here golf was presented as unabashed ambition: train, win, earn riches. If you want the opportunity, the Underrated Golf Tour doesn’t discriminate. A few of the kids looked like Eminem. Word.

Sam Puryear, who coached golf at Stanford and Michigan State and is now the head coach at Howard University, and whose golf teams received a seven-figure donation from Curry in 2019, is, not surprisingly, a fan of Underrated. “This tour gives kids a chance to compete with no excuses plus second chances to learn to play under pressure, whereas the American Junior Golf Association [AJGA] is more one and done. It’s the difference between great intentions and great execution. Instead of just writing a check, Stephen shows up and gets to know these kids, and when you understand that one of the best athletes on the planet is behind you, you start to believe.”

Puryear’s father was a small-college AllAmerican golfer in 1965 at what was then called Winston-Salem Teachers College. Despite a love for the game, the father never pushed his son into golf “because of the racial dimension. He had to deal with a lot of ugliness in and around country clubs,” Sam Puryear says. Nevertheless, Sam became a tournament player and went on to a life in golf. Puryear first met Curry 10 years ago in a little money game outside Charlotte organised through a mutual friend, Will Lowery.

Fans of the Golf Channel reality show “Big Break” might remember Lowery as a competitor, but he’s now the lead recruiter for Underrated Golf Tour and its second-most influential visionary.

“Exposing a kid to golf is one thing, but it takes so much else to align for that kid to commit to the struggle to develop,” Lowery says. “Ideally, our tour removes at least the financial burden.” Although Lowery is mostly preoccupied with getting college scouts to attend Underrated events and securing more stars (points) for its winners to earn spots in AJGA events, he also works with Curry to line up speakers—successful people from the worlds of business, sports, entertainment and so forth who are walking illustrations of how the values and opportunities of golf can help any person advance. The idea is that for a 13-year-old, the lifelong reverberating power of a 30-second conversation with a hero can’t be overstated. As much as Curry, Lowery and the team want to graduate future PGA Tour pros, they’re also looking forward to the day when a former Underrated kid becomes CEO of some company and then supports the tour financially.

Behind this do-goodery is some interesting tension. How do you revolutionise the vibe of golf to make it more appealing to a new generation while respecting its traditions? Is it OK to use “dope” as an adjective when thanking a host for your experience at her country club? Is a hiphop dance party on the main lawn an acceptable way to conclude a golf tournament? (Along with taco and sushi stations, the multicultural vibe at the Lake Merced Underrated Tour finale didn’t miss a beat.)

“It’s a delicate balance,” Curry says. “We want to create a fun environment that kids can see themselves in, but we also want our kids to know how to handle themselves and be respected and welcomed wherever they go. The traditions of golf are great for many reasons, but there’s also a modernisation of the game going on right now, so there needs to be education on both sides.” Like any true golfer, Curry advocates knowing where you are. At certain courses he enjoys rocking up in joggers and a T-shirt and playing music from his cart as he practices. At the California Golf Club, established in 1918 and where Curry’s a member, he usually arrives quietly mid-morning after getting his three kids off to school, perhaps with a stogie freshly lit, and walks and carries 90 percent of his rounds.

The horseshoe-shaped bar at the Cal Club is a famous hang, a windowless enclave of mahogany, leather chairs and gold-painted championship boards. For men of success, the classic reward would be to sink in here, start playing and fraternising daily and see how many times you can get your name on the wall.

With the grueling path of his basketball journey nearing its finish (working out after games, rehabbing his ankle, hours upon hours of crazy practice drills like dribbling tennis balls with both hands while alternating bouncing them against walls while wearing goggles in a fog-filled gym to simulate distraction), no one would think twice if Curry decided to slow down. But as it is, he has made a life where there’s rarely time to hang after golf. “Ideally there’s a little wiggle room to chill at the bar, but I’m usually straight to the trunk.”

With all Curry has cooking, he must be surrounded by effective people. Tiffany Williams, the chief operating officer of Thirty Ink, protects him from most administrative headaches. Jason Richards, Curry’s former teammate at Davidson whose own NBA career was short-lived, is

CAN THE UNDERRATED TOUR ACHIEVE IN GOLF WHERE DECADES OF STRATEGISING AND RESOURCES DEPLOYED BY SMART PEOPLE HAVE COME UP SHORT?

the athletics operations director of the Underrated Golf Tour, which means he’s the central channel of communication for anxious golf parents. Kris Stone, vice president of relations and business development for Thirty Ink, a former Division I golfer and consigliere on all things golf, is usually the first text when Curry sends out “the bat signal” to get a tee time.

THIS JUNE DURING THE U.S. OPEN AT Pinehurst, Curry will accept the Charlie Sifford Award in recognition of his efforts to promote diversity in golf. Curry never met the man who broke the PGA Tour’s color barrier for tour cards and won two of its tournaments (Sifford died in 2015), but at the mention of the name Curry’s eyes glance skyward, then to the floor. “He’s a man who obviously did so much for creating opportunities within this game. I’m very humbled.”

Chris Womack, a Black golfer and CEO of Southern Company, which presents the award, draws a line right to Tiger Woods. “A lot of us were thrilled by all that Tiger has done and the barriers he broke down. We thought that would open the floodgates for African-Americans on tour, but there has not been that incredible groundswell. I love the work of The First Tee and love their core values, but if you’re going to prepare kids for the tour, they got to have the competition, and how Stephen Curry is providing that is deep work, not just a PR commitment.”

Among the first to recognise Curry as a powerful agent of change in golf was Wendell Haskins, the veteran executive of several industries who recruited Curry to be an ambassador for PGA Jr. League in 2018. Haskins applauds the self-sustaining economics of Underrated. “These endeavors can’t just be based on charity. [Curry] is building brand affinity and future customers while doing something good. As to how many people of color ultimately become participants in the golf economy and can be traced to Underrated, that data will take years to materialise,” says Haskins, who would like to see Curry wield his influence to bring other celebrities to the cause. “Imagine if you had a dozen other athletes or entertainers doing at HBCUs what Stephen did at Howard?”

Therein lies another crux. The enormity of

the task of cultivating meaningfully more Black and brown golfers in a world of yawning wealth gaps would seem to require much more than the effort of one, albeit extraordinary, person.

“I love what Stephen is doing, but I don’t think it fully solves player development,” says Dr. Michael Cooper, a longtime advocate who has had many high positions in golf, including chairman of the Golf 20/20 Diversity Task Force. “We need camps, academies, lessons, equipment, all over the country. It’s a very complex system. There are people who want to be the person to make it happen, but what we need is more collaboration and less overlap of services. Who’s going to be the leader to finally pull it all together? Could it be Stephen? Maybe.”

There’s a sentiment among some in pro golf that Curry should do more to enlist its players. One might counter that PGA Tour and LIV players have had plenty of time and opportunity to create junior programs at the scale of Underrated and might be better served addressing their own current fractures, but that’s to ignore the sincere pros and administrators whose help might be additive. One top agent told me: “The Underrated Golf Tour events are a first-class experience for players with great goodie bags, but with the right strategic partnerships the level of competition could get better. A lot of the money they’re spending on kids could be better spent working with existing organisations that are already in place to reach more kids.”

“For sure, there are a lot of collaboration opportunities,” says Curry, who’s quick to name the work of Notah Begay and Cam Champ. “A lot of guys have reached out to compliment me on what I’m doing, like Tony Finau and Justin Thomas. Collin Morikawa came to our event at Harding Park and spent the entire day. Jordan Spieth and Annika Sorenstam both opened access to their tournaments for Curry Cup winners. The number of kids who fit into this junior golf umbrella is huge, and we’re all just trying to reach who we can to give them access so that we can change some of those numbers in professional and college golf, as well as give them other tools outside the game, too.”

It has been a long time since a conquering hero from another sport tried to inspire a generation of Black golfers with such intention, but there is precedent. Joe Louis, heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1937 to 1949, became the first Black person to play in a PGAsponsored tournament at the 1952 San Diego Open. Louis told The New York Times: “I want people to know what the PGA is. We’ve got another Hitler to get by.” His son, Joe Louis Barrow Jr., later became a successful golf businessman and the first CEO of The First Tee (2000-’17).

Anything great in the world starts with a person and an idea, then gestates and develops from there. Can the Underrated Tour achieve in golf where decades of strategising, effort and resources deployed by well-intentioned, smart people have come up short? Would Curry becoming the first pro athlete from another sport to earn a senior tour card or win a major elite amateur event even matter that much if the kids who idolise him don’t have access to competitive golf? Such answers won’t be known for many years. For now, a lot of Warriors fans might prefer their team captain put these dreams aside and focus on the other 14 guys on the roster after a humdrum season.

Every now and then, arrogance looks different in the rearview. Davidson basketball coach Bob McKillop had patience when a scrawny freshman started chucking threes from 10 feet behind the line.

MY TAKE ON STEPH’S SWING BY BUTCH HARMON

Last July, Steph and I played a round at Cypress Point. I gave him a few ideas for his game, but he didn’t need much. His swing is solid, and what a gentleman. Of all the superstars I’ve been around, he might be the nicest. A week later, he won the big celebrity event at Lake Tahoe on national TV— with a walk-o eagle on the last hole!

Looking at these photos above, I’m reminded how athletic and powerful Steph is swinging the club. What you don’t see here is his rhythm, which struck me right away when we played. Elite athletes have exceptional hand-eye coordination, but Steph also has a natural smoothness in the way he moves the club and sequences his swing.

His technique screams power. He grips the club in a strong position, meaning his hands are rotated slightly away from the target, and his palms are parallel to each other. It’s textbook. I also like that his arms are extended but not flexed, and his stance is nice and wide—looks like you couldn’t knock him over with a wrecking ball.

On the backswing, Steph does a

great job of winding up and using his height to create a big swing arc. He lets his head swivel back, which gives him the freedom to turn his upper body. By swinging wide o the ball, he creates a loading action into his right instep but does a great job of not swaying out of position. His backswing stays “between his feet.”

One thing I told him was to let his hips turn freely so that he can max out his shoulder turn, which is about 110 degrees when he gets to the top—that’s tour level. Making a full turn while keeping the hands away from the head is

one of my key concepts. Look at Steph at the top—I’d like to hang this photo at my academy.

Coming down, he makes a little shift toward the target and lets his arms drop without forcing anything—all good—but then he makes one move he should try to improve: His hips stop turning. His pelvis is in the same position in the frame after impact as it was at impact. If the hips stop rotating, the club tends to flip over, which can cause hooks. Hooks can be trouble for a player with as much speed as Steph. With the hips stalling, his spine tilts

away from the target more than I’d like, and he gets up on his toes. Steph is so athletic, he can put the club on the ball consistently and often fight o the left miss, but this move can be hard to control. You don’t want to rely on timing that club flip through impact. The answer is to keep turning the hips. Overall, it’s an excellent golf swing. From the setup to halfway down, I wouldn’t touch a thing. Once Steph cleans up that lower-body action through impact, he’ll be posing with another golf trophy before we know it.

—WITH PETER MORRICE

My Favourite PinehurstArea Courses, Ranked

A guide to some of America’s best golf in a U.S. Open year

By Derek Duncan

2024 U.S. OPEN PINEHURST NO. 2 PREVIEW

Pinehurst No. 2

No. 29 America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses No. 6 America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses No. 1 Best in State No. 2, host of this year’s U.S. Open, would be the top selection on nearly any list, no matter where it was located. Already one of the four or five most original designs in the United States, the reestablishment of the original sand and wiregrass borders in 2010 by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw has given the course the aesthetic punch it previously lacked. Playing here is, in equal proportions, a deeply cerebral and emotional experience. Everything else in Pinehurst plays off the No. 2 course in one way or another.

If it has been a decade since you’ve been to Pinehurst, it’s time to go—much has changed. There are several additions to the scene, and most of the major courses have undergone serious transformations. Although Pinehurst (and neighboring Southern Pines) is still Pinehurst, a quaint, historic village that’s not like anywhere else in golf—or even like anything outside its small geographic radius—the overall environment of the golf, resorts, lodging and restaurants is more evolved than it was 10 years ago, the last time the resort hosted the U.S. Open. What hasn’t changed is the difficulty of selecting where to play. Choosing how to divide your rounds in such a target-rich environment can tie visitors in knots. These are my top choices to help guide where you should be playing.

Tobacco Road Golf Club

Tobacco Road might not be the clear second-best course in the Pinehurst region, but it’s one that should not be missed when anywhere near it. The design was the apotheosis of late architect Mike Strantz’s unique take on risk-reward golf and visual agitation. Beautiful and bewildering, this is funhouse golf full of greens stretched into silly putty shapes, vast chasms of sand to play over and around and numerous blind shots that ask you to hit and hope and hold your breath.

No. 45 America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses

No. 12 Best in State

3

Pinehurst No. 10

Several holes of this Tom Doak design, which opened in April 2024, plunge through old sand quarries, including the turbulent eighth where players will want to pop Dramamine before tackling fairway swells you could surf across. No. 10 feels like a world apart from the resort’s tight cluster of primary courses and symbiotic surrounding village. The grandeur of the isolated holes roller coasting through quiet sand barrens three miles to the south creates tension between the sublimity of the environment and the heroism of the architecture, demonstrated most intensely in the uninhibited green shapes, many of which are bowl-shaped and heavily segmented.

Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club

No. 86 America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses No. 24 Best in State

Located in Southern Pines, Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club, designed by Donald Ross in 1921, is pure elegance and beauty. The routing is spellbinding, with holes that stretch into corners at the property’s high points, then fall back down to intersect at junctions across the calmer interior. Kyle Franz’s 2013 work expanding greens and restoring the perimeter sandscapes has greatly enhanced one of Pinehurst’s most refined golf presentations. 5

Pinehurst No. 4

100 Greatest Public Golf Courses No. 9 Best in State

Like a football team searching for the right coach, the resort could never settle on the right identity for the No. 4 course despite a series of major alterations by different architects. It found its match when it hired Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner to carry out a full-scale blowup and rebuild in 2018 that brought back the sweeping sand and pine character we identify with Pinehurst while initiating a style of shaping in the greens and bunkers that’s confident and distinctly its own.

Pinehurst No. 3

Don’t overlook little No. 3, which many Pinehurst guests probably do once they note the course plays to a maximum yardage of less than 5,200 yards. You’d never know it. This is serious golf, pound for pound the toughest course on property and a scaled-down version of No. 2. The greens are dazzling with the same crowned edges as big brother and recently revived bunkers and perimeter barrens that match. It’s also the resort’s best walk.

Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club

SOUTHERN PINES No. 63 America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses No. 15 Best in State

Pine Needles used to lurk quietly in the Pinehurst background before the USGA chose to put it in their regular women’s championship rotation. It got another big boost in 2017 after Kyle Franz reworked portions of the course, putting the Pinehurst touch on the borders, cross hazards and bunkers. Although it lacks the intimacy and connectivity of its sister course, Mid Pines, with holes that wonder further afield because of being part of a 1920s residential development, it has grown into a big, championship-worthy course with arguably the most sublime set of greens after No. 2.

The Cradle

You wouldn’t want to skip any of these other courses just to play the Cradle, mainly because you shouldn’t have to—you can fit it in at twilight or between resort rounds (though that can be a challenge based on high demand). But it’s hard to beat the little one-shot, nine-hole course on the thrills-per-minute meter. Located just off the Pinehurst clubhouse, it’s a golf-and-social scene as all age groups play with a handful of clubs across a field of wild tees and greens as music pumps through speakers. It even has a halfway house, so you’re never more than a few dozen yards from provisions.

Pinehurst No. 8

No. 100 America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses No. 26 Best in State

Cut from a nature preserve with no surrounding development, No. 8, designed by Tom Fazio in 1994, is one of the most serene experiences in the area. Fittingly, there’s a wild element to the course as the holes move in unexpected directions toward racy greens that change style from scene to scene. The modernness of the design cuts against the genteel Pinehurst aesthetic, and there’s not a lot of routing cohesion, but it’s a fast-moving train that’s worth the ride. Fazio’s team returned in 2022 for touch ups and to restore the fast and firm playing surfaces.

Southern Pines Golf Club

No. 72 America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses No. 17 Best in State

Southern Pines used to be a course that only locals and architectural bookworms played. Designed in the early 1900s by Donald Ross, the affordable public course occupied a wonderful, bucolic piece of land that seemed to have buried treasure underneath. After a change in ownership and a major 2021 renovation by Kyle Franz that added plenty of razzle dazzle to the design in the form of new greens and plenty of attractive sand barrens, the secret is out, and Southern Pines has now become a Pinehurst darling and one of the state’s better destination courses.

11

Pinehurst No. 6

Many would put the sexier Jack Nicklausdesigned No. 9 in this spot, but No. 6’s simple logic is more appealing to me. It was designed and built in the dark ages of the 1970s by George and Tom Fazio and is one of the sleepier courses in the area. But don’t be too judgmental—with all the sandy pyrotechnics happening around the neighborhood, No. 6 chugs along with quiet grace, presenting traditional hole after traditional hole of smart, effective bunkering through a property that rolls high and low through lovely stands of pine. There’s a lot to be said for this kind of maturity.

BY WYNDHAM CLARK WITH RON KASPRISKE

POWER FADE

‘If you see me draw a ball with a driver, it was probably an accident.’

—Clark

YEAR WAS A BREAKTHROUGH YEAR

ME IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.

When I stopped worrying so much about swing mechanics and focused on seeing shots and then creating what I saw, I was able to play the way I knew I was capable of playing—including much more confidently with my driving. In my victory at the U.S. Open last year at Los Angeles Country Club, I was second in strokes gained off the tee.

Fast forward to defending my Open title at Pinehurst No. 2 (June 13-16), I’m concentrating on controlling my tee shots even more, really reducing the dispersion of drives and adjusting my strategy from hole to hole. I’ll get into the details of that in a bit, especially knowing you can’t just swing away on a spacious but racy U.S. Open course like Pinehurst. First, I want to share an observation or two about what I see when amateurs step on the tee.

Perhaps you do your diligence, but with most ams, I don’t see a lot of thought given to what the hole calls for. They pretty much make the same driver swing from hole to hole and try to put the ball somewhere in the fairway—or at least advance it far enough that it’s not a totally wasted shot. The second thing I notice is that there’s little thought given to the ball’s start line or where it should finish. It’s like robogolf: Grab the driver, walk up to the tee, peg one and swing away.

Hopefully after you read what goes through my mind as I stand on any par 4 or par 5, you’ll be a little more attentive to what you should do. If you can put yourself in decent position in the fairway, or even make your misses smaller, you’re going to make more pars and avoid big mistakes.

OK, with the pep talk out of the way, here are my three go-to drives—and what I do when none of them are truly the best option.

MY SQUEEZE CUT

A lot of the time I turn to a drive my caddie, John Ellis, and I call a squeeze cut. It puts more emphasis on accuracy than distance, but I’m still getting it out there a good way—like 300 yards or more. It’s the best of both worlds. The ball takes off on a medium trajectory, which keeps it from ballooning, and it moves a little left to right, which is my usual flight. In fact, if you see me draw the ball with a driver, it was probably an accident.

To produce the squeeze cut, I tee the

ball at medium height. That might seem a little low for you, but if you make a level swing through the ball—your main goal—the tee is plenty high. I set up a touch open, meaning I’m aligned a little left of the target, and this produces a swing path that helps the ball start just a hair left and then peel back to the right. I’m not trying to put a big curve on the ball, nor should you. Don’t try to hold off your swing or steer it in play. Just set up with the ball a little lower, your body a touch open, and make a full swing, accelerating through to a full finish.

MY ‘SEND IT’ DRIVE

If there’s no trouble to speak of, or it’s worth it for me to really go after one to drive a par 4 or be in good position to get

home in two on a par 5, John will give me the green light to stick it a mile up in the air and “send it.” This shot is all about maxing carry yardage, which is even more important for slower swingers. If you can’t swing 100 miles per hour or faster, you probably have no business playing a driver with less than 11 or 12 degrees of loft.

To increase your carry, you’ll also want to make sure the ball is aligned with at least the heel of your front foot and that you tee it high enough that half of it is above the top of your driver at address. You might think you have to swing harder to launch it, but that’s not necessarily true. In fact, if a harder swing makes it more likely you hit the ball off the toe of the club, you’re proba-

bly going to lose yardage in the process. A better strategy for you is to focus on hitting it out of the center of the face and feel like your club is accelerating through the ball—but at your normal swing speed. Oh, and if you can draw it to pick up a little extra yardage, go for it. But I’m still fading this one a touch.

MY 90% SWING

Whether it’s first-tee anxiety or you’re trying to close out a tournament, there are going to be times when you have to come through under pressure. In those moments, I use my 90% swing. It’s a shot that cuts a little, but its real appeal is that it pierces through the air on a low trajectory. It’s not like the squeeze cut, which flies longer and higher. It’s

IT OUT

‘I’m not trying to put a big curve on the ball, nor should you.’

CHOOSE WISELY

‘Don’t automatically grab your driver every time you step onto a par-4 or par-5 tee.’

more like a stinger. If you’re trying to avoid a double or there’s trouble everywhere, think about scaling back your effort and really focusing on making a smooth swing. Don’t forget to finish it. No steering.

The adjustments to hit this drive are to tee it lower, play it a little farther back than normal and stay more on top of the ball with your chest. I know I can rely on this drive to avoid the deep rough, but even if you don’t feel comfortable hitting it, just remember that if you want to keep a driver in play, this is not the time to swing out of

your shoes. Make a swing that feels like you’re going at it with a lot less effort.

MY FOURTH OPTION

I do draw the ball from time to time. Sometimes the hole just screams to move it right to left. In those instances, I’ll grab my 3-wood and turn something over. I’m not suggesting you do the same if you’re not at a level where you can draw it on command. Rather, my advice here is don’t automatically grab your driver every time you step onto a par-4 or par-5 tee.

If it’s a super tight hole with out-ofbounds on one side and a big pond on the other, your best option might be to put a 5-iron in play. Then maybe hit another 5-iron down the fairway and then wedge one onto the green. At worst, you’re taking double bogey out of play and at best, you’ll have a par putt on one of the toughest holes on the course. Point is, give every play from the tee a little more thought, and I bet your scorecard will benefit from it.

THE 18-HOLE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE, MANAGED BY GOLF SAUDI, WILL BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL 11 HOTELS ON SHURA ISLAND, AS WELL AS GUESTS STAYING AT OTHER RESORTS AT THE RED SEA.

SHURA LINKS

RED SEA GLOBAL ( RSG ) , the multiproject developer behind regenerative tourism destinations The Red Sea and AMAALA, has officially revealed the name and designs of its golf course and clubhouse on Shura Island at The Red Sea set to complete and open in full in 2025.

Shura Links promises a one-of-akind golf experience, offering Saudi Arabia’s first 18-hole island golf course with, marina views and spectacular fairways overlooked by the Red Sea.

Developed in partnership with worldleading environmental consultants, Shura Links is guided by the highest sustainability standards, addressing a number of areas in tandem such as wa-

ter-use reduction and innovative re-use of irrigation for habitat development.

“Shura Links will provide an unparalleled golfing experience, offering a visually stunning, natural course right here on the Red Sea,” said John Pagano, Group CEO of RSG.

“As ever, it’s not enough for us to provide spectacular experiences and world class playing conditions.

“We are committed to ensuring Shura Links aligns with our ambition to set new sustainability standards. From innovative turf management and careful foliar feeding, we’re putting respect for nature above everything else.”

“We’ve already commenced with turfing the fairways and look forward to welcoming first players to this unique course.”

World Class Designs

The iconic clubhouse is designed by Foster + Partners. It follows the overall Coral Bloom design concept on Shura Island, also created by Foster + Partners, which takes inspiration from the incredible flora and fauna found uniquely in Saudi Arabia.

The course has been designed in partnership with world-renowned golf architect Brian Curley, the designer behind the world’s largest golf facility, Mission Hills Golf Club, Shenzen, China.

Curley, Principal of Curley-Wagner

An artist impression of Hole 15 at Shura Links, Saudi Arabia

Shura Links is a one-of-a kind golf experience

PHOTOGRAPHS

Golf Design, said: “There are very few places in the world that can offer yearround sunshine, stunning vermilion sunsets and a wonderfully natural design. Shura has it all. We expect everyone from professionals to beginners to be drawn to this unique course and have designed it accordingly.

“There’s plenty to challenge the world’s best, while stirring the senses of amateurs looking for the greatest playing experience.”

The par 72 Shura Links course tops

RSG IS WORKING WITH THE ONCOURSE PLATFORM TO ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY IS AT THE HEART

out at a championship length of over 7,500 yards, and offers multiple tees with options on each hole. Every hole has been designed to provide maximum variety, playability and memorability for all levels of ability.

Holes four to seven hug the coastline of the Red Sea, while holes 14 to 18 provide a finish with each hole enjoying a backdrop of open sea or channel views. While the 18th hole finishes your experience with being overlooked by the iconic clubhouse.

The clubhouse has been designed to maximise views of the golf course and the waterfront

mises views of the golf course and the waterfront to the west.

Nestled within the landscape, the clubhouse aligns with the topography of the golf course and steps down towards the beach.

The designers have incorporated width off the tee to make the course suitable for beginners, yet also includes challenging features that ensures the course is in tournament spec, creating the opportunity for staging major events in the future. There is also a two-acre putting green that the designers claim to rival the best in the world.

Clubhouse Design

The design of the clubhouse mirrors its natural surroundings, while it maxi-

A petal-like timber canopy wraps around a welcoming central courtyard, showcasing a tranquil water feature and a magnificent Delonix regia tree.

Working closely with timber manufacturers, the canopy’s form has been carefully crafted to minimise the structure’s embodied carbon.

The canopy cantilevers over the beachfront terrace, which provides a shaded outdoor space that overlooks the water and a luxury resort.

Tactile natural materials such

as stone and exposed timber are used throughout.

The pioneering clubhouse is designed to enhance guests’ wellbeing, with direct connections to nature, a range of luxury spaces, and a refined palette of natural materials.

Fully Intergrating Sustainability

RSG is working with the OnCourse® platform to ensure sustainability is at the heart of Shura Links. Water consumption is reduced through the careful selection of turf grass and soil sensors to understand moisture levels and minimise water use.

It is also using the innovative POGO turf management system to measure key variables that influence growth and

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Get swag ready in the proshop; Warm up in the state-of-the-art gym; An artist impression of Hole 3 at Shura Links

JUST ONE PART OF SAUDI ARABIA’S AMBITION TO BECOME THE WORLD’S NEXT GOLF DESTINATION

performance, including salinity, temperature and weather, helping to inform decision making and irrigation efficiency.

The course also uses foliar feeding incorporating natural nutrients like seaweed to ensure a precision approach that maximises nutrient uptake while mitigating against nutrient run off, maintaining the playing surfaces.

Of the 140-hectare site, just 20 percent is maintained turf. The designers purposely developed a natural golf course, using irregular turf lines and transitional bunkering with outside edges that blend into the natural dunescapes.

On top of this, RSG is developing a Habitat Development and Protection Plan that will explore ways to encourage the island’s wildlife. Including research into whether the course’s irrigation system can be used to accelerate mangrove growth around the course.

Golf Saudi Partnership

Golf Saudi will manage the golf course and operations. Shura Links will be accessible to all 11 hotels on Shura Island, as well as guests staying at other resorts at The Red Sea.

A second course is in the works as part of subsequent phases of the destination’s development and is part of Saudi’s ambition to become the world’s next golf destination.

In 2023, The Red Sea welcomed its first guests, with three of their hotels now open. The Red Sea International Airport (RSI) has been receiving a regular schedule of domestic flights since September 2023 and international flights began in April 2024, marking a new twice-weekly route between The Red Sea and Dubai International.

Desert Rock and Shebara will welcome first guests later this year, while Shura Island is well on track to welcome guests in 2025.

THE BEST NEW GOLF BALLS OF 2024

BY MIKE STACHURA AND E. MICHAEL JOHNSON

F

INDING THE RIGHT BALL SHOULDN’T

be like looking for a needle in a haystack. What you need is a magnet. Consider the Hot List your lodestone. The goal with our annual review of the best-rated golf balls is to help you take the first step toward better defining your playing needs and how certain balls might meet those requirements. We also know it’s only a beginning. A golf-ball fitting, something formal with a qualified fitter or more informal with you and a few sleeves, might change your mind, or even better, confirm that what you have been using is the right one.

Our process focuses on two categories. Golf balls with a Urethane Cover generally appeal to the best players and those with a certain level of competency from driver through wedge. These balls offer a greater variety of shot-making options in terms of trajectory, spin control and feel, particularly near the green—all without sacrificing much of anything in terms of full-swing distance. These are the best balls by far in our evaluations, scoring on average a full point higher across all performance aspects on our five-point scale, according to our players, and spinning an average of 31 percent more on a half-wedge shot in our robot testing. Golf balls with a Non-Urethane Cover typically provide less spin on full shots through the bag for better distance and improved accuracy than higher spinning balls. Relative to most urethane-cover balls, non-urethane models lack the same degree of wedge spin, but the nine balls that made our list showed above average grab on those short-game shots.

First, consider which characteristics best support your game—distance, spin, feel. Matching what you need with the array of options available is a personal process. We’re just here to help. In a landscape in which everything looks essentially the same, a little intel can go a long way. —MS

BRIDGESTONE TOUR B RX/RXS/X/XS PERFORMANCE

TOUR B RX RRP AED 275 IS IT FOR YOU?

• Made for swing speeds of less than 105 mph

• Preference for distance ahead of workability

• Low spin helps accuracy but reduces greenside spin

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >>

SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

TOUR B RXS RRP AED 275 IS IT FOR YOU?

• Targets swing speeds of under 105 miles per hour

• The softest feeling ball in the Tour B family

• For players who want optimum spin on all shots

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >> FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

HOW WE GOT HERE

In 2024, we embarked on our most comprehensive golf-ball Hot List process ever. It combined both player and robot testing to narrow a field of 75 candidates to these final 46 models. Robot testing was conducted by Cool Clubs in Arizona, under the direction of Tom Mase, Ph.D., retired professor of mechanical engineering at Cal Poly and a member of the Hot List Technical Panel. The robot test used half-wedge shots for the spin and launch characteristics of each model. In player testing, elite golfers (5-handicap or less) put finalists through a full range of shots, scoring them on a five-point scale (1 for “poor” to 5 for “excellent”) with the short game, half-wedge, 7-iron and driver. Players also assessed scores in Feel from 1 (“Soft”) to 5 (“Firm”). The graphics reflect our judges’ assessment of the collective players’ ratings. Throughout player testing, all logos and distinguishing marks were blacked out. —MS

TOUR B X RRP AED 275 IS IT FOR YOU?

• For 105-mph-plus swings where distance is a priority

• The firmest feeling model

• Current ball of choice for Tiger Woods, Jason Day and Matt Kuchar

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) >>

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >> FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

>>

TOUR B XS RRP AED 275 IS IT FOR YOU?

• For high-speed swingers who like to work the ball

• Most short-game spin in the Tour B lineup, per robot testing

• Softer feeling than X

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >> FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

SOFT RRP AED 320 IS IT FOR YOU?

• Targets aspirational golfers looking for tourlevel greenside spin

• Softest in the lineup

• Higher flying, more ball speed than past versions

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM)

<< SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

TOUR RRP AED 320 IS IT FOR YOU?

• Designed for better golfers looking for soft feel and driver distance

• Softer and faster than Chrome Soft Tour X with a more penetrating flight

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

>>

Z-STAR 8 RRP AED 260 IS IT FOR YOU?

• The softest Z-Star for players seeking the most greenside spin

• Additional coating enhances how the urethane cover grabs the grooves

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

Z-STAR ◆ RRP AED 260 IS IT FOR YOU?

• Combines Z-Star’s thicker cover for spin with XV’s firmer-compression core for high-launch and distance

• Designed for more greenholding middle-iron spin

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) >> SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

(POOR-EXCELLENT)

TOUR X RRP AED 320 IS IT FOR YOU?

• For better golfers looking for firmer feel and ball speed through the bag

• Highest spin in the lineup on half-wedge shots in our robot testing

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) >> SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >>

FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

AED 199

IS IT FOR YOU?

• Targets moderate- to average-swing-speed players (swing speeds of 75+ mph with the driver)

• Improved ball speed off the driver because of a slight increase in compression compared to the most recent model

• The softest-feeling Srixon ball with a urethane cover

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

Z-STAR XV 8 RRP AED 250 IS IT FOR YOU?

• The firmest feeling of the three Z-Star balls

• Ideal for high-speed players (driver swing speeds of 100+ mph) who want distance and higher flight

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) >> SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >>

NUMBER OF MODELS PLAYED AT THE PLAYERS

● The number of golf-ball brands and models available today can be overwhelming. This can lead you to make a default choice that isn’t ideal for your game. Consider that at this year’s Players Championship, 23 ball models were in play. The takeaway? Getting fit for a golf ball matters.

TAYLORMADE

TOUR RESPONSE RRP AED 220

PERFORMANCE

IS IT FOR YOU?

• The softest-feeling, urethane-cover TaylorMade ball

• Designed for distance for non-elite swing speeds

• Also available with a wide aiming stripe

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >>

(POOR-EXCELLENT)

TAYLORMADE TP5/TP5X

TP5

RRP AED 280 IS IT FOR YOU?

• New core formula leads to increased speed while maintaining soft sound

• A softer-feeling option than the TP5x

• Ideal if short-game spin is your priority

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

TITLEIST —V1/PRO V1X

PRO V1 RRP AED 350 IS IT FOR YOU?

• Ideal for distance and less spin on the longer clubs

• More penetrating flight than Pro V1x

• Softest feeling of the three Pro V1 models

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) <<

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

(POOR-EXCELLENT)

PRO V1X RRP AED 350 IS IT FOR YOU?

• Targets players looking for firmer feel and higher flight with more spin

• Expect more long-game spin to help with carry distance

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM)

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

(POOR-EXCELLENT)

TP5X RRP AED 280 IS IT FOR YOU?

• For high-speed players to reduce long-club spin

• Firmer compression for more iron distance

• Core design increases speed with similar sound of previous model

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) >> SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >>

FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

HONMA

TW-S RRP AED 145 PERFORMANCE

IS IT FOR YOU?

• Softer feel than TW-X

• The ionomer mantle layer provides optimum spin on iron shots

• Soft core is better for slower swing speeds

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM)

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

AVX RRP AED 350

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

IS IT FOR YOU?

• Softest urethane cover in the Titleist lineup

• Expect the AVX to fly lower, spin less and feel softer compared to Pro V1

• Ideal for players looking for distance through the bag by lowering spin

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

SHOULD WOMEN PLAY ONLY ‘WOMEN’S’ GOLF BALLS?

● Let’s be clear: There are many, many, many women golfers who are tremendous players and can kick the backside of most male players. They should play any ball on the Hot List. Then there are women who don’t swing very fast and need help launching the ball to boost carry distance. Low-compression balls will help, and that’s especially true for women’s-specific models. Callaway’s Reva or ERC Soft Reva, Srixon’s Soft Feel Lady, TaylorMade’s Kalea and Bridgestone’s Lady Precept might prove the best option for those players. —EMJ

RB TOUR RRP AED 250 IS IT FOR YOU?

• The lower spinning option targets faster swing speeds

• The mantle layer provides a distance boost

• This model has a softer feel than the RB Tour X

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) >> SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

RB TOUR X RRP AED 250 IS IT FOR YOU?

• Provides a more controlled short-iron flight

• Low spin off the driver but not as low as RB Tour

• New cover provides enhanced durability

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) >> SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

PXG

XTREME RRP AED 280

PERFORMANCE ★ ★ ★ ★ INNOVATION

IS IT FOR YOU?

• A firm mantle layer enhances distance

• Urethane cover produces a soft feel

• Bold alignment feature helps golfers line up putts

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) >> SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

COLORED BALLS AREN’T JUST FOR PUTT-PUTT ANYMORE

DIFFERENCE IN FEET OF ROLLOUT FOR A PITCH SHOT, URETHANE VERSUS NON-URETHANE

● In our robot testing, conducted by Cool Clubs, balls with urethane covers preferred by tour pros averaged 30 to 50 percent more spin on a 45-yard pitch shot than balls with non-urethane covers. In yardage terms, that could mean as much as 13 more feet of rollout with a nonurethane ball, affecting your ability to stop the ball near the hole.

● The field of balls that are no longer just white, including solid colors, scattered colors, aiming patterns and even custom graphics, is now so vast that in the case of some major companies, more non-white models are sold than white ones. Golf Data-tech’s research suggests about 50 percent of golfers are

interested in color, and even the venerable Pro V1 is now offered in yellow. Some models use alignment features to promote target awareness, and others go even further. Bridgestone’s Tour B Mindset graphics, designed with Jason Day’s input, provide a visual cue to get your pre-shot routine dialed in.

From left, top row: Titleist Pro V1, Bridgestone Tour B Mindset, Callaway Chrome Tour X Triple Track, Vice Pro (Drip). Bottom: Wilson Duo Soft, Volvik Vivid, TaylorMade TP5x Pix, Srixon Z-Star Divide.

W

HEN OUR ANNUAL GOLF BALL HOT LIST comes out, we’re often asked why we bother to have non-urethane-covered golf balls on the list. It’s a fair question. There’s no doubt multilayer, urethanecovered golf balls are technologically superior—that’s why the pros play them.

To determine what benefits, if any, belong to nonurethane balls, we ran a non-scientific test. Chris Watson, a scratch who has qualified for the U.S. Mid-Am, and I (a 12-handicap but once a very good player) played nine holes with a urethane ball and nine with a nonurethane ball and chronicled our scores and observations.

Presented with a blacked-out sleeve of each in white boxes, we set out. I knew by the third hole which ball was which. It was obvious by the way the non-urethane ball slid up the face on a 50-yard wedge shot. If you want to stop the ball using height instead of spin, that works. I didn’t see much difference on iron approaches, but pitches behaved decidedly different. The urethane ball had more grab, and the non-urethane model rolled out. If you play shots along the ground, a non-urethane ball works fine. Off the tee, the non-urethane ball spun less, especially on off-center strikes. One tee shot I was certain was headed for the right trees held its line and left me with a shot from the rough.

Watson found the non-urethane ball firmer and clickier on virtually all shots. He also found distance control to be an issue, airmailing a green on an approach that left him befuddled. That extended to pitches and chips, which he found “jumpy.”

We both scored better with the urethane ball (one shot lower for me, two for him). The difference seemed magnified for the better player, so maybe there is no reason to ever play non-urethane. However, if you’re north of a 10-handicap and play the short game along the ground and need less spin off the tee (along with saving a few bucks), the non-urethane-covered balls on this list are worth your consideration. —EMJ

● CALLAWAY

ERC SOFT RRP AED 250

PERFORMANCE ★ ★ ★ ★ INNOVATION ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

CALLAWAY

SUPERSOFT RRP AED 160

PERFORMANCE

SRIXON Q-STAR N/A

PERFORMANCE ★

●

BRIDGESTONE

E12 CONTACT RRP AED 220

PERFORMANCE ★

IS IT FOR YOU?

• A new dimple design with a raised area in the center promotes a flatter ball flight

• Also available in matte red, green and yellow

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >> FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

SRIXON SOFT FEEL RRP AED 140

PERFORMANCE ★ ★ ★ ★ INNOVATION ★ ★ ★ ★ IS IT FOR YOU?

• Golfers who struggle with putting might like the Triple Track alignment feature

• Recorded better shortgame spin than many nonurethane balls in testing

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >> FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

IS IT FOR YOU?

• The lower compression enhances feel

• Reduced spin on longer shots improves accuracy

• A revised cover improves greenside control

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) <<

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >> FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

IS IT FOR YOU?

• Best for golfers with moderate and below-average swing speeds

• Designed for those seeking more height without ballooning

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) <<

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >> FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

IS IT FOR YOU?

• Dimple pattern helps to reduce drag

• A thin, soft cover offers enough grab on short shots

• Also available in matte red, orange and green

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) <<

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT) >>

SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

● TAYLORMADE

SPEEDSOFT RRP AED 150

PERFORMANCE

IS IT FOR YOU?

• Sub-50 compression provides a cushiony feel

• Ionomer cover is highly durable

• SpeedSoft Ink delivers a paint-splatter visual

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM)

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

TITLEIST TOUR SOFT RRP AED 265

PERFORMANCE

IS IT FOR YOU?

• More spin and feel than a typical ionomer cover

• Large core delivers increased ball speed

• Low compression fosters a soft feel at impact

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM)

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

IS IT FOR YOU?

• More short-game spin than most low-compression balls

• Four colored matte finishes: green, red, yellow and orange

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM)

SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

IS IT FOR YOU?

• Low compression offers a soft feel in a distance ball

• The 338-dimple pattern promotes a higher flight

• Also available in lime yellow and pink

FEEL RATING (SOFT-FIRM) << SHORT GAME (POOR-EXCELLENT)

FULL SWING (POOR-EXCELLENT)

WILL THE BALL ROLLBACK REALLY ROLL BACK THE GAME (YOURS INCLUDED)?

● The USGA and R&A’s golf-ball rollback is essentially an effort to mitigate the progress of elite male golfers and involves increasing the swing speed of the robot that tests balls by five miles per hour. This would make every ball currently played on the pro tours non-conforming. The rule will go into effect in 2028 for elite competition and for all golfers in 2030.

Average driving distance on the PGA Tour has reached nearly 300 yards, about 40 yards more than it was 30 years ago, and ball speed of the top 50 players is nine mph faster than it was 15 years ago. Bryson DeChambeau (left) can produce ball speeds in excess of 200 mph. The rollback could temper tour driving distance by 15 yards, but for how long? Elite female and recreational golfers are likely to be impacted less. For swings of 90 mph or lower, the new rule could be negligible, according to research, maybe five yards total for two full swings on a long par 4.

The USGA has said that a certain percentage of balls could still conform, but those models won’t be around in five years. What might be around are new balls adhering to the new guidelines that might be even better for average golfers. Wedge designs, for example, flourished in the years after the 2010 grooves rollback. Maybe the golf-ball rollback will inspire a similar imaginative turn in ball design. —MS

The Gulf Club

Junior Medal Series

Tommy Fleetwood Academy Jumeirah Golf Estates, UAE

Dominic Morton Emirates Golf Federation Order of Merit Championship Al Zorah Golf Club, UAE

Amiya Ranjan Mid-Amateur Championship Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, UAE

Mousa Shana’ah

Oman International Golf Tour Round Two La Vie, Oman

Philippa Stumbles

Ladies Lounge Spa Invitational Stableford Jumeirah Golf Estates, UAE

Aoife Kelly

GEM International Golf Tour Arabian Ranches, UAE

Peter Taylor Lincoln Open Jumeirah Golf Estates, UAE

Daniil Sokolov Jordan Open Junior Division Ayla Golf Club, Jordan

Priyanka Gupta & Ya-Lun Wu

Ladies Two-Player Challenge Emirates Golf Club, UAE

Gaurav Ajmani Orient Travel Monthly Medal Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, UAE

Shames Al Hashemi 29th Dubai Duty Free UAE Nationals Cup Emirates Golf Club, UAE

AGE 26

LIVES Dubai, UAE

STORY I have been with Titleist for four years now, pretty much aroun d the same time that I moved to Dubai. The way the guys look after me is second to none. Every week on Tour you see it’s the number one bal, glove, bag, clubs within the fields playing on any Tour around the world, everything is Titleist. They are so far above everyone else in what they do, especially with the quality of the clubs.

DRIVER

WITH HARRY GRIMSHAW

WHAT'S IN MY BAG : JOSHUA GRENVILLE-WOOD

SPECS Titleist TSR3 8 degree - 82 gram X flex shaft

So the TSR3 I have is cut down by three quarters of an inch, which helps bring in the dispersion a bit when missing fairways. It’s my favourite club by a mile! Hitting it far makes it pretty fun!

3-WOOD

Titleist TSR2 15 degree - 82 gram X flex shaft

My three wood is actually cut down by one inch. It’s really nice to control the spin with as well, little bullet knock downs, and control fades are a lot easier.

Titleist CB 3i to 4i

These are the only irons I have as CB’s, just for a bit of forgiveness. A three iron blade is brutal if you aren’t hitting it well! They are still soft and thin, and probably go just a little bit further than

Titleist MB 5i to 9i

I just love the feel o the face of my MB’s, they are just so soft. I love something that looks really thin when I put it down.

WEDGES

Titleist Vokey SM10 – X100 shafts

In my wedges I have a 60, 56, 52 and 46 degree. They are all standard loft and two degrees flat. This year the way they have moved the CGI in the head is perfect. My miss with a wedge is a slight pull, now it’s more of a straight shot.

PUTTER

Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Circle T

My Scotty is two degrees flat, 34 inches long with a graphite UST shaft and I call it the dark knight! We have a love / hate relationship. I think it’s more my fault than the putter. It’s so unique to look at, and so di erent from everyone else’s.

I have my lucky ball marker which is the Arsenal FC badge on a copper coin. I have been using it for quite a few years now. I can’t play a tournament round without using it, so I have to make sure I always have it.

LINE UP

My ball liner always has to be with me as well. The colour I mark my ball with that day has to match the colour of the trousers I am wearing! I’m a bit superstitious!

NOM NOM

There is always a bag of pistachios in my golf bag as well. I’m addicted to them and it’s something to munch on when walking a round of golf!

The Summer Golf Excuse Bracket

By Coleman Bentley

New shoes are giving me blisters

New

Photograph by Yousef Al Harmoodi

Edition, United Arab Emirates themed Marine Chronometer Clock by David Galbraith

Rivoli DIFC Mall, Dubai

Rivoli Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi

Painting by Faisal Abdul Qader