Golf Digest Middle East - November 2023

THE #1 GOLF PUBLICATION

GOLFDIGESTME.COM

TAKING THE ROAD LESS-TRAVELLED

David Puig takes us through his journey to the top at LIV

WHERE ELSE BUT AT THE ELS CLUB? Golf Digest Middle East’s Oktoberfest goes off with a bang

Fleetwood relishing Ryder Cup reunion with his teammates

N OV 2 0 2 3 AED20 KD1.7 OR2.1 SR20 BD2.1

FROM TOMMY WITH LOVE

NOVEMBER 2023

BACK TO EARTH

The cream of the DP World Tour return to Dubai for the landmark 15th DP World Tour Championship

14 Lucky Break How a mix of sand and investment led to a line of backyard putting greens.

66 The Loop Here are our alternative LIV Golf League awards as the 2023 season closes.

BY MATTHEW RUDY

WITH MATT SMITH

BY MATT SMITH

The Starter 8 Hong Kong GC Set to host the best from the Asian and LIV Golf tours in November.

16 Million-Dollar Deal Junkie Real estate mogul Pam Liebman masterfully mixes business and golf.

BY ALEX MYERS

BY MATT SMITH

Mind / Body 10 Undercover Caddie Sponsors’ exemptions can be dirty politics.

WITH JOEL BEALL

12 Journeys David Puig WITH MATT SMITH

4

golfdigestme.com

61 Avoid the Big Number Save strokes with these greenside tips.

BY CHERYL ANDERSON

64 What’s in My Bag U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark WITH E. MICHAEL JOHNSON november 2023

Features 18 Mac Is Back Grab a piece of the action as Rory McIlroy returns to defend Hero Dubai Desert Classic crown at landmark 35th edition.

will certainly live long in the memory.

BY MATT SMITH

26 Ryder Reunion The 15th DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates will be a fight among friends from Team Europe.

BY ELIZABETH NELSON

BY MATT SMITH

BY ROSE ZHANG

COVER STORY

50 Toast Of The Town The third edition of Golf Digest Middle East’s Oktoberfest is a roaring success at The Els Club in Dubai

19 The Dream Team US secure Eisenhower Trophy in Abu Dhabi.

30 A year To Remember Tommy Fleetwood comes into the DP World Tour Championship as a winner in more ways than one.

BY MATT SMITH

BY MATT SMITH

20 LIV On The expanded 14-event LIV Golf League season

36 The Future Rose Zhang won at Augusta, then in her

BY MATT SMITH

LPGA pro debut.

What’s next for this 20-year-old budding star?

42 Smooth It Out There How to make your best ball-striking feel effortless.

BY MATT SMITH

52 Start Your Engines Tune the body parts that drive each shot type.

BY ERIKA LARKIN

cover photograph by naomi baker /gettyimages

jge: courtesy of the club

6 Editor’s Letter The UAE once again is flying the flag for the game of golf as the various tours’ seasons draw to a close in 2023.

CLICK ON YOUR FAVOURITE PRODUCTS. COLLECT THEM WHEN YOU FLY. Save time when you fly with the Dubai Duty Free Click & Collect service.

*Terms and conditions apply.

Shop from a wide range of products and brands at least 12 hours before your flight, pay online and collect your shopping from the dedicated counters. It’s that easy!

EDITOR’S LE TTER

Front and centre The UAE once again is flying the flag for the game of golf as the various tours’ seasons draw to a close in 2023

By Matt Smith

T

he UAE has long been a favourite staging post for golf events, with the DP World Tour leading the way thanks to its flagship Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Hero Dubai Desert Classic and season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

We also just witnessed the male and female amateurs stake a claim for the future at the World Amateur Team Championships in the UAE capital.

Of course, we know there will be company aplenty in 2024 as the Ras Al Khaimah Championship returns at Al Hamra Golf Club in January alongside the new Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Resort.

As if that wasn’t enough to sate the golf-hungry fans in the UAE, we have another new arrival as the embryonic LIV Golf League takes another step on its journey.

Following the drama at the LIV Golf Individual Championship showdown

6

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah, where Talor Gooch and Brooks Koepka took the plaudits, and then the Team Championship finale at Trump Doral’s Blue Monster in Miami, where Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers stole the show, there is still some unfinished business.

Brooks picked up around $8 million for claiming the title at Royal Greens — and finishing third in the season-long Individual Championship points race behind Gooch ($18 million bonus for his stellar efforts on Sunday) and Aussie superstar Cameron Smith.

However, Koepka Jnr — younger brother and fellow Smash teammate Chase — has a more uncertain future as he was relegated as one of the bottom four in the season-long LIV standings.

He finished last in the field in Jeddah and accrued only one point all season.

He is now relegated out of the league along with Jed Morgan, James Piot and Sihwan Kim. The younger Koepka

posted just one top-25 finish in 13 starts this season.

There is still a way back for that quartet as they will now head to the Promotions event in Abu Dhabi, where they will take on the best from the Asian Tour and beyond, with three spots up for grabs at the National Course.

The International Series winner — which looks like Andy Ogletree as we stand — earns an automatic spot, while a huge field will fight for the three remaining spots. Players from the Asian Tour will be joined by the top 200 eligible in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), and the top 20 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the amateur champions from the United States, Great Britain, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. All are expected to line up in Abu Dhabi. In addition, players ranked sixth through 32nd on the International Series Order of Merit will compete for the threeround, winner-takes-all event from December 8-10.

After the first round, there will be a mammoth cut so that only the top 20 and ties will play on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. They will be joined by the four LIV Golf bottom guys — Koepka, Morgan, Piot and Kim. The final round will be played over

Matt Hazey

E

editor-in- chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer managing partner & group editor Ian Fairservice editor Matt Smith art director Clarkwin Cruz editorial assistant Londresa Flores instruction editors Conor Thornton, Scott Edwards, Alex Riggs chief commercial officer Anthony Milne publisher David Burke gener al manager - production S. Sunil Kumar production manager Binu Purandaran T H E G O L F D I G E S T P U B L I C AT I O N S editor-in- chief Jerry Tarde senior director, business development & partnerships Greg Chatzinoff international editor Ju Kuang Tan

up and down The National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club will be back in the spotlight in December

36 holes and cut to the top 16 players.

While Ogletree looks like a shoo-in, everything else is up for grabs.

Before all that, of course, we have a lot to be settled elsewhere.

The Ladies European Tour Race to Costa del Sol will be settled in the Spanish sun following the Aramco Team Series finale in Saudi Arabia, the Asian Tour hopefuls will also decide their Order of Merit and the opportunity to join the high-rolling LIV Golf League and, of course, the DP World Tour comes into Dubai for their final event at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

The DP World Tour Championship serves as a bit of a double header as Jon Rahm looks to defend his crown and go for a record fourth individual title, while Rory McIlroy will take aim at a fifth season-long coveted Race to Dubai gong.

With Rahm and Rory meeting up with their winning fellow Team Europe Ryder Cup teammates, including Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Bob MacIntyre, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick following their now-famous victory at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Rome, there will certainly be a party feel around the Earth Course throughout the weekend

of November 16-19, as the latest band of ‘brothers’ reunite in the UAE. Following on from his ‘bromance’ with Francesco Molinari in Paris the last time Europe claimed the trophy, Fleetwood was again the hero as it was up to him to nail the crucial putt that ensured Europe got their hands back on the beautiful little gold prize.

The US headed home having been handed a 16.5-11.5 hiding, but they are already plotting revenge when the visitors come to Bethpage Black in New York in 2025.

This month, however, it will be all eyes on the UAE. With Europe captain Luke Donald sure to be on show proudly hoisting the Ryder Cup at Jumeirah Golf Estates, there will be many more memories to be made over the gruelling 72 holes of the Earth Course, etching another chapter in the UAE’s proud golfing history.

For a few more weeks, this will be Europe’s home from home.

GOLF DIGEST USA editor-in- chief Jerry Tarde gener al manager Chris Reynolds editorial director Max Adler executive editor Peter Morrice art directors Chloe Weiss Galkin managing editors Alan P. Pittman, Ryan Herrington pl aying editors Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson

head office Media One Tower, PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 427 3000; Fax: +971 4 428 2266

dubai media cit y SD 2-94, 2nd Floor, Building 2, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 390 3550; Fax +971 4 390 4845 Email: motivate@motivate.ae

abu dhabi 14th Floor, Office 1406, Makeen Tower, 9th Street, Al Zahiyah, PO Box 43072, Abu Dhabi, UAE Tel: +971 2 677 2005; Fax: +971 2 657 3401 Email: motivate-adh@motivate.ae

saudi ar abia Regus Offices No. 455 - 456, 4th Floor, Hamad Tower, King Fahad Road, Al Olaya, Riyadh, KSA Tel: +966 11 834 3595 / +966 11 834 3596 Email: motivate@motivate.ae

london Motivate Publishing Ltd, Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London, NW1 3ER, UK Email: motivateuk@motivate.ae

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

golfdigestme.com matthew.smith@motivate.ae @mattjosmith / @golfdigestme

/GolfDigestME november 2023

golfdigestme.com

7

An International stage Hong Kong set to host the best from the Asian and LIV Golf tours in November

T

he Asian Tour season is reaching its climax and the Hong Kong Open is one of the big events still circled on the 2023 calendar.

Hong Kong Golf Club will welcome some of the game’s biggest names with the likes of Cameron Smith, Patrick Reed, Graeme McDowell, Harold Varner III, Thomas Pieters and LIV Golf ‘s 2023 Individual Champion Talor Gooch confirmed to compete alongside the Asian Tour’s finest from November 9-12.

The Fanling course will await the field, and it is no easy feat to get around safely.

The set-up is steeped in history, with three courses, the clubhouse itself dating back to 1918, the Open is now in its 62nd iteration and it will be the first time the golfers are back since the pandemic halted things in 2020.

The New Course will be the challenge for the $2 million International Series event hopefuls, and itself was opened in 1931 as its ‘composite course’ measures 6,520 yards and, with the best of both the New and Old courses, it will certainly be a tough test! –matt smith

8

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

Hong Kong Golf Club

Hong Kong

photograph by anthony wallace/afp/getty images

M

MIND / ON TOUR

Undercover Caddie Picking sponsors’ exemptions can be dirty politics

10

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL BYERS

M

Y PLAYER IS an up-andcoming name. What he has done so far has justified the hype. Yet, at an alternate event — one with names you’ve hardly heard of that should roll out the red carpet for my guy — he was turned down for a sponsor’s exemption. He was surprised — and annoyed. I was upset, too, but not surprised. I knew the fix was in.

Sponsors’ exemptions are some of the most politically biased aspects of professional golf. The tour gives each tournament up to eight exemptions for their fields, and the events can use them however they like. Players who aren’t tour members—like those who play in Europe, or guys just coming out of college—are allowed up to seven exemptions in one year. But tour members can accept an unlimited number of invites, and that’s where it can get problematic. Players who are friends with tournament officials get in, or players donate to a tournament’s charity with a “wink-wink” that the favor will be repaid. The most egregious examples of nepotism, cronyism and PR struts are usually called out, and social media has spurred a higher vigilance for how these exemptions are used.

Still, the problems run deep.

Take my player. You know why he didn’t get in? The alternate event is managed by an agency that represents professional golfers. Take a guess which players got the nod for those exemptions? Ding, ding: those who were represented by the agency running the event. If each agency had its own tournament, this wouldn’t be an issue, but some of the more high-profile agencies are affiliated with half-a-dozen or more events, and many of those are “rank-and-file” weeks. Because those tournaments usually aren’t as popular as the majors or designated events, the politics behind the scenes doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

Those smaller events are really important to players on professional golf ’s margins. Those are the weeks that can turn this job into a career.

However, the PGA Tour is set up to help former members rather than guys trying to break in. This is why you see so many players 40 and older who haven’t been relevant in years com-

peting in opposite-field events rather than the young guys from the Korn Ferry Tour or college. This is why agencies are so important. If you’re a player right out of college, you know that if you sign with certain agencies, you’re going to get four to five guaranteed starts for at least the first two to three years of your career, regardless if you have a tour card. If you don’t sign with one of those agencies, you’re punished for it, like my guy was.

‘Golf is supposed to be a meritocracy, and sponsors’ exemptions are the opposite.’

There are other tricks, of course.

There are some players who have their, ahem, “kids” write letters to tournament directors for them. It happens all the time. This makes for a good story for audiences but not so much in the locker room. Players will invite tournament directors or sponsor officials to their home clubs for a round. Some players promise to do sponsor functions during the tournament week for free; those appearances usually bring a player five- or six-figure fees.

A decade ago, one of my best friends on tour was caddieing for a player who was in decent shape to make the playoffs, but the player knew the last few months of the tour schedule didn’t fit his game. He got a sponsor’s exemption into an event before that tough stretch and earned enough points to reach the postseason. The price he paid? He had to do a commercial for a rental property at the tournament’s host course.

Each tournament acts out of selfinterest, of course, but the best ones know how to do it in a way that benefits the tour. Take the John Deere Classic and Travelers Championship.

Both stops historically give their exemptions to up-and-coming players, giving them a much-deserved chance.

The tournaments hope the players remember the gesture later in their careers if they become more established.

You can argue that’s one of the reasons

why the Travelers went from an afterthought to a designated event. It’s a perfect example of a sponsor’s exemptions working for everyone.

Those are the exceptions, of course.

I know what you’re thinking: “Play better.” That’s the token response when anyone brings this up. I tend to agree, but it’s hard to play better when you don’t get the opportunity. That is why so many players hate sponsors’ exemptions: golf is supposed to be a meritocracy, and exemptions are the opposite.

It’s no wonder college players sign with the same three to four agencies when they turn professional. Those agencies are on the in, and if you’re a golfer, “in” is where you want to be.

One of the intentions behind sponsors’ exemptions is to generate interest for the events, which is why you’ll occasionally see Steph Curry, Tony Romo or some former baseball player teeing it up with us. The events don’t think these guys can truly compete; they are moves to get eyeballs. An alternate or mini-tour event can assert itself into national discussion and significantly increase the attendance with a creative sponsor’s exemption. The strategy is mostly successful, but it’s also weird.

Imagine the Los Angeles Dodgers bringing in Max Homa to bat cleanup in a September game or the Miami Dolphins letting Brooks Koepka take some snaps at linebacker. They would make a mockery of the competition.

I’m not advocating for getting rid of exemptions, mostly because I know that’s never going to happen. The tournaments and their sponsors cherish them too much. However, we need to do a better job of policing how they are used. One or two should go to a player with local ties to the event, and another few should be dedicated to those on the PGA Tour University rankings. Maybe give one to a past tournament champ.

That’s it. Getting a field spot because of who represents your business dealings ain’t right. —WITH JOEL BEALL Undercover Caddie wants an exemption for an average golfer just to prove how good the pros are.

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

11

M

MIND / JOURNEYS

‘I knew and I know that I belonged here’

I am glad he made the bold decision to join LIV Golf — even before I turned professional and rolled up at Centurion Golf Club

By David Puig, with Matt Smith

I

first got into golf when I was six because of my dad. He was the one that took me to the course and I took up the game at the same time as my mum. At the time it was called Club de Golf Masia Bach and is now known as Club de Golf Barcelona. Since that day, I pretty much played every day.

The first time I decided I could play to classes, eat together, practise togolf as a job was probably when I was gether — every day. In LIV, a lot of the around 10 or 11 years old. I used to play time you do your own thing then come football as well and I used to split my together and work together for each time on both of those sports. It was event. You can be a little more on your when I was that age that I found out own off the course at LIV, but that team I didn’t have enough time to do both element at college, for sure, helped me at a serious level, so I decided to stick play better here. ●●● with golf, and that became my life — practising I also played a lot of DAVID PUIG and everything the sport team golf before I startLIV GOLF LEAGUE requires. When I went to ed college, representing AGE 21 high school, my final four Spain in the European LIVES LA GARRIGA, years, I played pretty good Boys’ Team ChampionSPAIN and that allowed me to get ship, European Amateur my scholarship in the US. So I made the Team Championship, Junior Golf good decision to head to the States and World Cup, ●●● I played pretty good over there as well. ●●● Eisenhower Trophy and the Youth I have always enjoyed playing golf Olympics. I played for Spain for around and I am glad I made that first decision seven years in these events and you would come together before an event to take that route.

When you play in college, it is very — usually Madrid — then you would similar to what we have here at LIV travel and stay together at the tournaGolf. In college you play for yourself ment. It was cool, and it is a good thing for amateur ranking points and college they do that in Europe, because when ranking points, but you are also playing you go to college or even here in LIV for your team and your college. If you Golf, you are used to that environment are not playing great individually, you on and off the course from an early age. still want to do well for your team and ● ● ● college. It is the same here on LIV Golf. I was invited to play at Centurion in ●●● the first LIV Golf event as an amateur There are differences too. In college, I last year. It was great. It was not a difused to live with the guys I played with. ficult decision — with everything that We would do everything together — go was going on at the time — and I think 12

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

I made a pretty good decision playing there as it gave me a lot of experience, as indeed all the other tournaments since.

I knew and I know that I belonged here, but I still learn things every single day — things that a lot of these guys here already know. It was great to play Centurion and see a course that was pretty tough and play against some of the best players in the world, share the course with them and see how they score and how they play. ●●●

There were a couple of things that made up my mind to cut short college and go professional. Having somewhere to play with LIV for a full year was unbelievable. It was a chance people from college don’t normally have.

At the time, that was a super big deal because you are good as an amateur but you are nothing as a professional — nobody knows you, you don’t have anywhere to play and you have to start at the beginning like everybody else.

Here at LIV, they gave me the chance to start against the best players in the world. That was the main influence in my decision to join LIV. You come from nearly nothing, avoid Q-Schools and all of that and you get straight in to play against the best in the world. It was a pretty easy decision to make. ●●●

I won my first professional title at the Asian Tour International Series event in Singapore in October. I feel I have played a lot of quality golf recently and I knew that the victory was going to come at some point. I had a couple of rough finishes when I had been in with a chance of winning — especially in the UK International Series events at St Andrews and Close House, plus two top-10 finishes in LIV this year — but you just keep doing what you are doing and get the job done. I think I have always been good at that and I think I play well under pressure. I didn’t get over the line in the other events but I am glad to finally get that win. ●●●

I am not sure what the future holds, but I love LIV and [team] Torque, and I love the job the League are doing, so I can hopefully stay here for as long as I can.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID CANNON/GETTY IMAGES

september ISSUE 2023 X 2022 golfdigestme.com GOLF DIGEST 13 X

M Home Turf MIND / LUCKY BREAK

How a mixture of sand and big investment created a line of backyard putting greens

By Matthew Rudy

I

F YOU JUDGE SOLELY on the ubiquity of suburban mini-golf courses in America, it’s not complicated to slap some synthetic turf on a concrete pad and get a durable surface that handles foot traffic and offers a predictable roll.

But comparing that $12-and-aclown’s-mouth experience to the synthetic golf landscapes Weston Weber builds for clients is like comparing a nine-hole muny with Pebble Beach.

Weber’s Scottsdale-based Celebrity Greens specialises in building greens that not only produce a tour-quality roll on putts but accept iron and shortgame shots like the real things. It’s why tour players like Jon Rahm, Max

Homa and Gary Woodland call Weber for their home putting green installs.

“We build golf greens, not putting greens like a lot of our competitors do,” says Weber, who transitioned from pitching on artificial turf as an Oakland A’s farmhand to installing it in 1996.

Weber built his first company, Southwest Greens, into the country’s largest installer of artificial grass before selling it in 2008 to a consortium of Atlantaarea businesspeople who included Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz. While Weber was sitting out a noncompete agreement, Southwest Greens got even bigger after being purchased by Shaw — a flooring company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Life in retirement began to bore Weber and his wife, Gina, and a steady flow of well-heeled friends kept pestering Weber about supervising their builds. In 2014, the Webers started Celebrity Greens to organise those requests. “The intention was to do a few high-end, luxury greens,” Gina says.

“We figured word would get out, and we’d build a few of these things. Within a couple of months, we had an office in San Diego and an office in Denver.”

The Webers are managing the growth differently this time around, building relationships with high-end installers around the country with an emphasis on larger, more elaborate projects. Woodland’s new practice area is a recent example: The 2019 US Open champion bought the lot next door to his suburban Kansas City home, and Weber transformed it into an 80-yard turfed space with three target greens and three bunkers. “We aspire to be the Navy Seals of turf — the best trained, best equipped team,” Weber says. “With all the different sites, weather conditions and customer requirements, it’s like a puzzle coming up with the right design and materials.”

The average build covers about 3,000 square feet of turfed space, takes a week to complete and costs $15,000 to $20,000. “When we sculpt and build the undulation contours, we do a lot of that custom work with the customer right there,” Weber says. “It’s your chance to be your own course architect. You can decide where the cups go, what the severity of the slopes are, and know exactly what the ball is going to do before the grass goes on it.”

Weber’s own backyard in Scottsdale is a synthetic turf test kitchen, with different kinds of artificial grass and ever-changing green installations. “I’m always testing something, trying to raise the bar and make these greens look better, roll better and act more naturally,” says Weber, who has personally installed more than 5,000 greens. “I’ve been trying to perfect this for almost 30 years.”

Matthew Rudy lasted one day working for a lawn care service.

He got a mower stuck in a pond.

14

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

ILLUSTRATION BY BRUNO MANGYOKU

M

MIND / THE FRINGE

MillionDollar Deal Junkie Real estate mogul Pamela Liebman mixes business and golf better than most

By Alex Myers

A

n old photograph of Pamela Liebman playing golf at Trump Bedminster shows her taking a phone call — while taking a swing. Keep in mind, this was no small task before the days of Bluetooth, and it required a playing partner to hold the long cord connecting Liebman’s phone to her headphones while she hit the shot.

Such is life sometimes when you’re a real estate mogul and self-proclaimed “deal junkie”. As Alec Baldwin’s character in “Glengarry Glen Ross” says: “Always be closing.”

Modern technology has made playing golf with such a hectic career easier, although a similar story about Liebman has become popular around the offices of the Corcoran Group, where she has worked for nearly four decades and served as the president and CEO since 2000. It involves her making three consecutive birdies at Atlantic Golf Club while on a (cordless) conference call.

“That’s unusual for me,” Liebman says with a laugh. “I’m not the kind of person that typically has three birdies in a row.”

Liebman can clearly play, as evidenced by her 9.1 handicap index and her 2.5 career holes-in-one. In true broker fashion, Liebman negotiated that number after potential ace No. 3 bounced off the COVID-era cushion insert on the 11th hole at Atlantic Golf Club, her home course on Long Island.

She rarely takes calls on the course anymore, which pleases her golf friends and her favourite playing partners, husband Michael Krouse and daughters Dylan and Tori. In fact, her second date with Michael was a round of golf.

Besides, Liebman prefers talking 16

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

business in person. If that business happens to take place on a golf course, even better. Liebman also had the opportunity to do some of the deals she loves in front of a wider audience by appearing on Netflix’s “Buy My House”.

The reality show — one of many in recent years to focus on the real estate industry — resembles “Shark Tank”, the program on which Liebman’s former

boss and company founder Barbara Corcoran appears. Instead of aspiring entrepreneurs pitching product ideas, people try to sell their houses to Liebman and three other brokers. While she enjoyed the experience — six episodes aired in 2022, but the show hasn’t been picked up for a second season — the cameras didn’t cause Liebman to forget her career roots.

PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK LAHAM

‘If I could shoot below 78 or close a big deal, I’d rather shoot below 78.

I’ll do the deal the next day.’

HOME ON THE RANGE

Liebman maintains a single-digit handicap at Atlantic Golf Club.

“Some agents think that they should be celebrities, and they forget that, in a lot of ways, we’re the help,” says Liebman, a New York City native who now splits her time between New York and Miami, where she’s also a member at La Gorce Country Club. “We’re not the ones buying these $50-million properties. We’re the ones effectuating the transactions.”

Is there an art to those deals on the course?

“I’ll never go play with somebody with the intention of, Oh, I hope they give me business,” Liebman says. “It’s, Hey, I hope we connect, and then let’s see what happens. I remember playing golf with somebody, and on the 18th hole, they turned to me and said, ‘You know, I have a house that I’d like to sell. Do you think you could get me one of your brokers?’ It was a $40-million house.

I did, and we sold it. That was a great round of golf, but I didn’t expect that to happen.”

Liebman got into golf when she was living in a Hamptons share house with a few guys the summer after she graduated from college. Although initially intimidated to join them on the course, she quickly realized she could hang.

“Everybody has this impression that golf will be a little scary because they think everyone who has been playing golf for so long is so good, and boy, isn’t that a myth,” Liebman says. “As long as you can play fast, you can play with anyone.”

As Liebman climbed the ladder in the uber-competitive real estate industry, she realised how much the game could help with her career.

“It’s helped me enormously because it’s a different way to connect with somebody than in an office setting or on a Zoom call,” says Liebman, who has led Corcoran to expand to more than 170 offices across the country and achieve sales of more than $23 billion annually. “You can tell a lot more about a person spending four hours with them on the golf course.”

Sometimes a golf connection takes much less time. Liebman recalls being at a restaurant years ago when a future friend and valued client introduced himself because he recognized the Atlantic Golf Club logo on her shirt.

“Golfers enjoy other golfers, so it’s opened up a lot of opportunities for me, and it’s allowed me to spend time with people that I never would’ve been able to get this kind of time with,” Liebman says. “It’s also driven a lot of business to me because if people like you on the golf course, they tend to want to do business with you, so I get a lot of clients from golf. Actually, I think I got a really big one yesterday.”

Golf’s benefits go well beyond business for Liebman, who treasures the time on the course with her family and taking buddies’ trips with other women to places like Baker’s Bay and Streamsong. She has also long been tapped into the game’s charitable side. When a close friend’s child was diagnosed with leukemia, Liebman started a foundation called WOLF (Wipe Out Leukemia Forever) by organising an annual golf outing that began at Winged Foot Golf Club in 2004. In 2016 she received the New Jersey Golf Foundation’s Chairman’s Award, which is given to an individual who works to support the foundation’s philanthropic programme and initiatives. Golf also has taken Liebman to some special places, like her favorite course, Cypress Point, and introduced her to some special people, like entertainer and Golf Digest cover subject DJ Khaled, whom Liebman recently hosted at Atlantic.

What does she think is better: Making a big deal or shooting a great score?

“If I could shoot below 78 [her careerbest score] or close a big deal, I’d rather shoot below 78 because I’ve closed a lot more big deals than I’ve had really low rounds,” Liebman says. “I’ll do the deal the next day. I’m definitely a deal junkie, and I’m definitely a golf junkie.

I don’t think I could play every day, but I could easily be happy playing five days a week.”

How much does Liebman actually play these days?

“I can’t give away my secrets,” she says with a laugh. “Then they’ll think I’m not working.”

Alex Myers never has to worry about a celebrity agent selling his house.

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

17

Mac

is back Grab a piece of the action as Rory McIlroy returns to defend Hero Dubai Desert Classic crown at landmark 35th edition

By Matt Smith

I

t’s official! Rory Mcllroy is back to defend his Hero Dubai Desert Classic title at Emirates Golf Club from January 18-21 2024 and the free general admission tickets are now available.

Join in the fun and take in the action as some of the world’s best golfers once again take to the Majlis Course, with three-time champion McIlroy headlining a stellar field at the $9 million Rolex Series tournament, marking its 35th anniversary.

Last year, the Northern Irishman successfully defended his title, ensuring a third victory. Fans can anticipate a similar level of excitement this time around.

Alongside the free general admission tickets, now is the time to take advantage of the early-bird hospitality packages, which are on sale now.

Packages range from AED 1,710 for Thursday per person to AED 2,430 for Friday to Sunday, with season tickets at AED 8,000 for all four days of the event. Regular hospitality packages will be AED 1,900 for Thursday and AED 2,700 for Friday to Sunday and season tickets at AED 9,000.

Not only will fans be able to watch the worldclass golf action, there will be family-friendly entertainment at the tournament village, plenty of F&B options , and post-action entertainment each day.

McIlroy, the reigning Race to Dubai Champion, memorably matched Ernie Els’ record when he lifted the famous Dallah trophy for a third time earlier this season, edging out American Patrick Reed on a dramatic final day over the Majlis Course.

The four-time major winner went on to add a second Rolex Series title at the Genesis Scottish Open in July, and once again leads the Race to Dubai Rankings as he aims to top the season-long rankings for a fifth time.

18

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

IRISH EYES

Rory McIlroy is aiming for a fourth Hero Dubai Desert Classic crown

AT A GLANCE COST Limited free general admission tickets now available Early bird hospitality packages from AED 1,710 to AED 2,430.

Season tickets at AED 8,000 for all four days LOCATION Emirates Golf Club, Dubai TIMINGS 7am to 11pm daily MORE INFORMATION dubaidesertclassic.com

The 34-year-old also returns to Dubai on a wave of Ryder Cup glory, after Team Europe’s stunning 16.5-11.5 victory over the United States in October.

McIlroy said: “It meant a lot to lift the Dallah trophy for a third time. I’ve enjoyed a lot of success at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic over the years, so adding another title was the perfect way to start the year.

“I love coming to Dubai and the support we get from fans is always special. I look forward to getting back to Emirates Golf Club in January, and hopefully creating a bit of history.”

Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director of Hero Dubai Desert Classic, said: “We are delighted to confirm Rory will return to defend his title and will be striving for a historic fourth win.

Our Roll of Honour features an illustrious cast of golf’s most notable names, and I am sure we will have a worthy champion to join this star-studded list and lift the Dallah Trophy in January.”

Keeping things green, organisers of the first Geo-certified Golf event in the Middle East are encouraging fans to use the Metro service to travel to and from the tournament, with Al Khail station located directly outside the club’s main entrance.

Fans can register for limited free general admission tickets for the Rolex Series event at dubaidesertclassic.com or by downloading the new Dubai Desert Classic app available on Google Play or Apple Store.

PHOTOGRAPH BY OISIN KENIRY/GETTY IMAGES

The dream team

WORLD AMATEUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: US SECURE EISENHOWER TROPHY IN ABU DHABI

emirates golf federation

T

BY MATT SMITH

he US surged to their 16th Eisenhower Trophy win, and their first since 2014, in the 33rd World Amateur Team Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

David Ford, the No. 5 ranked amateur in the world, posted an eight-under 64, while 2023 US Amateur champion Nick Dunlap contributed a four-under 68.

“I just feel so happy for these guys,” said US captain Mark Newell. “This is a great championship filled with lots of good players and they really earned their victory with great play all four rounds and especially today.”

On the strength of a red-hot Ford, who was six-under through his opening six holes, the Americans quickly established an eight-shot cushion midway through the opening nine.

Ford rattled off four consecutive birdies followed by an eagle hole-out from 140 yards on the par-4 sixth to kick-start his final round.

“I’ve never been six-under through six before,” said Ford, who carded a 29 on the front side.

“I didn’t look at the leaderboard until about hole 13. I wanted to see where we were and then I just tried to make as many birdies as I could coming in.”

Ford’s 64 is the second-lowest individual final round score in World Amateur Team Championship history.

After struggling to get things going early on, Dunlap birdied six of his final 10 holes, leading to his 68, and Gordon Sargent, the low amateur in the 2023 US Open, posted a noncounting 71 for the USA in the fourth round.

Dunlap (2), Ford (T-5) and Sargent (T-5), who competed together on last month’s victorious USA Walker Cup team at St Andrews, all finished in the top 5 of the individual scoring.

“I love the fact that everybody contributed just about equally,” said Newell.

“Every player had the best score at least one day and every player had the highest score at least one day. They all carried the team for stretches and they all ended up shooting about the same scores overall. A true team effort and exactly the kind that it takes to win this kind of event.”

The USA’s 72-hole hole score of 36-under-par 540 was 11 strokes better than the silver-medal winning Australia and Norway teams. The 11-shot victory was the largest championship margin since Australia’s 19-stroke win in 2016.

Australia used a strong finish by Jack Buchanan (four-under 68), who birdied four of his final five holes, and a counting score from Karl Vilips (two-under 70) to close at 25-under-par 551.

Norway’s silver is their first medal in the country’s 26 Eisenhower appearances. The Norwegians, whose previous best finish was fourth place in 2022, used a three-under 69 from Herman Sekne and a two-under 70 from Michael Mjaaseth for a team total of 551.

“Obviously, you want to win when you have a chance to, but this is the best that our country has ever finished, so that’s something to be proud of,” said Sekne. “Hopefully we’ll be back next time and win it.”

France finished in fourth place, one stroke behind Australia and Norway at 24-under. Italy, the 2022 champions, and New Zealand finished in a tie for fifth place.

The USA will keep the Eisenhower Trophy until the next World Amateur Team Championships, which will be held in 2025 in Singapore. Members of the winning team receive gold medals and members of the two second-place teams receive silver medals.

Although there is no official recognition, New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori, the 2023 Western Amateur champion, was the low individual scorer at 16-under 272.

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

19

GATEWAY AT PORTO AL ZORAH Exquisite Marina Lifestyle in the Lap of Nature Al Zorah Development Company, a joint venture between the Government of Ajman and Solidere International, is set to unveil its highly anticipated luxury marina-front residential project, Gateway at Porto Al Zorah.

Nestled in a pristine neighborhood bordered by the Al Zorah Golf Club, a natural mangrove forest and picturesque creek, this distinguished residential building comprises 157 simplex and duplex apartments, promising a lifestyle that seamlessly blends modern living with a profound connection to the environment. The development offers residents the privilege of living in close proximity to the Al Zorah Mangrove Natural Reserve Forest.

Gateway at Porto Al Zorah caters to diverse living needs, featuring studios, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments.

Starting from a spacious 685 square feet, these residences offer breathtaking panoramic views of the creek, marina, and lush internal courtyards. Moreover, residents gain access to an array of exclusive amenities designed to elevate their lifestyle.

These exclusive privileges include unlimited golfing through membership at Al Zorah Golf Club, a two-year membership at the forthcoming Beach Club, a worldwide Oberoi Resorts silver-tier membership, preferential berthing rates at Al Zorah Marina and the coveted Al Zorah City Residents Card, entailing special discounts across all Al Zorah-owned hospitality venues.

The Gateway at Porto Al Zorah is equipped with top-tier facilities that cater to the highest standards. These include a cutting-edge fitness centre, pool and playground, all set amid an inspiring landscape that ensures the tranquility of creekside living with sophisticated finishing touches that culminate in an extraordinary experience.

What makes Al Zorah a breathtaking destination and a compelling investment opportunity are its privileges and characteristics.

FREEHOLD AND FREE ZONE STATUS Special privileges allow foreign and local residents and investors full ownership of businesses, land and property, which can be sold or rented.

GOLDEN VISA OPPORTUNITY An opportunity for investors to obtain a long-term Golden Visa, for up to ten years, and a pathway to citizenship in the UAE. TAX RESIDENCY CERTIFICATE Benefit from the Double Tax Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) on income signed by the UAE. HIGH RETURNS WITH NON-REPATRIATION ON CAPITAL GAINS A high demand for upcoming developments and fast paced interest in available plots and concepts.

A SPECTACULAR BEACHFRONT DESTINATION Leveraging on its prime location along the unblemished shoreline of the emirate of Ajman and the natural wonders of a preserved mangrove forest.

THE PREMIER ALL-INCLUSIVE LANDMARK Perfect amalgamation of beautiful homes, world-class resorts, commercial spaces, and leisure facilities within a natural setting.

FIRST-CLASS INTERNATIONAL GOLFING EXPERIENCE A Nicklaus Design 18-hole championship course hailed as one of the best courses of the region.

LIV on THE EXPANDED 14-EVENT

LIV GOLF LEAGUE SEASON WILL CERTAINLY LIVE LONG IN THE MEMORY

BY MATT SMITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY LIV GOLF

A

TREMENDOUS Mayakoba moment from Charles Howell III. A stunning hole in- one from Chas e Koepka in front of a golf-starved Australian crowd.

A record-breaking 58 from Bryson DeChambeau at Greenbrier.

A famous back-to-back play-off title defence from Brooks Koepka at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah.

It is fair to say that the second LIV Golf season already stands the test of time and will live long in the memory.

The embryonic tour took the bold step of expanding from seven events in its first season in 2022 — doubling to 14 showdowns, with a colossal $320 million on offer to the 48 contestants before we even think about the bonus money pocketed by Talor Gooch, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka.

The memories are already in the locker, but let’s take a look back at some of the pivotal moments in an amazing season.

20

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

21

HOWELL’S FAST START

GOOCH GETS GOING

■

■

Charles Howell III made Mexico his home from home as he romped to the inaugural LIV Golf League crown.

Mayakoba was the venue, the American only shot two holes over par, and an eight-under 63 on Sunday saw him over the line.

BROOKS IS BACK

■

Brooks Koepka showed he was back to his best — well before his fifth major in the PGA Championship — at the Orlando LIV event in early April as he began a landmark season in style with his second LIV crown.

22

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

Another dawn began in Adelaide as Talor Gooch proved his former 4 Aces captain, Dustin Johnson, wrong, and vindicated his switch to Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats line-up with a convincing victory in Oz. The event also saw another Smash man, Chase Koepka, make a piece of history as he aced the ‘Watering Hole’ and was showered in beer cans for his troubles.

BACK TO BACK

■

Gooch showed he was no flash in the pan, going back-to-back with another win in Singapore, before DJ bit back with his own victory in Tulsa.

Lahiri and DeChambeau Crush the opposition in Miami

F

rom the perfect start to the perfect finale. Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers opened the 2023 LIV Golf League by lifting a team trophy. On a certain Sunday in Miami, they bookended the 14-tournament full season with the League’s biggest prize, the Team Championship.

Fuelled by Anirban Lahiri’s spectacular bogey-free round, steady play by Charles Howell III and Paul Casey, and a riveting back-nine performance from their captain DeChambeau, Crushers won the all-scores-count shootout by two shots over RangeGoats. Torque finished third, while defending champions 4 Aces settled for fourth.

Last year, the Crushers did not reach the Team Championship final, as they were knocked out in the match-play semi-finals. But the team started the new season with a bang, winning in Mayakoba on the strength of Howell’s individual victory.

DeChambeau found his form in mid-season and won two individual titles, with the Crushers winning again in Chicago. They completed the journey to the top at Trump National Doral, shooting a combined 11-under.

“Last year really left a sour taste in our mouth,” DeChambeau said as he celebrated with his teammates on the 18th green of the iconic Blue Monster course. “I can’t be happier with this team of mine. I don’t know what else to say. I’m at a loss of words right now. These guys are the best.”

Lahiri was the team’s top performer on Sunday, shooting a seven-under 65 that included consecutive hole-outs at the par-4 seventh (for birdie) and par-5 eighth (for eagle). It was a terrific effort for a player who had come so close to winning an individual title in 2023 with two runner-up finishes and another podium result.

“I had a couple of Sundays where I let myself down,” Lahiri said. “But I wasn’t going to let the team down today.”

DeChambeau was three-under at the turn, then birdied the 10th and 11th holes before suffering his first bogey at the 12th to start his rollercoaster back-nine. He then birdied the 13th from 36 feet, bogeyed the 14th, then birdied the 15th from 35 feet. But the most dramatic moment came at the drivable par-4 16th, with the Crushers’ lead reduced to one stroke. DeChambeau’s tee shot hit the top of the Birdie Shack grandstand behind the green and finished on the front edge of the second green.

Facing a blind shot from 109 yards, DeChambeau hit a wedge back over the grandstand and on to the 16th green, then made the birdie putt to increase the Crushers’ lead to two.

“My drop zone, I was going to drop in a sidehill lie out of the rough over palm trees. It was just not feasible,” DeChambeau explained. “I got a perfect lie in front of the green on two. I was like, it’s a 109-shot, whatever, let’s go. And hit it to 20 feet and made an incredible putt.”

Moments later, Casey followed with a clutch

six-foot par putt on his final hole while the RangeGoats’ Thomas Pieters missed his from similar distance.

When Gooch bogeyed the 18th after finding the water with his tee shot, the Crushers had enough cushion to absorb DeChambeau’s bogey and RangeGoats captain Bubba Watson’s birdie on the 18th.

DeChambeau finished with a five-under 67, while Howell shot even-par 72 and Casey a 73.

“I thought this year would be special,” said Howell. “We started off with a win. Obviously, Baan [Lahiri] and Bryson have played phenomenal golf here recently.”

Although the RangeGoats came up short, Watson — who shot a bogey-free 67 — was proud of his team’s effort.

“The RangeGoats came out of nowhere,” Watson said. “We played great. We’ve got to improve a little bit. But gosh, finished second for the year. What a great place.”

As for DeChambeau, winning the Team Championship helps to make up for the disappointment in the regular-season finale in Jeddah when he came up short of capturing the Individual Champion title.

“Any time you get a win with a team, I’d say honestly that’s more important than individual stuff,” DeChambeau said. “Look, majors are great but there’s a team behind you there. I’ve got a team, my own team.

“But having the Crushers be front and centre of the first inaugural full season just means the world. We are part of history, and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys and definitely takes the sting out of last week. But the team is what it’s all about, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

23

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS

For Sunday’s Finals, all 48 players among the 12 teams competed in one round of stroke play, with all four players’ scores counting toward their team’s score. The four semifinal winners competed for places 1-4, with the teams defeated in the semifinals competing for places 5-8. The teams defeated in Friday’s quarterfinals competed for places 9-12. Of the prize money earned by each team, 60% goes to the team, with 10% going to each of the four participating players.

TIER 1 1. CRUSHERS (-11). Anirban Lahiri 65, Bryson DeChambeau 67, Charles Howell III 72, Paul Casey 73.

Prize money: $14,000,000 2. RANGEGOATS (-9). Bubba Watson 67, Talor Gooch 70, Thomas Pieters 70, Harold Varner III 72.

Prize money: $8,000,000 3. TORQUE (-6). Joaquin Niemann 66, David Puig 71, Sebastián Muñoz 72, Mito Pereira 73. Prize money: $6,000,000 4. 4ACES (E). Peter Uihlein 69, Patrick Reed 71, Pat Perez 73, Dustin Johnson 75.

Prize money: $4,000,000

GOING ON

CAM BOUNCES BACK

TIER 2

■

■

5. STINGER (-7). Dean Burmester 67, Branden Grace 67, Charl Schwartzel 73, Louis Oosthuizen 74.

Prize money: $3,250,000 6. FIREBALLS (-4). Carlos Ortiz 64, Eugenio Chacarra 73, Sergio Garcia 73, Abraham Ancer 74.

Prize money: $3,000,000 7. CLEEKS (+4). Martin Kaymer 72, Bernd Wiesberger 72, Richard Bland 74, Graeme McDowell 74.

Prize money: $2,750,000 8. HYFLYERS (+5). Cameron Tringale 70, Brendan Steele 71, Phil Mickelson 72, James Piot 80.

Prize money: $2,500,000

TIER 3 9. RIPPER (-5). Matt Jones 66, Jediah Morgan 71, Marc Leishman 73, Cameron Smith 73.

Prize money: $2,000,000 10. SMASH (E). Jason Kokrak 69, Brooks Koepka 70, Matthew Wolff 72, Chase Koepka 77.

Prize money: $1,750,000 11. MAJESTICKS (+4). Henrik Stenson 69, Ian Poulter 72, Lee Westwood 74, Sam Horsfield 77.

Prize money: $1,500,000 12. IRON HEADS (+5). Scott Vincent 70, Danny Lee 71, Kevin Na 73, Sihwan Kim 79.

Prize money: $1,250,000

24

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

By the time July rolled around, Gooch had victory No. 3 and was way ahead in the points standings. Harold Varner III had registered the win in Washington DC, but Gooch proved he is the best American on the road, with the Andalucia trophy under his belt.

CAM TIME

■

The 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith was not going to let Gooch get everything his own way, and a win in London at Centurion made things interesting as the Aussie found his stride.

FOUR HORSES

■

Now it was getting to business time and there were four men looking to grab the Individual title — we had Gooch, Smith and Koepka, so who else would make the grade? We arrived at Greenbrier and Bryson DeChambeau stepped up in remarkable fashion, shooting a final-day insane 58 in the rain (he even had a bogey in there) to produce one of the most iconic moments of the year, leaping like a kid as history was made.

Smith would not go quietly and lauched himself to the top of the standings with a solid win at Bedminster, for the first time making Gooch look worried, with an $18 million bonus cheque on the line.

BRYSON’S BOOM

■

Chicago was the next stop and DeChambeau proved why he was a serious contender for the Ryder Cup (he did not get selected) as he convincingly bagged LIV Golf win No. 2

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

■

Jeddah was a match made in heaven, as Gooch and Koepka slogged it out over 54 holes. DeChambeau (fourth) and Smith (second) faded in the Individual Championship as the weekend went on and Brooks took the weekend title on the second extra hole and secured third overall. Gooch was still smiling however as he took the Individual Championship title, with the bonus money going to his foundation to help bring on the next batch of stars.

‫‪8‬‬ ‫‪GOLFDIGESTME.COM‬‬

‫مطبوعة الجولف األبرز‬

‫أغسطس ‪2023‬‬

‫مطبوعة الجولف األبرز‬

‫‪GOLFDIGESTME.COM‬‬

‫أبريل ‪2023‬‬

‫مطبوعة الجولف األبرز‬

‫يناير ‪2023‬‬

‫‪GOLFDIGESTME.COM‬‬

‫مطبوعة الجولف األبرز‬

‫مطبوعة الجولف األبرز‬

‫مطبوعة الجولف األبرز‬

‫الشرق األوسط‬

‫الشرق األوسط‬ ‫مع تحيات‬

‫الشرق األوسط‬

‫الشرق األوسط‬ ‫مع تحيات‬

‫كاميرون‬ ‫سميث‬

‫على أهبة‬ ‫االستعداد‪..‬‬

‫في كل الجوالت‬ ‫والمواسم‬

‫التميز في‬

‫القولف‬

‫مبادرات هادفة‬

‫«قولف السعودية»‬ ‫والنجاح في تحقيق التميز‬

‫‪7‬‬

‫‪AED20 KD1.7 OR2.1 SR20 BD2.1‬‬

‫‪Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority‬‬

‫يناير • ‪2022‬‬

‫تعرّ ف إلى سر‬ ‫ضربات هايديكي‬

‫(ليست لحظة الوقوف‬ ‫عن التسديد)‬

‫سكوتي‬ ‫شيفلر‪..‬‬

‫دروس عملية‬ ‫لتطوير المهارات‬

‫أيضاً ‪...‬‬

‫أفضل عطالت‬ ‫الجولف والترفيه‬ ‫في إسبانيا‬

‫كيف أثرت بطولة‬ ‫السعودية في‬ ‫الجولة اآلسيوية؟‬

‫مع افتتاح منتجع‬

‫نوح علي رضا‬

‫النشرة الرسمية‬

‫كلوب ميد ماغنا ماربيا‬

‫النشرة الرسمية‬

‫ثالثة من األندية‬ ‫في أبوظبي‬ ‫ضمن تنمية «ڤيا جولف»‬ ‫لمحفظة أعمالها‬

‫‪GOLFDIGESTME.COM‬‬

‫‪AED20 KD1.7 OR2.1 SR20 BD2.1‬‬

‫‪Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority‬‬

‫‪2022‬‬ ‫‪AED20 KD1.7 OR2.1 SR20 BD2.1‬‬

‫البطولة السعودية الدولية تعود بمجموعة من الجوائز بقيمة ‪ 5‬ماليين دوالر أميركي‬ ‫لكل من الفئتين‪ ،‬السيدات والرجال‪.‬‬

‫أكتوبر‬

‫‪2022‬‬

‫‪A MOTIVATE PUBLICATION‬‬

‫أغسطس‬ ‫‪Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority‬‬

‫أفضل أنواع‬ ‫المضارب‬ ‫لعام ‪2023‬‬

‫نظرة عن كثب إلى‬ ‫مختلف أنواع المضارب‬ ‫الخشبية – الحديدية‬ ‫والعروض الخاصة‬

‫الجونا جولف‬ ‫بوكيت‬ ‫‪A MOTIVATE PUBLICATION‬‬

‫كولين‬ ‫موريكاوا‬

‫‪A MOTIVATE PUBLICATION‬‬

‫نقطة ضوء‬

‫الرئيس التنفيذي الجديد‬ ‫لـ «قولف السعودية»‬ ‫في لقاء خاص‬

‫مع تحيات‬

‫‪GOLFDIGESTME.COM‬‬

‫ملعب أوغوستا‬ ‫الوطني‬

‫أنيربان الهيري ينجح في‬ ‫تجاوز مختلف الصعاب‬ ‫ويستمر في اللعب‬

‫نصائح لتطوير‬

‫الشرق األوسط‬ ‫الشرق األوسط‬

‫أطلق الكرة عالياً ‪ ..‬ثم دعها‬ ‫تهبط بسالسة‬

‫العودة إلى الصدارة‪..‬‬

‫التفاني في اللعب‬

‫مهاراتك في اللعب‬

‫زاندر‬ ‫شـــوفيل‬

‫تغطية خاصة ببطولة ماسترز‬

‫مطبوعة الجولف األبرز‬

‫الشرق األوسط‬

‫‪GOLFDIGESTME.COM‬‬

‫وجهة يبحث عنها الجميع‬

‫العبا جولف سعوديان‬ ‫على درب النجاح‬ ‫فيصل سلهب وسعود الشريف‬

‫هل يكون ‪2022‬‬ ‫عام عودة سطوع‬ ‫نجم ماكلروي؟‬

‫مضارب‬ ‫«فيرواي وودز»‬

‫حياة الجولف مع‬ ‫شان أودونغو‬

‫أفضل أنواع المضارب‬ ‫لعام ‪2022‬‬ ‫أبريل‬

‫‪2022‬‬

‫‪A MOTIVATE PUBLICATION‬‬

‫مستعدان للمرحلة المقبلة من‬ ‫مسيرتهما االحترافية‬

‫‪GOLFDIGESTME.COM‬‬

‫سفير «قولف السعودية» جيسون كوكراك‬

‫ما الجديد من كوكراك؟‬

THE 15TH DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP AT JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES WILL BE A FIGHT AMONG FRIENDS FROM TEAM EUROPE

BY MATT SMITH

26

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

team europe: andrew redington/getty images

THE DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP returns to the Earth Course at Ju-

meirah Golf Estates this month — from November 16-19 — and it looks like we are in for a Ryder Cup reunion.

The 15th edition will see the top 50 players in the Race to Dubai Rankings compete at the fifth and final Rolex Series event of the 2023 DP World Tour season.

The Earth Course will once again test the DP World Tour’s finest as we determine who will walk away with the trophy and the winner’s cheque at the $10 million showdown, and also find out who will claim the season-long Race to Dubai crown.

Mates, teammates and roommates will have to put the pals’ act to one side after Team Europe’s Ryder Cup heroics in Rome, as this one will be every man for himself.

We will have at least 10 of Team Europe’s stars on show. Defending DP World Tour Champ Jon Rahm and Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy will be back in town for the season finale, while Ryder Cup teammates Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Nicolai Højgaard, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka and Tommy Fleetwood will all enter the event on a high after they all helped Europe defeat Team USA at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club last month to reclaim the Ryder Cup. The only absentee is rookie and nailed-on future superstar Ludvig Ab-

erg, who only turned professional a few months ago and therefore does not have enough points to make the top-50 field. The last Team Europe member, veteran Justin Rose, has some work to do in Qatar and South Africa if he is to get into the last event of the DP World Tour season.

McIlroy is looking to join Rahm as the only player to win the DP World Tour Championship three times — the Spaniard is the defending champion and also won in 2017 and 2019, while McIlroy claimed the title in 2012 and

2015 — and the Northern Irishman is the defending Race to Dubai champ.

“Playing at the DP World Tour Championship is always an amazing experience,” McIlroy said. “Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to enjoy a lot of success in Dubai and at this event in particular. The fans have been great, it’s amazing to have that support out there for us. When you have the top 50 golfers from the DP World Tour, you know it is going to be a fantastic competition. I’ve won here on a couple of occasions, and I would love to be right there come Sunday with both trophies to my name.”

Rahm added: “It’s no surprise I love coming back to Dubai and to this golf course for the DP World Tour Championship. To win here three times, it means a lot to me, and it’s always an honour to defend any title you have put your name to.

“It’s going to be fantastic week. The vibe in Dubai is great, the field is world class, and the fans get behind the players, so I am looking forward to the challenge and hopefully I can give OPPOSITE PAGE: The Earth Course awaits the finest players on the DP World Tour BELOW: The victorious Team Europe Ryder Cup team will have a Dubai reunion

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

27

The 10 Ryder Cup stars in the field at the DP World Tour Championship

RORY MCILROY

TYRRELL HATTON

AGE: 34

AGE: 32

NATIONALITY: Northern Ireland

NATIONALITY: England

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Hero Dubai

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Nine top-10

Desert Classic, Genesis Scottish Open winner RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 1

finishes, including runner-up at The Players and BMW PGA Championship RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 13

JON RAHM

TOMMY FLEETWOOD

AGE: 28 NATIONALITY: Spain

AGE: 32

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Masters

NATIONALITY: England

champion, winner at Sentry Tournament of Champions, The American Express, Genesis Invitational RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 2

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: 11 top-10 finishes,

RBC Canadian Open runner-up RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 22

NICOLAI HØJGAARD

VIKTOR HOVLAND

NATIONALITY: Denmark

AGE: 26

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Eight top-10

AGE: 22

NATIONALITY: Norway

finishes

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: PGA Tour FedEx

RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 33

Cup champion, winner of Memorial Tournament, BMW Championship and Tour Championship RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 8

SEPP STRAKA AGE: 30

ROBERT MACINTYRE AGE: 27

NATIONALITY: Austria SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: John Deere

Classic winner RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 35

NATIONALITY: Scotland SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Six top-10

finishes including second spot at Genesis Scottish Open RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 10

SHANE LOWRY AGE: 36 NATIONALITY: Ireland

MATT FITZPATRICK AGE: 29 NATIONALITY: England SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: RBC Heritage,

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 11

28

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: 10 top-20

finishes, including T-3 at Irish Open RACE TO DUBAI 2023 RANKING: 41

them something to cheer about come Sunday afternoon.”

Tom Phillips, Head of Middle East for DP World Tour is anticipating a great event. “The 15th edition of the DP World Tour Championship marks a remarkable journey of growth, from its inception to becoming one of the key tournaments in our global calendar.

“The vibrant atmosphere created by passionate fans in Dubai is a testament to the unwavering excitement that surrounds this event, making it a true celebration of the golf, as well as being an entertaining day out for all spectators.

“Following Team Europe’s thrilling Ryder Cup victory in Rome, I am delighted Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Nicolai Højgaard, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka and, of course, Tommy Fleetwood who joins us here, are confirmed for our season ending tournament. We also have their Ryder Cup teammates Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm — our defending champion — already announced, so we cannot wait to see these world-class golfers all in action.”

Fleetwood, who secured the Ryder Cup for Europe when he was guaranteed at least a half-point in his match against Rickie Fowler, added: “Dubai has a special place in my heart, both as my home away from England and the home to one of my academies.

BELOW: Tommy Fleetwood is hitting form ahead of the DP World Tour Championship

fleetwood, mcilroy: andrew redington/getty images • rahm: luke walker/getty images

FROM EUROPE TO UAE

LEFT: Rory Mcilroy is going for a Race to Dubai title defence in the UAE BELOW: Jon Rahm was the star of the show on the Earth Course last year

‘I CAN’T WAIT TO HAVE RYDER CUP TEAMMATES HERE AS WELL, IT IS GOING TO BE ANOTHER SPECIAL WEEK’ “I’ve played a number of tournaments here at Jumeirah Golf Estates and I look forward to the 15th edition of the DP World Tour Championship in November. The fans have been unbelievable over the years and it has been amazing to witness it grow over time with all the activities available for kids and families, plus some pretty decent golfers.

“It’s an exciting tournament and I can’t wait to have some of my Ryder

Cup teammates here as well, it is going to be another special week.”

The tournament will not only showcase the cream of the DP World Tour, but also highlight the event’s commitment to a greener, more eco-conscious future. Building on foundations from previous years, this year’s Earth Lounge on the 16th hole will be fully powered by solar panels and hydrogen generators, resulting in a 100 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions, while Averda,

the event’s official waste management company, will recycle 75 per cent of tournament waste.

DP World Tour Championship’s commitment extends beyond the course, with the continuation of the G4D Tour, further reinforcing the events commitment to inclusivity. The G4D Tour Series Finale will be hosted from November 17, showcasing the leading gross ranked players from the World Ranking for Golfers with a Disability.

Daniel Van Otterdijk, Chief Communications Officer of Group Communications at DP World, said: “The 2023 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai is just around the corner, and it’s set to be an exhilarating season finale. This event marks our second year as the Title Partner of the DP World Tour, and what a fantastic two years it’s been.

“We’re excited to welcome the world’s best golfers back to Dubai for what promises to be an incredible conclusion to the season. The tournament holds special significance for DP World, and it’s also a standout on Dubai’s sporting and social calendar. It’s an event that caters to the entire family, and gets better year on year. We can’t wait to see everyone at Jumeirah Golf Estates in just a month’s time.” november 2023

golfdigestme.com

29

A YEAR TO REMEMBER

TOMMY FLEETWOOD COMES INTO THE DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP AS A WINNER IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

BY MATT SMITH

32

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

more worthwhile,” he added. “I do enjoy being a part of passing on what information I can. I am not a coach by any means but I do enjoy being around the game. If there are people around and are working on their game, I like to get into a conversation and do what happens naturally and pass on what I can.

“Spending time here, I love it and being able to pass on what I have learnt is so rewarding — even if it is one person.

Being part of the support team here, I get a lot of satisfaction out of that.”

Fleetwood is readily supported by his cast of professionals at Jumeirah Golf Estates, something he is more than happy to embrace.

“I am very, very fortunate to have the set of coaches and the staff we have in place here,” he said. “From the personalities to the professionalism, you can see the hard work they put in. I am still touring and travelling a lot, so the coaches here are the biggest part of the day-to-day operations and everyone’s experience here. I am so proud of the guys here and the great job they do and create such a thriving and safe environment here. And when I come back, I love being part of the group.”

Despite his fame on the course, Fleetwood is not quite at the Tiger Woods level of getting recognition on the streets of Dubai.

fleetwood: andrew redington/getty images • previous spread: naomi baker/gettyimages

AROUND ABOUT THIS TIME last year, Tommy Fleetwood was about to embark on arguably the most memorable 12 months of his career.

The Englishman had recently set up home in Dubai with his young family, was fresh off his most recent triumph at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and had just launched his new Academy at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

All of this was before he played a pivotal part in Team Europe’s stunning victory over the United States in the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club just outside Rome.

Golf Digest Middle East caught up with Fleetwood on the steps of his Academy to reflect on a landmark year.

“It has been a great year for me. I have been spending a lot of time here at the academy, now that I live here,” he said.

“I have so much pride is seeing how everything has progressed over the past year. I am watching the amount of new players take up the game, while also seeing more established golfers progress with their game. Their passion for the game has been amazing to watch and be part of.

“Wanting to help all these players with their game and with my team has been brilliant to be part of.”

Relocating to Dubai has helped Fleetwood realise his ambitions on and off the course.

“I am still chasing my own dreams, but to help everyone I can just makes it

‘

‘I THINK THE BIGGEST THING FOR OUR KIDS, ALL I WANT FOR THEM ALL IS TO

paris: david cannon /getty images • tfa: andrew redington/getty images

HAVE A PASSION FOR SOMETHING’

“I might get recognised around the Academy and the course here, but I am happy to settle at never quite being at that [Tiger] level,” he laughed.

While Fleetwood is content with his lot, there are three more budding golfers in the family, with Tommy’s sons all showing a true talent for the game.

“I think the biggest thing for our kids, all I want for them all is to have a passion for something,” said Fleetwood.

“If it is golf, great, because I have a lot to give on that front, but whatever it is they choose, I just want them to feel passionate about what they do.

“Whatever dreams they want to follow, I will support that. The boys are really into their golf, which is great, and I love to talk with them about their games.

I like to work on their game more than my own sometimes. Especially Frankie, I started around the same age as he is now — except he is probably better than I was at that time. I see a lot of similarities in myself as a kid and all three of my boys. One question I get asked a lot is my dream playing partners, and it has to be my dad and my three kids, to see their passion for the game. As long as they dream then I am happy.”

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

33

trophy back as soon as we could, so that was what made it more special.

“We wanted to do ourselves justice and we had a point to prove after the huge loss.

“For me to have that winning moment — to win as a team is such an amazing feeling — but I think the feeling of regaining it in that moment was amazing. There is no doubt that the American team and the era of their golf is so strong right now, so to beat them was so satisfying.

“To be in the moment and in that time, to be the one that got the winning point, was very, very special and something we will remember for the rest of our lives. You start out on Friday morning when it is ‘go time’, and that feeling that you all have, pulling that shirt on and heading to the first tee, it is so intense, and as you grow into the week,

‘TO BE IN THE MOMENT AND IN THAT TIME, TO BE THE ONE THAT GOT THE WINNING POINT, WAS VERY, VERY SPECIAL’ 34

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

you feel so happy and so proud of each other to be part of Team Europe. And I mean not just the 12 players, there is the captain, vice-captains, the backroom staff and the legacy of the team as well.

To just be part of it is amazing.”

Even the best golfers have their offdays however, and Fleetwood had a somewhat wayward drive as he marked the one-month-to-go countdown to the season-ending DP World Tour Championships at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

“It didn’t land in someone’s swimming pool so it wasn’t as far left as first feared,” he said. “But it wouldn’t have been an ideal first tee shot at the DP World Tour Championship. But I struck it well!”

The DPWTC brings the curtain down on the season, and Fleetwood is keen to meet up with his Ryder Cup teammates in Dubai.

“It will be cool to catch up again as it is a celebration of the year as a whole for everyone on tour,” he said. “Everyone who has set out from Day 1 on the tour will be aiming to finish on a high and to have us all together will be great for the tournament and also it will be so exciting to be all back together. Once you are in that team, is stays with you forever.”

darren carroll/getty images

Away from the Academy, Fleetwood was pivotal in reclaiming the Ryder Cup for Luke Donald’s Team Europe in Rome this past month, and the grin on his face let’s you know it will forever be a treasured memory, sinking the winning putt as Europe secured a 16.5-11.5 victory.

Just like in Paris, Fleetwood struck one of the most iconic celebration poses in Italy, and it will go on to adorn clubhouses walls across the continent in the years to come.

“This one felt, from my own Ryder Cup experiences, more special,” he said. “Paris was my first one, then we had the humiliation at Whistling Straits. Paris, I had such an amazing time playing with Fran [Molinari], then we had a thrashing at Whistling Straits.

From the guys that were on that team, to then have the motivation to win the

Calling all podcasters and content creators!

Whether you are looking to record, edit or manage your podcast, our fully equipped podcast and video recording studio has it all.

BOOK YOUR STUDIO +971 4 427 3000 | podcast@motivate.ae

motivatemedia.com

The Future

ROSE ZHANG WON AT AUGUSTA, THEN ON HER LPGA TOUR PRO DEBUT. WHAT’S NEXT FOR THIS 20-YEAR-OLD BUDDING STAR?

BY ELIZABETH NELSON

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MACKENZIE STROH

This is true. The exploits of elite athletes are ubiquitous: broadcast on television, photographed for websites, tweeted and blogged about, meme-d and GIF-ed. We live in a world where recency bias and hyperbole are the twin engines that supercharge our round-the-clock obsession with sports and celebrity. Fall asleep for three months, and you’ll wake up to a whole new slate of best-evers and greatest-of-all-times, but how often are they painted and enshrined in a museum for generations to marvel at? Now that’s a legacy.

After dominating college golf for two years, including winning the NCAA individual title in 2022 and 2023, Zhang decided to leave Stanford to join the LPGA Tour. For all the stakeholders — agents, managers, current and prospective sponsors, her family, her growing legion of fans — it was a seismic development. So much expectation, so many people to make proud. What’s the opposite of that?

As well-known as Zhang might have been to those of us fully integrated into the subterranean corridors of the golf underground, the public was mostly hearing her name for the first time.

DEMPSEY AND FIRPO

Irvine, California — a master-planned city in Orange County — is known for its universities, its shopping-mall expanses and its proximity to Disneyland. About 45 minutes from downtown LA by car, it’s galaxies away in terms of temperament. Family oriented, with an emphasis on close community and competitive schools, Irvine is the sort of place that cultivates talent and prizes hard work. It also has a solid golf scene — 23 public and private courses within a half-hour drive, a robust incubator. Soon, if all goes to plan, it will also be known for Rose Zhang.

It’s a sultry July day in Manhattan, and Zhang and I are taking in the sights at the Whitney Museum on the Hudson River. Among the most celebrated amateur golfers in the history of the sport, Zhang had made her rabidly anticipated, longawaited debut as a professional at the Mizuho Americas Open in June. Let’s stop and register this: What kind of 20-year-old has the burden of being long-awaited? What does that even mean?

Twenty is the age when, in some distant formulation, the person you will eventually become has maybe, notionally, begun to assemble itself.

Zhang stands before the arresting image of Jack Dempsey in mid follow-through, looming over his Argentine challenger, Luis Firpo, who has just been knocked through the ropes with a savage left hook.

In George Bellows’ famous 1924 rendering, Firpo is flopping haplessly, Dempsey looks almost apologetic and the audience goes berserk at the bloodthirsty spectacle. This is what they came for after all, to thrill at those chosen few with the brazen guts and steely skills to compete in the arena.

I ask her: “Do you like paintings of athletes?”

“I do,” she says, “because you don’t see a lot.”

38

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

ROAD AND ROCKS

We take in Edward Hopper’s 1962 drawing “Road and Rocks”. Unlike the lonely cityscapes Hopper is generally renowned for, this is a beautifully out-of-phase depiction of a winding road, with a looming overhang cliff that seems to signal both danger and beauty.

Zhang responded to the hype by winning her debut with a bloodless performance, eking out a tense triumph over the formidable Jennifer Kupcho in a playoff. Look at the footage when she taps in for the winning putt: the sigh of relief, the happy acknowledgement from her competitor.

The prodigy arrives! The hype went from overdrive to kaleidoscopic. She had headline status at ESPN. Tiger tweeted about her. I got assigned this story. My first thought, before our meet-up, was, Rose Zhang’s life seems totally exhausting.

“I am exhausted,” she cheerfully concedes as we amble through the Whitney. “I’ve been under the weather the past few days. Oh, and the photoshoot took a while.”

I talked to Rose’s Stanford head coach, Anne Walker. The tenderness and intimacy of their coach-player relationship is palpable in the way families almost accidentally can’t help but speak candidly about one another. Walker says that when she took Zhang on as a player, Rose’s game was already good enough to play professionally. Their time together at Stanford would be all about how to deal with being a professional.

“There were times coaching her when she wasn’t in a good spot. She was sick. She was tired. She was out of energy. She had a bad cold. She kept pushing and pushing. Then, we had the conversation about self-management.”

‘ON THE COURSE, [ROSE] IS . . . SO IN CONTROL. OFF THE COURSE, SHE’S GOOFY, SHE’S SUPER AWKWARD.’

Conversation or no, Rose Zhang has recently been pushing herself harder than ever. “Everyone feels pressure depending on what their situation is,” she says. “My pressure comes from the fact that I am pretty hard on myself.”

She comes by this honestly. Her father spent years at an investment-management firm. Her mum is still a dental technician. Talent is a gift, but hard work is what makes one worthy of it.

Finding this balance remains something she’s working on. “I’ve received a lot of attention and media requests and obligations,” Zhang says. “It’s hard. It’s very hard.”

I feel a pang of guilt. It’s supposed to be her day off.

THE ROSE

We gaze at Jay DeFeo’s 1966 abstract-expressionism masterwork. An explosion of awe-inspiring visual overload, weighing more than a ton and standing more than 10 feet tall, the work registers beauty and

grandeur on an epic scale. “Hey!” Rose beams upon registering its title. “That’s my name.”

Per Coach Walker, these are the attributes that make Zhang a force of nature: “She doesn’t have a big miss. She hits centre-face a lot, and she hits centre-face with a lot of different swings,” Walker says. “Sometimes maybe she’s not feeling her swing all the way, but she has a slower swing cadence and just kind of plays within herself, whatever she’s got that day. Hitting centre-face in golf gives you a huge advantage. It’s easier said than done.”

Also: “She has a great short game that doesn’t receive much attention because she doesn’t miss very many greens,” Walker adds. “She doesn’t leave herself too much work.

“It takes a lot to faze Rose,” Walker continues.

“The great quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Brett Favre have talked about how the game moved slowly for them, right? You can’t teach that. For them, from a very young age, the game moved slowly. For Tom Brady, he had more time to throw than what we saw with the naked eye. For some reason, for Rose Zhang, the process of golf moves slowly.”

Zhang didn’t pick up her first club until she was nine years old — perhaps on the late side for a prodigy — but once the game got under her skin, it became a borderline obsession. “I would never say golf is exactly a natural sport. I think it requires a lot of dedication and a lot of hard work to be able to play well mechanically and technically,” says Zhang, who won the US Women’s Amateur in 2020 and the US Girls’ Junior in 2021. “But I will say that I love the process. I love being able to go out there and work on my game every single day.

That’s kind of what I really thrived on. Spending hours and hours on the range, hours on the putting green, chipping green, you name it.”

It was during these marathon practice sessions that the game began to slow down for her. Yet her life keeps moving faster, picking up momentum.

“It’s going to be a learning curve,” Walker says.

“She won her first event and finished in the top 10 of her first three majors. People think it will come easy, but turning professional is a big step in your life. It’s like buying your first home or getting married or whatever. It’s bumpy, and it should be bumpy. That’s what makes you grow and makes you strong and makes you special.”

I asked Coach Walker why now was the right time for Rose to turn pro. “I liken it to when you

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

39

open a bottle of Coke, and that Coke’s fizzy. Then you close it back up and then next time, it’s halfway fizzy. Over time, it loses its fizz, right? She was ready to compete with the world’s best. She needed to go while the fizz was still in the bottle.”

Consider that in 20 career college starts, Zhang had 12 wins and 19 top-10 finishes and an NCAA record 69.24 career scoring average. In her sophomore year, she had eight wins in 10 starts. She spent 141 weeks as the No. 1-ranked women’s amateur, more than any player in the ranking’s history.

The other trick with a fizzy bottle, of course, is making sure it doesn’t explode.

A DOOR TO THE RIVER

A glorious slash of yellow, brown and pink, Willem de Kooning’s “Door to the River” stands nearly seven feet tall above us on the Whitney’s seventh floor. De Kooning was one of the leading lights of the abstract-expressionism movement of the 1940s and ’50s, which was just around the time in America that golf was evolving from a marginal carny game to a mainstream sport. Golf is the most abstract expressionist of all our major sports. You can employ all the range finders and tricked-out, new-tech clubs and golf balls that travel cosmic distances, but 90 yards out of deep rough to a sloping green is still just guess work. There are no analytics that can make that shot for you.

Zhang’s favorite movie is “Knives Out”, Rian Johnson’s satire of indolent wealth and the tragi-comic carnage left in its wake. From the preposterous exertions of the PGA-LIV merger to the mortifying congressional hearings, there is a general sense that any vestige of what was once a working-class game hangs uneasily in the balance.

Women’s professional golf, too, has dipped more than a toe into the troubled waters of malign foreign investment. The Ladies European Tour has its Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed Aramco Team Series, and the LPGA Tour has a partnership with the LET. This is another variable as Zhang arrives on the scene. The very charm of the LPGA Tour is that it’s not the PGA Tour. It’s diverse galleries and gracious opponents, all the great golf and none of the Brooks and Bryson vibes.

As streaming platforms seek to fill their limitless need for content, and corporations and nationstates plunge their endless tentacles ever deeper into the cultural landscape, the business of sports continues to feed uncontrollably. Inevitably, this effect has begun to prove transformational for the LPGA Tour. With an influx of sponsorship money, total player purses for 2023 have risen to $101.4 million, a 43-per-cent increase from 2019.

“The core fans love the LPGA because the players are more accessible,” Walker says. “Smaller galleries bring fans closer to the action. It’s a different viewing experience from the PGA Tour. It has more camaraderie among players. Viewers sense it.”

40

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

Zhang is sentimental but realistic. “Do I think money will change the tour? Probably. Is it for the better? Who knows?”

GETTIN’ RELIGION

Archibald John Motley Jr’s 1948 street scene is all vivid blues and late-night jazz, kinetic energy, pure revelry. I spoke with Zhang’s best friend and Stanford teammate Rachel Heck, 21, also hotly tipped as a future LPGA star, who recently returned to the game after a thoracic outlet surgery that required removing a rib. She was understandably afraid before the operation. “The day before surgery, the team was at a tournament. I remember Rose sent me the longest text message that just made me cry.”

When Zhang won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2023, she asked Heck to be her traveling partner for the week. I ask Heck if she remembers where the two of them met. “It was at the AJGA Ping Invitational,” she says. “Rose was 12, and I was 13. She was so quiet, and I made it my goal to get her to come out of her shell because this was one of her first invitationals! I got her out of her shell.

“On the course, she’s so composed, so in control,” Heck says. “Off the course, she’s goofy, she’s super awkward and clumsy. She’ll just trip over things.

‘IT TAKES A LOT TO FAZE ROSE. . . . FOR SOME REASON, THE PROCESS OF GOLF MOVES SLOWLY’ FOR HER. She’s hilarious. She’s texting me right now, actually.

I told her I was going to do an interview about her, and I was going to say horrible things.”

As teammates at Stanford they bonded over growing up. “Even when we’re on the course, we never talk about golf,” Heck says. “We just talk about normal stuff like boys and classes and life.

She’ll be like: ‘Oh, my God, I did the most embarrassing thing today,’ and she’ll just giggle.”

I inquired of Zhang at the Whitney if she had any talent as an artist. “No,” she answered, “but my friend Rachel does.”

Heck is a multimedia artist of considerable skill, so I ask her if she sees golf as an artform. She is unequivocal. “I see it as a very artistic thing. I see it in the swing, the fluidity of it. The movement is artistic. I envision every shot.” Heck says that the difference between her game and Zhang’s in some ways is a technical question. “Rose likes numbers; she likes to sit on TrackMan. I envision things.”

Art versus science on the course is one thing, but there is no TrackMan for dealing with the realities of turning pro. An inveterate grinder and a meticulous planner, Zhang will need to adopt — at least to some extent — the art of improvisation to successfully make the transition.

Walker enumerates the small changes that amount to major upheavals. “We all know about the sponsor commitments and that kind of stuff, but what’s really hard are the things that occur that we don’t necessarily think of: travel logistics and flight delays. At the hotel, the beds are different, the pillows are different, the food is different, the water’s different.”

There’s also jetlag and time-zone changes and irregular practice schedules and homesickness.

Since we spoke in early July, Zhang has travelled to France to England to Ohio to Oregon to Vancouver, a punishing taste of life on the road. The world is now her canvas.

PROJECT FOR A NEW AMERICAN CENTURY

We approach Josh Kline’s epochal installation “Project for a New American Century”, a dystopian but deeply compelling bazaar of all that the ever-metastasizing corporate-tech duopoly has on offer. There are videotaped testimonials from nonunion delivery drivers explaining their snack routine, body parts in shopping carts next to Amazon boxes and the eerie specter of the US Capitol bathed in a blood-red hue. Zhang is captivated. “The sports world is so different from life in general.”

At Stanford, she loved learning about the past,

from Chinese history to the Cold War. Golf matters, and then again it doesn’t. The weeks after her triumph at the Mizuho, Zhang’s results were up and down: a T-9 at the US Open at Pebble Beach, a missed cut at the Dana in Toledo, another T-9 at the Evian in France, another missed cut at the Portland Classic. Hysterical projections that she will win every tournament she enters have been set aside. Here, too, is Zhang’s dilemma. She must immediately excel, and she must be patient. She must navigate the impossible balance between hard-wired ambition and a modicum of self-care as an ever-growing machinery hums beside her.

These are the three plagues of the modern prodigy: be great, make it fast and be available.

BEFORE AND AFTER

We stand before Andy Warhol’s 1962 nose job cartoon piece “Before and After”. Andy Warhol always said: “The idea is not to live forever; it is to create something that will.”

If all goes as planned, there won’t be too many more instances when Zhang can walk around unbothered by the extent of her celebrity. Michelle Wie-West told me about being recognised for the first time in public. “I would go to a restaurant with my friends, and someone would come up to me, and it would be so awkward, right? Like, I mean, I was also a lot younger than Rose. I was like 13, 14.

I think being 20 is a little bit different.”

Wie-West and Zhang share an overlapping trajectory that practically no other two people can possess. About the time Wie-West was wrapping up her professional career in June 2023, Rose was launching hers. They remain in close counsel.

Zhang has stories of her own about being approached by fans. At the Mizuho, she tells me: “I had this random boy come up to me and had me sign a banana. I was like, ‘What are you going to do with this banana after a while?’ ” I asked Zhang if she ever thinks about life without golf. “Yeah,” she allows, “I ask myself ‘What if golf never works out?’ ” Right now, she can’t quite contemplate what that might look like.

Consider this: It’s 30 years in the future, and Zhang is on the walls of the Whitney, a towering rendering of the greatest female golfer ever to grace the game. Or maybe she’s just walking through with friends, a happy civilian who once but no longer carries a great burden.

I catch one last glimpse of her as our day together ends. Exhaustion notwithstanding, she smiles warmly at me and then bounds off energetic, graceful and funny. I asked Wie-West about her expectations for Zhang’s legacy, and she responded, “I think she’ll succeed beyond everyone’s expectations, whatever she wants to do.”

I asked Walker about Rose Zhang and all that fate has in store for her.

“She’s not scared.”

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

41

HOW TO MAKE YOUR BEST BALL-STRIKING FEEL EFFORTLESS BY ROSE ZHANG PHOTOGRAPHS BY MACKENZIE STROH 42

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

Ever since I was 9 or 10, I’ve had it ingrained in my mind to never hit the ball harder than I need to.

It’s why when you watch me play, my swing tempo looks so mellow.

Even now that I’m on the LPGA Tour, where I’m competing with golfers who sometimes outdrive me by 50 yards, I’m still focused on making a smooth, simple swing that produces the best contact possible. Can I hit it farther than my 255-yard driving average? Absolutely. At times I’ve experimented with different techniques to get more distance. But I’ve found it’s not the way I play my best.

It’s probably not the way you’ll play your best, either.

I can say that because I’ve played with a lot of amateurs going back to my days in junior golf. I can’t tell you how many times someone in my group would watch me for a few holes and then comment on how smooth and easy I swung the club. As the round went on, they would naturally gravitate toward copying my tempo. The closer they came to it, the better they struck the ball. When you focus on solid contact instead of trying to go all-out, your chance of keeping the ball in play and controlling distance is going to go way up.

If you don’t have time to hit balls every day, then copying my swing is a more achievable goal than trying to be like those PGA Tour pros who smash it. Let me show you some of the things my coach, George Pinnell, and I focus on to hit the ball dead centrew every time. We’ve been together since before I was a teenager, and believe me, we’ve worn out the sweet spot on a lot of my clubs this way. —with ron kaspriske november 2023

golfdigestme.com

43

ADDRESS ELIMINATE MISTAKES BEFORE YOU START If your swing is perfect, but you’re aiming 20 yards left or right of where you should be, or your hands aren’t holding the club in a way that gives you good awareness of the face, there’s no point in having a perfect swing. That’s why I always check my alignment and grip. Get those things right, and it’s just two less things to worry about. It also makes it easier to figure out what’s going right or wrong when you do hit some shots.

Aligning correctly when you step into your shot is huge, but the biggest thing for me is, I want to see my hands matching up with the orientation of the clubface at address (left).

We call it a “neutral-grip position”. That means the palm of my right hand and back of my left hand are facing my target, just like the clubface. When everything is matching, it makes it easier to square things up at impact.

44

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

GOING BACK STAY FLUID AND WIDE

It’s OK if you take the club back faster than I do because I know my slow start is tough to copy.

If you are faster, you still have to avoid jerking the club back and whipping it inside the target line. The move should feel smooth. To take the club back correctly, my lower body stays quiet, and the first few feet of the swing are controlled by a coordinated rotation of my upper body and arms. They work together. The mistake is to start back only with your arms.

Also, if you can’t generate power with a

lot of swing speed, it’s important to maintain your swing’s width like I do. That’s something George and I have been working on. You want to see the clubhead outside my hands at this point in the backswing (above). That means my swing is staying nice and wide, and that extra distance the club travels helps compensate for slower swings. It also improves your chance of solid contact because you don’t have to do anything extra to get the club back to the ball.

Think to yourself, Start wide and stay wide. november 2023

golfdigestme.com

45

AT THE TOP GET THE SLACK OUT OF YOUR SWING

A lot of people worry about how far they take the club back before they start the downswing.

I don’t think that’s the priority for players like us. It’s more important to take any extra movement out of the swing.

My coach calls the extra motions “slack”, and we don’t want any as I swing back and down. My tendency is to sometimes take the club back with my hands too high. Or every now and then the shaft gets laid off (flattens) as I reach the top. These extra movements — the slack — have to be eliminated or greatly reduced if you want to put the middle of the clubface on the ball with consistency.

Your best chance at hitting the ball solidly is to feel like you’re nice and wound as you reach the top (left).

The mistake is to sense you’re straining as you finish the backswing, or worse, you didn’t wind up at all — you took the club back with only your arms. Instead, you should feel comfortable and in control at the top.

My footwork really helps set that up. I want to feel pressure on the inside of my right heel.

46

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

THROUGH IMPACT SHIFT, THEN UNWIND— SMOOTHLY

Two things George and I focus on are footwork and weight shift. I’m a big believer that the swing happens from the ground up. Before I come down into the ball, I want to get most of my weight into my front side. The goal is to rotate around my left leg like it’s a post. This move would definitely help you if you tend to swing off your back foot and hit a lot of fat and thin shots. It also helps keep your upper body from drifting ahead of the ball in the downswing — a mistake that also leads to mis-hits.

As you unwind around your front leg, try to accelerate smoothly with the club. When I start my downswing, I make sure there’s no rush.

You can see that I’m swinging pretty fast here (above), but most of the speed happens down around the ball. If you start down fast from the top, your timing and tempo will be off and you won’t be accelerating as you hit the shot. As George likes to say, let your club “find the ball”.

Remember, you’re trying to make solid contact more than anything else. november 2023

golfdigestme.com

47

THE FINISH LEAVE SOME IN THE TANK AND STRIKE A POSE

I’m only hitting the ball with 75-per-cent effort. That might surprise you, but as long as it’s a full swing, my tempo and effort are the same whether it’s a wedge or a driver. As I mentioned, I have experimented with swinging harder.

You should, too. Making some swings as fast as you can when you practise will help you feel the difference between a smooth swing that “finds the ball” and a fast swing that produces an off-centre hit. You’ll start to really understand what pace produces the most solid shots for you.

Another thing to think about is your finish. Recently I’ve been working on making mine less messy. Players like Tiger and Rory make that a huge emphasis.

Why? When you finish in balance, fully unwound (right), it means you made a good swing regardless of where the ball goes. If you swing at 75 per cent, you’ll find it’s much easier to do that — and I bet someone compliments you on how smooth you look!

48

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

Toast of the town The third edition of Golf Digest Middle East’s Oktoberfest is a roaring success at The Els Club in Dubai

By Matt Smith HE THIRD GOLF DIGEST MIDDLE EAST OKTOBERFEST was a thrilling success at The Els Club Dubai on October 20, with Nathan Fisher and Graham Worth picking up the coveted 2024 Hero Dubai Desert Classic Pro-Am playing spots.

There were prizes on offer across the course during the shotgun-start stableford event, with players taking home drinks, golf bags, car and buggy hire, and prized hospitality tickets for the 2024 Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Emirates Dubai 7s.

Fisher was the toast of the prize-giving ceremony, thanks to his day’s best gross score of 69 topping the leaderboard and 50

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

he is relishing the chance to rub shoulders with the best players in the world at Emirates Golf Club from January 18-21.

“To be honest, I do not mind whom I play with as it is an honour to just be on the stage with so many great players,” he said following his win.

“If I were to pick a dream playing partner it would have to be Rory McIlroy or Tommy Fleetwood, but I really do not mind as just being up there among those players is a dream come true.”

Win or lose, everyone seemed to have a great day out, thanks to the hosts at The Els Club and the sponsors — Baker’s Kitchen, Luxury Supercar Rentals, Adidas and African + Eastern.

Some came dressed for the occasion with Darwin Holt and Worth sporting matching peacock shirts.

“It has been a great day. Everything has exceeded my expectations in terms of organisation and everything that has been laid on for us,” said Holt.

“I will be back again 100 per cent,” added Worth, whose 41 points secured top spot in Division A.

B

irdi

es

* Beers *

Br

ats

Winners nearest pin hole 2 Nathan Williamson

African + Eastern Cases of Erdinger and Jagermeister

nearest pin hole 4 Russell Yeomans

African + Eastern Cases of Erdinger and Jagermeister

longest drive - hole 9 Nathan Fisher Luxury Super Cars Package for Two, Buggy Hire

longest drive – hole 18 James Yeomans Luxury Super Cars One Day Free Rental Hire

division b runner-up Sanjay Pahwa (33 Points* Countback) 2x Season Passes for Emirates Duabi 7s

division b winner Ivan Kraemer (35 Points)

2x Saturday Hospitality Passes for Hero Dubai Desert Classic and 2x Season Passes For Emirates Dubai 7s and Adidas Golf Bag

division a runner-up Oliver Ravenscroft (39 Points) 2x Saturday Hospitality Passes for Hero Dubai Desert Classic and 2x Season Passes for Emirates Dubai 7s

division a winner Graeme Worth (41 Points)

Dubai Desert Classic Pro-Am playing spot and Adidas Golf Bag

best gross Nathan Fisher (69 Gross)

Dubai Desert Classic Pro-Am playing spot and Adidas Golf Bag

sp onsors

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

51

START ENGINES

YOUR

WHE T HE R I T 'S DRIVING, CHIPPING OR P U T T ING, T RAIN T HE BOD Y PAR T S T HAT GOVE RN T HE MOVE ME N T B Y E RIK A L ARK IN PHOTOGRAPHS BY JD CUBAN

When you’re looking to improve from tee to green, it’s important to understand what parts of your body should control the swing. But here’s the thing: The prime movers change depending on the type of swing you’re trying to make. For example, the muscles most responsible for your driver swings should be the least active when you putt. And the “engine” of your chips is different from what you call upon for a full iron shot.

Not only is it important to know the muscles that govern each type of shot, you also should know the order they need to “fire” to execute the swing. The sequence of movement is crucial to get right, no matter the play. The problem is, a lot of golfers are overactive with the wrong parts of the body — and at the wrong times — which leads to poor ex-

PUTTING: RECRUIT YOUR UPPER BODY

Note the highlighted area of my body (above, right).

Think of it like a heat map that reveals the true engine of the putting stroke. The big muscles of your upper body, not the smaller ones in your arms, are what provide the motion, delivering the putter’s face squarely into the ball.

I want you to imagine that your 54

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

putter is a pendulum and to think of your shoulders, back and upper core muscles as the rigid support that suspends the putter’s shaft. Now pick a fixed point in the centre of your chest for your pendulum to pivot back and through. Choosing a high pivot point will help you avoid leading with the hands and arms, which is a common sequence fault that leads

ecution. While working with hundreds and hundreds of amateurs, I’ve found many mistakes are often from a lack of understanding of what they’re supposed to do. If that’s you, let me help you get it right.

On the following pages, I’m first going to explain what muscles are key to the three most common swings in golf — putts, greenside shots and fullswing shots — and then I’ll tell you how to correctly sequence the activity for each. Finally, to really ingrain the fundamental movements, I’ll give you some drills that will turn all of this into good mechanics when you play. Whether you’re looking to hit it farther, get up and down more often around the greens or hole more par and birdie putts, these tips on how to “start your engines” can lead to big gains on the golf course. Let’s begin with your putting stroke.

—WITH MADELINE MACCLURG

to less control of the face and stroke.

Focusing on your shirt buttons is a good visual to use as the fixed axis.

The stroke is a small, controlled rotation around your spine — not a rocking motion up and down. Feel the upper-body muscles working together as they deliver the clubface into the ball smoothly with no flicking of the hands and wrists.

THE DRILL Hold your putter so the butt end is touching your sternum (left).

Keep a soft bend in your arms, letting your hands find their natural distance from your body.

Standing in your normal putting setup, make a few smooth strokes letting the putterhead move while the butt end stays fixed into your sternum.

Everything should feel connected but not stiff. As you practise this motion, understand that your spine is the axis you’re moving the puttherhead around. You should feel your shoulders, back and upper core muscles working together as the engine of the stroke.

Repeat this “anchored” practice drill for a few minutes, and then go back to hitting some putts trying to recreate the feel of the anchored stroke. The goal is to maintain that high pivot point as you swing back and through.

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

55

SHORT SHOTS: GET YOUR MIDSECTION INVOLVED

This heat map (above, right) shows that short shots recruit some of the same muscles as a putting stroke. The upper body is definitely involved. The difference is that the lower core muscles and hips are also part of the engine. From the shoulders down to the pelvis, everything is moving as one unit in

56

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

these greenside shots — that’s the proper sequencing.

Start in a narrow stance with your feet and hips slightly open in relation to your target and weight on your front foot. This open stance presets some of the hip rotation needed to propel the arms and club into a good impact position. Favouring your front foot will help you rotate your hips and

upper body over your front leg like it’s a post. A common mistake I see is failing to keep your weight forward in an attempt to help the ball airborne.

When you take the club back, your wrists should hinge in proportion to the swing (bigger swings call for more hinge). Then it’s a matter of rotating your body as a unit toward the target, letting the club glide along the turf.

THE DRILL Grab a wedge, hold it across your upper body, then mimic your normal chipping set-up (left).

Be sure to position your nose over your front leg and put most of your weight on that leg as you get in position. Now make a few small clubless swings pivoting a little over and around your front leg. After a few reps, expand your rotation and let your pelvis and upper body move toward the target as one unit (above).

Once you feel confident in your ability to pivot the hips, core and torso together over your front leg, it’s time to take that wedge off your chest and hit some greenside shots.

Again, your focus should be moving the club with your body rotation — not solely with your arms. If you keep your weight planted firmly on that front foot and rotate, the club will skim along the turf and pop the ball up effortlessly. november 2023

golfdigestme.com

57

FULL SWING: LEAD WITH YOUR LEGS Referencing the heat map one last time, you can see the lower body is mostly responsible for powering the full swing. During the backswing, you want to transfer most of your weight into the trail leg, planting firmly. Once you’ve loaded up on that trail leg and are ready to swing down into the ball, use your feet to start the

58

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

sequence. Shift your weight toward the target and then fire your hips at it. Remember that your arms should follow this shift-and-fire move. Many golfers start down with the arms first, but that’s incorrect sequencing and leads to a lot of issues including slices, pulls and poor contact.

If you want to straighten out your shots and add some more pop to

them, lead with the legs. Pushing against the ground forcefully causes your lower body to naturally unwind ahead of your arms and club. This creates a rubber-band effect that unleashes your clubhead through the impact zone with a lot of speed. I call this action “uncoiling from the top”, and it happens as a result of that hard push off with your lead leg.

THE DRILL Ditch your clubs, but get into your address posture for an iron shot, letting your arms hang about a foot apart.

Try to maintain this gap as you mimic your backswing.

Pause at the end of it, and then pretend you’re swinging down and through. I want you to imagine that all the muscles of the upper body have turned off. Your lower

body should rotate toward the target while your arms lag behind, feeling like passengers along for the ride (below).

Continue making these “rag doll” arm swings without pausing to reset, letting the end of one flow into the start of the next.

Similarly to how the putting stroke is governed by the upper body and the mid body plays a key role in shortgame shots, rehearsing this lower-body-first throughswing will help you fire up the right engine and properly sequence your full swings.

Golf Digest Teaching Professional Erika Larkin, one of the 50 Best Teachers in America, is located at The Club at Creighton Farms in Aldie, Va. november 2023

golfdigestme.com

59

SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FIND OUT MORE

CONNECT WITH US

VOTE HERE

GulfBusiness

#GulfBusinessAwards

FOR EVENT SPONSORSHIP, TABLE BOOKINGS AND GENERAL ENQUIRIES manish.chopra@motivate.ae | sangeetha.js@motivate.ae

Sponsor

Associate Sponsor

Venue Partners

Beverage Partner

Vote Processing Partner

Presented By

BODY / SHORT GAME

AVOID THE BIG NUMBER Learn to shave strokes, not pile them up, with these greenside tips

By Cheryl Anderson

PHOTOGRAPHS BY J.D. CUBAN

UNLike TOUR PROS, We DON’T have the benefit of knowing how many strokes we’re gaining or losing around the green compared to other golfers with similar handicaps. But here’s a good general rule: If you can consistently get down in three strokes inside 30 yards, you’re not going to lose ground on your competition. Chances are, you’ll probably pick up a few strokes.

On the flip side, follow a decent approach shot with a flubbed chip or skulled bunker shot and make double-

B

bogey, and you’ll not only be giving strokes away, but you’re sure to be steamed. These big misses around the green have a way of staying with you and can erode your confidence.

Around the greens, you need to find a way to get the ball on the green in one stroke and then two-putt. It is as simple as that.

Here’s how. —WiTh Dave aLLeN CHERYL ANDERSON is director of

instruction at the Mike Bender Golf Academy in Lake Mary, Florida november 2023

golfdigestme.com

61

B

BODY / SHORT GAME

CHIPPING BE ON THE LEVEL

G

etting chips to the hole is a struggle for many amateurs. They tend to hit behind the ball or too much up on it, causing fat and thin contact. To chip it solid with good distance control, you need to get the low point of your swing under the ball or a little forward of it. That starts with level shoulders — unlike the full-swing setup. Address the ball, then touch your left hand to your left knee (far left) and re-grip the club with both hands (centre). This adjustment moves your weight more on your front foot, helping you to pinch the ball off the ground. From here, chip the ball with the same tempo as you would a putt. “Tick-tock, brush the grass” is what I tell a lot of my students. Brush the grass on “tock,” and you should make crisp contact every time.

PITCHING ELIMINATE THE WRISTS

T

he biggest causes of poor pitch shots are too much wrist action combined with not enough body pivot. Whatever wrist hinge you create in the backswing you must undo by impact, and there’s not a lot of time to do that. Here’s a drill to eliminate excessive, unnecessary wrist action. Grip way down on your pitching club with your right hand so that the handle runs up your forearm (below). Now hit some pitch shots with your right arm only, maintaining the connection between the handle and your forearm. Be sure to pivot your body during the backswing. This one-lever method cuts out excessive wrist action and forces you to pivot better, as that’s the only way to catch the ball solid. After hitting a few shots this way, add both hands to the grip and repeat this wide, single-lever feel to your pitching motion.

62

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

BUNKER HINGE FOR SPEED

I

n contrast to the pitch, the bunker shot requires you to use your wrists.

Why? To remove nearly a pound of sand out of the bunker with an open, lofted clubface, you need lots of speed. The hinging, unhinging and re-hinging of the wrists is how you’re going to get it. To encourage this type of wrist action, try the following: Set up close to the back edge of a bunker and stick a tee in the butt of the grip.

On the backswing, set the wrists quickly so that the clubhead misses the lip and the tee points straight down (right). Don’t forget to re-hinge the wrists on the follow-through. This releases the clubhead, engages the club’s bounce and creates speed. Splash the sand out onto the green. Note how the sand is the same height as my ball in the opening image. The wrists are a key multiplier of speed. Work on this drill, and you’ll be a much better bunker player.

november 2023

golfdigestme.com

63

B

BODY / EQUIPMENT

WHAT'S IN MY BAG : WYNDHAM CLARK DRIVER SPECS Titleist TSi3, 9°, Accra TZ Six ST 60 M5 shaft.

AGE 29

Since this was photographed, I’ve switched to Titleist’s TSR3 with a Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 60 6.5 shaft.

I get better start lines, more speed and stable spin. I put some lead tape in the rear heel area to neutralise my fade.

LIVES

Scottsdale, Arizona STORY

Won two events in 2023, including the US Open.

AMATEUR MISTAKE

A mistake I see amateurs make is using wedges that have too much bounce. These “gameimprovement” wedges might help mis-hits, but they make it difficult to hit the correct shot. I’d suggest using a wedge with less bounce — the angle between the leading edge and the lowest point of the sole — and work on executing the proper shots.

FAIRWAY WOOD SPECS TaylorMade Stealth 2, 15.5°, Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 80 TX shaft.

The club says 16.5 degrees, but it’s actually a 17-degree head ratcheted down to 15.5 degrees. That’s because I’m trying to get the proper amount of spin. The 3-woods today go really far, so I’m trying to make sure it doesn’t go too far.

IRONS SPECS Titleist T200 (3-iron), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 100HY X shaft; Titleist 620 CB (4-9), True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 shafts.

—WITH E MICHAEL

DRIVER

310

I get steep with my irons, so the bounce and thickness of the sole help me enter and exit the turf better. The CBs have more forgiveness than the MBs, yet they spin more than the T100s.

3-WOOD

280

WEDGES

3-IRON

250

4-IRON

230

SPECS Titleist Vokey SM9 (46.5°), True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 shaft; (51°, 55°, 59.5°), Dynamic Gold S400 shafts.

5-IRON

217

6-IRON

202

7-IRON

188

8-IRON

171

9-IRON

163

PW

146

51˚WEDGE

132

55˚WEDGE

118

59.5˚WEDGE

102

JOHNSON

CLUB

YARDS*

golfdigestme.com

SHHHHHH

This ball marker is from Whisper Rock in Scottsdale.

The facilities are so perfect that you know where your game is at. It’s a great atmosphere with so many short-game greens.

I play a low-bounce 60-degree wedge that allows me to clip it off the tight turf we play on tour. That works well for me since I have a very shallow move into the ball on short-game shots.

PUTTER SPECS Odyssey O-Works Jailbird Mini, 38 inches, 3°, SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0 long grip (17 inches).

I put lead tape on the sole to help increase the head weight. The hardest adjustment was getting used to the length, so dialling in the speed took some practice because it’s a longer, heavier putter.

* CARRY DISTANCE

64

NO NUMBERS

I use the 2019 Titleist Pro V1x.

It gives me more spin and a slightly higher ball speed with the driver. I mark out the number so that I don’t get hung up on it.

november 2023

SNACK TIME

I eat often on the course but a little at a time.

I have apple sauce, nuts, Bobo’s oat bars for carbs and protein, and gluten-free oat butter with jelly.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEPHEN DENTON

THE LOOP

brier, but now-relegated Chase Koepka will always have a moment to treasure from when he aced the ‘Watering Hole’ 12th at The Grange in Adelaide, with a shower of cans to help his euphoric high-five spree.

BEST VINDICATION

Talor Gooch Gooch was warned by his then captain Dustin Johnson at 4 Aces that jumping ship to RangeGoats was a mistake and he will never get back on the podium.

Twelve months, three wins and an Individual Championship title later, Gooch is the one smiling.

BEST HUMBLE-PIE EATING

DJ. See above...

BIGGEST LUMP-IN THROAT MOMENT

Brooks Koepka Family first. After weeks of ditching the clubs to be by his child in hospital, Jeddah winner Koepka told Golf Digest Middle East how premature baby Crew inspired him back his best, so he could show his son what you can achieve.

BEST SUPPORTING ROLE

As the first full season of the LIV Golf League closes its curtains, here are the alternative awards for the season’s standout moments

By Matt Smith MOST IMPROVED

Bryson DeChambeau The slimmed-down Bryson DeChambeau sweeps the board in this category, with a runner-up and two titles in a late-season charge, which left him just outside an Individual Championship podium spot.

66

golfdigestme.com

november 2023

BEST PERFORMANCE

Bryson DeChambeau Hands down, it is DeChambeau again, as his stunning 58 at Greenbrier smashing records not only in LIV Golf but across the world of professional golf.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Phil Mickelson Quite a few contenders here, with Lee Westwood having a 2023 to forget, while Martin Kaymer can be excused due to his wrist injury. The gong goes to Mickelson, as the big lefty and selfappointed megaphone for LIV walked away from the season with only one result of note — a 10th-place finish in Bedminster.

BEST CELEBRATION

Chase Koepka It was almost a hat-trick for Bryson for his leap on the 18th in the rain at Green-

BEST CAMEO

Andy Ogletree The reserve player has been the standout performer on the Asian Tour International Series this year, and — when called upon to step in last moment to replace Crushers’ Paul Casey — racked up a stunning sixth-place finish. Andy will be a star in the 2024 LIV Golf League.

BIGGEST NO-CIGAR MOMENT

Cameron Smith The Aussie was in the driver’s seat heading into Jeddah, but a stumble and 25th-place finish allowed Gooch to pounce, leaving the 2022 Open Champ with the silver medal and ‘only’ $8 million in bonus money to soften the blow. Actually, I guess that could buy a few cigars....

liv golf, getty images

And the winners/ losers are...

Scott Vincent With a stellar final round in Jeddah, and a multitude of factors that could have derailed his bid, the Zimbabwean Asian Tour graduate produced some Rocky-esque heroics to reach the Lock Zone for 2024 in Hollywood style.

BIG BANG UNICO Titanium and blue ceramic case.

In-house UNICO chronograph movement.