Golf Digest December 2016/ January 2017

As editor I’ve been fortunate to work with the three commissioners who ran the PGA Tour since its founding. I edited a rules column written by Joseph C. Dey Jr. after his tenure (1969-’74); he had the imperious bearing of a medieval archbishop. It was once said in our pages, Dey kept a copy of the New Testament in his right breast pocket and The Rules of Golf in his left—“he helped write one of them.” I then enjoyed a tumultuous relationship covering Deane Beman, the tour’s greatest commissioner but an intense dictator (1974-’94). The commissioner I’ve come to admire best is Tim Finchem, 69, whose 22-year reign as the most powerful man in golf will end when Jay Monahan takes over in January. My first recollection of Finchem was when we…

“Crazy tall lip? Open the face and drop your hands back to clear it.” Here at the Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla., I’m in a steep-face pot bunker. Most golfers associate these hazards with Scotland and Ireland, but we have synthetic ones at this club. Instead of bricked layers of sod that can melt in a muggy climate, the face of this bunker is built with strips of artificial turf. Only up close can you tell they’re not real. (As a member here, I’ve had this view more times than I care to admit.) Tough as they are, these bunkers have forced me to perfect a few techniques for extreme situations. Learn them, and you’ll gain the confidence to handle any bunker at your course. —WITH MAX ADLER “Accept that…

If you want to become better at pitching, my first piece of advice is to put your ball in lots of scenarios when you practice. Why hit 50 from the same spot when you get only one swing for each shot on the course? Next, understand how your wedge is supposed to move through the grass. It’s supposed to glide, not dig. To get it to do that, feel like you’re letting the clubhead strike the ball a split second before the hands move over the top of its position (small photo). That means keep your grip pressure light, and resist the urge to prevent the clubhead from releasing in fear of hitting it too far. Keep the club moving. A great way to practice this action is to pitch with your…

There are lots of reasons golfers miss greens— poor contact, overswinging, too much curve on the ball. But the root problem is usually one of three bad habits: 1. NOT TAKING ENOUGH CLUB. I almost never see an amateur hit over the green on a fullswing approach. When facing a full 8-iron shot, take the 7 and swing smoothly. You’ll hit the ball more solidly, and get the distance right. 2. AIMING POORLY. This stems from just not thinking properly. Most golfers are happy to put the ball anywhere on the green, so they aim at the middle. Problem is, that doesn’t allow for their natural shot shape. For example, if you’re a left-to-right player and you aim at the middle, your target goes from the whole green to just the right half. Instead,…

“Some bunkers are to challenge; others are to help you aim.” Sometimes there’s no substitute for experience. With rare holes, if you haven’t walked the land, you’ll want to be paired with someone—maybe a caddie—who can clearly articulate what lies ahead. But most of the time, a simple scorecard drawing shows all you need. As a designer, I try to give golfers very clear cues with the bunkering. Take the par-5 16th at the Condado de Alhama Golf Resort (illustrated), a course I designed in Murcia, Spain. At 636 yards from the back tees, almost nobody is getting home in two. From overhead it might look like a jumble of obstacles, but what you have to do becomes pretty straightforward if you ask, “What shot do I want for my third?” Then,…

No matter how long or short your swing, one fundamental you need to apply is keeping your arms “connected” to your body as you swing back and through. If you do it right, you’re making it way easier to have good timing during the swing and to move the club on the correct plane. It’s easy to see when your lead arm “disconnects” by moving away from your body on the backswing. But the trail arm pulling back behind you causes just as many problems. Either way, your swing gets shifted off plane, and you’ll have a hard time getting your body, hands and arms to work together on the downswing. Ideally, your lead arm moves up your chest in the backswing, and your trail arm doesn’t do much more than fold…