Golf Digest February 2016

Dropping the Ball Chairman and Editor-in-Chief I pledge allegiance to the Golf Association of the United States of America, and to the public courses for which it stands, one game, unbifurcated, with handicap strokes for all. Or at least I always felt that way until the latest ruling from the USGA disqualified for handicap purposes any rounds recorded alone. ▶ You now can’t turn in a score if you play by yourself. Presumably you have to be watched to ensure you’re not cheating. Isn’t honesty the backbone of the game we all love? ▶ I’m reminded of that charming USGA commercial from the 2000 U.S. Open showing a kid playing alone at dusk, making a holein-one, jumping up and down, then looking around to see if anybody saw it. Good thing an…

Simple tips for boosting power and control whether he’s being humble, matter-of-fact or simply doesn’t want to reveal the secrets of his extraordinary ball-striking, Sergio Garcia rarely talks swing mechanics. He’s a “feel player,” he says, and tries to keep things as simple as possible: Focus on the target and then make a confident swing. But when pressed on how he has been able to sustain remarkable distance and accuracy off the tee, El Niño, now in his 18th year as a pro, did share some telling insights. Here’s what he had to say. —WITH ron kaspriske My thought from the top: Imagine you’re pulling a chain down with both hands. SETUP I like to feel tall and relaxed at address. A lot of golfers hunch over the ball and really tense up, which…

Most amateurs I see spend a great deal of time focused on the break of a putt and, to a lesser extent, the speed. Those are key fundamentals for sure, but equally important is making a good stroke. Swinging the putterhead on a consistent path will help you start the ball on the line you pick. To groove your stroke, try my two-tee drill. Find a straight putt and stand 10 feet from the cup on that line. Set the putterhead down facing the hole, and stick two tees in the green—one just outside the toe of the putter and the other just outside the heel. The tees create a gate (right) that you’ll have to swing the putterhead through to keep it on a straight path to the hole. Once you…

Will you take on the big bunker? “Sometimes the yardage to the green doesn’t matter.” On a long par 3, don’t let the yardage intimidate you. Often there’s no need to carry the ball all the way to the middle of the green. Take the third hole at the Pronghorn Club (illustrated) in Bend, Ore., which tips at 253 yards and is typically set a hair over 200 yards for the members. This is a basic design model I’ve used on many of my courses—a large, raised bunker guarding a low green with assistance available to the shorter hitter. What kind of assistance? If you don’t feel comfortable flying the ball all the way to the green, simply carry it past that high bunker and allow the downslope leading to the green to feed…

every teacher looks for ways to give students a familiar feel to connect with their golf games. It doesn’t get much more familiar than bar games, many of which involve skills that translate nicely to golf. Consider the moves and concepts from these four common games—darts, cornhole, poker and Ping-Pong—that can simplify and improve your approach to the full swing, short game and on-course strategy. All it takes is some imagination and maybe a few cheap props. The best part is that you probably use all of these skills without even thinking about them. That will make them a lot easier to remember and reference when you’re holding a golf club out on the course—where you really need a simple, clear swing thought. So go ahead and toil over these assignments with the…

F aced with a short pitch over a bunker, your plan is to throw the ball up in the air and stop it fast. Instead, the leading edge of your wedge slams into the middle of the ball and sends it over the green. We call that “hitting it in the teeth.” Many people think the cause of this sickening shot is falling onto the back foot during the downswing in an attempt to lift the ball over the bunker. That’s part of it, but the real culprit is the breakdown, or cupping, of the left wrist through impact. To hit it high, you want your left arm and the shaft in a line at impact, pointing straight down to the ball. Your wedge has lots of loft, so you don’t have…