Golf Digest February 2017

Inside this issue is the granddaddy of all course rankings, still recognized as the oldest and most authoritative order of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. Started in 1966, the biennial list is now the result of 50,000 ballots of 954 Golf Digest panelists over an eightyear rolling period cast not only on the 350-some courses that contend for the top 200 in the country, but also courses reviewed for our rankings of the 100 Greatest Public and Best in Each State to be announced in the June issue. These rankings are the most statistically significant in our history, but we’re on a mission to improve with a little help from our readers. Dean Knuth, known as the Pope of Slope for his decades of work on the USGA’s handicapping system and…

Everybody wants to swing faster and hit the ball longer. But I make fewer than 20 driver swings a year where I use more than 75-percent effort. Why? The longest bombs happen when you get the right combination of launch and spin, and that comes from swinging under control and in good sequence—not from swinging harder. When you really need a long drive, you want to hit the center of the face and get that great launch. I’ll show you a couple of tips to make it happen. “Keep your feet anchored to the ground longer in the downswing.” LEVEL OUT YOUR TURN I bet you’ve heard “you need to turn more” plenty of times. I won’t disappoint. You do need to turn. But the driver works the best if swung on a…

How many putters do you own? ▶ One ▶ Two ▶ Three to five ▶ Looking into renting a storage locker SOURCE: GOLF DIGEST READERS When your putting goes south, what’s the first fundamental to try and improve? Restore good rhythm to your stroke. Here’s a simple cadence to practice. When you make a stroke, think per-fect pace— three syllables. It’s like a pendulum ticking two beats to one. When you take the putter back, think per-fect. When you swing the putter through, think pace. Whether your stroke is long or short, the rhythm should stay the same every time. Using this cadence will help you strike the ball solidly, and smoothly. It helps eliminate any jerky or abrupt motions that can affect ball speed or the orientation of the putterface at impact, especially on longer putts. You won’t…

“Let the hands roll to get the ball to the hole.” You might get this shot only once or twice a round, but knowing how to get up and down from a bunker on the other side of the green can really help you score. When I won the Masters in 1981, I faced a long greenside bunker shot—about 80 or 90 feet—on the 17th hole on Sunday. The flag was all the way on the back of the green, and I was in a front bunker resting on the upslope. Fortunately, I caught it just right, hit it pin high about five feet from the cup and saved par to win my second green jacket. How did I play the shot? I changed my technique from a normal greenside bunker scenario…

“Sometimes a bunker is your friend.” When I design a hole, my goal is to give golfers of all abilities a way to play it. Often I try to present three distinct options for the tee shot, escalating in difficulty. If I can do that, I figure I have nearly everybody covered. Paramount is recognizing the path down a hole that best suits your game. The perceptive player learns to identify all the choices. That way, when there’s a change in weather or circumstances, you’re ready to pounce on the opportunity to play more aggressively—or be more conservative, if that’s what the situation calls for. Let’s take the par-4 18th at The Loxahatchee Club (illustrated) in Jupiter, Fla. It’s a course I designed in 1984, and our team renovated in 2016. The prevailing…

The most frustrating moment in golf is… ▶ Watching the fivesome ahead fish for balls: 37% ▶ Chunking a short approach into the water: 36% ▶ Four-putting: 20% ▶ Multiple attempts to escape a bunker: 7% SOURCE: GOLF DIGEST READERS It’s frustrating when you hit a great drive and then chunk an iron from the middle of the fairway. With one lousy swing, your mind-set goes from Birdie time! to Don’t make a double bogey. Most poor contact comes from not getting off the back foot on the downswing. A lot of golfers rush the club down from the top and “throw” it at the ball instead of building momentum from the ground up. When the weight stays back, the club usually hits behind the ball. Your first move down should be shifting to your front foot,…