Golf Digest May 2016

The best description of the robotic swing of Ben Hogan was authored by our late columnist Charles Price, who said Hogan hit the ball “like a machine stamping out bottle caps.” So it came as a bit of a surprise that the United States Golf Association’s golf robot was named “Iron Byron” after the more artistic swinger, Byron Nelson. Nelson became known as “the Mechanical Man” when he won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 total in 1945. The True Temper shaft company built the first swing robot in 1967, modeled on Nelson’s “perfect swing,” and for decades the USGA used it to test balls for compliance with the rules. Most of the USGA’s testing is now done indoors, but modern versions of Iron Byron can be cranked up to 130 miles…

YOU CAN’T JUST ROLL out of a golf cart and hit a flop shot. This high-lofted pitch—where the ball goes straight up, hangs in the air and lands dead—requires a decent amount of practice and a whole lot of confidence. It’s one of the game’s ultimate risk-reward plays. Hit it well, and your playing partners will be shaking their heads as you tap in for par. Hit it poorly, and you’ll be scrambling to save double bogey. I flop it only when I have to, mostly when I’ve missed a green right next to the pin and any other type of shot won’t get the ball close. Think of it as an “in case of emergency, break glass” shot. Here’s what I’ve been working on to hit the flop great…

Your opponent has a two-footer, you say... ▶ “Pick it up.” ▶ “Gotta see that one.” ▶ “Is mine good, too?” ▶ “Next one’s not good, either.” SOURCE: GOLF DIGEST READERS Here’s the dilemma when you face one of those slippery downhill putts: How do I hit this thing soft enough? Some people say you should make contact off the toe of the putter, but that can cause the face to twist open. Others say grip down to shorten the club, but that creates a different setup and feel. Do you really want to do all that on a putt that’s already freaking you out? The most effective method for handling short, speedy putts is two-fold: First, take an extralight grip; and second, make a slow-motion stroke. The light grip—and I mean almost-falling-out-of-your-hands light—will deaden the hit.…

“How wide do you want your fairway to be?” If I’m confronted with a huge open space when designing a course, I’ll sometimes put a bunker close to the middle of a fairway. The idea isn’t to punish the straight ball or have the erratic hitter think, “Well, if I aim directly at it, what are the chances?” The purpose is to create what are essentially two fairways. One is usually wider than the other, and there’s a reward for choosing the narrower side. A good example is the par-4 sixth at North Palm Beach (Fla.) Country Club (illustrated), a municipal course I did 10 years ago for the town we live in. Challenging the skinnier “fairway” on the right offers the best angle for the second shot. From the tee, I…

It’s not often you hear a top pro say he’s imitating another player’s swing. But Brandt Snedeker, at 35, is so self-assured and forthcoming he says he’s trying to let his head turn up through impact “just like Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam.” He has been working on the move for more than a year, and his driving distance has exploded. He’s averaging seven yards longer than he did last year, 10 more than in 2014. But without trying, Snedeker bears a resemblance to one of his idols, Tom Watson. Not only does Snedeker look like a young Watson, the Nashville native also plays fast. Particularly on putts: no practice stroke, one look, and go. And like Watson, Snedeker is a mudder. Take his final-round 69 in horrible conditions to win…

You’re playing along fine when suddenly a tee shot gets away from you. High and right, into the adjacent fairway. And there’s a group there. You yell “Fore!” (yes, you have to), then go over and try to be clever: “Can I borrow your fairway?” Of course, you have to play a shot in front of them, the worst part. A high-right tee ball usually comes when you fear going left. Or you’re trying too hard to drive it straight. Either way, you tighten up. Your hands and arms don’t catch up to your body on the downswing, and the clubface points right at impact. The mechanical mistake is, you turn your body too fast coming down, or your lower body slides ahead, causing a severe in-to-out path to go with…