Golf Magazine

I LOVE THE U.S. OPEN. Our national championship. It's an event where not only the best players in the world, regardless of tour affiliation, compete, but also almost anyone can throw their hat in the ring in an attempt to bring home the trophy. As has been the case for the past several years, the USGA received a record number of qualified applicants for the 2023 Open—10,187 to be exact. While this guy's money is on Jon Rahm, the guy on this issue's cover, I want to say, Good luck to everyone. I not only love the U.S. Open, I love Los Angeles too—my former home and, of course, the host of this year's competition. I spent close to 40 years on the left coast and now—gulp—17 on the right. So…

Jon Rahm's win at the Masters with a low-spin Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond was just the latest highlight for one of the hottest drivers on the planet. Much of Paradym's success can be attributed to an innovative 360-degree carbon chassis that eliminates any titanium from the body to push mass to where it can best help the target player. The lightweight body is paired with an A.I.-designed Jailbreak system to further enhance stability and, more importantly, tighten downrange dispersion. All three models (Paradym, Paradym Triple Diamond and Paradym X) earned high marks during our latest round of robotic testing. Paradym X, which is designed with high launch and max forgiveness, had the tightest dispersion of any driver we tested. All three models also saw a 1 mph increase in ball…

Imagine asking 28 golf-obsessed celebrities to compete in a tournament that values the golf hang over the golf grind, an event that is more about the numbers raised for charity than the numbers penciled on a scorecard. The result is the 8AM Golf Invitational, hosted by J.T. and Wynn Las Vegas. The “J.T.” stands for Justin Timberlake, an investor and partner in 8AM Golf, a holding company that owns and invests in 14 golf brands, including GOLF magazine. The event grew significantly from year one to year two—its field showcased an additional eight celebs, and it aligned with four sponsors who each invited anywhere from 10 to 50 guests and spectators. The friends who joined Timberlake included entertainers like Jimmy Fallon, Kathryn Newton, Chace Crawford and Nate Bargatze; NFL standouts like…

Up Close with Dylan Dethier ON THE CLUBHOUSE PATIO AT HARBOUR TOWN, FIVE DAYS BEFORE FITZPATRICK'S WIN AT THE RBC HERITAGE Dylan Dethier: You're the defending champion at this year's U.S. Open. How has life changed since last June? Matt Fitzpatrick: It's changed a lot, yeah. I think the biggest thing is just people ask for more of my time. Sponsors ask for more of it, tournaments ask for more of it. There's more media interviews. But, on the whole, it just feels like I've got to be better with my time management. DD: Well, thanks for saying yes to this. Does the media stuff come naturally to you? MF: I've never had any media training or anything. I don't think anyone out here has, really. To me, I just treat it as having a…

35 Total putts by champion Matt Fitzpatrick in the 2022 U.S. Open final round, tied for the highest number on the day. (SOURCE: BOSTON GLOBE) 17 GREENS HIT IN REGULATION BY FITZPATRICK THAT SUNDAY, THE MOST OF ANY ONE IN ANY ROUND THAT WEEK AT BROOKLINE. (SOURCE: BOSTON GLOBE) Elite Winners Each of the last dozen U.S. Open champs have come from inside the OWGR top 30 with an average ranking of 12.4. World No. 1 has not won the U.S. Open since Tiger Woods in 2008. STROKES UNDER PAR FOR THE WINNER, ON AVERAGE, OF THE U.S. OPEN SINCE 2000. I T ' S THE ONLY MAJOR WITH AN AVERAGE WINNING SCORE OF L ESS THAN 1 0 UNDER IN THAT SPAN. (SOURCE: JUSTIN RAY) 4.5 61 LACC North Course record set by Max…

AT THE 1995 U.S. OPEN AT SHINNECOCK, I was watching Jim Flick simultaneously work with Jack Nicklaus and Tom Lehman. Not bad. Nicklaus was famous for his high fade; Tom had more of a high draw. Flick kept repeating, “Don't cross the line.” It took a while for me to understand what he was really talking about: Successful fades and cuts start left of the target line, then curve back toward it—but never cross it. The opposite is true, as you can imagine, for draws. You can hit shots straightish, but they must have a curve bias or you'll always cross the line. Fade or draw, just make sure you know where the ball starts and where it ends up. How? Put an alignment rod on your target line, making sure…