Golfing News & Blog Articles

Just about two years ago Dustin Johnson led a brigade of players to LIV Golf.

Johnson was critical to prove the talent coming to the league would be credible and his inclusion influenced others to follow. A 24-time PGA Tour winner. A two-time major champion. A bona-fide top player in the world who was No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking when 2022 began.

Two years later, Johnson is an afterthought.

He ranks No. 392 in the OWGR but that doesn’t include his play in LIV events. In Data Golf, which does include LIV play, he’s a pedestrian 62nd in the world—more than 50 spots south since the start of 2023.

His defenders will point to DJ winning LIV Las Vegas this past February but he’s been nothing in majors for a few years. Johnson has no top-five finishes in his last 13 majors, including five missed cuts in that stretch. It’s a large sample size of mediocrity.

While golf originated in Scotland, the undisputed home for the game by volume is the United States. Boasting more than 40 percent (15,963) of all the courses on the planet (38,864), 45 million Americans played on- and off-course golf in 2023, according to the National Golf Foundation.

Florida is head and shoulders above the pack with a whopping 1,262 courses. California’s approximately 2.8 million golfers are the most in the country. Don’t sleep on the Midwest as Minnesota and Wisconsin proudly offer the most public golf with 90 percent of Minnesota’s 477 courses and 88 percent of Wisconsin’s 528 courses being public.

So what constitutes a top golf state?

As someone who has driven more than 220,000 miles documenting modern-day golf culture in America, Golf In Your State founder Matt Cardis has connected with everyone from weekend warriors to PGA Tour players. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has a better finger on the pulse of golf in the U.S.

“The U.S. is pretty interesting just because there’s so much good golf, so it’s very hard to pinpoint a place and be like, ‘This is the best place for golf,’ because there’s great golf everywhere,” Cardis said. “There’s so many things that make golf in the States special and make it stand out from other places in the world but, for me, it comes back to the people.”

There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.

What We Tried:

The New Balance 550 Golf Shoe. Exclusive to Malbon, the 550 is one of my most anticipated shoes of the year.

Who Tried It:

Connor. Managing Editor and resident sneakerhead. The New Balance 550 is one of the hottest sneakers of the 2020s and the fascination for chunky sneakers is still relevant. I’ve had my eye on a few pairs for a while but when I heard that a 550 Golf shoe was on the horizon, I knew I had to have them.

To my wife, they look like normal shoes so it was pretty easy to get away with it. These non-golf-looking golf shoes are just as easy to wear off the course as on. More on that in a minute.

The History

In my First Look piece, I commented extensively on the history of the New Balance 550. If you haven’t read that, I’d suggest you do. For those who haven’t, here’s a quick synopsis: the New Balance 550 originally released as a low-top basketball shoe in the early 1980s.

Football season has been over for a while but Malbon is keeping that tailgate energy alive with their newest collaboration with one of the NFL’s hottest teams.

Today, Malbon released an apparel collection with the Los Angeles Rams. Malbon is based in LA, so the partnership makes total sense from a geographical standpoint.

What do the Los Angeles Rams have to do with golf? Nothing. But Malbon has never been afraid to cross-pollenate and work with brands in different sectors. I think it’s cool that a golf brand like Malbon is trying to reach a broader audience in this way.

It’s no surprise that many football fans are golf fans and vice versa. If Capital One’s “The Match” taught us anything, it’s that there are a few NFL players that are pretty darn good at golf. Yes, I’m talking about Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.

Side note: Does a football field look a lot longer than a 100-yard par-3? I think so.

If you have followed this series, you know I am a sucker for putting training aids. I have reviewed putting mats and trainers with varying degrees of success. Among my favorite training aids are the PuttOUT and PuttOUT Devil Ball. Use these together and they are even better. It’s the reason why this weighted training ball intrigued me so much. It seemed to be an alternate take on the PuttOUT Devil Ball with added options. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

The Problem

The biggest issue I find with putting practice or training is how repetitive and mundane it can get. It’s the same thing over and over, maybe with slight changes in distance or angles but, ultimately, it is difficult to replicate the various putts and changes that happen on a golf course.

The Solution

The weighted putting practice ball could be a product that breaks the mold and brings added variety to your putting training. It is a balance practice ball much like the Devil Ball or CrestGolf Ball but with interior weights that can be removed or added to change the speed and feel of the ball.

How It Works? (Or Doesn’t)

Unfortunately, the instructions were not overly explanatory, but the ad describes basic instructions and practice methods. I tried these and they were OK. However, I found better uses for the practice ball than those recommended.

The build quality is surprisingly good for a $5 training aid. The wheel portion of the ball is plastic that has the feel of a cheap two-piece golf ball but it does the trick. On each side, there are three steel rings that can be added or removed for different speeds and feel. Have all six in and it feels heavy, much like putting on a slower green. Take them all out and it is near feather-light for an entirely different experience. I found having two weights to be the sweet spot that was similar to a normal golf ball.

Tiger Woods faltered late in his opening round at the PGA Championship and finished with a 1-over 72.

Xander Schauffele broke the PGA Championship scoring record and tied the mark for any major, seizing on the rain-softened conditions at Valhalla with a 9-under 62 to set the early target.

Schauffele is now up to eight birdies on the round.

Tiger Woods sank his second birdie of the PGA Championship first round on the par-3 third.

Rose Zhang withdrew from the Mizuho Americas Open on Thursday because of illness after completing only three holes of the opening round.

The Louisville native had fans roaring after a clutch shot during the first round on Thursday.

Wedge fitting is important. Can we agree on that?

Good. Now Let’s get this on the table right away so there’s no confusion.

The absolutely, positively and unreservedly best way to get fitted for wedges is in person, outdoors, on a range, around a practice green and in a practice bunker under the watchful eye of a knowledgeable and experienced wedge fitter.

I know it’s the internet and all but I’d be shocked if anyone could argue effectively with that declaration.

Effectively is the keyword.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Brooks Koepka is pulling up to a major championship in style.

While I’m not ready to bet the farm on Koepka winning the PGA Championship, his special NIKE footwear have claimed the top spot on my Mount Rushmore of major gear.

With Tiger’s swift departure, Koepka is the closet thing that NIKE has to a poster child. It’s not officially his signature shoe but the Air Zoom Infinity Tour is made for Koepka, just like the Air Zoom Victory is made for Rory.

Let’s take a closer look at the unofficial, official, Brooks Koepka NIKE shoe for the PGA Championship.

About the Air Zoom Infinity Tour NRG

New for this year, the Air Zoom Infinity Tour doesn’t reinvent the wheel. At first glance, it’s pretty similar to last year’s model. Non-removeable spikes, visible Air units … you get the idea. But the tech specs do suggest upgrades have been made.

There are a lot of golfers in Florida, both permanent residents and visitors, who enjoy playing the more than 1,300 courses throughout the state year-round. Only about 550 are private so that leaves about 800 open for public play.

We pulled together 10 great Florida golf courses that you can play without being a member. How many of these have you played? 

North Florida

North Florida is home to some famous spots like the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. You can get on the Players Stadium Course or Dye’s Valley but it will cost you a few hundred dollars. North Florida has a mix of high-end resort-style courses as well as private and public.

The Ocean Course and the Conservatory Course at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast are solid options for a resort guest. Kelly Plantation Golf Club, Windsor Parke Golf Club and The Amelia River Club are three that we came across and that you should be able to get on easily. 

Kelly Plantation Golf Club

If you are planning a golf trip to the Destin area in the Panhandle, don’t forget to put Kelly Plantation Golf Club on the list of things to do. If you can take a break from the beach, Kelly Plantation offers 18 holes that are a great test of golf. You’ll get views of Choctawhatchee Bay, great golf course conditions and a great practice area. 

It has been a long time since we had TaylorMade as part of the Forum member testing platform so we were thrilled to deliver the TaylorMade Qi10 drivers to six of our Forum members for testing.

TaylorMade driver releases always cause a stir on the Forum and this year was no different. There was great anticipation that TaylorMade had done something special. This was evident as we had more than 6,300 people signing up and more than 500 sharing their desired driver specs to test.

We selected two testers for each driver head. That meant the Qi10 LS, Qi10 and Qi10 Max each had two testers. We found different golfers with varying skills, swing speeds and backgrounds to test these drivers. The overall goal was to make these reviews relatable to the everyday golfer.

Testers were assigned which driver they were going to test. All of the testers then had a fitting to dial in which stock shaft was the best for them.

TaylorMade Qi10 First Impressions

First impressions can set the tone for how confident a golfer is with a club. Of course, there are always honeymoon periods with new clubs and that is why our testers review clubs over a six-week period. How did our testers find the TaylorMade Qi10 drivers when they arrived?

I was blown away by a tip that allow us to naturally shallow our downswing. Of course, shallowing your downswing prevents you from coming over the top and slicing the ball. Too many thoughts will always mess up your swing so you can’t afford to be thinking about each motion that should naturally happen in your down swing. You need one thought to focus on.

David Leadbetter keeps releasing blogs about the first foot of your takeaway in order to sell his miracle training aid. But if you setup with your leading elbow rotated and pointing down your target line, it is very natural to start your takeaway with a flat leading wrist and a straight leading elbow as you turn your hips and shoulders in your back swing.

Clearing Your Hip Starts the Chain Reaction up to Your Shoulders
As long as you take time to add wrist lag at the top, it will also give you time to press forward on your leading leg as you start to CLEAR YOUR HIP. By starting the pressure shift to your leading leg you will also start your powerful downswing.
a. Pressure on your leading leg will help you drop your trailing shoulder.
b. That shoulder drop will shallow your club head (to avoid an over the top swing)
c. This starts a chain reaction to rotate your hip and then your shoulders
d. And finally to drop your straight leading arm to power through the ball
e. And finish in balance on your leading foot and leg.

Your ONLY Swing Thought
Your setup with a proper ball position and leading elbow position is completed before you start your backswing. Your only swing thought is to slow your backswing (by counting ”1 annd 2”) to let the forward pressure on your leading leg start your down swing during your transition at the top.

Your pressure forward starts the chain reaction from the ground up. Of course, you need to swing to a finish in balance on your leading foot but should happen naturally. Every pro finishes that way and that part needs to be burned into your mind.

A former warehouse assistant for the Augusta National Golf Club has pleaded guilty to transporting millions of dollars worth of stolen Masters memorabilia and historic items, including one of Arnold Palmer's green jackets.

One hole at this week's PGA Championship is short, but there are several layers to it. Here's what you need to know.

The post Why 1 PGA Championship hole will get way more attention than others appeared first on Golf.

Instructor Bill Schmedes shares the golf practice plan used by a pro between tournaments on tour.

The post The subtle tweaks pros make from week to week on tour appeared first on Golf.