Golfing News & Blog Articles

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:

Costa Diego sunglasses. Tiger Woods was sporting a pair amid the rumors of his eventual split from the Swoosh. If they’re good enough for Tiger, they’re good enough for me, right?

Who Tried It:

Connor. Director of Soft Goods Testing and resident sneakerhead. I’ve got a huge face (and huge ankles) so the Costa Diego seems like a great fit. It can be a challenge to find sunglasses that fit my face well so I was eager to give these a go. 

Crossover Appeal

Costa sunglasses have generally been thought of as sunglasses for sport fishing or water sports. Most of their lens technologies and polarization are designed specifically for fishing, although the crossover opportunities to golf are endless. 

In our Most Wanted sunglasses testing earlier this year, Costa sunglasses performed admirably, with most models providing great fit and coverage.

“You’re going to want to roll down your window for the drive in,” the security guard said after checking my driver’s license to confirm I was indeed the same Michael LoRé he had been expecting.

The wooden gate crept open to unveil palm trees, red flowers, green bushes, cacti and carefully curated stones as I was transported from the Southern California desert to an luxury oasis within the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains near Palm Springs.

During the drive in, I spotted art installations, later identified to me (certainly more a golfer than art aficionado) as “One Through Zero (The Ten Numbers)” by Robert Indiana and “Your Dog” by Yoshitomo Nara.

Once we arrived at the main estate house, I was greeted by a sea of pleasant faces, eager to help me with my bags and give me a tour of the latest and greatest at Sensei Porcupine Creek, a 230-acre wellness resort that opened in 2022 in Rancho Mirage, Calif. 

Founded by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and renowned physician and scientist Dr. David Agus, the once-private estate owned by Ellison since 2011 “aims to inspire people to live longer, healthier lives through programs and experiences unique to each wellbeing journey” while focusing on three paths for everyday living: Move, nourish, rest.

Launching a successful brand is difficult. Launching two is even harder. In the case of John Ashworth, co-founder of Linksoul, as well as the cult-classic brand that still bears his last name, Ashworth Golf, that’s precisely what he’s done. (Did I mention helping save legendary golf course Goat Hill in Oceanside, Calif?)

Ashworth’s life has revolved around golf, as he explained when we sat down at Linksoul’s HQ in Oceanside. Our conversation meandered from his memories of his golfing father and grandparents to his time as a collegiate golfer at Arizona to starting the Ashworth brand and beyond. But one thing remained exceptionally clear: golf has been at the center of his life since his youngest years growing up in nearby Escondido. 

Passion for the Game

Ashworth’s passion for the game was born from of his renunciation of Sunday school. “My mom got on this kick of like, ‘Dang it, you kids are going to go to Sunday school.’ So, I went to Sunday school and I just hated it. So I must have complained enough that my dad finally said, ‘You can either go to Sunday school or caddie for me on Sunday mornings.’ I said, ‘Well, I hate Sunday school so I’m going to caddie for Dad.’”

He and his buddies were dawn patrollers. “We’d get a donut, he’d get a coffee, drive out to San Luis Ray. His buddies were great. They were always nice to me. So, yeah, every Sunday I’d go caddie for him and that’s where it all started, I guess.”

Ashworth began playing the following summer after his dad gifted him a set of kid’s clubs. Junior golf followed and, like so many of us, he was hooked. “I was totally in. It was awesome.”

The Testing Opportunity

Who is Red Rooster?

Red Rooster, a favorite brand among Forum members, is back with their second member test of 2023. Earlier, our members had the privilege of testing the unreleased Red Rooster Sussex glove. Its performance was well rated so we were thrilled to get the Red Rooster Rain gloves for Forum member testing.

Red Rooster Rain Gloves were awarded the Best Rain Glove title in 2023 in MyGolfSpy Most Wanted Testing. At that time, we said, “direct-to-consumer brand Red Rooster stormed onto the scene in our 2022 golf glove testing and the newest addition to their lineup is now the best rain glove for 2023. The Rain Rooster glove provides a great fit and supreme comfort without taking away too much club feel.”

What Testers Said – Fit and Feel

Red Rooster prides itself on fit and feel. This was a key focus area for our testers. For golfers who play in rainy conditions, it is critical to have confidence in the fit and grip of the rain gloves. Any slip or bulk will have a dramatic effect on performance.

Tester Bkervin said, “The glove is a little thicker than summer gloves but similar to leather gloves. The fit is snug, it doesn’t slip around on the hand and holds firm… It states it is synthetic but has a little bit of a leather feel to it. It is easy to take on and off with no stretching out of material.”

Tester Clayton said, “The material is nothing like most other rain gloves I’ve had in the past. The ones I play the most have some sort of suede feel. These have a palm and top that feels like a rubberized fabric with a neoprene cuff and sticky rubber roosters. Between the fingers feels like some sort of breathable fabric… The feel is very good. I thought the inside might feel slimy when wet, but they feel awesome, even when soaked completely. The feel to the grips is also very good – I play cords and can still feel flushed vs mishits. The feel side is full points, and I took away points from the fit.”

Nelly Korda rallied to win her hometown LPGA Drive On Championship and delay Lydia Ko's LPGA Hall of Fame entry, outlasting the New Zealander on the second hole of a playoff after overcoming a 3-stroke deficit with an eagle-birdie finish.

The 49ers made history by opening the second half with 27 consecutive points to defeat the Lions after trailing by 17 points at halftime. Their comeback is among the most memorable in recent championship history across sports.

Thorbjørn Olesen extended his overnight lead to win the Ras Al Khaimah Championship by 6 shots over Rasmus Hojgaard.

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, John Rahm, Max Homa, Matt Fitzpatrick … the list goes on. All are world-class golfers who share a similar trait besides their otherworldly golfing skill. That trait? Mobility. Tour players are taking their physical fitness more seriously than ever before in an attempt to gain speed and distance.

It is no secret that improving your mobility can lead to more powerful swings which equate to increased distance and speed through a longer backswing and more efficient swing sequencing. The question is, how do we unlock the ability to allow our bodies to move through greater range of motion? In this article, I’ll give you mobility exercises you can add to your daily routine to work towards creating a more effective golf swing. 

What is mobility?

We need to start with an understanding of what mobility means. Mobility is defined as “the ability to move or be moved freely and easily.” At a young age, all of us were naturally very mobile. Think of a young child who is able to stick their foot in their mouth. They have extremely mobile hips and excellent flexibility to do so. Sadly, our society is geared towards reducing our ability to move through daily activity without us even realizing it. Sitting at a desk all day leads to our hip flexors being in a shortened position. In turn, that leads to reduced flexibility in the hips which impacts the hamstrings and so on down the kinetic chain. Without adequate mobility, we limit our ability to create separation in the swing between our pelvis and torso, leaving distance and power on the table. 

Fortunately, we can fight this pattern of inflexibility with mobility training. When you think of the best in the world swinging a golf club, what do you see? For me, it is Rory’s ability to separate his upper body from his lower body throughout his swing through fantastic mobility through his hips and spine. This is an aspect that helps him to consistently rank at or near the top in terms of total driving distance on Tour. 

Mobility training not only improves our flexibility but will also help reduce risk of injury through the golf swing. The bottom line: Mobility training can lead to an improvement in golf performance when performed correctly.

So you want to learn how to read a golf scorecard? Perhaps you’re new to golf  or maybe you’ve just never kept score. Maybe you’ve kept score but are curious about what those other numbers besides “Hole” and “Par” mean. Or maybe you’re just bored because it’s December and, like me, you’re reading anything remotely golf-related to pass time until spring. Whatever your reason, welcome to MyGolfSpy’s guide on how to read a golf scorecard.

This is intended only as a general introduction and not a detailed explanation. Details on handicapping, scorekeeping, stroke play versus matchplay and all other aspects of the game can be found on the web site of your local golf association.

What’s on a golf course scorecard?

There are a few standard things that most scorecards will have so let’s cover the basics. Information on your scorecard will be broken down into two categories: course information and scoring information. Let’s break those down.

Tell me about the course.

There is likely a section on your scorecard that covers the general rules of golf, any special local rules, pace of play (how long it should take a group to play 18) and a few other reminders including course etiquette.

You should also see these items listed on your scorecard for each tee box:

Matthieu Pavon made an 8-foot putt for a dramatic birdie on No. 18 at Torrey Pines South for a 1-shot victory in the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday that made him the first Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour.

Hometown favorite Nelly Korda shot a 3-under 68 with an eagle-birdie finish Saturday to take a four-shot lead into the final round of the LPGA Drive On Championship.

Stephan Jaeger sank a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 18 at Torrey Pines South for a one-shot lead in the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open.

Nelly Korda, seeking her first LPGA Tour victory since 2022, birdied three of her final four holes Friday to shoot a 4-under 67 and take a two-shot lead midway through the LPGA Drive On Championship.

As you address the ball, an easy hack to confirm that your clubface is square is by using this golf-grip hack. Here's how it works.

The post This simple grip hack will confirm if your clubface is square at address appeared first on Golf.

On this week's episode of GOLF's Subpar, Steve Marino shared a story about winning a money game against Daniel Berger when he was a teen.

The post Steve Marino has a hilarious story about winning money off teenage Daniel Berger appeared first on Golf.