Golfing News & Blog Articles

Gary Woodland announced on Wednesday he'll have surgery to remove a lesion that was found on his brain.

The post Major champ Gary Woodland announces he’ll have brain surgery to remove lesion appeared first on Golf.

PGA Tour golfer Gary Woodland, 39, announced Wednesday that he will undergo surgery to remove a brain lesion on Sept. 18.

In Viktor Hovland’s interview after winning the FedEx Cup on Sunday, he mentioned 3 things that have helped transform his game over the past year and make him one of the World’s best players, and one of them is better COURSE MANAGEMENT.
After a review of his stats with Eduardo Molinari, Tour player and part-time data analyst, they concluded that Hovland was being too aggressive with his approach shots and short-siding himself too often. Viktor also said in his interview that he wanted to play more like Tiger in his heyday, who would comfortably shoot -3 or -4 in each round of a major, with a superior course strategy to most of the field. Tiger said he would make sure he birdied most of the par 5s, throw in a couple more birdies and then avoid mistakes with conservative strategy.
I’ve worked with plenty of Tour players over the years, who on the face of it don’t look all that impressive, until you see a 66 on their scorecard at the end. They’ve successfully plotted their way around the course to limit mistakes, and give themselves enough scoring opportunities to make 4-5 birdies.
In this week’s lesson I’m going to give you some insights into the Course Management of A Tour Pro, that can help you lower your score in your next round.

1. KNOW YOUR SHOT PATTERNS FOR BETTER COURSE MANAGEMENT

A big factor in lowering your scores with a better course management is knowing your shot patterns. I.e., If you were to hit 30 balls with a 5-iron, what would the grouping of the balls look like around the intended target? Even better, what is the grouping of the last 30 5-irons you hit on the golf course?
By finding out how wide your shot dispersion is (which you can do with a launch monitor or stat tracking apps), you will know what is reasonable to expect when you hit your next 5 iron on the course. If you pick a target that is the center of your shot pattern and hence will allow for 70% of the balls within your normal shot pattern (which excludes outliers), you can expect that you will not be in positions that will lead to big numbers. Afterall, the goal of a better course management is to reduce bogeys or worse, rather than to increase birdies.
This won’t only affect the outcome after you’ve hit the shot, but before it too. If you’re standing over a shot and you know your strategy allows for almost all the possible outcomes with that club, you’re going to swing a lot more freely.

2. LOOK AT THE AERIAL VIEWS

Good golf courses are designed to challenge you mentally as well as physically, and one of the ways they do that is to make you think there is less room than there actually is. With aerial views, you can see the size of the area you actually have, not what the designer wants to trick you into seeing from ground level. Knowing that you have plenty of room to fit your shot pattern into will help you swing more freely, rather than let the golf course designer succeed and get into your head.
The players I work with make good use of yardage books and Google Earth imagery as part of their Pre Round Routine for golf to get to know the course from above before they play it.

3. KNOW THE GOOD AND BAD MISS

For every shot you play, there is a good miss and a bad miss. Clearly, you’re going to save strokes each round by avoiding the bad misses, such as being short-sided, or worse being out of bounds. Scott Fawcett’s DECADE system helps players assign a negative value for each “miss” so the player can move their target for each shot to reduce the negative value as much as possible for each shot.
As part of your preparation for a round, you should know where you can safely miss and where missing the target will likely result in high numbers. Use this analysis to mark where you want to aim in your yardage book, to avoid these penalties.

4. AIM AT THE CENTER OF THE GREEN

For your approach shots, the center of the green is always the best target for better course management. Even the best players in the world say that they do this for every club longer than a 9-iron.

Justin Thomas was controversially selected as a U.S. Ryder Cup captain's pick, and Tiger Woods' former coach was not happy about it.

The post ‘He isn’t playing any good’: Tiger Woods’ ex-coach pans Justin Thomas Ryder Cup captain’s pick appeared first on Golf.

What is Forum Member Testing?

MyGolfSpy offers a unique opportunity to all of its readers of all abilities, ages and handicaps to test, review and keep a variety of different golf equipment, apps, apparel and more. Successful candidates are selected by forum staff. 

Members who are selected interact, engage and write a review on the specific product while enjoying the fun of trying new gear!

Member testing is vital because it gets gear in the hands of you, the golfer. Our members give honest feedback on how any product or service works for a variety of handicaps and abilities to ensure our readers are even more informed when making purchasing decisions. 

To learn more about how testers are selected, go to this forum thread: Want to be a tester? 

The Testing Opportunity

In early April, the MyGolfSpy Forum conducted its first OnCore Golf Ball Member Test, inviting 15 testers to try out the ELIXR, VERO X1 and the new VERO X2. Our selection process ensured that we had a diverse group of testers with varying swing speeds, handicaps, ages, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. This thorough testing allowed us to provide the best reviews and information for potential buyers to make informed decisions.

LeBron James and NIKE. Lionel Messi and adidas. Signature shoes are a big part of sports … well most sports anyway. Golf has long been lacking in this regard, with the exception of Tiger Woods, of course.

That’s why I’m excited about what ECCO Golf is doing with South African star Erik van Rooyen. The two teamed up for a signature edition (player edition, or PE, if you will) of the ECCO Biom H4, the brand’s flagship spikeless golf shoe.

Let’s take a closer look at the shoes and the story behind them.

ECCO BIOM H4 Release Details

Can You Hear It?

One look at the new Erik van Rooyen Signature Edition BIOM H4 from ECCO and it’s easy to see what inspired the playful design. van Rooyen’s passion for music and fashion breathes new life into a shoe that would otherwise be lost admist a sea of other golf shoe options.

“Anyone that’s seen me play knows that I really enjoy being different and innovative on the golf course, and it’s awesome that the ECCO GOLF team allows me to reflect that in my signature edition styles. To be able to create my own shoe is a real honor, and BIOM H4 is such a great model to do it with.”

Steve Jobs, Apple’s visionary founder, famously said: 

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

At Rapsodo the future – and the dots – are now. 

Dot patterning designed by the launch monitor company’s engineering team in conjunction with Callaway Golf (more on that in a moment) has become central to the Rapsado MLM2PRO’s upgraded capability to take spin rate and spin axis measurement to pro-level authentication.   

How? Let’s find out.

What do you do if you find your ball in a bunker that has sand as well as significant pieces of gravel? Rules Guy has the answer.

The post Rules Guy: Is it legal to remove gravel from a bunker? appeared first on Golf.

Better players do 1 thing that would be an easy add for higher handicaps in their quest to get better — no swing changes needed.

The post This is 1 thing better players do that higher handicaps should emulate appeared first on Golf.

GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jason Baile shares his tips on how to use the ground to help generate more power in your golf swing.

The post Want more power? Use the ground to generate force, says Top 100 Teacher appeared first on Golf.

For a limited time, select aftermarket shafts on custom drivers and fairway woods can be yours for no extra charge. Here's how.

The post For a limited time, Fairway Jockey is offering free shaft upgrades on custom drivers and woods appeared first on Golf.

From Tiger's new course to Hovland's wholesome hug to the Zoom backgrounds of every Ryder Cup pick, the Rogers Report has you covered.

The post Ryder Cuppers’ Zoom backgrounds, Hovland’s hug and Tiger’s course | Rogers Report appeared first on Golf.

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson held a press conference on Tuesday, and he later had to remind himself, "I'm not gonna cry."

The post What nearly brought Zach Johnson to tears during his Ryder Cup press conference appeared first on Golf.

Support the Veterans Golf Association (VGA) when you purchase this fun and super-soft headcover. It even comes with a lifetime warranty.

The post Daphne’s military bear driver headcover benefits golf-loving veterans appeared first on Golf.

Dr. Izzy Justice, a neuroscientist who studies brain activity in golfers, shares his tips for managing pressure when striking a par putt.

The post How to manage internal pressure on nervy par putts, according to a neuroscientist appeared first on Golf.

Determining the world's hardest golf holes is subjective and can vary depending on factors like course conditions, weather, and the skill level of the golfer. However, there are several golf holes worldwide that are renowned for their difficulty due to various challenging features. Here are a few notable ones:

1. 17th Hole, TPC Sawgrass (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA): The iconic 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass is a par-3 island green that measures just 137 yards. While it's short in distance, the green is entirely surrounded by water, making it a nerve-wracking shot.

2. 11th Hole, Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia, USA): Known as "White Dogwood," the 505-yard par-4 11th hole at Augusta National demands precision and strategic play due to its tight fairway and a green that is heavily protected by bunkers.

3. 18th Hole, Carnoustie Golf Links (Carnoustie, Scotland): "Barry Burn" is a meandering stream that intersects the fairway of the 18th hole, making it a formidable closing hole on one of the toughest links courses in the world.

4. 13th Hole, Augusta National Golf Club: The 13th, known as "Azalea," is a par-5 that requires golfers to navigate a winding creek called "Rae's Creek." The second shot must carry the creek, and the green is surrounded by bunkers and slopes.

The U.S. Ryder Cup team is set, and the player who will be feeling the most pressure in Rome is crystal clear.

The post Justin Thomas got his Ryder Cup dream. It could become his nightmare appeared first on Golf.

When Zach Johnson made Brooks Koepka a captain's pick on Tuesday, he ended all doubts about LIV players being excluded from the Ryder Cup.

The post Zach Johnson puts LIV questions to rest with Brooks Koepka pick appeared first on Golf.

Cam Young was left off the U.S. Ryder Cup team despite vice captain Fred Couples' suggestion that he'd be on the team a month ago.

The post Awkward! Cam Young snubbed from U.S. Ryder Cup team despite Fred Couples’ assurance appeared first on Golf.