American Lexi Thompson had a new caddie on her bag for the second round of the Tokyo Olympics women's golf tournament.

Defending champion Rose Zhang tumbled out of the U.S. Women's Amateur in the first-round of match play Wednesday, with qualifying medalist Rachel Kuehn one of seven of the top eight seeds to fall.

If you really want to improve your game, you need to track your successes and focus your efforts on what works for YOUR game. During your round of golf keep track of your performance. You should also keep a list of swing tips that are working for YOUR drives, fairway shots and putting. When you know what’s working for every type of shot you will build confidence in your game and the emotions that works best for your game.

Track Your Success and Failures
Focusing on what works for YOUR game will give you a fresh outlook at the start of every hole. To keep your mind focused on improvement at the end of each hole record your Fairways Hit in Regulation (mark “1” in the upper left corner of your score box); Greens in Regulations (“1” in the upper right) and Number of Putts (in the lower right) on each hole. Below your score box add any problems that may have increased your score: “R” for rough, “S” for sand, “C” for chip, “T” for tree and “W” for water. Of course your scores will drop if you have a full card of “1’s”.

List Your Success Factors — and use them! (This list will give you some ideas)

I can’t give you a solution for emotion because that is a very personal issue for every golfer. I can only remind you that your reaction to your last great shot or your last poor shot can destroy your next shot. Focus on being calm and relaxed before every shot to control your direction and distance.Wind in your face or wind behind you are both your enemies as they destroy your cadence. Slow down your backswing and take time to make your full swing to finish in balance.Eliminate Slices by taking your driver straight back, looping slightly at the top and shallowing your downswing so that your elbow almost grazes your side.Your driver is longer and takes more power to get down to your ball. Take double the time in your back swing as compared to your down swing. [I mentally say the words “one and two” where “two” starts the downswing.] You may also want to try opening your stance to make it easier to power drive up your target line.Use a Distance Finder to determine the distance where you want your ball to stop rolling. Get confident with the distance that each of your clubs can easily reach in flight and also how far your ball will roll out.Always swing with a full swing for any club above your wedges. Choke down on your grip when you want a shorter distance. Never swing 20% harder to reach a target or you should expect to pull your shot.Slow down your backswing to give more time to cock your wrist for lag before your downswing.Putt with your ball slightly forward of the center of your stance to ensure that you are forcing the ball to roll over the top (instead of hitting the ball into the ground so that it bounces on its way to the hole). [If you are missing 3 to 6 foot putts this is an amazing fix.]Feel Your Swing: This may sound strange but you will learn to “feel” your swing when you slow down your backswing and take full control of my downswing and the swing up my target line. You know when you have made the right swing the same way you know that pros twirl their club or drop their club at the finish of their swing.Sand Traps and Green-side Rough Shots are the most difficult shots for all golfers. Of course hitting the Green in Regulation avoids these shots. We all need to spend more time practicing different chipping techniques to improve our success in different grass and different sand conditions.

Yesterday I was 4 over par after 13 holes and then I lost my concentration or was it my MoJo ( or my real excuse: the humidity factor was 104 F). That’s exactly the reason why I decided to create this list. Plan to use this list or modify it for your personal list. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to get more consistent. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #69: The shortest distance between any two points in a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.

With raised concern around recent surges in the coronavirus, the PGA Tour this week re-implemented an indoor mask policy for all individuals but stopped short of resuming its COVID-19 testing.

An International Golf Federation official says that ideally organizers for the women's Olympic tournament would let players know prior to the start of the third round that the event would be shortened due to a looming tropical storm.

A positive COVID-19 test kept Bryson DeChambeau from competing in the Olympics and still has him searching to regain energy as he competes in this week's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. But he said he does not regret his decision to not get vaccinated.

The PGA Tour heads to TPC Southwind this week for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Here are our best bets for the event.

India's top-ranked female golfer is currently tied for second place at four-under 67, one shot off the lead. But she has already made waves back home.

Bettinardi evokes 1990s’ nostalgia with their new Forever 90’s limited-run Studio Stock 9 putter.This SS9 features unique aesthetics and design elements.Only 325 of this uniquely crafted Studio Stock 18 will be available Aug. 5.

Just when we thought we had recovered from seeing Fred Durst’s nookie at Lalapalooza, Bettinardi’s Forever 90’s SS9 drags us back again to the end of the 20th Century. Oh, snap!

This Bettinardi putter will make you want to pull those JNCO jeans out of the drawer, put your hair up in a scrunchie and dip deep into your chain wallet.

The Forever 90’s limited-edition theme is set 10 years after last summer’s Totally 80’s putter. Like its predecessor, the Bettinardi Forever 90’s putter brings you back to days gone by, evoking memories of, if not simpler, then definitely more colorful times. If ’90s’ nostalgia is your thing, you’ll have no problem showing Bettinardi the money for this putter.

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Hit Me Betti One More Time

Madelene Sagstrom shot a 5-under 66 to hold a one-shot lead after the first round of the Olympic women's golf tournament, as heat soared and a tropical storm approaches.

Xander Schauffele had the presence of mind to bring his Olympic gold medal with him to Memphis, just not enough bravado to wear it around his neck as he emerged to resume life on the PGA Tour after winning the Olympic men's tournament on Sunday.

Spirit of the Game: Renee Powell

August 3, 2021

From Clearview Golf Club

Renee Powell is one of the most resilient and persevering athletes of our time.

Raised on an East Canton, Ohio golf course built by her father, William “Bill” Powell, during times of racial adversity and segregation, Renee learned early on what it meant to excel against the odds. By the age of three she was swinging a golf club for the first time, and early into her teenage years she had won more than 30 tournaments.

The PGA Tour announced significant changes to its 2021-22 schedule, collaborating with the European Tour to co-sanction three events, dropping two World Golf Championship events and relocating the first FedEx Cup playoff event.

Top U.S. Golf Courses by Region

Fundamentally, ranking golf courses is a subjective exercise. Better players often prefer more challenging layouts. Less skilled golfers might appreciate wider fairways with fewer forced carries.

That said, the validity of any individual review isn’t tied to whether that golfer has a degree in golf course architecture or a preference for certain types of grasses.

If you’re a golfer, your opinion matters.

To build our list of the best golf destinations, we turned to TheGrint and to real golfers just like you.

ABOUT THEGRINT’S RANKINGS

To generate our rankings, we leveraged data from TheGrint, a golf handicap and stat-tracking service that also allows golfers to rate the courses they play. Think of it as something similar to Yelp for golf courses.

After being canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge fundraiser will take place in December in the Bahamas.

Mental mistake 1: Too much ego

“Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive.”– Ryan Holiday, Author of “Ego is The Enemy”

We all have a bit of ego in us, but more successful players are more in control of it. 

Firstly, what is ego? 

From my research, there are several psychological definitions and interpretations of it. Personally, I  think of it as a drive to increase our sense of self-worth or standing with others through being good at something, in our case, golf. 

The ego seeks pleasure, validation and improving/maintaining identity through achieving external goals such as winning, shooting a low score, or impressing others. If we shoot that low score or get that decent finish in a tournament, then we will be happy, if we don’t we won’t be. 

Rule of the Month: Order of Play/Ready Golf

August 2, 2021

When starting a hole, generally the player with the lowest score on the previous hole plays first. After starting a hole, the ball farthest from the hole is usually played first. However, the Rules encourage “ready golf” to help improve pace of play as long as it is done in a safe and responsible manner.

In four-ball play, you and your partner can play in whatever order you think is best when it is your side’s turn to play.

FAQs:

Can I play out of turn to save time?Can my partner and I play in whatever order we choose?

Read the Rules:

Rule 5.6 – Unreasonable Delay; Prompt Pace of PlayRule 6.4 – Order of Play When Playing Hole

 

Our Job Is Your Game

In 2020, Most Wanted Testing hit a roadblock due to COVID-19. It impacted our testing schedules and hindered the completion of four tests. Today, we are releasing the most comprehensive Utility Iron Test for 2021.

At MyGolfSpy, our job is to provide independent, unbiased and objective testing so you can make more confident purchasing decisions. Our 2021 Most Wanted Utility Iron Test is an indispensable guide for the off-the-rack buyer or for anyone looking for insight before their next fitting.

Let’s take a look at the Best Utility Irons for 2021!

2021 Best Utility Iron: Srixon ZX

The 2021 Most Wanted Utility Iron is the Srixon ZX. Leading the pack with the best strokes gained, the ZX also excelled in other metrics. Let’s take a look.

Cleveland Launcher XL Drivers – Key Takeaways

Three new models: adjustable XL, fixed-hosel XL Lite and XL Lite DrawHighest MOI ever for Cleveland drivers$399.99 for XL, $349.99 for Lite versions. Available Aug. 20

The XL in the new Cleveland Launcher XL driver must mean something. A marketing whiz might say it means X-tra Long. A Roman numeral scholar would say it’s 40, although “40 what” we don’t know.

But if you have eyes, it likely means X-tra Large.

Yep, it’s a big-looking head. And for Cleveland’s target demographic, that may be a good thing.

Cleveland returned as a full-line game improvement OEM four years ago. In that time, its irons have rated and sold well. Drivers? Not so much.

Can the Launcher XL lineup change Cleveland’s fortunes? That, dear reader, depends on whether size really does matter.

The Honma TW-W21 wedge is the Japanese manufacturer’s follow-up to its award-winning TW-W4 wedge.

And, as expected, it appears Honma kept a good bit of what worked in the TW-W4 as a foundation for the TW-W21.

The TW-W4 claimed status as the Most Wanted Wedge in 2019. Reviewing the data, what’s clear is that the TW-W4 offered solid performance in every facet of the test. Perhaps more importantly, it didn’t demonstrate any glaring weaknesses even when considering subjective feedback such as looks and feel.

With the Honma TW-W21, the design philosophy is simple. Keep what works and find opportunities to create marginally better performance. It’s fool’s logic to deviate from a useful blueprint.