Golf Digest - January 2021

ABU DHABI HSBC CHAMPIONSHIP ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB 21-24 JAN, 2021

THE CHALLENGER

Justin Thomas

@adgolfchamps abudhabichampionship.com #ADGOLFCHAMPS #RolexSeries

Tee Sheet 01/21 how to play. what to play. where to play.

▶ fancourt Welcome to one of South Africa’s most prestigious resorts, home to three Gary Player-designed layouts. 56

Features 34 On Your Marks... The 2021 Race to Dubai, a 42 event, 24 country odyssey, starts in the UAE capital. by kent gray

36 Intriguing Entrée Why Rory McIlroy’s return is only part of the 16th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship’s fascinating narrative. by kent gray

40 Relentless-Lee Bank on Lee Westwood’s defence of the Falcon trophy being a happy affair, regardless of how he plays.

6 Editor’s Letter Why the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is a window to a bright new future.

17 The Best Of Breed Get ready to play your best golf in 2021 with the ‘Golf Fix’ guy.

be at 1 24 Stroke Index 1 How to tame the 13th at Al Zorah Golf Club.

by michael breed

by samuel markram

The Starter 8 Tiger’s New Track Payne’s Valley is TGR Design’s first public course in the United States. by derek duncan

Play 12 Golfers We Admire Get to know Sami Välimäki. the European Tour’s 2020 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie-of-the-Year.

26 Swing Sequence Sergio Garcia turns 41 this month and he’s still crushing it. 28 Tour Technique Keith Mitchell shows how to pitch it the right distance. ◀ 30 Shoe Guide Eleven of the coolest golf kicks.

48 Next on the tee: Terror First-tee jitters affect even great players long into their careers. How to accept but not succumb. by joel beall

50 Scary Shots There are eight situations most amateurs fear. Let me show you how to overcome them. by josh zander

by keely levins

by kent gray

by chris mayson

14 Short Game Control Set-up is critical to distance control around the green.

66 Undercover Caddie How many strokes is a good tour caddie really worth?

56 Travel Guide: South Africa If there is one thing that the quiet town of George in South Africa is known for, it is golf. And on top of its stellar list of places to play sits Fancourt, arguably one of the best golf resort in the world.

by euan bowden

with joel beall

by tan ju kuang

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46 Gimme One Thing A pitch shot to clear the trees.

Cover photograph by Warren Little/Getty Images

fancourt: courtesy of the club • shoes: nigel cox • terror: illustration by mark matcho

by kent gray

Editor’s Letter

On the tee…2021! KENT GRAY kent.gray@motivate.ae • Twitter: @KentGrayGolf / @GolfDigestME

ND JUST LIKE THAT, all is right with the golf world again. Hyperbole? Absolutely. But after the mostly awful year that was, it wasn’t going to be too much of a stretch to tee up an almighty improvement on 2020. In reality, the European Tour has knocked it out of the park, first by getting through 2021, then by cosying up to the PGA Tour and finally by delivering a 2021 schedule boasting a minimum of 42 events in 24 countries, all of the latter boasting contrasting strategies to combat COVID-19. Sure, there are still a few pieces of the cryptic jigsaw puzzle missing and we’ll be sans fans for a while longer, but hey, that we are golfing all around the globe again is a triumph in itself. In our little corner of the world, we now have the honour of hosting the start of the 2021 Race to Dubai as well as the climax of the season. In between there are four other Middle East stops, notably the Saudi International which again boasts one of the strongest fields outside the majors and WGCs. The season-opening, $8 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship – now under the stewardship of the European Tour - is especially enticing as it has been suddenly transformed into a window to the future. With drawcards such as Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, the fight for the Falcon trophy will serve as a tantalising entrée to 2022 when the European TourPGA Tour strategic alliance really kicks in. Welcome then to a prelude to a golf world where borders are being re-imagined, calendars are finally being aligned and “global” players like McIlroy won’t find it so difficult to find their way home anymore. If only the pandemic had as much respect for actual geographical boundaries, dates on the calendar and the global happiness of all who love the royal an ancient game. Yes, we’d love COVID-19 to sod off already but at least the speedily developed vaccines slowly being jabbed into shoulders around the globe gives us hope we’ll be back on aeroplanes soon and on the grounds of some of the game’s greatest courses watching golf’s biggest events and best players without fear of, well, death. In the meantime, there is so much to look forward to in 2021, albeit if we’ll mostly continue to spectate from the safety of our sofas. The return of The Open and all four majors in traditional time slots, the rescheduled Olympics and, most exciting of all, the 43rd Ryder Cup matches at Whistling Straits. Intriguing too will be the “refined” Rolex events: Abu Dhabi, the Scottish Open in July, September’s

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BMW PGA Championship and the $9 million DP World Tour Championship which is back in its traditional November timeslot. The quartet have all been given $1 million injections, ensuring an eyepopping combined purse of $33 million. They’re strategically spread across key points in the global calendar in a nod to 2022 with the European Tour promising “elevated Race to Dubai points and enriched media, content and broadcast coverage” to maximise the exposure of each stop. “With the pursuit of Ryder Cup points beginning again in January for our European members; qualification spots now available for our Rolex Series events; a sustained pursuit of innovation and a continued celebration of our wonderful heritage, it is understandable that our overarching narrative for this season is that: ‘Every Week Counts’,” said Pelley. Some weeks will count for more than others and how cool that two of the four key dates are happening on our back door step. The industry here will be grateful that Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Emirates G.C., Royal Greens Golf & County Club, Al Mouj Golf, Education City G.C. and Jumeirah Golf Estates will again gain global exposure even if there must be some trepidation as to where the events outside Abu Dhabi and JGE will eventually settle from 2022 onwards. But that is for later. At this time of the year, resolutions are all the rage. Ours? To continue bringing you the most authoritative and entertaining coverage of the everchanging golf landscape, to be judiciously wowed by Bryson DeChambeau and his fellow tee-ball bullies and to celebrate (and help) those who are more modest strikers of the ball. All of the rest of us, in other words. On a personal note, I vow to savour every possible moment of the delayed 149th Open (a golf year without the oldest major just isn’t right), root for Padraig Harrington’s Europeans even louder that normal (impartially be damned at Whistling Straits), to stop decelerating on short wedge shots, get more putts to the hole and most importantly, to remember all the rubbish shots are simply the penance you pay for a day of unbeatable banter with good friends. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that it doesn’t really matter where your ball ends up, it’s that we get to chase one at all. So, good riddance 2020 and hello 2021, you enticing new year you. Fingers crossed Abu Dhabi is just as entertaining as it was when Lee Westwood won 12 months ago. Now, at least, we seem to be slowly plodding away from the pandemic, rather than head long into a year we want to but will never, ever be able to forget.

“There must be some trepidation as to where the Middle East events outside Abu Dhabi and JGE will eventually settle from 2022 onwards.”

editor-in- chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer managing partner & group editor Ian Fairservice editor Kent Gray art director Clarkwin Cruz editorial assistant Londresa Flores instruction editors Euan Bowden, Tom Ogilvie, Alex Riggs chief commercial officer Anthony Milne publisher David Burke gener al manager - production S. Sunil Kumar assistant production manager Binu Purandaran t h e g o l f d i g e s t p u b l i c at i o n s editor-in- chief Jerry Tarde international licensing director Greg Chatzinoff international editor Ju Kuang Tan golf digest usa editor-in- chief Jerry Tarde gener al manager Chris Reynolds editorial director Max Adler executive editors Peter Morrice, Mike O’Malley design director Ken DeLago managing editor Alan P. Pittman chief pl aying editor Tiger Woods pl aying editors Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson

Scan the QR Code to read, download and share the latest, and back issues, of Golf Digest Middle East.

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www.golfdigestme.com ▶ REWIND Rory McIlroy will tee it up in Abu Dhabi for the first time since 2018. Photograph by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

gutter credit tk

Photograph by Evan Schiller

Architecture Play

A First for Tiger Woods Payne’s Valley in Missouri is his public debut by derek duncan t’s been a long time coming. That’s not a reference to the threeand-a-half-years of construction and grow-in for Payne’s Valley, the newest resort course at Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, Mo. Rather, it has been 14 years since public golfers began waiting to play a course designed by Tiger Woods. Woods founded his design company, TGR Design, in 2006. But because of his schedule, the desire to be selective of the few projects he signs onto and a devastating financial crisis, only two TGR courses have been completed—the El Cardonal course at Diamante Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, and Bluejack National, a private course in Texas. Payne’s Valley, which opened to non-resort guests in late September ($225), presents to the largest audience to date the architectural principles he most values. “My goal when starting TGR Design was to create courses that are fun and playable for golfers of all abilities,” Woods told Golf Digest. “This was particularly important at Payne’s Valley, my first public golf course.” Woods has always been at his best on the biggest stages, and Payne’s Valley, named for the late Payne Stewart, who grew up in nearby Springfield, is unquestionably big. The course plays atop a broad, starburst arrangement of low bluffs in the southwest Missouri Ozarks, where ancient peaks and ridgetops have been scrubbed and worn by time. (Parts of the property were formerly nine holes of the defunct Murder Rock golf course; the other nine became parts of Ozarks National, Golf Digest’s Best New Public Course in 2019.) Yet Payne’s Valley manages to effect an impression of height by pushing the holes, particularly on the first nine, out to the edges of the extended

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▶ The downhill first at Payne’s Valley offers broad fairways and broad views. january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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Play Architecture

fingers of land that tumble down into wooded ravines, giving rise to cross-valley vistas. “While shaping the golf course, we spent a lot of time thinking about the views that we wanted to capture from various greens, fairways and tee boxes,” Woods says. To this point, he and Johnny Morris, founder of Big Cedar Lodge and Bass Pro Shops retailers, made several in-the-field adjustments to maximise the down-valley sightlines, including reconceptualising two of the closing holes into the downhill par-3 16th and the par-4 17th, a classic Bottle hole with a strand of bunkers breaking high and low sections of fairway. (Fitting a drive into the upper fairway is more risky, but it provides a straight look into the angled green.) Woods and Beau Welling, senior design consultant for TGR Design, filled the bare, blufftop panoramas with vast wall-to-wall fairways (the course has a considerable 116 acres of maintained turf ), sprawling bunkers and expansive greens with false edges that slip off into smooth, low-cut chipping zones. Zeon zoysia green collars and approaches, which can be cut lower

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▶ The ‘bonus’ 19th hole at Payne’s Valley, a nerve-jangling 120 yard par-3, shows off the site’s ubiquitous limestone formations.

than other zoysia grasses, encourage shots along the ground. “The green complexes at Payne’s Valley are a lot of fun,” Woods says. “The tightly mowed green surrounds promote creativity for the lower-handicap players and provide a variety of recovery options for the higher-handicap players. And the greens are simply contoured, allowing for firmand-fast conditions.” The design achieves spectacle and playability, but balancing the two was complicated by the site’s ubiquitous limestone rock that had to be blasted out before any features could be built. However, it also provided a strong visual motif, the various forms of exposed rock serving as guideposts along the routing. A large limestone wall right of the green at the par-5 fourth leads the eye toward the slope of the green and then to a large, re-

flective water hazard. A recirculating brook cascading down a series of broken-stone steps at the drop-shot 10th might trigger a desire to break out a line and lure. That would be just fine for Morris, who grew up in the area and has done everything possible to draw attention to his beloved part of the world through grand displays of sensory stimulation. Welling, who calls Morris a “choreographer of experience,” says he was even involved in routing cartpaths to take players on out-of-the-way rendezvous to highlight particularly beautiful landscapes. The most impressive scene is saved for last, where the 18th green sits adjacent to a tranquil pond at the bottom of a 250-foot limestone outcropping. A cartpath cuts back and forth across the terraced layers up to the clubhouse overlook, ducking in and out of caverns and touching a cascading waterfall, all of it peering down over the course, miles of Ozarks and a bonus 136-yard dual hole nestled below in a stone amphitheater. Expect anything different from two of golf’s greatest showmen?

Matt SueSS

The design achieves spectacle and playability.

Play

Golfers We Admire

Play

“I have won tournaments at each step and that gives me belief.” sir henry cotton rookie-of-the-year

Sami Välimäki The 2020 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie-of-theYear hopes to continue his new love affair with desert golf to keep his name on captain Pádraig Harrington’s Ryder Cup radar ami välimäki’s status as the mystery man of the European Tour is in serious danger. We know, we know. How can you call the 2020 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie-of-theYear an enigma? Well, we get that the 22-year-old Fin won the Oman Open in just his sixth European Tour start and we thoroughly admired his flashy start cum fighting finish in the final round of the DP World Tour Championship in the company of eventual Race to Dubai champion Lee Westwood. But beyond the nugget that he won at Al Mouj Golf just 18 months after completing compulsory military service with the Finnish Army, and that he reached as high as No.10 in the Amateur World Golf Ranking during a decorated junior career, relatively little of the Välimäki backstory has emerged. Blame it, perhaps, on the language barrier. And anyway, maybe all that we really need to know is that Välimäki is a fierce competitor, as witnessed in his playoff win over Brandon Stone at Al Mouj Golf in March and again as he finished T-5 at Jumeirah Golf Estates last month en-route to 11th place in the R2D standings. Know also that Välimäki is ambitious, as it wants to be world No.1 ambitious. And the rescheduled Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in September? Why not. “People always ask me where my confidence in my ability comes from. I’ve always been very competitive,” he said in May. “I want to win every tournament and I practise to try and reach the next level. I have won tournaments at each step and that gives me belief.” Valimaki’s progress up the professional ladder has indeed been swift. Following in the soft spike marks of 2007 European Tour Rookie-of-the-Year and former world No. 1 Martin Kaymer, Välimäk was

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Photograph by Warren Little/Getty Images

a four-time winner on the Pro Golf Tour last year. That earned him promotion to the 2019 Challenge Tour but he graduated to the European Tour circuit via Q-School and hasn’t really looked back after an eye-catching T-7 finish at the Vic Open in Australia just before his Oman breakthrough. “I believe [in] myself and I knew it was coming soon but maybe the truth is I didn’t see it coming this fast,” he said. “It was a really big boost [winning in Muscat] and after three tournaments [following the COVID-19 shutdown] I found it again and played really well after that. I get the playing rights for the next couple of years and don’t have to hurry, just enjoy being on the European Tour.” Don’t be fooled. After seven top-10 finishes in 2020 and a major championship debut at the U.S. Open (+14 to miss the cut), the world No.70 is determined to kick on. “I had a dream start to my season really, by winning so early in Oman and then the season was put on hold just a few weeks later. I am really proud of how I performed after the return and some of the results I had, especially my performance at the DP World Tour Championship. Winning a tournament was a target for me and to win this award [Rookie-of-the-Year] is amazing.” “My main goal now is to make the top 50 and if somebody is going to choose me in the Ryder Cup I will go.” The postponement of the Ryder Cup – earlier this year was greeted with realism and almost universal approval. No one wanted the 43rd matches played without fans. Perhaps no one will be more delighted by the decision than Välimäki, the Fin with the elevated self-confidence and streaky game seemingly made for match play. You can be sure Pádraig Harrington will be watching results from the Desert Swing very closely. —kent gray

1960 – Tommy Goodwin (ENG) 1961 – Alex Caygill (ENG) 1963 – Tony Jacklin (ENG) 1966 – Robin Liddle (SCO) 1968 – Bernard Gallacher (SCO) 1969 – Peter Oosterhuis (ENG) 1970 – Stuart Brown (ENG) 1971 – David Llewellyn (WAL) 1972 – Sam Torrance (SCO) 1973 – Philip Elson (ENG) 1974 – Carl Mason (ENG) 1976 – Mark James (ENG) 1977 – Sir Nick Faldo (ENG) 1978 – Sandy Lyle (SCO) 1979 – Mike Miller (SCO) 1980 – Paul Hoad (ENG) 1981 – Jeremy Bennett (ENG) 1982 – Gordon Brand Jnr. (SCO) 1983 – Grant Turner (ENG) 1984 – Philip Parkin (WAL) 1985 – Paul Thomas (WAL) 1986 – José María Olazábal (ESP) 1987 – Peter Baker (ENG) 1988 – Colin Montgomerie (SCO) 1989 – Paul Broadhurst (ENG) 1990 – Russell Claydon (ENG) 1991 – Per-Ulrik Johansson (SWE) 1992 – Jim Payne (ENG) 1993 – Gary Orr (SCO) 1994 – Jonathan Lomas (ENG) 1995 – Jarmo Sandelin (SWE) 1996 – Thomas Björn (DEN) 1997 – Scott Henderson (SCO) 1998 – Olivier Edmond (FRA) 1999 – Sergio Garcia (ESP) 2000 – Ian Poulter (ENG) 2001 – Paul Casey (ENG) 2002 – Nick Dougherty (ENG) 2003 – Peter Lawrie (IRL) 2004 – Scott Drummond (SCO) 2005 – Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño (ESP) 2006 – Marc Warren (SCO) 2007 – Martin Kaymer (GER) 2008 – Pablo Larrazábal (ESP) 2009 – Chris Wood (ENG) 2010 – Matteo Manassero (ITA) 2011 – Tom Lewis (ENG) 2012 – Ricardo Santos (POR) 2013 – Peter Uihlein (USA) 2014 – Brooks Koepka (USA) 2015 – Byeong Hun An (KOR) 2016 – Jeunghun Wang (KOR) 2017 – Jon Rahm (ESP) 2018 – Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 2019 – Robert MacIntyre (SCO) 2020 – Sami Välimäki (FIN) january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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Play Chipping with Euan Bowden

“Adapt your set up to allow your body to react to the shot.”

▶ Euan brings this lesson to life at golfdigestme.com

HEN IT COMES TO DELICATE shots around the green that call for distance control, it is very important to adapt your set up in maximising your chances of success. Many amateurs attempt to take on a short chip or pitch shot standing to the ball as if they are about to unleash a drive or a hit a full iron shot. A set-up like this will make short shots very difficult to control, especially when it comes to the strike and distance. It encourages too big a swing where the club begins to move in a semi-circle motion around the ball and arc too much. When this happens the clubface becomes less stable as there is limited body rotation, meaning you lose the connection between the arms and body and diminish downward pressure into the back of the ball. For low chip shots in particular, it is important that the club works down into the back of the ball and you don’t attempt to lift the shot into the air. When faced with a short chip shot, adapt your set up to allow your body to react to the shot. Narrow the stance and keep your weight on your lead (front) foot throughout the shot. You’ll also want to stand closer to the ball, raising the grip so the shaft sits more vertical and you almost feel you are pushing the toe of the club into the ground so the heel is coming off the ground. From there, hold the club towards the bottom of the grip to control the length of your swing. This set up will not only allow you to control the length of your swing to reduce the arcing motion but also encourage the club to work down into the back of the ball better. As mentioned above, that downward motion is essential to successful chip shots as it helps create a better strike with spin, and thus distance control. This shot is completely different to a full swing shot so treat it as such and you’ll bring consistent up and downs to your arsenal and improved numbers to your scorecard.

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Euan Bowden is PGA teaching professional at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai.

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WATCH THE VIDEO

Short game control Set-up is critical to distance control around the green

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The Best of Breed

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BEST OF

BREED The former Golf Channel host shares tips to make 2021 your best golf year ever B Y M IC H A E L B R E E D ICHEAL BREED JOINED Golf Digest as Chief Digital Instructor in January 2018 after earning global acclaim as an ever-bubbly host on the Golf Channel. After 385 episodes of ‘The Golf Fix’, Breed has spent the past two years sharing his experience from more than three decades as an instructor across Golf Digest’s print and digital portfolio. Here the former PGA of America National Teacher-of-the-Year offers tips to help you start 2021 with your game in its best shape ever. ▶▶

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Photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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Play The Best of Breed

1

“Which of these looks like I’m going to hit a good one?”

practice like you play

Fast Arms, Slow Hands Do what the pros do for better impact et me explain that headline, because last I checked, the hands are attached to the arms. But I want you to separate them in your mind for a minute. Good players swing their arms down at a high rate of speed, which gets the body turning in support (above, right). Poor players often let their hands, mainly the trail hand, take over during the downswing.

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That instinct to use the hands slows down the arm swing and inhibits body movement (above, left). The result: less power and control. So let’s get back to fast arms, slow hands. Get it right, and the shaft leans forward at impact for a downward strike that compresses the ball. You also get centreface contact with the face squaring naturally, as opposed to too much trail-

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hand action, which can rotate the face closed too early or flip it upward through impact. In short, when the arms lead, it means better contact, less curve and more distance. Here’s a great swing thought: Make your lead arm beat the clubhead to the ball, with your lead wrist flat or even a little bowed. That’s how you keep the hands passive and put maximum punch into the shot.

▶ With the golf season here, it’s a good time to review how you practice. Do you work on things that translate to better play? Don’t just bang drivers into a wide-open range or chip to one flag from perfect lies. Your practice should simulate playing golf. Take the driver. I want you to practice hitting wild slices and hooks, so you get a feel for what makes the ball curve. Change your grip, swing to the left, swing to the right. Then figure out what you need to do to take away some curve. For slicers, that might mean a stronger grip or making more body turn during the backswing. Do some selfdiscovery. You’ll be better equipped to fix those curveballs on the course. Photographs by J.D. Cuban

THERE’S A NEW GAME IN TOWN

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Putting Checkup Try my all-in-one stroke evaluation OOD PUTTERS know how to blend line and speed. If one of those factors is off, the putt is probably not going in. Here’s a putting drill that will train you to swing on a consistent path and at a consistent pace. That’s how you control the line and the speed. Set up to a ball, then place another ball directly behind the center of the putterhead. Practice making a backstroke in which you slowly push back the second ball. When you change directions to stroke the putt, the second ball should essentially stop (right, top). If it keeps rolling away, you swung back too fast (right, bottom). Why does this matter? Because the backstroke sets up how hard you hit the ball. Now, let’s look at direction. When you push back that second ball, make sure it rolls straight. If it rolls to the inside, your path is too inside; if it rolls to the outside, your path is outside. You’re even checking the putterface: A straight path means a square face; an inside path is an open face, and an outside path is a closed face. And just like tempo, what you do going back largely determines what you do going forward.

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indoor fun for the kiddos ▶ Here’s a game I play with my kids when we can’t get out on the course— or even the back yard. (You’ll thank me aft er you try it.) The goal is to chip or pitch homemade balls off the carpet into pots that you place around a room. You can also use planters, small trash cans, whatever gives you a nice target. To make your own balls, take half a newspaper page and crumple it up. Then wrap it in tape so it stays together. Try to use packing tape, because the slippery texture slides off the club. You should make 10 to 12 balls. As for rules and scoring, go ahead and make up your own. I would suggest giving a point for simply hitting a target and maybe double for knocking one in. Whatever you do, you’ll get in a little golf fun right at home, and keep your kids busy. Photographs by J.D. Cuban

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2

“A second ball can teach you what you need to know.”

Play The Best of Breed

3

“Good players see the shot they’re about to hit.”

ask golf digest Q I often hear golf announcers say a ball was hit “without backspin.” Possible? kurt bischofberger, columbia, s.c.

NE OF THE BIG differences between good players and average players is what they see as the target. As skill level increases, the target goes from the ball—simply trying to make solid contact—to where you want the ball to end up. And that transition in focus has a profound effect on how you swing. Let me explain. When the ball is your target, you’re focusing all your energy at a point halfway through the swing. Inevitably, you try to steer the clubhead into the ball, which slows down the swing and causes the body to stop rotating. But when your target is 200 yards away, you instinctively keep turning and firing

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your body and club through to the finish—the ball just gets in the way. Becoming less fixated on the ball typically comes from years of playing and gaining confidence that you don’t have to worry so much about contact. But I’ve got good news—there is something you can do to speed up the process. Try making your practice swing from a few yards behind the ball like I’m doing here. As you swing through, feel everything releasing forward—your eyes, your body, the club. Create the sensation that nothing slows down at the bottom of the swing. You keep moving until you’re in that great finish position you see the pros

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posing in on TV. This will help you shift your focus from just trying to hit the ball to where you want the ball to finish. That will free up your swing. If you need proof that this method works, consider what Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods do before they hit a shot. They start their pre-shot routines from behind the ball, visualising the ball flight they’re about to create. Jack calls it “going to the movies.” I love that. To be a good player, this transition from worrying about hitting the ball to focusing on hitting a target is one you absolutely have to make. So next time you’re on the tee box getting ready to swing, think about what movie you want to see.

A It’s not likely, especially for professional golfers. Eric Loper, TaylorMade’s director of R&D for golf balls, says a golf ball needs backspin to create lift, stabilize flight and move toward the target. Even a worm burner has about 500 revolutions per minute of backspin. Putts also have backspin. It’s possible a topped shot might not have backspin, but we don’t see many of those on the pro tours.

Photograph by J.D. Cuban

ron barrett

Target Practice Change your focus, fix your swing

Play Course Management

Stroke Index 1 Struggle no more with the Middle East’s toughest holes. In the latest instalment of our monthly series, Al Zorah Golf Services Manger Sam Markram helps you safely negotiate stroke index 1 at Ajman’s Nicklaus Design gem 24 golfdigestme.com | january 2021

13th

PAR 4 Black

450 yards

Gold

415 yards

Silver

383 yards

Jade

355 yards

Sam Markram HIRTEEN IS an unlucky number for some. At Al Zorah Golf Club, it is the number of a hole that can make you feel like a really unlucky golfer, a proven a scorecard wrecker for those who approach without a prudent strategy. Even the pros at past MENA Tour events have run up big numbers here. Water on the left side will play on your mind from the moment you stand on the tee box with your driver until you drop your final putt. The approach shot, yeah that’s a nerve-jangler too. Summed up, making par on this hole is an achievement in its own right but it’s not impossible.

T

Here’s my strategy: tee shot: This is the most demanding tee shot on the golf course as water lies to the left and bunkers wait for anyone who bails out right. The perfect shot would be a soft draw off the bunkers. Playing a draw off this tee is still a daunting prospect with all that wet stuff left but trust yourself to set up a decent approach. approach: Find the fairway and you’ll likely be left with long to mid iron in. The challenge? The water hazard hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s still hugging the entirety of the hole which means any shot which has a touch of left in it ends up wet. The bailout is short and right which can leave a straightforward pitch shot

into the pin. If you go long and right then a treacherous chip shot to the pin with water in the background will give all but the surest of short game exponents pause for thought. finishing off: The green on the 13th has an array of movement which can easily lead to annoying threeputts. If the pin is at the back and you come up short with your approach, you’ll need to negotiate a multitude of breaks and undulations. If the pin is on the left side, then putting into the water can also be a real threat. This is a hole where you need to maintain concentration on every shot until your ball disappears into the cup. A pure par or one with the assist of a stroke or two? Perfectly acceptable. A birdie? Well played indeed. – with kent gray

january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

25

Sergio Garcia Still puring the ball after all this time S

ERGIO GARCIA turns

41 in January. This is noteworthy for two reasons. First, he’s been on the PGA Tour longer than 2020 tournament winner Matthew Wolff has been alive. Second, Garcia is still competing at a level that makes him a threat to win. “He’s one of the greatest ball-strikers I’ve ever seen,” says Golf Digest Teaching Professional Jim McLean. Garcia was a top-25 performer on tour in strokes gained/tee to green and strokes gained/approach the green in 2019, two key statistics that verify his ability to consistently work the ball any way he wants. “And he’s got all the power he needs to compete,” McLean says. “The way he loads, creates width and unleashes all that energy in his signature downswing has always been impressive. Last year he averaged well over 300 yards off the tee—not bad for a guy around 40.” Here are some keys to his swing. —RON KASPRISKE

26 gdme | january 2021

SHORT, BUT SWEET

SIGNATURE LAG

▶ Sergio’s never had a long backswing, because he doesn’t need it, says Golf Digest Teaching Professional Jim McLean. “You can fully load into your right side without letting the club run off. When the shoulders stop turning, the arms should stop swinging.”

▶ “We’ve marveled for decades at how far behind his hands the clubhead lags,” McLean says. “He describes it as a pulling motion, but it’s more like his arms are falling as he unwinds from the ground up. Note how his right elbow dives into his right hip.”

Photographs by J.D. Cuban

Swing Sequence Play

“I’m not trying to lag the club. It’s just my natural move.”

sergio garcia 40 / 5-10 / 180 Castellon, Spain driver TaylorMade Sim (9.5 degrees) average drive (2019) 302.5 yards clubhead speed 121 miles per hour

BIG TILT, SOFT KNEE

LETTING GO

▶ Garcia’s spine tilts away from the target as the clubhead approaches the ball, so he can hit up on it, McLean says. And he delivers the club with some flex in his lead knee. “So much for thinking that leg needs to be braced straight to generate power,” he says.

▶ Full extension of the arms and club through impact is a sign of a great driver swing, McLean says. “A good feel for this is to let the lead shoulder move up and away from the target line as the club releases. And keep grip pressure light. No holding on!”

Play Tour Technique

“Keep your body rotating well past impact.” Wedge Control Pitch it the right distance without relying on feel BY KEITH MITCHELL KNOW YOU’D RATHER spend your range time bombing drivers than working on your short game, so asking you to hit accurate pitch shots based on feel developed over hours and hours of practice is a little unrealistic. So how do you improve your pitching without the reps? Swing at the same speed no matter how far you are from the hole. To alter carry distance and roll, just change how much you open the face of the club at address and how far you take the club back. Shorter backswings produce shorter pitches, and the more you open the face, the higher the ball will fly and the less it will roll. I’ve found that swinging at the same speed removes some major guesswork—touch—out of these shots. Just set up a little open at address, and make a swing back and through where the club is propelled by your body rotation, not your arms.

I

—WITH RON KASPRISKE keith mitchell won the 2019 Honda Classic.

28 golfdigestme.com | january 2021

Photograph by J.D. Cuban

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Play Shoe Guide

Eleven of the coolest golf kicks.

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30 golfdigestme.com | january 2021

Photographs by Nigel Cox

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x golf 32 golfdigestme.com digest | issue x |. 2020 january 2021

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Each ounce of a shoe adds 560 pounds to your feet for an 18-hole walk. 9

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0 2 0 2 yr a u n aj | m o c. e m ts e g i d f l o g

43

The Race to Dubai in the year after the year we all want to forget takes us from Abu Dhabi Golf Club to Jumeirah Golf Estates with 40 globetrotting stops in between. Once again, the Middle East will play a pivotal role in the season-long narrative with the region home to six events, culminating at the DP World Tour Championship after a season-opening five-tournament stretch - all with a combined $27.25 million in prize money on the line. This month we focus on the 16th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship with its bolstered $8 million purse, Ryder Cup subplot and fascinating PGA Tour twist. BY KENT GRAY LEG 1

LEG 2

LEG 3

LEG 4

LEG 5

ABU DHABI HSBC CHAMPIONSHIP

OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

SAUDI INTERNATIONAL POWERED BY SIA

OMAN OPEN

COMMERCIAL BANK QATAR MASTERS

Jan. 21-24

Jan. 28-31

Feb. 4-7

March 4-7

March 11-14

Abu Dhabi Golf Club Abu Dhabi, UAE

Emirates Golf Club Dubai, UAE

Royal Greens G&CC KAEC, Saudi Arabia

Al Mouj Golf, The Wave Muscat, Oman

Education City Golf Club Doha, Qatar

Purse: $9 million (Rolex Series) R2D Points: 8000

Purse: $3.25 million* R2D Points: TBC

Purse: $3.5 million R2D Points: 4250

Purse: $1.5 million R2D Points: 2000

Purse: $1.5 million R2D Points: 2000

january 2021 |Illustrations golfdigestme.com by Clarkwin Cruz 35

16th abu dhabi hsbc championship

Intriguing entrée The 2021 edition of ABU DHABI’S ANNUAL EUROPEAN TOUR stop has suddenly been transformed into A WINDOW TO A BRIGHT NEW FUTURE FOR THE GLOBAL GAME by kent gray

That the former world No.1 has found snaring the Falcon trophy just as elusive as his attempts to be fitted for a green jacket – he’s a fourtime runner-up in the UAE capital – only adds spice to the plot. The thing is, this is no ordinary year. It could never be, not after the crazy and transformative year the world has just endured, much less the European Tour and the game globally. Sure, the return of the Holywood

36 golfdigestme.com | january 2021

hero to Abu Dhabi Golf Club is much welcomed and a Middle East debut for world No.3 Justin Thomas equally significant. But the marquee signings are only part of story rich narrative. The shift in management of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship from IMG to the European Tour in 2021 was always going to be intriguing but the plot truly thickened when the European Tour and PGA Tour announced their “strategic alliance” in November.

Suddenly Abu Dhabi was transformed from the start of the calendar year to the start of the European Tour season full stop with a $1 million prize purse injection. Even more significantly, it became a window to the future of a game that finally seems to be getting the ducks of a global circuit in a row. It’s a move not before time, hastened by the threat of a pandemic and a mooted breakaway tour, the Saudi-backed Premier Golf League.

ross kinnaird/getty images

n any normal year, the unexpected return of Rory McIlroy following a discouraging two edition absence would be the storyline of the 16th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. ▶ As the European Tour’s pre-eminent showman, a drawcard globally perhaps still second only to Tiger Woods, the 31-year-old Northern Irishman’s decision to make his first regular-season start on the Old World circuit in 16 months is indeed noteworthy.

▶ return of rors Rory McIlroy finished T-3 in 2018, four strokes adrift of champion Tommy Fleetwood, in his most recent appearance in Abu Dhabi

“THE SPOTLIGHT WILL INEVITABLY FALL ON MCILROY AND THOMAS BUT THE MARQUEE SIGNINGS ARE ONLY PART OF STORY RICH NARRATIVE.”

Though nothing is yet official, that Abu Dhabi remains part of the “refined" Rolex Series along with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship is a coup for our tiny corner of the world. With July’s Scottish Open and the flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September, the new quartet of Rolex Series events have all received a $1 million and Race to Dubai points upgrade to bring them in line with PGA Tour purses and are positioned in the global calendar seemingly ready for co-sanctioned status from 2022 and beyond. European Tour CEO Keith Pelley has already promised “enriched media, content and broadcast coverage” to maximise the exposure of each stop. We’ll be able to judge the TV coverage for ourselves from the UAE capital because one thing hasn’t changed; only special guests will be allowed at Abu Dhabi G.C., indeed all the early season Middle East

stops as the European Tour continues to operate in a bio-secure bubble. A sidenote to January’s edition is the final year of HSBC’s naming rights sponsorship as the bank realigns its golf sponsorship portfolio with a South East Asian focus. Which multi-national takes up the opportunity, especially now given the imminent PGA Tour link, will be intriguing. What is certain is quality golf. The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship rarely fails to deliver drama given the quality of the field and the birdie rich closing stretch of holes, enhanced by world class agronomy (read pure greens), on the Peter Harradinedesigned course. The spotlight will inevitably fall on McIlroy, second to Gary Stal in 2018, Pablo Larrazábal in 2017, Robert Rock in 2012 (all by a stroke) and by a distant eight shots to Martin Kaymer in 2011. The world No.4’s duel with january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

37

T

ryder cup res umption in abu dhabi

27-year-old Thomas, who won the Sentry Tournament of Champions, WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and PNC Championship with his father Mike in 2020, will also be worth the price of a cable/online streaming subscription alone. There are plenty of other names besides to keep an eye on, notably defending champion and reigning European No.1 Lee Westwood and the uber-consistent Tommy Fleetwood, a two-time champion in Abu Dhabi and rival to McIlroy in the popularity stakes. Can Matt Fitzpatrick back-up his DPWTC victory last month? Likewise, will Laurie Canter and Rookie-of-the-Year Sami Välimäk, such a big part of the end of last season at Jumeirah Golf Estates, be able to kick on? There’s even life left in Kaymer it seems. As a three-time winner, the German has pedigree in Abu Dhabi and his tie for 14 at Jumeirah Golf Estates, amid an improving list of 2020 results, shows a first win since the 2014 U.S. Open is surely only a matter of time. Add the resumption of the European Tour qualifying process for the rescheduled Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in September, and the stage is set for a memorable start to 2021 in the UAE capital. The coronavirus continues to cause heartache around the globe but the worse year in memory for many has been a boon for golf at both the amateur and professional level. Times are changing and irrefutable proof of the latter will play out at Abu Dhabi. It won’t surprise if McIlroy writes the new chapter, changing his own Abu Dhabi nearly-man narrative in the process.

THE RYDER CUP WORLD POINTS LIST

THE RYDER CUP EUROPEAN POINTS LIST

1

Tommy FLEETWOOD (ENG)

3,927.4

1

Jon RAHM (ESP)

2

Jon RAHM (ESP)

3,747.5

2

Rory MCILROY (NIR)

171.19

3

Rory MCILROY (NIR)

2,679.4

3

Tyrrell HATTON (ENG)

144.55

217.22

4

Victor PEREZ (FRA)

2,669.9

4

Tommy FLEETWOOD (ENG)

134.95

5

Matthew FITZPATRICK (ENG)

2,197.4

5

Victor PEREZ (FRA)

112.87

6

Bernd WIESBERGER (AUT)

2,174.3

6

Danny WILLETT (ENG)

92.68

7

Tyrrell HATTON (ENG)

2,123.4

7

Matthew FITZPATRICK (ENG)

91.11

8

Danny WILLETT (ENG)

1,961.4

8

Lee WESTWOOD (ENG)

79.38

9

Lee WESTWOOD (ENG)

1,873.3

9

Bernd WIESBERGER (AUT)

73.75

10

Marcus KINHULT (SWE)

1,688.8

10

Graeme MCDOWELL (NIR)

73.07

11

Matthias SCHWAB (AUT)

1,621.8

11

Henrik STENSON (SWE)

62.51

12

Robert MACINTYRE (SCO)

1,348.9

12

Matthias SCHWAB (AUT)

55.17

13

Paul WARING (ENG)

1,199.9

13

Rafa CABRERA BELLO (ESP)

54.15

14

Mike LORENZO-VERA (FRA)

1187.3

14

Shane LOWRY (IRL)

53.41

15

Benjamin HEBERT (FRA)

1163.7

15

Paul WARING (ENG)

49.55

16

Thomas DETRY (BEL)

1137.2

16

Robert MACINTYRE (SCO)

48.07

17

Rafa CABRERA BELLO (ESP)

1079.5

17

Francesco LAPORTA (ITA)

47.84

18

Tom LEWIS (ENG)

1027.2

18

Thomas DETRY (BEL)

44.86

19

Thomas PIETERS (BEL)

1015.8

19

Tom LEWIS (ENG)

43.46

20

Jorge CAMPILLO (ESP)

989.1

20

Marcus KINHULT (SWE)

42.29

Both lists as of Jan 1, 2021

38 golfdigestme.com | january 2021

up, a decision which will be unveiled in the week after the 2021 BMW PGA Championship. In practical terms, the the Sentry Tournament of Champions on the PGA TOUR (January 7-10) will restart the World Points List while Abu Dhabi (January 21-24) will do the same for the European Points List. “I am delighted to see the qualification campaign getting back underway,” said Harrington. “The weighting of the points will further reward our in-form players and will give added interest to what already looks like an exciting season ahead. “I have been keeping a keen eye on all European players in action on both sides of the Atlantic in recent months and have been very encouraged by what I have seen. I look forward to seeing how that form translates into points on the two respective lists in the coming months.” Similar to the process for The 2018 Ryder Cup, qualification points will not be available anywhere in the world from a tournament played opposite a Rolex Series event – excluding Challenge Tour tournaments – nor from the 2021 Olympic Games tournament. Tommy Fleetwood, who made his Ryder Cup debut at Le Golf National in 2018, leads the European Points list heading into Abu Dhabi while Tyrrell Hatton, who also made his first appearance in Paris is currently the first qualifier from the World Points List. The 43rd edition of The Ryder Cup will be played on the Straits Course at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin from September 21-26.

cliff hawkins/getty images

▶ desert debut “I’ve heard really great things about the course and with it being the first Rolex Series tournament of the year, I’m sure it is going to deliver a strong field. –justin thomas on his abu dhabi bow

he resumption of the coronavirus-stalled European Ryder Cup qualifying process will be as tempting for the leading lights at the 16th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as the season-opener’s $1 million prize fund injection. The process, which began at the BMW PGA Championship in September 2019, was put on ice when the pandemic forced the suspension of the European Tour season following the Qatar Masters last March and then frozen for 2020 entirely given the fractured nature of the season following the resumption in July. It officially resumed on January 1 with a new weighting as the season progresses, a specific request from European Captain Pádraig Harrington. As a result, all Race to Dubai and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points earned between January 1 and May 9 will be multiplied by 1.5. All points earned from the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, which concludes on May 12, through to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, ending on September 12, will be multiplied by 2. All points already gained in 2019 and 2020 prior to the shutdown will still count. The 12-man European Team will comprise the first four players from the European Points List, followed by the leading five players from the World Points List. Captain Harrington then has three wild card picks to complete his line-

Since 1929

▶ perspective “We’re lucky to be doing what we’re doing and a lot of people are far less fortunate."

WHISTLING STRAITS and an 11TH RYDER CUP appearance beckons but the reigning RACE TO DUBAI CHAMPION begins his 28th season on the European Tour looking no further than his defence of the FALCON TROPHY

RE LENT LESSLEE by kent gray

abu dhabi hsbc championship

Photographs by Getty Images

january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

41

W

gutter credit tk

orld No.1 Dustin Johnson won more often. Others captured bigger titles - majors and WGCs - in more spectacular fashion. Many, headlined by Bryson DeChambeau, muscled it (much, much) further off the tee. He wasn’t even alone in being a 40-something antithesis to the 20-something rip and gouge brigade, Graeme McDowell achieving that very feat a fortnight later in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, save for a glorious week in January and another in December, he wasn’t even a regular headliner last year. ▶ Yet few produced a narrative as heartening in 2020 as Lee Woodwood, Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner turned Race to Dubai champion, via a pandemic enforced mid-season stall and resulting global tailspin.

42 golfdigestme.com | january 2021

“SHE GIVES ME A REALITY SLAP EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, AND THAT’S THE KIND OF THING I NEED, NOT TO GET CARRIED AWAY AND BLOW IT OUT OF PROPORTION.” WESTWOOD ON FIANCÉE AND CADDY HELEN STOREY

gutter credit tk

Rather than produce a scowl to smiling assassin storyline in the past 12 months, Westwood embellished it. The Englishman’s resurgence actually dates back to mid 2018 when something inside switched. By that November, the transformation turned to tears of joy when Westwood claimed the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa, his first European Tour win since April 2014 and

first win anywhere since 2015. Sports psychologist Ben Davis has helped the evolution of the former world No.1 immeasurably, so too fiancée/ caddie Helen Storey. Sprinkled with a hearty portion of reality, let’s call it life experience both inside and outside the ropes, Westwood won again in Abu Dhabi 12 months ago. “Ben has installed in me that fact I’m playing the game I love for a living, and I should enjoy it,” Westwood said after becoming just the third European Tour player after Mark McNulty and Des Smyth to win in four different decades in the UAE capital. “We’re lucky to be doing what we’re doing and a lot of people are far less fortunate. So I don’t really lose my temper anymore. I’ve never been a club breaker,

but I don’t really get wound up too much. I’ve become much more analytical and less emotional on the golf course. “All of that is spreading through my game and my putting. Everything really. I’m on a very even keel, even if the ball doesn’t go in. The only thing I can control are the movement and the actions I’m doing to roll in on the line to the hole. It might hit something or I might mis-read it. But I brush it off and move on to the next. That approach is serving me well.” It sure did at Jumeirah Golf Estates when Westwood plonked it in the water on the par-5 14th during the final round of the 2020 European Tour season last month. The Westwood of old would likely have disappeared down the leaderboard in a huff. The new Westy did the opposite. He knuckled down, continued to smile and birdied two of his final three holes, including a great up and down from the sand on 18. It transalted to a runner-up finish behind Matt Fitzpatrick at the DPWTC and the Harry Vardon Trophy, pipping Fitzpatrick and Patrick Reed for the season-long Race to Dubai gong.

▶ clockwise from above Fiancée/caddie Helen Storey continued to do the heavy lifting even after Westwood captured the Race to Dubai title at JGE last month. Westwood opened 2020 with a -19 total at Abu Dhabi to claim the Falcon Trophy by two strokes from Fitzpatrick, Fleetwood and Perez. january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

43

“YOU HAVE TO WANT TO GO AWAY FROM THE GOLF COURSE, NOT AT TOURNAMENTS, AND STILL PUT THE HARD WORK IN AT THE GYM AND ON THE RANGE.” Westwood’s 68 was a final round well played but it was in his champion’s media conference afterwards where the now 47-year-old – the oldest winner of the Race to Dubai (nee order of merit) – proved truly inspirational. “I get to get up each day and do the job I love. I've always wanted to be a golfer, and I don't want it to end,” said Westwood, who first won the European Tour OOM in 2000 and again in 2009 when it became the Race to Dubai for the first time at JGE. “So I'm prepared to keep working hard and put myself in the line of fire and try and get into contention in tournaments. It's where I'm most comfortable and what I love doing. I love the work away from the course and the gym and on the range, the hard work that people don't see, I love that.” He also clearly loves his caddie’s work on and off the course. Westwood joked after the DPWTC that the pandemic had helped him “keep getting away with it”, it being the postponement of his wedding four times. “She's a calming influence on me,” Westwood said more seriously. “You know, we talk about things away from golf. That's kind of our thing. We keep me focusing on golf as little as possible, really, especially when I'm out on the golf course. “She gives me a reality slap every now and again, and that's the kind of thing I need, not to get carried away and blow it out of proportion. We obviously get along very well, and it's a nice environment to play golf in.” Another nice environment to enjoy your golf is the European Ryder Cup team-room. After serving as a non-playing vice-captain to Thomas Bjorn at Le Golf National in 2018, it followed he would fill a similar role at Whistling Straits last September for Padraig Harrington with an eye to becoming the non-playing captain in 2022. That was until the coronavirus changed everything. Westwood is indeed still on track to make an 11th Ryder Cup appearance in Wisconsin, but as a player for the 10th time when the postponed matches are played this September. His seemingy inevitable tilt at the captaincy will likely have to wait until 2023 and Italy’s debut as a host venue.

44 golfdigestme.com | january 2021

▶ ryder cup An 11th appearance in the biennal matches beckons after Westwood served as a non-playing captain at Le Golf National in 2018. “I'd love to play again obviously. It beats watching."

“I'd love to play again obviously. It beats watching,” Westwood said. “Yeah, if I qualify for the team then I'm clearly good enough, and you know, that's the way I'm going to play it. I can still turn up to the biggest tournaments and compete as I proved at the start of the year in Abu Dhabi; the U.S. Open where I bogeyed the last two holes, and if I hadn't, I'd have finished fifth, and here [DPWTC]. “I'm not going to say it's one of my goals for [2021] because you should never make Ryder Cup one of your goals. You should break it down to try and play well each tournament. But I could see it happening.” If the back injury that ruled Westwood out of the Golf in Dubai championship the previous week and limited his prep to the DPWTC to just nine practice holes doesn’t flare again, it’s certainly no stretch to see him making a decent fist of his Falcon trophy title defence this month. Age is just a number, after all. Bernhard Langer continues to prove that, most recently at the Masters in November where, at 63, the German became the oldest player to make the cut at Augusta National.

“I’m 48 in April… it shows if you keep yourself fairly fit and retain your enthusiasm and mental capacity for the game, as we saw with Bernhard Langer at the Masters, you can carry on playing to a high level for a long, long time. “The key to playing well for a long time, longevity, is in the mental side of it. You have to want to go away from the golf course, not at tournaments, and still put the hard work in at the gym and on the range. “It’s alright turning up to tournaments because that gets your competitive juices flowing, but it’s those cold mornings when you need to go out and hit balls for two or three hours or go to the gym and work on your flexibility and your strength, do squats and deadlifts. That’s the time when you need good mental training." No prizes for guessing how Westwood spent the festive season then. And don’t be surprised if a 26th European Tour title, and a 45th worldwide win, follows sometime in 2021. This is Westy’s world, a place where you can learn lessons in longevity and redefining yourself. It’s an increasingly fun journey that we don’t want to end either.

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Play Gimme One Thing

“A shallow approach will raise your ball flight.”

ask golf digest

BY CHRIS MAYSON

S A GOLF INSTRUCTOR, I’m supposed to tell you that going for the green by hitting a middle-iron shot over tall trees is too risky. It’s better to punch out and play for a one-putt par. But part of the allure of playing golf is trying the tough shots, so I’m shelving the prudent rhetoric and going to teach you how to get the ball over the top. If you’ve attempted this shot before, only to hit a line drive off the trunk or a low-hanging branch, it’s probably because you’re trying too hard to get the ball up. Just a hunch, but you’re likely swinging off your back foot and you’re catching the ball low on the clubface. Skull city. Instead, I want you set up to the ball so it’s a little farther forward in

46 golfdigestme.com | january 2021

A

your stance than you normally play it, stand a little wider and have a little more tilt to your spine (away from the tree). Now comes the fun part: Try to hit the ball as hard as you can while staying in your address posture. Coupled with the adjustments you made at address, keeping some flex in your legs when you swing will shallow your angle into the ball, which promotes a higher launch. And hitting the ball harder creates more spin, meaning the ball will get up quicker and stay up longer. Instead of one swing thought, here are two: Stay down and hit it —WITH RON KASPRISKE hard.

A Although a missing part or parts might cause a conforming club to become nonconforming, the badge you describe wouldn’t, says the USGA. Note that if a player uses a nonconforming club, the penalty is disqualification. See Rule 4.1a.

ron barrett

Clearing Trees Don’t surrender and pitch back out

Q My TaylorMade RSi 2 5-iron is missing the plate on the back with the logo. Does that make it nonconforming? ryan arnold, agoura hills, calif.

chris mayson is a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher. He’s based at Maderas Golf Club in Poway, Calif.

Illustration by James Yang

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NEXT ON THE TEE: TERROR ACCEPT YOUR FIRST-TEE JITTERS, BUT DON’T SUCCUMB TO THEM BY J O E L B E A L L

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very few years a new study is published stating that public speaking is the biggest fear in the United States. This leads us to believe there can’t be many American golfers in those studies’ survey groups. It’s not addressing a crowd most players fear—it’s addressing a ball on the first tee. Your friends might be dismissive of your affliction and say it’s all in your head, but that’s the point, isn’t it? You look forward all week to playing, only to find yourself

overwhelmed mentally right before the opening tee shot. Is there something you can do about it? Absolutely, says performance coach Greg Cartin, who counsels athletes in the Boston area. The first step in tackling first-tee jitters is understanding how they manifest. “A lot of it is excitement,” Cartin says. “Your body has a natural reaction to this emotion, and rarely is that reaction to embrace the moment.” More likely, a golfer who fears the opening shot will switch to a defensive mind-set, contemplating the worst that can happen. For beginners, that might be missing the ball. For experienced golfers, it might be hooking it out of bounds. Even someone as accomplished as Tiger Woods has notoriously struggled to get the opening tee shot in play. To give yourself a better chance of success, Cartin says you have to embrace the excitement positively. If you were looking forward to playing all week, now is the time to show it. “Don’t view the first tee shot as something that can go wrong. Look at it as a chance to

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do something you really want to do—play golf,” Cartin says. Golf Digest Teaching Professional Josh Zander agrees. “Welcome those feelings of excitement,” he says. “And when you feel your heart start to race, know that having an alert mind is a positive thing. But you need to couple that with a calm body. What I do is focus on breathing. As I take a deep breath I think, alert mind. As I breathe out, I think, calm body. It helps slow things down to make a better swing.” It’s good that you care about that first shot, says Hall of Famer Fred Couples. Why would you play if you didn’t want to play your best? But maybe you’re caring a bit too much, he says. “You’re not doing this for a living,” he says. “Realise a bad shot isn’t the end of the world, and play it cool.” When Couples plays with amateurs, one of the biggest mistakes he says they make is swinging too hard. “Even if you’re warmed up, the first hole is not when you want to unleash everything you’ve got,” he says. “The smoothest swing I make during a round is the opening drive, because all I’m trying to do is make a slow, steady swing. If I do that, where the shot goes takes care of itself.” And if all else fails, keep in mind it’s only one shot of many, Cartin says. (Although hopefully not too many.) “It can be exhausting putting that much mental energy into the start of a fouror five-hour round,” Cartin says. “By building up the first tee shot, you’re inadvertently wearing yourself out for what comes next.” And remember why you showed up. “This is supposed to be fun!” Couples says. “Save the fear for something that really warrants it.” You know, like public speaking.

REALISE A BAD SHOT ISN’T THE END OF THE WORLD, AND PLAY IT COOL. fred couples

Illustration by Mark Matcho

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SCARY Photographs by J.D. Cuban

SHOTS THEY MIGHT BE UNNERVING, BUT YOU CAN PULL THEM OFF BY J O S H Z A N D E R

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super-deep rough

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when you can’t afford to take an unplayable lie ▶ Sometimes you have no choice but to try to extricate your ball from a horrendous lie in deep grass. Many golfers freeze when facing this lie, too worried they can’t get it out. To overcome that fear, focus on the process to hit this shot. You want to grab a wedge, open its face so it’s pointing skyward, and grip it as tightly as you can. Also try to get on solid footing with your weight favoring your lead leg. To get your mind off whiffing, focus on swinging sharply down with firm wrists and let the heel of the club lead the way into impact. Keep your eyes on the ball the whole way down.

▶ IMAGINE YOU HAVE A BIG WALK-IN closet where you store all your golf skills. On the shelves and hangers you keep your abilities to split a tight, tree-lined fairway with your driver, hit a long iron off a tight lie, and execute a downhill pitch over water—all the shots that make most amateurs feel uneasy. The only problem is, if you attempt to access one of those skills—but you’ve got strong doubt in your mind about pulling the shot off— that closet door is going to be locked. I’m sure you’ve experienced that feeling on the golf course where fear prevented you from swinging like you normally would. In this article, I’m going to help you face your trepidation of eight common scary shots. I’ll provide you with a swing tip to help your execution, and a swing thought that lets you access your skills closet. It’s natural to have negative thoughts when you play. We all do. You just have to know how to overcome them. —WITH RON KASPRISKE january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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narrow fairways

when you have to hit driver ▶ Whether there’s a forced carry or you have to reach the green in regulation, sometimes you need to pull driver on tough holes for extra distance. My advice for these situations blends the mechanical with the psychological. Too often nerves make you tighten up and try to steer the ball into the fairway. But what you want is to make the most freewheeling swing you can. Sure, play the shot shape you’re most comfortable with, but you’ve got to let it fly. And here’s some reverse psychology: Instead of thinking it’s a tight hole, imagine you’re about to drive it into the ocean. Just get up there and let it rip.

“ TO HIT A LONGER IRON OFF A TIGHT LIE, GET THE LOW POINT OF THE SWING AFTER THE BALL.”

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tight lies

when it’s a middle or long iron with no cushion ▶ Sometimes finding the fairway off the tee is bittersweet. Modern agronomy has made fairway grass shorter and firmer, and when you have no cushion for a longer approach shot, the lie can freak you out. Instead, think the opposite: You’ve actually got a terrific lie—clean access to the back of the ball. Now you can focus on making good contact. Take a few practice swings next to the ball, noting where the club bottoms out. Keep adjusting your stance until the low point of the swing is past the ball. Then step in and swing, making sure the club hits the turf after it strikes the ball.

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rough shots

when faced with a forced carry from the rough ▶ Let’s do the math. If you have to carry a penalty area or something similar from the rough, and you’re not sure you can do it, lay up. If you put it back in the fairway, you’re probably only going to sacrifice one shot, and one shot is easy to make up. But if you go for the green and fail, you’re likely going to add more than one shot to your score, sometimes a lot more. With that said, if you have to go for it, take one club longer than normal, open the face slightly, and set up with 70 percent of your weight on your lead foot. Then make a steeper swing into the ball. Focus only on solid contact.

“TO PICK IT FROM A FAIRWAY BUNKER, YOU NEED STABILITY. IMAGINE YOU’RE SWINGING ON A FROZEN POND.”

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fairway bunkers

when you’re in the sand inside of 100 yards ▶ When facing a shorter fairwaybunker shot, a lot of amateurs tense up. They wonder if they’re supposed to play it like a greenside bunker shot or pick it clean. You definitely want to pick it clean. To do that, set up so the ball is close to the heel of your front foot, and the club’s shaft is leaning away from the target. The backward leaning shaft will allow you to catch it on the upswing. Solid contact is the goal, so the key is stability. Imagine you’re standing on a frozen pond and any extraneous movement will make you slip and miss. Your goal is to clip the ball off the ice without shattering it. january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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downhill lies

when you have to get the ball up ▶ Any time amateurs have a forced carry, there’s always going to be some anxiety. But when the ball is on a downslope, things can get dicey. The mistake is to rise out of your address posture, trying to help the ball over the hazard with a little body english. You can see here that I’ve maintained flex in my legs and made a very lowand-wide swing through the ball. The mental image that can help distract you from those nervous feelings is that the clubhead needs to land on an airport runway as it meets the ball. Let the clubhead continue along the runway after impact. Stay low to make the ball fly high.

“TO GET THE BALL UP FROM A DOWNSLOPE, TRACE THE CLUBHEAD ALONG THE TURF. STAY LOW.”

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touchy shots

when you have to chip from the fringe to a close pin ▶ Many amateurs make a shortand-fast stab at short chips, because they mistakenly think they have to accelerate through the ball. Not true. All you need is a smooth, pendulum-like putting tempo. In fact, I want you to pretend you’re putting. Grab a wedge, set up in a narrow stance, and make a stroke back and through like a putt, including the same length. Keep the elbows soft and follow through in an unrushed pace. For great contact, pretend there’s a drop of paint on the back of the ball and another on the centre of the clubface and connect the dots.

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slick put ts

when you’re way above the hole ▶ When many golfers are faced with the simplest task of just getting a putt started on the right line and letting gravity do the work, they get super stressed and wind up jabbing at the ball. There are two ways to make slick, downhill putts easier to hole—one physical, one mental. The physical adjustment is to grip way down on the handle. A shorter lever imparts less energy on the strike. The mental adjustment is to pretend you’re putting to a hole much closer than the actual hole. It might be only a few inches in front of you, but having that visual should keep you from jabbing the putt off the green.

“GET YOUR MIND OFF HOW SOFTLY YOU NEED TO HIT A DOWNHILL PUTT. JUST IMAGINE THE HOLE IS CLOSER.”

bonus tip

when you need to flop it ▶ I love hitting flop shots. They look hard to execute, but they’re not—and you look cool doing it. Grab your lob wedge, open the face so it’s pointing to the sky, and lower the shaft at address so you’re hands are well below your belt line. When you swing, let the clubhead glide along the grass, keeping the shaft in line with your trail arm. There is very little wrist action. Just imagine that the clubhead is a thin piece of paper sliding under the bottom of the ball.

josh zander, a Golf Digest Teaching Professional, is at Stanford (Calif.) University Golf Course.

january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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IF THERE IS ONE T H I N G T H AT T H E QUIET TOWN OF GEORGE IN SOUTH AFRICA IS KNOWN F O R , I T I S G O L F. AND ON TOP OF ITS STELLAR LIST O F P L AC E S T O P L AY S I T S FA N C O U R T, A R G U A B LY O N E OF THE BEST GOLF RESORTS IN THE WORLD.

BY GEORGE,

BY TA N J U K U A N G

▶ legendary No conversation about South Africa’s great courses can be made without a mention of Fancourt

THE GOLF IS GREAT! january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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here is much to hold in awe about South Africa. From the rugged mountains, through the bushveld that is home to Africa’s big five, to the long coast line highlighted by the southernmost point of the continent, South Africa is a majestic showcase of the beauty on our planet. And I haven’t even touched on the amazing weather and terrain that is so perfect for growing the nectar of the gods, grape. efficacy in keeping the virus at bay, it will be some time before leisure travel is back to what it was before. But it’s important to keep a positive outlook. Golfers, ultimately, are incorrigible optimists. We need to look forward to what will be again if only to manage the difficult times we are going through now. Well, George is as good a place to start if we’re letting our minds wander to a better time ahead. This town of just about 150,000 people is an hour’s flight from Cape Town may be best known as a jumping

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That said, one of the best reasons to visit is to play golf. I had the fortune of seeing many of the country’s most beautiful courses over the years, and just this past February, was lucky enough to make another trip to play a few that I had missed. I would never have guessed that since then, the world would be turned inside out by a viral pandemic and all travel practically ground to halt. Why would you then ask that I’m writing this piece? Though vaccines are slowly showing some

▶ challenging The parkland Montagu layout is the toughest of the three courses at Fancourt

intro page: courtesy of fancourt fancourt links, montagu: tan ju kuang

▶ fancourt links The most famous of the three Gary Player designs at Fancourt hosted the 2003 Presidents Cup

on point to explore the country’s famous Garden Route. But golfers should also know that it is home to some of the most breathtaking courses in the country as well. No conversation about South Africa’s great courses can be made without a mention of Fancourt. Not only is it the home of the country’s number golf course, Fancourt Links, but its other course offerings, accommodations and facilities are second to none when it comes to luxury golf establishments. So what makes Fancourt so special? “The fact that we have three diverse courses on the estate makes us very attractive,” says Peter Dros, Marketing Director at Fancourt. “We also have a range of accommodations catering to different budgets – from the high-end Manor House, to entry rooms at the hotel. Our popular restaurants and spa experience further make us a great destination to never have to leave.”

There is more to Fancourt than just the hardware, of course. The property is sprawling, and the divine setting with its manicured landscaping, picturesque ponds, and age-old trees that frame everywhere you look make Dros’ claim of never needing to venture far from the resort a reality. “Of course, all the other local Garden Route activities and experiences are easily available,” continues Dros. George is, after all, the gateway to the fabled Garden Route of South Africa, and offers a plethora of experiences this region has to offer. But most people who come and stay at Fancourt come for the golf. In this regard, there are few resorts in the world that can exceed what this one has to offer. Gary Player’s three courses here give guests different experiences for starters. “Our three unique courses – Fancourt Links, Montagu and Outeniqua - that have their own individual characters,” says Dros.

“Golfers never feel as if they are playing the same shot twice while playing any of them.” Fancourt Links is the most famous of the three, having hosted the 2003 President’s Cup where Ernie Els and Tiger Woods battled till darkness came. “Play a few rounds here and you’ll understand the beauty of the design, and appreciate the colossal effort in building such a masterpiece on land that’s far from perfect for golf,” continues Dros. You wouldn’t have guessed if you play the Links. Each hole blend into the land seamlessly, and as true to its name, the bunkering and greens evoke the course’s spiritual brethren in places like Scotland and Ireland. But here, the weather is much better. “The Links is a true test of ball striking with the onus on one’s approach shots. Leaving the ball in the right place on the green is the key to scoring well. The conditioning must compare with some of the best facilities in the world,” Dros attests. january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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Even though the Links is arguably the most sought-after one to play at Fancourt, both the Montagu and Outeniqua are equally enthralling. Montagu is noted to be the toughest of the three, demanding great accuracy off the tee. Like Outeniqua, it is parkland in nature, and as such, offer great changes in elevation with beautiful gardens and the omnipresent view of the Outeniqua mountains in the background. For more casual or beginning golfers, Outeniqua would probably be considered the most friendly of the three, not to mention the one with the best views of the mountain range which it is named after. The open feel, especially from the tee, affords a sense of assurance that you won’t lose your ball so easily. However, the greens here are notably the sloppiest of the three courses so what it gives away in hitting the fairways, Outeniqua takes back in making it difficult for you to get the ball in the holes. The mark of a great resort is that it never sits on its laurels. Three years ago, Fancourt set out to improve all three courses. “At the Links, we looked at the native scrub areas and put a plan in motion to mimic as far as we could, the Links courses of Scotland and Ireland but with a natural indigenous look and feel introducing fynbos and grass species found along the Garden Route,” offers Dros. “Small changes maintaining the course integrity have been introduced. We raised tee boxes on the 18th hole so that visually the hole is not so intimidating but aesthetically more appealing. Symbolically now one aims your final tee shot at the clock tower of the clubhouse making the shot very memorable.

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“On The Montagu is where most of the changes have been made. So far there have been nearly fifty changes, with more to come. Some small changes like bunker alterations are done while maintaining the aesthetics. Trees have been added in strategic places, bush removed returning the courses to traditional parkland look and feel and additional gardens added. Overall the concept was to make the course easier off the tee for the average golfer yet trickier into the greens. Natural water features have been moved closer to the playing corridor adding visual appeal and also taking advantage of the natural beauty of the area. The same philosophy has been adopted on the Outeniqua, more trees defining tee shots and defining the overall look and feel of the parkland course, some news tees, less bunkers and overall a big step up in the attention to detail of the course conditioning.”

(2) tan ju kuang

▶ manor house lounge Built in the 1850s and restored to modern grandeur, Manor House was the home of Henry Fancourt White

La Cantina’s all-day dining concept keeps you from getting hungry through the day. It’s breakfast spread is to die-for. If you require something a little more formal, Henry White’s, located in the Manor House (home of Henry Fancourt White, the engineer after which the resort is named, built in the 1850s and restored to modern grandeur), serves South African and local favourites with a nice wine list. My favourite hang-out is The Club Lounge, the casual bar-cum-café designed like someone’s lovely living room with the addition of a large bar to conjure your favourite drink. Fancourt is everything you’d want in a resort and more. You would imagine that given the lockdowns seen all over the world, it wouldn’t be so bad to be quarantined within the confines of this golf haven. We may not be able to make a trip there now, but we can look forward to brighter days ahead when we can actually make the dream of visiting come true.

THE VOICE OF INBOUND TOURISM IN SOUTH AFRICA

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ll the golf resorts and clubs mentioned in this article are members of SATSA, a non-profit, member-driven organisation representing the region’s tourism private sector. Members include airlines, accommodations, golf courses and resorts, attractions, conference organisers, tour operators and more. SATSA’s aim is to provide international buyers with advice and information on quality tourism partners in the Southern African inbound tourism industry. Headed by David Frost, a low single-handicapper and avid golfer, the organisation provide also provide members with key services and benefits, as well as representing them at appropriate levels with Government and NGOs on issues impacting the inbound tourism industry.

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Even though golf is up front and centre at Fancourt, you can easily spend a week here without hitting a single ball and still not get bored. The Spa Pavilion is a haven of pampering and offers a wide range of therapies to soothe your entire body. If not, the indoor pool is a great place of sanctity to calm your spirit. For the active, there are four swimming pools, four tennis courts, a gymnasium, gym studio, hiking, jogging and enough cycling trails to have you perspiring in more ways than you can imagine. Yet, if you belong more to the sedentary set, then the boutique, and hair salon may be more up your alley. The younger guests is not forgotten at Fancourt too. The Teen Lounge offers young adults a place to chill and engage in their favourite activities, and the Kidz Club helps to keep the children busy so that you too can have a vacation. A resort is nothing without offering its guests a wide array of dining choices.

▶ holiday happiness You can easily spend a week at Fancourt without hitting a single ball and still not get bored

LAND OF PLENTY SOUTH AFRICA I S A L O N G W AY T O G O T O P L AY G O L F FOR MOST PEOPLE . T H A N K F U L LY, T H E C O U N T RY ALSO OFFERS MANY OTHER G R E AT C O U R S E S TO CHOOSE FROM T O M A K E YO U R TRIP WORTHWHILE .

south africa is one of the premier golf destinations in the world. Fantastic weather, beautiful topography, a great variety of luxury accommodations and a hospitality as warm as you’d find anywhere sets you up for a wonderful trip. But the ultimate attraction is the vast number of top-level courses that you can play. Here are just a few that you can’t go wrong with.

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t has been more than 130 years since golf was played on the land where the club now sits. The actual entity only evolved in 1998 when the Royal Johannesburg Golf Club and Kensington Golf Club merged. Since then, the premier golf establishment in Johannesburg has been host to 11 Joburg Opens and numerous other top-level tournaments. The East Course is considered the championship layout. Designed by Robert Grimsdel in 1939, the course still holds its own as a classic parkland design with holes framed picturesquely by trees. It underwent an upgrade in 2017 but still maintains much of its traditional charm. Bent grass greens and kikuyu fairway turf make for excellent playing surfaces. The relatively flat topography makes it a great walk as well. Most of the hazards come by way of small ponds strategically positioned or the numerous gorgeously appointed sand bunkers that influence

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your direction. At 7,001m, the East isn’t considered a terribly long course, but the challenges along the way will certainly keep you on your toes. The West Course is the shorter of the two (6,225m), and considered relatively easier to play. Greens are larger here, but if you can’t keep your ball in play, the copious collection of trees, and water features will punish you. Designed by former greenkeeper Lawrie Waters, it is actually the club’s older course, having opened in 1927. One of the lovely things about visiting Royal Johannesburg and Kensington is having a drink or meal on the terrace of the clubhouse. There is nothing overly flashy about the place, but the warm and friendly disposition of everyone here contribute to the experience of whiling away a quiet afternoon sipping your favourite drink under the shade of tall trees. Though the place is known to be a private members’ club, visitors are allowed to play. You certainly won’t want to pass up on this if ever you’re in Johannesburg for golf. royaljk.co.za

LEOPARD CREEK

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f you’re hoping to see wild animals when you’re playing golf in Africa, you’ve come to the right place at Leopard Creek. The club is located right inside Kruger National Park, and even before you get to the first tee, you’d likely see an elephant in the distance while walking to the clubhouse to register. Opened in 1997, the course is typically available only to private members. However, access to the course may be obtained if you stay in one of the 15 fivestar lodges found on the property. But catching a glimpse of one of the big five isn’t the only thrill you’ll have playing the Gary Player course at Leopard Creek. Playing Leopard Creek is like no other experience in South Africa. The course is so tranquil and quiet, you can hear an elephant trumpet across the eponymously named creek separating it from the national park beyond. In fact, on one of the holes, you can look into the park and if you’re lucky, catch a glimpse of some of

pearl valley: mark sampson

ROYAL JOHANNESBURG & KENSINGTON GOLF CLUB

PEARL VALLEY GOLF ESTATE AND SPA

Africa’s famed beasts drinking from the watering hole. Conditions on the course are remarkably pristine and the terrain typical of African bushland giving it a unique characteristic. There was extensive renovations made between 2017 and 2018 where the turf grass was changed to Cynodyn. This grass that is endemic to the area is now found on all surfaces offering year-round playability, and long-term sustainability. Members, guests and visitors have the privilege of enjoying the elegant clubhouse situated by the banks of Crocodile River. Having a cocktail at the bar watching the sun set is a remarkable occasion. As is shopping in the sprawling pro shop that offers a wide selection of Leopard Creeklogoed apparel and accessories. One thing you should do is ask to see the collection of hickory clubs kept in storage. This preservation of heritage, the provision of exclusivity, and the splendour of the club’s location amidst the African Bush make Leopard Creek like no other on the face of this earth. leopardcreek.com

royal johannesburg, leopard creek: tan ju kuang

ROYAL JOHANNESBURG & KENSINGTON GOLF CLUB

LEOPARD CREEK

PEARL VALLEY GOLF ESTATE AND SPA

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ot many golf resorts can pride itself on having Jack Nicklaus’ name on it, but Pearl Valley certainly can. The Pearl Valley Jack Nicklaus Signature Course here is a testament to the quality of not only the layout but the overall experience one will have here. Built in 2003, Pearl Valley has gone on to win awards after awards. Recently, it was awarded the 2018/2019 Top Five Golf Courses in South Africa by Golf Digest South Africa. Given the high number of great places to play here, that is one accolade not to snuff at. Of course, the truth is in the pudding and there is every reason you will enjoy your round thoroughly. There is not much of elevation change on this property located about 40 minutes from Cape Town by car, but Nicklaus’ use of indigenous bush, ponds and bunkers provide great movement on the holes requiring you to use a variety of shots. You’d do well also to look up every now and then. “The clever use of water through the course and the diversity of risk reward holes keep you interested and excited,” says Damian Wrigley, General Manager of Pearl Valley. “I also love that the beautiful back drops of the Simonsberg and Drakenstein mountain ranges which have been shown off as much as possible. “Nicklaus’ brief was to make it one of a kind in South Africa, something truly special. Holes were not to blend into each other but to be a course that players would remember and look forward to playing again. This was certainly achieved in my opinion.” No one would refute Wrigley’s belief. The course is highly playable and each hole is unlike the other. As you get from one green to the next tee box, the holes continue to introduce themselves with increasing pleasure, and all the time with the rugged skyline of the surrounding mountains framing your view. Of course, you can take it that Pearl Valley is more than just Jack Nicklaus’ Signature Course. It is part of a large, high-end residential project that includes a hotel, restaurant and bar, a gym, tennis courts, as well as the full-fledge Camelot Spa. The property also includes conference facilities, making it an ideal, stand-alone venue for events. pearlvalley.co.za january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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PINNACLE POINT ESTATE

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eorge Golf Club may not be as famous or as luxurious as its neighbour, Fancourt, down the road, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less enjoyable to play. What it lacks in pizzazz and world-wide reputation, it more than makes up for with character. The club’s origins stretch back more than a hundred years, but the course was only built in 1930, designed by CM Murray. The relatively short layout (back tees play to a 6166m) starts off humbly on relatively flat terrain, then the action begins after you make the turn. From the 10th hole onwards, George takes you on a bit of a roller coaster ride. Holes dip into valleys, and climb towards uphill greens – some perch on a side of a hill. Water comes into play in a big way on the par-3 17th where a large pond fronts the small green on this 185m-long hole. The club says that it has been ranked as

“the best par 3 in South Africa”, and we won’t be one to argue. Beyond a course that is incredibly fun to play, there is something special about a visit here. “Firstly, we have a dedicated team of staff that are committed to make the whole experience a great one from the welcome, to presenting a great golf course in the best condition, to providing a relaxed and friendly atmosphere after the game,” provides Daryl Austin, Club Captain at George Golf Club. “We treat our visitors like members and all of this for the most value for money that golf can offer.” The club also contributes to the game in more ways than offering golfers a wonderful place to play. “We have a very strong development programme which is run by one of our honorary members where young aspiring golfers of all cultures are taught the game and play nine-holes for free,” Austin adds. “We also encourage juniors to join our club at a very affordable rate.” georgegolfclub.co.za

GEORGE GOLF CLUB

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PINNACLE POINT ESTATE

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f drama is what you look for in a golf course, you’ve come to the right place at Pinnacle Point. Designed by Peter Matkovich with Darren Clarke, the property sits on the side of a steep cliff by the ocean in Mossel Bay, about half an hour from George. But this proximity implies nothing about the golf at these two locations. Experiencing Pinnacle Point is a unique endeavour. Few courses around the world offers the kind of views afforded here. No less than seven holes line the ocean rock cliffs on this par-72 layout. And you’ll have the weather conditions to deal with in addition to some blind holes that you’ll need to entrust to your swing, and the winds that blow in from Antarctica. There are no trees on the course, in its place are fynbos bushes that are characteristic of South Africa’s Eastern and Western Cape regions. On some of the blind holes, you’ll need to aim at mounds in the distance to guide your shots. Though this may not be some golfers’ cup of tea, it does add to the mystique of playing here. Just take it with a good sense of adventure. On the holes where you can see where you should be going, getting there without losing balls may not be that easy. Holes 7, 8, 9 and 13 ask that you flirt with rocky ravines on your way to the greens, providing jaw-dropping vistas as well as a stern test of your resolve and swing. Whatever you do, bring lots of golf balls, and don’t forget your camera. pinnaclepointestate.co.za

pinnacle point estate: courtesy of the club • george gc: tan ju kuang

GEORGE GOLF CLUB

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Undercover Caddie What’s a good caddie worth on tour? This many strokes . . . SAW the announcement on Twitter: Caddies will be allowed back. It was a sense of relief after rumours the PGA Tour’s scaled-down return would be a players-only affair. But under that tweet, I saw a question that we see and hear all the time: Do players even need caddies? There are many in the game, including some players, who have the mind-set that the things we help with are negligible. We don’t have enough space to gut that pig—I’m sure you can guess my feelings on that matter—so let’s tweak the question slightly. How much of a difference does a good caddie really make? If you’re looking to quantify it, 10 strokes per season. Easy. That might not sound like much; shakes out to less than half a shot per tournament. But

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that’s the difference between playing on tour and staying on tour, from having near-misses to multiple trophies. Where do those shaved strokes come? Ain’t just reading the grain, pal. Aren’t many galvanising speeches getting our man to go for it instead of laying up, either. It’s more nuanced. Best example is Michael Greller. I hate to use him as an example because he’s one of the more well-known caddies, and too often we equate popularity with proficiency . . . but Greller is one of our best. What sets him apart is his preparation. We all do our homework. Have to. Greller goes beyond. Maybe it’s the former teacher in him. Blindfold him and send him 40 paces behind the green, and he’ll know the yardage, angle of attack and where not to miss.

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Honesty mixed with gumption is also in that 10-stroke formula. Sounds simple, but even the nicest players have egos, and they often confuse disagreement as conflict. And conflict, for caddies, often means you’re looking for a new bag. Fanny Sunesson was prolific with Nick Faldo because she had the temerity to stand up to Sir Nick, and he respected her for it. Same with Bones Mackay to Phil Mickelson for all those years. Out of the current group, Matt Minister and Patrick Cantlay work well because there’s no bull between them. Instilling conviction is up there. Not trust; that’s something that happens over rounds, weeks, years. That’s a luxury most of us don’t have. This is about getting your guy to believe in you, sure, but also getting him to believe in himself when he doesn’t, and

to do so without the rah-rah pep talk. (I know we’re talking about grown men, yet so many of these players can be fragile flowers.) Greg Bodine, who partners with Tony Finau, has that touch. Brooks Koepka is not short on confidence, but when the tank is running low, Ricky Elliott fills it up. Steve Williams is not beloved—I’d argue some of that is jealousy— but throw him on that list. This next part . . . well, I don’t want to get too sappy or spiritual. But the longer I’m in this, the more I believe turning a good round into great (or keeping a bad round at bay) is tapping into a player’s force. It’s hard to explain. Closest I can call it is making sure this high-powered faucet is running without any leaks or drips. One example: Rory McIlroy. I think the world of J.P. Fitzgerald, but Rory was leaving a part of his game on the table with J.P. Deep down, J.P. knew it, too. There was skepticism from our ranks when Harry Diamond took Rory’s bag, but Harry knows the game and took his job seriously, and he fused that knowledge and prep with his friendship with Rory. It’s no coincidence that Rory became a top-five machine when Diamond took over. Again, this isn’t about being friendly; it’s creating a sense of uninhibited ability. Joe LaCava created that belief with Tiger Woods, Fred Couples and Dustin Johnson, three personalities that couldn’t be more different. Jimmy Johnson has been a bad man well before teaming with Justin Thomas. Scott McGuinness has been one of the most underrated fellas in our profession for quite some time; hopefully he gets his due with Scottie Scheffler. Of course, we can only make so much of a difference. We are, at best, supporting characters in this play. And if our star can’t memorise his lines or keeps falling on stage, the show’s not going to stay on Broadway. —WITH JOEL BEALL

top: tuan tran/getty images • bottom: warren little/getty images

With what’s at stake, a little means a lot.