Golf Digest - February 2021

Tee Sheet how to play. what to play. where to play.

8 Instant Impact Topgolf Dubai is proving a hit with golfers and newbies alike.

20 BioGolf Measuring proper footwork in greenside bunkers.

BY KENT GRAY

BY DAVID LEADBETTER

10 Game Plan Raise your golf IQ by embracing paradoxes.

21 The Loop Which New Year’s resolution is right for you?

BY JEFF RITTER

BY COLEMAN BENTLEY

14 Move better, chip better The body-swing connection you need to knock it close.

22 Time To Get TroonFit Abbie Macey wants to get you TroonFit at the Els Club, Dubai’s flash new ‘The Country Club’.

16 Reality (golf) TV Meet Indian businessman Sudesh Aggarwal, the man behind the ambitous new Emirates Amateur Golf League.

be at 1 24 Stroke Index 1 Tame the 12th at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi.

BY KENT GRAY

BY BEN STIMSON

60

Easy exercises to boost swing speed.

24

BY KENT GRAY

Royal Green’s toughest hole conquered

38 Morikawa has golf maturity beyond his years.

48 Golf Digest Schools How to start your swing in perfect sequence.

BY MARK BLACKBURN

49 Game changer The Middle East’s largest golf retailer lands in Muscat.

BY KENT GRAY

59 Epic Competition Win Callaway’s latest fairway finder with Callaway Golf ME. 60 Fast-Track Golf Fitness There are two key areas of the body any golfer can target to shoot lower scores.

BY RON KASPRISKE

66 The Next One’s Good Remembering Ed (The Bear) Billus, a great friend and an even better putter.

WITH KENT GRAY

34 Cool, Collin, Collected In an age dominated by bombers, ODDC drawcard Collin Morikawa gets it done differently.

Our new playing editor shares the lessons of his upbringing on and off the course.

BY DANIEL RAPAPORT

Saudi Int’l 51 Royal Rumble III The Desert Swing juggernaut turns three.

BY KENT GRAY

ODDC

54 Deep State Bryson DeChambeau is ready to unleash his near 200mph ball speed at Royal Greens.

27 Major Magnetism The OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic will forever be the darling of the Desert Swing.

58 Weekend Dream The Saudi International’s home grown goal.

BY KENT GRAY

BY KENT GRAY

BY JERRY TARDE

4 gdme | feb 2021

30 Rose Returns Justin Rose returns to the Majlis for the first time since 2009 convinced his best golf is still to come.

BY KENT GRAY

Cover photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

morikawa: walter iooss jr. • golf fitness: dom furore • royal greens gcc: courtesy of the club

BY MATTHEW BROOKES

FEBRUARY 2021

Editor’s Letter

Awkwardly good KENT GRAY kent.gray@motivate.ae • Twitter: @KentGrayGolf / @GolfDigestME

S. GOLF ’S BRIGHTEST young star meets an angry golfer in faux therapy, the European Tour’s very own “awkward and shy” and awfully impressive major champion in waiting.

Even the “Major of the Middle East”, the darling of the Desert Swing, needs a fresh narrative every now and then and the 32nd OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic suddenly has one courtesy of Collin Morikawa’s desire to be a world player and Tyrrell Hatton’s reinforced ability to be exactly the same.

With Morikawa locked in as the event’s marquee signing, ODDC Tournament Director Simon Corkill couldn’t have wished for a better result on the eve of the $3.25 million event than that delivered by Hatton 105km down Sheikh Zayed Road.

Not that Rory McIlroy will agree. Sunday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club shaped as the Northern Irishman’s time. Finally. The chance to get that bogey off his back and that elusive Falcon trophy in his hands in a European Tour season-opener going exactly to script. Surely he’d served his apprenticeship with four bridesmaid finishes and three other third placings? Tick off Abu Dhabi and move on to that equally evasive green jacket.

Except, Hatton is busy pursuing his own legacy with growing aplomb. With an ounce of early luck and shot and decision making of increasing quality thereafter, the 29-year-old Englishman turned a one-shot deficit to McIlroy into a four-stroke victory over fast-finishing Aussie Jason Scrivener. A fine, bogey-free 66 on the National sealed a fourth exalted victory in his past 20 starts, a record equalling fourth Rolex Series gold star and a sixth European Tour title in all. Hatton not only smoked third-again McIlroy by five strokes on the leaderboard but sped past him in the world rankings.

And so to Emirates Golf Club. World No.4 Morikawa versus (potentially as high as) world No. 5 Hatton. A mouth-watering match-up for the first 36-holes on the Majlis in the very least.

The quiet California kid who won the U.S. PGA Championship in just his second major championship start going head-to-head with the humble lad from High Wycombe who triumphed twice in Abu Dhabi, first by winning over the internet as the submissive star of the European Tour’s latest #AngryGolfers sketch.

“I know Gibbo [European Tour Content Director Michael Gibbons] is very happy with how it turned out,” Hatton said of the witty sideshow in the UAE capital. “He asked me to just be awkward and shy,

U.

6 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

which is me naturally, so I felt like I didn’t have to do anything different. And he knows that I’m horrible at talking to the camera, so the less lines I had to say, it was actually more beneficial for everyone because we’d have been in there all night.”

Hatton shouldn’t be so tough on himself. His refreshing honesty in the heat of battle produced arguably the best one-liner in Abu Dhabi.

“These aren’t the coloured trousers [white] to look up and see your ball sailing towards the water,” Hatton quipped to on-course reporter Tim Barter after what transpired to be a lucky birdie via a blocked tee shot on the par-3 7th in the final round.

In all seriousness, Hatton has transformed himself from an oft-fiery finisher into one of the calmest closers in world golf, a quality even Morikawa is still developing. This maddening game means Hatton will never fully be able to mask his trademark death stare but at least he can now add a cynical thumbs up to any moment he suddenly feels glum. Charismatic Scottish caddie Mick Donaghy will be on hand to help him quickly move on too.

The partnership will be pivotal at a second Ryder Cup appearance at Whistling Straits in September and before that in the year’s four bigs.

The race is now on with Jon Rahm (the other fourstar Rolex Series winner), Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland to become the best young European player without a major to win one. One suspects Donaghy will need all his experience and humour to assist when the blowtorch is applied in those upcoming assignments.

“Obviously the majors last year for me were disappointing, I missed the cut in all three. But golf’s a funny game. You’re trying your best every single week, and some weeks, it sort of works out better than others. So I’m hoping that in 2021, the majors fall in good weeks for me,” Hatton said.

Hatton will no doubt be aware that three of the past five champions – Danny Willett (2016), Sergio Garcia (2017) and Bryson DeChambeau (2019) – went on to bag breakthrough majors after winning in Dubai, Willett and Garcia green jackets just a few months after securing the fabled Dallah trophy.

But Augusta National, Kiawah Island (PGA), Torrey Pines (U.S. Open) and Royal St. George’s are for later. For now, Hatton will face another test of his steely temperament in the company of “Cool, Collected, Collin.” Enjoy our bumper preview to the Desert Classic and perhaps, just maybe, another pre-coronation of a major champion on the Majlis.

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 Luke Tidmarsh, Euan Bowden, Tom Ogilvie, Matthew Brooks, 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 director, business development & partnerships 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 editor Peter Morrice art director Chloe Galkin managing editors Alan P. Pittman, Ryan Herrington (News) chief pl aying editor Tiger Woods pl aying editors Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson golf digest digital shelf wobbler - oddc_PRINT.pdf

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8 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

“Large numbers of UAE nationals are really embracing Topgolf.”

Topgolf Dubai The first Topgolf facility in the Middle East has proved an instant hit by kent gray

ny doubt that Topgolf Dubai would be the most significant advancement for the game since golf first meet grass in the Middle East – also at Emirates Golf Club - more than three decades ago evaporated within a fortnight of the arena’s grand opening. More than 200,000 microchipped balls where whacked, with varying degrees of success but almost universal joy, at the facility on the club’s old Faldo driving range. Indeed, since the January 4 opening, on average 8500 players a week have passed through the doors, many of them newcomers to the game and some of them now under the spell of just one sweetly timed strike. That’s all it takes, as Dubai Golf CEP Chris May has already witnessed.

“It is hugely encouraging to see a wide cross section of nationalities and demographics using the facility, many of them trying golf for the very first time. One particular success has been the large numbers of UAE Nationals really embracing it,” said May. “This will be a huge step forward in bringing new golfers in to the game and in time introducing them to the Par 3 courses in the city and ultimately turning them into golf members of the future.”

A

Photograph courtesy of Topgolf Dubai

Gameplan

Raise Your Golf IQ Common sense for common problems by jeff ritter

e’re all probably guilty of making this game harder by taking too complex an approach to our playing strategy. If you want to overcome issues you’ve had in your game for years, it’s time to address them more sensibly. To get you started, here are three common problems that can be overcome with simple solutions. —with ron kaspriske

W

Play

get to where you want to go ▶ There are a lot of different swings in pro golf, but all of them eventually look like this (left). There’s a weight shift toward the target, there’s body rotation toward the target, and there’s an extension of the arms and club through impact.

The lesson: If you struggle to consistently hit good shots, you can simplify things by focusing on where you want to go. Just like programming your car’s GPS, having a strong connection to your destination creates more reasonable motion throughout the swing to arrive at that spot. Forget about attacking the ball and instead focus on making swings trying to get to this “pro” look in the follow-through.

february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

11

Play Gameplan

“Use your internal GPS to create a better swing.”

embrace the opposite

get lean when you chip ▶ Chipping is one area of the game amateurs complicate way more than necessary— like going over a long checklist at address. Instead, all you have to do to get in the proper setup is stand over the ball (above, left), then lean your entire body toward the target (above, right). Now grab the club and you’re in position to make ball-first contact. No more worrying about flaring the front foot, leaning the shaft, etc. This set-up method allows you to focus on the artistry of the shot.

12 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

▶ The world is full of paradox. The only certainty is uncertainty. To gain control, you need to let go. You get the point. Sometimes in golf we need to embrace illogic over natural instinct.

For example, pitching a ball super high requires a setup that’s way down low.

That’s a tough concept to accept when your instinct tells you the opposite should be true. But if you widen your stance, open the clubface before taking your grip, and then lower your knees and handle of the club (above), you’re now in position to swing on a shallow attack angle, and that maximises loft, allowing you to lob the ball over anything with ease. jeff ritter teaches at the Pronghorn Resort in Bend, Ore. Photographs by J.D. Cuban

Play Chipping with Matthew Brookes

“Pros aren’t just hitting the gym to get stronger and more powerful.”

PRACTICE DRILL

▶ Scan the QR Code to watch Matthew bring this lesson to life.

Move better to chip better The body-swing connection you need to increase mobility and stability and lower your scores HIPPING IS A PART of the game where amateurs commonly struggle. The reason for all those fat and thin shots? It’s mostly due to poor body sequence and a lack of lower body stability.

So how do we remedy this? There’s a big hint every time you watch tour golf on TV and notice how fit and strong the world’s best players look today. They aren’t just hit-

C

ting the gym to get stronger and more powerful. When it comes to chipping, we don’t want power and speed, rather a soft touch and control to help minimise the chances of hitting duff shots.

The world’s best are thus also in the gym to help improve mobility and stability, which in turn will help them with the shorter, more delicate shots. One of the screening assessments we undertake at Dubai Creek to help us best understand how your body moves and how it can cause swing faults when chipping is called the “Torso rotation”. This tells a qualified TPI instructor like myself whether you can separate your upper body from your lower body, while keeping the lower body stable, vital to perform the chipping sequence correctly.

TORSO ROTATION In golf set-up, with your arms crossed over your chest, try rotating your torso while keeping your lower body still and stable. It’s very important to focus on quality rather than quantity with this movement. The majority of amateurs fail this test with a stabili-

ty issue. Fret not. Here are two exercises that can help you and your chipping technique.

1. Single leg balance in golf posture, with torso turns (Beginner, no equipment). Get into golf posture, with your arms crossed over your chest. Now bend one leg from the knee off the ground. Rotate the torso while holding golf posture and keeping the lower body still.

2. Seated cable torso turns on an exercise ball. (Intermediate, cable machine). Sit on an exercise ball and set the cable machine to chest height when seated. Grip onto the handle with the outside hand first and have a wide base with your stance. Extend the arms out in front of you, forming a triangle with your shoulders and arms. Keeping this shape, rotate the torso while keeping the lower body stable on the ball.

Chipping is very different to the full swing and while this is only one area to touch on to help with your chipping, it is an important step to lower scores.

Matthew Brookes is a new PGA teaching professional and golf specific fitness trainer at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht club’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai.

joachim guay

WATCH THE VIDEO

A drill you can take to the practice chipping green to help with the correct feeling is the “lead single leg chip”. Start in your normal golf stance setup for chipping and then set the trail leg on its toe behind you as a stabiliser with minimal weight on this foot. Now hit a fiveyard chip, feeling that the torso and arms are the engine of the motion and the lower body has minimal movement.

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motivatemedia.com

Amateur Bonanza Play

“It will be a lot of fun and entertaining... there will be pride at stake.”

Reality (golf) TV Meet the man behind the ambitious Emirates Amateur Golf League, a world-first concept poised to positively disrupt the golfing landscape by kent gray

n business, Sudesh Aggarwal is an seasoned professional. After graduating with an MBA in 1973 and cutting his teeth as a management consultant for Price Waterhouse, he’s built a formidable empire since 1988 with a diverse portfolio of investments ranging from food production, home furnishings and real estate to events management and even video gaming.

I

In golf, Aggarwal is a 14-handicapper although once got as low as six. But don’t be fooled by the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club founding member’s more modest golf ability. The ambition and entrepreneurship that has seen him featured in a list of the top 100 Indian Businessmen in the UAE is set to disrupt the game like never before.

With the official backing of the Emirates Golf Federation and blessing of the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), Aggarwal launched the Emirates Amateur Golf League (EAGL) on January 20. In a nutshell, it’s IPL cricket meets amateur golf, a Ryder Cup-style franchise-based league with an inaugural eight-team season earmarked to start in November.

Aggarwal not only wants the Abu Dhabi Roars, Asian Jumbos, Dubai Tigers, Emirates Players, English Nicks, European Seves, Indian Singhs, Korean Chois and Pakistani Taimur to become part of the Middle East sporting narrative, he wants you, dear 14-handicapper or better, to be inspired to play. This is the royal and ancient game coming to the reality TV table. While a deal with a network is still in the wings, Aggarwal is promising 40 hours of live coverage online across the EAGL’s social media networks in the first season as well as Photographs by Joy Chakravarty/EAGL

sponsorship, PR and networking opportunities for franchisees. The audience is potentially huge given the APGC will promote the concept across the 42 countries it represents.

The EAGL has been ruminating in Aggarwal’s mind since 2017 but was put on the back burner until now after he returned to India for “public engagements”.

“We were to do a cricket league but then realised it is a very saturated market and something new had to be created,” he revealed.

“I am a very keen amateur golfer and there is nothing exciting happening for players like us other than corporate golf days and club tournaments so I came up with the idea to do the league for amateur golfers in the same style as leagues in other sports. A league in amateur sport is going to be very challenging but I am sure we will overcome those challenges.”

The cost of one of the nine franchises on offer – the first eight sold will contest the inaugural season from late Nov to Jan. 2022 – is commercially sensitive but in the six-figure bracket. Each franchise will consist of a pool of 24 players captained by two professional, nonplaying coaches/captains. Each team will then play each other in a roundrobin – with 12 players selected for each

match – before semifinals and a grand final. Aggarwal’s beloved Creek has been teed up to host the first matches.

“We will make all efforts to take this league many notches up from the usual corporate golf days, and to the level of professional tour events,” Aggarwal said. “There will be extensive opportunities for branding, hospitality, networking, entertaining clients and PR.” Ambitious? Yes. But there is something intriguing about the concept that might just see it fly. We sat down with Aggarwal to get the nitty-gritty on the EAGL and find out more about the brain behind the pioneering business model. ●

You’ve self-titled the EAGL as the “most exciting thing to happen to amateur golf”. Who do you see it appealing to? To all amateur golfers. We shall take this league to such a level that amateur golfers will aspire to play in it.

I hope this will also help grow the game in the UAE and we can contribute to the efforts of the EGF. ●

Companies spend a lot on corporate golf days. I presume you see this as a much more cost-effective and value added proposition? The EAGL, for sure, will be a very cost-effective and value-added proposition over the corporate golf days. Actually, it is much more than that. It means nine golf days, plus launch and closing parties, plus invitations. We estimate that the EAGL will give access to at least 6,000 well-to-do people in the society directly, apart from the media and live broadcast exposure. ●

The TV component is a unique proposition for amateur golf. Do you think it will appeal to golfers sitting at home looking for content? This shall be one of the major differences between corporate golf days and our league.

Amateur golfers have never had the opportunity to see their fellow golfers in action live and would relate to that. As EAGL has support from the EGF and Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, it shall be promoted in 42 countries through social media channels. It will be a new territory of viewers. february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

17

Play Amateur Bonanza

passion ▶ Aggarwal plays off a 14 but won’t tee it up in the EAGL himself.

●

Will the squad places be open to men and women? Yes, it is open for both men and women players but all members of a team will have to play from the same tees. ●

You are promising 40 hours of live TV coverage? Do you have a network lined up? Do you have a commentary team? The first challenge for us has been capturing the play as EAGL is going to be played over 4-5 courses. At the moment we are confirmed to broadcast on all our social media channels, but we are also in discussion with TV channels. As we move along, this shall be sorted out. ●

What do you expect from the amateurs when the cameras are switched on? It will be a lot of fun and entertaining as amateur golfers do not play for money. There will be pride at stake. And the quality of golf will be good as we are capping the maximum handicap at 14. ●

We presume the IPL has shaped much of your thinking in terms of making the EAGL financially viable?

The EAGL will be financially viable and sustainable. The benefits that shall accrue to all stakeholders – team owners, sponsors, partners and players – will be substantial. And yes, the IPL is probably one of the most successful leaguebased tournaments launched in recent times and I greatly admire what they have managed to achieve. ●

Tell us about your golf background?

I started playing golf about 27 years ago when I became a founder member of

18 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. My current index handicap is 14 and the lowest I have played to was six. I have won all kind of club tournaments and Corporate Golf Days etc. I have also been the founding Chairman of the Indian Golfers Society for 15 years. ●

Will you play in the EAGL? As a franchiser, I will avoid playing in it. I am sure we will have a lot of things to do in the background when the players take centre stage later this year. ●

What return on investment do you see for a franchisee? We anticipate a very healthy return on investment.

There shall be a cash return from the franchiser sharing the sponsorship fee with the team owners and opportunity for team owners to have their own team sponsors. Returns in marketing, branding, promotions, live broadcast, media coverage, developing and entertaining clients, PR etc. shall be manifold. Appreciation in teams’ valuation is another aspect and above all, the pride of owning a sports team is an immense value addition. ●

Do you expect to draw the captains from the pool of UAE PGA members?

Yes, that is the plan. They will be UAE PGA members and shall be contracted by the franchiser. However, if any team owner wants to get Tiger Woods or Rory

McIlroy as their team captain, they are most welcome. ●

Will the two professionals attached to each franchise act like captains?

The professionals will be coaches and act like captains. There shall be a nonplaying captain as well. However, the EAGL is for amateurs only. ●

You describe ‘match play’ formats in the launch press release. Will it change from round to round? Yes, it will change from round to round. ●

Will the matches be played off the stick and/or with handicap strokes given? There shall be no strokes given.

There will be four groups: 0-4, 5-8, 9-11 and 12-14 handicaps. The matches will be between each group players only. ●

How will the 24-player squad pools be chosen? Amateurs have to register online with their details. This shall be checked by the franchiser and once approved, these will be included in the players pool. The player has to sign a contract and pay the registration fee.

Teams will have to choose the players from the players pool only. They’ll have the choice to take two players of each group and rest will be by draw. This mechanism is being worked out to be fair to all team owners and keeps the interests of players as well.

Play BioGolf by David Leadbetter

“Get your weight forward, and keep it steady.”

pro vs. am ▶ Keeping the lead foot still is key to sand play. pro

HE NAKED EYE can spot a lot of differences between how pros and amateurs hit greenside bunker shots, but what you might not notice is the difference in footwork— and that difference translates to better execution.

According to data collected by biomechanist J.J. Rivet, when pros set up for a bunker shot, they have roughly 65 percent of their weight on the lead foot and that percentage rises only to 73 percent by impact. And when you check for movement in that lead foot during the swing, you won’t find much. A pro’s foot stays flat and doesn’t turn or roll toward the target. The only movement is a weight shift from the toes to the heel along an anatomical

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20 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

bar that runs lengthwise through the center of the foot (see chart, right). In other words, the foot stays steady and stable.

Amateurs tend to start with 60 percent of their weight on the back foot and then violently shift 75 percent of it to their front foot in the downswing.

That foot also slides toward the target by 10 percent.

All of this suggests that if you plant your front foot firmly in the sand and maintain that stability throughout the swing, your chance of success in a bunker is much better. — WITH RON KASPRISKE david leadbetter is a Golf Digest Teaching Professional.

0%

amateur

10%

Photograph by Dom Furore

illustration: jameson simpson

Toes in the Sand Footwork matters in bunkers, too

The Loop

by coleman bentley

WHAT NEW YEAR’S GOLF RESOLUTION IS RIGHT FOR YOU? are you any good?

actually, yes

sign up for u.s. open qualifying and prove it

define “good”

start sleeping with your sand wedge

great! (lie)

how is your short game?

great! (truth)

get a trackman and step on the gas

is bryson dechambeau wrecking the game?

no, but hoodies are

yes bryson, my king!

heck, yeah

protein shakes and nonconforming drivers

would rather die

Illustrations by Serge Seidlitz

run for president of the local no-fun club

do you have the need for (clubhead) speed?

no math, just bombs

how do you feel about the gym?

tolerate it

go to the gym

february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

21

golf fitness

TroonFit It’s time to get

FOR GOLFERS KEEN ON PERFORMANCE GAINS OR SOME SERIOUS POST-ROUND RELAXATION AND REFUELLING, THE NEW COUNTRY CLUB AT THE ELS CLUB DUBAI IS HARD TO BEAT

F

rom snow to desert, abbie macey’s passion for personal betterment – yours as well as hers – knows no bounds.

The former Team GB alpine skier is the bubbly Fitness Operations Manager at ‘The Country Club’, a stunning new wellness facility just opened at The Els Club, Dubai.

Boasting an urban-chic gym, restaurant and two swimming pools, one with a children’s play area and the other with a swim up bar operated by The Pangolin, the Country Club is unlike any facility in Middle East golf. It’s a beacon for amateurs young and old serious about improving their game and reducing the risk of injury. And the best bit? Your non-golfing partner is welcome to reap the benefits with membership to The Country Club affording access to the new expansion including the gym and pools.

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“I saw this an incredible opportunity to work for a world-renowned golf club that is managed by the leaders of golf club management, Troon International,” said Macey.

“I see a very bright future for both The Els Club and Troon International in the fitness industry.”

Macey spent more than a decade representing Great Britain on the slopes after spending her childhood on scholarship at a ski specific boarding school in the U.S. She then moved to Austria before seeing out the last months of her career in Japan.

“I have always been very academically driven too, so upon retiring from my sport in 2016, I attended the University of Birmingham and graduated with a degree in Sports Science. I worked full time during my degree in two different roles, one in a senior management position of a Nuffield Health gym, and the second role was as the Athletic Director of an elite residential football academy based at St Georges Park in the UK.” Now in Dubai and loving it, Macey is driving a team of TroonFit instructors with the same dedication and passion that led her to some of the world’s highest

macey, pool: joachim guay • gym: courtesy of the club

peaks. Getting The County Club open through COVID-19 delays hasn’t been easy, but Macey says the hard work will be worth it.

“As our TroonFit gym and TroonFit offerings are the first of their kind, my focus in on building awareness of the name, the facility and what it means to be ‘TroonFit’,” she said.

“For me, TroonFit will spread awareness of the correlation between strength and conditioning training, the correct approach to nutrition and enhanced golf performance. There is no other golf club in the UAE that has a gym of this calibre attached to it, and with the impact that strength and conditioning has on golf performance and injury prevention, I am incredibly passionate about educating the golfers of the UAE of its importance with a vision of many more clubs opening facilities like our TroonFit gym.”

The multi-storey gym boasts large open spaces and an abundance of natural light, the ground floor housing a hybrid studio, two relaxation lounges and locker room facilities. Upstairs you’ll find a large gym space, complete with a fully equipped spin studio and an outdoor fitness terrace.

Regardless of level of ability or your age, The Country Club at The Els Club Dubai offers a variety of programmes to develop golf performance.

A prime example is the TroonFit Bootcamp, a fast-paced class that incorporates strength training, cardiovascular and muscular endurance, as well as flexibility and balance work.

Alongside the TroonFit offerings, The Country Club offers a diverse range of group exercise classes including yoga, spin, kickboxing, boxfit and pilates, with plans to add further classes in this month.

“We have a fantastic team of qualified TroonFit Personal Trainers for our one on one services, who all have impressive backgrounds in a variety of sports.”

Open from 6am to 10.30pm, The Country Club offers memberships starting from as low as AED 415 per month. Monthly, quarterly, six-month and annual membership options are available with a AED 100 day pass available for a limited time. – kent gray For further information, call 04 425 1000 or email countryclub@elsclubdubai.com january 2021 | golfdigestme.com

23

Play Course Management

Stroke Index 1 You can bet the 12th hole at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club will catch out even some of the world’s best at this month’s Saudi International. For amateurs, it’s a beast of a hole but stroke index 1 at the Troon International-managed property needn’t be a card-wrecker. Here, Director of Golf Ben Stimson guides you through the tricky par-4 in the latest instalment of our series designed to help you conquer the Middle East’s toughest holes.

24 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

he 12th hole at Royal Greens comes after a nice stretch of birdie holes and certainly tests all levels of golfer. At 459-yards off the championship tees, this par 4 is a long, skinny and slightly uphill hole where an unfavourable left to right prevailing wind will push any errant tee shot into the desert and, even worse, out of bounds if you are not careful. ▶ If you are successful in finding the small fairway by avoiding the well placed fairway bunker, then there will be a long iron, perhaps even a fairway wood, into the extremely undulating green that has severe run offs. Dave Sampson from European Golf Design certainly wanted to test every element of your game at the 12th. –with kent gray

T

Ben Stimson tee shot: An elevated tee allows golfers to visualise their tee shot.

However, the strong left to right wind seeds doubt … do you aim left and let the wind bring the ball back, or play a draw of the tee into the wind?

Moreover, the fairway bunker at 250 yards off the tee is perfectly placed on the right and will catch a slightly wayward tee shot; forget reaching the green in two from there. If you are able to find the fairway or even the first or second cut of rough, you’ll have a chance of reaching the green in two but the odds will still be against you.

approach: Accuracy and precision is key to your approach shot and anything on the green in regulation is a job well done. While there are no greenside bunkers to avoid, sometimes you wish there was to help stop the ball rolling down the severe run offs. If your approach shot falls short, goes left or right then you are left with a very difficult chip shot to try and save par. closing out: The 12th hole gets even better once you've finally reached the green. Welcome to one of our most undulating greens on the course which tends to slope away to the run off areas.

That makes hitting any approach shot close difficult. The three-tiered green allows many ‘interesting’ pin locations for our members and guests with everyone looking forward to hearing the ball finally drop and moving over the par 5, 13th hole.

12

th

PAR 4

Purple

459 yards

Blue

432 yards

White

399 yards

Red

350 yards

Photograph courtesy of the club

AED 99 only

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32ND OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

MAJOR MAGNETISM 1989 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Mark James Eamonn Darcy Seve Ballesteros Wayne Westner Ernie Els Fred Couples Colin Montgomerie Richard Green José María Olazábal David Howell José Coceres Thomas Bjørn Ernie Els Robert-Jan Derksen Mark O’Meara Ernie Els

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Tiger Woods Henrik Stenson Tiger Woods Rory McIlroy Miguel Ángel Jiménez Alvaro Quiros Rafa Cabrera Bello Stephen Gallacher Stephen Gallacher Rory McIlroy Danny Willett Sergio Garcia Haotong Li Bryson DeChambeau Lucas Herbert

PIONEERING. ICONIC. REVERED. THE UNDISPUTED ‘MAJOR OF THE MIDDLE EAST’.

THE 32ND EDITION OF THE DESERT SWING’S ORIGINAL SHOWPIECE HAS ATTRACTED ANOTHER QUALITY FIELD TO THE HALLOWED MAJLIS LAYOUT AT EMIRATES GOLF CLUB ••• BY KENT GRAY ••• february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

27

O

COLLIN MORIKAWA

ne neighbour has

gold- starred Rolex Series status and the lure of an $8 million purse, another the fiscal ambition to make up for lost time as the youngest Desert Swing event.

But for historical significance, kindly refer to the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic’s champion’s honours board. The Dallah is still the darling of the European Tour’s Middle East swing.

Just ask 2021 drawcard Collin Morikawa who is keen to see his name inscribed on the Dallah trophy alongside those of Seve Ballesteros, Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

“When you look back at some of the players who have won the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic, you realise that it is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world and I’m looking forward to trying to add my name to the roll of honour,” said the reigning U.S. PGA champion.

Morikawa would be a fitting addition to an honours board oozing class. The Majlis layout at Emirates Golf Club invariably unearths quality champions and the Californian, 24 on Feb. 6, is part of a new breed of 20-somethings at the forefront of a new era for the game.

The world No.4 isn’t like others in the new bomb and gouge breed, rather possessing a more subtle game. But it is a game well suited to the Majlis, as his historic triumph at the rescheduled U.S. PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco last Augusta highlighted. With weekend rounds of 65 and 64, the American posted the lowest closing 36 holes by any golfer in a major. Ever.

His 129 aggregate edged by one a mark held by Woods (2018 PGA), Tom Watson (1977 Open), Nick Faldo (1994 Open), Ian Baker-Finch (1991 Open), and Marc Leishman (2015 Open). Unlike Woods, Faldo, and Leishman, Morikawa’s weekend scores led to victory. He also went close to matching Woods’ record for most consecutive cuts to start his pro career, 22 to Woods’ 25. Seemingly all that if left is to prove he can take his game outside the U.S. and win.

“I’d love to be able to win all over the world.”

28 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

32ND OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

“... the ODDC is one of the world’s most prestigious events.”

PAUL CASEY TYRRELL HATTON

“Winning worldwide means a lot because golf has become such a global game, not just for professionals but for the opportunity it offers kids and families to pick up the sport,” said Morikawa whose maiden appearance on the Majlis will come six weeks after a tie for 10th at the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in what was his first pure European Tour start outside the majors and WGCs. “To be able to have my game travel around the world, and know that I can adjust to the time is big for me, I’d love to be able to win all over the world.”

So what did Morikawa, fresh from a pair of top-10s in Hawaii, take away from his first Middle East appearance at JGE? “I learned that no matter how you start or finish a round, anything can happen. From the DP World Championship, there were a lot of guys who had a chance to win the title and it came down to a few points so at the end of the day, every shot does matter.

Sometimes I take that for granted and I really need to remember for 2021 that you never know when it can cost you. Making sure I give every shot complete focus is going to be very important.

Morikawa clearly won’t have it all his own way in Dubai with Justin Rose, back at the Desert Classic for the first time since 2009, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, Danny Willett and Martin Kaymer nine other major winners in the field.

As former Dubai champions, Stenson, Garcia, Els, defending titleholder Lucas Herbert, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Haotong Li, Stephen Gallacher, Thomas Bjørn and Alvaro Quiros certainly have more Majlis experience to draw on. There’s also a plethora of Ryder Cup stars to overcome including Tommy Fleetwood, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Paul Casey, who like Rose, is returning to the Desert Classic for the first time since 2014.

But Morikawa won’t be beaten for desire.

“After a great 2020, even though I won a major championship, I won two times through the year, there’s still a lot more I want to accomplish and that’s only going to push me forward and cause me to set new goals.

“Obviously, I want to keep winning, I want to keep winning majors, and getting myself in contention but it’s not like I played well all throughout the year. I still had some pretty poor play here and there and finding a way to be a little more consistent is going to be a huge thing for 2021.” february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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“I still believe my best golf is ahead of me�

Photograph by Ross Kinnaird

32ND OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

I

JUSTIN ROSE WILL MAKE HIS FIRST APPEARANCE AT EMIRATES GOLF CLUB SINCE 2009 HAPPILY SUBSCRIBING TO THE THEORY THAT LIFE BEGINS AT 40 With Kent Gray

thought 2020 sounded like a fun and cool year.

I was turning 40 and I had a few birthday plans in the summer and everything got cancelled and rearranged because the pandemic was progressing.

The layers of complication around logistics were also one of the biggest things for us as we had to make sure we have the correct documentations to travel, quarantining upon arrival, all of these things made the situation much more complicated to handle. But from the health point of view I realised that we are very fortunate.

•••

I do feel very lucky that none of my family has any health challenges and scares with Covid-19, although some of us have tested positive. My mom is the one we are trying to protect, she is in her 70s, she is the matriarch of the family and I think all of that behaviour is aligned to keeping her safe. Watching her have to bear the brunt of it, to be isolated, to be more vulnerable, has been very difficult to watch this year.

•••

I am excited to return to the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic for the first time since 2009. It is a great run of events, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia. Dubai has always been a place where I love playing in, I have always enjoyed the season ending event, the DP World Tour Championship, but to have the opportunity to play the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic fits really well in that three-week run is really fun.

•••

The Majlis course, there has been some challenging tee shots, picking the lines is tricky. There are a few dog legs out there, you don’t quite see the ball finish at times off the tee. I am going to have refresh my memory and have a couple of good practice rounds and rely upon the ProAm as well as my final practice round to really have my eyes on the course. That’s all well and good but sometimes these lines constantly change given different wind conditions, so I am definitely going to have to be on my toes to get up to speed at the golf course.

•••

For me, gaining distance isn’t really part of my plan. At 40 years old it’s a dangerous play and I don’t think we have seen the fallout really from the players at the moment trying to achieve that big peak in distance. With that comes risk and I just don’t think it would be a smart thing for me to try that.

If I were to emulate somebody it would be someone like Roger Federer, he’s able to achieve world class performance but do it with grace, style and technique, so that is more of my model rather than sheer brute force. I have been down the distance game path in the past and it is doable but to what cost? I think for me I am looking a little bit more holistically and I want to come out of the game of golf a healthy individual and not a broken athlete. To compete on the tour for me, I feel like if I can be in the mid 170s [mph] with my ball speed and I can play smart and manage my game well, then that’s as much as I need.

•••

Adding more majors would definitely change how my resume looks. To win one major is a huge achievement and I am delighted to have that monkey off my back, of not being involved in that conversation of one of the best players in the world not to win a major. I use the fact that I have won one as freedom and I have been incredibly close a couple of other times to gaining a second so I feel like it can happen.

•••

My ultimate career goal is to win the remaining three majors that I have not won. If I am able to win one this year that would ignite a fire in me and give me that lift that I need to have a fantastic finish to my career.

•••

If I was pulling the strings of a world tour? For me the Middle East would be a great place to start the season with great weather guaranteed, great hubs to fly in and out international players, then I would move towards Florida as we get closer to The Masters, then there are some great venues within the States during springtime and then as you move towards the Open Championship, there’s some wonderful golf in Europe, especially in the UK and some links golf, that would really be fun to add that. Asia is a huge growing market for the game of golf and I think the PGA Tour have moved quite strong into the Asian market with the CJ Cup, ZOZO Championship and WGC-HSBC Champions. Those events are fantastic but that could be built out a little bit more.

•••

The one area that I would love to see more played would be in Australia. I think the quality of golf and the weather they have there is unbelievable so if I was pulling the strings we would also play in the Melbourne Sandbelt.

That would be a change I would like to see.

•••

Seeing the Open Championship getting cancelled last July was definitely a big disappointment. To have the claret jug on my dining room table to enjoy with friends would probably be the most amazing feeling. I do have a special february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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32ND OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

relationship with The Masters, I have been close there, I lost in the playoff. But the Open Championship as a 17-year-old, I just have incredible memories of that and I do get nervous because there were times where I did not play particularly well, so of late I started to re-establish some good form in the Open Championship and the idea of winning that makes my hair stand up on the back of my neck. So for me being patriotic it’s a major that I would really love to win.

•••

If I could have one superpower it would be invisibility. Imagine the places you could be undetected and the knowledge you could gain from that. You could learn so much from so many people behind closed doors. That would be a well leveraged superpower.

•••

as a kid, but the fact that it came around and I had the opportunity to compete and win was such a thrilling moment in my career.

•••

Once I got down there to Rio and checked into the Olympic Village and saw all the other athletes, I just got a feeling that I was part of something much bigger than myself and my individual sport, it was incredibly inspiring. I remember training and being around other athletes and I was very inspired by the level of commitment and it propelled me to believe that I could push myself that week to try and do something special.

“I don’t think we have seen the fallout really from the players at the moment trying to achieve that big peak in distance.”

Being in the Ryder Cup is an incredible feeling. Once you experience it you never want to miss another one, although back in 2012 I was playing in Medinah and for two days we have been getting absolutely battered by the U.S. Team and I really thought to myself, ‘is this what I have spent two years dreaming about, travelling around the world to try to achieve with enough points to make this team? To be screamed at by opposing fans and to be hammered by a much better team?’. It made me question the whole process but then Sunday happened and it was the most magical day I have ever experienced on a golf course.

•••

•••

Qualifying for the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits is a huge goal and you would want to give the captain [Padraig Harrington] as much leeway as possible when it comes to his picks, you don’t want to burden the team.

If I am in good form but I haven’t racked enough points then you don’t want to use up one of those picks. For me first and foremost is form. I am not really worried about qualifying for the team, I am worried about getting my form into a position and a place where I can deliver points for the team come September, and that’s my priority.

•••

•••

For me the Olympic gold medal [in 2016] is the biggest gift of my career, it was something that I have never anticipated, it is not something that I have dreamed about

32 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

I was going down the stretch against Henrik Stenson and I could see the blue and the yellow of the Swedish contingent and the red, white and blue of the union jack flying… it was such a glorious sight and it was a surreal moment when the medals came around. It was a scene I had seen so many times as I was watching other athletes but experiencing it personally was an out-of-body experience.

•••

I have not won for a while and it is a challenge. I think if you come close to winning and then you are not winning, then you start to question yourself, but I know why I am not winning and that is because I have not been playing well, I have not been swinging the club well, I have fallen into some bad habits.

To have the opportunity to be part of the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ will be forever more one of the greatest days of my golfing career. To win as an individual is fun and rewarding but to win as a team is much more exhilarating, you just enjoy it more together, you share feelings with other players that you would never otherwise do, so that bond and those friendships will last a lifetime. Being involved in many Ryder Cups has been an incredible experience but to be involved on that Sunday afternoon in Chicago when Seve was such a guiding light for us and the team was just magical, it was almost a spiritual day.

•••

•••

I’m back with Sean Foley which I am very excited about.

He knows my game so well and he knows me well as a person, we know what works for us well. I made changes during lockdown back in March which I thought was a good decision at the time but it just wouldn’t play out and I got myself in between a couple of swing thoughts and that is never a good thing. My mind is clear again in a great direction with Sean but for me winning is the byproduct of doing the mundane stuff really well so I am back in that process and I believe that the winning part will take care of itself.

I love the saying “life begins at 40” as I think you can approach life with wisdom. At the age of 40 your body is still willing and able to perform at a very high level so hopefully I can combine the two; that experience I gained through the years and the fitness that I am trying to protect. The thing that encourages me still is that I believe my best golf is ahead of me and it is such a motivating thought and factor. The minute that you think you are done, that would really demotivate you, so the fact that I still think there is another level for me is what gets me up in the morning, working hard to achieve the two or three goals that I have left in the sport that would make me a happy old man.

YOUR GATEWAY TO WORLD-CLASS TALENT

COOL

COLLIN

COLLECTED IN AN AGE DOMINATED BY BOMBERS, COLLIN MORIKAWA GETS IT DONE DIFFERENTLY

BY DANIEL RAPAPORT ••• PHOTOGRAPHS BY WALTER IOOSS JR.

BY DANIEL RAPAPORT PHOTOGRAPHS BY NAME SOMEONE

get over the major-championship hump until he was 33. Jordan Spieth stormed onto the scene a conquering hero and then dropped out of the top 75 in the World Golf Ranking.

That’s what makes Collin Morikawa’s rise so remarkable—the linearity of it all. It’s uninterrupted. There is, simply put, a whole lot of good and shockingly little bad: a comfortable upbringing in Southern California, an outstanding junior golf career that gave him his choice of colleges, a world No. 1 amateur ranking, a degree from one of the best undergraduate business schools in the world, a tour card less than two months after turning pro, an enriching relationship with a beautiful woman, three PGA Tour victories, millions of dollars, a major championship—all before his 24th birthday.

Morikawa will tell you he is anything but satisfied. That despite how it might appear, he does not have everything figured out. There is, however, ample evidence to the contrary.

‘I’VE BEEN VERY LUCKY’

Debbie and Blaine Morikawa co-own a commercial-laundry business near downtown Los Angeles that delivers linens, tablecloths and the like to restaurants throughout L.A. It has been in the family for quite a while. Nothing crazy lucrative, but more than enough to provide Collin and his younger brother, Garrett, who is 17 and prefers soccer over golf, a worry-free childhood in La Cañada Flintridge, a small upscale enclave just north of Pasadena.

ey growing up,” he says, “never had to think about what we were having for dinner. I wasn’t a kid that wanted many things; I never asked for a lot. But if I did need something or I did want something, I was very lucky to have parents who were able to afford stuff like that.”

His family traveled frequently, often to Hawaii, where his fraternal grandparents still live and where he attributes his love affair with the ocean.

They would go skiing. They had a membership to Chevy Chase Country Club, a private nine-hole layout in nearby Glendale. But it was at a public course where young Collin’s golf talent began to shine: Scholl Canyon, a 3,039yard, par-60 track where an instructor named Rick Sessinghaus worked.

When Morikawa was 5, his parents convinced the organisers of a junior golf camp at Scholl to let their son participate. He wasn’t technically old enough, but the bones of his remarkably repeatable golf swing were already in place.

“Rick was the guy at the end of the range who taught the better players,” Morikawa says. “He was the end goal, the guy you wanted as a coach. So after I went through the camp, slowly getting more interested in the game, my parents could see I was getting better.

So they approached Rick to see if he would coach me, and by the time I was 8, we had started this relationship.”

That relationship continues to this day. Sessinghaus isn’t your typical swing guru with a stable of professional players. Morikawa is his only student

FIND YOUR RHYTHM, THEN OWN IT

No two golfing journeys are identical.

But if there is a common theme, it’s turbulence. Golf drags you on a rollercoaster ride—you fall in love with the game and then fall out of it. You make a breakthrough and then hit a wall. The exhilarating successes are sandwiched by humbling failures.

This is true even for the best players in the world. Of course, their ebbs and flows are on a different scale, and their general trajectory is upward. Still, even the superstars have had their struggles.

Brooks Koepka wasn’t good enough to get a scholarship offer from his beloved Florida Gators. Phil Mickelson couldn’t

36 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

1

Everyone swings with different rhythm, but the important thing for good ball-striking is to stick with your rhythm. I have a pretty deliberate takeaway—the club moves low and slow off the ball (right) and doesn’t pick up much speed until my transition into the downswing. But with this unhurried tempo, the tendency under pressure is to get quicker and out of sync.

To keep that from happening, focus on the beginning and the end of the swing.

Start with a smooth takeaway and finish in balance. If you can do both, the middle part should fall into sequence perfectly. It worked for me on Sunday at the PGA Championship, when I drove the par-4 16th and made an eagle to help win my first major.

“I’ve been very lucky,” says Collin, who now lives in Las Vegas—on his own but not too far away from home. He misses L.A., of course, but “you know, taxes.” He thinks about money these days, in the good way—because he has a lot of it. He didn’t when he was younger.

“We never had to think about mon-

on the PGA Tour, so Sessinghaus has no need to hide his rooting interest. In other words, he cheers. Loudly. And during the fan-less reality of pandemic golf in 2020, he was often the only one.

“We fist-bump for birdies,” Sessinghaus says with a smile. We refers to anyone near him, including this writer, who

‘I DON’T SHOW UP TO ANY COURSE THINKING I CAN’T WIN. I’VE WON TOURNAMENTS HITTING IT THE LENGTH I HIT IT NOW.’

•••

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can confirm the policy. “For eagles, I might knock your hand off,” he says.

Of course, Sessinghaus knows the golf swing—particularly Collin’s, which he has molded for 15-plus years. But Sessinghaus also owns a doctorate in applied sports psychology and penned a book called Golf: The Ultimate Mind Game. Not surprisingly, he preaches a holistic method for improvement— he and Morikawa talk often about a “growth mind-set”—and speaks about his relationship with his star pupil as a father gushes about his son.

Their work has never been the typical instructor-stands-behind-theplayer-on-the-practice-tee situation.

Instead of having a young Morikawa mindlessly hit balls on the driving range, Sessinghaus preferred to simulate situations on the golf course.

like varying how high the hands finish to determine shot shape.

Morikawa progressed rapidly. He quit playing other sports around age 10. Baseball was the hardest goodbye.

“It’s not like I didn’t want to play other sports,” he says. “I just felt like if I wanted to do this, this is what I had to do.” Eye-popping self-knowledge for a pre-teen. “It was my decision, as a little kid,” he says. “It’s crazy to think about it, but it’s what I loved.”

During the next few years, Sessinghaus grew increasingly certain he had something special.

“I remember this conversation with my wife when I came home after a day working with Collin,” he says. “I told her, ‘He has it. He has that special thing. He’s going to be a professional.’

He was 12 years old at the time.”

KEEP GOING AFTER IMPACT

2

Thinking about getting into the right finish position is a great way to tap into your athleticism and swing through the ball—to keep going after impact. I play a cut 95 percent of the time, but I’m able to hit draws when I need to. There are many ways to shape shots, but for me, it’s always been simplest to work backward: I focus on the finish. For my stock cut, I’ll finish with the shaft of the club somewhat horizontal behind the middle of my head. For a super high fade, I’ll finish with my hands way up over my head. For a draw, I’ll feel like I’m wrapping the club more around my shoulders and neck. I’m at my best when I’m in a creative mind-set, and this method lets my body intuitively react to that.

“We’d drop balls around the course, and I’d have him play three types of shots,” Sessinghaus says. “On the first, I’d let him do his thing. Then we’d talk about why he chose that shot, what he was trying to do, and he’d make his own adjustments for No. 2. Then I’d give him some technical advice on how to play the correct shot for the situation, and he’d try that shot for the third.”

S e ssinghaus’ goal has never changed: He wants Collin to be a player, not a hitter, to think about variables and understand his mistakes. Was that a bad swing or a bad decision? Both coach and student credit this philosophy with helping make Morikawa the measured player he is today. You won’t catch Morikawa posting launchmonitor readings to Instagram, and he doesn’t so much rely on adjusted yardages as he does on feel, artistry and athleticism. What Sessinghaus and Morikawa work on has remained consistent since Morikawa was a child: low-tech drills such as hitting flat-footed punch shots and simple methods

A FATEFUL DECISION IN COLLEGE

When it came time to choose a college, Morikawa had options. An accomplished junior with a sparkling report card, he was every college coach’s dream. “I was able to really look at the entire country and say, OK, this is where I want to go,” he says. “My mom went to USC, so I grew up a Trojan fan.

The Pac-12 was always in my blood. I always viewed the Pac-12 as the best.”

In the end, he narrowed his options to four California schools: Stanford, UCLA, USC and Cal-Berkeley. He chose Berkeley and wasted little time establishing himself as the alpha of the program, finishing as Cal’s top player in seven of his 14 events as a freshman in 2015-’16. But he didn’t win a tournament that season, and not until that summer did he truly emerge as one of the best players in the country.

In June 2016 he won the prestigious Sunnehanna Amateur with a finalround 62. The next week he teed it up in the Capital Classic, a tournament on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour,

‘THEY SAID MY SHOT DISPERSION WITH A 6-IRON WAS ABOUT THE SAME AS THE AVERAGE TOUR PRO’S WITH A PITCHING WEDGE.’

••• which he qualified for by winning the Trans-Mississippi Amateur the year before. It was his first time playing in a professional tournament, so he felt perfectly content to make the cut on the number. Then he closed with two sizzling 63s and drained a 27-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to get into a three-way playoff.

Ollie Schniederjans ended up winning, but from the outside it seemed Morikawa had a difficult choice to make: Stay in school or turn pro. Clearly, his game was ready. But he knew he wasn’t prepared at 19 for the solitary life of a professional golfer.

“I don’t think I would have turned pro, even if I won,” he says. “I definitely would have brought it up to my parents, and I would have thought about it. Yes, maybe my golf game was ready, but I wasn’t ready to live that life by myself. People have said I’ve been very mature and, yes, I probably could have lived on my own. But I didn’t go to a school like Cal to play one year, have some good results and leave. Just wasn’t my mind-set.”

Eric Mina was an assistant during Morikawa’s last three years at Cal and remembers meeting him at the first team practice of Morikawa’s sophomore year at Blackhawk Country Club.

Mina had been an All-American at Cal and did the mini-tour grind for a few years before returning to the program.

He knew what a professional golfer looked like—an awful lot like a teenage Collin Morikawa.

“What caught my eye was his ability to maneuver the golf ball, to really control it,” Mina says. “Whether it was a half shot or a full shot, he knew his february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

39

‘I DIDN’T GO TO A SCHOOL LIKE CAL TO PLAY ONE YEAR, HAVE SOME GOOD RESULTS AND LEAVE. IT JUST WASN’T MY MIND-SET.’

••• yardages. He really knew them. You don’t see that with a lot of pro golfers, so for a 19-year-old kid to have that— extremely impressive.”

Now, there’s staying in school and then there’s staying in school. It’s not exactly a secret that the best college athletes often pick—how should we say this?—manageable majors and classes. If they don’t leave early, as Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth did, then the goal is to stay academically eligible without racking up a particularly stressful workload.

Morikawa missed the memo. During the fall of his sophomore year, just as his golf had begun to take off, he applied to the Haas Business School, the No. 3 undergraduate business program in America, according to U.S. News & World Report. He received his acceptance letter while at a golf tournament in Hawaii, naturally.

“I think the biggest thing that helped us out as far as keeping him in school,” Mina says, “was him getting into Haas.

If he didn’t get in, it might have been appealing for him to leave.”

But what use does a professional golfer have for a business degree?

“A bunch of people are coming out of Haas and running their own startups or going into a large business or company,” Morikawa says. “They’re getting great jobs. Me, I’m getting a great job and running my own brand, running who I am as a golfer. I might not necessarily be doing everything, but I understand everything that’s going on.

“I don’t know that everyone out there on the PGA Tour really has a full understanding of everything that’s going on behind them. I’m very aware of that, of what’s going on in the background.

40 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

Other people, they couldn’t care less.

They just want someone to do it for them. But I want to be involved; I want to learn about it.”

Also during his sophomore year Morikawa met Katherine Zhu, a player on the Pepperdine women’s golf team.

Morikawa and Zhu shared a mutual friend on the Cal women’s team, and their story of coming together is distinctly modern: The friend showed Morikawa pictures on Zhu’s Instagram page. Morikawa liked what he saw, and the two began texting, eventually meeting over spring break. They have been together since.

“She’s helped me so much,” Morikawa says, quick to point out that he didn’t begin winning tournaments in bunches until she came into his life.

“Especially out on tour, it’s a very lonely life. Everyone will tell you, at parts of their career, they’ve been lonely. Having her travel with me, we’ve been able to explore new cities, have good dinners. I’ve just been able to relax, not to stress about the next day so much. I think that’s how some of the best players out there that have families, kids traveling with them are able to flip the switch. On the golf course, it’s golf; it’s business. Off the course, they don’t tire themselves out. Without her, I’d be so focused on golf 24-7, getting antsy about the next round, stuff like that.

You can never do that.”

He got into business school, he got the girl, then he started winning. During his last three years at Cal, he won five times and lost in a playoff twice.

His junior year, he set a new NCAA

come in a tournament at all. It came on a practice range. While he was at Cal, he took a dispersion test on a launch monitor. “They said my shot dispersion with a 6-iron was about the same as the average tour pro’s with a pitching wedge,” he told Golf Digest in 2019. “I guess that’s a humble brag.”

A DIRECT PATH TO THE TOUR

In the summer of 2019, J.J. Jakovac was out of a job. Ryan Moore, his boss of eight years, had decided to go in a different direction, which is the way players on the PGA Tour tell their caddies that it’s over. Jakovac, who won the NCAA D-II individual title in college twice (2002 and 2004), knew that a new highly touted crop of college players was about to turn pro— Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff and Justin Suh—so he figured he would do what anyone looking for a new job does: email the résumé.

“I wrote to a couple agencies,” Jakovac says, “said I’m free, would love to help. I was most interested in Collin’s situation, so I emailed his agent directly. I figured it was really late in the game because it was only a week before he turned pro. The next day, Collin called me.”

The inter view lasted about 45 minutes and was more or less what you would expect: W hat’s your background in golf? Your philosophy on strategy? How do you think you can help me succeed? But Jakovac remembers one question he didn’t expect from a 23-year-old. “He asked

BORROW FROM YOUR PLAYING PARTNERS

3

I still have room to improve in so many parts of my game—particularly with the wedges and putter. I’ve been lucky to have had early successes on tour, so I get some good pairings in tournaments. And when I’m playing with the big boys, I always make an effort to watch what they do well. When I play with Tiger, I feel like my iron shots—like this soft three-quarter wedge (right)—get better. When I play with Adam Scott, I pick up things on how to carry myself and manage my way around the golf course. The takeaway: If you notice one of your playing partners does something well, take a close look at what exactly they’re doing, and see if you can apply it to your game.

scoring record with an average of 68.68 and finished the year as the No. 1 player in the nation. As a senior, he won the Pac-12 individual title and had 11 top 10s in 12 starts.

But perhaps his most impressive feat in college, the true harbinger of his rapid success as a professional, did not

me, ‘Are you organised?’ Such a funny question—like, I can’t really show you; all I can say is yes, I’m organised.”

Morikawa’s reasoning for asking?

“My pet peeve is people who are late.”

Jakovac’s answer satisfied his interviewer, 15 years his junior, and the job was his. He flew to Columbus, Ohio, for

his first day of the new gig, which was also Morikawa’s first tournament as a pro: a 36-hole sectional qualifier for the U.S. Open. Morikawa made it through, shooting 66 in the second round to make it on the number. Three days later he teed it up in the RBC Canadian Open on a sponsor’s invite, finished T-14 and made $125,400. Not bad for a first paycheck out of school.

“I had dinner with Justin Thomas that week in Canada,” Morikawa says.

“He gave me great advice, not about how to hit the golf ball, but about getting to the PGA Tour. He said, ‘If you’re good enough, you’ll get there eventually.’ He told me not to change who I am as a player. Everyone’s path is different, but you’ll get there at some point.”

Thomas was speaking from experience—he, too, was a decorated college player, but like most everyone else, he played a full season on the Korn Ferry Tour before getting his card.

Morikawa’s path, it turned out, would be more direct. Less than a month after the RBC, he finished second in the 3M Open to Wolff, who drained an eagle putt on the 72nd hole for a one-shot victory. Hovland, the third member of the Class of 2019 triumvirate, finished 13th. All three had arrived, and the comparisons began.

“I don’t get tired of [the comparisons] because at the end of the day it

“The other young guys—it’s not just their attitude toward golf, but it’s life.

You can tell they’re kids,” Jakovac says.

“They really are, and you can tell. And you can’t tell with Collin.

“On Mondays and Tuesdays, we’ll play practice rounds, and he’s hamming it up with his buddies. Then you’ll kind of see that on Wednesday, he goes into a different mode. It’s hard to explain. He’ll purposely go out by himself and start thinking about his game plan for the week, stuff other kids maybe don’t do. He prepares very, very maturely for tournaments.

It’s not just always going out and playing matches with your buddies, joking around. He gets kind of serious when he needs to. It’s nice to see.”

In his next start after placing second to Wolff, Morikawa finished T-4 at the John Deere Classic to secure a tour card for the next season. In his next start after that, he won the Barracuda Championship in just his sixth tournament as a professional.

When the coronavirus pandemic forced the PGA Tour to temporarily suspend its season back in March, Morikawa had made the cut in each of his first 20 professional tournaments. However, he knew there was progress to be made, another gear to be reached—and he knew what would take him there: improving his short

TRY MY DRILLS TO IMPROVE YOUR BALL-STRIKING

4

I have two drills I use often. The first is, I’ll hit little punch shots with an iron, keeping both feet planted throughout the swing. It’s a great way to feel what’s happening through the hitting zone and identify any issues.

The other drill is, I put a glove under my left armpit and make a swing trying to keep it from falling. I have a tendency to just pick up the club on the backswing rather than turn. This causes my arms to get away from my body and results in a wipey pull-fade that curves more than I want. If I turn properly and keep everything connected (left), the consistency of my ball-striking is so much better.

really doesn’t matter. I don’t look at leader boards and think, Oh, my God, I beat Viktor, Matt beat me. It’ll never stop, and I understand that, because the media is looking for a story, and I’ll admit, it’s a pretty good story. But beating those guys, it gives me no satisfaction.”

Morikawa also points out that while they all turned pro in the same month, they’re all different ages—Wolff did two years at Oklahoma State, and Hovland did three, which makes Morikawa the elder statesman of the group—by age and by demeanor.

game and especially his putting. In his first full season on tour, Morikawa ranked 19th in strokes gained/off the tee and second in strokes gained/ approach, but he finished 93rd in strokes gained/around the green and 128th in strokes gained/putting.

He spent the hiatus working on his weaknesses at his adopted home course, The Summit Club in Las Vegas.

That, and fostering dogs—he and Zhu took advantage of the unexpected time at home to care for a number of dogs from nearby shelters. They have plans to permanently adopt a goldendoo-

‘THERE’S ALWAYS A BUNCH OF GUYS WHO ROCK UP ON THE SCENE. . . .

YOU KNOW WHEN SOMEBODY IS GOOD, AND COLLIN IS GOOD.’

••• dle in early 2021. “Watch out, world,” Collin says.

In his first tournament after the restart, at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, Morikawa’s putting came under the microscope for the worst reason possible. After playing his way into a playoff against Daniel Berger, Morikawa had a three-footer on the first extra hole to match Berger’s par. He yanked the putter back inside and pushed it dead right—a crushing lip-out and a brutal way to lose.

“Putting, for me, it just never came naturally,” he says. “Some guys, it does.

Not me. But the ball-striking does.

I feel like if I take a week or two off, I can come back and hit a bunch of perfect high cuts. But putting is more of a struggle.”

The nightmare nearly repeated itself a month later, one week after his streak of 22 made cuts ended at the Travelers Championship, falling just three short of Tiger Woods’ record of 25 to begin a career. At the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village, he needed to make another three-footer to get into a playoff with his old dinner partner, Justin Thomas. This one was a pull— but it caught the lip and fell. He then absorbed a 50-foot bomb from Thomas on the first playoff hole and punched back with a 24-footer of his own to continue the duel. A steady par on the next hole was enough for his second win.

Four weeks later, he elbowed his way into a seven-way tie for the lead late on Sunday afternoon at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, just a half-hour cruise across the bay from his college stomping february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

43

‘I’M AMERICAN. I BLEED U.S.A. . . .

IT’S JUST REALISING MY BACKGROUND AND SEEING WHERE I COME FROM, AND I THINK THAT’S PRETTY COOL.’

••• grounds. Playing in just his second major championship, he says he reached a mental headspace he had never been in before on a golf course.

“It was a focus where people could have been yelling in my face, and I wouldn’t have remembered. My first win, at the Barracuda, I can tell you where everyone was standing the last two holes—where my parents were, where Kat was standing. At the PGA, I have no recollection of where anyone was because I was so focused. People talk about Tiger’s tunnel vision—that’s where I was. Just so locked in on hitting the next shot, what the next shot was going to look like. I’ve never had that type of focus.”

He fatted a 9-iron approach at 14 then holed the chip for birdie to take the lead. Two holes later he stepped to the drivable 16th tee. The number was ideal for a driver—273 to the front edge and 278 to the hole—and the swing was, too.

“Thank God for my lack of distance,” Morikawa jokes. “Thankfully, I don’t hit it 330, so it was just a perfect driver for me.”

The ball landed just short of the green and rolled to seven feet. Suddenly, the tournament was in his hands. He might not punish the ball like some of his peers—Morikawa ranked 97th in driving distance last season—but this one went far enough.

“It’s not like I’m 5-9 in the NBA,” he says. “I don’t show up to any course thinking I can’t win. I’ve won tournaments hitting it the length I hit it now.”

Still, he needed to convert. Finally a crucial putt went in dead center, the eagle followed by a modest, if un-

44 golfdigestme.com | february 2021

inspiring, fist pump. Satisfied, but not surprised, Morikawa led the field in strokes gained/putting that week, which he credits to a tip his caddie gave him the week before in Memphis.

“I thought he had too much weight on his right foot, and he was kind of coming up on the ball and getting a bit jabby,” Jakovac says. “So I told him to put more weight on his left side, and it allowed the putter to flow through the hitting zone much better.”

Gutsy pars on 17 and 18 clinched a two-shot victory, and Morikawa became the fourth player since World War II to win the PGA Championship before turning 24. The other three? Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Golf had its new superstar—no shock at all to his competitors.

“There’s always a bunch of guys that rock up on the scene, and he didn’t necessarily get the most publicity out of the group he was in,” says Paul Casey, who finished tied for second at the PGA. “But, you know, I consider myself a veteran. I know talent when I see it. You know when somebody is good, and Collin is good. We could just tell. Those of us who knew, knew that was the cat. He’s the one.”

LIFE AS A MAJOR CHAMPION

Winning majors should be life-changing, but Morikawa certainly doesn’t feel much different. He’s a bit busier.

That’s about it. This was but the next step in his inexorable ascent of the golfing universe. He took a few days to enjoy the victory then turned his

doesn’t get recognised much at all. His barber in Las Vegas, for example, has no idea who he is. “And what makes that extra funny is they have a picture plastered on the wall of when Bryce Harper came in for a cut. But, I mean, come on, I’m a 5-foot-9 Asian dude—I put on a hat and a mask, and you are not going to recognise me.”

As for what’s next, the plans are vague. Morikawa is clearly driven by goals—never expectations, he says, always goals—but they are immediate goals. Get better today. Win this tournament. The long-range planning doesn’t come as naturally. Starting a foundation is on the to-do list, but he isn’t quite sure what the cause will be.

Animals, maybe. The business-school side of him sees the appeal of globalising his brand, an effort he knows will be aided by having a Japanese last name.

(His mom’s side is Chinese.)

“At the end of the day I’m American.

I bleed U.S.A. This is where my grandparents grew up; this is where my parents grew up; this is where I grew up,” he says. “It’s just realising my background and seeing where I come from, and I think that’s pretty cool.”

He wants to try the best restaurants around the world because, in his own words, “Food rules my life,” and “I think it would be awesome to meet bigtime chefs around the country because I want to see what they do. It’s so cool; it’s so awesome to me.”

As far as golf goes, there is still so much he hasn’t experienced: the firsttee nerves of a Ryder Cup, the quirks of an Open Championship. He wants

THINK YOUR WAY AROUND THE GOLF COURSE

5

Since I was a kid, I talk with my coach Rick Sessinghaus about nearly every round. We go through all the shots to decide if I made the right decisions to put myself in a position to succeed. You would be surprised just how many bogeys are made from a flawed thought process. At the U.S. Open last year, I didn’t play poorly, but three bad decisions in the opening round caused me to miss the cut by one. Try taking an honest look at your rounds and ask yourself, Were my mistakes the result of poor execution or bad decisions? You can live with bad swings because that happens in golf, but you’re in total control of decision-making, and it’s such an easy thing to improve.

attention to the upcoming FedEx Cup playoffs, which began at TPC Boston.

There he experienced one of those truly surreal pinch-yourself moments, when a masked Tiger Woods sought out Morikawa on the practice ground and said, “Welcome to the major club.”

Tiger aside, Morikawa says he still

to get stronger, to milk a few precious more yards out of that 5-foot-9 frame, but there is no rush. Because Collin Morikawa knows the player he is—and, just as crucially, the player he isn’t.

“I’ve gotten here doing what I’ve been doing,” he says. “It’s worked for me. Why change anything?”

gutter credit tk

Photograph by First Lastname

issue x . 2020 | golf digest

x

good dog ▶ “Palmer” is his family’s chocolate Lab named for Arnold.

9

QUESTIONS FOR

COLLIN MORIKAWA

WITH HALLY LEADBETTER 1. What’s your ideal off day?

Wake up, eat a great breakfast, probably go to the beach and just hang out with my girlfriend, Katherine Zhu, and family. Eat a great lunch, hang out again at the beach and eat an amazing dinner. Always food.

2. If you weren’t a professional golfer, what would you be?

I would be another professional athlete— if I were taller and stronger and everything else that a basketball player or a baseball player would be.

3. Favorite professional sports team?

Lakers and Dodgers.

4. Who would play you in a movie?

Maybe Jackie Chan. Jackie Chan’s a lot older than me, but I have a lot of wrinkles.

[Laughs.]

5. How many pairs of Adidas sneakers do you own?

Too many to count! And I’ve only been with Adidas for a year and a half. I have so many pairs that I love.

6. Let’s say you can keep only one pair.

What’s it going to be?

The classic, old Ultraboosts, all white.

7. What’s one thing you get every time you go grocery shopping?

I push the cart while my girlfriend shops, but I always buy oat milk or oat-milk ice cream.

8. What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Being late or people who are super messy.

I asked my caddie, J.J. Jakovac, if he was organized before I hired him for the job. And he didn’t know how to answer that because he was kind of freaked out. [Laughs.]

9. Who was your childhood role model?

Tiger Woods. It’s hard. I don’t think I’ve ever really looked up to someone for everything they do, like I want to be exactly like them, but Tiger made me love the game. He’s the reason I’m out here, and I love playing against him because he’s an amazing golfer. He’s still changing the game today. It’s cool to see someone like that and to finally be a part of something that he’s made so special. february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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Play Golf Digest Schools

X

Forget the One-Piece Takeaway Start back in a better sequence

BY MARK BLACKBURN

OU MIGHT HAVE been told to feel like your club, arms and torso start the swing in unison—commonly known as a one-piece takeaway. But when you look at the swings of better players in 3-D, that’s just not happening. Instead, the clubhead moves away first, followed by the hands, arms, shoulders, torso and pelvis. It’s the reverse of the downswing sequence, and it’s crucial to setting yourself up to strike the ball with power and precision. If you start back in one piece, the tendency is to get the club deep behind your body (small photo, above) and then have to pitch it up steeply. From there, the likely result is an out-to-in downswing path that results in a slice or a pull.

What I like to see is that the clubhead moves away from the ball first and is

Y

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then followed by the hands and arms and then the body. To check that your takeaway is good, address a ball and swing back until the shaft is parallel to the ground. From your vantage point, you want to see the clubhead over your target line and the butt end of the club pointing toward your trail hip pocket (left). As a drill, stick a tee in the butt end of the club and swing back trying to get the tee in close to that hip. Remember that image and feel when you swing.

—WITH RON KASPRISKE mark blackburn is the PGA of America’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

His Blackburn Golf Academy is in Birmingham, Ala.

Photographs by Dom Furore

Equipment

Game changer The availability of the best brands in golf and a junior programme rollout are the central tenants of a new partnership between Al Mouj Golf and the region’s leading golf retailer s a full european Tour venue since 2018 and runner-up in Golf Digest Middle East latest biennial ‘Top 10 Courses of the Middle East’ ranking, Al Mouj Golf enjoys a richly deserved global reputation.

Now the three-time Oman Open venue boasts another quality connection after appointing eGolf to manage the Al Mouj Golf Academy and Pro Shop.

The partnership with the Middle East’s largest golf retailer will see eGolf provide grassroots coaching programmes courtesy of its US Kids Golf distributorship, plus equipment and custom fitting services at the Greg Norman-designed club in Muscat.

Al Mouj CEO Nasser Al Sheibani said the agreement would give members and visitors to the Omani capital access to the leading brands in golf, some of which weren’t previously available in the Sultanate.

A

“This agreement underlines Al Mouj Golf’s commitment to providing our golfers with the highest quality golf products, some of which haven’t been previously available to our members and guests.”

More important, Al Sheibani said, was the junior component of the partnership which is designed to attract the next generation to the game.

As the Middle East distributor of US Kids Golf, eGolf will roll out a grassroots junior participation programme founded around the complete US Kids Golf teaching curriculum, a Middle East first.

A full suite of US Kids Coaching products will be available and refreshed regularly. All Al Mouj Golf coaches will hold Level One and Two Coach Certifications from the US Kids Golf Teaching Institute in Pinehurst, USA, while specialised US Kids club fitting will also be offered.

Complimentary club fitting and use of equipment and group classes with individual attention are part of the service. The coaching follows US Kids Golf’s games-based philosophy that engages golfers and makes learning for all children more fun.

“This agreement supports one of our key objectives at Al Mouj Golf to grow golf in Oman and inspire children of all ages to take up the game in a fun and exciting way,” Al Sheibani

Play

said. “That hopefully inspires them to remain lifelong players and build lasting memories out on the golf course with their friends and family.”

Dean Cheesley (pictured) who founded eGolf Megastore in 2011, hailed the agreement.

“I am very proud of this partnership, particularly in regard to our support of Omani Junior Golf through our upcoming work at the Al Mouj Golf Academy. We share every golfer’s passion for the game and combine our passion with a commitment to helping our customers achieve their maximum potential on the course.

“This is particularly true in regard to the development of Omani junior golf and the Omani national team and I look forward to many more years of partnership to grow and support the future of the game in Oman. “ The par tnership als o provides members and guests of Al Mouj Golf with access to more than 85 golf brands via the eGolf network in the UAE, enhancing their retail experience in the Sultanate.” almoujgolf.com

february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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3rd saudi international

Rumble III R OYA L

When even titleholder graeme mcdowell, a popular major champion, struggles for airtime, you know your field is seriously deep. Welcome then, to the 3rd Saudi International and the rise and rise of a Desert Swing juggernaut. by kent gray Photograph by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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3rd saudi international

With the world No.1, golf ’s very own human headline, seven of the world’s top 20 and a plethora of other drawcards besides, the 3rd Saudi International has satisfied its remit even before a ball has been hit at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. ▶ There is no guarantee Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and co. will turn up and turn it on (this is golf after all) but that they are turning up in King Abdullah Economic City at all means Golf Saudi’s ambition has been realised again. In spades.

Abu Dhabi has Rolex Series status and $8 million in prize money - more than double Saudi’s $3.5 million purse - in a $1 million increase on last season. Believe the whispers and it could even be co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour next January. Dubai, meanwhile, isn’t going to relinquish its hard-earned reputation as the “Major of the Middle East”, not with that roll call of champions to die for. You can’t buy history. But no one ever said Saudi had to fall in nicely behind its neighbours when it comes to Desert Swing pulling power.

“As entries are finalised for our third Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers, we are very happy with our line-up of international star players as we are stronger in strength and depth than we have ever been,’ said Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi CEO Majed Al Sorour after unveiling Kevin Na, a PGA Tour winner for the fifth time just days earlier, as the event’s latest bigname signing.

“Our vision is to grow golf across the Kingdom and make it both accessible and enjoyable to all Saudis. So by hosting prestigious tournaments such as these demonstrates that we are able to host the world’s best players as a means of inspiring the next generation of young Saudis and Saudi golfers.

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IT FEELS RIGHT THAT WE ARE ALSO SUPPORTING SO MANY YOUNG INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS WHO LOOK SET TO BE THE STARS OF TOMORROW.

“We are also delighted to have such strong support from all our event sponsors who share our vision in ensuring this tournament is one of the strongest events on the European Tour schedule. Thanks to the support of our partners, we are able to continue to support golf development in the Kingdom, while helping to support their work showcasing Saudi Arabia as a destination for international business development.”

In these pandemic times, spectators will be few and far between at Royal Greens. Luckily the TV product will be spectacular and globally alluring.

After his Sony Open victory, Na joined 2020 Masters champion Johnson, reigning U.S. Open champion DeChambeau, five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed and world No.18 Tony Finau in the field for the Feb. 4-7 event.

Sprinkle in the usual European Tour suspects - Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Mar-

johnson, kanaya: getty images • royal greens: kevin murray

tin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Bernd Wiesberger and Danny Willett, along with defending champion Graeme McDowell - and Saudi has a field that almost matches a WGC for global quality.

But wait, there’s more. How about Japan’s Takumi Kanaya, the former world amateur No.1 who turned professional in October and immediately underlined his potential by winning the Dunlop Phoenix Masters on the JGTO in only his fourth start as a professional. Or Akshay Bhatia, the 19-year-old American lefty who idolises the one and only “Lefty”, Mickelson.

Golf Saudi hasn’t forgotten its own with Othman Almulla, Saudi’s pioneering professional, and Saud Al Sharif, the Kingdom’s leading amateur, setting their sights on becoming the first player to make the weekend at their home open.

clockwise from top left ▶ Dustin Johnson at last year’s Saudi International; Japanese star Takumi Kanaya; Royal Greens G.C.C.

There’s even an intriguing amateur narrative with invites for Jordanian teen Shergo Kurdi and Spaniard Eduard Rousaud Sabate, the current world No.4.

“It feels right that we are also supporting so many young international players who look set to be the stars of tomorrow. We hope their experience of Saudi Arabia will be their first of many visits and they will be part of our journey in developing a vibrant and sustainable golfing nation.”

The only question that remains is which big name will join Johnson and McDowell on an honours board that might be new but is quickly making up for lost time with genuine quality. february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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DEEP S TAT E BRYSON DECHAMBEAU’S PHYSIQUE AND RESULTING DISTANCE ADVANTAGE OFF THE TEE WILL BE A KEY NARRATIVE AT THE SAUDI INTERNATIONAL BUT THE AMERICAN IS SEARCHING FOR EVEN BIGGER GAINS ELSEWHERE

By Kent Gray

3rd saudi international

N

ew year (thankfully), same old questions (inevitably). Mercifully, Bryson DeChambeau’s answers to repeated questions of distance, lengthy affairs in of themselves, never get tired. That’s because the reigning U.S. Open champion is still looking for more pop off the tee and articulates said pursuit of once unthinkable performance gains with such fascinating honesty. Romping to victory by six strokes at Winged Foot in September has not only served to embolden his plan for world dominance via scientifically verified brute force but given us more unique insights into the future of the game (like it or not) from the eminently quotable Californian.

“Exactly,” DeChambeau said when asked if his major breakthrough had reinforced the belief in the methods that were seen as madness not so long ago. “I’m not trying to prove my point, just showcasing it, in a sense, saying this is what I’m going to do and how I’m going to do it.”

DeChambeau’s reshaped physique and resulting distance gains were arguably the golf story of 2020, save for a pesky pandemic and the brief distraction of Dustin Johnson’s emotional Masters win. But it’s the second part of his bomb-and-gouge methodology where the 27-year-old has been equally focused recently, even if the media have mostly focused on his new bromance with world long drive champion Kyle Berkshire.

Lost in the revelation of 211mph swing speeds on the range at the recent Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua and how an over active frontal lobe at Augusta National helped derail his bid for green jacket, was a determination to get the ball in the hole in fewer of those rather awkward looking locked-arm putting strokes of his.

On the very day he fronted journalists in a virtual press conference to preview his second Saudi International appearance, DeChambeau was headed for a session with his putter maker, SIK Golf. Typically, it wasn’t going to be a few simple swipes on the practice green and then into the bar.

“We’re going to be working on launch, roll, how to be more consistent with my acceleration profile,” DeChambeau said. Acceleration profile?

“As you guys know at Winged Foot, my Photograph by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images

…THE FRONTAL LOBE OF MY BRAIN WAS WORKING REALLY, REALLY HARD AND THAT’S KIND OF WHAT GAVE ME SOME WEIRD SYMPTOMS. LIKE CRAZY OVERWORKING.

human headline ▶ New year, the same (but never) old, utterly fascinating self anaylsis

speed control was unbelievable. But again, I built a speed control profile and acceleration profile for those green speeds. And so when you get to different green speeds, I’m not as comfortable with it. So right now we’re working on how can I go to different greens and adapt a lot better. That’s the main thing for me right now.”

Sure, DeChambeau says, he is bigger and faster. But that advantage off the tee is only an advantage if you can get more putts to drop. “… for the most part you won’t see me with a 5-iron in hand into a par 4. Just doesn’t happen very often anymore. I try and bomb it out there and wedge it close and still make a lot of putts.

“For example, played in Kapalua [T-7 at 20 under, five shots behind winner Harris English], and to me, it was a golf course that I felt like I could demolish. I still didn’t putt my best but at the end of the day, it was a completely different golf course.”

DeChambeau views Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, where he finished T-6 in the inaugural tournament in 2019 with four rounds in the 60s, in the same light. Indeed, he intends setting his schedule around such layouts, a “bit of a bomber’s paradise” as he put it.

“A lot of it, too, is trying to rest my body and make sure I’m playing in tournaments that suit my game, as well. I’m looking at trying to play golf courses where you can miss it a little bit but again, you still have to hit great shots. I will tell you, though, that hitting it far there [Royal Greens] will be an advantage with some of the par 5s and I think it will fit me well, a lot better than the other golf courses [in the Middle East].” february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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Perhaps the best question posed in this new age of driver, wedge, birdie look was how DeChambeau would set up a course to foil himself. The short answer, he said, is that there really isn’t a defence.

“I would say it is a strategic golf course where you have to hit irons off the tee and you have to keep it in play. Even at that point, I still have an advantage when I’m hitting my 8-iron 200 to 205 yards. No matter what, that’s a huge advantage.

“So it’s really tough to combat distance. I don’t think it will ever truly be controlled or combatted. You can kind of mitigate it a small amount with the types of courses you build and the way you put in these hazards [such as cross bunkers]. But it’s a very difficult thing to do and I don’t think it will ever fully be figured out.”

HAVING A WORLD NO. 1 [IN THE FIELD] PUTS A LITTLE FIRE MY BELLY. I WANT TO GO OVER THERE AND AND BEAT HIM.

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END OF THE ROAD here there is a ceiling, in DeChambeau’s wondrous mind at least, is ball speed. Time spent training with Berkshire reiterated that 210mph is probably the point of diminishing returns.

“He’s hitting driver on par 5s that are 540 yards and having a gap wedge in. I mean, he’s not going to gain an extra 140 yards, and even if he did he would be hitting 3-wood on par 4s.

“For me I think where he’s kind of at, around that 210-mile-an-hour ball speed, playable with a 45-inch driver… it is something that is definitely achievable and intriguing to me, and I feel like once you get to that point, it’s kind of the end of the road to me, there’s not really much more, nor is it a reason to gain because you’re driving par 4s at that point.”

So how close have you come to that 210mph milestone?

“Yeah, so I’ve reached it a few times actually, but the difference is I can get up there with 150 golf balls in training, really working hard and swinging as hard as I can for a long amount of time.

But when you get to the golf course, you have to hit it straight, right. It’s a completely different perspective change that I have to have on the golf course.

“For example, at Kapalua, I actually got to 211 on the driving range on Wednesday, and then when I got to the golf course, I got it over 200 in a practice range session before I went

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greenprint ▶ DeChambeau, pictured here at the Masters, is doubling down on his putting in 2021

out but when I get out to the golf course, it was 193, 194. That just shows you how the brain reigns you in going, no, I need to hit it straight because I’m a professional golfer and I still need to keep it in play every hole.

“So you kind of lose that ability to just free yourself up and let it go. As of right now, I’m trying to learn how to bring that lower end up to where it’s around 200 today because I can get it over 200 no problem.”

Sheesh.

F

MASTERS MATTER ast and ever forward thinking. Welcome to DeChambeau’s world. It’s no surprise then that he found the old grey matter was in overdrive at Augusta National where he didn’t feel well during the rescheduled Masters. Struggling to rekindle the feelings he enjoyed at Winged Foot, the pre-tournament favourite finished T-34 on two-under, 18 strokes adrift of Johnson, and went searching for answers.

“I actually went to multiple doctors, multiple people, trying to figure out what this was.

I got a bunch of MRIs. Went to an inner ear doctor, eye tests, eye pressure, ear pressure, even did ultrasound on my heart, ultrasounds on my neck to see the blood flow and how things were moving through the different areas of my body, and everything came back really, really well.

“The one thing I will tell you is that I’ve done a lot of brain training with Neuropeak, and the frontal lobe of my brain was working really, really hard and that’s kind of what gave me some weird symptoms. Like crazy overworking.“ Breathing exercises and a better sleep routine have helped but DeChambeau was never going to stop there.

“I’m really working on gut health right now. I think there could be something there. I guess you could say it was a dirty weight gain bulk. I’ve started to lean out over the past month, still trying to have strength gains while maintaining good muscle mass, good muscle size and strength, and power, as well. That’s what I’m trying to develop is a lot of power now.

It’s going to come through eating well, feeding my body with the right sources to make sure this head stuff doesn’t ever come back.”

(2) getty images

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DEEP STATE hat will continue to be repeated is the scrutiny of DeChambeau’s unconventional methods. The distance debate has reached simmering point courtesy of the Californian. And remember when he fell foul of the rule makers for putting side-saddle? What would happen then if you get even better on the greens and your lockedarm method comes under the microscope?

“If they ever did rule-change that, I still think that there are ways to lock the body, lock the wrists in. You look at Arnold Palmer back in the day and his wrists, or Hogan or even Jack Nicklaus, how he putted. There are ways to lock the wrists in on your own.

“If players find a way to put themselves in a position that allows them to repeat motion more consistently, then good on them. That’s

kingdom come ▶ DeChambeau finished T-6 with four rounds in the 60s at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in 2019

just being innovative and smart about how they are approaching a certain part of the game, which I think is part of the game. It’s a thinker’s game, right? That’s what golf is.”

Clearly some think deeper than others.

Which is why DeChambeau will arguably be the main drawcard in King Abdullah Economic City even with world No.1 Johnson, the 2019 champion, and a host of other big names in the house.

“Absolutely. Having a world No. 1 [in the field] puts a little fire my belly. I want to go over there and play and beat him,” DeChambeau said of Johnson who currently occupies the world ranking he openly covets.

“I was fortunate enough to clip him by one or two in Kapalua and if I keep doing that, if I keep beating him in every event, eventually the tables will turn.”

New year, the same old fascinating journey. february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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HOME GROWN The weekend. In professional golf it’s when the bills get paid, an invisible mark in the calendar that leads to unimaginable riches and potential superstardom or the continued fret of how to pay the mortgage. For Saudi’s pioneering professional Othman Almulla and leading amateur Saud Al Sharif, making the cut at the Saudi International isn’t nearly as critical but the desire to become the first home grown player to reach the weekend is deeply personal and hugely motivating.

“We are very fortunate to have such a highprofile event in our country and I feel very honoured to be representing Saudi Arabia in a field of such high-quality global golfers,” said Al Sharif.

“This will be my third time playing and each year I gain such invaluable insight into what it takes to be a top golfer.” priceless ▶ Saud Al Sharif enjoyed a practice round with reigning Open champion Shane Lowry last year.

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OTHMAN ALMULLA AND SAUD AL SHARIF WILL AGAIN PROUDLY FLY THE SAUDI FLAG AT ROYAL GREENS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

BY KENT GRAY

With a field headlined by world No.1 Dustin Johnson and the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Tony Finau and Phil Mickelson, not to mention all the European Ryder Cup stars, making the cut at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club is even more difficult than most European Tour events.

Both Almulla and Al Sharif both have a mountain to climb on the evidence of their previous records in King Abdullah Economic City. Almulla carded rounds of 80-81 in 2019 when Johnson won the inaugural title and 7575 last year when Graeme McDowell reignited his career. Al Sharif also knows the hurdle confronting him after finishing 130th out of 132 players in each of the past two years with rounds of 79-80 in 2019 and 82-73 last year. But there is no lack of effort to reach the summit of his own personal Everest.

“I hope that all the work I have been putting into my game since last year pays off and I can make everyone proud by becoming the first player from the Kingdom to make the cut.”

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IMPROVE YOUR SWING WITH THIS SPEEDY AND EFFECTIVE EXERCISE PROGRAM THAT HELPS GOLFERS WHERE THEY NEED IT THE MOST

fast-track

golf fitness

BY RON KASPRISKE

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THERE ARE PLENTY OF FITNESS ROUTINES

that come with the promise of tightening your abs, improving your cardiovascular health, shaving 20 pounds off your mid-section and making you feel 10 years younger.

But this isn’t one of them.

This one is all about the exercises that can make you a better golfer without having to spend hours and hours in the gym. For this workout, you’ll be focusing on only two areas of the body, says performance coach Tyler Campbell. That’s it, just two. And if you do this quick-and-easy routine regularly, your golf game will improve through osmosis.

“Exercises that improve hip mobility and rotation through your mid-back will give you the best chance to make a more efficient swing with proper sequencing,” says Campbell, who trains clients at the Golf Performance Centre in Ridgefield, Conn.

With that in mind, here are eight exercises to get you and your golf year off to a great start. issue x . 2021 | golf digest

x

mid-back bretzels “The bretzel is great for improving your ability to rotate the upper or lower body separately,” Campbell says. “Although we categorise this as a thoracic-spine exercise, it has great benefit for the flexibility of the lower body, too.”

Lie on your left side with your right leg flexed up toward your waist. Place your left hand on the flexed leg to help it stay on the ground. Reach for your left foot with your right hand and pull the heel toward your hips. Finally, take a breath and exhale as you rotate your right shoulder toward the ground. Do eight to 10 reps, and then repeat on the opposite side.

kneeling side bends “I like this exercise not only for isolating the thoracic-spine region, which is a key to good rotation in the golf swing, but also because it improves lateral flexion, which means being able to stay in posture as you rotate. It should go a long way for your ball-striking,” Campbell says.

Kneel with your torso upright and your hands behind your head, elbows flared to your sides. Laterally bend to the right so your mid-section contracts on that side above your waistline. Return to the start position, then slightly rotate your torso to the right, and laterally bend down again. Do 10 reps in each direction, gradually increasing the rotation of your torso with each rep.

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windmills “These improve mid-back and lower-body mobility. And if you add resistance like holding a dumbbell or an anchored band, you’ll challenge your shoulder blades’ stability.

That stability is key to proper rotation and control of the club throughout the swing,” Campbell says.

Begin in a tall-kneeling position and then step forward with your right leg so it’s bent 90 degrees in front of your torso. Your left leg also should remain bent at 90 degrees. Place your left hand next to your right foot while reaching upward with your right hand (your torso will rotate toward your right leg). The goal is to keep your right leg still as you reach. Do eight to 10 reps, then repeat with the opposite arm-and-leg configuration.

step-outs to step-ups "This is the most challenging of the mid-back exercises. It will test your ability to be mobile and stable in a dynamic way—just like you need to be when you swing a club at faster speeds,” Campbell says. “Go slow and use a mirror to check your form. It’s OK if you can’t complete a full rep at first. Keep trying.”

Start in a tall-kneeling position with a 5-iron extended over your head. Keeping the club level, step forward with your right leg into a half-kneeling position and rotate your torso toward that leg. Once you feel stable, push off of the right leg and stand up, balancing on that foot as you raise your left leg up to waist height. Once you have your balance, rotate your body toward the raised leg. Do 10 reps, posting on each leg. february 2021 | golfdigestme.com

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hips supine pelvic tilts to bridges “When you swing, it’s difficult to create an efficient energy transfer from your body to the golf club if your pelvis is unstable,” Campbell says. “This exercise is base camp for hip and pelvic stability.”

Lying on your back with your spine in a neutral/flat position, arch your back for a couple of seconds, then press it into the floor for the same amount of time. Then let your spine return to a neutral position, neither arched nor pressing into the ground. Next, squeeze your glutes and raise your pelvis toward the ceiling. Hold this bridge position for several seconds and then slowly lower yourself back into the neutral-spine pose that started the exercise. Do two sets of eight reps.

supine leg lifts “We haven’t talked much about the role of the abs, but this exercise will strengthen them for better swing stability. It also improves your awareness and control of the pelvis,” Campbell says. “The ability to hinge from the hip joints of the pelvis into a quality address posture is key to a functional golf swing.”

Lie on your back with your legs completely straight and flat on the ground. Without using any rocking momentum, raise both legs simultaneously until they are perpendicular to the ground (or as high as you can raise them without letting them bend). Keeping the right leg in this vertical position, let the left slowly lower to the ground while staying straight. After a couple of seconds, return to the start position. Do 16 reps alternating the leg that’s lowered.

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standing pelvis tilts and turns “I call this the ‘Big Three’ for the pelvis, because it trains frontward and backward pelvic tilting and rotation in one exercise,” Campbell says. “Using a golf club to steady the body is great because it lets you isolate the hips to train independent motion from the upper body. Every golfer knows that the lower body has to lead the way in the downswing.”

Get in your golf address posture with your hands planted on top of a club. Keep your upper body still as you arch your lower back, extend your lower back and then finally rotate your hips in the direction of your downswing. If you feel vibration in your pelvis or generally struggle, return to doing supine pelvic tilts until you can graduate to these. Do 10 to 12 reps, and then repeat with the pelvis rotating in the opposite direction.

hip cars “To ultimately improve hip rotation, it’s critical that the joint move through as much range of motion as possible without compensation,” Campbell says.

“Improving control of this isolated hip motion is a big step toward swinging in the correct lower-body-to-upper body sequence in the downswing.”

Starting with your hands and knees on the floor in a quadruped position, lift your right leg off the ground and use your right hip to move the leg in a circular pattern around the side of your body. The key is to do this while keeping your spine neutral and your arms straight and pushing into the ground. Don’t arch your back or let your elbows bend. Do 12 full circles with each leg.

Photographs by Dom Furore

Play The Next One’s Good

When COVID Takes a Golf Friend by jerry tarde Editor-in-Chief got a call the other night from my old buddy Moon Man who wanted to let me know that the hero of our glory days had died of COVID. Close readers of this column might remember him from a 2004 ranking of the Top 5 Putters I’ve Ever Seen: (1) Tiger Woods, (2) Jack Nicklaus, (3) Bobby Locke, (4) Billy Casper, (5) Ed (the Bear) Billus, an opponent of mine on Philadelphia munys who did not miss a single putt that mattered, 1973-’88.

Actually, upon reflection, I think he was a little better than Locke and Casper.

The Bear is what we called him at Juniata Golf Course in Northeast Philly, where everybody had a nickname, and the regular wager was $2 per nine holes.

I’d stand on the first tee with about 30 other coffee-drinkers and take a partner, like Stiff Arms or Wawa, and we would “box” the field—playing 15 matches against all the other pairs. These were the free-wheeling days of my youth, long before house payments and college tuitions. The player you wanted as a partner was the Bear because he never lost. He would take somebody like Cosmo the Fat Man who didn’t even

I

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play golf and win big money matches with a lot of side action against the bestball of Plucker, Long Hair and Chollie Binoculars. I was known as Pro Shop because that’s where I worked.

The first time I met Ed, he was chipping to the putting green by the clubhouse. His daughter, Cheryl, was playing with a doll on a picnic table nearby. The Bear was hunched over at address; on chips he looked like he was tying his shoes. His hands were far forward, and he lifted his pitching wedge straight up and dropped it sharply onto the back of the ball, which squirted off the face with backspin, skipping three or four times until it ratcheted near the hole. He did this for hours, and Cheryl never seemed to get bored.

“I remember that,” she says now, “although I preferred to play in the maintenance piles of sand.”

On weekdays after work, we’d play a four-hole loop cross-country that we called the fire drill. The ground was hardpan, with sunflower stalks replacing flagsticks that had been stolen. It wasn’t unusual for the Bear to play the loop in nine or 10 shots, hitting low-slinging wedges that started 20 yards right of the green and hooked and bounced to the hole. Did I say he never missed?

The Bear had kind of an Arnold Palmer build, narrow at the waist and broad shouldered with callused hands, blacksmith forearms and a dark tan even in the middle of winter. His father and a brother were coal miners. Ed was a machinist, working the presses at the Philadelphia Inquirer. His wife, Barbara, died young and it was just him and Cheryl. He spoke quietly, humbly and had a gentle soul, but he was the man you’d want on the next barstool if a fight ever broke out in a neighborhood saloon.

We used to meet before golf to have breakfast in a diner where the bacon and eggs were 99 cents. All these years later, he still went to the diner with the crew every morning at 6 o’clock. Afterward he would drive his granddaughter, Chelsey, to school. She works in a primary-care centre now, where she contracted the virus right after Halloween. Then Cheryl got it. Stuffiness and fever, a lost sense of smell and taste followed.

They tried to quarantine, but it’s a small rowhouse, and the Bear caught it a day later. Chelsey’s boyfriend, Alex, had to carry Ed to the car and drive him to the hospital; then Alex tested positive.

This is an insidious disease. It leaves the strong and takes the vulnerable.

The Bear had been suffering since March with a pre-leukemia condition called MDS. COVID compromised his breathing. The Bear had fought through months of chemo, but nothing was left for COVID. Cheryl says, “They tried everything, plasma, remdesivir, the best doctors [at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where Cheryl works].”

She and Chelsey recovered but weren’t able to enter his room in intensive care.

They talked to him through the glass window. He died on Thanksgiving at 80.

“For a guy who never sat still, who was always so strong,” says Cheryl, “he seemed very content at the end.

He liked to watch football and golf on television. He really loved his golf.

He told us he wasn’t afraid, he’d had a full life.”

courtesy of the Billus/Phraner family

▶ the glory days Ed (the Bear) Billus was the partner everybody wanted to have.

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