Golf Digest Middle East - March 2024

All the holes constitute characteristics from Ernie Els’ favourite courses around the world.

4 Editor’s Letter

Are we getting any closer to a ‘global tour’ in what has been another busy month.

by harry grimshaw

The Starter

6 Sustainable Saadiyat Region leader in sustainable and environmental work.

by harry grimshaw

Mind / Body

8 Journeys

Annabell Fuller with harry grimshaw

44 Stay Down a Beat Longer

Try this drill to prevent fat and thin shots. by thomas

hawkeye valdez

66 What’s in My Bag Chiara Noja with harry grimshaw

Features

10 Welcome to The Lion’s Den

Think you have what it takes to compete against a touring professional?

by khaled samawi

14 Quick 9 with Charley Hull

A lookback at the past ten years as a pro in the female game. with harry grimshaw

16 Happening in Hong Kong LIV Golf heads east to inaugural tournament at Hong Kong GC. by harry grimshaw

20 Perfection From Patty Wire-to-wire victory at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International. by harry grimshaw

MARCH 2024

24 Changing Times

Olivia Cowan on the search for speed, balancing two tours, and golf evolution.

by harry grimshaw

COVER STORY

26 Front Man Arnie-Award winner Rory McIlroy’s special burden. by jaime diaz

32 The 50 Greatest on Tour Since ’74 Ranking the best seasons of modern-era players. by luke kerr-dineen and jamie kennedy

Hot List 2024 part 2

47 Players Irons

54 Players-Distance Irons

59 Game-Improvement Irons

63 Super-GameImprovement Irons by mike stachura

THE ELS CLUB DUBAI

Is there an end?

The battle remains ongoing between the three power houses in global golf

By Harry Grimshaw

NOT WANTING to sound like a broken record, but it has once again been a very tumultuous month in the world of golf.

Since we last spoke, and if you hadn’t been hiding under a rock, a few more players have left the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and headed over to LIV, notably Poland’s Adrian Meronk and Tyrrell Hatton. Meronk, who has cashed in with the Cleeks, puts his main reason for going down to not being picked for the 2023 Ryder Cup, while six-time DP World tour winner Hatton, joins Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII.

Then going back the other way, ionically, Sergio Garcia has reportedly come out in saying he wants to re-join the DP World Tour, so then he can try to qualify for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage – we will no doubt see if that comes to fruition.

Matthieu Pavon seems to be making a name for himself on the PGA Tour, as he became the first player to win a PGA Tour event under the French flag since World War II by winning the Farmers Insurance. A victory which wouldn’t of been possible had he not gained one of the 10 PGA Tour cards on offer via the PD World Tour’s top 10 finishers (not already exempt) on the Race to Dubai Rankings at the end of the 2023 season.

draw during his comeback after experiencing ‘flu-like symptoms’ mid-round on the Friday. Hideki Matsuyama went onto fire a final round of 62 to win the tournament, and become Asia’s most prolific PGA Tour winner.

Closer to home, Dylan Fritelli returned to the winners circle on the DP World Tour and marked a six-year drought by winning the Bahrain Championship at Royal Golf Club. While Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino won his first DP World Tour event at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club.

LIV Golfer David Puig, who plays for the Fireballs, punched himself a major-championship ticket in Malaysia on the Asian Tour. As did Torque’s Joaquin Niemann, the Chiliean was announced as a special invitee to the upcoming Masters (alongside Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen & Ryo Hisatsune of Japan). Although, there was no mention of Niemann’s LIV accomplishments in the press release sent out by Augusta National, after Joaquim was fairly vocal about the OWGR issue with LIV golfers after winning LIV Golf Mayakoba.

The Asian Tour had their opening International Series event in Oman at the Greg Norman designed Al Mouj Golf, in which Torque’s Carlos Ortiz upstaged Niemann and Stingers GC’s Louis Oosthuizen to record a convincing victory in the USD $2 million event.

That’s a move which is all part of the strategic alliance between the two tours. How much more will we see of Matthieu and the others who now have the option of playing across the pond?

In other news, Nelly Korda defeated Lydia Ko in a playoff to capture the LPGA Drive On Championship and Cristobal del Solar, fired a 13-under 57 in the first round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Golf Championship in Bogota, Colombia. This marked the lowest round in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event and tied the lowest professional tournament round ever!

Tiger Woods said goodbye to his infamous Nike clothing deal and made a return to action in the Genesis Invitational in his new ‘Sun Day Red’ apparel line, only to then have to with-

Patty Tavatanakit had an emotional return to the winners circle in Saudi Arabia for the Aramco Saudi Ladies International (more about that inside), which she then backed up the following week with victory in the Honda LPGA Thailand. Golf Saudi Ambassador, Bronte Law claimed her third LET victory at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, an event played alongside the PGA Champions Tour, which saw Argentinian Ricardo Gonzalez earn his full membership with Trophy Hassan II win.

Maybe March will be a bit calmer? Probably not though, as the merger deadline for a men’s ‘global golf tour’ between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF, which was originally set for December 31st, gets ever closer.

editor-in-chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer

managing partner & group editor

Ian Fairservice

editor Harry Grimshaw

art director Clarkwin Cruz

editorial assistant Londresa Flores

instruction editors Gilbert Hepburn, Conor Thornton, Scott Edwards, Alex Riggs

chief commercial officer

Anthony Milne

publisher David Burke

general manager - production

S. Sunil Kumar

production manager Binu Purandaran

THE GOLF DIGEST PUBLICATIONS

editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde

senior director, business development & partnerships

Greg Chatzinoff international editor Ju Kuang Tan

GOLF DIGEST USA

editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde

general manager Chris Reynolds

editorial director Max Adler executive editor Peter Morrice

art directors Chloe Weiss Galkin

managing editors Alan P. Pittman, Ryan Herrington playing editors Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson

dubai

Tel:

Email: motivate@motivate.ae

abu dhabi

14th Floor, Office 1406, Makeen Tower, 9th Street, Al Zahiyah, PO Box 43072, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Tel: +971 2 677 2005; Fax: +971 2 657 3401

Email: motivate-adh@motivate.ae

saudi arabia

Regus Offices No. 455 - 456, 4th Floor, Hamad Tower, King Fahad Road, Al Olaya, Riyadh, KSA

Tel: +966 11 834 3595 / +966 11 834 3596

Email: motivate@motivate.ae

london

Motivate Publishing Ltd, Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London, NW1 3ER, UK

Email: motivateuk@motivate.ae

PRACTICE BETTER. PLAY BETTER.

GAIN ACCESS TO WORLD-CLASS LONG GAME, SHORT GAME & PUTTING FACILITIES AT THE DP WORLD GOLF PERFORMANCE CENTRE

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Sustainable Saadiyat

Saadiyat Beach Golf Club leads the way with their sustainability practices and environmental conservation alongside its Championship layout

Designed by Gary Player, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi offers an exceptional playing experience matched by an outstanding natural destination. Set overlooking the Arabian Gulf with dolphins and other sea-life as spectators, the course utilises existing saltwater lakes and beach dunes in its highly-rated design.

As well as providing a spectacular setting for visitors, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club leads the way in the region with their sustainability practices and environmental conservation processes.

The club provides a sanctuary for over 160 bird species, 250+ mountain gazelles and a rejuvenation of native plants. They also play an active role in supporting the efforts of Saadiyat Island’s Hawksbill Turtle Conservation Programme. The nine kilometre Saadiyat Beach is home to several hawksbill turtle nests each year, with each nest containing around 90 to 100 eggs.

Additionally, in early March 2020, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club converted to 100% treated effluent irrigation water which has been a major positive in their quest to be as eco-friendly as possible. As well as being situated on the coast, with wind likely to be a factor, the par 72 course has 60 bunkers and is a real test with more than 7,750 yards infront of you (from the tips). —harry

grimshaw

HOST TO THE UPCOMING UAE CHALLENGE BETWEEN APRIL 25-28 ON THE EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR

Emirates

Saadiyat

‘The plan for entering LET Q School was purely just for experience’

The next thing I knew I got my card, and I was like “Oh okay, this is a bit different than what I was expecting!”

By Annabell Fuller with Harry Grimshaw

My dad played golf as a hobby, so he used to bring my sister, Sammy, along with him and that how she started playing golf. Her being three years older than me, naturally, as a younger sister I copied her when I was around three years old, and that’s how I got into golf. ●

I started to begin playing consistently when I was around the age of six or seven, and then when I was 13, I started taking it more seriously and putting more time and effort into it. Joining the England Golf set up kept me playing in more and more tournaments. It was then around the age of 14 or 15 I hit a mark of wanting to put more hours in for myself. Playing in more tournaments, doing better and better in those and seeing winning results. That then made me want to peruse this as a career, so the next step was University in the states.

●

With my sister having been through the college system before me, I could see how her pathway worked out and I thought it was such a great experience. You get all the different types of courses; amazing practice facilities and you still can travel and compete.

●

It was a difficult decision on where to go because obviously America is massive, but I fell in love with the University of Florida from the moment I went there. So, then it was an easy decision. I was able to play in the big amateur events while still studying English,

and balancing the two honestly wasn’t too bad. It was quite nice to have something to take your mind off golf, knowing that when you get in from your round you have an assignment to do. Although that seems quite daunting and a lot of work, it’s actually quite nice.

● ● ●

The biggest highlight in my amateur career were my Curtis Cups appearances. I was lucky enough to play in two of them. Most recently, in 2022 at Merion, which was incredible. But the most fun we had was in Wales in 2021. It was such a nice group of teammates, which included many of my friends from England and Scotland, so that made it awesome to play in.

● ● ●

The plan for entering 2024 Ladies European Tour Qualifying School was purely just for experience. I was still an amateur at University, and my coach was like, “Yeah, I think it’d be great if you play with the pros, get a rough idea of what level you need to get to, and then you can go back to university and play again this semester.”

● ● ●

I played pretty well in the pre qualifiers, which was three rounds of golf that

I got through. Then it was just a case of handling my nerves of, “Wow, I’m in final stage, I could actually do this.” Well, the next thing I knew, I got my card and I was like, “Oh okay, this is a bit different than what I was expecting.”

●

●

So I decided to then turn professional in January, and I only had one more class to take online, which I’m still doing now. I’ll graduate in May and then I can kickstart this part of my life out here on the LET!

● ● ●

Back home in England, there will be plenty of people keeping an eye on me this season from England Golf and all the members at Roehampton Golf Club. Having played in so many club events growing up, I’m sure the lady members are going to have a nice surprise if they see me on tv!

●

Fingers crossed I will make a lot of cuts, that would be great. Then ideally, some top tens would be a bonus along the way, but I want to try to just enjoy myself and feel like I’m progressing and learning, which I think is really important.

I’m going to try and play in as many events as I can, then see how I’m feeling halfway through the summer. Hopefully I will be able to play in pretty much all of these early season LET events up until June. Then that’s when it’ll start going in and around Europe so I’ll just have to see how I’m playing and how I’m feeling and then try to play some more.

WELCOME TO THE LION’S DEN

THINK YOU’VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO COMPETE AGAINST TOURING PROFESSIONALS? ENTER AT YOUR PERIL!

THE LION’S DEN, let’s call it, is a golf society for “likeminded golfers” who play against each other every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (with the main Lion’s Den) being on a Friday also.

It started five years ago, and it was really spontaneous. At The Els Club in Dubai there are a few societies like the “Bacon and Eggs” for example, that we all used to play in. But then we just wanted to make a society that’s a bit more competitive and less social.

So every Tuesday everyone plays in a stroke play event between the silver and blue tees and it’s purely net scoring with the top three players securing prizes. On a Thursday, we take it back a notch to almost to the tips and it’s both stroke play and net scoring amongst everybody, including the professionals. Then on a Friday we play off the back tees as a net game, while the professionals also play a gross tournament amongst each other.

It’s always very inclusive and it’s open to anybody, just as long as they have a valid handicap index of five or less and is passionate about golf the way most of the guys and girls here are passionate.

We have recently partnered with eGolf Megastore as our main sponsor and the title partner of the eGolf Tour that we have for the professionals, which is played over 36 holes each Thursday and Friday. The whole idea is really to give back and that’s why I do it. I’m retired, I have time and I love to play golf. It’s a bit egotistical and selfish, but at the same time, it’s to give back to Dubai which has given all of us here a lot.

I love what we’re doing and I also love what eGolf is doing. For ten years I’ve seen my good friend Dean Cheesley, Founder and CEO of eGolf Megastore, work his butt off. He’s played less golf to create what eGolf Megastore is, which is a world class golf, retail and fitting outlet.

BY KHALED SAMAWI AKA “THE CRIPPLER”

‘A SUPER FORTUNATE EXPERIENCE THAT WE GET TO DO, STAY COMPETITIVE AND SHARP AT THE SAME TIME’ – COLE MADLEY

So I figured he was the best person to partner with because not only have eGolf done a great job, but they have built a pretty nice infrastructure for the golfer to go get fitted, get good clubs, good clothes, etc. Also, a lot of the professionals that play in the Lion’s Den and the eGolf Tour are guys and girls that don’t necessarily have a contract with Titleist or Callaway or TaylorMade and a lot of them are grinding away on mini tours so having eGolf help them out with their fitting, clubs, clothing, balls etc is something that is very beneficial to them.

We have about 10 to 20 regular tour pros whenever they’re in town, but they might leave because they have a Challenge Tour event here, or they’re qualifying for the DP World Tour there, or an Asian Tour event somewhere. We also do have some more established players from the LET, LPGA and PGA Tour who are in town that come and play.

Today for example we had two ladies who play on both the LET and LPGA, Patty Tavatanakit and Morgane Métraux. Patty has played with us before, but Morgane was playing for the first time, and they’re here playing because they’re going to Saudi next week for the Aramco Saudi Ladies International. They heard about it and thought this is a good way to fine tune their game, get their competitive juices going, and get over the jetlag. So it’s nice and it’s important for us to give back to the pro golfers who during COVID, a lot of them came here and got stuck here. That’s when we started doing these pro series events which is a year or a couple of years after The Lion’s Den started. So we’ll continue doing it as long as they’re enjoying it in the end.

Patty Tavatanakit (above right) has since won backto-back on the LET and LPGA.

(above)

course: the els club dubai • other images: harr Y grimsha W

‘ WHAT KHALED HAS BEEN DOING FOR US IS AMAZING. HE HAS PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO THIS, AND IT’S REALLY FOR US THAT HE IS DOING IT, SO WE’RE ALL REALLY APPRECIATIVE’ –JOËL STALTER

‘SINCE I’M PLAYING NEXT WEEK IN SAUDI, IT’S GREAT TO ACTUALLY TEST YOURSELF BEFORE WHICH IS A GREAT ADVANTAGE, PLUS HAVE A BIT OF BANTER WITH THE PLAYERS’ – MORGANE MÉTRAUX

Then it’s good because the amateurs get to play in a pro-am almost every week and the pros enjoy it as well because it’s still competitive. They enjoy the people they meet, sometimes they get sponsored by other amateurs who are playing with them because they became friends.

All we’re trying to do is really complement what’s out there. It’s definitely growing, I get probably on a daily basis a WhatsApp or an Instagram message from someone asking what is it all about? We have a mixture of almost 400 elite amateurs and tour pros in various WhatsApp groups, so I’m happy that now we have the eGolf Tour website up and running which is more informative and is able to document what’s happened more than anything else.

I hope it grows and I hope it grows organically and just gives these pros a bit of a platform to get onto a big tour to then hone their craft. We’re still here to have fun. That’s what’s most important to be honest with you. You know, being a professional golfer is a very, very, very stressful job. It’s not a fun job at times. So when you can come and play, enjoy yourself and get to do that in a competitive environment with other tour pros and elite amateurs, it’s a fun atmosphere. That’s what we’re trying to do here and I think we’ve accomplished that.

I would not be able to do it without The Els Club because I need their infrastructure. They treat every Thursday and Friday like it’s a professional tour event. The greens are cut, the pins are tucked and they help with the scoring. Between the golf club, myself, eGolf Megastore, the golfers whether they are amateurs or professionals, everybody’s combining to do something that’s good for everybody.

QUICK 9 WITH… Charley Hull

CELEBRATING OVER 10 YEARS SINCE TURNING PRO

Having been introduced to the game at just two years of age, England’s Charley Hull, has always had her eyes set on a path in professional golf. With six professional titles and a hefty Solheim Cup record, Charley exclusively spoke to Golf Digest Middle East as she looks back on the past decade as a professional.

Charley, if you were to look back to when you turned professional at just 16 years of age, what was the goal back then? Growing up, I always wanted to be a professional golfer. I started playing when I was only two, and when I was a kid I just always wanted to try and get to World Number One, that was my goal from as far back as I can remember really. It still is to this day and that goal has never changed really.

It’s now 10 years since you broke into the winners circle as a pro. How much did that win in Morocco transform your career? A lot! The victory in the Lalla Meryem Cup in 2014 was huge for more. In fact, so was the year previously. I had nine second place finishes in 2013. But when I finally got that first win as a professional I did feel a huge relief. From then, I just wanted to go get more trophys.

You then cracked it in the USA at the CME Group Tour Championship, was that another milestone ticked off? 100% it was. I think that first win in America was a big win for me personally. It actually gave me even more confidence that I could put into my game.

Another of your Ladies European Tour victories was at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi. How special is that venue to have your name ethced into the history books? It’s an incredible course. Designed by Gary Player so you know it’s good! That week was the first event of that season in 2019, so the win set me up perfectly for the rest of the year. The way I won it as well I’ll never forget. I had a really good up and down on the last hole out of the greenside bunker. It was probably one of the best up and down’s I’ve ever seen someone hit, and I hit it myself!

You’ve been on four winning Solheim Cup teams, what is it about those events that brings out the best in you and why do you love it so much?

I don’t know really, it’s tricky to describe. Obviously in professional golf we don’t honestly get to go and play in a lot of team golf. It’s something you do a lot more as an amateur and growing up. That’s when I played most team golf and where I gained my friendship with Georgia Hall, through

‘THE VICTORY IN THE LALLA MERYEM CUP WAS HUGE FOR ME. I THEN JUST WANTED TO GET MORE TROPHYS’

LEFT: 2014 Lalla Meryem Cup

BOTTOM: 2023 Solheim Cup

England Golf since we were 12 years old. We literally spent our whole amateur careers together. Now when we are paired together as professionals in team events such as the Solheim Cup, it brings back good memories of playing England Golf team events and makes us relax more being in familiar surroundings which we transfer into our performances in the Solheim Cup. You always want to play well for your team mates.

Do you feel you have been a trailblazer in developing women’s golf? I don’t know really, because I don’t really look outside of my box if that makes sense. But when I’m at the Women’s British Open for example, you can see it. You look at all the fans, and there’s a huge amount of young female kids watching. A lot more than when I was in their position. So maybe girl golfers like myself and Georgia actually are growing the game in England. Obviously Dame Laura Davis did it for us, she was someone that I looked up to loads when I was getting into the game.

Onto your equipment, you are a member of team TaylorMade. What makes them fit perfectly within your game? I have actually played TaylorMade blades from the age of nine, up until the age of 14. So I’ve always loved TaylorMade clubs. They have always been my favourite club. So going back to them and being part of the team with everything they do, their service is just unbelievable. I always love their clubs when they come out, there is never too much of a change so they aren’t tricky to get used to. Adrian who works for them, he’s a top guy who fits my clubs. He’s just great and I have a great relationship with him.

And you have recently started a partnership with Malbon, a very stylish brand. What drew you to them and what do you love about them? They approached me and my team about it actually. I looked on their Instagram page and on their website and I automatically really liked their clothing, it’s just so nice. Stephen and Erica Malbon who founded it are super nice. They were involved in the recent promo shoot I went to the states for and they made it all so relaxing and nice. I can’t wait for the future with them.

How do you plan the rest of the 2024 season? Just keep on pushing is the main thing. I do have some other goals in my head, but those are things I’m not going to share with anyone. Some people might see it as a bit different, but hopefully I can smash these goals myself.

HAPPENING IN HONG KONG

March. “It’s been a dream of mine to bring golf to the Asian market,” said Norman.

LIV GOLF HONG KONG

March 08-10

Hong Kong GC

Eden and New course composite measuring 6,700 yards

With the 2024 LIV Golf League now in full swing having already visited Mayakoba, Las Vegas and Jeddah. The fourth stop on their 14-event season see’s the league head east, to a new destination of Hong Kong.

LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman is chomping at the bit in bringing LIV to Hong Kong at the beginning of

“I think this has been a sleeping giant for decades and decades. I recognised it back in the 1980’s. I could see where Hong Kong was, where it is today and where it’s going to go into the future. It’s the epicentre of Asia,” said the two-time Hong Kong Open winner.

“For me to bring LIV to Kong Kong is extremely important on multiple fronts. I think it’s going to reinvigorate Hong Kong to some degree, because when you look at Hong Kong and the history of sport around here we can ac tually take it to the next level.

IT’S ONE OF MY FAVOURITE COURSES IN THE WORLD, WITH A GREAT OLD SCHOOL GOLF CLUB”

–PETER UIHLEIN

“To bring LIV Golf to Hong Kong and showcase 48 of the best players in the world in the team format, I know Hong Kong is going to embrace it like Australia did in 2023.”

One of those 48 players and another with fond memories of Hong Kong Golf Club, is Majestics’ member Ian Poulter, who claimed the 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open on the then European Tour. Poulter’s fellow team member, Sam Horsfield, is hoping his injury worries are behind him now and is looking for a positive start to one of his top destinations. “Hong Kong is one of my most favourite cities in the world,” said Horsfield. “I have been one time before and it is such an amazing place with unbelievable food. That will be a great place.”

Hong Kong Golf Club’s traditional layout features tree lined fairways and small greens which places a premium on accuracy rather than length.

“I am really looking forward to Hong Kong. It will be my fourth time there,”

commented RangeGoats member Uihlein. “I have played two European Tour (DP World Tour) events there and then I have played there in November on the Asian Tour’s International Series. It’s one of my favourite courses in the world, with a great old school golf club,” said the 34-year-old.

“A lot of people will turn up and it will feel condensed and packed. It’s a beautiful place, beautiful course and I am really looking forward to it.”

Cleeks Captain Martin Kaymer is another member of the league who has fond memories out east, having started his DP World Tour career in Hong Kong soon after graduating from the Challenge Tour, “I have been many times to that golf club. In my early twenties it was one of the first tournaments I played on the European Tour (DP World Tour)” said the two-time major winner.

“It is one of the best golf courses in Asia. So when I saw we were playing in Hong Kong I was hoping we would be going to that golf course, not just because I know it, but because it’s such a good place to play.”

IT’S ONE OF THE BEST GOLF COURSES IN ASIA, IT’S SUCH A GOOD PLACE TO PLAY” –MARTIN KAYMER

Uihlein: Michael Reaves/getty i M ages • kay M e R c liff h awkins/getty M ages

ABOVE: Uihlein was traded to RangeGoats GC for 2024 season.

BELOW: Captain of Cleeks GC, Martin Kaymer.

In

PERFECTION FROM PATTY

BY HARRY GRIMSHAW

PATTY TAVATANAKIT

went wire-to-wire at Riyadh Golf Club to win the 2024 Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF by a staggering seven shots.

The Major champion produced a perfect victory with rounds of 66-70-69-65 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to win with a score of 18-under-par while fighting off a field including, Charley Hull, Georgia Hall, Carlota Ciganda and Linn Grant.

The 24-year-old collected her fifth professional title in Riyadh, and this trophy marks her first on the Ladies European Tour in what was an poignant victory.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve played this good,” said Tavatanakit. “It’s very emotional, I’m very emotional right now with how I have overcome that and looking back it was just one day at a time, keep working hard.

“I worked really hard to get here. To play this solid all week, I just want to thank my team. The coaches, the trainers back home, I really appreciate them. Thanks to Jason for sticking around as well.

“I’m just I’m so grateful for the people I have around me and my life. Without them, I wouldn’t be here today. I’m just soaking it all in right now. It’s incredible. Just being here in Saudi and I was able to do that. It’s unreal.”

The Thai star began the day with a three-shot lead and opened up her campaign with a birdie on the first hole before sinking a 12-foot eagle putt on the fifth to further extend her lead.

A pin seeking approach on the par-three eighth hole resulted with a kick in birdie as she then settled nicely into her back nine with further birdies on 11, 13 and 16. A solitary dropped shot on 17 didn’t spoil the party as she finished in style with a birdie on 18 to seal her seven-shot victory.

She continued: “I came to play. It was a little bit more relaxing today, but I knew I still had to face myself out there. I just told myself to keep pedalling. Just try to make as many birdies as I can out there, and it worked out great today.

“Esther (Henseleit) played really well today, so I think a lot of girls out here are really really good golfers and I have a lot of respect for them. I knew I had to go out there and play good golf and so I did.

“If anything, I feel like I’ve grown so much over the past couple of years just as a person off and on the course as well. I’m just going to continue to grow and learn and that’s all you can do in life.”

Germany’s Esther Henseleit finished the tournament in outright second place after producing a final round of 69 on the final day.

The 2019 LET Order of Merit winner had five birdies and two bogeys on her scorecard to round off an excellent week in Riyadh.

“I played well today,” said Henseleit. “To be honest, after nine I don’t know if I was still in it, but I just couldn’t really get it going after the turn and I didn’t make enough birdies to keep up with Patty.

“She hardly missed a shot today and it was really cool to have a front-row seat of the Patty show. I played well this week; I made a lot of birdies. I played well under pressure today and holed some good putts coming in to keep myself in second place.

“I am really excited for what is to come this year. I had some really good finishes last year, I couldn’t get it done in the end. I feel I’m getting

Presented by PIF

THAILAND ON TOP Tavatanakit broke her duck on the Ladies European Tour by winning the USD $5 million 2024 Aramco Saudi Ladies International

better every year, getting stronger every year and also mentally, I feel I’m in a really good place. I’m really looking forward to this year.

“Solheim Cup is definitely on my list for this year. It would be an honour to play for Europe, it’s always been my dream since I was a little girl. I’m trying my best to be there, so we will see.”

Japan’s Minami Katsu and England’s Charley Hull ended the week in a share of third place on nine-under-par.

“TOP THREE IS PRETTY GOOD, I’M HAPPY ABOUT THAT. I LEFT SO MANY PUTTS OUT THERE TODAY, BUT I’M HAPPY WITH MY PERFORMANCE”

– CHARLEY HULL

Katsu also fired a final round of 65, seven-underpar, to jump up the leaderboard with eight birdies and one bogey on her scorecard.

“Today from the first hole, I was hitting it good and putting well,” said the Japanese star. “In the second half of my round, I had four birdies in a row, so I feel it was a very good day and a very good round.

“There has been a great atmosphere here. It was windy to start but it’s been really good and I have really enjoyed my week.

“This is the second tournament of the year; I have just been trying to make sure the swing is in good condition, but everything played pretty well. I’m feeling good about everything, and I hope it will continue.”

Two-time LPGA and three-time LET winner Hull began with a birdie on the first before making two more on the fourth and fifth holes.

The Solheim Cup star, who is eighth in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, dropped shots on the sixth 10th and 16th holes but had two more birdies on the 12th and 15th holes for a final round of two-under.

Hull said: “Top three is pretty good, I’m happy about that. I left so many putts out there today, I hit it so well. It was tricky. I felt like I didn’t putt too bad, but there were just some little misreads and I’m happy with my performance.

“My first event on the LPGA a few weeks ago was a top-10 finish and then another top-10 here, so my game is definitely going in the right direction.”

Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen finished in solo fifth place on eight-under-par after shooting a final round of 69, three-under par.

One shot further back on seven-under-par was former Aramco Saudi Ladies International champion and five-time LET winner Emily Kristine Pedersen. Three players were in a share of seventh place with England’s Alice Hewson, Korea’s So Mi Lee and Japan’s Yuka Saso on six-under-par.

South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda rounded out the top 10 in Riyadh on five-under-par.

Flying the flag for the Arab world were Morocco’s Ines Laklalech and Maha Haddioui. Maha successfully made the cut and finished off her week with a two-under 70 ending in a tie for 54th. Continuing her pursuit to grow the game for fellow Arab golfers thanks to the support from Aramco.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity that has been given to women’s golf and the trust, especially from Aramco.

“It’s not just this tournament, there are loads of Aramco events over the year. And to me, that’s a big statement. People don’t just put their money into something. It means they believe in women’s golf, and we also believe that it can grow and there’s so much further we can go.”

The next Aramco event on the LET schedule is the Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF - Tampa, USA, 8th - 10th March.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Charley Hull; Esther Henseleit; Emily Kristine Pedersen

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Germany’s Olivia Cowan discusses the evolution of the ladies game, her search for more power, and the balancing act of playing across two tours.

by harry grimshaw

With global golf going through plenty of changes, how have you seen the ladies game adapt? I’d say it’s definitely progressed since I came on tour. Obviously, the LPGA has always been strong and the LET with the help of Aramco, has become a lot bigger. We are getting a lot more world stars coming to the Aramco events which helps both tours and it helps the girls as well. They get to see how good they are on the LPGA and it gives them a little bit of a boost to do better and to want to compete against the best in the world.

You used to hear some girls being like, “Oh why are the LPGA girls coming over

here playing in these Aramco events?” Um, you want to compete against the best in the world. So you should see it as a challenge.

That’s how I’ve always seen it. But thankfully I think most of them have seen it as a good thing now which is positive.

You’ve recently focused on more speed and strength training with your golf, is that for a specific reason? Well I think in my game I’ve always hit it quite straight and that’s been one of my strengths. But when it comes to distance, I’ve not been short, but I was just quite average. I’ve now realised, especially playing on the LPGA Tour, I needed more

distance to reach the par fives because it is just such an advantage. So hence why last year in March 2023, I then tried to get a lot stronger to just get that speed and hit it further. I’m definitely seeing results and hitting it further, which is good!

I guess that’s just one small part of the way game is evolving? Yeah definitely, I think nowadays you have to. It prevents injuries for one. It keeps you fitter. It keeps you mentally more stable on the course. Especially when you are dealing with hot conditions and hilly courses, it’s just good when your fitness is on another level to then be able to compete at the top.

Are there specific things you do to build that speed and strength? My coach makes programs and sessions for me and I always include quite a lot of jumps into my sessions. They can be weighted jumps or just normal jumps because that’s what basically gives me the force, which is what I need in my swing to get that speed. Then obviously a lot of weights, Romanian dead lifts, squats, Bulgarian split squats that kind of thing, and a lot of pull ups!

Being a member of both the LPGA and LET is obviously tough. Is it a bit of a blessing in disguise having to balance the two of them? I didn’t really expect to go back to the LPGA last season because the first time I went over I didn’t enjoy it. I got injured, so I was out of playing anyway, but I eventually went back and still didn’t enjoy it. So I just said, “I’m going to go back to the LET and I’m going to play where I feel my best.” I know there is decent money on the LPGA Tour, but money isn’t everything to me. It’s just fun to play golf and enjoy it and I just wasn’t enjoying it anymore. So I decided to do that. I kept my card on the LET and continued playing there until August. I played the British Open and got a top ten there and then I got a top five in Northern Ireland the week after so I got a lot of points back on the LPGA. Then I was like “Ooo, I’ll try and give it a second chance and see how I like it. If I don’t like it, I can go back onto the LET.”

So, I did go back, played well and met a lot more people, socialised a lot more with new people, so it was a lot more enjoyable.

Since Golf Saudi and Aramco have come into the game, I think they have shown the world that the women’s game is really good.

It’s funny you say that, because we hear in the men’s game with the Europeans who struggle in the states with there not being much camaraderie over there. Is that the same with the ladies’ game? Yeah, it’s a lot more intense. Everyone has their team around them, whereas on the LET it’s everyone just by themselves. So, their team is then

they’re friends. But on the LPGA, you have your coach, physio, caddy, so you don’t need to mingle with a lot of people which I found quite hard.

Plus I had a local caddie the first time round, I didn’t have a full-time caddie. But the second time around I was a lot more prepared, I had a good professional caddie and I kind of knew what I was expecting. So I felt like it was a lot easier for me. It’s just different. You need to adapt.

Golf Saudi would be one of those factors that supports you through your progression. Since they’ve come into the game, I think they’ve shown the world that the women’s game is really good and our skills are just as good as the men’s. They’ve really come in and tried to “up” everything that we had before on the LET. From bigger grandstands to the way they take care of us. The LPGA players that come over, they say every single Aramco event is setup as a major because they take such good care of us. So, it’s nice to see someone coming in and wanting to do that for us. I think they’ve not had that for a long time, so they really believe in us and it’s just great to have their support.

Moving onto your partner, Todd Clements. How does the work/life/relationship balance between the two of you flow with both living busy lives and being in the same profession! I think we cope quite well with it really. We both understand what it’s like to travel and to deal with the emotions on and off the course. We both have a good understanding of it. Someone who doesn’t play golf might not understand why you’re feeling that certain way after a round of golf, but I guess we do and we just give each other a bit space and know what words to say to cheer the other one up. With the travel, we work our schedules around each other. I’ll either go to one of his events or he’ll maybe come to one of mine or we try and have the same off weeks. It doesn’t always work, but we do see each other quite a lot, so it actually works out quite well.

Is 2024 a big season for Olivia Cowan? I’m not really a massive goal setter. Every year I don’t have one goal. Just through the years I’ll say, “At the moment, this is my goal.” I don’t pressurise myself to make these goals. But this

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year my “goal” is the Olympics, that has always been a goal of mine. Make The Solheim Cup, hopefully that will work. And then a win on the LPGA. And then a win on the LET. Let’s throw a Major win in there as well! Haha! No, but the Olympics and The Solheim Cup are the main ones.

BY JAIME DIAZ

ARNIE-AWARD WINNER

RORY MCILROY CARRIES

A SPECIAL BURDEN PALMER

KNEW ALL TOO WELL THE ARNIES

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARY BETH KOETH

THE GREATEST GOLFERS HAVE ALWAYS GIVEN BACK.

Automatically through the permanence of their records. Proactively by sharing their stories and accumulated wisdom. Munificently through philanthropy that leaves the game and the world better. Historically, no group in golf has had more to give, or given more, than the players in its pantheon, from Harry Vardon to Tiger Woods.

The current professional game, however, seems preoccupied with taking, leaving its precariously perched administrators nothing but headaches. Will playing records lose all context? Will golf’s top names stop replacing their metaphorical divots? Will the pantheon close?

Sorry, doom-loop moment. Actually, professional golf remains full of givers; they’ve just been drowned out by all the hammering on the framework agreement. But the most generous among them has risen above the noise: Rory McIlroy.

The Northern Irishman’s game is a gift, of course—not quite in the pantheon but at age 34 with a shot. More important to the subject at hand is that no matter how he plays, McIlroy stands out for having the extra dimension. Despite the demands and often disorienting forces of fame, not to mention the psychic pummeling meted out by a sport that has caused many past stars to become more remote, McIlroy remains endearingly drawn to people. Whether in casual interactions or trying to save professional golf, he continues to easily and purposefully give of himself.

This happens to be precisely what made Arnold Palmer golf’s greatest giver. We found it appropriate, then, in a moment when such qualities are more needed than ever, that Rory McIlroy receive

the 2024 Arnie Award, Golf Digest’s highest honor for golfers who give back.

“I’ve told Rory many times that he’s today’s Arnold Palmer,” says Brad Faxon, who was befriended by Palmer as a PGA Tour rookie in 1984 and who has been McIlroy’s putting coach since 2018. “Like Arnold, he has this innate feel for others, an ability to read people and make them comfortable. When Rory meets someone, he looks them right in the eye, asks them questions about themselves, listens to the answers and breaks through. If he has to say no, he’s always polite. He’s the same in a highstakes setting—clear values, speaks from the heart, sees other points of view, easy to trust. Just by being himself, he has followed Arnold’s example and protected the game at a very difficult time.”

Faxon, of course, was referring to the ongoing fracture in the professional game caused by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund offering huge sums to PGA Tour and DP World Tour players to join the Greg Norman-led LIV Tour.

Soon after McIlroy became a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board in 2022, players jumping to LIV brought home the reality that the tour was facing an existential threat. McIlroy’s sincere, clearly articulated arguments for a unified front soon made him the tour’s favorite front man. His opponents issued verbal counterattacks, and emotions ran high, but McIlroy’s willingness to stand in a harsh spotlight and issue his urgent but measured message was admired, especially as he continued to win tournaments and once again ascend to No. 1 in the world.

“Legacy, reputation, at the end of the day that’s all you have,” McIlroy said at the 2022 U.S. Open. “You strip everything away, and you’re left with how you made people feel and what people thought of you. That is important to me.”

Palmer held to the same perspective in 1994 when Greg Norman was attempting to recruit the highest-ranked players to launch the World Golf Tour with 40-man fields and big purses. According to players present in a closed-door meeting during the Shark Shootout at Sherwood Country Club, Palmer recounted how he and Jack Nicklaus were presented with an opportunity in the late 1960s to separate from the PGA Tour and make much more money, but “both of us decided we’d do what was best for the game.” All the players Norman had counted on to jump followed Palmer’s lead instead and stayed with the tour.

Such a quick resolution was never in the cards for this current moment, but McIlroy took on the thankless task of trying to balance the differing priorities of stars and journeymen as the tour transformed its schedule to include more limited-field events with lucrative purses designed to keep big names happy as a counter to offers from LIV. Woods said that such interaction was key to McIlroy being “a true leader out here on tour. Everyone respects

him, and they respect him not just because of his ball-striking, his driving, but the person he is.”

With similar antipathy toward the threat of LIV, Woods and McIlroy became perceived as a tag team, particularly after they led the crucial closed meeting in Delaware in August 2022 that included about a dozen top players. Woods and McIlroy also became business partners in Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL), the virtual, under-a-dome competition set to launch in January 2025. Though McIlroy actually finished ahead of Woods in the PGA Tour’s 2023 Player Impact Program—which measures media interest—after Woods was first the previous two years, McIlroy invariably defers to Woods. “It’s pretty apparent that whenever we all get in the room, there’s an alpha in there, and it’s not me,” McIlroy says. “He is the hero that we’ve all looked up to. His voice carries further than anyone else’s in the game of golf.”

Growing up just outside of Belfast, McIlroy knew every detail of Woods’ rocketing accomplishments. After winning the Open Champion-

TWO OF A KIND

For our cover, we asked Rory McIlroy to re-create this photograph of Arnold Palmer from the Golf Digest Archive. Rory loved the image and studied it to get the body positioning just right. During our shoot, McIlroy was gracious to the entire crew, introduced himself, shook each person’s hand and thanked everyone on the way out—just like Arnie would have done.

THE SPIRIT OF ARNOLD PALMER LIVES ON

Arnold Palmer epitomised achievement and philanthropy in golf. “When you’ve reached the top, send the elevator back down for the others”—that’s the essence of the Arnie Award, given annually by Golf Digest in recognition of golfers who give back.

This is the 12th-consecutive year we’ve celebrated the game’s benevolent spirit, partnering with the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. Rory McIlroy, the 2024 Arnie Award winner, will be honored at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a Palmer bronze sculpture created by the renowned artist Zenos Frudakis. Golf Digest will donate a total of $100,000 to the two foundations.

The Monterey Peninsula Foundation is the most charitable organisation on the PGA Tour, supporting more than 200 nonprofits with $18 million donated just last year and $123 million in the past decade. It’s one of the major funders in the central coast of California, building a community park, preschool and soccer complex in East Salinas; deploying $1 million in emergency funding for storm and flood relief; and supporting a health and housing campus serving low-income residents in Santa Cruz County (visit MontereyPeninsula Foundation.org).

Arnold and Winnie Palmer devoted much of their time away from golf to provide opportunities that benefited young people, championing causes “not just about golf but efforts made possible because of golf.” The Palmers were dedicated to improving children’s health in communities around the world, pioneering character-development initiatives and improving nature-focused wellness for kids. Among the beneficiaries have been the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies (for more information, see the PalmerFoundation.org).

PAST WINNERS OF THE ARNIE:

Canelo Alvarez

Arnie’s Army

Clint Eastwood

Niall Horan

Juli Inkster

Toby Keith

Davis Love III

Peyton Manning

Phil Mickelson

Jim Nantz

Ryan Palmer

Morgan Pressel

Darius Rucker

Kelly Slater

Brandt Snedeker

Jordan Spieth

Clay Walker

Steve Young

ship and the PGA Championship in 2014 put him on the Tiger-Jack track of four majors by the age of 25, McIlroy seemed to be channeling Tiger, aiming to become insatiable about winning and relentless about his fitness. He proudly spoke of having developed a ruthless streak.

But part of him must have known he was attempting to overcompensate for his own nature. “I’ve no real ambition to be the best at anything else,” he confessed in the same Golf Digest interview. “If we’re playing a game of cards or a game of pool, whatever it is, I’d happily let someone win just to keep them happy.” He added that as a teenage prodigy, “I felt it was a very selfish thing to be a winner . . . I guess it just took me a while to get comfortable with that, just because of the personality I have. I realised that if I want to succeed in golf, which I do, I need to have it. What helped was realising how people like winners, how people gravitate to them. If other people are happy with me winning, then why can I not be?”

This question would not occur to Tiger. Arnie, however, would have understood the softer side. When interviewer Graham Bensinger in 2015 asked Palmer his impressions of McIlroy, his answer—“He’s a nice guy”—included a nod that confidently conveyed expertise on the subject. The comment also brought back how disarmingly nice Palmer could be. Then-PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem described it well in his eulogy at Palmer’s memorial service. “Arnold had that other thing,” Finchem said, “the incredible ability to make you feel good—not just about him—but about yourself. He took energy from that and then turned around and gave it right back.”

McIlroy felt the chemistry when the two shared a long dinner at the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational. The next day, when the tournament host saw McIlroy and casually asked if there was

McIlroy and Palmer at Bay Hill in 2015.

anything he could do for him, Rory executed Finchem’s boomerang perfectly. “No, Mr. Palmer,” he said, “thanks to you I have everything I could ever want in my life.”

If McIlroy hasn’t yet attained everything competitively, it could be because he also shares a vulnerability that plagued Palmer. Though he gained fame in his prime for his “charges”— come-from-behind victories fueled by a joyful confidence and his Army’s frenzy—by 1965 he had fallen into a prolonged slump. “I suddenly got to worrying about disappointing everyone,” Palmer told Golf Digest’s Tom Callahan. “For the first time in my life, I guess I was afraid.” The next year he blew a seven-stroke lead with nine holes to play at Olympic to lose what should have been, at age 36, a redemptive U.S. Open victory. As crushed as Palmer was by the defeat, he still noted in his autobiography that “I really felt worse for my fans.”

The desire to please others can divert focus and add a layer of pressure to winning. How much of a role that trait has played in McIlroy’s major-less streak since 2014 is up to conjecture, but the questioning deepened with his recent close calls in majors—the 2022 Open at St. Andrews where he led by two with eight to play before finishing third, and last year’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, where he lost by one to Wyndham Clark.

Such setbacks have caused his career clock to tick louder, and it seems McIlroy is allowing the pendulum within to swing more toward what he used to consider selfishness. Though he maintained a high level of play throughout 2023, he won only once—at the Genesis Scottish Open in July—and began to feel worn down by his role on the policy board. He was also left dispirited by not having been consulted before the surprise June 6 announcement of the “framework” agreement between the PGA Tour and the PIF. At a press conference the day after, McIlroy said that after many months of “putting myself out there,” he felt like a “sacrificial lamb.” He also used the occasion to vent at the entity whose disruption had taken so

DESPITE THE DEMANDS OF FAME, MCILROY REMAINS ENDEARINGLY DRAWN TO PEOPLE.

much time and attention away from his game and his family—wife, Erica, and their 2-yearold daughter, Poppy. “I hate LIV,” he said. “Like, I hate LIV. I hope it goes away.”

In November, McIlroy resigned as a player director. “I just didn’t feel like I could commit the time and energy into doing that,” he says. “Something had to give, and I felt like it was the right time to step off.” Says Faxon, who served four three-year terms on the board during his career, “Rory’s two years were like 10 normal ones.”

McIlroy’s explanation included the words, “as I try to get ramped up for Augusta.” The upcoming Masters will mark the 10th time a victory would give him the career Grand Slam.

That’s pantheon stuff. If our Arnie Award recipient has any lingering misgivings about taking a step back from the front lines of the battle for professional golf’s future and a step forward as a golfer, a simple truth should clear his mind.

If he wins the Masters, he’ll be giving back like never before.

WE RANK THE SINGLE-BEST SEASONS OF MODERN-ERA PLAYERS

BY LUKE KERR-DINEEN AND JAMIE KENNEDY • ILLUSTRATION BY NEIL JAMIESON

To mark the 50th playing of the Players Championship, the founding of which in 1974 coincided with the dawn of what we might call golf’s modern era, we crunched some numbers. Our goal was singular: to rank the 50 best players of the past five decades by their best single season.

Why, you say? Isn’t longevity and the breadth of a player’s accomplishments more important? Isn’t Jack Nicklaus placing fifth on any list of golfers inherently absurd? Sure, but finding new ways to identify greatness across eras is an inescapable part of being a golf fan. Weighted most heavily toward performance in majors (acknowledging our “big-game hunters”), our formula also accounted for total wins, top 10s, scoring titles and player-ofthe-year awards. We also gave a slight advantage to players

who won in multiple countries, conqueror” icon. Strength of the competition was not factored because, after all, you can beat

denoted by our “global only what’s in front of you. brightest when.

TIGER WOODS

02 TOM WATSON

His 1977 season signaled a new era. A complete player through the bag, Watson outdueled Jack Nicklaus in two majors that year—the Masters and Open Championship—and won the first of his fourconsecutive player-of-the-year honors.

For a moment in the mid-1990s, no golfer on the planet was better than Nick Price. His four-win season in 1993 was followed by a two-major, sevenwin season the year after. He led the PGA Tour in Total Driving, hitting almost 75 percent of his fairways and ranking sixth in distance.

04 JORDAN SPIETH

Spieth came within four strokes of the Grand Slam and won the Tour Championship. He had a magical ability to make crucial mid-range birdie putts. He ranked first on tour in putting between 20 and 25 feet with a 25 percent make rate, helping him oneputt a tour-leading 44 percent of the time.

It’s hard to pinpoint one season in which Jack was at his best, but 1975 might have been it. Astonishingly long off the tee and deft with his putter, Nicklaus, 35, finished in the top 10 in 14 of 16 events, won two majors, and extended his madecut streak to a then-unthinkable 91 tournaments.

He went winless in 2013 after a high-profile equipment switch to Nike, but during the latter part of 2014 McIlroy found his game, winning four times from May through August, including a WGC title and the final two majors of the year.

07 GREG NORMAN

It’s amazing that Norman’s signature season comes with a twinge of disappointment: 1986 was the year of the Saturday slam in which Norman led all four majors through 54 holes. It was also the year Norman refined his raw potential and transformed himself into the leading man of his era.

everyone, piecing together one of golf’s best

With Tiger Woods struggling after a swing change, Vijay Singh outworked and outplayed everyone, piecing together one of golf’s best seasons. Singh had nine wins, including the PGA Championship, despite losing strokes to the field on the greens (strokes gained/putting -0.09).

09 NICK FALDO

He won more majors in 1990, but 1992 was when Faldo won regularly. He used his accurate and steady ball-striking to set the 36-hole scoring record en route to winning his third Open Championship and set the record for worldwide earnings with 1.6 million British pounds.

10 ERNIE ELS

Woods, Mickelson or Singh in majors four times.

Before Tiger, there was Ernie, the first of a new breed of modern golfer who tamed the mighty Oakmont with his smooth speed. Els would transform into an even better golfer in later years, but by then big wins were harder to come by: He finished second to Woods, Mickelson or Singh in majors four times.

Ballesteros scored seven wins in seven countries: Spain, England, the U.S., Sweden, Germany, France and Japan. SEVE BALLESTEROS 1988

13 IAN WOOSNAM

1998 1987

He was bombing-and-gouging before it was cool, launching 300-yard drives with a persimmon and balata.

10 2 3 3 12 26 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s 10 0 7 1 19 29 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s

15

He was the first since 1989 to defend the U.S. Open and first since Tiger in 2000 to follow with a PGA win.

MARK O’MEARA 1986

KOEPKA 2018 10 2 3 2 7 19 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL

16

His 72nd-hole birdie made him Great Britain’s first Masters champ and the first Scot to win a U.S. major in over 50 years.

Olazabal paired his first green jacket in 1994 with a win at the European Tour’s flagship event.

0 4 2 20 27

14 TOTAL STARTS MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS

He squeezed the most out of his career year, playing 37 tournaments—more than anybody else on this list.

17 JOSÉ MARÍA OLAZÁBAL 1994 10 1 4 2 17 27 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 10 1 4 3 15 37 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 10 38 GOLFDIGESTME.COM MARCH 2024

He became the first player since Tiger Woods to win two majors in a season. Interestingly, those were Harrington’s only two wins that year.

Westwood ended Colin Montgomerie’s seven-year reign atop the European Tour’s Order of Merit money list.

With a 21 percent win rate, he shattered Nicklaus’ money record during a year he said he wouldn’t trade for another major.

Riding a hot putter, Day finished sixth in strokes gained/putting in 2015 and then led the tour in 2016.

His consistent power through the bag helped him lead the tour in par-5 birdies and par-4 bogey avoidance.

The ever-dependable ball-striker converted more than 35 percent of his birdie putts this season.

He won twice and finished second twice during the five weeks leading up to the Masters, then slipped on the green jacket.

He gained more strokes tee to green than any player since the stat was created, but he putted tepidly.

His Masters-winning season began with three wins and five top-seven finishes in seven starts. Then he cashed in for LIV.

He shot 59 in January, 63 at the U.S. Open in June and lifted the PGA Championship trophy in August.

He won the Players and PGA, marking the high point of a career that included another Players win in 2000.

He was the first since Tiger Woods to win three consecutive tournaments and ascended to World No. 1 in 2011.

With the best putting average (1.68 per hole) on the PGA Tour, Smith won the 150th Open, then joined LIV.

35 DAVID DUVAL 1999

33

His seven-year run atop the Order of Merit money list was marked by many major near-misses.

CURTIS STRANGE 10 0 3 2 20 32 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 10 1 4 3 10 20 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 10 1 5 1 8 30 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s 32 RETIEF GOOSEN 2001 1 4 2 7 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s 10 0 4 3 12 21 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 10 10 1 2 2 15 26 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 10

A Masters win and three near-misses in majors in 2004 highlighted the greatest season of many for Mickelson.

37

Scott snapped years of shoulda-coulda when his strokes gained/putting got to within a whiff of tour average.

Forced into a last-minute putter change when his gamer was declared nonconforming the week before the U.S. Open, Furyk tied the U.S. Open’s 72-hole scoring record.

He won across four decades and four majors, and his 1981 Players victory came during his most solid season.

Trevino’s early years didn’t make the 1974 cutoff date for our ranking, but his stellar 1980 season did.

McNulty’s career year came during a stretch when he spent 83 weeks inside the top 10 of the World Ranking.

43 TOM KITE

Kite finished inside the top 10 in more than 80 percent of his starts during his most consistent season.

He grabbed the first of five runner-up finishes in majors before eventually winning one in 1984.

45 • 50 GREATEST ON TOUR SINCE ’74

In an era of limited travel, Rogers won in England, the United States, Australia and Japan.

46

47

Among the shortest drivers on tour at 254 yards, Pavin slayed mighty Shinnecock Hills for his U.S. Open win. COREY PAVIN 1995

Stadler got putting advice from pal Dave Stockton, then nabbed four of his 13 career wins, including the Masters. CRAIG STADLER 1982

PAUL AZINGER 1993 10 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 1 2 2 13 22 10 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 1 4 2 9 26 10 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 1 3 2 12 25 10 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 1 4 2 10 27 10 MAJOR WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 1 4 1 11 25 10 WINS TOTAL WINS MAJOR TOP 10s TOTAL TOP 10s TOTAL STARTS 3 4 15 27

50 SERGIO GARCIA 2002

STAY DOWN A BEAT LONGER

Try this easy drill to prevent fat and thin shots

By Thomas Hawkeye Valdez

you mAy h Ave he A rd the term “early extension” to describe a common downswing fault. It’s when your posture straightens prematurely before impact. It typically happens because inexperienced golfers try to rise up to help the ball in the air or add some extra power to the shot. Unfortunately, if you early extend, you’re altering your club’s path mid-swing, and that makes it really hard to find the sweet spot.

If you video your swing and see your spine angle getting more vertical as you start down with the club, I’ve got a drill for you. Best of all, you can do it while waiting to hit your next shot. Part of its inspiration comes from sixtime PGA Tour winner Tony Finau, whose toes are literally off the ground and weight is in his heels before impact. This move helps stop early extension.

To get a feel for Tony’s move, put a golf ball under the toes of your trail foot. Now, to get the feeling of rotating without losing your spine angle, cross your arms over your chest and rest your forehead on your golf cart as if addressing a shot. Simulate a downswing while keeping your head on the cart ( left). This is the feeling of spine tilt and side bending you want as your club moves through the impact zone. Coupled with keeping your weight off your toes, you’ll be able to hit more shots flush.

—with ron k A spriske

THOMAS HAWKEYE VALDEZ is one of Golf Digest’s Best Teachers in Texas. He is player-development director at Oakmont Country Club in Corinth.

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IRONS

Our review of the best irons breaks the universe into four categories: Players, Players Distance, Game Improvement and Super Game Improvement. As you look through our assembly of 36 irons across these four subdivisions, we suggest thinking about whether your goal is enhancing your skills or mitigating your weaknesses. Aspiring club champs should dig in on the Players or Players Distance categories. Those looking for forgiveness and help getting the ball in the air will find the necessary assistance with Game Improvement or Super Game Improvement irons.

‘Small head, thin topline with a powerful sole. The feel is slightly soft, even on mis-hits.’

—4-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

CALLAWAY

APEX CB

WHY WE LIKE IT

RRP AED 7,665

With its eff ective mix of classic looks and contemporary technology, the Apex CB is made for the demands of elite players. This is an iron that gets the details right, especially the features better golfers appreciate, like an improved sole design for more eff ective turf interaction, tweaked centers of gravity via the use of tungsten weights that are dialed in for each individual iron, and hitting the trifecta of shape, sound and feel that better players require.

• Single-piece forging produces a soft feel.

• Tungsten toe weights move the CG closer to the face’s center.

• Progressive CG promotes appropriate ball flight.

• 7-iron: 34 degrees; PW: 46 degrees

‘I love the softness off of the face. This club gets the ball up quick with a lot of forgiveness.’

—5-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING

★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

CALLAWAY

APEX PRO

WHY WE LIKE IT

★★★★★

RRP AED 7,665

For close to a decade now, driver technology has trickled down into irons, particularly springy faces. To achieve optimal performance in the Apex Pro, engineers used a hollow-body construction with a thinner, more flexible cupface (in which the face wraps around part of the sole and topline) on the 3- through 5-iron to provide more ball speed and a higher launch to enhance distance. The remaining irons have a 1025 forged-carbon-steel face insert designed for precision, accuracy and repeatability.

• Urethane microspheres damp sound and improve feel.

• A pre-worn leading edge on the sole cuts through the turf.

• Back weight gives fitters more options to dial in swingweight.

• 7-iron: 33 degrees; 45 degrees

TOP 5 SOFTEST FEELING, PLAYERS IRONS, MEDIUM SWING SPEEDS

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, PLAYERS IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

‘I can fade or draw it without the ball spinning much. Has a lower launch but a takeoff that lets the ball stay in the sky longer.’

—4-HANDICAP

COBRA

KING TOUR

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

★★★★ INNOVATION

‘The stability allows you to shape shots. Center strikes feel energetic and have a mid-to-high flight.’

—7-HANDICAP

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★ ½

MIZUNO

RRP AED 6,295

Most traditional irons use a two- or three-step forging process, but these irons feature a five-step process that more effectively aligns the grain structure of the metal and reduces the number of voids. This process allows for tighter control of the weight specs and reduces the amount of hand polishing, leading to a more precise clubhead. The grooves are milled into the face so that they can be manufactured closer to the USGA limit. A channel behind the hitting area is filled with a thermoplastic urethane to keep the feel just right.

• Weight in the toe places the CG closer to face center.

• The TPU insert delivers the soft feel better players demand.

• A shorter hosel length helps bring spin down.

• 7-iron: 32 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

BALL FLIGHT Lower Higher SENSORY

Softer Firmer

PLAYABILITY

Workable Forgiving

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

JPX923 TOUR

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

RRP AED 5,370

This is the epitome of a modern iron for better players. The blade length was shortened in the 6-iron through pitching wedge from the JPX921, and the topline is trimmer. On the sole, a more rounded trailing edge increases shot-making ability and enhances turf interaction. As with most Mizuno irons, its “grain-flow forging” process tightens the carbon steel’s grain structure to produce a beyond-pleasant feel at impact—a reminder you don’t have to play for pay to enjoy benefits normally reserved for tour players.

• A copper layer underneath the chrome finish enhances feel.

• More compact short irons appeal to better players.

• Rounded trailing edge of the topline softens look at address.

• 7-iron: 34 degrees; PW: 46 degrees

BALL FLIGHT

Lower Higher

SENSORY

Softer Firmer PLAYABILITY

Workable Forgiving

TOP

PLAYERS IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 SOFTEST FEELING, PLAYERS IRONS, LOW SWING SPEEDS

‘Center hits are firm, workable and rewarded with distance, and off-center strikes are forgiving.’

—0-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

MIZUNO

MIZUNO PRO 243

WHY WE LIKE IT

PERFORMANCE

‘Looks and feels like a true players iron. Produces a pleasant, muted sound, but the ball springs off the face.’

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

RRP AED 7,350

—1-HANDICAP

PING

BLUEPRINT S

WHY WE LIKE IT

Of all the irons in the Mizuno Pro line, the 243 offers the most dramatic change from the previous version. Mizuno’s engineers set out to make the club smaller to appeal to better players yet still add speed. Designing such an iron meant thinning the face, as thin as 2.1 millimeters on the long irons, with those irons having a “microslot” that is wider and deeper than the one used on the 6- and 7-irons to produce the desired distance boost.

• Grain-flow forged from 4120 chromoly steel.

• A wrap-around sole grind improves turf interaction.

• Strengthened lofts on wedges provide consistent loft gaps.

• 7-iron: 32 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

BALL FLIGHT

Lower Higher SENSORY

Softer Firmer

PLAYABILITY

Workable Forgiving

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

RRP AED 7,875

Manufacturing a soft, forgiving players iron with an undercut shape is a diffi cult engineering challenge. Ping took five years to develop the Blueprint S, which replaces the i59 model. The forged irons are essentially two sets in one: The 3- through 5-iron have a pocket-cavity in which an elastomer insert saves 10 grams of weight that is redistributed to assist launch and forgiveness in the clubs where it is needed most. The shorter irons are single-piece forgings that encourage more ball-flight control.

• Toe weight screws assist the center-of-gravity placement.

• The face and grooves are milled to precise tolerances.

• Retro Spec (weaker lofts) and PWR Spec (stronger) available.

• 7-iron: 33 degrees; PW: 45 degrees

Demo this club and get a custom fit

TOP 5 BEST SOUND/FEEL, PLAYERS IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 BEST SOUND/FEEL, PLAYERS IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

at eGolf Megastore

‘This club produces a hard, muted sound. The technology is well hidden at address yet helps me launch the ball with consistency.’

—0-HANDICAP

PING

i230

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING

★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

★★★★ INNOVATION

★★★★ ½

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★

‘A players iron with tech. Little curvature on mis-hits. Off-center hits stay straight.’

—PLUS 1-HANDICAP

RRP AED 7,350

The company famous for forgiveness keeps pushing the limits of how to make a golfer’s worst misses more playable, even in an iron designed for better players. The i230’s elastomer insert saves 21 grams that is repositioned low and toward the perimeter to make it easier to get the ball in the air and foster forgiveness. The elastomer also helps support the face, providing a pleasing feel, even on shots hit slightly off center. For those particularly severe mis-hits, tungsten toe and tip weights help mitigate loss of ball speed.

• A revised cavity badge dampens unwanted vibrations.

• Compact long irons produce a reliable clubface delivery.

• Machined grooves deliver consistent launch and spin.

• 7-iron: 33 degrees; PW: 45 degrees

PXG

0317 T

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★

½

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

★★★★ ½

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★

RRP AED 7,700

Forget for a minute that this iron almost looks like a muscle-back blade. It plays anything but. PXG has taken what it has learned over the years from previous hollow-body designs and brought it to an iron targeted to elite players. However, instead of using the hollow area and the polymer that fi lls it to enhance distance, polymer is used to stabilise the face. That improves distance and spin consistency, which is what you want when you’re pin-hunting.

• Three-step forged from 8620 carbon steel for a soft feel.

• Internal weighting improves o -center-hit performance.

• The center weight can be adjusted for optimal swing weight.

• 7-iron: 32 degrees; PW: 46 degrees

TOP 5 MOST WORKABLE, PLAYERS IRONS, MIDDLE-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, PLAYERS IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

‘This is a ball-strikers club. Love the classic look. Center strikes felt exceptional. A lot of pop.’

—4-HANDICAP

SRIXON

ZX7 Mk II

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

‘Good turf interaction with a crisp sound off of the face. That sensory feedback makes it easy to tell center strikes from mis-hits.’

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

RRP AED 4,950

What’s different in this model is the “PureFrame” design in which mass is forged into the clubhead behind the hitting area. That added thickness, determined by studying the iron-impact patterns of the company’s tour staff, reduces face flex by 12 percent, providing the distance control of a muscle-back blade iron with more than a hint of forgiveness. A shorter blade height enhances control, allowing players to flight short-iron shots lower. Notches on the heel and toe of the sole aid exiting the turf.

• A lower blade height promotes more control on short irons. • Short irons have deeper grooves for added spin.

• The sole design helps maintain clubhead speed on fat shots.

• 7-iron: 32 degrees; PW: 46 degrees

—1-HANDICAP

TAYLORMADE

P·770

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING

★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

RRP AED 6,395

Yes, tour players use this iron, but even average players can enjoy many of the club’s benefi ts. Tungsten, for example, is used in the longer irons to make it easier to get shots airborne, and despite its classic looks, this is a hollow-body iron with a face as thin as 1.55 millimeters. The thin face and TaylorMade’s “speedpocket slot” produce plenty of spring-like eff ect at impact for maximum distance.

• Weight has been removed from the high-toe area to expand the sweet spot.

• A polyurethane foam inside the head assists feel.

• 7-iron: 33 degrees; PW: 46 degrees

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, PLAYERS IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 SOFTEST FEELING, PLAYERS IRONS, MEDIUM SWING SPEEDS

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

‘Everything looks right. What I hear and see syncs up nicely. These are forgiving and responsive.’

—PLUS-2-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING

TITLEIST

T100

WHY WE LIKE IT

PERFORMANCE

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

RRP AED 7,980

A proven performer has little need to make drastic changes. This does not mean the latest T100 hasn’t undergone any improvements. The dual-cavity design uses super dense D18 tungsten, allowing for precise CG placement in each iron without sacrifi cing the premium forged feel and pleasing shape the T100 is known for. Engineers worked with tour pros and the grind experts in its wedge department to smooth and soften the trail edge of the sole to allow the club to move faster through the turf.

• CNC face-milling process leads to more consistent contact.

• Fully forged dual-cavity construction produces a solid feel.

• Stock shaft is lighter in long irons, heavier in short irons.

• 7-iron: 34 degrees; PW: 46 degrees

Demo

‘Feels explosive off the face. Has nice feedback on center strikes. Cuts through the turf nicely.’

—0-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING

TITLEIST

T150

WHY WE LIKE IT

PERFORMANCE

RRP AED 7,980

The secret sauce that makes this players iron pack plenty of power is not just stronger lofts than the Titleist T100. A channel behind the face adds the kind of extra zip that is sure to excite better recreational players. Sacrificing feel and forgiveness, however, was not an option: The use of dense tungsten and a slightly thicker topline and sole bolster stability. Also, the lower portion of the face is a shade thicker than the T100 to enhance feel.

• Variable bounce sole assists with turf interaction.

• Lofts are 2 degrees stronger than T100 for more distance.

• Works as a blended set with T100 short irons.

• 7-iron: 32 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

Demo

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, PLAYERS IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 BEST SOUND/FEEL, PLAYERS IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

‘Good turf interaction with no digging.

Center-face contact gets good carry. Mis-hits hold the line.’

—6-HANDICAP

COBRA

KING FORGED TEC

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

‘The forged feel on center strikes is unbelievable, like you hit nothing at all. Distance is there.’ —7-HANDICAP

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★

RRP AED 5,695

Sometimes multiple materials are used to mask deficiencies in one area, but not so here. By mixing materials, Cobra brings the kind of raw power irons in this category need. The neat trick, however, is doing so in a pleasing shape that doesn’t scrimp on feel thanks to a light, soft foam inside the 1025 carbon-steel clubhead. The muscle-back shape belies the hollow construction, and the thin face delivers signifi cant ball speed with a higher launch.

MIZUNO

JPX923 FORGED

WHY WE LIKE IT

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION ★★★★ ½

• Five-step forging produces a lower sound.

• A light foam saves weight that is moved low to aid launch.

• A slim topline and reduced o set deliver a player-ish look.

• 7-iron: 29.5 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★★

RRP AED 5,370

If these irons took human form, they might just give Patrick Dempsey a run for “Best Looking Man Alive.” Just like with the actor, there’s more here than good looks. The speed in this iron comes from the thinnest face on a forged iron in the company’s history—just 2.2 millimeters thick. The distance chase doesn’t stop there. Micro-slots in the sole cavity (wider in the 4through 6-irons and slightly narrower in the 7-iron to smooth the transition to the scoring clubs) provide plenty of heat.

• Micro-slots in the long and middle irons deliver distance.

• A notch in the club’s perimeter assists sound.

• Carbon steel in the 8-iron through wedges promotes control.

• 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

TOP 5 BEST LOOKING, PLAYERS-DISTANCE IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 MOST FORGIVING, PLAYERS-DISTANCE IRONS, MIDDLE-HANDICAPS

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

‘Produces a consistently high ball flight that stays on line and lands softly. Center strikes make a snapping sound.’

—13-HANDICAP

MIZUNO

JPX923 HOT METAL PRO

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE ★★★★★

INNOVATION ★★★★

LOOK

• SOUND • FEEL

RRP AED 4,770

Advancements in golf clubs aren’t always solely driven by the design. You need to be able to manufacture them with precision. For this iron that meant finding a different steel—nickel chromoly 4335—that could be cast to an ultra-thin 1.75 millimeters and still withstand impact with the ball and ground at high swing speeds. This led to the ability to create a single-piece design that behaves like an iron that has a spring-like face insert. The elimination of weld joints eradicates hot spots on the face.

• The low and back center-of-gravity position produces height despite strong lofts.

• Compact shape and thin topline fit the eye of better players.

• 7-iron: 28.5 degrees; PW: 42.5 degrees

‘Best blend of power, playability and soft feel. I can confidently attack the ball without fear of a punishing miss.’

—1-HANDICAP

MIZUNO

MIZUNO PRO 245

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★

PERFORMANCE

★★★★ ½

INNOVATION

★★★★ ½

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★ ½

RRP AED 8,050

The traditional blade appearance of the Mizuno Pro 245 says, “Be afraid. Be very afraid.” The performance, however, says otherwise. This hollow-body iron is grain-flow forged from 4135 chromoly steel for the face and neck all the way to the 8-iron. Internal tungsten weighting in the irons up to the 7-iron is 46.4 grams as opposed to 30 grams in its predecessor. A new method of laser welding suspends the tungsten in the head so that it doesn’t touch the sole, allowing the face to flex better and boost ball speed.

• The use of more internal tungsten weighting increases forgiveness and helps golfers launch the ball higher.

• New Pro Fli-Hi o ers a viable alternative to long irons.

• 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

TOP 3 IN PERFORMANCE, PLAYERS-DISTANCE IRONS, HIGH-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, PLAYERS-DISTANCE IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

‘Compact, blade-like design with a surprising amount of forgiveness. Mis-hits stay on line.’

—11-HANDICAP

PING

i530

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

★★★★

‘Thin topline gives this a players look, and the wider sole ups forgiveness and cuts through the turf.’

—12-HANDICAP

RRP AED 7,175

Ping realises off-center hits are part of the game, even for single-digit players. This iron doesn’t ignore that unpleasant reality but also places an emphasis on a clean aesthetic and more pop than a ball coming off Aaron Judge’s bat. The construction is almost metal-wood like with a hollow-body design using C300 maraging steel for the face. The sole has an “arcing cascade” that aids in the flexing of the face and combines with strong lofts to ensure the desire for distance is satisfied.

• A weight pad pushes mass down to lower the CG.

• An EVA polymer improves feel without hindering face flex.

• Tightly spaced grooves increase spin.

• 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

PXG

0311 P GEN6

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

★★★★ ½

INNOVATION

★★★★ ½

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

★★★★ ½

RRP AED 11,200

Increasing launch and decreasing spin is a recipe for distance in irons as well as metal woods. The internal groove built into the back surface of the highstrength HT1770 steel face insert helps in that regard. The groove, about ten-thousandths of an inch deep, runs up both sides and across the top of the perimeter to create more give in the face while promoting increased launch and decreased spin. A large weight in the back is more than ornamentation: It allows fitters to dial in the desired swingweight.

• The face is just 1.27 millimeters thick, increasing face flex.

• A polymer core saves weight, enhancing stability on mis-hits.

• An internal channel promotes face flex for extra ball speed.

• 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, PLAYERS-DISTANCE IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

TOP 3 IN PERFORMANCE, PLAYERS DISTANCE IRONS, HIGH-HANDICAPS

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

‘Shots come off with power and a pleasing click at impact.

Responsive and forgiving with a straighter, spinning ball flight.’

—14-HANDICAP

SRIXON

ZX5 Mk II

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING

★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

★★★★ ½ INNOVATION

★★★★ ½

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★ ½

‘A comfortable, well-balanced and stable face that has feel and control. It’s fast off the face. So easy to hit.’

—9-HANDICAP

TAYLORMADE

RRP AED 4,950

Some irons in this category go heavy on the distance and light on the players. This one is the right combination of both. A slim hosel provides a pleasing visual at address, and the offset produces a natural flow through the set—both small enhancements better players will appreciate. The face has plenty of sizzle thanks to the use of a forged SUP10 steel plate featuring a variable-thickness pattern of grooves, channels and cavities milled into the back of the iron face to maximize rebound at impact.

• The 8-iron through pitching wedge have a shorter blade height for added control.

• The KBS Tour Lite stock shaft can aid swing speed.

• 7-iron: 31 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

P·790

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

PERFORMANCE

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

RRP AED 5,565

The third generation of TaylorMade’s flagship iron has a thin face that hits harder than T.J. Watt sacking a quarterback. TaylorMade engineers used artificial intelligence to run through some 600 iterations of its clubhead design, leading to the use of different internal weighting: low in the 4- and 5-irons to help increase launch, toward the perimeter to foster forgiveness on the 6- and 7-irons, and no internal weighting for the 8-iron and higher. These design gymnastics are not just for performance but improved feel, too.

• A sound stabilization bar delivers enhanced feel.

• The face is 1.56 millimeters at its thinnest for increased bend.

• Trailing-edge relief on the 9-iron, PW encourage workability.

• 7-iron: 30.5 degrees; PW: 45 degrees

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, PLAYERS-DISTANCE IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 BEST LOOKING, PLAYERS-DISTANCE IRONS, MIDDLE-HANDICAPS

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

FLIGHT

‘Ball springs off the face and has a higher ball flight. Slightly softer feel. Workable,too.’

—7-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

TITLEIST

T200

WHY WE LIKE IT

RRP AED 7,980

The T100 is the most-played iron on the PGA Tour, so it’s easy to see how some might view the T200 in a lesser light. Nothing could be more wrong. This club has undergone a substantial overhaul. A ball-speed boost comes from a face that wraps around the sole for extra fl ex at impact. A more stable frame, dense tungsten weights and polymer core and support-bar structure behind the face improve ball-speed consistency on mis-hits, too. It’s no wonder some tour pros use these for their long irons.

• Same blade length as T100, T150 make blending sets easy.

• The dual-tapered face improves deflection.

• A polymer core closer to the face improves feel.

• 7-iron: 30.5 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

BALL FLIGHT

Lower Higher SENSORY

Softer Firmer

PLAYABILITY

Workable Forgiving

‘This club has some hidden power. Feels secure, stable and evenly weighted throughout the swing.’

—10-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

CALLAWAY

PARADYM Ai SMOKE

WHY WE LIKE IT

INNOVATION

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

RRP AED 4,770

The game-improvement category is probably the most expansive of any and requires an iron that works for a variety of swing speeds and swing paths. To achieve this, Callaway leaned into its history of using artificial intelligence to run through thousands of possible designs. The result is a hollow-body iron featuring micro-face defl ections (think tiny moguls behind the face ranging from 1.14 millimeters to 3.40 millimeters thick). The purpose is to produce faster ball speeds off the 17-4 stainless-steel cupface.

• Tungsten weighting allows for optimal CG location.

• Urethane microspheres assist sound and support the face.

• Stock shaft is longer to promote faster clubhead speed.

• 7-iron: 28 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

TOP 5 BEST SOUND/FEEL, GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, MIDDLE-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, PLAYERS-DISTANCE IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

‘Gets the ball in the air with a ton of distance. Workable and forgiving. Centerface contact is rewarded.’

—11-HANDICAP

CALLAWAY

PARADYM Ai SMOKE HL

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING

★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

★★★★ ½ INNOVATION ★★★★★

‘The ball leaves the clubface with purpose. Weighting offers control and a higher launch with no loss of distance.’

—12-HANDICAP

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★ ½

RRP AED 5,565

CLEVELAND

ZIPCORE XL

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

★★★★

INNOVATION

★★★★★

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★

The Paradym Ai Smoke is designed for players with faster swings. This model is made for players who swing a little slower and carry their 7-iron less than 130 yards. That player needs help achieving a healthy ball flight. Using real-player data, the company’s supercomputer simulated tens of thousands of impacts to arrive at a design that improves launch and spin and keeps the ball in the air longer—something that can be the diff erence between fi xing a ball mark or fishing the ball out of the water.

• A pocket of urethane microspheres behind the face produces a pleasing sound at impact.

• Tungsten weighting assists o -center strikes.

• 7-iron 30 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

RRP AED 3,625

On the surface this iron looks standard, but the real improvements are on the inside. The face in the 4through 7-iron is similar to that of affiliated company Srixon’s irons with channels and cavities on the back of the face to save mass and increase ball speed. This iron goes a step further, borrowing the groundbreaking ZipCore technology from Cleveland’s wedge line in the 8-iron through the wedges. ZipCore takes steel out of the hosel and replaces it with a lighter material, allowing for optimal CG placement and greater forgiveness.

• A proprietary face blast creates roughness for more spin.

• A weight in the butt of the shaft promotes an e cient swing.

• Long blade length bolsters confidence and forgiveness.

• 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

TOP 5 MOST FORGIVING, GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, HIGH-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, HIGH-HANDICAPS

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

‘The thinner topline resembles a players iron at address, but the sole is thicker. Good feel with plenty of energy at impact.’

—PLUS-1-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

PERFORMANCE

LOOK

COBRA

DARKSPEED

WHY WE LIKE IT

‘Soft feel through impact. Shots launch high with distance. Forgiving, too.’

—14-HANDICAP

RRP AED 4,970

You’ve heard the phrase “pound for pound, the best”? That would apply to Cobra’s R&D team. Although outnumbered and out budgeted by the biggest companies, Cobra continues to innovate in meaningful ways, and this iron is the latest example. The face of the hollow-body irons, designed with the help of a supercomputer, is 1.5 millimeters at its thinnest, providing explosive ball speed. Inside the cavity is a soft polymer (used in underbody coatings in cars) to dampen vibrations.

• Available in One Length shaft length.

• An internal weight bar allows the bottom of the face to flex.

• Grooves are milled into the face to ensure exact specs.

• 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

MIZUNO

JPX923 HOT METAL

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

PERFORMANCE

RRP AED 4,500

If you’re a player seeking raw distance, you might be drawn to an iron named Hot Metal. The achievement in this club is that it’s able to bring high ball speeds through metallurgy. Mizuno used nickel chromoly 4335—a strong steel alloy used in military aircraft— to create the thinnest face of any Mizuno iron ever. Of course, a hotter face brings a powerful sound. In this case, Mizuno was able to neatly walk the line of producing audio that was pleasing and have others in your foursome take notice.

• A 360 cupface provides maximum rebound.

• The design is based on more than 175,000 fitting sessions.

• A thicker face on the 8-iron eases transition to short irons.

• 7-iron: 28.5 degrees; PW: 42.5 degrees

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

TOP 5 BEST LOOKING, GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 BEST SOUND/FEEL, GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

‘I like the gradual progression of the topline. Minimal offset. Longest I’ve hit.’

—6-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

★★★★ ½ INNOVATION

★★★★ ½

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★

PING

G430

WHY WE LIKE IT

RRP AED 6,265

‘Feels like a players iron. More center strikes and fewer toe misses, which is my usual miss. Nice increase in distance.’

—11-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING

★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

★★★★

INNOVATION

★★★★ ½

PXG

0311 XP GEN6

WHY WE LIKE IT

When you have success with an iron line, you’re not going to mess with it much. Still, tiny changes here equal big benefi ts. A proprietary heat-treating process created a super-strong 17-4 stainless steel that allows for more face flexing. This results in the much sought-after combination of increased distance and higher max height. The sole was altered, too. Approximately 1 degree of bounce was added to each iron to promote the kind of clean turf interaction that mitigates the effect of fat shots.

• Flex zones on the badge deliver ball speed, better feel.

• A compact head, shorter hosel help lower the CG.

• Stronger lofts stay mindful of distance gaps.

• 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 41 degrees

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

★★★★ ½

RRP AED 9,800

It’s easy to be drawn in by the lighter and more flexible core material or the interior groove around the face that helps the face bend at impact, but more than doubling the amount of tungsten in the heel and toe areas really gets our attention. Although the heft is a nice bonus in a players or players-distance iron, the game-improvement crowd misses the center of the face more than they hit it. This makes the stability/ forgiveness boost received from putting extra weight in those areas noteworthy.

• An ultra-thin maraging-steel face enhances ball speed.

• A perimeter channel behind the face allows deflection.

• Core material reduces mass, allowing weight to be moved.

• 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 41 degrees

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

TOP 5 BEST LOOKING, GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 MOST FORGIVING, GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, HIGH-HANDICAPS

‘Love the textured back and how it looks at address. Good feedback in the hands. Consistent and workable. Could hit a fade or draw.’

—7-HANDICAP

SRIXON

ZX4 Mk II

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

PERFORMANCE

RRP AED 4,455

Arguably the most technologically advanced iron in Srixon’s line, the ZX4 Mk II brings all the power one could want. The cast, multi-piece hollow-body iron features a forged high-strength steel face insert that has the ball coming out of the blocks like an Olympic sprinter. That’s not just from the springy metal though. Srixon used a supercomputer to simulate thousands of impacts, and a variablethickness face pattern was milled into the backside of the face insert to maximize ball speed.

• Sole width is slimmer to be more in line with ZX5 Mk II.

• Tungsten in the toe of the long, mid irons increases stability.

• A forged high-strength steel face insert creates more flex.

• 7-iron: 28.5 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

‘The slight offset makes it easier for me to launch the ball with a penetrating trajectory.’

—6-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION ★★★★★

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

TAYLORMADE

Qi

WHY WE LIKE IT

RRP AED 5,390

TaylorMade’s P-series irons have long overshadowed its game-improvement off erings, but that’s changed over time. The Qi is the latest leap. The iron incorporates a “cap back” that  replaces the steel back of the clubhead with a composite badge. The badge provides the necessary reinforcement for the thin, fl exing face, along with a pleasant sound and feel. The badge also reduces mass, allowing weight to be moved to dial in the proper center-of-gravity location. The nickel-chrome plating adds a touch of class.

• A “speed pocket” through the 8-iron enhances ball speed.

• A shorter leading edge, longer blade support the face.

• A dual 360 undercut harvests weight for forgiveness.

• 7-iron: 28 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

TOP 5 SOFTEST, GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, MIDDLE-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 BEST SOUND/FEEL, GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, LOW-HANDICAPS

‘Produces powerful shots that penetrate the air with a rounded descent that’s gentle yet effective.’ —15-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

PERFORMANCE

TITLEIST

T350

WHY WE LIKE IT

‘Unbelievably forgiving. Contact feels flushed even on mis-hits. Produces an effortless high ball flight.’

—11-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING

RRP AED 7,980

A shift away from an undercut-cavity design to a hollow-body platform signals a transformational upgrade from its T300 predecessor. The hollow design houses the polymer-core structure (previously on the back of the iron), moving it closer to the face for better performance and feel. Also different from the T300 are super-dense tungsten weights in the heel and toe. This feature not only triggers more stability but contributes to ball speed and helps maintain feel.

CALLAWAY

BIG BERTHA

WHY WE LIKE IT

PERFORMANCE

RRP AED 5,700

With a name like Big Bertha, you expect features like a wide sole and the kind of offset that is sure to tame a slice. However, it’s the guts of this club that delivers the goods. This iron’s cupface technology in which the face wraps around part of the topline and sole helps improve flex and distance. Tungsten weighting is generously used as well, including 43 grams inside the head to bolster forgiveness on mis-hits. Progressive CG locations help with launch in the long irons and control in the short irons.

• A longer blade length improves stability.

• The variable bounce sole is inspired by Vokey wedges.

• Tungsten is brazed to the body, eliminating weld beads.

• 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

• Urethane microspheres up to the sixth groove improve feel.

• Each face has its own topology for optimum performance.

• Lightweight True Temper Elevate 85 shaft is stock o ering.

• 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

TOP

‘Despite the larger size, it feels compact and focused through impact. Produces a high-trajectory.’

—13-HANDICAP

CLEVELAND

HALO XL FULL FACE

WHY WE LIKE IT

OVERALL RATING ★★★★ ½

PERFORMANCE

RRP AED 3,870

‘Comfortable club with a cushy feel at impact. Easy to get these up, but the high ball flight is still piercing.’

—7-HANDICAP

COBRA AIR-X

WHY WE LIKE IT

Cleveland believes helping players achieve more distance, forgiveness and launch starts with the face, specifically making it lighter and more flexible to produce maximum yards. The face here underwent a proprietary face blast and laser-mill-line process to enhance surface roughness to optimise spin. The grooves that stretch all the way across the face are purposeful, too: They increase consistency and reduce the chance of flyers.

• The white paint fill on the bottom grooves aids alignment.

• Di erent sole designs for long, middle and short irons.

• Light material in hosel (8-iron through SW) creates stability.

• 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

OVERALL RATING ★★★★

PERFORMANCE

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL

The ability to launch the ball is critical for golfers with slower swing speeds. That’s because slow swings don’t produce enough speed to generate signifi cant height. This club seeks to launch higher without adding too much distance-robbing spin. That quest began by using lighter clubheads, shafts and grips, making it easier for golfers to generate more clubhead speed. A revamped variable-thickness face inspired by Cobra’s driver is 15 percent thinner on the 4- through 7-iron to help with distance.

• Low-profile design helps get the ball in the air.

• It has 60 percent more o set than Cobra’s Darkspeed iron.

• A channel improves face flex, adding height and distance.

• 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 43.5 degrees

Coming soon to eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, SUPER-GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, HIGH-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 HIGHEST FLYING, SUPER-GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, HIGH-HANDICAPS

‘Cushioned feel at impact with a mid-to-high trajectory that’s workable. Skilled players will enjoy these as much as beginners.’

—7-HANDICAP

OVERALL RATING ★★★★★

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

MIZUNO

JPX923 HOT METAL HL

WHY WE LIKE IT

LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★★

‘Offset suggests extra forgiveness. High, straight flight: I hit it further than any in the category.’

—7-HANDICAP

RRP AED 5,250

In the chase for ball speed many companies have opted to strengthen lofts—not so here. In fact, Mizuno’s research shows that golfers with average to slow swing speeds have a tough time getting a 5-iron up in the air. Mizuno then focuses on increasing launch by staying true to traditional lofts (some 2 to 3 degrees weaker than many in the category) and using a wider sole, which helps drive the center of gravity down. The face is made from a cast nickel chromoly steel that produces plenty of punch.

• The lightweight steel shaft promotes a slightly faster swing.

• The face is eight percent thinner than previous Mizuno irons.

• The blade length is the same as the standard Hot Metal.

• 7-iron: 31 degrees; PW: 45 degrees

TAYLORMADE

QI HL

WHY WE LIKE IT

RATING

RRP AED 5,390

The look is so elegant that you might expect to fi nd this one in the bag of The Golden Bachelor (who does play golf), but substance is plentiful, too. The hardto-hit long irons have a backbar that lowers the center of gravity and combines with a new slot design to promote higher launch. The short irons, however, have a backbar with extreme heel-toe weighting to boost forgiveness and a different slot to maximise ball speed.

• The set runs from 5-iron through sand wedge.

• The “hybrar” compression damper reduces unwanted face vibration.

• 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 44.5 degrees

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

Demo this club and get a custom fit at eGolf Megastore

TOP 5 BEST SOUND/FEEL, SUPER-GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, HIGH-HANDICAPS

TOP 5 BEST SOUND/FEEL, SUPER-GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS, HIGH-HANDICAPS

AGE 17

LIVES Dubai, UAE

WHAT'S IN MY BAG : CHIARA NOJA

STORY Noja turned professional in October 2021 at age 15. On 5th June 2022, she secured her maiden professional win at the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge by nine shots.

ALWAYS A

TITLEIST GIRL

As a kid, I used to steal my dad’s Vokey wedgesthat’s how obsessed I was with the brand. I just love how they feel and the performance in the club for me. I’ve always played a Titleist ball, so I’m pretty much a Titleist girl!

WITH HARRY GRIMSHAW

DRIVER

SPECS Titleist TSR 4 – 10° – shaft ACCRA TZ Six

I have played this since it came out and it’s just a match made in heaven. Look wise, feel wise, it’s always been the best for me. I actually have the same shaft in my driver, and fairway woods which is a strange set up, di erent weights though.

FAIRWAY WOODS

SPECS 3 wood - Titleist TSR 1 – 15°shaft ACCRA TZ6; 7 wood - Titleist TSR 1 – 20° - shaft ACCRA TZ6

I have a three wood and a seven wood. Some people are surprised that I actually have a seven wood. Safe to say it’s the favourite club in my bag.

HOME COMFORT

Jumeirah Golf Estates is my home club. So taking this ball marker with me reminds me of home when I’m playing abroad.

EYE SPY

HYBRID

SPECS Titleist TSR 2 – 24° – Fujikura Ventus Blue HB

This hybrid replaces my four iron. It’s just more forgiving than having to hit a long iron, plus out the rough it’s super.

IRONS

SPECS Titleist T100 - PW – 5 Iron True Temper Dynamic Golf 105 Tour Issue

These T100 irons are actually forged with a dual-cavity, this therefore gives me a more solid feel at impact.

It’s a friend’s, family heirloom which was given to me after I sprained my ribs after sneezing back in 2022. We are a very superstitious family!

HAVING FAITH

WEDGES

SPECS Titleist Vokey SM9 (50°, 54°, 58°) True Temper Dynamic Golf 105 Tour Issue

I’m obsessed with these wedges, ever since I grew up all I wanted was Vokey wedges and that’s why I used to always practice with my dad’s ones – I eventually had to get my own!

PUTTER

SPECS Titleist Scotty Cameron Super Select Fastback 1.5; P2 grip

I have putted with this since 2020, so this is the start of it’s fourth year with me. I love this putter. This one is a circle T, which I got when I won in Jeddah, so it means a lot to me and is very special.

I’m Catholic and I always wear a crucifix. My mum is super religious and has put a cross in my bag to protect and guide me wherever I go.

TITLEIST THREE

I always play a Titleist Pro V1X number three ball. Three is my lucky number, according to Chinese horoscope of course!

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