Instructions

If there’s one stat I’m really proud of, it’s my greens in regulation. I’m hitting three out of every four greens, and that means I have a lot of looks at birdie. Even better, having that many opportunities takes a lot of pressure off my putter because I know that if I two-putt for par,

ABOUT Even the best instructor in the game needs a second pair of eyes now and then. Join Butch Harmon for his 25-minute range session with George Gankas, coach to tour star Matthew Wolff and ranked 11th on Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers in America. Known for his non-traditional teaching methods, Gankas helps Harmon with

The teachers highlighted in BOLD are on the list of America’s 50 Best Teachers. ALABAMA 1.) Mark Blackburn (17), Blackburn Golf Academy at Greystone G. & C.C., Birmingham 2.) Tony Ruggiero (43), C.C. of Mobile 3.) Wayne Flint, Highland Park G. Cse., Birmingham 4.) Eric Eshleman, C.C. of Birmingham 5.) Jackson Koert, Lakewood G.C., Point Clear 6.)

Whether it’s a 50-footer across the green or six feet to shoot a new personal best, imagine feeling comfortable and confident over every putt. Now, anyone can become a better putter with a new, simple approach from David Leadbetter. The key? Putting with your core. To understand what putting with your core means, try this

There’s an ocean of golf instruction devoted to telling you how to move your body to hit it better. And yes, turning, pivoting, shifting—all that stuff is important to playing good golf. But Golf Digest Best in State Teacher Tom Rezendes says there’s one simple way to cut through the fluff and focus on a

What does a great golf instructor look like? It has never been harder to fit one into some kind of standard teacher template. The members of Golf Digest’s newest 50 Best Teachers list can certainly be found in the traditional places and playing their traditional roles—working with the greatest players in the world on PGA

Golf Digest: You’ve credited Phil Ritson with getting you started as a teacher. Best advice he gave you? He once said, “If you can’t help someone, don’t f— them up.” That’s good advice for any teacher. GD: What’s your primary goal when giving a lesson? If you had a lesson with me right now, the

Fitness. It was once an afterthought—if considered at all—but now it’s a main part of the conversation when discussing improved performance on the golf course. Players looking to hit the ball farther, power the ball out of the rough, and maintain high levels of energy throughout the golf season know that it comes with a

We’ve all been there: Walking up to the green and seeing your ball in a position that requires a scary, high-risk shot. There’s no doubt some shots have a higher degree of difficulty than others, but the four shots below are ones that you might be making harder than they need to be. Some setup

Eventually, you’re going to get tired of hitting that same slice time after time off the tee. You could listen to your buddies give you the wrong advice, or you can go get a lesson. We’d recommend the latter. But how do you pick the right teacher for your game? We asked three top teachers

For many players, all the little details of golf can be overwhelming. Not only swing technique, but there’s the etiquette, rules, even the social do’s and don’ts, like “Do you mind if my brother-in-law joins us—he’s excited to try golf?” (That’s a don’t.) In the final episode of “My Game: Tiger Woods,” you’ll go behind

You might have been told that your golf ball position should change depending on the club you’re using. For shorter irons, many people contend that the ball should be played in the middle of the stance, but hitting longer clubs requires the ball position to be more forward. Their reasoning: Shafts vary in length, so

Nobody has seen Tiger Woods hit more balls than Rob McNamara, the TGR Ventures vice president who has not only played more than 500 rounds with Woods in the last 15 years, but is also his designated practice partner at home in Jupiter, Fla., and a second set of eyes when Woods is on the

Most of us have been taught the same lesson at some point in our lives—finish what you start. Whether it’s an around-the-house project, a book you are reading, or the sandwich you just made, the lesson always applies. Nobody likes a quitter. This is true at every level of golf. From the final round of

Part of playing sports as a kid is practicing while you’re pretending you’re the hero: the walk-off homer to win the World Series, the diving catch in the end zone, or a six-footer to win the Masters. In “My Game: Tiger Woods,” produced by GOLFTV and Golf Digest, Tiger says he did it, too. The

Tour players aren’t the only ones who tee it up in majors. You have your own: your flight in the club championship, the annual golf trip with your college buddies, the member-guest at your club or the money match against the person who always seems to get in your pocket. You need to hit the

When you hit into a greenside bunker, is your brain flooded with swing thoughts that make the next shot seem complicated, like you’re running through a long checklist just to get the ball out? Instead, clear your mind—if you can—and try my simpler approach: No matter the lie, no matter the yardage, play the ball

We’ve all been there—standing over a four-footer really matters. Could be for that a birdie. Could be to win a weekend match. Could even be to keep your team from going backward in a scramble. No matter the scenario, there are only two outcomes. Why do some golfers always seem to make these while others

Professional sports have become massively data-driven, whether you’re talking about the coaches and athletes themselves or the broadcasts that show the action. Statistics and analytics show the how, what, why and how many for tour players in the form of everything from clubhead speed and distance to strokes gained relative to the field in different

As the days get shorter and your course becomes less playable, turn your attention to working on your game for next year—especially getting longer off the tee, says golf-fitness trainer Kaitlyn Pimentel. She particularly likes the two exercises on this page because of the way they complement each other. “With only these two exercises, you

Don’t Be That Guy Golf prides itself as a “gentleman’s game.” En the masse, golfers take this mantra to heart, adhering not only to the rules, but towards standard etiquette on the golf course and to their fellow hackers. Unfortunately, due to bad habits or general ignorance, there remains a multitude of breaches of etiquette.

Think of all the times you’ve hit your ball into the one spot you absolutely didn’t want to go. The tee shot O.B., an approach that comes up a yard short in the water, a chip that slides past the hole and ends up rolling 30 yards off the green. It doesn’t seem like really

For the remaining few who argue that the modern golf swing is in a slow creep toward production-line sameness, July 2019 was a rather disastrous month. That’s when Matthew Wolff, a 20-year-old PGA Tour rookie starting as a pro for just the third time, lifted, looped, squatted, jumped and powered his way to victory at

Your ball rolls through the green, just far enough so you really can’t putt it. You need a little drop shot that lands softly and creeps to the hole. Nervous? Don’t be. With the right setup and a couple swing keys, you’ve got this shot. Use your most lofted wedge and open the clubface before

Growing up at Oak Tree National in Oklahoma, I got to play a lot with Scott Verplank, and I modeled my short game after his. It’s a pretty good one to copy. His short game was unreal for two decades on the PGA Tour. One shot he taught me that I use a lot creates

Swing catalyst motion plates cost software about $21,000. and 3-D A TrackMan 4 launch monitor is $19,000. BodiTrak software and portable force plates are about $2,500. All of these game-improvement devices will definitely help you play better golf, but I’m guessing you’d like to know if there’s a low-cost alternative. How about a 99-cent sponge?

You might have heard of the swing flaw known as the chicken wing. It refers to the bend in the lead arm (left for right-handers) as the club moves through the hitting zone. This bend causes the elbow to jut, giving the arm the look of a bar-food staple. Unfortunately, it often leads to fat

The putting stroke is the smallest swing in golf, which makes it relatively simple—but also challenging. Let me explain. On putts, you don’t have much time to compensate for errors in the setup or backstroke. In fact, your address position largely determines whether you hit a good putt or a bad one. Two positions in

We know, we know. When you hear the phrase “go-to shot,” you laugh, because it implies that you have total control over your game. If it was that easy, you’d just hit it straight down the middle every time, right? Turns out you can play more predictable golf no matter what your handicap is, says

You’ve seen this before, and maybe, just maybe, done it yourself. A golfer hits the ball a mile off-line, and then tries to pull off an insane recovery, usually after announcing something like, “Hey, you never know till you try” or “I didn’t come here to pitch out.” Foolish words from someone about to blow