The worst question you could ask a golfer when hoping to have a short conversation is, “How did you play?” The answer is always more information than you need, and it tends to feature two consistent elements: 1. It could have been better. 2. But there was this one shot. There is always at least Read more…
How well did Ryan Fox and Cameron Young breathe? It’s a genuine factor behind their Sunday performance at Royal Birkdale, and there’s real science behind why breathwork helps under pressure.
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy both brushed off questions about their legacies this week. It turns out that mindset, known as “temporal distancing,” might be exactly what helps them play their best golf under pressure.
The assorted tales of bad bounces in golf could double as campfire ghost stories. There’s Joe Daley at Q School in 2000, whose bogey putt dropped into the dead center of the 17th hole, but then improbably ricocheted off the bottom of the cup and popped out. Daley ended up missing his PGA Tour card Read more…
There is no official clock measuring this, but I am fairly certain my golf practice time has eclipsed the 10,000-hour barrier. That is the magic number for greatness, they say, which leads to the uncomfortable question of why I remain so stubbornly average. Probably because not all 10,000 hours should be graded the same. If Read more…
Wyndham Clark was standing in the right rough of the 18th hole on Sunday, needing a par to win the U.S. Open, when microphones captured his caddie David Pelekoudas offer his final instructions. They were the same two words Pelekoudas said on the tee minutes earlier, and the same words he said to Clark dozens Read more…
The same golfer who unloaded on a locker at Oakmont, and weeks earlier hurled his driver in anger at the PGA Championship, can also be the golfer faithful to his work with a leading sports psychologist. It’s no different than a golfer who has worked diligently on their putting, but is still prone to the occasional three-putt.
Some good golf shots are obvious. Hit it to five feet from 140 yards, and every level of golfer would be happy with it. But do you know what else counts as a good shot? Hitting the same shot to 20 feet. That’s still better than the PGA Tour average. So is a 20-yard bunker Read more…
Recently, I had a nightmare round. It was a tournament of minimal significance, but enough to have me embarrassed by how poorly it was going. Even in the throes of it, I started formulating an explanation in my head about how everything could unravel so quickly. This is when I realized a lot of it Read more…
Let’s make a deal. You pretend to be interested in a story about one of my recent golf rounds, and I promise it will teach you something about your golf in the process. If I just wanted to drone on about my golf without a point, that’s why I have a family. The details are Read more…
If there is a golf stat I’m uniquely qualified to speak to, it’s one I’ve made up called “I’m such an idiot”s (ISAIs). I am good for about three or four of these every round, sometimes even more, and if you analyzed them closely, you’d notice a consistent element of avoidability. Because lSAIs are not Read more…
Sleeping probably shouldn’t be a competition, but a wearable device at least presents the option. Maybe you know the deal: Wake up, roll out of bed, and in my family at least, check for proof you did a better job overnight than the other people at the breakfast table. That this is juvenile and pointless Read more…
For more than a decade, Rory McIlroy returned to Augusta National craving one thing, and he couldn’t see a way around it. The more he fixated on winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam, the more difficult the quest became. “It’s so hard to stay patient,” McIlroy acknowledged after winning last year. “It’s Read more…
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Listen closely to Justin Rose discuss his play through two days of the 2026 Masters, and there are clues to his success. Rose, competing for the 21st time at Augusta National, touched on his process and routine. He referenced “flow,” and also how he prefers to tackle the shot in front of Read more…
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Football players can hit harder. Basketball players can run the floor faster. When a golfer senses he’s lagging in a tournament, what does it mean to try harder? This was a worthwhile question on the first day of the Masters, when some players could look at a leaderboard and fear they were Read more…
Mark Calcavecchia, 1989 Open champion, was asked to leave Augusta National for using his phone. From broadcasters to fans, the Masters enforces its rules strictly.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The late New York governor Mario Cuomo had a line that captured the contrast between hope and reality in his field. “You campaign in poetry but govern in prose,” Cuomo said. In other words, looking ahead is when you can speak in the abstract, the picture often rosy, the specifics less important. Read more…
Experience at Augusta National isn’t just about knowing the course. Top players reveal how managing energy and focusing on essentials can give them an edge during Masters week.
Tiger Woods normally wouldn’t have to worry about jail time if found guilty of his Friday arrest, but a leading Florida criminal defence attorney says a previous charge increases his chances.
Australian Golf Digest
