July 2010: Golf Digest Woman: Golf Digest

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Results for July 2010 Back to Golf Digest Woman Index

Women's British: Tseng takes four-shot lead

Saturday, July 31, 2010

SOUTHPORT, England -- One of the many fascinating things about the way Royal Birkdale, a gem of a links layout, is set up for the Ricoh Women's British Open is that it concludes with three par-5s among the final four holes. That pretty much means someone can step onto the 15th tee Sunday afternoon four strokes behind -- or four strokes ahead - and the tournament is still far from over. Drive the ball in the fairway on any of the four and you have a shot at birdie or better.

The challenge is that all four of the closing holes -- the short, par-4 16th is tucked in among the trio of par-5s -- are temptations fraught with danger, mostly in the form of pot bunkers and gorse. What that means is that someone in the rearview mirror could chase down someone playing conservatively, or that someone getting overly aggressive could make the mistake that seals their fate. It also means the final round will likely be packed with thrills and chills.

Certainly, the four-stroke lead Yani Tseng takes over Katherine Hull into Sunday in her pursuit of a third major championship will be challenged and the mettle of the 21-year-old Taiwanese will be tested. Her third consecutive 68 concluded with an eagle on No. 18 after she had only an 8-iron for her second shot.

"You just have to stay patient the first 14 holes and wait for those last four," said Tseng, who has made only one bogey in 54 holes. "Everyone can reach the last two holes. It's going to be a lot of fun tomorrow."

Poised most closely is Hull at 208 and I.K. Kim at 210. Of the three, Tseng is the longest hitter but all three -- and perhaps even someone lurking farther back -- could take advantage of the scoring opportunities coming in.

No. 15 is 499 yards and usually plays into the prevailing wind while the 516-yard 17th and the 472-yard 18th both usually playing downwind. All can be reached in two shots with long hitters like Tseng hitting mid-irons or even short irons into the last two holes. The 16th is only 358 yards and offers up its own birdie opportunities.

"You can reach 17 and 18 [in two shots] when they are downwind and 15 when it is not too blowy," Hull said. "Yeah, if you are not making birdies on the par-5s you feel like you are losing ground out there. You have to take advantage of the par-5s."

In Saturday's third round, Morgan Pressel played the closing quartet four-under par in shooting a 65 that got her to three-under par 213, and she is far from being one of the long hitters in the field. And in 2005, the last time the Women's British was played at Birkdale, all four of those holes averaged under par for the week.

Later on Saturday, when players had the rare luxury of competing under occasional sun and pesky but not ornery breezes, several players took advantage of the friendly homestretch. Hull played the last five holes five under in shooting a 66. I.K. Kim eagled No. 18 for a 68 and Christina Kim finished birdie-eagle to get in at 212. Brittany Lincicome finished birdie-birdie to get in the house at 211.

Tseng waltzed home four-under par over the last six holes after opening with 12 consecutive pars. Tseng, and Hull will be the final twosome and here is some history. When Hull won the 2008 CN Canadian Women's Open, Tseng had four-stroke lead over Se Ri Pak and was six ahead of Hull. But Tseng was 19 then, and that was two major championships ago.

On Saturday, after a chat with VISON54 gurus Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson, the architects of the approach to the game that worked so well for Annika Sorenstam, Tseng silenced her doubts by singing songs in Taiwanese to herself anytime negative thoughts crept into her mind.

"I figure, if it works that is good and if it doesn't, so what?" Tseng said. For 54 holes it has worked. On Sunday come the final exam, with the true test likley coming on those last four holes.

-- Ron Sirak

(Photo by Getty Images)

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Pressel putts her way to a 65 on moving day

Saturday, July 31, 2010

SOUTHPORT, England - The best Morgan Pressel has ever finished in a Women's British Open is 42nd and after a bogey-bogey start in Saturday's third round at Royal Birkdale dropped her to six over par, there was no reason to think she'd improve on that mark. Eight birdies and an eagle later she was signing for a 65 and had finished 54 holes at three-under-par 213 nearly an hour before leader Yani Tseng teed off at eight under.

Pressel moves into a tie for 6th after her impressive putting exhibition Saturday. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)

As Pressel emerged from the scoring trailer behind the 18th green, Paula Creamer, who had posted a 70 in the group in front of Pressel to get to two over par for three rounds, said: "Good playing, seven under, jeez!" Which prompted Pressel to reply: "I putted like Paula Creamer today."

In fact, Pressel putted like Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus all rolled into one, needing only 25 strokes on the green. By her own estimate, her birdies on Nos. 13 and 16 and eagle on No. 17 were all over 40 feet. There was also a 30-footer and a 20-footer thrown in for good measure.

"I just made a lot of putts today," Pressel said in somewhat of an understatement. "I put myself right back in the hunt. Some days it just goes well. I need another one tomorrow."

Asked what she was thinking after she bogeyed the first two holes, both par-4s on which she need to hit 3-wood for her second shot, Pressel said: "I hate those two holes." But she was motivated by something she had seen in the promotional material put out by the folks who run the Ricoh Women's British Open.

"I was looking at their booklet and I saw that my best finish in a British Open is 42nd," Pressel said. "That's pretty embarrassing."

There was nothing embarrassing about her performance on Saturday, much of which was played in a cold drizzle buffeted by blustery breezes. After the opening bogeys she birdied 3, 4, 7 and 9 to turn in 33. She gave a stroke back with a bogey on No. 12 then birdied 13, 14 and 16 before eagling 17 and closing with another birdie, playing the last six holes in six under par for an incoming 32.

"If you hit greens out there you can score pretty well," said Pressel. That's certainly true if you are making putts halfway across England. Another 65 on Sunday and Pressel just might be adding a British Open trophy to the Kraft Nabisco Championship she captured in 2007 as her first major.

--Ron Sirak

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Women's British: Tseng takes advantage of draw

Friday, July 30, 2010

SOUTHPORT, England - Let's talk about two paths traveled and the destinations they've reached. While Michelle Wie was busy playing against the men and turning pro at the age of 16, Yani Tseng, less than nine months older, was building a successful resume first as an amateur and then on developmental tours before joining the LPGA. Now, Yani swings into the weekend at the Ricoh Women's British Open with a chance to win her third major championship.

Tseng backed up her opening-round 68 at Royal Birkdale with the same number in Friday's second round and walked off the course with a four-stroke lead right as the weather turned nasty. "I was really lucky," Tseng said about getting the dry end of the draw. "It's raining right now and the morning was great."

Sure, Tseng got a great break, but she also did what great players do: she took advantage of it. For someone so young, she shows all the signs of possessing a mountain of wisdom built from experience.

Tseng, who turned 21 on Jan. 23 -- a milestone Wie will reach on Oct. 11 -- won the 2008 LPGA Championship at 19 and backed it up with this year's Kraft Nabisco Championship. Wie, meanwhile, hasn't finished in the top 10 in a major since the 2006 U.S. Women's Open. Let's look at how they got where they are.

Tseng came to the United States in 2001 from Taiwan with the help of Ernie Huang, a California-based Taiwanese who facilitates the transition to America for Chinese golfers. Check Tseng's path to the LPGA:

-- Won the 2003 Callaway Junior and finished second in the same event the next year.

-- Won the 2004 U.S. Women's Public Links, defeating Wie in the finals, and was a semifinalist the next year.

-- Won the 2005 North and South, beating Morgan Pressel in the final; won the 2005 Arizona Silver Bell and won the Asia Pacific Junior 2003-05.

Perhaps most importantly, when Tseng turned pro in 2007 at the age of 18 she took things slowly, playing the Asian Golf Tour, and winning there, and the Canadian Women's Tour, and winning there, before joining the LPGA in 2008, when she was Rookie of the Year.

Wie, on the other hand, won the 2003 Women's Public Links and did not hoist another trophy until the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Since finishing in the top five in the Kraft Nabisco, LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open in 2006, Wie's best finish in a major was T-11 last year at Royal Lytham, a string of 11 major that includes three missed cuts, a WD, T-67 and 84th.

When Tseng finished second in the 2008 Women's British at Sunningdale, Annika Sorenstam said Yani would be No. 1 in the world within four years. That's a timetable Tseng just may beat, in part because she has a little Annika mojo working for her.

"She just tells me to be patient and stay focused and that the victories will come," says Tseng, who bought Sorenstam's Lake Nona house last year when Annika upgraded to a bigger place before her daughter, Ava, was born. The house has served as much as an inspiration has have Sorenstam's words.

"That trophy case looks empty to me," Tseng says with a smile about shelves that once held 72 LPGA trophies, including 10 from major championships. She just may pick up another here on Sunday. When it comes to career paths, Tseng chose wisely.

-- Ron Sirak

(Photo by Getty Images)

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Wie finishes first round with a flourish

Thursday, July 29, 2010

SOUTHPORT, England -- Has there ever been any athlete in any sport who has had as many career swings before her 21st birthday as Michelle Wie? She's gone from can't-miss to can't-hit-a-fairway to comeback kid to can't-make-a-putt in such astonishing succession it's easy to lose track of whether she is on the upswing or another downturn.

For those of you scoring at home, Wie, who turns 21 in October, put together a round on the opening day of the Ricoh Women's British Open in blustery conditions at Royal Birkdale that could make you think another upswing is on the way. After a bogey on No. 1, she made 15 consecutive pars and then finished birdie-eagle for a two-under-par 70, two strokes behind first-round leader Yani Tseng.

"It was quite difficult out there with the wind," said Wie, who hit 6-iron in the par-5 17th hole and 7-iron in the par-5 finishing hole. "But it was just go out there and try to hit solid shots. If you don't, the winds going to take it over. Today, I was just patient out there and I'm going to do the same tomorrow."

Wie hasn't had a better opening round in a major championship since shooting 66 in the first round of the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship, where she finished T-3, and hasn't finished in the top-10 in a major since the 2006 U.S. Women's Open at Newport, where she was also T-3.

After a star turn at the Solheim Cup last August and her first victory anywhere in six years in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in November, it was expected that Wie had turned a corner and would start to approach the promise of her potential. But she has had only two top-10 finishes in 11 stroke-play starts this year -- none since April -- and missed the cut dismally in the last major -- the U.S. Women's Open at Oakmont where she shot 82-76.

In a way, it was appropriate that Tseng, who finished after Wie, also closed birdie-eagle to grab the lead. Tseng, a shy but subtly funny 22-year-old from Taiwan, has lived in Wie's shadow for nearly a decade despite having a much better resume.

Tseng defeated Wie in the finals of the 2004 Women's Public Links -- consistently bombing it past the long-hitting Wie -- and has already won two major championships -- the 2008 LPGA Championship and this year's Kraft Nabisco Championship -- while Wie has none.

How astonishing would it be if Tseng won this week and was, at her tender age, three-quarters of the way to the career Grand Slam? In case you think that is unlikely, Yani hit all 18 greens Thursday at Royal Birkdale - a difficult achievement even if the wind were not being frisky. She also played extremely well in 2008 when the Women's British Open was at Sunningdale.

Getting back to Wie, most impressive was the way she bounced back from her opening bogey and a few other squirrely shots early in the round. One of her flaws -- besides a decidedly erratic putter -- is to let mistake compound mistake, turning what could have been a bogey into something worse. She remained in complete control Thursday.

The test for Wie now is to back up the solid opening round with another good effort. That consistency has been a problem for her since she joined the LPGA fulltime last year. At the Evian Masters last week, for example, Wie opened with a 68 then effectively played her way out of the tournament the next day with a 77. Often of late, her best rounds have been when it mattered least -- early in a tournament or late when she was out of contention.

The cool thing about golf -- especially major championship golf -- is that it requires performance and concentration over four days on every shot -- and that is especially so in links golf. One errant shot can lead to disaster.

Wie met all of those tests on Thursday and has positioned herself perfectly at Royal Birkdale for a run at her first major championship. Now she has to build on it. After Friday's second round we will likely have a better indication of exactly where we are positioned on the Michelle Wie roller coaster ride -- going up or going down.

-- Ron Sirak

(Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images)

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Is Creamer ready for back-to-back majors?

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

SOUTHPORT, England - The first time Paula Creamer played the Women's British Open was at Royal Birkdale in 2005 when she tied for 15th place after already winning twice in her rookie LPGA season. Much was expected of her then, and much has been delivered since.

This time Creamer comes into Birkdale as the reining U.S. Women's Open champion and, for the first time in several years, doesn't have to field questions about when she is going to win her first major. "That's kind of nice," she said Wednesday at Birkdale about having the major monkey off her back. Then she reflected on the joy of winning at Oakmont.

"Arnold Palmer wrote me a really nice letter, and I thought that was just very classy," Creamer said. "My house smells fantastic right now with all these beautiful flowers that I got from all of my sponsors and my friends. But I think the day the trophy came was very special. I just looked at it and saw it there and stared for a while. I didn't event want to touch it. I was like, 'I can't believe this has happened.'"

Creamer laughs it up with Ricoh Company deputy president Katsumi Yoshida during the pro-am portion of the 2010 Ricoh Women's British Open at Royal Birkdale on Tuesday. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Creamer, who turns 24 on Aug. 5, already had eight LPGA victories but there was still the feeling something was missing without a major trophy on the mantel, especially since she let a couple slip away, including last year when she double bogeyed the final hole at Royal Lytham and finished T-3, four strokes behind winner Catriona Matthew.

"I think everything happens for a reason," Creamer said, "and all of those past majors where I've come so close, the British last year and I doubled the last hole, I still remember these things." All of those experiences translated into success at Oakmont. After she bogeyed the 12th hole, she played the last six holes two under par and stormed to victory.

"I wasn't going to let that one get away from me," she said. "I told myself I'm not going to let it slide." Now she comes to Birkdale not as an 18-year-old rookie but as a 23-year-old winner of the last major played.

"This is my sixth year," she said with an astonished tone of voice. "Gosh, time is flying by." This time she has a chance to leave Birkdale as the first player to win back-to-back LPGA majors since Lorena Ochoa won the 2007 British Open and 2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship, and the first American to do it since Juli Inkster won the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open in 1999.

--Ron Sirak

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Matthew in rare company as a mother

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

SOUTHPORT, England - You can pretty much count on one hand the number of women who have won LPGA major championships after becoming a mother - Nancy Lopez and Juli Inkster among them. But no one accomplished it as soon after childbirth as Catriona Matthew, who won last year's Ricoh Women's British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes just 11 weeks after Sophie, her second daughter, came into the world.

Matthew stunned the golf world by winning her first major less than three month after giving birth in 2009. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Matthew and her caddie/husband, Graeme, come into Royal Birkdale for this year Women's British as defending champion but without the children. "This week they are actually at home in Scotland with my mum and dad," Matthew said Wednesday after her practice round in blustery and at times wet conditions. "Katie (who is three and a half) is getting swimming lessons so you know how that goes. More exciting than watching me play golf."

Perhaps it was her maternal instincts coming out, but Matthew is in the camp of those who feel too much is being made of the absence of Alexis Thompson at the Women's British. The 15-year-old was exempt into the final qualifier because she was on the U.S. Curtis Cup team but surrendered that exemption when she opted to turn pro and secure lucrative endorsement deals as well as a second-place check last week at the Evian Masters. Tournament organizers here have taken some heat for not making special accommodations for Thompson.

"She's only 15," said Matthew. "She's going to have a lot of other chances to come and play in it." Matthew was also outspoken on the broader issue of a child of that age turning professional. "I think probably she'd be better off at school. She's certainly proved she's a good enough player, there's no doubting that. But 15 is just maybe a little too young to come out on tour. I mean, it's still really only a child."

When Thompson turns 16 on Feb. 10 she can petition the LPGA for an exemption to the minimum age rule of 18. But the word on the street is that she is more likely to follow the Michelle Wie route and not apply for tour membership, which will give her more freedom to play abroad and will exempt her from having to play a minimum number of LPGA events.

And if Thompson does apply, indications are that commissioner Mike Whan may not easily grant the exemption to the home-schooled Thompson. Whan does not want to do anything that would be interpreted as encouraging children to quit school, according to sources familiar with the situation.

"I think they are wise to be a bit careful, really," Matthew said about the LPGA's reluctance to openly encourage Thompson to join the tour. Certainly, the way the Wie situation has turned out -- generating only modest success -- raises questions about the special treatment she received, including a special exemption into the 2004 U.S. Women's Open.

"Personally, I think she should probably just wait a couple of years at least," Matthew said. "I think she should just be enjoying herself a bit more, trying to be a child. There's no great rush to grow up."

As for herself, Matthew says she is coming into Birkdale pretty much on form. "I played well out there this morning," she said. "Had a good round in the last round of the Evian. It's not usually my favorite course for playing well, so that's always encouraging. So hopefully, I can bring that into this week." She listed Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Sophie Gustafson among the "10 or 12 people who have a really good chance" this week. She should also include Cartriona Matthew, who could join Lopez and Inkster as multiple major winners after giving birth.

--Ron Sirak

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Don't tease us unless you mean it, Alexis

Monday, July 26, 2010

After finishing 10th in the U.S. Women's Open at a treacherous Oakmont CC two weeks ago, Alexis Thompson moved on to grab an oh-so-exciting tie for second place in the LPGA Tour's unofficial fifth major, the Evian Masters. In three starts as a professional, she's earned $315,000 -- enough, if she were a tour member, to put her in 18th place on the 2010 money list, ahead of players like Se Ri Pak, Michelle Wie and Christina Kim. And oh yeah, she's 15 years old.

Let's pause for a moment to consider that last piece of information: She's 15 years old. Try as I might, I can't remember accomplishing anything more substantial than memorizing every Duran Duran lyric and successfully wallpapering my entire room with Rob Lowe posters when I was 15. At that age, you're not supposed to be strong enough to average 280 yards off the tee. You're not meant to have the wherewithal to shoot 67-67 on the weekend on one of the most difficult courses on tour. And you sure as heck shouldn't possess the nerves to hold up under pressure against the best players in the world.

Alexis Thompson celebrates after sinking a clutch birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Evian Masters in Evian les Bains, France, last Sunday to pull into a tie for the lead. (Photo by David Cannon, Getty Images)

This is more than newsworthy; it's a potential new era in women's golf. It's a female Tiger in the making. It's what could turn the LPGA into women's professional tennis. We should be ranting and raving and shouting Thompson's praise from the roof tops. But like women scorned who are afraid to ever trust another lover, we're too afraid to believe this girl is actually going to deliver on her immense promise in the long term. Call it post-traumatic Wie syndrome.

Michelle Wie basically ruined everything for Alexis Thompson (I still can't bring myself to call her "Lexi," even though that's the name embossed on her golf bag and the moniker adapted by Golf Channel announcers -- perhaps I don't feel like I know her well enough, or maybe it's too strong a reminder of just how young she is). If there had been no Wie five or six years ago, Thompson would be front-page news right now. She'd be raking in unprecedented sponsorship dough and appearing on Leno and Letterman. She'd be a household name, even among households without golfers. But because Wie's young star rose and faded so quickly -- and so embarrassingly -- Thompson will likely have to win a grand slam of majors before she'll really be taken seriously. And even then, we'll still be waiting for the dreaded burnout to rear its ugly head.

After all, the similarities between the two girls are too eerie to ignore. They're both tall, long-hitting American child prodigies with overzealous parents more than willing to sacrifice their own lives to spend every waking hour promoting and furthering their daughters' golf careers. Wie wasn't home-schooled the way Thompson is, but she might as well have been; her curriculum consisted mostly of golf from a very early age. Thompson's mom isn't sitting on the grass in front of her daughter teeing up ball after ball during practice sessions the way Wie's did, but she may as well be; the girl's typical weekday includes school work the first two hours and last two hours of the day, with range practice, workouts and 18 holes of golf in between. They both have crazy game and stellar amateur records, and seem experienced beyond their years on the golf course. Then they open their mouths off the course and you realize they sound just like your 12-year-old niece. And they both turned pro before they were old enough to have a driver's license.

I so badly want to believe that Thompson won't fall into the same traps Wie did. Maybe she will be the one who ends up as the greatest thing that ever happened to women's golf, the one who wins everything, and does so with humility and grace. Perhaps even she can remain happy and healthy, and avoid the drama that inevitably comes along with being thrust into the limelight at such a young age.

But do I believe she will? Ask me in five years.

--Stina Sternberg

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The Intern Diaries: Summer Fridays

Friday, July 23, 2010

After working at GD for a month and a half, I've not only learned a lot about publishing, but I've also been able to polish my golf game on some excellent Connecticut golf courses -- mainly thanks to a longstanding GD practice called "summer Fridays."

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Golf Digest adds an hour to the work day Monday through Thursday so that its employees can vacate the office by lunchtime on Friday, provided there is no crisis with a story or page layout. With the heavy lull of humidity in the air, most normal individuals would use such an afternoon off to retreat home to their air-conditioned abodes and catch up on some much needed R&R. What do the beautiful people at GD do? They race out of the office to neighboring clubs and courses, squeezing in as many holes of golf as daylight will provide. In the words of my mentor, deputy managing editor Alan Pittman, "We work hard, but we also play hard."

Well said, Alan. But I don't call that playing. I'd call it Type A overzealous behavior. But hey, I guess the best writers write about what they know best. And these people know golf. Scratch that, they're obsessed with it.

Golf Digest Digital Senior Editor Sam Weinman models the typical summer-Friday garb popular in the GD offices. (Photo by Jeff Patterson)

Luckily for me, I've been invited along to different courses by different coworkers pretty much every Friday since I got here. And to say that I've learned a lot about the differences between Arizona golf and Northeast golf would be an understatement.

Aside from obvious things like lack of desert and a hillier terrain, Connecticut courses feature a lot more green vegetation than I'm used to from home. The wildlife is also vastly different.

I once played a round at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, where a bobcat, rattlesnake and coyote decided to play through the fairway. I obliged. But not before feeding the coyote some of my pretzels. The squirrels, deer and occasional possums that populate the courses in Fairfield County don't seem very interested in my snacks.

The Boulders, probably one of my favorite desert courses and located in Carefree, Ariz., is one of a kind with imposing boulders stacked in teetering towers that encompass the greens like natural grandstands. And you can't beat a round after some monsoon desert rain. The smell of wet dirt and mesquite tree bark permeate the air. The very minimal but very welcome drop in temperature (a degree or two) also doesn't go unnoticed. A few years back, I played in the media day outing for the Accenture tournament at Dove Valley in Marana, Ariz. An hour and a half south of Phoenix, and about 10 degrees cooler, Marana has the highest number of saguaros per square mile than any other place in the world. The prickly giants line the hills along the fairway as if acting as forecaddies to wayward tee shots.

In Connecticut, there are no such hazards -- only thick rough and tall trees, and if you're lucky enough to be close to the shore, lots of water (so far, the best waterside course I've played here was Rye CC; I know, it's not technically in Conn., but it's close enough).

Aside from Rye, so far while working here I've played Aspetuck CC, New Haven CC, Tashua Knolls GC, Brownson GC, Rock Ridge GC and Rye GC. I've had a great time in each place, and it's been nice to be the beneficiary of GD's favorite Friday-afternoon pastime. But as my editor says, it's not just for fun -- it's editorial research.

--Kathryn Stafford

Miyazato moves up to No. 1 without playing

Monday, July 19, 2010

Ai Miyazato hasn't played competitively since July 11th, during the final round of the U.S. Women's Open at Oakmont CC.

Yet she regained her position atop the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, bumping Cristie Kerr to No. 2. (Incidentally, Kerr's T-17 at the U.S. Women's Open was stronger than Miyazato's T-31.)

This could initially seem strange, but it makes sense if you know that the Rankings calculates a player's average points scored over the previous 104 weeks.

As of Sunday night, Cristie Kerr's average was 10.38, which edged No. 2-ranked Miyazato's 10.19 points. Today, both Kerr's and Miyazato's averages are 10.27, and Miyazato sits atop because hers is .0006 higher.

In previous years, such minor changes in averages never grabbed headlines because they'd occur to mid-ranked players. But small changes are making bigger impacts on the overall Rankings this year, since the top-ranked players stand closer now than ever before.

If such shake-ups occur during off-weeks, we might see a whole new top-10 next Monday, after the girls play the prestigious Evian Masters in Evian-les-Bains, France, where Miyazato is the defending champion.

(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey)

--Ashley Mayo

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The Intern Diaries: A peak into the Hot List process

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

I'm now in my fourth week as summer intern here at Golf Digest, and after taking a short diary break to make room for Ashley Mayo's excellent live blogging from the U.S. Women's Open, I'm back to channeling my inner Bridget Jones.

As I mentioned in my last post, I was asked to join the Golf Digest equipment editors in their testing session for the upcoming Hot List on grips (you'll be able to read the ranking in the October issue, on newsstands the second week of September). Hey, I'll take hitting balls outside on a beautiful day (blisters included) rather than doing typical intern errands such as coffee runs and file copying. (By the way, when I say typical I mean typical to other places of business, not GD typical.)

Before this experience, I hadn't the slightest idea how GD selected the products for their different Hot Lists. Maybe a group of know-it-alls deemed a select few top sellers as "the best" in a matter of minutes and that was the end of it?

As I quickly learned, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Readers may just see a tiny list in the magazine, but that tiny list is the result of hours and hours of research and testing. And yours truly was privy to one of these research sessions, or at least the fun part.

The editors invite every manufacturer in the industry to nominate any product they want, which resulted in a total of over 50 products to evaluate for this particular list. Before the performance testing could take place, the grips had to be mounted on 6-irons (all the same exact model of club -- in this case Mizuno MX-1000 6-irons with regular-flex steel shafts -- so the only differing feature was the grip), a task expertly executed by the club-repair guys at Rock Ridge CC in Newtown, Conn. Rock Ridge's driving range was also the site for our top-secret testing a couple of days later.

Once the grips had been designated into groups on the driving range, six testers (the Golf Digest equipment editors plus myself) rotated from group to group, writing down notes on things like feel, traction and sweat resistance, and giving each grip an overall grade. What types of grips did we test? If you can think of it, we tried it. Cord, half-cord, multiple compound, multiple durometer, tapered, "cushy" (or what someone referred to as "grandma grips"), etc.

After the grades were in, the editors sat down in a conference room and tallied the votes... and yes, it got a little heated. I have come to find that there are some strong opinions on what makes a good grip. The equipment editors can get feisty to say the least.

Finally, the Hot List judges added the performance scores to the numbers they'd already produced in separate meetings (which also took hours upon hours) for technology and demand, and a final ranking was accomplished.

To be honest, I had a lot to learn about grips. In my previous grip decisions, I usually went with what felt the best. If you had mentioned traction, combined materials, tapering and thickness, my response would have been "huh?" It's safe to say I now have a very different view of what makes a good grip.

So what did I walk away with from this experience, other than tougher calluses? A deeper appreciation for the Hot Lists; a lot of research, time, knowledge and work go into those babies. Perhaps I also gained a better tan.

Until next time, grip it and rip it!

--Kathryn Stafford

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