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A limited-edition Fred Couples Signature shirt

John Strege — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:10:00 GMT

By John Strege Apparel brand Ashworth Golf has released a limited-edition Fred Couples Signature shirt to commemorate Couples' induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday. Couples, 53, has been wearing Ashworth...

The Grind: New Orleans fun, G-Mac's cool, and DJ and Paulina heat up

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:49:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we're wondering what has happened to American golf? After opening 2013 with 14 straight victories, a U.S. player hasn't won THREE weeks in a row. C'mon, guys, that's almost an entire month! We already stink at tennis; we can't lose our grip on the other main country club sport! At least, the red, white and blue contingent will have a chance to get back on track this week. Why? Because the PGA Tour NEVER stops and neither do we. Here's what has us talking.

Who says there's no teamwork in golf? (Getty Images)

WE'RE BUYING

Graeme McDowell. G-Mac finally picked up his long overdue second PGA Tour win at Hilton Head. And then he called his new restaurant, Nona Blue, and opened the bar to all those dining there. No wonder he made our list of the coolest golfers ever.

Suzann Pettersen. A win in Hawaii has the Norwegian in the mix for the suddenly-competitive top spot in women's golf. As for her dancing (below), that we are selling. . .

Bernhard Langer. A week after contending on Sunday at Augusta National, Langer won his second event of 2013 on the Champions Tour. This guy might be the most in-shape 55-year-old since Sylvester Stallone did one final training scene in Rocky Balboa (aka Rocky VI).

WE'RE SELLING

Charley Hoffman. People often wonder why the long-haired Hoffman only has two career PGA Tour wins. Those people must not watch him on Sunday enough. Entering the final round at Harbour Town with a two-shot lead, Hoffman shot a 77 for a T-6.

The wind. After playing in very gusty conditions in the Northeast over the weekend, we were glad to see the pros have to suffer through a similar test in Hilton Head on Sunday. That being said, wind stinks. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's part of the game. We get it, but that doesn't mean we have to like it.

Guys who haven't won a major. We came up with a formula to determine who the best of this current crop is. That being said, outside of a select few (namely Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia), their collective track records in majors is embarrassing. It's not just that they haven't won a big one yet, for the most part, these guys haven't even come close. Fortunately, it's golf, and as Tom Watson proved, you can still contend when you're approaching 60. So they all still have time -- even Steve Stricker.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour stays in the Southeast, heading to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic. Ahh, New Orleans. Home of great jazz, the NFL's Manning family and "The Jester." What is "The Jester," you ask? Only the greatest frozen drink ever concocted. Just a word to the wise: If a friend offers to pay for as many as you can drink the day you're flying home, don't take him up on that offer.

Random tournament fact: Fourteen-year-old Tianlang Guan is in the field after accepting a sponsor exemption. He is NOT allowed to drink Jesters yet.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Starters -- (A-List): Jason Dufner. We're not big fans of playing defending champions, but we just have a feeling here.

(B-List): Justin Rose. The best player in a watered-down field.

(B-List): Fredrik Jacobson. The Swede has been knocking on the door for his second PGA Tour win all year.

(C-List): Billy Horschel. Does this guy ever take a week off?

Bench -- Bubba Watson, Ernie Els, Andres Romero and Rickie Fowler.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Natalie Gulbis went snorkeling while in Hawaii for the Lotte Championship and snapped this photo. On behalf of snorkeling fans everywhere, thank you.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- Tianlang Guan will win this week: 1,000-to-1 odds (actual odds)

-- Tianlang Guan will receive another slow-play penalty this week: 10,000-to-1 odds

-- Any player who misses the cut will feel a lot better after a few Jesters: LOCK

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

He's back!

Another fantastic effort by South Korean star Psy. We just wish he had shot a scene on a golf course. Psy's previous hit, "Gangnam Style," prompted Jesper Parnevik to put together a crew to do a parody video. Psy's videos are awesome. Of course, it helps when they have a higher budget than most Hollywood blockbusters.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (NOT INVOLVING PSY)

And to think, this actually used to be a penalty. . .

I have a friend who learned about a player being penalized for the wind moving his ball and he would remind me from time to time how stupid it was. It was a great day when I was able to inform him it was no longer a rule. Now I just hope he doesn't find out that you can still get disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard when MILLIONS of people around the world know what you shot.

THIS WEEK IN PAULINA GRETZKY-DUSTIN JOHNSON DISPLAYS OF PUBLIC AFFECTION

DJ drops the "L-bomb" and Paulina replies by telling him "You're the best thing that's ever been mine." Sorry, guys. This is getting serious!

THIS AND THAT

Raphael Jacquelin won the Spanish Open in a record-tying nine-hole playoff. That must be a pretty difficult hole if if took the Frenchman 10 tries before he could birdie it. . . . Speaking of playoffs, Angel Cabrera got back to winning them in his hometown event on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. Cabrera has played two events on the circuit created before the start of the 2012 season. He's won both. . . . This is a "Jester" (above). Drink at your own risk.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why don't they sell Jesters in the Northeast?

Will Jason Dufner #Dufner when he wins again?

When's the Johnson-Gretzky wedding and can we come?

-- Alex Myers is an Associate Editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

Follow @AlexMyers3

Winner's Bag: What Adam Scott used to capture Australia's first Masters

Derek Evers — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:58:00 GMT

By E. Michael Johnson By winning at Augusta National, Adam Scott became the first golfer from Australia to win the Masters, but he also became the first player to win a major using the...

With Masters win, Scott and his long putter come a long way

Derek Evers — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:19:00 GMT

By E. Michael Johnson By winning at Augusta National, Adam Scott also became the first player to win a major using a long putter. The putter Adam Scott used to win the 2013 Masters....

Whatever the size putter, Els still showing plenty of fire

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:40:00 GMT

By Dave Shedloski

MIAMI -- He'd faced longer putts with more on the line, that were more consequential and lucrative, but he desperately wanted to make this 10-footer, even though it wasn't in a tournament. Heck, he wasn't even on the golf course.

He was on the practice green Monday afternoon at Seminole GC, in the midst of completing his standard putting drill, with five 10-footers encircling the cup.

But he'd been challenged, and he still loves a challenge. He'd made the first four and was about to pull the trigger on the fifth when a familiar voice got in his ear.

"I've got $100 you don't make it," Michael Jordan said to him from behind as he stood over the ball.

"Make it $150," Ernie Els said.

He buried the putt.

It makes sense that Els would express his opposition to the recent rule change that would prohibit a player from anchoring a club to his body during a stroke. Except Els wasn't using the belly putter with which he won the Open Championship last year. He was wielding a conventional putter, an Odyssey Black #1, that he's been giving a workout the last few weeks, though he has yet to insert it into the lineup for a tournament round.

That could change this week at Trump Doral when the WGC-Cadillac Championship begins Thursday on the Blue Course where 65 of the top players in the world have gathered for the year's second World Golf Championship event.

"Yeah, you just might see it soon," Els said Tuesday at Doral, where he has won twice.

"I think he putts better with the short putter," said Els' caddie, Ricci Roberts. "He's got a beautiful stroke, much better than with the long putter, much more natural. I think he thinks so, too."

Still, Els has been sticking with the longer putter, and in his press conference he offered a salient observation against the ban the USGA and R&A proposed in November.

"Obviously winning a major with a belly putter, you're going to have to support that cause," the Big Easy said. "When it's been allowed for such a long time, I just feel, why ban it? You had the chance to do that . . . They allow certain things, and then they want to pull back on it. There was a square groove rule, the golf ball, the big and the small golf ball, there's the driver and the sand iron from a 56 to a 60, and we can talk about hybrid clubs. All these changes have come through in the game

"If a guy can't drive the ball really well, there's a driver that he can get made. If you can't hit an iron up in the air, you're going to get a hybrid made up for you. That's legal. If you're not a good chipper, you can go to 64, 62, 60, whatever degree. There used to be a rule where 56 degrees was the limit, so they changed that. The game's evolved that way."

Els, 43, is still evolving, too. The four-time major champion from South Africa has added to his stable of advisers. That would be Jordan, the NBA great with whom he has become friends.

"I've been picking his brain a little bit," Els said. "You talk about someone who understands competition, he's about the best you can talk to. What a competitor."

And he pays up, too. Els got the cash right there. "That wasn't the thing. Just making the putt with him standing there over me was good. I enjoyed that a lot," he said.

Follow @DaveShedloski

(Photo by Getty Images)

Golf Lessons of 2012

Peter Morrice and Alex Myers — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Fifteen lessons from the game's highest level in 2012 that can help your game.

Golf World Monday: Hawaiian fields remain sparse

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:34:00 GMT

From the November 26 issue of Golf World Monday:

By Dave Shedloski

European players might be signing up for PGA Tour membership in increasing numbers, but some U.S. events aren't in a position to benefit. Case in point are the two Hawaii stops, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open.

The 2013 season opener at Kapalua Resort, in particular, has struggled for several years to attract top international players, and with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship scheduled to begin Jan. 17, there are indications there won't be many more players in Maui than the 27 who showed up in 2012.

Photo by Getty Images

We're told that the world's top two players, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald, won't be going. Neither are Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia -- and that's surprising since each has won at Kapalua's Plantation Course.

It doesn't help when the top two American draws, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, have been long-time Maui no-shows. Hyundai's sponsorship expires with the completion of the 2013 edition, though secondary sponsor SBS is still on the hook for an additional six years.

What's a sponsor getting for its money? Good U.S. players but not the full complement of qualifiers. What a shame.

Follow @DaveShedloski

No. 1 Driving Fault

Hank Haney — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Don't roll your wrists, hinge them up and down.

Video: Behind The Scenes With Ernie Els (Nov. 2012)

GolfDigest.com — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at our November 2012 cover shoot with four-time major champion Ernie Els.

Swing Sequence: Ernie Els

Analysis by Claude Harmon III — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The Big Easy channeled Nicklaus for more power. Take a frame-by-frame look at his swing with analysis by Claude Harmon III.