Our favorite Golf Digest portraits of 2021

By Ben Walton

January 01, 2022

Shop This Look

Photo By: Jensen Larson

Photo By: John Loomis

Photo By: Mackenzie Stroh

Photo By: Michael Schwartz

Photo By: J.D. Cuban

Photo By: Ben Walton

Photo By: Cooper Neill

Photo By: Andrew Hetherington

Photo By: Chad Kirkland

Photo By: Kwaku Alston

Photo By: Cody Pickens

Photo By: Walter Iooss Jr.

Photo By: Jensen Larson

Photo By: Walter Iooss Jr.

Photo By: Jesse Rieser

Photo By: J.D. Cuban

Photo By: Dom Furore

Photo By: Mark Davis

We hope our annual tradition of spotlighting the best portraits Golf Digest has run the previous year is something you've come to look forward to. We sure enjoy the chance to glance back at what's come to life in our pages from our talented network of photographers. We'll begin our look back with this image from Dustin Johnson from our Masters Preview (Issue 3).

• • •

The conventional wisdom on Dustin Johnson, 36, goes something like this: He doesn’t say much, so he must not be very intelligent. When asked at last year’s Masters about his favorite Augusta National tradition, Johnson deadpanned: “the sandwiches.” Not the green jacket, not the honorary starters, but the sandwiches. Was that the best he could come up with, or did he know what he was doing? ... Yes, it’s true that Johnson doesn’t share much with the media. No, that is not by accident. —Dan Rapaport on Dustin Johnson, Issue 3

Photo By: Jensen Larson

Tiger Woods

Tiger’s iconic fist pumps, initially interpreted in fusty circles as disrespectful, ultimately revealed much more. They symbolized, as Jaime Diaz wrote, “accomplishing the most difficult thing in this game, which is to be free. To be fully engaged, without inhibition, without in- decision, without fear. To release.” —Max Adler in a column on Tiger Woods for Golf Digest's Special Issue on the 25th anniversary of him turning pro

Photo By: Jensen Larson

Tiger's hands

Woods switched to an interlocking grip at a young age when his bones were still malleable. Hitting countless balls morphed his right pinky inward, providing a natural hook to his left ring finger when he grips the club. —Dan Rapaport, Tiger Woods Special Issue

Photo By: Jensen Larson

Patrick Reed

"There are three types of players on tour. The chatty guy who’s always smiling and waving because that’s how he plays his best. There’s the guy who wears emotion on his sleeve, lets everyone know when he’s playing well and throws clubs when he’s not. The third guy has tunnel vision and blocks out everything around him. That’s how I’ve tried to be, and this ability to flip the switch and focus is why I’ve been successful. But it’s led to this false narrative that I don’t interact with other players. When I go to the range, it’s not to socialize." —Patrick Reed interviewed by Max Adler, Issue 4

Photo By: John Loomis

Danielle Kang

Danielle Kang is a contradiction. She hates range finders and green-reading books but plays tour events in a hoodie and joggers. She’s fiercely competitive but believes losing the Solheim Cup wasn’t all bad. She plays an individual sport but surrounds herself with a professional team and a group of close friends. She was a black belt in taekwondo but doesn’t let herself practice anymore. And she quickly became proficient at a game that’s notoriously difficult. —Keely Levins introducing her Q&A with Danielle Kang, Issue 8

Photo By: Mackenzie Stroh

Brooks Koepka

"The way I’m wired, I’m all on or all off. Maybe I didn’t understand that the first 25 years of my life, but in the past five years I’ve been able to own who I am and find that happiness. I don’t know if that’s because of Jena or because I understand more of how things work, but you mature a little more. I can’t put my finger on it. But when it comes together, and you see what works, you say, this is the program, and I’m going to stick with it." —Brooks Koepka interviewed by Matt Rudy, Issue 7

Photo By: Michael Schwartz

Lee Elder

On April 8, 1974, Aaron became baseball’s home-run king by slugging No. 715 at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium. Thirteen days later, Elder beat Peter Oosterhuis in a playoff at the Monsanto Open in Pensacola, Fla., setting in motion a fascinating and sometimes harrowing march toward the Masters the following April. Nearly a year to the day of Aaron’s feat, Elder became the first Black man to compete in the Masters. For that week in 1975 and the five other occasions Elder played in the Masters, he says Aaron arranged for a car to be waiting at the Atlanta airport for his use. Aaron called Elder regularly to see how he was faring and to help him calm his nerves. —Tod Leonard in his feature on Lee Elder, Issue 3

Photo By: J.D. Cuban

Golf under the lights

"The time was 8 p.m. when I stepped onto the first tee at The Lights at Indio Golf Course in Southern California’s Coachella Valley region. Stadium lights illuminated the 136-yard first hole with the rest of the 18-hole par-3 course. As I lined up my tee shot, I heard the electric hum from the lampposts and celebratory shouts from families and teens on parallel holes. The floodlights lining the fairway seeped into the corners of my eyes, straining my vision for a moment. At first my swing felt off-balance as my limbs adjusted to an altered-depth perception. But when I followed through, I traced my ball as it cut through the night sky like a glow-in-the-dark bullet. The satisfying visual made me instantly more comfortable." —Gabrielle Herzig from her story on playing night golf, Issue 6

Photo By: Ben Walton

Will Zalatoris

"In Texas, we couldn’t practice, but we could play. It brought me back to being a kid. I’d go to the course, carrying my bag, playing with my buddies, just trying to beat the crap out of each other. Our crew of Davis Riley, Kevin Dougherty and Tony Romo played money games five days a week for four months. It made us all really sharp. When tournaments started up, I was ready to go. I realized I don’t need to be on the range for hours; I need to play. The shutdown simplified things." —Will Zalatoris, Issue 2

Photo By: Cooper Neill

Sungjae Im

"I remember loving golf since I was little, growing up in South Korea, winning little games, how fun golf was. But more than anything, I hated losing. My parents played, and by age 4, I would mimic their swings with objects around the house. When I was 9, I was good enough to enter my first tournament. I had never broken 90 to that point, but that day I shot 77. I remember being super focused and nervous at the same time. The way those two feelings came together, it almost felt spiritual, and it resulted in a concentration I had never experienced before. After feeling that, I knew I could be a good player. I knew I wanted to play golf professionally. I never really thought about being anything else." —Sungjae Im, Issue 3

Photo By: Andrew Hetherington

Mike Weir

"By July, Weir couldn’t swing without searing pain. He knew it was past time to see a doctor, but he desperately wanted to play in the Canadian Open. But the pain was so bad that he withdrew after the first round. “In Canada, if you play hockey and you go down, you don’t lie on the ice, you get up and get to the bench,” he says. “You keep playing until you can’t play at all. I made the tear much worse by playing. I was a mess. I’m sure I became more insular, and I know I got grumpy a lot. I was snapping at people. It wasn’t a good time on or off the golf course. I was angry a lot, frustrated, unhappy.” —John Feinstein from his profile on Mike Weir, Issue 3

Photo By: Chad Kirkland

Macklemore

“I wish I would have found golf earlier in life. It makes sense why people play; it’s an amazing game, but we need to make sure all people have access to it. There’s a narrative about golf that has validity, of being an old, white, rich, male-driven sport that’s very exclusive. It’s changing, but we have a long way to go. I believe fashion can be a catalyst. I love to have fun with the way that I dress. It’s all about diversity and not feeling like you must fit into this specific box to play this sport. If we’re not evolving on a style front and an inclusion level, the next generation of golf is going to look exactly like the one before it, and that’s not exciting. We can do better.” —Macklemore in an interview with Brittany Romano, Issue 4

Photo By: Kwaku Alston

Mike Whan

"I’m enough of a marketing guy to know if Dustin Johnson’s driver is slightly different than the one I can buy at retail, that will have very little impact on the number of drivers he sells. Why does Ford spend $50 million in NASCAR? When I buy my Ford truck, I don’t believe there’s a NASCAR engine under the hood. But I believe that Ford’s investment in building a NASCAR car probably translates into some incredible knowledge that improves the truck I’m driving. By the way, I don’t drive a Ford truck, but my point is what you can do for the best in the world and how that translates down to what you’re doing for consumers." —Mike Whan in his interview with Alan Shipnuck, Issue 5

Photo By: Cody Pickens

Jordan Spieth

Spieth is not chasing yards. He’s keeping his tee shots in play and relying on his irons and short game to challenge the field regularly since finishing tied for fourth in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. Spieth ranked in the top 25 in strokes gained/approach the green and top 15 in putting average on tour through April. The key is that at the top of the swing, Spieth senses the club is in great position to create the feel he wants through impact. “He’s swinging much more like he did when he first came out on tour,” McCormick says. —Ron Kaspriske looking at the evoution of Jordan Spieth's swin, Issue 5

Photo By: Walter Iooss Jr.

Patrick Cantlay

"Playing your best golf should be as uncomplicated as you can make it. You’re not activating some special gear or power to suddenly shoot your lowest round. You’ve done the work with your swing and your short game—and probably most importantly your mind—so that when you get to those moments, you’re just executing what you already know. Maybe that seems obvious, but I’m sure whether you’re a great player trying to win a big tournament or you’re just out for a round with your buddies and you’ve just parred a few holes in a row for the first time in your life, you’re going to experience the pressure that comes in the middle of a good round." —Patrick Cantlay, Issue 6

Photo By: Jensen Larson

Nick Saban

"I never play during football season, and so I kind of have to re-learn it every year. When you show up to play golf where I play, and you don’t have any tan on your legs, they line up to get your money. They know you haven’t been playing. Seriously, I’m not a natural, and I didn’t have good coaching when I was younger. So I have a lot of bad habits to break, but if I can break 80, I played well." —Nick Saban, Issue 7

Photo By: Walter Iooss Jr.

Bubba Watson

"I play with a lot of guys on tour, and when I’m at my home courses, I play with a lot of regular folks. I don’t care about your game or what you do for a living or who you are; I just want to play with good people.” —Bubba Watson with Joel Beall, Issue 6

Photo By: Jesse Rieser

Butch Harmon

Butch Harmon, shot in Henderson, Nev., ahead of being named Golf Digest's No. 1-ranked teacher in America, Issue 8

Photo By: J.D. Cuban

Viktor Hovland

Hovland’s comfort level in Stillwater is obvious, and a house is one of the few things he has spent his tournament earnings on. If you didn’t know who he was, you would think he was still a student. When Hovland was enrolled, he rented a room from teammate Austin Eckroat’s parents, who had bought a place so that they could keep an eye on their son from nearby Edmond. Now Eckroat lives at Hovland’s place, and for most of the COVID spring and summer, they lived golf’s version of “Groundhog Day.” —Matthew Rudy in his story on Viktor Hovland, Issue 2

Photo By: Dom Furore

Monday Qualifying

Monday qualifiers take place far off the professional golf path, often at courses in small towns near that week’s tour event. Outside of a few girlfriends or parents, there are almost no fans. The Rocket Mortgage Monday qualifier in 2019 was no different. It was being played in Washington, Mich. Doc Redman did not have a single fan follow him that day. I had caddied in that Monday qualifier and was hanging around the scoring area with 10 or so players as we watched the head pro handwrite scores on the leader board. Redman walked up, and his two-eagle, seven-birdie and one-bogey 62 was posted. Nobody clapped; some players left, knowing his score bumped them out. Redman talked quickly with the official on-site, made a few calls, picked up his bag and walked to his car. With no fanfare, Redman had just earned a chance to change his career. —Ryan French from his story on the pro golfers who compete in Monday Qualifiers, Issue 7

Photo By: Mark Davis

Memorial Tournament

Our favorite Golf Digest portraits of 2021

Shop This Look

Tiger Woods

Tiger's hands

Patrick Reed

Danielle Kang

Brooks Koepka

Lee Elder

Golf under the lights

Will Zalatoris

Sungjae Im

Mike Weir

Macklemore

Mike Whan

Jordan Spieth

Patrick Cantlay

Nick Saban

Bubba Watson

Butch Harmon

Viktor Hovland

Monday Qualifying