50 Things That Changed Golf

Hideki Matsuyama's win in the Masters was not only his first major championship. It was the first major won by any Japanese man, providing what could be a shot of energy to a once-thriving Japanese golf economy. As Matsuyama takes center stage in this week's Olympic golf competition outside Tokyo, Alex Myers examines the many reverberations of Matsuyama's historic win, from the lucrative opportunities for the player, to the next Japanese golf boom it might inspire.

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It wasn’t so long ago a sign hung at Royal St. George’s, host of this week’s Open Championship, banning “women or dogs” from the clubhouse. Only this month did Pine Valley, the No. 1 golf course in the U.S., invite its first women to be members. In this episode, Dan Rapaport looks at all-male golf clubs—the series of events that led some of golf’s most elite clubs to reverse their policies and allow women, and the reasons certain clubs are still holding firm in keeping women out.

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Every golfer breathes, of course. But experts in and out of golf say how you breathe can play a vital role in how you perform on the course—from the tempo of your swing to your ability to sink an important putt. In this episode, Sam Weinman examines the underrated difference proper breathing can make for golfers; how breath training has aided elite players like Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, and what average players can do to feel an immediate difference.

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There are 50 tournaments on the 2021-22 PGA Tour schedule, and truth is, top-level players have compelling reasons to skip most of them. So what do tournaments do to maintain relevance on a busy schedule? In this week’s episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers examines the growing pressure on regular tour stops to recruit players, as well the creative steps they take to ensure their event stands out.

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Scott Fawcett isn’t a golf pro, and he doesn’t make golf clubs, yet in recent years he’s become a major influence in changing the way people play golf. By using data and satellite imagery, Fawcett has championed a strategic formula that is either a golf cheat code, or in the eyes of his critics, an oversimplification of a complex game. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Dan Rapaport examines Fawcett’s revolutionary approach to golf, how it might help players of all levels, and why it doesn’t sit well with golf purists.

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Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the rarest of superstars who excelled in everything she did. When she eventually settled on golf, she became one of the game’s all-time great champions and helped to pioneer the modern LPGA. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers tells the story of Zaharias’ incredible career, including the circumstances behind her win in the 1954 U.S. Women’s Open that nearly defies belief. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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How does one sleep the night before he has a chance to win a major championship? What happens in the minutes and hours that follow such a landmark event? In this episode of Local Knowledge, Golf Digest Playing Editor Collin Morikawa sits down with Dan Rapaport to reflect on the whirlwind nine months since he captured his major title; how he knew he belonged the PGA Tour; and the parts of being a professional golfer he’s still getting used to.

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In 1962, Mapmaker C.S. Hammond & Co. asked Golf Digest for a list of the country’s best courses for its cartographers to chart, but editors thought such a list was too subjective. Instead, the magazine embarked on a four-year project using USGA course ratings along with its own research to determine the country’s most difficult tracks. The first such list, America’s 200 Toughest Courses, was published in 1966. In 1975, the list became America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses, and it's been the definitive ranking of golf courses since. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers explores the process and criteria that go into constructing the list, how it's evolved over the last half-century, and why criticism from pundits and everyday golfers is still unavoidable.

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No golf slump is exactly the same, but they all tend to have similar ingredients. Whether it’s Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, or even you, most slumps arise from a crisis of confidence. But as Dan Rapaport reports, a slump doesn’t need to be a death sentence. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Rapaport talks to PGA Tour players and the sports psychologists who work with them to examine the root causes of these downward spirals, and how it’s possible to come out the other side even stronger.

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On the list of great golf courses around the world, Augusta National often ranks near the top. But when it comes to the course most golfers want to play, there is no question. Owing to its exclusivity, its manicured perfection, and the familiarity from watching the Masters every year on TV, a chance to play Augusta National is considered the ultimate get for most golfers. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers explores how certain players found their way into golf nirvana, and finds out whether it lived up to the hype.

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