Articles by Matt Rudy

May 17th, 2024

PGA Championship 2024: Brooks Koepka (67) and Martin Kaymer (68) lead LIV Golf contingent

LOUISVILLE — The PGA generated plenty of attention for its decision to extend special exemptions beyond its traditional top 100 in the world rankings to LIV players like Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester and David Puig, but it was a pair of LIV’s auto-qualifying major champions fresh and not-so-fresh who commanded more space on the leaderboard Read more…

October 4th, 2023

You don’t create backspin the way you might think—and you’re making the superintendent angry

Every week, hundreds of tour players peel off huge divot pelts as they hit wedge shots that spin back several feet. It’s cool to watch, but it gives many amateur players the wrong idea about what it takes to get some of that sauce on their shots. It sends them back to their home courses, Read more…

October 4th, 2023

No, your putts don’t all break toward that lake, or away from that mountain

It’s one of the oldest myths in golf broadcasting: Playing in Palm Springs, they say that all putts break toward the town of Indio. At Pebble Beach, you’ll hear they break toward Carmel Bay. Golf-course architect Bobby Weed has heard them all—even about the courses he has designed, such as TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. Read more…

October 4th, 2023

Why ‘keeping your head down’ is bad swing advice

Looking for the all-time king of golf-instruction malarkey? “Keep your head down” has to be in the conversation. What makes it so damaging is that it’s one of the worst pieces of advice you can get. “Our coaches will teach about 1.8 million golf lessons in 2023, and about a million of those will start Read more…

October 4th, 2023

Throwing grass to check the wind is dumb. Here’s why

It has become a televised golf ritual: A player and his or her caddie toss some blades of grass and look thoughtfully at the trees around them—or the flag on an adjacent hole, like at Augusta National— to try to divine how the wind will affect the next shot. It might be good theater—or a Read more…

October 4th, 2023

Six golf myths, debunked

Golf has always been up for a bit of folklore and storytelling. Whether it’s a leathery teaching pro passing on swing wisdom to an eager apprentice, a playing legend recounting exploits from decades gone by, or an architect creating a golf hole from divine inspiration, all of it adds to the game’s mystical appeal. It’s Read more…

October 4th, 2023

Plumb-bobbing doesn’t tell you enough

Nothing mystifies reigning PGA Teacher and Coach of the Year Kevin Weeks more than watching players stand behind the ball and dangle a putter in front of them as they try to plumb-bob, an old-school method used to ascertain a putt’s break. “I get that it would be nice to know the overall slope of Read more…

October 4th, 2023

Tee it high and let it fly? Not really

Two-time World Long Drive champion Kyle Berkshire swings his driver 145 miles per hour and can generate 230 miles per hour of ball speed. It’s OK for him to tee the ball high and launch it into outer space, but what about you? Berkshire’s coach, Golf Digest 50 Best Teacher Bernie Najar, says you’re most Read more…