With the CJ CUP Byron Nelson back on the PGA Tour schedule, it’s a good time to look at the bag Sergio Garcia used to win the 2016 AT&T Byron Nelson. Throwback WITB stories are fun because they show what was available, what Tour players trusted and how much the setup blueprint has changed.

A few details in Garcia’s bag jump out, including an 80-gram driver shaft, a traditional 3-PW iron set and a simple two-wedge setup.

Sergio Garcia’s 2016 Byron Nelson bag at a glance

Garcia beat Brooks Koepka in a playoff that week. The bag worked but compared to many modern winning setups, it also shows how much Tour fitting has changed.

The 80-gram driver shaft stands out

Garcia used an 80-gram Mitsubishi Kuro Kage S TiNi X shaft in his driver, 3-wood and 5-wood.

Garcia’s 80-gram driver shaft stands out next to many current winner bags. Several winners this season are listed with 6X driver shafts, which are typically in the mid-60-gram range, while Gary Woodland is one of the few listed with an 8X driver shaft, a weight class much closer to Garcia’s 2016 setup.

The takeaway is not that Sergio’s shaft was too heavy. It fit him. The takeaway is that modern Tour bags are more specialized by club. Driver, fairway woods and long-game clubs are each being fitted for a specific launch window, spin window and shot pattern.

The 3-iron may be the biggest difference

Garcia’s TaylorMade PSi Tour irons ran from 3-iron through pitching wedge. For me, that was the clearest “10 years ago” detail in the whole bag.

A 3-iron has not disappeared from professional golf but it is no longer the default choice. Current winner bags show far more variety at the top. You’ll see utility irons, 7-woods, 9-woods, hybrids, blended iron sets and long-iron replacements.

Scottie Scheffler had a Srixon ZU85 4-iron before moving into P7TW irons from 5-PW. Collin Morikawa used a TaylorMade PDHY 4-iron before his blended iron setup. Alex Fitzpatrick won with 7-wood and 9-wood options above a Titleist T100 set that started at 5-iron.

The wedge setup was simpler

Garcia carried TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF wedges in 52 and 58 degrees. EF stood for Electroformed, a face and groove design TaylorMade used to help maintain spin performance.

Compared to many modern bags, two specialty wedges feels simple. Today, it’s common to see three or four wedge setups with tighter gapping and more attention paid to bounce, grind and turf interaction.

Top Photo Caption: Sergio Garcia hits a drive during the 2016 Byron Nelson. (GETTY IMAGES/Scott Halleran)

The post CJ CUP Byron Nelson Throwback WITB: What’s Changed Since Sergio Garcia’s 2016 Win? appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

1. Constrain your swing to free your mind

Fleetwood shows up to the range with a small arsenal of training aids—a plane perfector, a golf box, alignment sticks around his head—and he’s unapologetic about it. The idea is that each aid takes ownership of a specific part of his swing so he doesn’t have to think about it anymore.

The thought process gets transferred out of his head and into an external element.

“The more constrained I’ve made certain aspects of my golf swing, the absolute freer I can feel,” he explains. “The harder I feel I can hit it, because I’ve stayed in such a good structured place.”

He’s not managing his shaft angle or checking his takeaway; the golf box is doing that for him. The result is a more athletic, uninhibited motion because the mental load has been offloaded to the equipment around him. For amateurs, the lesson isn’t to go buy everything in the training aid aisle. It’s to find the one or two things your swing consistently gets wrong and let something outside your body take care of them. Stop thinking and start swinging.

2. Give your brain a second to learn

We talk constantly about the importance of practicing with a target. But Fleetwood does something interesting when he starts working on his short game. He chips to absolutely no target at all. No hole, no flag, not even a spot on the green. He just works on the motion.

Fleetwood’s reasoning is that the moment a target enters the picture, your brain starts problem-solving around it. You stop repeating a movement and start manufacturing a result. Subtle adjustments creep in and suddenly you’re not ingraining anything useful.

By removing the target entirely, he gives his brain a moment to absorb the feel of the swing without interference. The movement becomes the focus, not the outcome.

The idea is that once that motion is grooved, he can then bring in a target and trust that the movement he’s been repeating will show up when it matters. For amateurs who skip straight to try to hole out from 20 yards, it’s worth asking whether you’re really practicing a shot or a motion or just trying to get the ball to drop.

3. Walk before you run: My favorite takeaway

This one is my favorite and I think it’s the concept that professionals almost never talk about because, to them, it’s assumed knowledge.

Fleetwood calls it calibration and he does it everywhere. On the range, he’s calibrating his strike and start line before he ever thinks about distance. In the bunker, he’s working through different lies and slopes systematically. On the putting green, he’s warming up his feet to feel slope percentages, rolling straight putts to confirm his alignment and hitting lag putts for pace. He’s building a picture of how the course (and his swing) are behaving that day, in those conditions, before he asks himself to compete.

The assumption at the professional level is that you don’t just show up and play. You gather information first. You run diagnostics. You learn the environment before you try to perform in it.

Most amateurs do the exact opposite. They hit a few range balls, a quick putt or two, head straight to the first tee and then wonder why it took six holes to find their game. That is the calibration phase; you’re just doing it on the course when it counts. Fleetwood does it before he ever gets there.

Final thoughts

I’ve always said that if you’re going to practice golf, you might as well practice it correctly. These tips won’t necessarily change your entire routine but they may be worth incorporating if you’re trying to get better.

The post 3 Things Amateur Golfers Can Learn From Tommy Fleetwood’s Practice Routine appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

For that one club? At that one loft? You probably were.

The problem is you play six or seven different irons every round and the data shows very clearly that the club that wins at 7-iron doesn’t always win anywhere else in the bag. In some cases, it doesn’t come close.

When we do iron testing at MGS, we do it across 5-iron, 7-iron and pitching wedge. We looked at proximity to the hole, carry distance and Strokes Gained at every loft. What we found is that the rankings shift, sometimes dramatically, as you move through the set.

Getting closer to the pin depends on which iron you’re asking

Pin proximity is simple to understand. How many feet from the hole does the average shot finish? Lower is better. It’s one of the most direct measures of iron performance because it combines accuracy and distance control into a single number that every golfer can relate to.

When you chart proximity across the 5-iron, 7-iron and pitching wedge for every model in the players iron test, a clear pattern emerges.

The Apex Ai 150 ranks 12th in proximity at the 5-iron and 13th at the 7-iron and then climbs to second at the pitching wedge. The Titleist T150 ranks fifth at the 5-iron and second at the 7-iron, then falls to 13th at the PW.

The Tour Edge Exotics CB is worth calling out for the opposite reason. It ranks 13th at the 5-iron but comes all the way to first at the 7-iron and pitching wedge. That kind of turnaround across the set is exactly the type of information a proper multi-club fitting reveals.

The distance problem nobody talks about in a fitting

Carry distance in a fitting is usually treated as a single number. But the more interesting question is whether the carry distances across a full set are consistent and properly gapped. If a club that leads in carry at 7-iron drops to the middle of the field at 5-iron, you could have a gapping problem you’d never catch from a single-club test.

The Wilson Staff Model XB drops from ninth at 5-iron to 15th at PW and the Ballistic CB climbs from 13th at 5-iron to 8th at PW. In a full-set scenario, they translate to real gaps in your distances you can’t determine from swinging one club.

Strokes Gained: Where the scoring iron matters most

Strokes Gained is the best scoring metric available for irons. It measures how much better or worse a club performs relative to the field average. A higher number is better. The absolute values matter less than the spread between clubs and where in the set that spread is widest.

What the data shows is that the SG spread is widest at the pitching wedge. The scoring end of the bag, where precision to the pin matters most, is where the biggest performance differences exist between iron models.

The PING i240 is the standout in the SG data at PW, posting the highest Strokes Gained of any club in the scoring iron test. It sits dead last in the field at the 7-iron. A 7-iron fitting would give you no reason to prioritize it. The PW data tells you it could be the best scoring iron in the test.

The best players in the world know this

If you needed any further evidence that one iron model doesn’t optimally serve every loft in the bag, look at what the best players in the world are putting in play.

Roughly 70 percent of PGA Tour wins this season have come from players carrying combo sets. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick all play combo sets. They’ve all independently arrived at the same conclusion: the best iron for your long game isn’t the best iron for your scoring game.

Morikawa, widely considered the best iron player on Tour, carries three different iron models. He has a driving iron, a mid-iron and a short iron model, each selected for what it does best at that point in the set. Cameron Young plays a T200 at 4-iron, a T100 at 5-iron and a prototype model from 6-iron down. These decisions are the result of testing irons across the full range and building accordingly.

Does the same hold true for game-improvement irons?

While the data above focuses on player’s irons, that’s not the only test we run. As a comparison, when you look at the game-improvement irons across the same three clubs, you’ll see the same issues.

The ONOFF Iron A.K.A. moves from 11th in proximity at the 5-iron all the way to first at the 7-iron before finishing third at the PW. The Titleist T350 ranks first at the 5-iron then drops to 11th at the 7-iron. The Stix Perform Series 2.0 sits 12th and 13th through the longer clubs then jumps to second at the pitching wedge. The ranking shifts in the GI test are every bit as significant as what we saw in the player’s irons which matters because game-improvement irons are marketed specifically on consistency and forgiveness. The data suggests that consistency doesn’t necessarily extend across the full set.

What an iron fitting should look like

A proper iron fitting should test a minimum of three clubs: a long iron, a mid iron and a scoring iron. Club rankings are not stable across the set and a 7-iron fitting only tells you which iron wins at one point in the middle.

You probably got a good result from your last fitting. The club you bought is likely the best 7-iron for your game. But there’s a reasonable chance the irons sitting in your bag right now are leaving shots on the table at the long end—where dispersion costs you distance and position—and at the scoring end where proximity to the pin is directly tied to your score.

The best players in the world have solved this by building sets that perform across the range. The data says the rest of us should be asking for the same thing.

The post Hitting a 7-Iron Is Not An Iron Fitting: Here’s What Data Shows appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

Here is one of the comments:

“I guess anything is ‘golf related’ if you try hard enough. Can we review the best felt tip markers to mark your ball with next?” (Pete)

In 2021, the dedicated wearable fitness tracker space (aka non-smart watch) was dominated by simple devices that were little more than fancy pedometers. In that context, I can see how Pete and other readers would be skeptical about fitness trackers being associated with golf. 

(By the way, Pete, I am a huge fan of Sharpie Brush Tip permanent markers for marking my ball.)

Fast forward five years and fitness trackers are everywhere including golf. Rory McIlroy’s Augusta-green Whoop strap was on full display when he won the 2026 Masters.

This makes sense because professional and dedicated amateur golfers now train like elite athletes.

The days of golf training through extensive reps of Modelos and Marlboros are long gone.

Curious about the new Oura Ring 4?

There is a wonderful parallel between consumer awareness and advances in technology in the fitness wearable market.

More and more people are using wearable technology to track workouts and their general health. At the same time, the technology itself is advancing, delivering more reliable data and more sophisticated data analysis.

Yes, artificial intelligence is involved.

The Oura Ring 4 is the most advanced Oura wearable to date. The Oura Ceramic Ring is a more recent release but the electronics and sensors are the same as the Oura Ring 4.

Since my old ring was an Oura Ring 2, it seemed like a good time to see what had changed.

Oura Ring 2 versus Oura Ring 4

As it turned out, lots of things have changed since my Oura Ring 2 review. The basic premise of tracking your health data persists but the sensor array and data collected by the Our Ring 4 is well beyond that of the Oura Ring 2.

The expanded sensor array provides 18 different “Smart Sensor” measurement paths. This means there are options for the emitter to sensor pathways. As such, the ring can determine the most effective pathway for data collection at a given moment.

If nothing else, this consumes far less battery than firing all of the sensors at once. It also helps the data to stay consistent should you need to switch the ring to a different finger.

The scope of the sensing has expanded from being primarily a sleep measurement tool to a 24/7 fitness tracker. Heart data is much more sophisticated, now offering information about training zones as well as the typical heart rate and heart rate variability values.

The Oura Ring 4 is no longer something that just records data while you sleep.

The Oura Ring 4 Sleep/Readiness/Activity plan

The general data analysis plan for the Oura Ring 4 is not too different from the Oura Ring 2. The ring tracks your vitals while you sleep, makes an analysis of your current health situation and makes a suggestion about your activity level for the following day.

Most days, your standard sleep and recovery data will result in standard activity goals. However, if you had a great sleep with exceptional recovery values, then the ring will push you beyond your standard activity level.

If your data indicates a potential recovery issue, it will dial back the activity goal or even suggest a rest day when you turn off the activity tracking and just rest.

Over the past couple of months, the Oura Ring 4 was pretty spot on. Under times of high stress, which it also measures, the suggested rest days coincided with days when I knew I needed to take it easy.

There were some occasions when I felt the ring was being too protective and I had big activity days when it suggested rest. Mostly that was associated with spring allergies. Allergies were hammering my sinuses and the ring read my vitals as stressed.

The ring didn’t know that I could just hammer an antihistamine or three and still go play golf. 

One final observation about the data. The longer you wear the ring, the more complex the profile it creates. After wearing an Oura Ring for a few weeks or months, the data becomes more meaningful. Outlier days become less significant and you start to see the reality of where you are now and where you can go.

(Also, how in the hell did I become a morning person?)

Daily Oura Ring 4 comfort at home and on the course

The Oura Ring 4 design is very comfortable. Although it is still bulkier than my wedding ring, the aerospace-titanium construction keeps the Oura Ring 4 feather-light. The interior of the ring is smooth. The sensor bumps of the Oura Ring 2 are gone. Instead, the sensors are integrated into the ring and flush with the inner surface.

For daily use, I wear the ring on my left index finger. I tried my right index finger but I kept hitting it on door handles.

By the way, wear the Oura fitting ring for a while before you order your permanent ring. Do all of the things that you would do with the ring on before making your final size decisions. You may not realize it but your fingers also swell and shrink during your day.

Pay attention to this and you should end up with the right size ring.

Seriously, if you are interested in becoming an Oura Ring user, wear the fitting ring for a few days. You may find that your finger and thus ring size fluctuates quite a bit.

Do all of your usual activities with the fitting ring. That way you can figure out if wearing the ring meshes with your activities or hinders them.

Oura Ring swings

Although I usually wear the Oura Ring 4 on my left index finger, I shift it to my right middle finger for golf. On the left hand, the ring interferes with my grip. On the right hand, I don’t even notice it.

I’ve played a dozen rounds with the ring on and my scores have improved. Maybe the ring forces me to have a softer grip with my right hand or maybe I just play better when the weather is warm.

Regardless, playing with the Oura Ring on does not negatively affect my scores.

Additionally, playing golf has not damaged the ring. Not yet, anyway. The titanium ring holds up well against the rubber grip. I have scratched the finish a bit here and there doing other things (shoveling four yards of gravel) but no golf related damage so far.

Oura Ring 4 versus Whoop

“Oura Ring 4 vs. Whoop” is a pretty frequent Google search string. Since I have both, I figured I should chime in on the comparison. I’m not sure I can definitively select the “better” unit but there are usages where one is better than the other.

For example, I think the Whoop strap is better at tracking real-time fitness data. The Whoop strap can pair directly to fitness equipment (like the Peloton bike) and act as a real-time heart rate monitor. The Oura Ring can measure heart rate as well but the ring does not have the hardware capability to pair with other devices. Basically, it’s too small to house the necessary electronics.

The Whoop strap also frees up your hands for whatever you want to do. Naturally, this will be the deciding factor for many. If you can’t get comfortable working out or playing golf with the Oura Ring on, you go with the strap.

Going the other direction, the size and weight of the Oura Ring makes it more comfortable to wear than the Whoop. You’ll forget you are wearing it.

At night, this was especially true for me. I don’t notice the Oura Ring when going to sleep. More than once, the Whoop strap made me think that I forgot to take off my watch.

I also prefer the way the Oura Ring app presents the data. Every recorded aspect is scored out of 100. For your activity goal, you are given a calorie target for the day. This is so much easier to understand than Whoop’s “Strain” activity target.

Walking three miles to burn about 300 calories makes more sense than achieving a 2.7 Strain score.

The Oura Ring also comes across as more concerned for my wellbeing than the Whoop. It suggests rest days, tells me my sleep and heart health are improving and, in general, focuses more on the overall health picture.

The Whoop is a little more like your gym buddy yelling at you to finish that last rep.

This is not a judgement, just an observation. Both fitness perspectives are helpful but probably match different types of users.

In my experience, the Oura Ring has a more chill vibe.

As for the price difference between the two, it is a bit of a wash. The Oura Ring is more expensive up front but the monthly subscription price is well below that of the Whoop. After a few years of use, it all ends up about the same.

Why have you made it this far?

If you are still reading this, I would ask you to reflect upon why. What are you searching for in a fitness tracker? Do you want to get fitter? Are you worried about a current or future health condition?

Something has motivated you to reach the end of the article.

I’m not sure any fitness tracker can cure anything but they can motivate you to take the necessary actions to improve.

Do you want to lose weight? Then hit your activity target and stop eating garbage. The second part of that statement is on you. The Oura Ring can’t make a donut healthy.

Are you concerned about your heart? The Oura Ring will monitor your heart, tracking trends in heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV). It won’t fix anything, though. If the Oura Ring reports that your heart age is above your actual age, you need to take the steps (literally) to correct that.

Good or bad, it is all about measuring and reporting data. What you do with that data is up to you.

If you don’t want to know that alcohol lowers your HRV by 10 percent, then maybe a fitness tracker is not for you.

However, if you want data you can then use to make a better, healthier version of yourself through diet and lifestyle changes, the Oura Ring will make an excellent coach.

Coach Oura will give it to you straight, identifying your areas needing improvement and then offering you suggestions on how to improve.

If following the data-driven advice improves your overall health and wellness, your golf game will improve as well. (Hear that, Pete?)

The post Is The Oura Ring 4 A Fit For golfers? appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

That’s what happened when I was assigned to write this article on the GPS app known as GolfN. I thought it would be easy: a quick review of a simple GPS app. I’d download it, use it a few times and tell you what I liked and didn’t like.

Oh, what a naïve lad I was barely five weeks ago.

What I’ve learned is that the GolfN app can be a simple GPS/scorekeeping app that keeps extremely basic stats input by the user. However, if you really want to dive in up to your eyebrows, GolfN can be something else entirely.

It all depends on what you want out of it and how much time, energy and money you care to invest. That investment, friends, can range from nothing at all to quite a lot of all three.

Oh yeah, you’re going to want to read this one.

GolfN: Gamifying your golf game

Let’s start with the absolute basics. GolfN is a free download for both iOS and Android. It’s a free and easy-to-use GPS and scorecard app. Based on your input, it’ll track fairways and greens hit (and where you missed), as well as putts and penalty strokes.

It features 40,000 mapped courses worldwide and can integrate with the GHIN handicap system for posting scores. If you’re so inclined, there’s also a social aspect with an in-app Facebook-style community.

If that’s all you want, that’s all you’ll get. And it’s free to download and to use.

But this is where GolfN gets interesting.

“The core concept is let’s give away the basic functionality that everybody else charges for,” GolfN founder Jared Phillips tells MyGolfSpy. “Then let’s make it more like credit card rewards for golf. The more you play, the more you engage in the app, the more points you can earn toward things you actually care about.”

What we’re talking about is app-based gamification. Every time you play golf and use the app, you can earn points. Those points can be used in the GolfN app’s Points Exchange for things like L.A.B. and Bettinardi putters, Miura and Srixon irons, Cleveland wedges, COBRA metal woods and even Stewart electric trolleys.

“If I can earn points for a new Miura wedge or a set of irons, I’ll grind for that,” says Phillips. “What’s better than getting new Miura irons? Not having to pay cash for new Miura irons.”

So yeah, that’s interesting. And so are the sweepstakes for experiences, products and events. There’s also a Pro Shop where you can buy stuff at MSRP.

But the GolfN app is about to get fascinating.

There are membership levels, and then there are membership levels

You can earn points with the free version of GolfN, but if you want to earn points faster, you’ll need to buy a membership.

Aha, so there is a catch.

Well, yes, of course there is. Why would you think there wouldn’t be one?

“We have thousands of users who don’t pay us a dime and probably never will,” Phillips explains. “But if you want to go higher, you can get a membership.”

The credit card analogy Phillips shared earlier is actually spot on. You can get a Delta SkyMiles Blue entry-level American Express card with no annual fee and earn Delta miles. Or you can get a Delta SkyMiles Reserve card that costs $650 per year, earn more miles, get upgrades, achieve higher SkyMiles status quicker and get access to Delta lounges. If you fly a lot, it can make sense.

“Why would you choose to do that?” says Phillips. “Because the points and perks are better. That’s why.”

A higher GolfN membership tier earns you more points faster. If you use the free version and want to earn enough points for a set of Miura irons, you’ll want to start young and plan on playing a hell of a lot of golf. To speed it up, you can buy memberships by the month or by the year (a 25 percent discount from the monthly price). An annual White membership gets you a 4.6x points multiplier (meaning one round earns 4.6 times the points. The monthly version is only 2.7x). Silver gives you an 11x multiplier (6.3x if monthly) while Gold gives you a 54x multiplier (only 19x if monthly).

If you really want to go crazy, get a Diamond membership. You have to apply to be a Diamond, but it carries a 275x points multiplier. If you buy it by the month, however, it’s only a 106x multiplier.

How much do these membership levels cost? Well, here’s where we transcend fascinating and enter the world of WTF???

Wait, it costs how much???

Say you want a White membership. If you go month-to-month, it’ll cost you $25 every 30 days. If you choose the annual option to earn more points, it’s $18.75 per month. Silver is $50 per month, or only $37.49 if you sign up for the full year.

Gold is where we separate the playahs from mere participants. It’s either $200 per month or $1,799 for a full year, which comes out to $149.99 per month.

Diamond? I think you better sit down.

It’s $899 by the month. A full year costs $8,099, which is $674.92 per month.

WTF???

I had to ask Phillips if he was serious, and if anyone actually bought Gold or Diamond memberships. He assured me that yes, he was and yes, quite a few do.

“About 60 percent of our users are under the age of 35, so they get things like in-game powerups and gamification,” he explains. “They’re digital powerups. It’s easy to understand if you put it into the context of gaming.”

It took me a while to wrap my head around why anyone in their right mind would pay $899 for one month of GolfN. Believe it or not, I came up with a scenario – only one, mind you – that might actually make sense.

Let’s say I really want a set of custom-built Miura KM-700 irons. At $400 an iron, they make those new McLaren sticks look like a bargain. With upgraded Nippon Pro Modus 105 shafts, white SuperStroke Revl midsize grips and a fancy ferrule, we’re looking at $3,150 for a seven-piece set.

If I know I’m going to be playing a lot of golf over the next 60 days, it actually works to buy two months of Diamond for $1,800 to earn the 96,000 points you’d need to get them. At that point, you’d actually be getting them at over $1,300 off of retail.

I’m not sure I’d want to present that spending plan to the House Ways and Means Committee, however. A set of custom Srixon ZXi5 irons (55,960 points) or a custom L.A.B. Link 2.2 putter (27,500 points) might let me keep my spot in the big bed.

How quickly can you earn points? Seven rounds of golf with a Gold Membership can get you around 47,000 points, so it can add up pretty quickly.

Does GolfN actually make money doing this?

Yes, they do make some money off memberships, but there is some behind-the-scenes crypto/Non-Fungible Token (NFT) stuff going on. That angle isn’t forward-facing, however, and doesn’t impact day-to-day usage.

You can also buy gear with cash at the GolfN Pro Shop. Phillips is set up as a wholesale customer for GolfN’s OEM partners, who will drop ship product directly to the GolfN user.

“We don’t really fit into green grass or e-comm,” he says. “We’re kind of in the middle. Our first big partner was Dunlop USA, with Srixon and Cleveland. They opened us up on a risk, and we’re now one of their biggest customers.

“It took the better part of a year to get Miura on board. Within the first couple of weeks, we sold $26,000 worth of clubs.”

If this sounds a little like a Mill River plan, it’s similar. A Mill River Golf deal is where members pay an annual fee or buy-in. In exchange, they can buy stuff at cost plus a small markup, maybe 10 percent over wholesale. It’s limited to members only.

In today’s world, there’s also value in information. Phillips says the average GolfN user logs in over 75 times a month. There’s a daily Press Your Luck spin activity to earn points or merchandise, and you can earn points for checking in at places like Golftec, Topgolf, driving ranges or simulators in your area. Frankly, there’s so much happening in the GolfN app that you do have to go back in regularly just to understand what the hell is going on.

“Most apps, you only log in when you’re playing golf,” says Phillips. “We get a million views a month from people just going through the app to see what’s going on. Our partners love this because it’s a way for them to actually see people actively looking at their products.”

So, is GolfN for you?

Boy, is that a loaded question.

After using the app for a little over a month, I still have some questions but can draw a few conclusions.

First, it’s a pretty good GPS app. It’s free, easy to use and takes wind and weather into account for “plays like” distances. Those are three things I value. Second, I’m starting to get the gamification piece as I’ve always been a points slave. I have the Delta Reserve card, stay at Marriotts and rent cars with National, all in the name of earning freebies. Give me a target and I’ll grind away at the sunuvabitch until I get status.

Lastly, as GolfN gains more users, I can see how it can be of value to OEMs. Data makes the world go round, and all those little ones and zeroes are the propellant.

Remember when Google bought Nest Labs, makers of the Nest thermostat, for $3.2 billion in cash 12 years ago? Do you really think it was because Nest had a really cool thermostat? Or maybe, just maybe, did it have something to do with data and knowing your preferences and habits as Google built its “Smart House” empire?

So, after all this, I do get the GolfN app. Sort of. It’s a game that you pay to play, and you can pay as much or as little as you want. If you want to earn big faster, however, you’ll have to pay more sooner.

If, however, you balk at paying Arccos its $17 per month, I’d love to hear what you have to say about a GolfN Gold membership at $150 per month.

On the other hand, if you see me hacking it around Breakfast Hill with a new set of Miura KM-700s later this year, you’ll know how I got them.

The post This Golf App Pays You In Real Gear Just For Playing appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

Rai came into the week at roughly 200/1 odds to win. On a course that rewarded long drives and excellent putting, the victor was a player who is very short off the tee and a well-below-average putter.

That’s why they play the game, folks.

That got me thinking about other surprising major winners we’ve had since the turn of the century.

Here is my list of the top 10 shocking major victors since 2000.

10. Darren Clarke

Odds prior to the tournament: ~100-125/1

OWGR prior to the tournament: No. 111

Darren Clarke had a very fine career, winning 14 times on the European Tour and three times on the PGA Tour.

Having said that, a 42-year-old Clarke capturing the 2011 Open Championship is among the most random results in recent golf history.

Clarke had gone an entire decade without a top-10 major finish. After finishing T3 at the 2001 Open Championship, Clarke had 55 more major starts—and his only top-10 major finish was winning the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s.

The result was never in doubt as Clarke won by three strokes despite a pair of closing bogeys. He dedicated the victory to his late wife, Heather, who passed away in 2006.

9. Keegan Bradley

Odds: ~150/1

OWGR: No. 108

Keegan Bradley has played in 51 majors at this point and is respected as a strong player.

But in his very first major start—back before golf fans knew about him—Bradley came out of nowhere to win the 2011 PGA Championship.

It was a wild final round at Atlanta Athletic Club as Bradley battled Jason Dufner. After making a triple bogey on the par-3 15th, Bradley was down by four strokes with just three holes to play.

But Bradley made birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 while Dufner made bogey on those same holes. After going 1-under in a three-hole playoff, Bradley was suddenly a major champ.

8. Lucas Glover

Odds: ~175/1

OWGR: No. 71

Glover has enjoyed a nice Tour career, winning six times and making more than $41 million.

But his win at the 2009 U.S. Open was a complete anomaly.

Glover has played in 55 majors and has just two top-10 finishes, both in 2009.

The 2009 U.S. Open was a weird major on multiple levels. It was a strange weather week and the final leaderboard is truly bizarre. David Duval, many years removed from his prime, nearly won the tournament with a late rally. Phil Mickelson shared the lead on the back nine but kicked it away. Tiger Woods couldn’t get anything going and ended four shots back.

The man above them all? Glover.

7. Aaron Rai

Odds: ~200-250/1

OWGR: No. 44

We just saw Rai capture the PGA Championship, breaking through a crowded leaderboard that featured Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg and other established stars.

As mentioned, Aronimink did not suit Rai’s game on paper but he was able to overcome his lack of driving distance with superb wedge play and a hot putter. In the end, he shot 5-under 65 and separated himself over the last two hours of the tournament.

Rai came into the week as a solid Tour player who had won once before (2024 Wyndham Championship), but his best major finish was T19. Considering his competition at Aronimink, this was a total stunner.

6. Phil Mickelson

Odds: ~250-300/1

OWGR: No. 115

Winning a major championship at 50 years old—the oldest player to ever do it—is one thing.

Winning a major when you were well beyond your prime and not even playing great golf coming into the week is another thing.

Mickelson’s 2021 PGA victory is one of the great mysteries of our game. He was decidedly terrible in 2021, finishing the year with only one top-10 finish to go along with seven missed cuts.

That one top-10 finish was his sixth major title. He won it going away, too.

I still haven’t processed this one. Mickelson’s stock was higher than ever at the time (let’s just pretend nothing has happened since then).

5. Y.E. Yang

Odds: ~125-150/1

OWGR: No. 110

Y.E. Yang will forever be known as the Tiger Killer.

Woods carried a two-stroke lead into the final round of the 2009 PGA Championship, a lead that seemed insurmountable given Tiger’s ability to close the door at majors. He had never surrendered a 54-hole major lead.

Yang and Woods were tied late on Sunday when Yang made an eagle at the drivable par-4 14th, gaining an advantage he would never relinquish. Both players made bogey at No. 17, one of the only moments of Tiger’s career where he faltered down the stretch of a major he probably should have won.

Yang captured only one other PGA Tour title in his career (2009 Honda Classic) and had just two other top-10 finishes in majors. Prior to the victory, his best major finish was T47.

4. Shaun Micheel

Odds: ~200-300/1

OWGR: No. 169

Micheel’s only Tour victory of his career came at Oak Hill during the 2003 PGA Championship.

His only other major top-10 finish was a distant runner-up performance at the 2006 PGA Championship. He has played in 39 majors and missed the cut in 27 of them.

But back at the ’03 PGA, Micheel battled against the likes of Chad Campbell and Tim Clark to find major glory. Nobody will forget his final shot at the 72nd hole when he hit his approach shot to tap-in range.

It’s one of the true underdog stories in the game’s history.

3. Todd Hamilton

Odds: ~400/1

OWGR: No. 56

You might be surprised to see that Hamilton was 400/1 odds prior to the 2004 Open Championship despite being No. 56 in the world and having already won on Tour earlier that year at the Honda Classic.

It’s true Hamilton wasn’t a total nobody heading into the week—but one look at his major record will have you understanding why he is so high on this list.

The 2004 Open was his only top-10 major finish of his career. And, other than a T15 at the 2009 Masters, Hamilton was never even close to getting back near that level in the biggest events.

It was a magical week for Hamilton at Royal Troon when he defeated Ernie Els by making four consecutive pars in a playoff. Hamilton relied on a hybrid from off the green that week and the strategy paid off with an incredible victory.

Els, the four-time major champ, probably should have had this one (but he would later be gifted an Open Championship by a late Adam Scott meltdown so the golf gods paid him back).

2. Rich Beem

Odds: ~200-300/1

OWGR: No. 73

Beem shares an almost identical major record with Hamilton. Aside from victory at the 2002 PGA Championship, he only has a T15 at the 2003 Masters. He never got into major contention again.

The biggest shocker of the ’02 PGA is that Beem erased a three-stroke Sunday deficit by chasing down Justin Leonard. Then he held off Tiger, who birdied the final four holes in a furious attempt to reach Beem, who was comfortably ahead down the stretch.

Beem did win the 1999 Kemper Open and the 2002 International but the fact he popped up for a major victory is still incredible. It’s the second Hazeltine mention on this list (Yang also won there).

1. Ben Curtis

Odds: ~350-500/1

OWGR: No. 396

Few results in modern golf are as jarring to revisit as the 2003 Open Championship where the final leaderboard reads as follows:

• Ben Curtis (-1)
• Thomas Bjorn (E)
• Vijay Singh (E)
• Tiger Woods (+1)
• Davis Love III (+1)

This was the first major start for Curtis, a complete unknown barely in the top 400 in the world. He only qualified into the tournament through a T13 at the Western Open, receiving one of the final spots into the field.

This tournament belonged to Bjorn, a far more heralded player who held a narrow lead late in the day before a tragic double-bogey on the par-3 16th at Royal St George’s.

In fairness, Curtis would go on to have a solid Tour career that included three more victories and three more major top-10 finishes. He also made the 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

But at the time? Curtis shocked the world.

What do you think of this list? Let me know below in the comments.

Top Photo Caption: Y.E. Yang lifts his golf bag above his head after defeating Tiger at the 2009 PGA Championship. (GETTY IMAGES/Streeter Lecka)

The post The 10 Most Shocking Major Winners Since 2000 appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

I’ve got a two-year-old at home with whom I’d rather spend time and it’s probably good to give my wife a break every once in a while.

But when I do travel, I’ve often been frustrated with the whole packing situation. I’ve gone through a few backpacks from golf brands (Stitch, Vessel, I’m looking at you), and none have felt, for lack of a better term, “easy” to travel with.

I’m a pretty stressed traveler so my criteria for good travel gear are simple: big enough that I don’t have to bring more luggage than necessary and accessible enough that I can quickly get to anything I need on the plane.

I prefer a big backpack, one with a ton of usable space. Like golf bags, being big for the sake of being big is not always a good thing.

Good news! I’ve found a backpack I feel comfortable traveling with. And it’s from a brand that you’re probably familiar with anyway.

I’ve been testing Club Gloves’ new Tour Backpack for the past month or so and it is, without a doubt, the most utilitarian backpack I’ve ever used. I’m legitimately shocked by how much this bag holds and how many pockets it manages to incorporate.

But that’s not the thing I’m most impressed by.

The fit and finish is leaps and bounds ahead of anything I’ve tried. For one, the ballistic nylon is freakin’ legit. TSA could run it over with a truck and it’d probably come out without a scratch.

But the zippers? Yeah, man. That’s where it’s at. High-quality hardware and zippers are make-or-break for products like this. Because what good is a backpack if the zipper breaks three months in?

The Club Glove Tour Backpack is bulletproof, big and badass-looking. That’s three Bs but if I was a professor of golf travel, I’d give this guy an “A.”

(Oh, and don’t forget the five-year warranty).

Yeah, this one is staying with me for the long haul.

The post This Is The Last Golf Travel Backpack I’ll Ever Buy appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

The problem with golf? It takes time. Time to play, time to practice, time to get better… And time is at a premium when you’re an adult with a job and family. In a way, this entire project is about time. I’m running out of it and trying to make the most of what’s left by attempting something very, very, very hard. 

Over the last two weeks, the struggle against time played out on a micro level; there wasn’t enough of it to play much golf. I got to the course to practice a handful of times and I walked a few holes here and there, but I never had the opportunity to play full rounds. Life simply got in the way. There was a work trip, a family trip, my son’s baseball games, and I was scrambling to meet deadlines because of those other obligations. It’s the same stuff that gets in the way of everyone’s golf game. Unless you’re a pro stick, other obligations take a priority so there’s a two-week gap in scores where my handicap remained static. It’s frustrating but I’m sure it’s not the last time work and family life will get in the way of this year-long project. 

I’m back on track, though, playing back-to-back rounds to start this week. Some readers have asked for more details about my rounds so I’ll dig into those below, but first I want to talk about something I did have the opportunity to do last week: assisted stretching. 

Getting bendy

Assisted stretching is pretty much what it sounds like. Picture a trainer manhandling your body into various contortion-like poses. It’s like yoga but your instructor is trying to mug you. 

I’ll go down a lot of rabbit holes in the name of golf (should I have a shaman bless my clubs?) but this might be the most uncomfortable thing I’ve done in search of a better swing. Mobility has always been a weak spot for me. I’m 49 years old with an assortment of sports injuries so I need 20 minutes of morning stretching before I can walk the dog without pulling a muscle. And I’ve noticed a drastic difference between my “cold” golf swing and my golf swing after a proper warm-up. If I don’t get loose before playing golf, my swing is tense, jerky and ineffective. It’s all arms with no proper turn. 

I’m also at an age when most golfers are losing swing speed and distance. 

According to data collected by Hack Motion, the typical clubhead speed of amateur men in their 20s is 95-105 mph. Hit your 40s and that drops to 90-98. Enter your 50s and it gets real slow: 85-95. 

I didn’t play golf in my 20s or 30s, or even through most of my 40s, so I don’t have any previous speeds to compare it to but I know my swing feels faster and smoother when I take the time to stretch.

Strength obviously plays a part in swinging the club fast and hitting the ball far but maybe I should spend more time focusing on increasing my mobility? 

In order to test this theory, I used an inexpensive launch monitor to clock my driver swing speeds at the driving range on two separate occasions. The first was a regular practice session after my standard warmup which includes a series of stretches and light calisthenics (imagine Jazzercise from the ‘80s but without the leg warmers). The second range session took place immediately after an assisted stretch appointment at Stretch Lab, a national chain with a branch in my town, where I spent an hour getting contorted by a guy named Mitch (not his real name).  

Mitch laid me gently down on a table, then took a leg and pushed it into a position that it had never been in before, and kept it there for an uncomfortable amount of time. He worked his way through my entire body like that over the course of an hour. I left feeling 20 years younger. 

I went immediately to the driving range and the difference was dramatic. My clubhead speed during my regular driving range session topped out at 96.5 mph and I was carrying the ball 235-240 on my fastest swings. After the assisted stretching session, my clubhead speed jumped to 102.4 with the occasional 105 detected and a 10- to 15-yard bump in distance. 

I didn’t do anything different other than let Mitch work me over for an hour and I found another 6 mph out of my driver. 

Mobility=swing speed

At least it does for me. The trick will be finding a way I can stretch properly without the help of Mitch because I don’t have the time to visit Stretch Lab before every round of golf. So I’m in search of a solid mobility routine to work into my daily life and pre-round warmups. It’s time to get bendy. 

Round re-cap

As for my recent rounds of golf… I played nine holes at the beginning of the week, followed by 18 the next day, at my home course in the mountains of North Carolina. I played from the back tees on the nine-hole round because the guy I was paired with wanted to and I’m a people pleaser. It’s amazing how moving back 10-50 yards changes a course entirely. I had a hard time finding the new landing zones from the tee box and shot five-over 41 which did nothing for my handicap. Most of the strokes I lost were off the tee (1.8) but my short game was also an issue (1.6 strokes lost) as I mishit a couple of layup chip shots out of the rough. 

The full 18 was an Odysseus-like journey full of twists and turns but I held it together to finish with a nine-over 81. I walk when I play and I carry my bag and I was absolutely worked towards the end of the afternoon round. Still, I managed to score better on the back nine (three over) than the front (six over) even though my swing was falling apart. Case in point: I started the round with a 275-yard drive but finished with a 220-yard drive. In general, I wasn’t hitting the ball far off the tee but I kept the ball in play for the most part, hitting 79 percent of fairways. It was my approach game that sucked the life out of me, losing 4.2 strokes to a scratch player. My biggest problem distance? 50-75 yards. I didn’t hit a single green from that distance all day. 

Oof. Not being able to hit a green from 50 yards out and duffing short chip shots out of the rough … it’s frustrating but, overall, I’m happy with my two recent rounds and excited to play more as the week progresses. 

My handicap is now 11.5. I have a long way to go but I’m going to celebrate that tiny bit of movement. 

Dig deeper into one golfer’s struggle to get better at golf in middle age and read last week’s Scratch By 50 where Graham discusses going after low-hanging fruit on the course here.

The post Scratch By 50: Mobility=Swing Speed appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

The cheap and affordable rangefinders are sticking with their original roots: pin distance, slope, magnets, etc. The premium rangefinders are leveling up and giving you a 2-in-1 type experience. It’s entirely up to you when it comes to choosing a new rangefinder and once you’ve identified your top priorities, the choice shouldn’t be too difficult.

I’ve identified a few key differences between a cheap and a premium rangefinder from our 2026 testing pool.

What to expect with a $100-$300 golf rangefinder

Spending $250 or less on a golf rangefinder isn’t a bad decision. You’re just trading some of the juicy stuff that premium golf rangefinders have to offer.

At a bare minimum, here’s what you can expect with a budget-friendly golf rangefinder sitting in the $100-$300 range.

• Slope On/Off
• Pin Lock
• Magnification
• The ability to magnetize to your golf cart
• A carry case
• Stabilization

Some budget-friendly options offer more or less than what’s mentioned but this list is a good baseline.

If you’re relatively new to golf or a casual golfer, a cheaper rangefinder is the place to start. You can’t control your distances quite as well and you’ll save your money by starting small and building up as you get better.

The best advice I can offer is to start with a cheap (but performance-based) golf rangefinder. Pair this with the golf app of your choosing, (18Birdies, Golf Pad, etc.) and watch the two go to work for you.

You get less when you spend less but that doesn’t mean you won’t get enough. There are plenty of cheap golf rangefinders that perform well.

Here are three of the best inexpensive golf rangefinders of 2026:

• VISTAGET Golvia Pro

• Nikon COOLSHOT 50i GII

• GOGOGO Sport ZeroIn

What to expect with a $350-$500 golf rangefinder

For starters, you get everything that the $100-$300 golf rangefinders offer. Features end up being the biggest differentiator between a cheap and a premium rangefinder.

This year’s winner was the MILESEEY GenePro G1 which contains a physical GPS on the side of the rangefinder. This isn’t just a pin distance compensated for slope. This is the ability to see front, middle and back, scorekeeping, and connection to their app which works hand-in-hand with the rangefinder data.

Other golf rangefinders integrate directly with a golf app and this translates directly to your golf rangefinder. Some can even be seen on the screen of your rangefinder when you’re shooting the pin. This is a massive win for the strategic golfer that knows their yardages like the back of their hand.

Spending the extra $50-$200 isn’t for everyone but it may be worth it, considering the technology trends that we’re seeing in the golf world.

Here are three of the best premium golf rangefinders of 2026.

• MILESEEY GenePro G1
• Precision Pro Titan Elite
• Bushnell Tour V7 Shift

Closing thoughts

We test rangefinders based on the following factors:

• Accuracy
• Speed
• Optics
• Display
• Additional features

We tested 27 different golf rangefinders. Nearly 90 percent of the testing pool provided a quick and accurate reading, making optics, display and additional features providing some separation.

Optics and display were another tight category with most golf rangefinders doing exactly what they were supposed to. Some had more definition and an easier-to-read display but the bulk were bunched pretty tightly. This is the main reason that 19/27 golf rangefinders scored at 9.0 or higher.

Additional features pushed our winners over the edge by notching extra points for ingenuity and optimization. While the additional features are a major win for data-lovers, it’s a loss for affordability. Golf rangefinders with advanced features were consistently priced $50-$150 higher than other barebones options.

Take comfort because it’s hard to go wrong with the 2026 testing pool. If the aforementioned golf rangefinders didn’t catch your eye, take a gander at the chart below and make an informed, confident purchase.

The post The Biggest Difference Between Cheap And Premium Rangefinders In 2026 appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

Across the PGA Tour, most players have adopted what I call the “corporate” golfing look—they all generally dress the same: a lot of grey, black, navy, khaki. At best, we’ll see a striped polo. In that grey, corporate world, Day represents a person comfortable enough in his own skin to stand out and, as a result, has made the game more fun. As Rod Serling said, “Being like everybody is the same as being nobody.”

Honorable mention: 2026 PGA Championship Wednesday practice round

This is one of my favorite Jason Day looks of all time. While it’s not something I would wear, Day looks as cool as Steve McQueen here. I can’t tell whether it’s the shorts or the sunglasses that make this outfit but, either way, this is Day and Malbon at their best. During Wednesday’s practice round, Day and Keith Mitchell stole the show as the best-dressed players on the course. If you want the shorts, they’ve just launched at Malbon.

1. 2026 Masters second round

Day’s scripting for the second round of this year’s Masters is his best look of all time. Pastel-blue pants ruled the roost at Augusta but, as opposed to going neutral on top, with his pale-yellow polo, Day went pastel on pastel. That’s a bold choice and difficult to pull off but it was executed to perfection here. What really made this ensemble work is the shirt’s texture. As opposed to a traditional pique polo, Malbon outfitted Day with a sweater-polo—a look straight from the 1960s. This is as timeless a look as you’ll see from Malbon and Day and would look at home anywhere between the 1960s and today.

2. 2025 Farmers Insurance Open final round

This is an admittedly divisive look. However, aside from him buttoning up his polo all the way to the top, I love everything about this outfit. To me, this is 1990s’ golf personified and reminds me of the Hathaway sweaters worn by Nick Faldo back in the day. Seriously, golf can use some tasteful color on the course and this look is a textbook example of paying homage to a great era of golf and reviving it for a new generation. We need more looks and more sweaters like this. If you’re noticing a trend, it’s that I like Day’s outfits that incorporate the high-crown visor.

3. 2026 Masters third round

Day’s scripting at Augusta this year was nothing short of stellar. We’ve got another light-yellow sweater polo here and, similarly, it looks great. There’s a lot to love about this outfit: a textured zip-up (!) polo, braided belt and khaki pants. This look is simple, timeless and extremely elevated. We often see a lot of texture from Day and it adds a ton of dimension to his appearance. Today, the majority of golf apparel is made of performance materials that lack texture and look, well, flat. Most of Day’s best looks come where his ensemble is largely made up of organic, heritage materials like cotton and wool. Like his outfit in round two, this ensemble is a throwback to the ’60s. And, reminiscent of Sammy Davis Jr.’s 1968 classic “I’ve Gotta Be Me,” it is unapologetically Jason Day.

4. 2026 Masters practice round(s)

Malbon’s Birds of Georgia collection is Malbon at its most divisive. There was no middle ground: you loved it or hated it. Admittedly, when it launched, I was a staunch hater. Then I saw Jason Day during practice rounds at Augusta and it changed everything. I was pleased to see he didn’t go loud-on-loud as some may have been tempted to do. Instead, he kept things tame by letting the vest serve as the removable hero piece and paired it with otherwise muted colors. That’s how a statement piece should work. However, it’s very clear that Day and Malbon understand color theory because the burgundy visor is a strong visual anchor and ties the entire outfit together. Simply put: this outfit is superb.

5. 2025 Masters practice round

While this outfit would have looked better with a visor, Day’s hair was much shorter last year so I can understand why he opted to wear a hat. Regardless, this is another timeless look. During this year’s Masters, I lamented that we rarely see players wear the right shade of green at Augusta but Day absolutely nailed it. The best part about this outfit, however, is the sweater. As someone whose style is often described as “Ivy League” or “preppy,” the sleeve-stripe sweater reminds me of J. Press at its best, and that is a compliment of the highest order.

The post Ranking The Five Best Jason Day Fits appeared first on MyGolfSpy.