Adjusting for Uneven Lies (Video)

Here's a step-by-step explanation of how to set up for sidehill and downhill shots. This can help you save some shots during a round because... well, you're going to have some of these every round, aren't you?

All My Guys Are Gone...

Well, I'm totally shocked. All four of my picks in the WGC-Dell Match Play were eliminated in pool play. Even Number 2 seed Jon Rahm

• Tommy Fleetwood (24 seed)
• Jon Rahm (2 seed)
• Min Woo Lee (41 seed)
• Jordan Spieth (12 seed)

As hard as it is to believe, I guess it's just something about 2023. After all, if you've been keeping up with March Madness, the NCAA men's basketball tournament, you know the unthinkable has happened, As of Friday night, all 4 Number One seeds have been eliminated.

ESPN routinely runs a fantasy competition for basketball fans where they can submit a bracket thru a special app. Over 20 million brackets were submitted this year... and by last Saturday, the third day of the tournament, every single one of them had been busted.

Welcome to my life, friends. Maybe we'll all have better luck next year.

Hopefully we golf fans will have a match play tournament to get lucky in. Get it done, PGA Tour!

Jon Rahm's Trail Wrist Action (Video)

Personally I tend to feel this wrist action as if the golf club was a tennis racquet and I was making a forehand stroke. But for many of you, Russell Heritage's description of how Jon Rahm makes this move will work very well for your swing. This wrist action is often explained by teachers (I remember Martin Hall demonstrating this move in a couple of different videos) but only in terms of how the lead wrist moves. It's much easier to understand if you look at the trail wrist by itself, as Russell does here. 

Flat Wrist or Bowed Wrist? (Video)

If you want to square the clubface at impact, knowing how you naturally use your wrists is important. In this short video Alex Elliott helps you understand how wrist position affects how your forearms move at impact.

The First Full Field LPGA Event of 2023

We're finally back to a full field event on the LPGA. Welcome to the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain.

Understand that this is the LPGA's first event in Arizona since 2019—and I believe sit's the first LPGA event at Superstition Mountain itself since 2008—so there's a lot of excitement in the area this week. It's the first time the LPGA Drive On Championship is being held at Superstition Mountain.

Mina Harigae started the week by getting married at the course. (It's where she met her new husband Travis Kreiter and also where they live.) And the LPGA is planning all kinds of excitement, including DJs and flat screen TVs carrying the live broadcast of the event as well as NCAA Tournament coverage near the driving range at "the 19th Hole."

Full field means 144 players... and this field will include defending champion Leona Maguire, the first Irish winner on the LPGA, and Lexi Thompson, who's been largely missing so far this season.

Arizona means prime time golf, but to watch it live you'll have to stream it on golfchannel.com. NBCSports.com, or the NBC Sports App. Streaming starts Thursday at 6pm ET while GC's tape-delayed coverage begins at 9pm ET. (The times for all four days, streaming and tape-delay, can be found at this link.) Welcome back, LPGA!

Twofer Tuesday: WGC-Dell Match Play

It is with a heavy heart that Twofer Tuesday heads to Austin TX for the final edition of the Dell Match Play.

I hate that the Dell Match Play ends its run this year. It's definitely one of the most exciting tournaments put on by the PGA Tour, and I for one will miss it. But at least we get to enjoy it one more time.

The 64-player bracket is headed by defending champion Scottie Scheffler and, as my habit has been in the past, this week I'll be picking FOUR players, one from each 16-man grouping in hopes of picking the Final Four. It hasn't worked out that way in the past but I still love to try it.

And of course that means I get four chances to pick the overall winner this week. Given how unpredictable match play can be, I'll need them. 

For those of you who want to fill out a bracket, here's the link to the printable bracket for the event. I'm listing the seeds according to the bracket form, but note you may see some slight variations on different webpage listings. Starting in the upper left corner of the bracket and moving clockwise, my picks are:

• Tommy Fleetwood (24 seed)
• Jon Rahm (2 seed)
• Min Woo Lee (41 seed)
• Jordan Spieth (12 seed)

Because this is a five day event, coverage begins on Wednesday. PGA TOUR LIVE/ESPN+'s coverage starts at 10:15-10:30am ET and GC's coverage starts at 2pm ET. (You can find the PGA TOUR LIVE streaming schedule at this link.) It's the last hurrah for this event; let's enjoy it while we can!

The Limerick Summary: 2023 Valspar Championship

Winner: Taylor Moore

Around the wider world of golf: Matthew Baldwin won the SDC Championship on the DP World Tour; Ernie Els won the Hoag Classic on the Champions Tour; Gabriela Ruffels won the Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic on the Epson Tour; Jake Mccrory won the Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica; David Micheluzzi won the Play Today NSW Open on the Australasian Tour; and Miguel Tabuena won The DGC Open on the Asian Tour.

My Twofer Tuesday picks came so close! I had Tommy Fleetwood (T3) and Justin Rose (T36). Justin struggled unexpectedly but Tommy was solidly in there until that bogey on the 15th took him out of the competition.

• Top10s: 9 for 22 (8 Top5s 1 Top10)
• Winners: 2 for 11 events
• Top20s: 11 for 22

The story when the day started was Adam Schenk leading since day one, just a stroke ahead of Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood. The day ended with bogies—Tommy on 15, Adam on 18, and Jordan on 16 AND 18.

Oh yes, and Taylor Moore went three-under on the final seven holes. He was casually practicing on the range, hoping to make a playoff, when he got the news that he had landed his first PGA Tour win.

It was a big paycheck for Moore, who snagged nearly $1.5mil. And while the event was a heartbreaker for Adam, he and his mother-to-be wife took home almost $900k... which will certainly buy A LOT of diapers.

You've got to love it when a first-time winner comes through and closes the deal. Especially when the pressure of getting their first Limerick Summary is on the line. Way to go, Taylor!

The back nine was so full of tension,
Nobody paid Taylor attention.
He posted his score,
Prepared to play more…
And got more than honorable mention!

The photo came from this page at golfchannel.com.

Are You Swinging Too Flat? (Video)

If your swing is too flat, you'll tend to push shots—or duck hook them, depending on how much hand action you have—and maybe hit the ball fat as well. Jonathan Kim-Moss has a drill to help you correct that problem and get your swing on a better plane, which will help with both accuracy and distance.

More Hip Turn Drills (Video)

Yesterday's post gave you a drill to help you improve your hip turn. Today Mike Malaska will help you speed up that hip turn a little. Try combining the two drills and see what happens!

Getting Your Hip Turn Correct (Video)

This drill will help you do two things: You'll stop exaggerating your hip turn and you'll learn to turn while your head stays steady. That will help both your distance and accuracy!

The Power Tee VS the Fairway Finder Tee (Video)

How high should you tee the ball? Alex Elliott says that sometimes you should tee up with half the ball above the clubhead, and sometimes with only a quarter of the ball above the tee. When should you use which one? Check out the video and see!

The Setup Dance (Video)

You can use it as your preshot routine or you can use it as a drill to help you work out a preshot routine of your own. In either case, Mike Malaska's little 'setup dance' just might help you find a rhythm to improve your shots.

Twofer Tuesday: Valspar Championship

Twofer Tuesday hops from one side of Florida to the other for the Valspar Championship.

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort is best known for its final three-hole stretch, affectionately called "the Snake Pit." As tough as the course is, the pros tend to like the Copperhead.

And probably no one likes it more than Sam Burns, who is looking to three-peat this week.

Like last week, I'm stepping outside the box for my picks at Valspar. Burns may very well defend successfully but I'm looking for some unexpected winners.

• Justin Rose
• Tommy Fleetwood

GC's live coverage begins Thursday at 2pm ET. PGA TOUR LIVE begins streaming at 7:30am ET (and as usual, here's the link to the schedule). The Valspar usually serves up some unexpected results. Let's see who gets snakebit this year!

The Limerick Summary: 2023 THE PLAYERS

Winner: Scottie Scheffler

Around the wider world of golf: Jorge Campillo won the Magical Kenya Open on the DP World Tour; Ashleigh Buhai three-peated at the Investec South African Women’s Open on the LET (as well as getting her 6th win there); Wade Ormsby won the International Series Thailand on the Asian Tour; Stefan Wears-Taylor won the Mediclinic Invitational on the Sunshine Tour; and Louis Dobbelaar won the NZ PGA Championship on the Australasian Tour.

I can't really complain about my Twofer Tuesday picks. I had Viktor Hovland (T3) and Rickie Fowler (T13). To get a Top5 and a Top20 in a patently unpredictable tournament, one where the top players frequently stumble (and did again this week), was a better showing than I expected

• Top10s: 8 for 20 (7 Top5s 1 Top10)
• Winners: 2 for 10 events
• Top20s: 10 for 20

What can I say about Scottie Scheffler's runaway win at THE PLAYERS? He won by five shots, pocketed $4.5mil (the biggest winner's check in PGA TOUR history), retook the #1 spot in the world rankings and picked up his sixth victory in 27 starts.

Plus he got his 2nd major in less than a year. (You know where I stand on the "is THE PLAYERS a major" debate. The World Golf Hall of Fame gives it the same value as his Masters win so, regardless of what you want to call it, it's a major. Live with it.) In fact, he joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods on the short list of players to hold both THE PLAYERS and the Masters trophies at the same time.

Rarified air indeed.

And through it all he was still his unpretentious down home self. He was headed to his 87-year-old grandma's house for (probably) pancakes and dessert after he finished his media duties. Grandma even picked up some media attention herself after walking all 72 holes to watch her grandson seal the deal.

So once again Scottie showed us why he's a force to be contended with, as well as being fun to watch. And it's why he's also picking up his 6th Limerick Summary since the beginning of 2022. It's just one more thing to add to his list of "fun stuff."

And nobody even got close.
While Sawgrass kept most on their toes,
It seemed Scottie’s skill
May have been overkill
As he ran off and yelled, “Adios!”

The photo came from this page at pgatour.com.

The Look Cool Drill (Video)

Mike Malaska (like me) is a big believer in the L-to-L drill because it teaches you so much about the golf swing in one simple motion. But what if you have trouble getting your hands to work together properly? Enter the look cool drill. Basically it's a way to isolate the action of each hand from the shoulder turn that is part of the L-to-L drill. If you're struggling with the L-to-L motion, using the look cool drill can help you isolate where the problem really is.

A Delofting Drill (Video)

Not everyone needs this drill but it's something you should know about. Using a tee to learn how to deloft your clubface is unique...but there's something you may not notice right off. Many of you have heard that many of the pros try to swing left to get control of the ball. This drill teaches you to swing right to get more control! Since doing either one can lead you into poor ball striking, knowing how to counteract one exaggeration with the other might help you when your swing gets out of whack.

The Posture Drill (Video)

A simple drill to help you keep your spine angle and NOT STAND UP during your swing. How much more do I need to say? Give it a try to increase your consistency through the hitting zone.

New Trends in Golf Gear (Video)

The trends mentioned in this video aren't all high-tech changes. They range from irons using more traditional lofts rather than the strong lofts that have become more popular over the last few decades to merely cosmetic ones like gloss black driver heads instead of matte black. But if you're looking for clubs, it's worth being aware of these new trends since they might help you pick equipment that you're happier with.

The LET Stays in South Africa

Maybe it seems a bit funny that I would spend a post on the LET but this could be a historic week.

The LET doesn't get a lot of coverage over here in the States. It's rare that GC even broadcasts one of their events unless it's tape-delayed by several days, and then we usually only get the last couple of rounds.

But Lee-Anne Pace is looking to win her third consecutive Investec South African Women’s Open... and when you realize that she's won the SA Women's Open a total of FIVE times so far (2014, 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022) it should be clear we're talking some serious history here.

Anytime you can win a national Open—let alone win it multiple times—it's a pretty impressive accomplishment. And yet I don't know that many golf fans are aware of just how good Lee-Anne Pace is, period, let alone at her national Open.

If you want to see how the ladies of the LET are getting along, there are a few ways to follow along.

• LET on Twitter
• LET on on Facebook
• LET on Instagram
• LET on YouTube

YouTube lists the beginning of the stream as 5am—I assume that's ET—on March 8 (that's Wednesday—TODAY). But you can find the broadcast times at YouTube for each day and have them notify you when each round starts.

But if you're patient, I'm guessing GC will show the last couple of rounds next week. It's up to you... but I wanted you to be aware that Pace has a chance to make even more history this week.

Twofer Tuesday: THE PLAYERS

Twofer Tuesday continues its Florida Swing with a short trip to Ponte Vedra and THE PLAYERS.

Yes, we're finally in major season. I know many of you don't recognize THE PLAYERS as a major but the WGHoF does, given that a PLAYERS win carries the same weight as the other majors. As old William Shakespeare once said, "A rose by any other name will smell as sweet." You just keep on denying the truth if it makes you feel better; it's no skin off my nose.

Nevertheless, THE PLAYERS kicks off the major season as the first of five straight months, each boasting a monster tournament even before we arrived at the age of elevated events. This week also marks the week that Cam Smith begins dropping in my RGWR, simply because the LIV player won't defend this week and thus loses one of the big wins that has kept him near the top over the last 12 months.

But, you may ask, who will take his place as THE PLAYERS champion? We simply don't know. Of all the courses hosting the Big Five, only TPC Sawgrass is short enough for almost any player to win... and yet no player has ever defended. (At least, not to my knowledge.) And it seems that we see a truly unexpected winner at least every two or three years.

This is perhaps the most democratic of the Big Five, which means anybody can grow up to be Presid—I mean, THE PLAYERS champion. And therefore I'm making a couple of unexpected picks this week. (And for those of you keeping track of each week's 3rd choice that I decided not to take, this week it's Will Zalatoris.)

• Viktor Hovland
• Rickie Fowler

GC's live coverage begins Thursday at noon ET, with PGA TOUR LIVE's streaming coverage beginning at 6:45am ET (complete schedule at this link). Long after he's gone, Pete Dye's masterpiece continues to test—and sometimes embarrass—the Tour's best players. I can't wait to see who outthinks the Master on his own course this year!

The Limerick Summary: 2023 API

Winner: Kurt Kitayama

Around the wider world of golf: Nico Echavarria won the Puerto Rico Open, the alternate field event on the PGA Tour; after a year fighting injuries, Jin Young Ko defended her title at the HSBC Women's World Championship on the LPGA; David Toms on the Cologuard Classic on the Champions Tour; Lily May Humphreys won the Joburg Ladies Open on the LET; Agathe Laisne won the Florida's Natural Charity Classic on the Epson Tour; Brendan Jones won the 102nd NZ Open on the Asian Tour; and Mathilde Claisse won the individual title and LSU the team title at the NCAA's Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.

Well... it wasn't the win I hoped for but my Twofer Tuesday picks did pretty well at Bay Hill. I had Scottie Scheffler (T4) and Patrick Cantlay (T4). Two Top5s in one event? That's a cause for celebration!

• Top10s: 7 for 18 (6 Top5s 1 Top10)
• Winners: 2 for 9 events
• Top20s: 8 for 18

Well, the Arnold Palmer Invitational didn't have the weather drama the ladies had to deal with in Singapore, where rain came down so hard that the greens went from dry land to inland lakes in literally the time it took to walk from the tee to the green. But Bay Hill always brings the hurt in its own way, and Sunday's final round was a great example.

Until the pros managed to get to the 17th tee, we weren't even sure which pros had the best chance to win. For example, Jordan Spieth was -10 when he left the 13th green, only to fall two short of Kitayama's -8 winning score by the end. Rory McIlroy was -9 leaving the 13th, only to come up one short at the end. Players shuffled in and out of contention as fast as the balls zipping across the putting green.

And it wasn't as if Kurt didn't try to help them win. After a triple on the 9th it looked as if he was done for the week — and added to Saturday's double on the 4th, he probably should have been. But Kurt proved the old saying that golf is a game played on the five-inch fairway between your ears. Playing the last three holes in -2, he took the event by the throat and walked away with the Red Sweater and his first-ever win on the PGA Tour.

And the API is quite a win to pick up anytime, let alone for your first one!

I don't know how he'll do at THE PLAYERS next week — it's hard to follow up any win the next week — but I wouldn't be too quick to write him off. Kurt just picked up one hell of a Limerick Summary and, when he's that tough mentally, there's no telling what he might do next!

Though doubles and triples abound
At Arnie’s Place, Kurt hung around
Outlasting the best
(Everyone made a mess!)—
So he ended up sweatered, not crowned.

The photo came from this page at golfchannel.com.

Putter Design Basics (Video)

Nowadays buying a new putter isn't so simple. There are a number of design variations that can affect how a putter feels and performs. So here's a primer on what features you should look for when buying a new putter.

Using the Bounce to Control Run on Your Chip Shots (Video)

You may not have realized it but yesterday's post from Mike Malaska taught you how to use the bounce on your wedge from a thin or perfect lie. Today Alex Elliott takes it a step further. Not only does he teach you how to use the bounce from a less-than-perfect lie but he also teaches you how to control whether the ball runs out or stops quickly USING THE BOUNCE. This is a simple-to-understand explanation that I think will help you a lot!

Putt and Chip with the Same Grip (Video)

Another simple video. You've probably heard some teachers advocate chipping with your putting grip, but Mike Malaska demonstrates how to practice it. Please note: He is NOT blading the ball or hitting it with the belly of his wedge. He is actually getting the ball airborne on the green! It sounds like a great way to gain confidence with your chipping, especially from tight lies where most of us tighten up.

The Trick You SHOULD Learn! (Video)

You know this trick... but did you know it can improve your ability to shape shots? In this :30 video Mike Malaska shows you how to use the 'bouncy trick' to improve your impact. Bear in mind that since you're constantly using your hands and wrists to control how the ball bounces, you're working on the face angle, the angle of attack, square impact and ultimately your ability to shape shots. All while having fun!

From Thailand to Singapore

The LPGA finishes its two-step Asian Swing in Singapore at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

The HSBC is sometimes called "Asia's Major" but this week it may be more like a sauna bath. The temperature is expected to be in the low-80s F, windspeeds in the low teens... and nearly FOUR INCHES of rain is expected during the four-day event. This is compounded by the amount of rain the course has already endured. Director of Agronomy Andrew Johnston said, “This is the wettest season in more than 100 years with daily rain since October."

In other words, this course is going to play LONG.

As discouraging as that might sound, it's not deterring the players. The field is 66 players with no cut, and 17 of the Rolex Top20 are there to tee it up. This is the 15th anniversary of the event and everyone seems ready. Defending champion Jin Young Ko seems to have her game back in shape after that prolonged wrist injury last year, and the rest of the field is eager to take that big trophy away from her ASAP!

GC's live coverage starts TONIGHT (that's Wednesday here in the States) at 9:30pm ET. If you like courses that make the players work, you're probably going to love the Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club this week. When all is said and done, it certainly sounds like the HSBC will have earned that reputation as Asia's Major!