Following the government advice, the best place you can be is at home, and still, there are so many things golf-related you can do! Here are five things you can start with:
#1 Keep your golf knowledge up to date
Do you know the latest golf gear and equipment? The most iconic game in the PGA Tour? Where to go on your next golf break? Well, now is a good moment to take the couch and learn about all the things that make this sport amazing.
If you have a positive mindset, your mates trust you and rely on your opinion to make a successful stroke, you have skills to start a professional career as a caddy.
Many elements must be carefully combined to create a challenging, stunning and enjoyable golf course, not only to design a great layout but also to manage the team and understand the local environment.
#5 Share your trick shots using the hashtag #StayAtHomeChallenge
Grab your toilet roll and keep it up as long as you can. Of course, don’t forget to film it and share it on social media with the hashtag #StatAtHomeChallenge.
What makes a great golf caddy?
While watching a golf tournament, past the 10th hole, the tension on the course is visible. It’s the turn of your favourite player. They watch the ball, the course, the tee, and they start talking to the person holding the bag. They point to the tee and the caddy (or caddie) starts whispering to the player. The golfer returns to the ball, gets ready, stroke, and right into the hole! It’s like the person holding the clubs whispered a magic spell!
More than a magic spell, the caddy recommends strategies to the player to make an outstanding stroke. A caddy is a mix of a personal physicist, a landscape analyser, a psychologist and a bestie. There are so many skills required in a professional golf caddy that their paycheck can get up to $2,000 per week. Not bad, eh?
But, what makes a good caddy?
Understanding of the course
At Golf Drives, we know that being aware of the difficulties that a golf course presents is the key for a successful game, that’s why we care so much about details, such as who was the architect? Likewise, a good caddy will know the golf course better than the 19th hole, and they will be able to recognise the golfer’s challenges. You should provide the golfer insightful information that will help them to make the right decisions to make a bogey, especially if they’re playing at a new golf course.
Give the right advice
While playing a game, and especially during a tournament, the golf player might need help to make the right stroke, and this is when the job of being a caddy gets the most exciting. Knowing the course without flaw and having a perfect understanding of the game will allow you to give the right advice to the player. Therefore, this requires time, a lot of practice and dedication.
Watch the ball
A good caddy doesn’t miss the ball. Doesn’t matter how hard the golfer shot or if the wind modifies the trajectory of the ball, you have to know where the ball ended. By understanding the course well, it will be easier for you to see where the ball landed and guide the player to their next point.
Emotional boosting
Mastering all the technical aspects of the course and the player is crucial to be a good caddy, but is also relevant to give emotional support and share a positive set of mind with the player. Playing such a challenging game sometimes can be frustrating for the golfer, with balls that end in ponds or hazards that over-complicate the game. If you want to be a good caddy, you will have to keep the player optimistic and boost their morale, complimenting them as much as possible when things go right.
Trust
As a caddy, players will ask you for advice when they don’t know what to do and, sometimes, you will give recommendations based on their flaws. To build the confidence to hear and say these things, it requires a lot of trust, especially considering they are the only person they speak to during some tense moments on the greens.
For this reason, it is easy to find a professional golf player having dinner and some good laughs with their caddy. After a short time, you’ll build a solid bond that will help both to give your best on the course. For example, when Tiger Woods stopped playing, he suggested to Joe LaCava to take someone else’s bag and get back to the game. The answer of the caddy was unanimous: “No, no, I’m committed to you. I’m committed to your return and you playing golf again”. Find yourself someone that tells you those things.
The bag
Carrying the bag and keeping the gear in optimal conditions might be a small portion of the work and may be less exciting. However, still, it must be done correctly, so the golfer can focus on the game. Make sure you carry a towel and clean the clubs after each shot and give them a deep clean before the game.
Being a caddy requires many different skills, from physical to mental, and mastering these tasks take time and hard work. You can start by joining the Professional Caddies Association (PCA) and get some official training from their apprenticeship programmes. Also, you can check the golf courses around your area and ask for caddying opportunities. But the best advice we can give you is to talk to other caddies and ask them for information or go for some drinks!
Keep updated: Top 5 golf magazines
The coronavirus outbreak has already changed many things in our daily lives and the golf industry hasn’t been exempt from the situation. Golf tournaments have been cancelled and many golf courses are closed.
However, when everything settles, there will be plenty of time to prove yourself on the course, go to the 19th hole with your mates and enjoy a great golf break abroad. But for now, the best place you can be is at home, and still, there are so many things golf-related you can do!
For example, you can read tons of articles, watch videos and listen to podcasts, so the next time you meet the lads at the club, you’ll be up to date on your golf knowledge. You can start with these 5 digital and printed magazines that will make you feel the excitement of a golf game from the sofa.
Golf Magazine
Suitable for golfers at all skill levels, Golf Magazine is one of the most-read magazines in the industry. On their cover, we’ve seen Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Michelle Wie and Tiger Woods, amongst other amazing golfers. They publish detailed articles about the latest gear and equipment in golf, interviews of your favourite professional golf players, tour coverages, hot news, and more! But probably the best part is the special section, a featured instruction from the TOP American teachers.
On their website, you can also find the latest news in the golf industry, photos, hours of exciting videos and podcasts for free. Also, you can have the online and printed version for $30 a year and read your favourites articles whenever you want.
Established in 1950, Golf Digest is the most popular magazine in the golf industry. On their social media platforms, they gather almost 2 million fans that enjoy their fantastic content daily. In Golf Digest they write about the latest news in golf, keep you updated with the newest gear in the market and analyse the professional golfer’s games. Also, they share hotlists of everything in the industry and, our favourite, detailed tips and guides to be successful on the green.
We definitely suggest you join the Golf Digest’s community on social media, so you can keep updated on what’s going on in the industry. Also, if a daily post on Facebook is not enough for you, visit their website and read amazing articles, hear full podcasts and watch beautiful videos. To receive the printed issue, you can subscribe to the magazine for only $15 a year and also get the digital version for your tablet or phone.
Hands up if you'd hit a tree... 🙋♂️ (🎥: @bryanbrosgolf)
Founded in 1911, Golf Monthly is known as the world’s oldest golf magazine. Since the beginning, they’ve been keeping their readers updated with the successful careers of their favourite golf players, discovering the latest gear and equipment, and any other news related to this brilliant game. Over a century later, they are still a reference in the golf industry, sharing seasonal features, including topics such as how to improve your swing or how to deal with blustering winds or changes in terrain.
You can read Golf Monthly online or have a printed copy. For the online magazine, you can download the app on the Apple Store or Google Play. On the other hand, to enjoy the high quality of the printed version, you can subscribe to the magazine for £48.49 a year. Also, you can follow the latest golf updates or hear their podcast on their website.
Tiger Woods was among the celebrities to weigh in with a calming reminder in an uncertain time.
We know, waiting a month to receive your next golf issue and read the latest news can be a long time. That’s why Golfweek slips a digital publication into your inbox every seven days! So you can read the core news in golf, updates of your favourite tournaments, business and golf lifestyle. They take golf seriously and apply high standards of journalism in their articles, following their motto of “enhance the enjoyment and understanding of golf”.
Golfweek website is regularly updated, but you might prefer to hold the magazine in your hands and curate a good collection of golf publications. Each to their own! You can have 11 printed issues per year delivered to your house for $74.95, plus the digital version to read on your electronic devices and weekly digital editions in your email.
A post shared by Women & Golf (@womenandgolfmagazine) on
Women & Golf
Established in 1991, Women & Golf is a magazine for any player. From beginners to experienced, the aim of the magazine is “to help women golfers everywhere get the most out of the game they love”. Amongst their articles, you can read the inspiring stories of female golfers, tips and guides to improve your stroke and discover some of the most luxurious golf resorts around the world.
Women & golf also can be read online or on paper. You can subscribe to the digital edition from £2.17 per issue and read it on your tablet or phone at anytime you want. Also, you can have it delivered every month to your house for £17 a year. Their web page and social media are also worth checking out regularly to keep updated with the core news of the industry.
Top-ranked female golfers on the LPGA
In 2018, the National Golf Foundation (NGF) showed that only 24% of the golf players on the course were female, and since then, we’ve seen the golf industry taking steps towards inclusivity. They’ve developed campaigns and initiatives to invite women to the courses, such as the actions taken in Northern Ireland, where they are making easier the membership for women at the golf clubs or giving dedicated tuition for women and girls, amongst other brilliant ideas.
Still, the gap between genders is immense and affects the daily life of the women in golf, from ranking the players by their looks to prize money disparity. It’s clear that more needs to be done at a grassroots level to encourage female participation in the sport and develop inclusivity.
At Golf Drives, we want everyone to challenge themselves on the courses while they have a good laugh with their friends. For International Women’s Day, we’ve made a list of the 10 of the top golfers rocking the LPGA Tour.
Jin Young Ko
South Korean golfer Jin Young Ko, who recently broke Tiger Woods’ record, leads the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking. Ko is the only known person on the planet to have gone more consecutive holes in a professional tournament play without making a bogey, doing 114 holes while Woods did 110.
During her career as a professional golfer, she has earned almost $4million and collected several major awards for her shelves. At 24, she is an 11-times winner of the LPGA of Korea Tour, 6-times winner if the LPGA Tour, second at the 2015 Ricoh Women’s British Open, winner of the 2017 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship and has been named LPGA Rookie of the year in 2018.
Nelly Korda is the runner-up in the list, which doesn’t surprise us. The American golfer has already won the LPGA Tour three times, the Australian Open and the Solheim Cup at only 21, so we can look forward to seeing plenty more Korda scissor kicks in the future.
After joining the LPGA tour in 2017 as a rookie, the self-taught South Korean golf player is a regular in the top three LPGA rankings. She has already won two LPGA, one US Women’s Open Golf Championship and a Women’s PGA Championship, generating winnings of more than $5million.
Kang has been part of the LPGA Tour for almost nine years and has been the winner three times, with her first win coming in 2017. Kang has also won the US Women’s Amateur two times.
As an amateur golfer, Hataoka won the Japan Women’s Open Golf Championship, part of the LPGA Japan Tour, becoming the youngest player and first amateur to win a JLPGA major. After the victory, she became a professional golfer and her current earnings are $2.7million.
After 15 professional victories, the career earnings of Sei Young Kim stand at $8.7 million. The South Korean golfer has won the Korea LPGA 10 times, the LPGA Tour 5 times, and became Rookie of the Year in 2015.
At only 18, she won her first major, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, becoming the event’s youngest winner. With nine LPGA wins as of June 2019, Henderson has the most victories of any professional golfer on major tours in Canadian history.
The Australian golf player had a successful start to her career. At only 13 years old, she became the youngest winner of the WA Amateur Open. Since then, she has gathered prizes such as five LPGA Tour, one Ladies European Tour and two ALPG Tour.
At 15, Lexi Thompson turned professional and a year later she won an LPGA tournament, becoming the youngest person ever to win one. The American golfer has won a total of 11 LPGA Tour, one Ladies European Tour and one Japan LPGA Tour.
When she started the Korean LPGA Tour for the first time, there were already other five Jeongeun Lee, so she began to be called “Jeongeun Lee6”. She has won a total of 6 Korean LPGA Tour, one LPGA Tour and she’s working her way towards winning this one too!
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