Most golfers who own a launch monitor can tell you, after the fact, whether they've hit a draw or a fade. The path number went in-to-out, the face was closed to the path, the ball moved right-to-left. They've got the diagnostic side
Michael Stewart, ranked 979th in the world, shares the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship's Round 1 lead at seven under with Jack Buchanan after a bogey-free 65 at Carnoustie.
High-spin wedge with multiple grinds and data to support the price
The Verdict The SKLZ Pro Alignment Rods are three fiberglass rods, 48 inches (122cm) each, built around a nine-ring system that turns "am I aimed right" into something you can actually measure instead of eyeball. Golf Sidekick ranks the set first in its alignment-stick roundup and
Independent verdicts on the gear that matters, built from manufacturer data and the weight of published testing.
Plain-English explainers on technique, equipment, and the numbers behind a better game.
Buying decisions made simple, with clear picks for every budget and level of play.
Step-by-step drills and fixes you can take straight to the range or the course.
The Verdict The SKLZ Pro Alignment Rods are three fiberglass rods, 48 inches (122cm) each, built around a nine-ring system that turns "am I aimed right" into something you can actually measure instead of eyeball. Golf Sidekick ranks the set first in its alignment-stick roundup and
Eight Open Championships, three shaped by the Barry Burn, and a closing stretch that punishes indecision more than bad swings: what a Carnoustie round actually costs and who it's really for.
Donald Ross's turtleback greens, a Coore-and-Crenshaw restoration, and the real cost of playing a course the USGA has locked in as a rotating U.S. Open host through 2047.
Pebble Beach and St Andrews are bucket-list courses most golfers will never book. TPC Sawgrass's Stadium Course is the rare exception: the same tournament fame, and a tee sheet a regular golfer can actually get on.
A hybrid that mishit forgiveness built for the golfer who dreads a long iron, not the one chasing extra workability.
Pebble Beach Golf Links doesn't need another postcard write-up. It needs an honest answer to one question: does $695 for one round make sense, against a once-in-a-lifetime trip or a week of golf you could buy instead?
Data-backed reviews and advice that works. No brand spin.
Golfers argue about this one more than almost any other fitness question in the game, usually without any numbers on the table. The honest answer sits between the two camps: walking burns meaningfully more energy and racks up far more steps than riding, but the case that it automatically lowers
A diagnose, prioritize, periodize system built for the off-season, not a single session at the range.
A breakdown of golf's five most common injuries, lower back, elbow, shoulder, wrist, and hip/knee, and the free prevention work that beats any recovery gadget.
Blade, players-cavity, or game-improvement: the mechanism behind each iron design, the real tradeoffs, and the myth about ball-striking no iron head can fix.
A home golf simulator is one of the few golf gifts big enough to change how someone plays the game year-round, and one of the few expensive enough to turn into regret if it's bought on impulse. With Father's Day in Australia landing September 6
Cold air costs distance, wet turf changes contact, and daylight runs out fast. Here's the club, gear, and rules-of-golf math to keep fall rounds scoring.
Buying golf gear for someone else is a specific kind of guesswork: wrong glove size, wrong ball for his swing speed, a gadget he'll never plug in. If the deadline is this Sunday, or any other day you need a gift that actually gets used, these ten picks are grouped by golfer, not just by price.
Building a 14-club setup that fits your game, not a number you feel obligated to hit.
A no-gym, no-gear strength routine that leads with anti-rotation stability, then hip/glute and rotational power, so any golfer can build swing consistency and speed at home.
Heat adds real distance and firm turf decouples carry from total distance, plus how to adjust club selection, short-game shot choice, and heat-safety habits for summer rounds.
A launch monitor is a device that measures the physics of your golf swing and ball flight, including club head speed, ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, and carry distance. It gives you accurate, objective data about your game instead of estimates.
No, but having one makes your practice more efficient. Without data, you are guessing whether a swing change is working. With a launch monitor, you can see exactly what changed and whether it moved in the right direction.
James Whitfield synthesizes published data from independent testing labs (MyGolfSpy robot testing, Golf Digest equipment labs), verified club fitter and instructor assessments, and long-term ownership reports. He does not run his own launch monitor sessions. Every performance claim is attributed to a named source with a date.
Most putter advice assumes a launch monitor and an hour with a fitter. This guide doesn't. It's built for golfers who want a putter that matches their stroke and their budget, using two checks anyone can run at home, then four picks that cover the shapes
Read moreFive current winter and thermal golf gloves compared on warmth, grip, and fit as a pair, so you know which one actually keeps hands functional in the cold.
Read moreFive 2026 drivers built to bail out mishits rather than reward a perfect strike, ranked from budget-friendly to premium so golfers at every stage of the forgiveness spectrum have a real option.
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