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Equipment For Golf Fitness: The 5 Best and 5 Worst

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This is a light-hearted look at the five best and five worst pieces of gym/fitness equipment that you can use for your golf fitness routine.

I have personally used, experimented with, been given the sales spiel and watched the dodgy YouTube ads for every piece of equipment on these two lists.

How did the respective pieces of equipment qualify for their placing on the respective good and bad categories? They were put through an extremely subjective and moderately rigorous scrutiny, which involved absolutely no scientific process whatsoever. It comes from gut feeling, player feedback, listening to what other trainers have to say and of course, good old common sense. I’ve looked past the pseudo-science, ignored the preposterous claims and simply cast my judgment as a golf fitness professional.

Although there was categorically no science and very few facts that went into the rating of the equipment, I did come up with a fun scoring system:

Each piece of equipment is given a score out of 5 in the following categories, producing a total score out of 35:

  • Effectiveness
  • Versatility
  • Portability
  • Application to golf posture and swing
  • Cost
  • Injury risk
  • Chance of messing with swing mechanics

*The higher the number for each category, the better

The five lowest-scoring pieces of equipment were relegated to the “Worst Group” and the five best, promoted to the “Best Group.” I have included the score sheet at the end of the article.

To take a closer look at some of the items detailed, check out Golf Fit Pro.

So here they are, presented in order:

The Worst: No. 5 — Weighted Clubs

  • Score: 21 out of 35

weighted_golf_club

Rapidly going out of fashion in golf and in baseball, the donuts give false feeling of load during the swing and has been shown to slow non-weighted swing speed while encouraging off-center hits. If you want to move the club faster, why practice moving a weighted version more slowly using the same action?

The Best: No. 5 — Dumbells/Kettlebells

  • Score: 26 out of 35

KBTimeless pieces of gym equipment that produce genuine gains in strength and power. These can be used in countless different ways with a wide variety of load. There’s a reason they have been around for for years and yet still remain popular.

The Worst: No. 4 — Bosu Ball

  • Score: 20 out of 35

dustin bosu

Standing on the bosu ball will not magically “turn your core on” and help you with your golf swing. It’s more likely to send your ankle stabilizers into overdrive, rather than the important core and hip stabilizers.

The Best: No. 4 — Soft Sand

  • Score: 27 out of 35

dunes

Running, jumping and crawling in multiple directions in soft sand is highly effective for a number of reasons. Sand requires you to stabilize and balance with every step you take. But because sand has no reactive force, we can’t rely on the ankle and wrist stabilizers to do the job — now it’s up to our core, hamstrings, butt and shoulders to pick up the slack. It also smashes your lungs for cardio fitness and produces almost zero muscle soreness the next day.

The Worst: No. 3 — Somax Swing Trainer

  • Score: 13 out of 35

Somax

I can see what they were trying to do here: train the hips to move quicker and you’ll swing the golf club faster. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Fast club head speed requires the kinematic sequence of the golf swing to work in harmony. Simply training the hips to move as fast as possible and hoping the rest of the body will hold on is fundamentally flawed. Also I see a high potential injury risk while using this piece of kit. Lower backs look out!

The Best: No. 3 — Suspension Trainer

  • Score: 30 out of 35

 

Letiesha-suspension-straps

Young and old, fit and unfit, elite or amateur, the suspension trainer offers something for everybody with its ability to dramatically alter the load and difficulty of an exercise with simple body positioning. Core integration is needed in order to perform the exercises, plus hip and shoulder girdle stability are challenged and trained with the unstable nature of the straps. It’s portable, durable and fun to use.

The Worst: No. 2 — Pec Dec Machine

  • Score: 12 out of 35

Pec Deck

Tight pecs equals rounded and forward shoulders, which leads to impaired arm/body connection in the swing and ultimately funky swing actions to manipulate the club face. In terms of tightening pecs and rounding shoulders, the pec dec is king and, in my opinion, should be given a wide berth and left well alone.

The Best: No. 2 — Power Bands

  • Score: 32 out of 35

pallof press 2

These beauties have much of the same positive characteristic as the Suspension Trainer, that is: portable, durable, versatile, scalable to different levels of people and great for training with a partner.

Two features see them ranked higher though:

  1. The resistance increases the further you move into a resisted position. This means the exercise gets harder as you get to the least stable point of the movement, pure gold for stabilizer muscles.
  2. They can be used to simultaneously support and encourage muscles and joints into positions that they wouldn’t otherwise be capable of. Leveraged properly, this means increased mobility in the key golf areas of the shoulder, mid/upper back and hips.

The Worst: No. 1 — Home Ab Machine

  • Score: 11 out of 35

abcircle6

 

Even setting aside the cringeworthy TV ads selling you lies, this equipment is the worst! The last thing a seated and sedentary society needs to do is be hunched over and crunncing ourselves into oblivion. The one that goes straight up and down is bad, it will shorten your already chronically tight abs and hip flexors and pull you into a more hunched posture.

The side-to-side version is the absolute pits for golfers. In a sport where the majority of people already have too much lateral flexion (side bend) in their swings, the last thing we want to be doing is repeating this action over-and-over again. It trains poor movement patterns, puts you at significant risk of low back injury and no, sorry, it won’t make your love handles melt away like butter.

The Best: No. 1 — Postural Training Aids

  • Score: 33 out of 35

 

IMG_6160 sml and cropped

Posture, Posture, Posture. I talk about it a lot, but it’s hard to stress how strongly I feel about training posture and dynamic rotation movement patterns. Without proper set up, it’s almost impossible to move well during your golf swing. Like anything, good set up posture is trained, not just assumed. These pieces of equipment have been designed for this exact purpose. They can be used anywhere and by anyone to directly assist the most important part of their golf swing — posture and quality rotation.

Conclusion

So there we have it. I’m sorry if I criticized your favorite piece of gear and caused you to question its inclusion in your gym routine. Hopefully it will encourage you to relegate it to the garage and pick up something useful instead!

On the flipside, I’m happy if I validated what you already use or even inspired you to add a couple of useful items to your golf fitness equipment kit.

Check out Golf Fit Pro to take a closer look at some of the items detailed above.

Best and Worst Equipment Scoring Sheet

Screen Shot 2015-03-19 at 5.33.41 pm

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Nick Randall is a Strength and Conditioning Coach, Presenter and Rehab Expert contracted by PGA Tour Players, Division 1 colleges and national teams to deliver golf fitness services. Via his Golf Fit Pro website, app, articles and online training services, Nick offers the opportunity to the golfing world to access his unique knowledge and service offerings. www.golffitpro.net

35 Comments

35 Comments

  1. Pingback: Equipment For Golf Fitness: The 5 Best and 5 Worst | GolfWRX | 40100sports

  2. Nathan

    Apr 2, 2015 at 8:32 am

    Whether or not everyone agrees with this list, it is nice to see fitness being discussed on wrx. Nick makes some good suggestions. Obviously in a short article, he cannot go into full detail about each item, but his thoughts are mostly spot-on. Nice job, Nick!

    • Nick Randall

      Apr 3, 2015 at 1:11 am

      Cheers Nathan!

      I was always going to rub a few people up the wrong way with Bosu Ball and Weighted Club. But if we all thought the same way, the world would be a boring place!

  3. Mbwa Kali Sana

    Apr 1, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    A very biaised assesment of training aids :the best are not even mentioned ,such as the OVERSPEED /UNDERSPEED clubs :everybody should know that to train effectively the “Fast Twitch muscle fibers ” you have to “trick” them by swinging a club sllghtly more heavy ,then a club slightly less heavy ,at random(See the SUPERSPEED Sticks by MIKE NAPOLEON) .Speed training is essential ,don’t move slowly ,short bursts of the “SWING CHAIN “or the “TORSO BURNER”give you speed ,versatilty and strength .The best rubber bands are the “ULTIMATE SWING TRAINER “rubber tubes by MIKE BAUMANN.See also the” SPEED BALL or” XLR8R” “by JOHN NOVOSEL and his famous “TOUR TEMPO ” …Isometric exercises develops strength ,no need to utilize heavy weights:just get a “BULLWORKER” and you’ll see your streghth grow almost magically .This training device is 60 years old ….

    • Nick Randall

      Apr 1, 2015 at 7:16 pm

      Hi Mbwa, It was really more of an article on golf FITNESS equipment, not training aids. I don’t claim to have expertise in the training aids area, hence why I missed some of your favourites.

      Cheers,

      Nick

  4. Scott

    Apr 1, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    I am not one to normally comment on exercise equipment. Unless something is dangerous to use, what ever gets you motivated to work out is great. However, I just looked at the posture belt you tube training video and it looks ridiculous. It may work, but most of the other stuff mentioned looks like it would be more effective.
    Most people do not truly understand what good posture is. Stand up straight and hold in your stomach, as if you are getting ready to be punched in the gut. Keep breathing. hold that for as long as you can and work your way up in the amount of time you can hold it. You can even do it in a chair. That is proper posture and the exercise works the inner layers of or abdominal muscles. That exercise has made a HUGE difference in my posture.

    • Nick Randall

      Apr 1, 2015 at 7:18 pm

      Hi Scott,

      Nice suggestions and definitely along the right track. What your suggesting sounds like a little too much bracing with superficial muscles (obliques especially) however. This is likely to inhibit dynamic rotation, look out for an upcoming article from me on how to effectively train golf posture

      Cheers

      Nick

  5. Steven Thomas

    Apr 1, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    I have swung a weighted club for years. The current club I have weighs 5 pounds. I swing this several times a day and right before I go play. I saw a Golf Channel show when they were talking to Gary Player. He says he swings a weighted club everyday, as do many pros.

    • Nick Randall

      Apr 1, 2015 at 7:20 pm

      Hi Steven,

      There are lots of people who support using a weighted club, I’m just one of them. When considering the research plus feedback form players and coaches, it just doesn’t seem like the right way to go.

      cheers

      Nick

  6. zoots

    Mar 31, 2015 at 10:02 pm

    I’m thinking of buying a swing fan. Would this be the same as a weighted club, therefore a no-no?

    • Jack

      Apr 1, 2015 at 2:33 am

      I’ve had a swing fan before. If you want to increase your swing speed, I think it’s legit to help you make the jump. But you needs to consistently keep swinging at that speed. Most of the time after I use it, I think it messes up my swing a tempo a lot.

    • Nick Randall

      Apr 1, 2015 at 7:22 pm

      Hi Zoots,

      I would say that it depends on what you use it for. Training swing feels from top of backswing to impact – go for it. Trying to generate more clubhead speed – maybe not.

      Cheers

      Nick

      • zoots

        Apr 2, 2015 at 12:27 am

        Thanks Nick. I’ll take that into consideration

    • Tony Lynam

      Apr 21, 2015 at 8:35 am

      I have used a swing fan for over 15 years and it has to be one of the best training aids for increasing and maintaining swing speed. I am 52 years old, 4 hcp and clock out at a 110-115 swing speed. I have also utilized the Momentus weighted club during that 15 years and recently added an Orange Whip swing trainer for tempo work in the last year.

      • David

        Apr 24, 2015 at 3:51 pm

        Great choices! The orange whip is a huge omission regarding the article.

  7. luckbox

    Mar 31, 2015 at 8:22 pm

    I am confused how rounded shoulders and tight pecs would lead to a improper swing. Sure you do not want to look like Ronnie Coleman or Jay Cutler (Mr Olympia not Mr. Choke-Artist) but tight pecs and strong shoulders are prevalent in two of the most dominant golfers 2000 Tiger and current Rory.

    • Nick Randall

      Apr 1, 2015 at 7:24 pm

      Hi Luckbox,

      Be careful not to confuse TIGHT with STRONG. You can be still be strong and have pecs that are not adaptively shortened and impeding shoulder function. By all means, train your chest and shoulders, just use dumbbells, barbells and push up variations instead of the pec dec.

      Hope this helps

      Nick

  8. Steve

    Mar 31, 2015 at 4:43 pm

    If that was how you used the Bosu Ball then I would agree. Try turning it over and sitting on it and then do your ab workout or doing planks/side planks with your feet on it or even harder with your elbows on it. lie on it to do lower back extensions. Also if you do squats with both of your feet on it your quads, glutes and hip stabilizers all come into play without as much pressure on your ankles. Do pushups with your hands holding the sides. It only takes up a small space and used correctly in combination with suspension training it’s a great workout.

  9. Erik

    Mar 31, 2015 at 4:42 pm

    Power bands should be on the worst end and kettlebells should be best no 1. You obviously haven’t studied the TGU, goblet squat, and swing enough.

    • Regis

      Apr 1, 2015 at 11:03 am

      I personally disagree, at least to some extent. I’m no fitness buff but I do try to work out and a lot of it is golf related. When healthy I think kettle bells are the best but there is a learning curve. I have also had to rehab following a number of serious surgeries and for a person with limited space (hospital room, apartment) or one who travels nothing beats a quality set of power bands. If I had to pick one exercise aid for overall versatility, portability, flexibility and longevity (we all get older) it would be power bands but you have to purchase a quality set

      • James

        Apr 1, 2015 at 11:31 am

        Regis,

        What brand/set of power bands would you recommend?
        Thanks

        • Regis

          Apr 2, 2015 at 10:38 pm

          I like SPRI Xrtubes because they have good handles and door attachments but there are a lot of good options out there. Just look for quality door attachments and good handles. There are a lot of fitness sites you could explore

  10. Jeremy

    Mar 31, 2015 at 4:38 pm

    After rehabbing from knee surgery I’ve had good results with the bosu ball. It’s been great for my balance, and when you do more than just stand on it it can provide a great core workout. Posture and form are important though. I think they’re overpriced so I wouldn’t buy one for my home, but I always use it at the gym.

  11. MJ

    Mar 31, 2015 at 4:33 pm

    I would think any balance exercise would be good for golf. Where are you teaching crossfit?
    Good article I like the posture drills

  12. 4pillars

    Mar 31, 2015 at 2:43 pm

    I tried putting the Kettlebell at the end of my golf club but they just fell off.

    The neighbour downstairs was not too pleased.

  13. TR1PTIK

    Mar 31, 2015 at 11:35 am

    I understand the concern for the pec dec for most, but when followed with a proper back workout and ample stretching, I don’t see the issue. The main issue I see with working the pectoral muscles is that they could impede the swing if you bulk up too much.

    • Nolanski

      Mar 31, 2015 at 11:48 am

      When I was big into [smart & safe]weight training, I always deemed chest flys as too dangerous. They had rotator cuff injury written all over it and there were just many more chest exercises that were safer and more effective. To each his own though.

      • TR1PTIK

        Mar 31, 2015 at 1:10 pm

        Rotator cuff injury makes sense for that exercise. I still do them though. I just don’t use a ton of weight and I stop when something doesn’t feel right. As long as people work at their own pace, and are smart enough to know the difference between growing pains and injury pains then do what you want. As far as Americans are concerned – almost any exercise is good exercise.

  14. Nolanski

    Mar 31, 2015 at 10:55 am

    You arent kidding about the ankle stabilizers on the BOSU ball! Luckily my ankles are like oak trees or I’d be afraid of them snapping. I must not be doing that power band pose in the picture because I’ve done that one and it felt like it didnt do anything for me. I’ll try it again with stronger bands I guess.

  15. Ronald Montesano

    Mar 31, 2015 at 10:35 am

    Nick…I hope there is a follow-up on postural training aids, so we can understand why and how they work. Thanks, mate.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Valspar Championship betting preview: Elite ballstrikers to thrive at Copperhead

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The PGA TOUR will stay in Florida this week for the 2024 Valspar Championship.

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort is a par 71 measuring 7,340 yards and features Bermudagrass greens overseeded with POA. Infamous for its difficulty, the track will be a tough test for golfers as trouble lurks all over the place. Holes 16, 17 and 18 — also known as the “Snake Pit” — make up one of the toughest three-hole stretches in golf and should lead to a captivating finish on Sunday.

The field is comprised of 156 golfers teeing it up. The field this week is solid and is a major improvement over last year’s field that felt the impact of players skipping due to a handful of “signature events” in a short span of time. 

Past Winners at Valspar Championship

  • 2023: Taylor Moore (-10)
  • 2022: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2021: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2019: Paul Casey (-8)
  • 2018: Paul Casey (-10)
  • 2017: Adam Hadwin (-14)
  • 2016: Charl Schwartzel (-7)
  • 2015: Jordan Spieth (-10)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Copperhead

1. Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach grades out as the most important statistic once again this week. Copperhead really can’t be overpowered and is a second-shot golf course.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds (per round)

  1. Tony Finau (+.90)
  2. Nick Taylor (+.81)
  3. Justin Thomas (+.77)
  4. Greyson Sigg (+.69)
  5. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+.67)

2. Good Drive %

The long hitters can be a bit limited here due to the tree-lined fairways and penal rough. Playing from the fairways will be important, but laying back too far will cause some difficult approaches with firm greens that may not hold shots from long irons.

Golfers who have a good balance of distance and accuracy have the best chance this week.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+91.3%) 
  2. Zach Johnson (+91.1%)
  3. Sam Ryder (+90.5%)
  4. Ryan Moore (+90.4%)
  5. Aaron Rai (+89.7%)

3. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking

Adding ball-striking puts even more of a premium on tee-to-green prowess in the statistical model this week. Golfers who rank highly in ball-striking are in total control of the golf ball which is exceedingly important at Copperhead.

SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds:

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1.32)
  2. Keith Mitchell (+1.29)
  3. Tony Finau (+1.24)
  4. Cameron Young (+1.17) 
  5. Doug Ghim (+.95)

4. Bogey Avoidance

With the conditions likely to be difficult, avoiding bogeys will be crucial this week. In a challenging event like the Valspar, oftentimes the golfer who is best at avoiding mistakes ends up on top.

Gritty golfers who can grind out difficult pars have a much better chance in an event like this than a low-scoring birdie-fest.

Bogey Avoidance Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+9.0)
  2. Xander Schauffele (+9.3)
  3. Austin Cook (+9.7) 
  4. Chesson Hadley (+10.0)
  5. Greyson Sigg (+10.2)

5. Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions

Conditions will be tough this week at Copperhead. I am looking for golfers who can rise to the occasion if the course plays as difficult as it has in the past.

Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1,71) 
  2. Min Woo Lee (+1.39)
  3. Cameron Young (+1.27)
  4. Jordan Spieth (+1.08)
  5. Justin Suh (+.94)

6. Course History

That statistic will tell us which players have played well at Copperhead in the past.

Course History Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Patrick Cantlay (+3.75) 
  2. Sam Burns (+2.49)
  3. Davis Riley (+2.33)
  4. Matt NeSmith (+2.22)
  5. Jordan Spieth (+2.04)

The Valspar Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), Good Drive % (15%), SG: BS (20%), Bogeys Avoided (13%), Course History (13%) Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions (12%).

  1. Xander Schauffele
  2. Doug Ghim
  3. Victor Perez
  4. Greyson Sigg
  5. Ryan Moore
  6. Tony Finau
  7. Justin Thomas
  8. Sam Ryder
  9. Sam Burns
  10. Lucas Glover

2024 Valspar Championship Picks

Justin Thomas +1400 (DraftKings)

Justin Thomas will be disappointed with his finish at last week’s PLAYERS Championship, as the past champion missed the cut despite being in some decent form heading into the event. Despite the missed cut, JT hit the ball really well. In his two rounds, the two-time major champion led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach per round.

Thomas has been up and down this season. He’s missed the cut in two “signature events” but also has finishes of T12 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, T12 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, T6 at the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am and T3 at the American Express. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking in the field.

Thomas loves Copperhead. In his last three tries at the course, he’s finished T13, T3 and T10. Thomas would have loved to get a win at a big event early in the season, but avoidable mistakes and a balky putter have cost him dearly. I believe a trip to a course he loves in a field he should be able to capitalize on is the right recipe for JT to right the ship.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000 (FanDuel)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is playing spectacular golf in the 2024 season. He finished 2nd at the American Express, T20 at Pebble Beach and T24 at the Genesis Invitational before finishing T13 at last week’s PLAYERS Championship.

In his past 24 rounds, the South African ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 26th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. Bezuidenhout managed to work his way around TPC Sawgrass last week with minimal damage. He only made five bogeys in the entire week, which is a great sign heading into a difficult Copperhead this week.

Bezuidenhout is winless in his PGA Tour career, but certainly has the talent to win on Tour. His recent iron play tells me that this week could be a breakthrough for the 35-year-old who has eyes on the President’s Cup.

Doug Ghim +8000 (FanDuel)

Doug Ghim has finished in the top-16 of his past five starts. Most recently, Ghim finished T16 at The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field.

In his past 24 rounds, Ghim ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 5th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. In terms of his fit for Copperhead, the 27-year-old ranks 12th in Bogey Avoidance and 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions, making him a great fit for the course.

Ghim has yet to win on Tour, but at one point he was the top ranked Amateur golfer in the world and played in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup and 2017 Walker Cup. He then won the Ben Hogan award for the best male college golfer in 2018. He certainly has the talent, and there are signals aplenty that his talent in ready to take him to the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.

Sepp Straka +8000 (BetRivers)

Sepp Straka is a player who’s shown he has the type of game that can translate to a difficult Florida golf course. The former Presidents Cup participant won the 2022 Honda Classic in tough conditions and should thrive with a similar test at Copperhead.

It’s been a slow 2024 for Straka, but his performance last week at the PLAYERS Championship surely provides some optimism. He gained 5.4 strokes on approach as well as 1.88 strokes off the tee. The tee-to-green game Straka showed on a course with plenty of danger demonstrates that he can stay in control of his golf ball this week.

It’s possible that the strong performance last week was an outlier, but I’m willing to bet on a proven winner in a weaker field at a great number.

Victor Perez +12000 (FanDuel)

Victor Perez is no stranger to success in professional golf. The Frenchman has three DP World Tour wins including a Rolex Series event. He won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, as well as the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which are some big events.

Perez earned his PGA Tour card this season and enters the week playing some fantastic golf. He finished in a tie for 16th in Florida at the Cognizant Classic and then tied for third in his most recent start at the Puerto Rico Open.

In his past 24 rounds in the field, Perez ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 1oth in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, 6th in Good Drive % and 15th in Bogey Avoidance.

Perez comes in as a perfect fit for Copperhead and offers serious value at triple-digit odds.

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Opinion & Analysis

Myrtle Beach, Explored: February in South Carolina

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As I gain in experience and age, and familiarity breeds neither contempt nor disdain, I understand why people return to a place. A destination like Myrtle Beach offers a sizable supply and diversity of restaurants, entertainment venues, and shops that are predicated on the tenets of the service industry. Greet your customers with a smile and a kind word, and they will find comfort and assurance. Provide them with a memorable experience and they will suggest your place of business to others.

My first tour of Myrtle Beach took place in the mid-1980s, and consisted of one course: Gator Hole. I don’t remember much from that day, and since Gator Hole closed a decade later, I cannot revisit it to recollect what I’d lost. Since then, I’ve come to the Grand Strand a few times, and been fortunate to never place a course more than once. I’ve seen the Strantz courses to the south and dipped my toe in the North Carolina courses of Calabash. I’ve been to many in the middle, including Dunes, Pine Lakes, Grande Dunes among them.

2024 brought a quartet of new courses, including two at the Barefoot Resort. I’d heard about the North Myrtle Beach four-pack of courses that highlight the Barefoot property, including layouts from Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Davis Love III, and Greg Norman. I had the opportunity to play and shoot the Dye and Fazio tracks, which means that I’ll have to return to see the other two. Sandwiched between them were the TPC-Myrtle Beach course, also from Tom Fazio, and the Pawley’s Plantation trace, by the hand of Jack Nicklaus. I anticipated a bit of the heroic, and bit of the strategic, and plenty of eye candy. None of those architects would ever be considered a minimalist, so there would be plenty of in-play and out-of-play bunkers and mounds to tantalize the senses.

My nephew arrived a few days early, to screen a few more courses. As a result, you the reader will have an extra quarter of mini-reviews, bringing the total of courses in this piece to eight. It was inconceivable that CJR would play four courses that I had never played nor photographed, but that was the case. His words appear at the end of this piece. We hope that you enjoy the tour.

Main Feature: Two Barefoots, a TPC, and Pawley’s Plantation

Barefoot Dye

What Paul “Pete” Dye brought back from his trips to the United Kingdom, hearkened back to what C.B. MacDonal did, some 65 years prior. There is a way of finding bunkers and fairways, and even green sites, that does not require major industrial work. The Dye course at Barefoot Resorts takes you on a journey over the rumpled terrain of distant places. If there’s one element missing, it’s the creased and turbulent fairways, so often found in England and Ireland. The one tenet of playing a Dye course, is to always aim away from temptation, from where your eyes draw you. Find the safe side of the target, and you’ll probably find your ball. It then stands that you will have a shot for your next attempt. Cut the corner, and you might have need to reload. The Barefoot course begins gently, in terms of distance, but challenges with visual deception. After two brief 4s and a 3, the real work begins. The course is exposed enough, to allow the coastal winds to dance along the fairways. Be ready to keep the ball low and take an extra club or two.

TPC-Myrtle Beach

If memory serves, TPCMB is my first trek around a TPC-branded course. It had all the trappings of a tour course, from the welcome, through the clubhouse, to the practice facilities and, of course, the course. TPC-Myrtle Beach is a Tom Fazio design, and if you never visit Augusta National, you’ll now have an idea of what it is like. You play Augusta’s 16th hole twice at TPCMB, and you enjoy it both times. Fazio really likes the pond-left, green-angle-around par three hole, and his two iterations of it are memorable.

You’ll also see those Augusta bunkers, the ones with the manicured edges that drop into a modestly-circular form. What distinguishes these sand pits is the manner in which they rise from the surrounding ground. They are unique in that they don’t resemble the geometric bunkering of a Seth Raynor, nor the organic pits found in origin courses. They are built, make no mistake, and recovery from them is manageable for all levels of bunker wizardry.

Barefoot Fazio

If you have the opportunity to play the two Tom Fazio courses back to back, you’ll notice a marked difference in styling. Let me digress for a moment, then circle back with an explanation. It was written that the NLE World Woods course designed by Fazio, Pine Barrens, was an homage to Pine Valley, the legendary, New Jersey club where Fazio is both a member and the architect on retainer. The Pine Barrens course was plowed under in 2022, so the homage no longer exists. At least, I didn’t think that it existed, until I played his Barefoot Resort course in North Myrtle Beach.

Pine Valley might be described as an aesthetic of scrub and sand. There are mighty, forced carries to travers, along with sempiternal, sandy lairs to avoid. Barefoot Fazio is quite similar. If you’re not faced with a forced carry, you’ll certainly contend with a fairway border or greenside necklace of sand. When you reach the 13th tee, you’ll face a drive into a fairway, and you might see a distant green, with a notable absence: flagstick. The 13th is the icing on the homage cake, a callout of the 8th hole at Pine Valley. Numero Ocho at the OG has two greens, side by side, and they change the manner in which the hole plays (so they say.) At Barefoot Fazio, the right-side green is a traditional approach, with an unimpeded run of fairway to putting surface. The left-side green (the one that I was fortunate to play) demands a pitch shot over a wasteland. It’s a fitting tribute for the rest of us to play.

Be certain to parrot the starter, Leon’s, advice, and play up a deck of tees. Barefoot Fazio offers five par-three holes, so the fours and fives play that much longer. Remember, too, that you are on vacation. Why not treat yourself to some birdie looks?

Pawley’s Plantation

The Jack Nicklaus course at Pawley’s Plantation emerged from a period of hibernation in 2024. The greens were torn up and their original contours were restored. Work was overseen by Troy Vincent, a member of the Nicklaus Architecture team. In addition, the putting corridors were reseeded with a hardier, dwarf bermuda that has experienced great success, all along the Grand Strand that is Myrtle Beach.

My visit allowed me to see the inward half first, and I understand why the resort wishes to conclude your day on those holes. The front nine of Pawley’s Plantation works its way through familiar, low country trees and wetlands. The back nine begins in similar fashion, then makes its way east, toward the marsh that separates mainland from Pawley’s Island. Recalling the powerful sun of that Wednesday morning, any round beginning on the second nine would face collateral damage from the warming star. Much better to hit holes 11 to close when the sun is higher in the sky.

The marshland holes (12 through 17) are spectacular in their raw, unprotected nature. The winds off the Atlantic are unrelenting and unforgiving, and the twin, par-three holes will remain in your memory banks for time’s march. In typical Golden Bear fashion, a majority of his putting targets are smallish in nature, reflecting his appreciation for accurate approach shots. Be sure to find the forgiving side of each green, and err to that portion. You’ll be grateful.

Bonus Coverage: Myrtlewood, Beechwood, Arrowhead, and King’s North

Arrowhead (Raymond Floyd and Tom Jackson)

A course built in the middle of a community, water threatens on most every hole. The Cypress 9 provides a few holes forcing a carried drive then challenge you with water surrounding the green. On Waterway, a drivable 2nd hole will tempt most, so make sure the group ahead has cleared the green.

Myrtlewood (Edmund Alt and Arthur Hills) and Beechwood (Gene Hamm)

A middle of the winter New Englander’s paradise. Wide open fairways, zero blind shots and light rough allow for shaking off the rust and plenty of forgiveness. A plethora of dog legs cause one to be cautious with every tee shot. Won’t break the bank nor the scorecard.

King’s North @ Myrtle Beach National (Arnold Palmer)

A signature Arnold Palmer course, waste areas, island greens and daring tee shots. Highlighted by the 4th hole Par 5 Gambler hole, if you can hit the smaller fairway on the left you are rewarded with a short approach to get to the green in 2. The back 9 is highlighted by an island green par 3 and a finisher with over 40 bunkers spread throughout. A challenge for any golfer.
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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Players Championship betting preview: Pete Dye specialists ready to pass tough TPC Sawgrass test

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The PGA Tour heads to TPC Sawgrass to play in one of the most prestigious and important events of the season: THE PLAYERS Championship. Often referred to as the fifth major, the importance of a PLAYERS victory to the legacy of a golfer can’t be overlooked.

TPC Sawgrass is a par-72 measuring 7,245 yards and featuring Bermudagrass greens. Golfers must be patient in attacking this Pete Dye course.

With trouble lurking at every turn, the strokes can add up quickly. With a par-5 16th that is a true risk-reward hole and the famous par-3 17th island green, the only safe bet at TPC Sawgrass is a bet on an exciting finish.

THE PLAYERS Championship field is often referred to as the strongest field of the year — and with good reason. There are 144 in the field, including 43 of the world’s top 50 players in the OWGR. Tiger Woods will not be playing in the event.

THE PLAYERS is an exceptionally volatile event that has never seen a back-to-back winner.

Past Winners at TPC Sawgrass

  • 2023: Scottie Scheffler (-17)
  • 2022: Cameron Smith (-13)
  • 2021: Justin Thomas (-14)
  • 2019: Rory McIlroy (-16)
  • 2018: Webb Simpson (-18)
  • 2017: Si-Woo Kim (-10)
  • 2016: Jason Day (-15)
  • 2015: Rickie Fowler (-12)In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

5 Key Stats for TPC Sawgrass

Let’s take a look at five metrics key for TPC Sawgrass to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds.

1. Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach has historically been far and away the most important and predictive stat at THE PLAYERS Championship. With water everywhere, golfers can’t afford to be wild with their iron shots. Not only is it essential to avoid the water, but it will also be as important to go after pins and make birdies because scores can get relatively low.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Tom Hoge (+1.37) 
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+1.20)
  3. Tony Finau (+0.99)
  4. Jake Knapp (+0.83)
  5. Shane Lowry (+0.80)

2. Total Driving

This statistic is perfect for TPC Sawgrass. Historically, driving distance hasn’t been a major factor, but since the date switch to March, it’s a bit more significant. During this time of year, the ball won’t carry quite as far, and the runout is also shorter.

Driving accuracy is also crucial due to all of the trouble golfers can get into off of the tee. Therefore, players who are gaining on the field with Total Driving will put themselves in an ideal spot this week.

Total Driving Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Rory McIlroy (22)
  2. Akshay Bhatia (25)
  3. Keith Mitchell (25) 
  4. Adam Hadwin (34)
  5. Sam Burns (+39)

3. Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye Designs

TPC Sawgrass may be Pete Dye’s most famous design, and for good reason. The course features Dye’s typical shaved runoff areas and tricky green complexes.  Pete Dye specialists love TPC Sawgrass and should have a major advantage this week.

SG: Total (Pete Dye) per round over past 36 rounds:

  1. Patrick Cantlay (+2.02)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+1.90)
  3. Min Woo Lee (+1.77) 
  4. Sungjae Im (+1.72)
  5. Brian Harman (+1.62) 

4. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking

Prototypical ball-strikers have dominated TPC Sawgrass. With past winners like Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Webb Simpson, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, it’s evident that golfers must be striking it pure to contend at THE PLAYERS.

SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+2.02)
  2. Tony Finau (+1.51)
  3. Tom Hoge (+1.48)
  4. Keith Mitchell (+1.38)
  5. Will Zalatoris (+1.18)

5. Par 5 Average

Par-5 average is extremely important at TPC Sawgrass. With all four of the Par-5s under 575 yards, and three of them under 540 yards, a good amount of the scoring needs to come from these holes collectively.

Par 5 Average Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Scottie Schefler (+4.31)
  2. Erik Van Rooyen (+4.35)
  3. Doug Ghim (+4.34)
  4. Wyndham Clark (+4.34)
  5. Matt Fitzpatrick (+4.31)

6. Strokes Gained: Florida

We’ve used this statistic over the past few weeks, and I’d like to incorporate some players who do well in Florida into this week’s model as well. 

Strokes Gained: Florida over past 30 rounds:

  1. Scottie Schefler (+2.43)
  2. Erik Van Rooyen (+1.78)
  3. Doug Ghim (+1.78)
  4. Wyndham Clark (+1.73)
  5. Matt Fitzpatrick (+1.69)

7. Strokes Gained: Total on Courses with High Water Danger

With water everywhere at TPC Sawgrass, the blow-up potential is high. It can’t hurt to factor in some players who’ve avoided the “eject” button most often in the past. 

Strokes Gained: Total on Courses with High Water Danger over past 30 rounds:

  1. Scottie Schefler (+2.08)
  2. Rory McIlroy (+1.82)
  3. Tony Finau (+1.62)
  4. Patrick Cantlay (+1.51)
  5. Will Zalatoris (+1.49)

THE PLAYERS Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (25%), Total Driving (20%), SG: Total Pete Dye (14%), SG: Ball-striking (15%) SG: Par 5 (8%), SG: Florida (10%) and SG: High Water (8%).

  1. Scottie Scheffler 
  2. Shane Lowry 
  3. Tony Finau 
  4. Corey Conners
  5. Keith Mitchell
  6. Justin Thomas
  7. Will Zalatoris
  8. Xander Schauffele
  9. Cameron Young
  10. Doug Ghim
  11. Sam Burns 
  12. Chris Kirk
  13. Collin Morikawa
  14. Si Woo Kim
  15. Wyndham Clark

2024 THE PLAYERS Championship Picks

(All odds at the time of writing)

Patrick Cantlay +2500 (DraftKings):

Patrick Cantlay is winless since the 2022 BMW Championship but is undoubtedly one of the most talented players on the PGA Tour. Since the win at Wilmington Country Club, the 31-year-old has twelve top-10 finishes on Tour and is starting to round into form for the 2024 season.

Cantlay has done well in the most recent “signature” events this season, finishing 4th at Riviera for the Genesis Invitational and 12th at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The former Tour Championship winner resides in Jupiter, Florida and has played some good golf in the state, including finishing in a tie for 4th at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational. His history at TPC Sawgrass has been up and down, but his best career start at The PLAYERS came last year when he finished in a tie for 19th.

Cantlay absolutely loves Pete Dye designed courses and ranks 1st in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on Dye tracks in his past 36 rounds. In recent years, he’s been excellent at both the RBC Heritage and the Travelers Championship. TPC Sawgrass is a place where players will have to be dialed in with their irons and distance off the tee won’t be quite as important. In his past 24, rounds, Cantlay ranks in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach.

Despite being winless in recent years, I still believe Cantlay is capable of winning big tournaments. As one of the only United States players to bring their best game to Marco Simone for the Ryder Cup, I have conviction that the former top amateur in the world can deliver when stakes are high.

Will Zalatoris +3000 (FanDuel):

In order to win at TPC Sawgrass, players will need to be in total control of their golf ball. At the moment, Will Zalatoris is hitting it as well as almost anyone and finally has the putter cooperating with his new switch to the broomstick style.

Zalatoris is coming off back-to-back starts where he absolutely striped the ball. He finished 2nd at the Genesis Invitational and 4th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where his statistics were eye opening. For the week at Bay Hill, Zal gained 5.0 strokes on approach and 5.44 strokes off the tee.

Throughout the early part of his career, Zalatoris has established himself by playing his best golf in the strongest fields with the most difficult conditions. A tough test will allow him to separate himself this week and breakthrough for a PLAYERS Championship victory.

Shane Lowry +4000 (DraftKings):

History has shown us that players need to be in good form to win the PLAYERS Championship and it’s hard to find anyone not named Scottie Scheffler who’s in better form that Shane Lowry at the moment. He finished T4 at the Cognizant Classic followed by a solo third place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The fact that the Irishman contended at Bay Hill is a great sign considering he’s really struggled there throughout his career. He will now head to a different style of course in Florida where he’s had a good deal of success. He finished 8th at TPC Sawgrass in 2021 and 13th in 2022. 

Lowry ranks 6th in the field in approach in his past 24 rounds, 7th in Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye designed courses in his last 30 rounds, 8th in par 5 scoring this season, and 4th in Strokes Gained: Total in Florida over his past 36 rounds.

Lowry is a player who’s capable of winning big events. He’s a major champion and won another premier event at Wentworth as well as a WGC at Firestone. He’s also a form player, when he wins it’s typically when he’s contended in recent starts. He’s been terrific thus far in Florida and he should get into contention once again this week.

Brian Harman +8000 (DraftKings):

(Note: Since writing this Harman’s odds have plummeted to 50-1. I would not advise betting the 50).

Brian Harman showed us last season that if the course isn’t extremely long, he has the accuracy both off the tee and with his irons to compete with anyone in the world. Last week at Bay Hill and was third in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, gaining 5.54 strokes on the field in the category.

In addition to the strong iron play, Harman also gained strokes off the tee in three of four rounds. He’s also had success at Pete Dye tracks recently. He finished 2nd at last year’s Travelers Championship and 7th at the RBC Heritage.

It would be a magnificent feat for Harman to win both the Open Championship and PLAYERS in a short time frame, but the reality is the PGA Tour isn’t quite as strong as it once was. Harman is a player who shows up for the biggest events and his odds seem way too long for his recent track record.

Tony Finau +6500 (FanDuel):

A few weeks ago, at the Genesis Invitational, I bet Hideki Matsuyama because I believed it to be a “bet the number” play at 80-1. I feel similarly about Finau this week. While he’s not having the season many people expected of him, he is playing better than these odds would indicate.

This season, Tony has a tied for 6th place finish at Torrey Pines, a tied for 19th at Riviera and tied for 13th at the Mexico Open. He’s also hitting the ball extremely well. In the field in his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Approach, 3rd in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, 6th in Par 5 average and 15th in Total Driving.

Finau’s problem has been with the putter, which has been undeniably horrific. However, this week he will see a putting surface similar to the POA at TPC Scottsdale and PGA West, which he’s had a great deal of success on. It’s worth taking a stab at this price to see if he can have a mediocre week with the flat stick.

Sungjae Im +9000 (FanDuel):

It’s been a lackluster eighteen months for Sungjae, who once appeared to be a certain star. While his ceiling is absolutely still there, it’s been a while since we’ve seen Im play the type of golf expected of a player with his talent.

Despite the obvious concerns, the South Korean showed glimpses of a return to form last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He tied for 18th place and gained strokes off the tee, on approach, around the green and with the putter. When at his best, Im is a perfect course fit for TPC Sawgrass. He has remarkable precision off the tee, can get dialed in with his irons on shorter courses and can get up and down with the best players on Tour.

This number has gotten to the point where I feel comfortable taking a shot on it.

Billy Horschel +20000 (FanDuel):

Billy Horschel is a great fit on paper for TPC Sawgrass. He can get dialed in with his irons and his lack of distance off the tee won’t be a major detriment at the course. “Bermuda Billy” does his best work putting on Bermudagrass greens and he appears to be rounding into form just in time to compete at The PLAYERS.

In his most recent start, Billy finished in a tie for 9th at the Cognizant Classic and hit the ball extremely well. The former Florida Gator gained 3.32 strokes on approach and 2.04 strokes off the tee. If Horschel brings that type of ball striking to TPC Sawgrass, he has the type of putter who can win a golf tournament.

Horschel has been great on Pete Dye designed courses, with four of his seven career PGA Tour wins coming on Dye tracks.

In a season that has seen multiple long shots win big events, the 37-year-old is worth a stab considering his knack for playing in Florida and winning big events.

 

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