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19th Hole

7 tips for amateurs to play better golf, from PGA Tour caddies

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PGA Tour caddies have a front row seat every week to watch the best golfers in the world practice and play. If PGA Tour players are the heads chefs, then the caddies are their Sous Chefs; they help players prepare and execute week-in and week-out.

They know the ins and outs of how PGA Tour players approach the game, and they know how the proverbial sauce is made.

Caddies are also known for having especially grounded perspectives on golf and golfers, in general. They’ve seen it all, and they’ve looped for players ranging from complete beginners to the world’s best.

If you want to play better golf, it’s often best to listen to your caddie, and that even applies to PGA Tour players, too.

In recent months, GolfWRX has started a new series called the “Caddie Corner,” where we pepper a different PGA Tour caddie every week with various questions. During each interview, we’ve asked every caddie the same question: “Based on your time on the PGA Tour, what advice would you have for amateur golfers to improve their games.”

Below is a compilation of their answers, thus far.

Reynolds Robinson (caddie for Joseph Bramlett)

Play within your means. Don’t try to hit the hero shot, just focus more on course management than you do on spectacular shots. If I had the swing to go with the knowledge I had now, I’d be a hell of a player. I just don’t have the swing these guys do. The one thing I learn from these guys is that even though they have the shots, they’ve learned how to manage their way around the golf course when it’s not looking good. They won’t take the hero shot. They’ll make the smart play. So for amateurs, play within yourself and don’t make the hero play, just manage the course and you’ll probably save a lot of strokes over the course of a round.

Gerald “G.W.” Cable (Kevin Chappell’s caddie)

Ideally, it’s the time you put in. I feel like, at least a lot of the amateurs I’ve been around, they think it should just happen overnight. And it’s just not the way it is. You just have to be a little gentle on yourself. People expect a lot, and I get it, but it’s just unrealistic. At the end of the day, if you put in the time you’re gonna get better, in my opinion. You see how it is out here, these guys work their butts off, and they still, they’re not the best all time. So it’s like, you gotta give yourself a break. But that’s all. If you put in the time, you’ll get better. There’s no secrets. Put in the work.

Derell Aton (caddie for D.A. Points)

I just think to let loose and be free. I think everybody is too tight, including myself. When you’re more free and not trying as hard in a sense, which is hard to do because we’re perfectionists, but I think you’ll hit better shots.

Kurtis Kowaluk (caddie for Brendon Todd)

I think it’s time spent. You can’t play once a month and be good. That’s exactly it. If you’re going to only have a game every month, or one game every couple weeks, you have to be doing something small so the club isn’t a foreign object in your hand. It’s not easy. These guys are failing all the time. I always am teaching my girlfriend to golf, and we’ve been together 3.5 years. She didn’t know what a birdie was at first, but now she’ll hit two good ones in a row, and then hit one way offline get mad. But I use the term “Embrace the Suck.” Embrace that you suck, and with that I’m saying golf is hard. It’s not going to help getting mad, you just have to put the time into it to make small improvements.

Shannon “Shan” Wallis (Jonas Blixt’s caddie)

Don’t be like a professional golfer. You know, you’re not going to be like ‘em. Yeah, just don’t be like a professional golfer. If you’re playing off a 27 (handicap), you’re shit at golf. Just play and have fun, have a few beers.

Shay Knight (Viktor Hovland’s caddie)

That’s a really good question. It’s so difficult because there’s so many players out there who are trying to make a name for themselves and have this opportunity in life to play on the PGA Tour. You have to work your butt off, both on the course and off the course. Just be patient with it. There’s so many times I see so many golfers, they push the buttons in terms of trying to hit the perfect shot every single time. Golf’s not a game of perfect. These players, they hit bad shots, but the thing they do really well is they get out of that situation very quickly, and they put themselves in the right position to get back to score. Whether they’ve made a bogey, or whether they’ve made a few, they don’t panic. They just go out and continue doing what they’re doing, and continue playing golf and staying patient.

Zak Smith (caddie for Martin Trainer)

Practice your short game. I know it’s probably been beat in your head a lot, but it’s crazy how many times these pros get up and down from places where most amateurs would make double bogey, and the pros make par. That’s the big thing.

To read more from the caddies, check out GolfWRX’s “Caddie Corner.”

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

19th Hole

Brandel Chamblee has a surprising new take on the PGA Tour-LIV stand-off

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One of the more outspoken analysts throughout the LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour saga has been Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.

This week, Chamblee reversed course, saying he believes the PGA Tour should strike a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF).

“The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone who’s not going to go away, who can outspend you”.

“Every move they make that makes their tour better deletes your tour and causes more division within the tour. So the time is now, to Rory’s point about making a deal, I wouldn’t have said that a year ago… but it is the better end of the bargain.”

Chamblee’s new stance seems to be in line with that of Rory McIlroy, who reportedly wanted to rejoin the PGA Tour board with hopes of pushing a deal with the PIF closer to the finish line.

Chamblee will be in the booth for next week’s PGA Championship which has 16 LIV players in the field.

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19th Hole

Xander Schauffele explains free drop ruling during round one of Wells Fargo Championship

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During Thursday’s opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship, Xander Schauffele blasted his tee shot in the woods to the right of the fairway on the par-4 8th hole.

The ball was almost not found, but Xander’s group managed to track it down just before the three-minute time limit was reached.

When the ball was found, it was just beyond the penalty area close to a fence. In the moment, it seemed incredibly unlikely that Schauffele would be able to hit the ball through the trees towards the green.

However, through the woods and above the fairway, there was a hanging wire from a ShotLink tower that Xander claimed was in his way. He was then granted relief, and two club lengths from the spot positioned him all the way out of trouble. He played his ball onto the front of the green and two-putted for par.

Here is the full video of the interaction between Schauffele and the rules official.

After the round, Xander said he “got really lucky.”

“Got really lucky multiple times, on 1 with Wyndham finding it, 2, being able to move the rocks, and 3, the ShotLink tower being in like my only shot line possible. To walk out there with sort of a no breeze 4 with what I thought was almost out was a really good break.”

“Yeah, I hit it in the trees. My ball was probably like a foot, two feet from the fence. If I — ball was here, fence was kind of here, hitting back this direction.

“If I went towards the green, the fence kind of worked this way so I had what I could hit, a 4-iron or something low and just kind of run it through. If it gets stuck, I’ll just kind of hit my next one out. But I brought the rules official in there with me because I was like, you’ve got to be OK with this because this is literally the only shot I can hit.”

“So Austin [Kaiser] and I moved two massive rocks that weren’t embedded and then I got relief out of the junk and then hit a pretty good shot on the green from there. What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par.”

Schauffele finished the round at seven under, which gives him a three-shot lead going into Friday’s second round.

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19th Hole

Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis

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According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.

Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.

However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”

The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.

The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.

The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.

The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.

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