Golfing News & Blog Articles

In this edition of Ply Smart, Top 100 Teacher Dave Phillips gives a bit of putting advice that Phil Mickelson called "simple but brilliant."

The post This ‘simple but brilliant’ advice will make you a better lag putter appeared first on Golf.

With his switch to the Titleist GT2, Justin Thomas is back in the winner’s circle at the 2025 RBC Heritage.

The post This club was instrumental in Justin Thomas’ RBC Heritage win appeared first on Golf.

Titleist had a huge year in 2025 when it comes to driver distance, taking first, second and fifth place in our testing. But that level of dominance hasn’t always been the norm.

We looked back at driver testing data from 2020 to 2025 to see which brands consistently showed up in the top five for distance.

If you’re looking for pure speed and distance off the tee, here are the results—and the brands you might want to prioritize.

Longest drivers in golf (2020-2025)

Introduction

Fairway woods are often tricky to get right. But once you find one that works, it can become a key part of your game. The Callaway Elyte fairway wood series promises to make that search easier, offering two models— Standard Elyte and Elyte TI—each designed with features that cater to different golfers’ needs. To get a real sense of how these clubs perform, we asked golfers to put both versions through their paces. Here’s what they had to say.

The Step Sole: A new approach to turf interaction

The Step Sole is arguably the most talked-about feature of the Elyte Fairway Wood, for good reason. Turf interaction is most talked about in irons and wedges but not so much with fairway woods. It is by no means a foreign concept but the way Callaway’s Step Sole reduces the sole contact area by 57 percent is most definitely a new approach. The Step Sole is designed to help minimize drag and skidding, improve turf interaction and make it easier to strike the ball cleanly from a variety of lies and grass conditions.

Testers were quick to notice the difference, especially those who tend to struggle with hitting fairway woods from the turf. The Step Sole generally helped them achieve better launches and smoother turf interaction, even when the ball isn’t hit in the sweet spot.

Josh Parker shared, “Super simple to hit off the turf and in the rough. Helps with cleaner contact.” The feedback was consistent with testers mentioning how the club made their fairway wood shots feel smoother and, more importantly, just easier.

BreakfastBall15 added, “It glides through the turf even in soggy early-season conditions.” This was particularly appreciated during testing in tougher conditions where the Step Sole allowed for easier interaction with the turf, regardless of course conditions.

For years, golfers have been chasing MOI (moment of inertia) as the Holy Grail of forgiveness. Higher MOI means more forgiveness – or so conventional wisdom suggests. But what if this oversimplifies a much more complex reality?

Our years of Most Wanted testing have repeatedly shown that the highest MOI drivers aren’t always among the most forgiving. This shouldn’t be puzzling. It makes perfect sense once we understand that MOI and forgiveness are not synonymous. While MOI is an element of forgiveness, it is not forgiveness itself.

It’s more reasonable to suggest that forgiveness and consistency are closely aligned. Truly forgiving clubs deliver consistent, desirable outcomes, even when you don’t make perfect contact. The key distinction is that not all forms of consistency contribute equally to better scores and what’s “forgiving” for one golfer might not help another at all.

The MOI misconception

MOI measures a club’s resistance to twisting on off-center hits. With that, MOI helps to preserve ball speed. Our testing has consistently shown strong correlations between high MOI and ball speed consistency across the face but that’s about the extent of it. While ball speed retention is crucial, it’s just one aspect of what makes a club forgiving.

A high-MOI driver might produce extremely consistent results but those results might be consistently undesirable. Imagine a driver that reliably produces a tight grouping of shots but they’re all 20 yards right of the fairway. That’s consistency without forgiveness – and we see it all the time in testing.

Is it possible to get accurately custom-fitted for clubs online? Vice Golf believes it is.

When I first read about Vice Golf’s fitting program, I completely missed the point. I thought it was all about customization. My initial plan was to use the Vice Golf website and design a custom putter that they would then build for me.

I’ve worked on projects like this before and I was curious, as always, to see how the in-hand Vice putter compared to the computer rendering.

As it turned out, customization was only a small part of Vice’s online program.

Vice Golf does allow you to create a custom putter on their site but, more importantly, they can actually fit you for a putter, all from the comfort of your favorite digital screen.

It has been nearly a year since I first reviewed the Golf Daddy Simulator and, to be honest, it has been collecting dust since. I had nearly forgotten where it was until my wife reminded me it was on the front porch. The box had faded from being in the sun but inside everything was still there, ready for another round of testing. 

Unfortunately.

I originally gave this product a fair shot, hoping it could live up to the bold claims of being a portable, realistic, no-ball golf simulator. The results? Well, let’s just say it was a complete flop. 

But I did say I’d revisit it if there were updates so here we are.

The good news? They released an Android version and have pushed several patches to improve the app experience. 

Golf technology can assist us in playing smarter golf and it’s something every amateur should be taking advantage of. Whether you’re looking for a deep dive into Strokes Gained statistics, club yardage data or simply distances to the green, there is a piece of tech out there to benefit every player. Check out the products below to help you find your way to smarter golf this season.

Arccos Starter Bundle

Tracking your game has never been easier thanks to Arccos. The starter bundle includes club sensors and Arccos Link Pro which pair to the Arccos app. Automatic shot tracking makes gaining insight into your round easier than ever. Learn from Strokes Gained insights to determine which aspect of your game needs the most focus post-round. AI Caddie advice gives you real-time shot strategy and outcome predictions for each shot.

Blast Golf Swing & Stroke Analyzer

Measure every aspect of your swing and stroke with Blast Golf. With the ability to capture putting, full swings, short game and bunker shots plus air swings, you’ll be covered no matter how you’re practicing. Video capture allows you to see your swing results and make adjustments as you practice to help optimize your performance. Blast Golf is designed to help you swing better, faster.

Shot Scope V5

The Shot Scope V5 provides users with automatic performance-tracking capabilities, helping to take your game to the next level. Dynamic distances to the front, middle and back of every green give you the information you need to pull the correct club. This watch also features a vivid screen for easy daytime viewing with the option to customize colors to your personal preference. Sixteen tracking tags are included with your purchase to make recording shots a breeze and provide valuable data post-round.

Garmin Approach Z82

If you’re looking for a rangefinder that does nearly everything you could imagine it to do (and more), the Z82 may be the ticket. It contains more than 43,000 pre-loaded courses so you can eliminate the need for a GPS on your wrist. Simply fire it up and view hole-by-hole layouts as you range the flag. You’ll have green view, hazard view, “plays like” distance, green contour data and more at your fingertips. Check this out if you want to up the ante.

There were 13 LIV golfers in the field at the Masters but the ultimate storyline wasn’t LIV versus the PGA Tour.

It was Rory’s moment.

A longtime defender of the PGA Tour, McIlroy couldn’t have written a better script if he tried—completing the career Grand Slam with some of LIV’s biggest names like Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed chasing him down the stretch.

With so many former Tour stars now on LIV, it’s worth taking a closer look at the Masters LIV versus PGA Tour performance.

What stands out

Here are some of the most interesting takeaways when you compare the LIV field with the PGA Tour field at the Masters.

Justin Thomas is a winner again.

After opening with a 61 on Thursday and draining a perfectly struck 30-foot putt on the first playoff hole, Justin Thomas claimed his 16th PGA Tour victory. This one felt extra special, with his wife and baby there to witness it all.

In his post-round interview, Thomas simply said, “Winning is hard,” which might be the understatement of 2025.

Along with the trophy, Thomas also took home a $3.6 million paycheck.

Here’s the full list of payouts from the 2025 RBC Heritage:

Justin Thomas ended nearly three years without a victory Sunday by making a birdie putt from just outside 20 feet in a playoff at Harbour Town to beat Andrew Novak in the RBC Heritage.

The Masters is a tough act to follow but we saw inspired wins from Justin Thomas and Ingrid Lindblad. Also, remembering the incredible Jay Sigel and a preview of this week’s first women’s major in Houston.

Ingrid Lindblad won the JM Eagle LA Championship on Sunday in her third start as an LPGA Tour member.

GOLF’s editors and writers discuss where Rory McIlroy’s Masters win ranks among the best ever and more in this week’s Tour Confidential.

The post Tour Confidential: Where does Rory McIlroy’s Masters win rank among the best ever? appeared first on Golf.

Golf punished Justin Thomas and Ben Crane this weekend in PGA Tour events. And the scene was also beautiful.

The post Golf punished 2 golfers this weekend. And the scene was also beautiful appeared first on Golf.

Joel Dahmen led the Corales Puntacana Championship with three holes to play and then the inexplicable happened, leaving the 37-year-old pro in shock.

The post ‘Don’t deserve to win:’ Joel Dahmen shocked after late collapse in Puerto Rico appeared first on Golf.

Garrick Higgo took advantage of Joel Dahmen's late meltdown to win the windy Corales Puntacana Championship on Sunday for his second PGA Tour victory.

Justin Thomas' journey to find Justin Thomas has been arduous. With a gritty win at the RBC Heritage, that voyage is finally complete.

The post Justin Thomas’ winless drought wasn’t easy. Neither was finally ending it appeared first on Golf.

Here's a look inside the winning bag of RBC Heritage Classic champion Justin Thomas. Thomas relies on a bag full of Titleist clubs.

The post RBC Heritage winner’s bag: Take a look at the clubs of Justin Thomas appeared first on Golf.

Jay Sigel, who was widely viewed as America's best amateur since Bobby Jones, has died of pancreatic cancer, the U.S. Golf Association said Sunday.