Now that Super Bowl LIV has seen our hometown team’s return to a championship and the parade is but a memory (and a hazy one for some), thoughts are starting to center on golf. Glimpses of 40s and 50s send cabin fever-ish golfers to the range or the course, ready to get the season started. But many are also looking forward to trips to warmer climates to really enjoy a start to their golfing year. While many think of Arizona or Florida as prime destinations, some also look to Texas. And we recently spent some time in the Lone Star state and submit for your consideration,

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They are the unsung heroes. You can drive for show and putt for dough and stick the irons all you’d like. Truth is, the wedge is arguably the most valuable club in the bag, used in a variety of situations ranging from necessary bailout to setting up a much-needed birdie to rescuing from bunkers and thick rough or saving a round-altering par. And this crop of wedges is grooved and grinded and milled in dozens of manners, creating for a smorgasbord of customizations tailored specifically to whatever type of game each golfer players. There are wedges for swings steep and shallow, for diggers and pickers,

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In a round of golf, more strokes are played with the putter than any other club. Most people know they need to practice putting, but the challenge is with how and what exactly to practice. In his book, Dave Pelz’s Putting Games, Dave Pelz outlines how golfers should go about assessing their overall putting skills and playing a number of games (or drills) focused on improving areas of weakness. For this edition of the MyMetroGolf Magazine Pro Tip, we spent some time with his great book to give you a feel for how it can make you a better putter. His book starts off

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To quote the famous Mark Twain, who once claimed, “Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough” so do many think similarly of golf. In fact, it has been said, and often attempted to be confirmed, that it takes eighteen shots to finish off a fifth of Scotch and thus, why the Scottish invented the game to cover eighteen holes. Any more to a round of golf and a golfer would have to play dry over the last few holes. While that specific connection may or may not be true, it is true that Scotch and golf have gone together

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Impact is often referred to as the “Moment of truth”. Regardless of what occurs throughout the backswing and downswing the goal is to square the club face at impact while the club travels toward the target. The result is a straight shot. The following club positions are ideal at impact.

Shaft Lean

Shaft lean is the measurement of how far the hands are forward or backward at impact. An ideal impact position creates a forward shaft lean at impact while the hands are slightly in front of the club head. Forward shaft lean is necessary for the correct downward angle of attack and ball compression. Forward shaft lean

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Every golfer dreams of getting the chance to see firsthand the sacred golf ground that is Augusta National for the annual playing of the Masters golf tournament each April. And for those that have been, the dream quickly becomes getting the chance to go back. For me, my first trip was last year. I learned a lot in that trip and have a few tips I would recommend to any first-timer. But first, let me share a little about my first day at Augusta National. When I stepped through the gates and looked out across Augusta National, I couldn’t believe just how much more it was than

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The best, quickest way to shave strokes by throwing down a few bucks used to mean getting the right ball or being fitted for a driver. Now, though, it might just be getting some technological gadgetry on your side. Consumer electronics have become a big part of the game of golf and just about every aspect of the game is supported in one way or the other by these devices. Today, they run the gamut of possibilities from helping to analyze a golf swing to giving a golfer the right distance to the pin. There are even a few smartphone apps available to help you

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Nearly every player wants to hit the ball farther. It is no secret, that, on average, women tend to hit the ball with less distance than their male counterparts.  What then happens is that women are often forced to place an emphasis on their short game and, in fact, often have very strong skills around the greens. However, distance can really help in several situations on the golf course, so rather than give up on hitting the ball farther there are a few simple techniques you can try first. In general, this requires a focus on swing fundamentals to ensure maximum energy is transferred to

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What’s the difference between a picnic and a tailgate party? This question was put to me by Joe Cahn. If you don’t know, and probably you don’t, Cahn is the official Commissioner of Tailgating. Or as he prefers to be called, The Commish. It’s a position he’s held with honor since 1996, when he gave himself the title. Right after selling his cooking school in New Orleans and taking to the open road to promote and partake in what he calls, “the last great neighborhood of the American social.” Or what you and I call tailgate parties. Each year, Cahn says, he visits tailgate parties at 28 professional

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There's still a limestone mine below WinterStone Golf Course in Independence, but there are no more rumbles under the feet of players in mid-afternoon as in years past. Mining has moved to an adjacent site, leaving only occasional faint sounds of blasting, according to WinterStone club professional, Kane Chapman. But having a golf course over an active mine was more of a novelty than anything else on a course that can hold its own to any in the Kansas City region for natural beauty, intriguing design and challenging golf. WinterStone, opened in 2003 in northwest Independence and unfolds over rolling, wooded terrain in a country setting.  The holes

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