Copy Tommy Fleetwood's Practice Station + From the Rio Olympics to... the Mississippi prairie?

TIPS & DRILLS
Copy Tommy Fleetwood’s Practice Station
You’ll definitely want to bookmark this video

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To Recap…

Tommy Fleetwood has some of the best swing fundamentals on tour, but it doesn’t take much to copy his practice set-up. Ryan Hager demonstrates how to build the practice station he’s been using for years:

-STEP 1: Place one alignment rod along your target line with the front of the rod set one club head length from the ball
-STEP 2: Put an empty box of balls (opposite the alignment rod) 2 inches outside your ball placement
-STEP 3: At the opposite end of the alignment rod, set your club head on the ground such that the sole of the club lays flat. Once you have the proper angle, push another alignment rod into the ground parallel to your club angle.
-STEP 4: Slowly rehearse your swing and try not to make contact with either the angled alignment rod or the empty box

How This Helps: If you hit the alignment rod on your backswing or downswing, you are taking the club too far inside. Similarly, if you hit the box on your downswing, then you are coming over the top. Stay on plane and you’ll make no contact.

COURSES
Applauded for his work in Rio, he planted his next stake in… Mississippi?
The #2 Course in the State

Mossy Oak Golf Club
West Point, MS

The Paris Olympics kick off in less than 1 month, so we continue our Best Publics in the U.S. theme for the month of June with a course designed by the same man who designed the 2016 inaugural event’s course in Rio de Janeiro. Gil Hanse is his name, and his fame is growing rapidly after his work at the PGA Frisco East course (in Texas) and the Streamsong Black course (in Florida).

Currently the #2 course in Mississippi and the 70th Best Public in America, Mossy Oak Golf Club happens to be the home to the Mississippi State University teams. It’s the sister course to Old Waverly, which hosted the 2019 US Women’s Amateur. The owner of Old Waverly bought an old dairy farm across the highway and commissioned Hanse to leave a “light footprint” on the land it occupies. So Hanse did just that, moving very little dirt and instead taking advantage of the natural contours and native grasslands. With wide, firm and fast fairways, the course plays like a walkable links course you’d find across the pond, but don’t let the fairway widths fool you. If your line isn’t right, the black prairie grass will eat your ball up, never to be seen again.

Though Mossy Oak is public, Old Waverly is actually a private club. But if you want to play both, you can book a Stay & Play package, eating at the acclaimed on-site restaurants and spending the night at one of the fantastic on-site cottages. In 2020, Golf Digest named the venue one of the Best Resorts in the Southeast.

Must-See Course Feature: There is a massive 30,000 foot fairway bunker on the par five 17th hole, once called “Grant’s Tomb” (as an homage to Ulysses) and now named “George’s Bunker” after the course’s owner. “Grant’s Tomb” has a more ominous tone though, doesn’t it?

Rates: $150 - $205 during peak season, with discounted rates for lodging guests

Check out this flyover from @oldwaverly

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STATISTICS
Stat of the Day: The Rise of the Hybrid Wood
presented by…

The Stat: In 2004, hybrids accounted for ~2.6% of all woods sold, but that number rose to ~30% a decade later, and it has held steady ever since. Conversely, 130 - 140 hybrids would be in play during any PGA Tour event ~2010. But today, you may not find more than 30 hybrids in Pro bags, as the “utility iron” seems to have taken its place.

The Takeaway: The hybrid is designed to offer a high margin for error, easier to launch and with less dispersion, which is naturally more friendly to the average golfer. But to a pro who can hit the center of the club face consistently and may want to work the ball more, a utility iron offers more appeal. It will be interesting to see how these 2 club types trend over the next decade.

TODAY’S TRIVIA
Answer to Win a 2024 Limited Edition US Open Gift Pack 
(1 winner chosen on 6/30/24 across all June trivia entries, 1,000 respondents minimum)

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