Augusta week usually starts in your head before it starts on a tee box. Rory arrives without the old green-jacket question following him, Hyo Joo Kim just made 28-under look weirdly calm, and every halfway serious golfer now feels the spring urge to fix everything at once. This issue is for resisting that urge. A cleaner first move and a routine you actually trust tend to age better than whatever you tried to rebuild in the parking lot.

Golfers understand better than most that small edges add up. That same idea shows up off the course too, and this Roku case study is a good look at how one brand used smart creative and better targeting to break through a crowded market.

Rory McIlroy gets to walk into Augusta this time without 15 years of questions about whether he can ever win there. The AP's Masters preview frames the shift well: now the squeeze lands on players like Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, and Brooks Koepka, while new names like Chris Gotterup, Ben Griffin, and Jacob Bridgeman add a little chaos to the old script.

My read on this: the most dangerous version of Rory might be the one who finally gets to enjoy the place.

👉 Read the full article here.

Hyo Joo Kim closed the Ford Championship at 28-under, defended her title, and beat Nelly Korda again after setting the LPGA's 54-hole scoring record on Saturday. Korda pushed with a Sunday 67 and finished eagle-birdie, but Kim still got home by two.

The part I like most: this is what a real rivalry looks like when it stops being hypothetical and starts costing somebody trophies.

👉 Read the full article here.

A recent GOLF.com piece made a useful point about the first few inches of the swing: if your trail hip rips back too early in the takeaway, the whole sequence gets scrambled. The fix is simple enough to survive a real round -- let the chest start turning away from the target first, then let the hips follow. I needed this reminder because my first spring range buckets can turn into a full exhibition of misses if I start fast and crooked. When the chest wins the first move, the strike gets quieter in a good way.

The thing that sticks with me: a lot of ugly contact is just one rushed move wearing a costume.

👉 Read it here.

PGA.com pulled three smart habits from Nelly Korda's form, and the most useful one for weekend golfers is routine. For mid-handicaps, the advice is to keep the pre-shot routine identical on every full swing and every short putt; for higher handicaps, build a few non-negotiables such as short-putt reps and balance or mobility work. I have lost enough shots by treating every tee box like a test of character. The rounds that travel best are the ones where I pick the calmer club, breathe once, and do the same thing again.

My weekend-golfer version: routine is what lets an average Saturday swing survive a nervous moment.

👉 Read it here.

This week's Bourbon section is for the golfer who knows Augusta week can trick you into trying to prove too much too early. The course does not care how badly you want it. Your Saturday muni does not either.

Russell’s Reserve 10 Year

This feels like a better fit for the week because it has a little more old-school steadiness to it. Russell’s Reserve describes the aroma as orange peel and citrus with butterscotch, maple, oak, and vanilla, then backs it up with rich spicy caramel, vanilla, and a smooth finish that lingers with toffee and spice. It is the kind of post-round bottle that works after a card with a few loose holes and one stretch where you finally remembered how to play.

Find it here.

This week’s 19th Hole Story comes from writer Kurt Schuettinger, who clearly understands one of golf’s most reliable truths: once dads turn a golf trip into a team event, dignity is usually the first thing to go. That is exactly why I liked this one.

Schuettinger’s story follows a group of longtime friends through a three-day Ryder Cup-style dads’ tournament at Pinehurst, where the golf is shaky, the weather turns biblical, and the trophy itself is worth about ten dollars but somehow still feels sacred. There is rain from Hurricane Helene, a sixsome on No. 4, caddies on No. 2, a birthday loss that becomes the decisive point, and just enough competitive delusion to make the whole thing feel noble.

What makes the piece land is not clean ball-striking or heroic golf. It is the tone. Schuettinger knows the entire thing is slightly ridiculous, which is exactly what makes it feel real. Golf trips like this are never really about the quality of the swings. They are about old friendships, overstated stakes, and the kind of memories that somehow get funnier the longer they sit.

👉 Read the full story here: The Cup by Kurt Schuettinger

This week’s golf delivered a familiar lesson in a fresh wrapper. Rory gets to arrive lighter, and Hyo Joo keeps proving that form can stay hot longer than everyone expects. The rest of us are reminded that the round gets better when we stop trying to prove we should already have it figured out.

The next good swing usually shows up right after the moment you make room for it.

See you next week,

Adam Rosen
Editor-in-Chief, Birdies, Bogeys & Bourbon

PS: Have a fun golf story? Share it here, and we may include it in the next edition.