The game always looks orderly on Tuesday. Then Thursday shows up and somebody you were not tracking is suddenly one shot clear, a former major winner looks alive again, and the whole thing starts to feel a lot more interesting. That is where golf gets good.
This week’s issue is about that kind of instability. The pros are heading toward Augusta with very different kinds of momentum, and for the rest of us, the best lesson might be the boring one: clean contact, decent speed, and enough patience to let a round become what it is.
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Table of Contents
Birdies: Where the Pros Play 🏆
Paul Waring jumps in front, and Gary Woodland gives the week some real weight
Paul Waring opened the Texas Children’s Houston Open with a bogey-free 7-under 63 to lead by one, while Gary Woodland sat right behind him after a 64 that came not long after Woodland publicly discussed his struggles with PTSD following brain surgery in 2023. That is a serious leaderboard a week before Augusta, not because it was expected, but because it was not.
What I keep coming back to is this: the week before a major always tempts people into looking for certainty. Golf usually answers with a stranger board and a better story.
Matt Fitzpatrick turned one bad Sunday into a much better one
A week after letting The Players slip late, Matt Fitzpatrick won the Valspar Championship with a birdie putt from just inside 15 feet on the final hole. He finished 11-under, beat David Lipsky by one, and looked like the kind of player who is suddenly a lot more interesting heading into April.
My spicy sentence for this one: I trust the player who answers disappointment quickly more than the player who is still living off highlights from three weeks ago.
Gear Drop: This Week’s Picks ⛳
FUSION Grip ST Wide Golf Shoes — $110
Widen your stance. Tighten your game. These are for anyone whose feet are tired of being squeezed by “standard” sizing and whose balance starts getting sketchy late in the round. Soft spikes + a wider fit is a boring upgrade that pays you back immediately on uneven lies. Check them out here.
TaylorMade 2024 FlexTech Carry Stand Bag — $149.99 (Save $110)
This stand bag is built for golfers who like to walk, thanks to its ultra-light 3.8 lb. design, balanced carry, and practical features like a hydration pocket, fleece-lined valuables pocket, and easy in/out base. I like this one because it keeps things simple without feeling stripped down. You still get six pockets, a 3-way top, and enough storage for a comfortable walking round without lugging around a bulky cart bag. For readers who want a clean, lightweight setup that is easy to carry for 9 or 18, this is a solid deal from a trusted brand. Check it out here.
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Bogeys: For Us Weekend Golfers 🏌️♂️
The fastest path to lower scores is still wedges and lag putting
A recent GOLF.com instruction piece made the case cleanly: if you want scores to move, spend more time on wedges and putting, especially long-putt speed control from 30 to 45 feet. It is not glamorous, but it is the kind of practice that actually survives contact with a Saturday round.
I know bombing drivers is more fun. I also know the scorecard gets friendlier fast when your first putt stops near the hole instead of drifting into another conversation entirely.
A better practice swing can save you more shots than you think
Another new GOLF.com piece breaks down why a real practice swing matters: it helps turn swing thoughts into a feel, calibrates club length, sharpens setup on uneven lies, and gives you honest feedback around the green. The useful part is not taking more rehearsals. It is taking one who actually prepares the shot in front of you.
This one hit home for me because most bad shots are not random. They usually arrive after a rushed setup and a fake rehearsal that had nothing to do with the lie.
Bourbon: Life on the 19th Hole 🥃
This week’s Bourbon section is for the golfer who knows a round does not always tell the truth on the 2nd hole. Sometimes the real version of the day does not show up until you stop forcing it.
⭐ Course of the week ⭐
Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas
Memorial Park is one of those public courses that makes a tournament feel bigger because it still feels like a place real people can actually play. It is the home of this week’s Houston Open, it is widely described by Houston and course officials as one of the best municipal courses around, and that is exactly the kind of place I want to celebrate in this section.
Worth playing for: A big-city muni with real tournament backbone and none of the country club stiffness.
What will hurt: Half-committed swings. Courses like this rarely punish indecision politely.
Where to book: Memorial Park tee times
This Week’s Pour
Wild Turkey 101
This feels like the right post-round bottle for a week like this because it has a little more backbone. Wild Turkey says its high rye content and 101 proof give it bold character, with vanilla and caramel up front, oak and baking spice through the middle, and a signature spicy finish with orange peel. It is the kind of pour that still works after a messy front nine and an unexpectedly decent finish.
The 19th Hole Story: The round is rarely over as early as you think
One of the hardest things in golf is not the swing itself. It is the speed of the judgment. A bad drive on 2, a clumsy three-putt on 4, one thin wedge on 6, and suddenly a lot of golfers start acting like the day has already delivered its verdict.
But most decent rounds are recovered, not announced. They come back through one settled par, one clean iron, one chip that behaves, one hole where you finally stop trying to fix everything at once. That is probably the most useful golf thought I have right now: the round usually improves a few minutes after you stop demanding that it improve immediately.
Share Your Story: The 19th Hole Story
Got one of your own?
Send us your 19th Hole Story — the shot you should have trusted, the hole you still replay in the car, the round that taught you something the hard way. If we feature yours in an upcoming issue, it will become part of the section readers stay for at the very end.
One Last Thing
Golf keeps reminding us that momentum is real, but so is recovery. A player can lose one big event and win the next. A round can feel sideways early and still become something worth remembering by the back nine.
That is part of why the game sticks. It keeps giving you reasons not to quit too soon.
The next good swing is usually closer than it feels.
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.