Happy Saturday, everyone. This is Mike Croley, your golf correspondent in Ohio. This past February, the wind was so bruising and unrelenting, I thought spring might never come. From the classroom where I teach, the cloud cover was near permanent, a never-ending view of steel gray. February in the Buckeye State is an existential reckoning.

But now we’ve come to April, the Masters Tournament is arriving next weekend (April 10–13), and my disposition has brightened. I’ve even made it out to the course a couple of times, and that means it’s time to start thinking about the golf season. 

How did your winter training go? Did you follow all my tips? Photographer: Tasc Golf

There are many magical things about the game of golf, but perhaps its best gift is the way it can connect people across generations. It’s not unusual to see groups of four walking down a course, where each player is clearly from a different era.

The National Golf Foundation reports that for the seventh consecutive year, participation is up: “The face of golf may have changed more in the past five years than the previous 50.” Key stats for 2024: “More than one-quarter of green-grass golfers in the US are women and girls or People of Color, two distinct but overlapping segments that have historically been underrepresented in the sport.” 

Also, among the 28.1 million Americans who played golf on a course, “25% were Black, Asian or Hispanic, both representing the highest proportions ever recorded. These numbers–not mutually exclusive—reflect the continued evolution of the sport’s participant base, particularly when compared to historical benchmarks.” 

Why does it cost golfers $1,000 to get a good driver these days? Source: PXG

Despite all this, golf may never go beyond being a niche sport. (And that’s OK!) In February, 128 million people watched the Super Bowl, versus about 10 million (generously rounding up) who tuned in last year for the Masters, the world’s most famous golf tournament. And yet golf equipment is a $2 billion enterprise and annual sales of golf balls top $1 billion. 

Golf ain’t cheap. So when you’re devoted to this silly game, you need to find ways to play better. I’m here to help.

This year I’m working on swinging faster in hopes of gaining more distance off the tee and increasing my ball striking. If this is also a pursuit for you, two items I’ve thrown into my training regimen—and it is a regimen that includes mobility work—are the Stack ($299) and the ButterBlade ($139). 

Train with a ButterBlade to improve accuracy. Source: Vendor

The Stack is a speed-training system developed by biomechanist Sasho MacKenzie and Marty Jertson, an engineer at golf company Ping Inc., that mixes heavy weighted swings with lighter ones to teach your body to move faster. The Stack’s unique feature compared to some other training devices out there is its data-filled app, which keeps track of your progress, and a radar device that automatically measures and inputs your speed via Bluetooth while you train. 

The ButterBlade is basically a 7-iron with a very small head that causes you to focus and train yourself to make good contact. Modern clubs are built to be forgiving on off-center hits, because so few of us hit the center of the face. The ButterBlade is not forgiving. Golf is a game of repetition, so if you can hit the center of the ButterBlade, your own irons will start to look like frying pans when you step into them.

Before you start thinking about new equipment, please look at Foreward Golf. The upstart brand out of California has a dedicated following on Instagram. Its founder, Chad Dietz, has created a unique fitting system that takes in many different variables to get you in the best performing equipment—and you can even do it remotely. Mobile testing kits can be sent to you for $299; from there you’re off to the races as you hit shots and record your data, taking into account loft and lie but also the bounce of your club. (Bounce, according to Dietz, is the secret sauce of how Foreward finds the best sticks for your game, which it turns out might just be the ones he had made for his own test kits.) Golf is a game of data, and Foreward is providing some of the best I’ve seen. 

Foreward’s remote fittings make this essential task even easier. Source: Foreword Golf

You can also go big: A lesson with Bob Vokey is the equivalent of getting a driving lesson from Enzo Ferrari. The maker of the most popular wedge on the PGA Tour, Vokey’s craftsmanship and shot-saving clubs have been rewarded with his own eponymous line inside of Titleist. Now, golfers have a chance for a three-hour, $2,400 session with Vokey to help them understand the short game and find the clubs that best match their skills and needs—a tour-caliber fitting with insights for golfers at all levels.

Until AI can hit the ball for me, I’m still dependent on other technologies to get better, and one of the coolest advances I’ve seen this year is from Foresight Sports and Bushnell Golf. Foresight makes some of the most trusted launch monitors in the game, devices that provide a slew of data about your swing. Bushnell Golf puts out some of the best rangefinders in the game, giving you accurate yardages on all your shots.

Together the two companies have developed MyBag, which is designed to take the measured distances you hit with each club and input those numbers into your rangefinder. The devices talk to each other via Bluetooth, so the next time you pull out your rangefinder and zap your distance, you won’t just receive the yardage, you’ll also be told which clubs to choose from, providing you a choice of hitting, say, your 6-iron or 7-iron, depending on the distance you want on that specific shot. 

Garmin Aproach S50. Source: Garmin

Meanwhile, when I visit a private club where caddies are required and I can’t use my own rangefinder, I turn to the Garmin S50 ($399) golf watch and its full-color LCD screen. You’ll never be without your number, and it doubles as a great backup or replacement smartwatch, capable of keeping track of those steps and calories burned. 

For golf shoes, I continue to be impressed with the reinvention of FootJoy. When I first started playing golf 25 years ago, their shoes reminded me of the bucks you wore to Derby parties (I grew up in Kentucky); they weren’t really the thing I wanted to wear on the course. In the past five years, thanks in part to collaborations with designers like Jon Buscemi and Todd Snyder, the brand has become more than hip—it’s become coveted.

But the credit doesn’t just go to those outside influences, who were just taking a spin on what FootJoy was already doing: making solid, good-looking shoes. This year its new HyperFlex line ($180) offers an aggressive, athletic shoe style that mirrors the power game golf has become, with ferocious swing speeds and tour players whose bodies bend like bows.

HyperFlex shoes can help your golf power game. Source: FootJoy

I don’t know how many years I can keep calling Payntr an upstart brand, but it consistently makes some of the best-feeling and -fitting shoes on the market. Last year the company began partnering with tour pro Jason Day to up the ante of its style game. The Eighty-Seven SC ($220), the next version of the shoe it developed with Day, feels like having your foot wrapped in memory foam. 

Payntr’s Eighty-Seven SC are as comfortable as they are stylish. Source: Payntr

Women’s golf apparel in recent years has seen remarkable growth, and I’ve tried hard to spotlight new brands and lines in this newsletter, including Foray and Johnnie O. This year, Williams Athletic Club has emerged as the one to watch for women. Its styles have a crossover appeal, to be worn on and off the course, particularly the lineup of pants and jackets. But for playing and looking your best, the Tinsley bodysuit ($115) is one of the company’s bestsellers in these early days. 

Finding a classic, timeless style is important at any age. Creeping up on 50 demands it. The SoCal company Quiet Golf has been impressive this year with its collaborations with Puma and the hip guys at Sugarloaf Social Club, but I like their original line, particularly the cashmere sweater ($294) I’m looking to take with me to Scotland later this year when I tackle Cabot Highlands, one of our most exciting places to play in 2025. I’m going to pair it with Quiet’s Sunny Polo ($110), in olive, of course, for the Masters. 

Sunny Polo in olive. Source: Quiet Golf

Sentinel Golf is one of those brands that, when you see it on someone on the course, you know the guy is a golf sicko. John Mooty’s boutique brand never compromises on quality, from the material he sources to the craftsmanship. The first time I put on the Deltapeak Freemo Hood ($148), I knew all my other hoodies were about to get retired. I just need to get the other colors before they sell out. 

Golf and life are about experiences. I’m typing this up on my way back from the Barnsley Resort in North Georgia, one of the latest acquisitions of South Street Partners, the private equity group that also owns the Kiawah Island Club, Palmetto Bluff and the Cliffs. It’s given the bucolic Barnsley a facelift, with more upgrades to come. 

Golf has become a family affair for us on vacation, and we were able to take out my son’s new TaylorMade Jr. ($399) set of clubs for their first on-course spin. Getting your kids the right clubs is imperative to their improvement, and this set was a great choice for him as he gets more into playing.

A trip to Kiawah Island Golf Resort can help turn your littles into golf lovers. Source: Kiawah Island Golf Resort

Here’s a few other locations to put on your radar—whether you plan to bring the family or not.

O CANADA: Before Cabot Cape Breton there was Fox Harb’r Resort in Nova Scotia to entice golfers. Started by Tim Hortons co-founder Ron Joyce, the resort has made a multimillion-dollar investment to elevate Canada’s position in golf and luxury tourism. For its 25th anniversary, it’ll unveil a major expansion, headlined by a new coastal golf course this May.

AYE, SCOTLAND: Another Place, The Machrie, on the Isle of Islay off Scotland’s west coast, has recently undergone a big transformation to its accommodations that make it a must-stop. Years ago, golf in Scotland came with a sort of a roughing-it mentality, but these days golfers want nicer sheets and nicer food. Maybe it’s a buttress against the way the wind beats you and your game up.

The Machrie in Scotland. Source: Instagram

HELLO, ILLINOIS: Looking to get on a coveted private course? In the fall we reported aboutDormie Network and its roster of private courses, all available for one membership. That model is becoming popular with new entrants into the space, including Escalante Golf LLC’s Icon Golf membership, which now boasts Canyata Golf Club, a Golf Digest Top 100 Course that was originally built as a private playground for its owner and his friends. In 20 years of operation, it is estimated that only 5,000 rounds have been played on it—a busy public course does that many rounds in a few weeks. 

ENJOY EVERYWHERE: And if you want to do some good for a worthy cause—and play more bucket-list courses—check out Member for a Day, which coordinates with charities to auction off rounds at elite courses around the country. To date, the company has raised over $11 million for charities, offering rounds at such iconic venues as Muirfield Village Golf Course in Ohio, Oakland Hills in Michigan, and even Michael Jordan’s exclusive Grove XXIII in Florida. 

I usually get in three good naps during the Masters, because golf on television is better than Ambien. (When I awake, it often takes only a few minutes to catch up on what I missed.) Watching golf also allows for some great multitasking, so when you find yourself in such a mood, here’s two things to check out. 

CreatiVets, founded by Richard Caspar. The former Marine has used his talents as a songwriter and artist to help veterans like himself who suffer from PTSD due to combat injuries and action. In 2022 he was named a CNN Hero and one of Time’s Next Generation Leaders in 2017. He also uses golf to do good works: Caspar will host the CreatiVets Fifth Annual Golf tournament on April 14 in Nashville. There’s also a silent auction that all goes to supporting veterans. 

And if you read one thing during the tournament this year, make it this essay by Golf Digest editor-in-chief Max Adler. (Full disclosure, Max is also my editor when I write for the magazine.) “Masters Treasures Went Missing, Then the FBI Showed Up” profiles the crimes of Richard Brendan Globensky, who wasn’t exactly Danny Ocean when he decided to start pilfering Masters memorabilia as a warehouse worker for the famed golf club. He used the money he received to fund a life that was nearly on par with the members of golf’s most exclusive club. 

ICYMI: My feature on why now’s the time to plan a trip to the Pebble Beach of New Zealand. Source: Ricky Robinson

New for subscribers: Free article gifting. Bloomberg.com subscribers can now gift up to five free articles a month to anyone you want. Just look for the “Gift this article” button on stories. (Not a subscriber? Unlock limited access and sign up here.)