19th Hole

PGA Tour pro reveals the common mistakes he sees amateur golfers make every week

Published

2 years ago

Sep 23, 2024

Over the weekend, PGA Tour player Michael Kim took to social media to share some golf tips with amateur players.

I’ve played with close to a 1000 different amateurs during my career. Everyone is different but there are some common mistakes I see every week. Some basic concepts ?

— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) September 20, 2024

Below is the full post broken down into sections of advice.

Full swing:

“Full swing: 95% of ams go over the top and chop at the ball like they’re chopping wood. The reason it looks this way is because they don’t turn their hips and shoulders nearly enough in the backswing. You can go over the top from the top if you have good turn in the backswing. It’s a bit scary to swing with a big turn but it must be done. Many ams set up in a way that makes it harder. You shouldn’t look so robotic. Way more relaxed with your feet flared a little bit. Think of a heavy medicine ball throw. Use your entire body to turn back and thru. If you can get a better turn to your right side, then you can shift into your left side better (side bend) and get the club to not go over the top as much.”

Pitch shots:

“Pitch shots: with the set up, it should look like you’re trying to hit a shorter shot. Weight a little left, feet a little closer, a little bit closer to the ball, ball position middle to back, hands a little ahead. I see way too often a player setting up like it’s a full shot. You really should use ur body turn better in order to create a little in to out path that makes these shots way easier. Think Steve stricker, no wrist set, all body turn. If you want hands forward to create that nice descending blow, you need body turn throughout the entire swing”.

Chipping:

“Chipping: use your putter. If it’s fairway and less than 30 yards to the hole, just use a putter. Putter until you’re forced not to. From the rough, open the club at set up. The scoop action happens because your trying to add loft from a bad position and leads to chunks and mishits.
I went a bit deeper in chipping with the shallow vs steep stuff in a video few weeks back. You can search for that in my profile if you want.”

Bunker shots:

“Bunker: don’t try to hit behind it. Let your set up dictate that. Dig in slightly with ur feet, ball a little ahead, open the club face, weight 60/40 left. A little wrist cock on the way back and then undo that wrist cock and the way through. If you can do it without slicing across it too much, even better.”

Putting

“Putting: 95% of you don’t start your putts online and don’t know where you’re aiming. I can’t count the number of times I’ve given a read, the amateur aims it wrong, starts it way off my read and when it misses, tells me, it broke more or less than my read. If you’re serious about getting better on the greens, get something that tells you whether you pushed it or pulled it and get your setup right. You can do it with some tees and a stick but it’s easier to just buy something like a pelz tutor or something similar with a gate.”

New here?

Find out more about GolfWRX and the GolfWRX forums.

While you’re here, check out the latest episode of the Three Swing Challenge.

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

2 months ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”