Sharpen Your Skills with Lexi Thompson

Want to sharpen your golf skills? Lexi Thompson, LPGA's newest champion, shows us how to smash it on the green. She serves up some great advice for lowering your score and improving your game in this Golf Digest article. Read more to learn her moves and how you can make them your own.

To turn better, feel like you're stretching your front shoulder behind the ball. And stay relaxed. See Lexi (right, top): She's fully back but doesn't look rigid. The worst move is to grip tighter or lunge forward as you start down. It's important to note that Lexi sets up slightly open to the target, especially with her short irons. Her natural shot is a draw, so the open stance keeps her from getting the club too far to the inside and encourages a straighter swing path. She takes the club back nice and wide, which gives her that great high-hand position at the top

— Jim McLean

Golf Tips with Bill Horschel

Are you ready to improve your swing? This tutorial shares great tips for achieving greater distance and laser focused results on the green. Check out Golf Digest's instructional blog for improving your game. Want to hit like Bill Horschel? Here's how.

Most swings on the PGA Tour are built for either big distance or hitting lasers down the sprinkler line. And they're not hard to peg. Bubba Watson makes a giant backswing and really drives his legs. Result: 350-yard bombs. Zach Johnson stays centered over the ball and swings way shorter. Result: three out of four fairways. But sometimes we see a player like Billy Horschel who's a bomber and a control guy. Let's see what Billy does to keep up with the big boys and also keep the ball in play. Pick which tips you want, or be like Billy and take them all.

— Todd Anderson

The Rules of Golf

The game of golf has been around for many centuries. Each century reshaping the game until it became golf as we know it today. The earliest form of golf was recorded in 100 BC, as the Roman game of golf, Paganica. In Paganica, participants used a slightly bent stick to strike a stuffed leather ball. Golf has evolved tremendously since its Paganica infancy and has developed into an extremely popular sport. 

The benefits of golf are immeasurable, from the beautiful landscaping noted on hundreds of prestigious golf courses to the ability to play the sport well into retirement years. True golfers adore the game. However the rules of golf have changed many times over across its history. So what are the basic rules of golf and how are they applied on the green?

The game of golf holds true to three key rules, playing the ball, playing the course and fairness. According to the USGA and R&A, the rules of golf are centered on these three basic principles. Over the years there have been specialized rulings as a result of specific circumstances in competitive play but the regulations always point back to the golden three.

  1 -  A golfer must always play the ball as it lies.  
  2 -  A golfer must play the course as they have found it. 
  3 - A golfer must always do what is fair.

     If you would like to learn more about the rules of golf and how to improve your game our expert golf instructors can help you personally. Our Florida golf community located in the heart of the Treasure Coast is known for it's superior golf instruction and clinics. 

Technology is Taking Your Game to New Levels

The technology of golf is changing. Helpful tools have emerged to improve the game of golf and the golfer's skill set. This witty invention fits snugly into the back of your glove and monitors your swing. With this technology golfers can measure their speed, tempo and much more while playing a round of golf. Learn more about the new Zepp Golf Sensor.

There are several golf-swing analyzers on the market that let you download your swing to an app on your phone. What distinguishes Zepp's device is its placement on your glove. The Zepp golf sensor ($150) clips to the back of a glove, where it can track your clubhead speed, plane, path, tempo and backswing position. This data, along with a 360-degree motion capture of your swing, can sync to your iPhone, Android device or iPad via Bluetooth technology.

— Get to Know Your Swing By the Back of Your Hand

Putting Like Palmer

It's time for a little Putting 101. Putting is one of the most important skills necessary in the game of golf. This article lends a few tips to golfers for stepping up their putting game. Take some notes, grab your gear and get to the green. These tips will have you putting like Arnold Palmer in no time.

Arnold Palmer used to take putting advice from only one person, a virtuoso putter and fellow player named George Low. "He'd watch me putt for hours, and every once in a while he'd come over and say ... — Arnie leans in to reveal the great secret — "'Man, you're a great putter.' " It's our goal, in this special report on the art and science of putting, to have people saying that about you. For most golfers, putting is an afterthought. "Let me just roll a few on the practice green before we go" is the common refrain. But think about it: Putting is nearly half the game. If you want to play better, there's no getting around it: You must become a better putter.

— Why You Can't Putt

The Game of Golf for Beginners

It's easy to be intimidated by the game of golf. When observing professional golfers reading the green and analyzing swings, it can seem pretty complicated and confusing. Don't let that scare you away. The game of golf has many benefits, beautiful courses, longevity of playing time and more. This article serves as a guide to those entering the world of golf. Learn the language and the ins and outs of the green.

At Golf Digest, this may be the language we speak every day, but we also know it's a language that can scare prospective golfers off before they ever pick up a club. That's where this online beginner's guide comes in. To those who know nothing about golf, our goal is to shepherd you through this uncertainty. What kind of clubs do you need? How do you practice? When do you know that you're ready for the golf course? The way we see it, the only dumb questions about getting started in golf are the ones you're afraid to ask, or worse, the ones for which you can't find an answer. The whole point of this guide is to make sure that last part is no longer a problem.

— So You Want to Play Golf?

Don't Forget Your Sunglasses

We agree sunglasses can be intrusive when playing golf. Many golfers think that it makes the game harder and more difficult to read. There may be some truth to those opinions but the facts are that the UV rays from the sun can be harmful.This potential risk to golfers is reason enough to wear sunglasses on the green. This article shares a few more reasons for you to bring along your sunglasses.

Many golfers feel that wearing sunglasses makes it more difficult to play golf, particularly when it comes to reading greens. I can sympathize. I don’t like to wear them, either. But I do. And the reason goes beyond unnecessary exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Protection from UV rays is the biggest reason to wear sunglasses, but here are some other reasons you might not have considered.

— Why Sunglasses Matter

King of the Sand

Justin Rose is the "King of the Sand" as far as we're concerned. His consistency in swing structure never ceases to amaze golf fans. Check out his tips for improving your swing and owning the sand. Your game will never be the same.

Justin Rose has ranked top 20 on the PGA Tour in sand saves each of the last four years. One reason is, he practices like he plays. A lot of golfers hit from perfect lies in the practice bunker, but not Justin. He throws balls down in the sand, and whatever lie he gets, that's the lie he plays.

— Justin Rose Golf Tips

Best Golf Balls for 2014

Golf Digest knows that the equipment you use on the green makes a world of difference in your game results. That's why they've compiled the HotList for the best 2014 golf balls you can find. Click through the Hot List and take inventory of what's in your golf bag but more importantly what's not.

We all crave distance, but how a golf ball performs on approach shots and around the green is what saves the most strokes. Maybe that's why manufacturers are focusing on feel—by lowering compression and reformulating softer covers to make chips and pitches check up quicker. It's what we saw in our review of 59 balls for the 2014 Hot List.Both in robot testing and player comments, the meaningful differences clearly came off the short wedge shots, not from the driver.

— 2014 HotList Golf Balls

Harbour Ridge: Pristine Florida Golf Community

When you think Florida golf communities, think Harbour Ridge. We pride ourselves in hosting one of the most pristine golf courses in the Florida region, highlighting our exclusive golf instruction privileges. Our members enjoy full access to our highly recognized staff of premiere golf professionals for on-site instruction using the most advanced technology and analysis software available. Offering one of the best Florida golf community programs with a wide assortment of instructional opportunities for our Harbour Ridge members, the choices are endless:

• Private Lessons
• Weekly Group Clinics
• Full Swing Schools
• Short Game Schools
• On course Playing Lessons
• Game Evaluations
• TPI Body Assessment
• Mental Golf Profile Testing
• Club Fittings
• Educational Seminars