Author: Alexis Morgan

There’s something refreshing about watching a 15-year-old ask better questions than most of us ever will. At last week’s WM Phoenix Open, Maverick Midthun—a high school freshman representing “Today’s Junior Golfer,” an Arizona non-profit supporting lower-income junior players—stood in the media center alongside veteran reporters and asked Sahith Theegala a question that cut right to the heart of what’s wrong with modern golf culture. His question was simple: What advice would you give a junior golfer aspiring to play the PGA Tour? Theegala’s answer should be required reading for every golfer, amateur or professional, who’s ever felt the pressure to…

Here’s something I’ve realized after years of covering golf: we’re obsessed with finding the one perfect way to do everything. The one swing method. The one fitness routine. The one diet that’ll transform our game. The one style that screams “I belong here.” But what if the real lifestyle lesson golf has to teach us is the exact opposite? I recently sat down with a swing coach who challenged the entire “my way or the highway” mentality that dominates golf instruction. And honestly, his philosophy about pivot mechanics ended up being less about golf technique and more about something we…

The Art of Letting Go: What Rory McIlroy’s Missing 7-Iron Teaches Us About Success There’s a moment in every golfer’s life when you realize that holding on too tightly to your greatest achievement can actually hold you back. For Rory McIlroy, that moment came on a Monday after the 2025 Masters, when he discovered his championship-winning 7-iron was missing from his bag. But here’s the thing—it wasn’t lost. It was deliberately kept at Augusta National, a tradition honoring historic victories. And when McIlroy learned what happened, his response wasn’t frustration or regret. It was acceptance, perspective, and a clear-eyed focus…

The Golf Calendar Is Changing—And What It Means for How You Play There’s something deliciously human about watching the golf world grapple with identity. Not the identity crisis of a struggling golfer—though we’ve all been there—but rather the identity crisis of an entire sport trying to figure out who it wants to be. Last week at Pebble Beach, Rory McIlroy found himself at the center of that wrestling match, fielding questions about a fundamental restructuring of the PGA Tour calendar. The idea? Start the season in early spring instead of January, take a breather while football dominates, then dive back…

The Golf Reset: Why Your Failed Fitness Routine Doesn’t Define You We’re three weeks into the new year, and I’d bet my handicap that some of you are already negotiating with yourselves about that gym membership. The Waste Management Phoenix Open just wrapped up, the Super Bowl happened, and somewhere between the nachos and the Coronas, that January fitness commitment got a little fuzzy around the edges. Here’s what I want you to know: that’s not failure. That’s just golf. Yes, golf. See, we don’t throw our clubs in the dumpster after a bad round. We don’t quit the game…

The Rivalry That Reminds Us Why Golf Matters: Lessons from McIlroy and Reed There’s something deeply human about a good rivalry. Not the manufactured kind you see in social media beef or celebrity feuds, but the genuine, complicated kind where two fiercely competitive people have shared history—wins and losses, respect and resentment, handshakes and, well, thrown tees. I’ve been covering golf long enough to know that the McIlroy-Reed saga isn’t really about golf. Sure, on the surface it’s about Race to Dubai points and Masters victories and who can play better under pressure. But beneath that, it’s about two men…

There’s a reason Fred Couples’ swing looks so effortless—and it’s not just genetics. It’s a philosophy about life that extends far beyond the fairway. I’ve spent years watching golfers obsess over mechanics, grip pressure, and swing planes. But what I’ve really noticed is this: the ones who play their best golf are the ones who’ve figured out how to let go. They understand something that Fred Couples has mastered—that the pursuit of control often creates the opposite effect. It’s a lesson that applies to so much more than hitting a golf ball. When GOLF Magazine sat down with Couples and…

The Monterey Peninsula Mindset: What Pebble Beach Teaches Us About Knowing Your Home Course There’s something magical about watching a golfer play a course they truly know. Not the kind of knowledge you get from a weekend trip or a golf trip app—I’m talking about the deep, cellular understanding that comes from playing a place repeatedly, walking its fairways in different seasons, reading its moods like an old friend. This week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, that concept becomes the storyline. While casual fans might focus on who’s swinging the hottest putter or ranking highest in Scrambling stats, what…