Jenkins, Charley Price, Henry Longhurst, Peter Dobereiner and a murders’ row of columnists de- fined a once-monthly magazine, or when Tarde himself, just 26 years old, could score a private interview with Tom Watson in his hotel room on the morning of the final round of the 1982 Open Championship at Royal Troon, which Watson won – but no stasis, as evidenced by Golf Digest’s expansion into video, television and all realms of digital media. The apex of this 75-year journey, or the high point of golf as human art since its advent in the foggy history of Scotland and perhaps the Euro- pean low countries before, began in the summer of 2000 at Pebble Beach, when Tiger Woods un- leashed a performance of such virtuosity that it seemed to stagger his competitors for a full year. June gave way to July, and Tiger followed that US Open win by dominating once again, this time at one of the few courses of greater renown than Pebble. A month after he captured the claret jug at St Andrews, he survived a stiff challenge from unheralded Bob May to win this third straight major at Valhalla. Winter came, spring broke and at Augusta in 2001 he finished the unthinkable, pouring in a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to secure the green jacket and hold all four major titles at the same time. The Tiger Slam is, by itself, the greatest short- term achievement in golf history. In context it is an emphatic point on the timeline exactly 50 years into Golf Digest’s existence, an indicator of progress made – remember Charlie Sifford – and a harbinger of progress to come. Everything, going back to the first Scottish shepherd who wielded a club, built to this point, and everything would be built from it. Now that golf had a superstar like Woods, the money, the prestige and the hyper-globalisation poured in. Woods was the high tide that lifted all ships, but the forces he unleashed, through no fault of his own, led to the imbroglio the sport faces today. Tiger Woods has been one of the stal- warts of the PGA Tour in the current schism, yet it’s also true that without him, LIV Golf likely does not exist. The initial emphasis of the founders, that the magazine should be for golfers, not just golf fans, remains true. “Golf is so much bigger than just the professional game, and we’re really seeing it in this current boom where all these new courses being built emphasise recreational fun, not host- ing championships,” says Max Adler, Golf Digest Editorial Director. As golf expands to remote desti- nations and incorporates ever-advancing technol- ogies, the mission here remains constant: helping the average golfer with How To Play, What To Play, and Where To Play. Progress is complicated. It is not always linear.
PARADOXICAL SUCCESS Harold Varner left the PGA Tour to make more money with LIV Golf.
It doesn’t have to be good, and it doesn’t have to be bad. When the Romans left the British isles in 409 AD, the roads and aqueducts they built went to ruin for centuries, becoming mere curiosities for the natives who wondered at their purpose. It is difficult to understand golf’s place in history in 2025 – that will take time and perspective – but for 75 years Golf Digest has managed the feat of looking both forward and backward to take stock of the present. Wherever this sport is going, into madness or glory or the shadows in between, Golf Digest is there to follow and to lead.
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 123
MAY 2025
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