What we'll cover this week

• Tiger ft. Grant - Lessons worth a million bucks

• Intentional Slice - Don’t stand in front of the tee box

• 7 Shots - Simple shots to save your round

Estimated read time: 7 minutes

This Week I Learned

Hips Rotate in Two Directions

A few weeks ago, I watched a one-minute Ben Hogan video that finally made me understand what my hips should do. This week, I got to put it into practice.

The key? Realizing that my hips - not my arms or shoulders - should initiate the downswing. I was already rotating my hips to start the upswing, but for some reason, I never thought to do the same on the way down. Hogan’s demonstration was game-changing.

Result: For the first time ever, I hit my 5-iron with 95% consistency. What a feeling!

Useless golf videos we’ve watched this week, so you don’t have to:

21 = 258 minutes saved

Tiger X Grant

Tiger Woods teaching Grant Horvat how to hit a driver. What more could you want? This is a must-watch.

Video length: 17:12

TL:DW

Let me just say this upfront: don’t skip this video. Tiger isn’t sharing anything that’s exclusive to Grant, so you can pick up applicable insights directly from the GOAT himself. You might even catch something I missed and benefit in your own way.

• Hitting Woods Off the Ground - Tiger prefers to tee up his shots, but when he’s hitting woods off the ground, he treats it more like a sweep. Think: gentle glide, not a steep iron-like angle. He actively avoids creating divots with his woods—except when he needs to keep the ball low (e.g., against the wind).

• Hitting It Straight (Under Pressure) - Narrow fairway? Stakes high? Tiger’s advice is to hit the ball off the heel of the club. It costs you some distance, but it also shrinks your dispersion pattern and keeps the ball in play. Bonus tip: Tee the ball lower for even more control.

• Teeing Up Lower - Tiger’s “low tee” is barely a finger-breadth off the ground. The insane part is that his “regular” high draw tee height is maybe one knuckle’s height—but always at the same spot in the stance. This was eye-opening for me because it shows how much attention Tiger pays to tee height to control his dispersion. I feel like we all ignore the impact of tee height far too often.

I could keep geeking out about what Tiger shared, but honestly, it’s better if you watch the video yourself. 🐅

Attempt On His Life

Intentional slice? Or just proof that sandals aren’t exactly golf-approved footwear? Either way, standing in front of someone teeing off is about as smart as trying to chip with a driver.

Never do it. Just don’t.

hazardhuntersgolfclub

View more on Instagram

Deals for the Feels

It’s cold and miserable out there so let’s burn some cash to get warm again.

PING G430 Price Drop

• Last season’s PING G430 lineup—drivers, woods, hybrids, and irons—just got some solid discounts. The G430 MAX driver is now $399 (down from $549). A friend of mine is a huge fan of his G430 MAX, so this could be a great time to grab one. Retailers are likely to hold this price until inventory runs out.

TaylorMade Qi35 Woods Released

• TaylorMade has launched the Qi35 woods, now with native support for tracking devices, eliminating the need for reflective stickers. For anyone without a last-gen driver, this could be worth checking out. Meanwhile, Qi10s are starting to see discounts (link). Lesson: Wait until next January for better deals on the Qi35s or just buy the Qi10s now.

New Puma Spikeless Shoes

• Puma has introduced the Elevate Shoreline spikeless shoes, with Max Homa and Rickie Fowler as the faces of the launch. The white and blue design is sharp, and the low-profile build is perfect for spikeless fans.

* Please note: none of these are affiliate links. These are genuinely great finds that we recommend without compensation.

Overlooked Shots

Matty shares a quick list of essential shots that are easy to train and can save your round when things go sideways. These are the shots every golfer should have in their arsenal.

Video length: 11:12

TL:DW

• In-Play Tee Shot - When the driver decides to betray you, a go-to safe club becomes essential. Mine is my trusty 6-iron. It won’t win me any awards, but it keeps my ball in play and my scorecard from looking like a crime scene.

• Fairway Bunker Shot - You could take the safe route with a sand wedge, but learning to hit an iron from a bunker adds valuable distance to your recovery game. This move has saved me plenty of strokes.

• Punch Shot - Stuck in the trees? Grab a higher lofted club (7-iron or higher) and punch it back to the fairway. No hero shots—just smart, practical recovery.

• Lag Putt - Mastering distance control on long putts is the fastest way to lower your putting scores. Build confidence by practicing lag putting during every session.

• 10-Yard Chip - This shot is a lifesaver when you’re just off the green. It’s also been my nemesis, so I’m dedicating this season to perfecting it (along with, uh, my putting—let’s not go there).

• “Get It on the Green” Shot - Within 50 yards, forget flag-hunting. Just aim for the center of the green with a wedge. Use your range time to practice this shot instead of mindlessly smashing drivers.

• Memorized 6ft Putts - Matty explains how to read slopes and aim accurately from inside 6 feet. Memorize how different slopes look and trust your line. Watch the video for some great tips on how to make these putts automatic.

Quick Bites for the Road

Quiz

If you liked this newsletter, refer it to a friend. If you hated it, send it to the ONE person you desperately want to beat (on the course).

Quiz answer

The Fort Belvoir Golf Club in Virginia, which sits on the grounds of an old Civil War fort. Some attribute their stray bullet shots out of the greenside bunkers to the ghosts living there - definitely not the player’s fault.

Sincerely, your Magic Rabbit.

Leader through the rabbit hole. Thinks of picking up dancing with his new hip movements. Or continue to sit on his couch watching Netflix.