D Magazine

The game

has exploded out of the

has

has exploded out of the

buttoned-up confines of

buttoned-up confines of the

the

buttoned-up confines of the

country

country club

country

popular than ever

club

to become

club

to become more popular than

ever—driven by

driven by

ever—driven by

North Texas courses

North

North Texas courses

Texas' courses, clubs,

innovators, and

clubs,

innovators, and

influencers.

The Boy Band of the Links

The Boy Band of
the Links

The Boy Band of the Links

Good Good Golf is based right here, but the YouTubers have designs on the sport worldwide.

By Ben Swanger

Partner Content

Texas Golf Guide: Top Golf Courses and Luxury Home Putting Green Ideas

Explore Texas' Top Golf Courses and Learn How to Bring the Green Home with a Custom Putting Setup

Free Your Mind

How motherhood and local league tennis helped Jill McGill get out of her head and link her name with Tiger Woods’ in the history books.

By Kathy Wise

Partner Content

Explore Texas’ Top Golf Courses and Learn How to Bring the Green Home with a Custom Putting Greens

See how WinterGreen relies on a design-first approach and golf course architects to create the ultimate backyard putting greens.

By Tara Jones

Golf Products

These Bags Were Made for Walkin’: There are two Stitch boutiques in the whole world, and Inwood Village has one of them. The brand’s aesthetic is, as we’ve heard one golfer call it, “crispy,” which is to say the gear and apparel appeal to the type of guy who slings sweater sleeves over his shoulders. Whatever your style, your shoulders are sure to appreciate the SL2 Air Walker golf bag ($298), which weighs in at a mere 4.5 pounds.

Get a Club Fresh Out of “The Oven”: Mike Taylor will go down in history as one of golf’s great craftsmen, having handcrafted Tiger Woods’ Nike irons as the golfer cemented his GOAT status. When Nike shuttered its golf operations in 2016, Taylor and colleague John Hatfield bought the equipment and kept grinding in Fort Worth under the name Artisan Golf. They are part of a dying breed: equipment makers who hand-draw and handcraft clubs for each customer.

The Putters That Drive Golfers Crazy”: Here’s the bind Tyson Lamb has put himself in: his Lamb Crafted boutique putters are pretty enough to frame, and demand far outweighs supply. He had to stop taking custom orders years ago and turn to a lottery model in which customers can only pray they score a putter for, at minimum, $1,250 or a ball marker for around $80. Golfers tend to get cranky when they have cash to spend but can’t get the goods they covet, but Lamb refuses to become a maker for the masses. Those dying for a piece of the Lamb pie can snatch a used stick off eBay for something like $5,000. Follow Tyson Lamb on Instagram for new product drops: @tyson_lamb.

The Golfroots Starter Set, $90: “It has the four essential clubs and comes with five balls,” Stromberg says. “Whenever you’re ready, you get 100 percent of that money back towards a real full set from us. It de-risks golf in a way that if you hate golf, you only spent $90. But in most cases, people love the game. It’s a temporary fix for a long-term problem. The long-term problem is that people want good clubs, without spending a lot of money. But they also don’t know if they love golf enough to make the investment.”

The Cheat Code for the Omni PGA Frisco

The Cheat Code
for the Omni
PGA Frisco

Sure, play the best public course in town—if you can afford it. But here’s how you can have a blast for far less.

By Tim Rogers

The 25-Year-Old Who Sold 36,000 Golf Clubs in
One Year

The 25-Year-Old
Who Sold 36,000 Golf Clubs in One Year

We let the GolfRoots CEO tee off.

as told to s. holland murphy

How to Catch the Golf Bug

By S. Holland Murphy

In February, after 25 years of training golfers, Carrie Chambers opened Swing Sync, a TrackMan golf instruction and sports massage studio. (Chambers’ wife is a massage therapist.) “There are a lot of barriers, from time to money,” she says. “If you didn’t grow up around it, golf is like a foreign language, a different world. I think for women especially, that can be very intimidating. You go to public courses, a lot of times you’re the only female there.” More than 75 percent of her clientele is women. As for the other quarter: “I usually start giving lessons to the wives. Their husbands see them improve, and they knock on my door a little bit later.” Here are Chambers’ tips for golf newbs.

Don’t Gear Up (Yet)
“You don’t need to go out and spend $800 to $1,500,” she says. “You just need a few clubs to get started to make sure you like the sport.” Most instructors will let you borrow their equipment, but Chambers often sends clients to the used-gear chain 2nd Swing to get fitted. “If you’ve got a club that’s too heavy or too light, or too short or too long, it’s going to affect your swing.”
Find Your People
“Especially if we’re talking about women, I would encourage them to seek out a group,” Chambers says. She recommends women check out the Dallas chapter of the LPGA Amateurs, which organizes outings and tournaments throughout the year. “It’s people who have never touched a club to ex-college athletes that play. They’re very welcoming.”
Fire Your Spouse
“We see a lot of men trying to teach their wives how to play, and that usually doesn’t go anywhere,” Chambers says. Golf can be intensely frustrating, and she suggests finding the folks who are trained to train. Search for local pros on the LPGA and PGA websites. “Am I gripping it right? How do I set up? What’s an iron supposed to do? Answering all those questions can jump-start you to have bigger success.”
Cover the Basics
“We usually start with a four-lesson series, and that goes over the four parts of the game—putting, chipping, irons, and driver—and then a little bit of course management,” she says. “That’s your crash course.” The lessons leave no golf-related matter unaddressed. She also goes over basic etiquette and things like how to make a tee time—stuff that your lifelong golfing friend might not think to tell you about.
Don't Push It
Chambers tells clients how to navigate a driving range and suggests hitting balls between lessons once a week. “Do I have to get the jumbo bucket? No, we don’t want you actually hitting that many golf balls,” Chambers says. “Get the smaller one. Thirty minutes of practice is enough for somebody who’s just starting.” After four weeks of lessons plus smacking balls on your own, you’ll know whether you’ve caught the bug.

Don’t Gear Up (Yet)
“You don’t need to go out and spend $800 to $1,500,” she says. “You just need a few clubs to get started to make sure you like the sport.” Most instructors will let you borrow their equipment, but Chambers often sends clients to the used-gear chain 2nd Swing to get fitted. “If you’ve got a club that’s too heavy or too light, or too short or too long, it’s going to affect your swing.”
Find Your People
“Especially if we’re talking about women, I would encourage them to seek out a group,” Chambers says. She recommends women check out the Dallas chapter of the LPGA Amateurs, which organizes outings and tournaments throughout the year. “It’s people who have never touched a club to ex-college athletes that play. They’re very welcoming.”
Fire Your Spouse
“We see a lot of men trying to teach their wives how to play, and that usually doesn’t go anywhere,” Chambers says. Golf can be intensely frustrating, and she suggests finding the folks who are trained to train. Search for local pros on the LPGA and PGA websites. “Am I gripping it right? How do I set up? What’s an iron supposed to do? Answering all those questions can jump-start you to have bigger success.”
Cover the Basics
“We usually start with a four-lesson series, and that goes over the four parts of the game—putting, chipping, irons, and driver—and then a little bit of course management,” she says. “That’s your crash course.” The lessons leave no golf-related matter unaddressed. She also goes over basic etiquette and things like how to make a tee time—stuff that your lifelong golfing friend might not think to tell you about.
Don't Push It
Chambers tells clients how to navigate a driving range and suggests hitting balls between lessons once a week. “Do I have to get the jumbo bucket? No, we don’t want you actually hitting that many golf balls,” Chambers says. “Get the smaller one. Thirty minutes of practice is enough for somebody who’s just starting.” After four weeks of lessons plus smacking balls on your own, you’ll know whether you’ve caught the bug.

Don’t Gear Up (Yet)
“You don’t need to go out and spend $800 to $1,500,” she says. “You just need a few clubs to get started to make sure you like the sport.” Most instructors will let you borrow their equipment, but Chambers often sends clients to the used-gear chain 2nd Swing to get fitted. “If you’ve got a club that’s too heavy or too light, or too short or too long, it’s going to affect your swing.”
Find Your People
“Especially if we’re talking about women, I would encourage them to seek out a group,” Chambers says. She recommends women check out the Dallas chapter of the LPGA Amateurs, which organizes outings and tournaments throughout the year. “It’s people who have never touched a club to ex-college athletes that play. They’re very welcoming.”
Fire Your Spouse
“We see a lot of men trying to teach their wives how to play, and that usually doesn’t go anywhere,” Chambers says. Golf can be intensely frustrating, and she suggests finding the folks who are trained to train. Search for local pros on the LPGA and PGA websites. “Am I gripping it right? How do I set up? What’s an iron supposed to do? Answering all those questions can jump-start you to have bigger success.”
Cover the Basics
“We usually start with a four-lesson series, and that goes over the four parts of the game—putting, chipping, irons, and driver—and then a little bit of course management,” she says. “That’s your crash course.” The lessons leave no golf-related matter unaddressed. She also goes over basic etiquette and things like how to make a tee time—stuff that your lifelong golfing friend might not think to tell you about.
Don't Push It
Chambers tells clients how to navigate a driving range and suggests hitting balls between lessons once a week. “Do I have to get the jumbo bucket? No, we don’t want you actually hitting that many golf balls,” Chambers says. “Get the smaller one. Thirty minutes of practice is enough for somebody who’s just starting.” After four weeks of lessons plus smacking balls on your own, you’ll know whether you’ve caught the bug.