A highly resilient Chromoly 4140M material and seamless cup face construction produce  high ball speeds and more distance, while a pearl finish provides a beautiful look.

The PGA Tour returns to Southern California this week and all eyes will be on native son Tiger Woods as he chases history.

Due to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Zozo Championship has been moved from Japan to Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks for this year only and will be held without fans. The 78-player, no-cut tournament will be televised on Golf Channel from 2-5 p.m. local time Thursday-Sunday. ​

​And while many of the world’s best players will be battling for an $8 million purse and the $1.44 million winner’s check, Woods returns on a mission to defend his Zozo title and to break a tie with Sam Snead for all-time PGA Tour wins by capturing his 83rd victory.

This fall has been a frenzied time for the unveiling of new golf equipment. Fresh metal woods, irons and wedges have been released at a fast and furious pace, and with Titleist readying the launch of new TSi drivers and fairways, there will be more treats in store before Halloween is over.

So to keep you up to date on the latest gear for your game, here’s a look at the goods the equipment gods have created this season:

Ask Randy Chang about his teaching style and he'll sum it up in one word: SURF.

The acronym stands for simple, understandable, retention and fun, and it's a formula that has worked well for the Director of Instruction at Journey at Pechanga in Temecula and the founder of Randy Chang Golf Schools.

Chang was named the Southern California PGA Teacher of the Year for a second time in August, which is a credit to his teaching abilities and his easy-going style. 

“The atmosphere is laid-back and relaxed,” Chang explained, "but the program and process are regimented and seriously effective.”

​Chang’s programs, such as Pechanga’s Tiny Tees lessons, Journey Golf Academy and Golf for Girls seasonal clinics, go hand-in-hand with SCPGA’s mission of growing the game. He is dedicated to early golf education and believes that encouraging youth’s positive habits by way of golf sets a precedent for a healthy lifestyle in the future.

When it comes to playing from the proper set of tees suited for your game, Wade Wilson is a staunch advocate. The PGA professional at El Niguel Country Club in south Orange County doesn’t hold back when discussing the benefits of putting your ego aside before stepping up to the first tee. 

“What’s the goal in a round of golf? To have fun, yes. But what it is really about is shooting as low of a score as possible,” Wilson says. “To help with accomplishing both, we need to be realistic about where we start from — meaning where we put the peg into the ground to start this chaotic journey of ebbs and flows and ups and downs.”

As Wilson explains, somewhere along the way golfers developed an ego about which tees to play from, finding it more rewarding to play a longer golf course while sacrificing enjoyment and lower scores.

As avid golfers, we all know the many health benefits associated with the game — everything from the physical to the mental and social ways that playing golf can improve your lifestyle. A recent study conducted in part at the University of Southern California has confirmed those beliefs and provides evidence that golf can improve quality of life through muscle strengthening, improved balance, aerobic exercise and social interaction. 

The Strength and Balance Study was carried out as part of a larger Golf and Health campaign under the direction of the R&A with two sample groups over two years by Professor Maria Stokes OBE at the University of Southampton and Dr. George Salem at USC. Salem is the director of the Institute for Senior Golf Science and the co-director of the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Laboratory, overseeing its exercise and aging biomechanics research program. 

​The study was undertaken to educate those outside the sport, including public health professionals and politicians, about the health benefits that golfers already know about themselves.

Welcome to Hot Deals of the Week at SoCalGolfInsider.com. In this section, we bring you some of the best deals we can find on golf, golf gear, apparel, accessories and more.

Southern California has changed greatly over the past 100 years. But one thing has remained constant: a golf club in Ventura County that is as fresh and relevant today as it was back in the day when luminaries such as Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Babe Didrickson Zaharias traversed its fairways and greens.

That club is The Saticoy Club, a jewel in the crown of Golden State golf, and a course that has both a rich history and an exciting present. It’s a club that is attractive to those who enjoy the service and amenities that any respectable private club must offer, but also one that tests and sharpens your golf game.

For those of us who don’t know how to fix what we’re doing wrong when the ball starts flying left and right on the golf course, there are a few simple keys you can focus on to hit the ball straighter.
​ 
Dana Dahlquist, a veteran teacher at El Dorado Park Golf Course in Long Beach who works with tour pros and amateurs alike, took some time to break down the most common swing faults and how to address them. What follows are the most common miss-hits along with the causes and cures…