day before playing in my club championship, I read Rick Smith's article on avoiding the banana ball off the tee. Considering my play this year, which has been lackluster at best, and that I've always played a heavy fade (and sometimes a lot more, especially under pressure), I changed my swing based on two minor adjustments advised by Mr. Smith: I strengthened my grip slightly and dropped my right foot back. The result was unbelievable. I hit a number of extremely tight fairways to win three matches and my very competitive flight.

If I could split up the hardware, Mr. Smith would get a third for his sage advice and Golf Digest a third.