You may not be able to win a green jacket at the Masters in mid-November, but you can be victorious at SoCalGolfInsider.com.

We’re putting on a Masters contest and the winner will take home a golf package that includes a foursome to the newest golf course in Southern California – Rancho Del Sol Golf Club in Moreno Valley – as well as a $100 gift card that can be used at Roger Dunn Golf Shops or The Golf Mart.

Here’s what you need to do to enter the contest:

Halloween is right around the corner and if you’re a passionate golfer you may be thinking less about ghouls and goblins than something that truly terrifies you: The Most Scary Shots in the Game. 

Let’s face it, there are certain shots that just seem to inspire universal dread among all golfers – having to hit the ball over water that is all carry with little margin for error, the 5-foot knee-knocker to save par, the buried lie in a greenside bunker, a slick downhill greenside chip, and the 80-yard bunker shot. 

But fear not! With the right technique, a proper mindset and a little practice, you can learn to relax over these shots knowing that you’ve conquered your anxieties.

​We spoke with some pros from around the region to see if we could take some of the trepidation out of the scariest shots in golf. Here is what we learned…

A new, lower price on TaylorMade’s TP5, TP5x and TP5 pix golf balls, which feature 5-layer construction to achieve enhanced speed without negatively affecting spin performance.

We all know that good golf begins with a good grip. Placing your hands on the club in the proper manner is where the foundation of a solid golf swing starts. 

But even more important than proper placement is proper pressure. As Southern California PGA Teacher of the Year and Director of Instruction at Journey at Pechanga Randy Chang puts it, “One of the most important tips in golf is to maintain or have a sense of maintaining consistent grip pressure from start to finish.”

​Check out the video below from Randy to see how a tube of toothpaste can help you accomplish this objective…

Look out, Indiana, here he comes.

Jason Bannister, who is in the midst of his senior year as captain of the boys golf team at Dana Hills High School, committed to go to the University of Southern Indiana after graduation next fall and, odds are, he can’t get to the Hoosier state fast enough.

After all, he’s played in nine major junior golf tournaments in the state in the past two years and he’s won four of them, his most-recent victory coming in June at the Indiana Junior PGA Championship in Peru.

In July alone, Bannister notched a fourth-place finish at the AJGA Yoder Oil at Knollwood in Indiana and advanced to match play in the Indiana Boys’ State Championship before being eliminated after the first round.

Bannister’s victories in the state include two Indiana Junior titles in 2018, one at Hidden Creek Golf Club and one at Otis Park Golf Course, and two victories in 2019 that include the Age Group Championship in French Lick and an AJGA Qualifier at Knollwood.

So why does a kid who grew up playing golf in Southern California have so much success in a state so far away?

Cardiovascular fitness may not be on the top of every golfer’s list – after all, most of us travel around in golf carts.

But getting your body moving and performing exercises that increase your cardio activity can benefit your heart, body, health, mind, and golf game, according to Mike Hansen of Hansen Fitness for Golf in Irvine.

For many decades, Southern California has been at one time or another home to some of the game’s greatest major champions. Billy Casper, Gene Littler, Fred Couples, Mark O’Meara, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson immediately come to mind.

We can now add Francesco Molinari to that list.

​The 2018 winner of The Open Championship, three-time PGA Tour champion and native of Turin, Italy, relocated earlier this year with his family from London to the tony L.A. suburb of Brentwood. The three-time Ryder Cupper will make Riviera Country Club in neighboring Pacific Palisades his home course, according to longtime friend Jamie Mulligan, the Chief Executive Officer and PGA Professional at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach.

Las Vegas may have Top Golf, but Southern California has Shots in the Night.

Known for its evening golf and entertainment activities, Shots in the Night opened at Indian Wells Golf Resort in 2018, and has been lighting up the nightlife in the Coachella Valley ever since, much the way Top Golf has for visitors in Las Vegas.

Shots in the Night offers guests an experience unlike any other in Southern California, with an after-dark scene that includes golf games, lights, lasers, smoke machines, music, and food and drinks.

Congratulations to Boris Chung for winning the third week of SoCal Golf Insider's Favorite Hole Contest and taking home a dozen Titleist Pro V1 golf balls! There’s still one more week to go to make your submission for a chance to win.

​Here is Boris’s pick, the first hole at Dad Miller Golf Course in Anaheim, and information on how you can enter, too: