-By Lucia Moses

Between the pinch of the ad recession and flameout of its most famous player, golf has some rebuilding to do. The same can be said for the reigning monthlies devoted to the sport, Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, which each shed 28 percent of their ad pages last year.
 
But Time Inc.’s Golf Magazine, while it’s still been trailing Condé Nast’s Digest in terms of overall pages, is turning a corner this year. The recovery comes thanks partly to the magazine’s first “No. 1” themed issue in October. The issue, which Time Inc. hopes will become a new franchise rivaling its Time 100, was up 15 percent in ad pages, bringing the year-to-date page count up 2 percent.
 
Catering to golfer’s love of lists and stats, the No. 1 issue will include a Golfer of the Year award, top equipment and advice, and interviews with celebrity golfers like Bill Murray and Larry David.
 
Don’t look for coverage of Tiger Woods, though; the issue is deliberately sidestepping that topic for more “positive” fare. “The real story for golf is people who play the game,” said Dick Raskopf, publisher of the Sports Illustrated Golf Group. “With everything going on in golf, the recession, publicity around the most public figure in golf, we felt it was the right time to celebrate the more positive issues in golf.”