The Masters golf tournament takes place this week. What? You’re not in it? Well, the next best thing is to read about it.

Golf Digest, which gave us the classically ironic cover feature “10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger” just before the golfer’s chronic philandering ways were uncovered, is just as out of sync with the times in its most recent issue. Once again the magazine features Tiger on its cover. This time the former No. 1-ranked golfer (now No. 3) is sporting a spring green golf shirt. It’s probably the closest the four-time Masters champion will come to donning anything remotely resembling the green jacket — awarded to the winner of the Masters.

Sports Illustrated’s Golf magazine gets golf lovers in shape for the summer season, offering tips from the pros on how to get the lowest scores by slicing, sinking and swinging in just the right manner. Woods is on the cover, of course, along with a nice photo of the 12th hole at Augusta National, where the Masters takes place. His coach, Sean Foley, reveals the randy golf sensation’s strategy for winning — let’s hope it has nothing to do with Charlie Sheen. It’s an interesting piece even for those who don’t know a birdie about the sport.

Golf Tips shows why players can never get enough help to improve their games. While perfection isn’t likely, there are, of course, loads of subtle tricks and changes offered in the magazine to improve control and power. All of it’s supplied in step-by-step, illustrated instructions from pros. Aimed at seasoned and new players alike, the magazine and its tips are never outdated, whether it’s to achieve longer, straighter shots, or to stop wasting swings on the way to the flag.

Last week the Economist called Yemen, which is on the brink of civil war, “an ungovernable snakepit,” adding that “Nobody in his right mind would intervene there.” Which is one reason we were fascinated that the New Yorker portrays the Obama administration as meddling away, eyeing the risk of an Islamist insurrection that could turn the tiny country on the Arabian Peninsula into an Al Qaeda stronghold. Elsewhere there’s a nice article on “Hollywood’s Woman Problem,” but we were less impressed by the profile of Robert Thomson, the Wall Street Journal’s managing editor, which seemed hampered by a lack of access to its subject.

In an issue that’s sure to engross the locals, New York looks at the history of the city’s apartments — the tenements, the lofts and the high-rise penthouses. We felt ourselves seething with envy as Gay Talese chronicled how he bought a brownstone on the East Side in 1973 for $175,000, renovations included. Indeed, we wished there had been less talk and more pictures. The “moonscape” of shag carpet covering the floors and furniture of an Olympic-size living room at 41 Central Park West made us wonder whether the ’70s are really over, and whether we’ve been getting shut out of all the good key parties.

Newsweek has an executive summary for US readers on Prince William’s squeeze Kate Middleton, declaring on its cover, “In a world gone to hell — thank God, a wedding.” Also for the Euro-inclined, there’s the tale of how French President Sarkozy was persuaded to go after Khadafy by controversial philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy. Interesting, though we wonder how many subscribers will finish that one. Better to check out the write-up on the Kabbalah Centre International, which counts Madonna as a member, which is being investigated for siphoning away millions from charitable projects, including Madonna’s in Africa.

Time delivers a couple of stories that we felt like we should read, but just couldn’t muster the energy — the one about “modernizing 911 for the mobile age,” for example. For those who haven’t been paying attention, there’s also a profile of Minnesota’s Michelle Bachmann, who some hope might liven up the GOP presidential ticket in 2012. The cover story — which also felt a bit like eating our peas — was nevertheless a good treatment of the controversy over drawing the natural gas that’s plentiful in underground shale deposits.