I was reading a very interesting article recently from the ever-entertaining Jason Dufner, he of the cool hats, the funny swing waggle, and a stellar reputation as the man to tame the mighty Trackman. (Word is that he is seriously good!)
In an ever-increasing biomechanical golf world, where accessing not guessing is the "Saveur du jour," it was an eye- opener to read his take on what success in golf actually means!
The PGA Tour had 648 players tee it up at least once last year, only 37 players went on to win...
The failure rate in golf is extraordinarily high while the percentage rate to become a hall of fame golfer (according to the gospel of JD) is extremely low at around 2% (especially if you win a Major or two). But when you look behind the figures, you quickly realise how hard it actually is to win on Tour. We are conditioned as a society to applaud the winners and forget the losers. So, we don't see.
Ben Hogan is generally regarded at the greatest ball striker that golf has ever seen. He turned pro in 1929 but did not win on Tour for eleven years and spent most of his early career fighting a hook. That's a lot of disappointment!
Adding to the difficulty of winning is that celestial phenomenon known as your "TIME IN THE SUN!" Players go on a run and the stars just seem to align, yes they are playing well, but they seem to hole the putts at the right time and circumstances contrive to let them achieve a win rate well above the average golfer. For a period of time! This, of course, limits the opportunities for other golfers of that era to win as much as they should. Tiger Woods is the best example of limiting others to the crumbs at the altar of excess, famously getting inside the heads of most of his peers who were beaten before they even teed it up!
Padraig Harrington went on an eye-watering Major run in 2007/2008 where he won an unbelievable three Majors in the space of just thirteen months.
Back to that "hall of fame," Dufner reckons "You win 2 percent of your tournaments, you probably have a Hall of Fame career, you throw in a major and win 2 percent of your tournaments, and you're certainly in the Hall of Fame.''
This is not as outrageous as it sounds, Mark O'Meara, Fred Couples and Davis Love are all inducted into golf's Hall of Fame, they have just! four majors between them and all have won slightly above 2% of the time they competed on the PGA Tour.
Jack Nicklaus holds the record for most runner-up finishes in Majors with 19 and the most top-five finishes in Majors with 56. That's a lot of losing!
It is tough to win on the PGA Tour, there is no doubt about that with a combination of deeper fields, fresh-faced and fearless, young players coming out on to tour and being mentally prepared to win straight off the bat, (scar tissue hasn't set in!), players winning multiple times in the season (nine last year), which obviously reduces the chances of winning for mere mortal folk. It is as if players are conditioned after a while to "wait in line", do all the right things and your time will come, hopefully. Golf has to be one of the toughest mental games ever invented. Starting out, it's 90% physical and 10% mental, get on tour and it is the exact opposite, 10% physical and 90% mental, maybe even more. Losing happens a lot on Tour!
Matt Kuchar and Lee Westwood both won last weekend for the first time in over four years, mirroring the last time they both won? April 20th, 2014. Worth the wait!
But at the end of the day, failure is relative, one man's failure is another mans gold. Take Brian Davis who has won just over 13 million dollars without ever stepping up on the winner's podium. Yep, that's right, 13 million, with zero wins. Not too shabby for failing at golf!
Player Watch - Matt Wallace
Matt Wallace looks like he is having his so-called "TIME IN THE SUN" at the moment but maybe it's too early to call it that as the 28-year-old continues to blitz the European Tour. Three wins this season and leading at the DP World Championship in Dubai heading into the weekend. If he were to win again, he would only be the fourth player to achieve that many wins in a season in the last eight years! Looking at his scoring, he is on some roll, as he has shot seven under par or better, six times this season, no one else on Tour has more! But in fairness, if you look back at his career, he has always been a class act. He first came to notice when he won five consecutive times on the Alps Tour but had also had a fine amateur career. This is a perfect example of progression, from his plus four handicap as an amateur to where he is today. Leading the cream of Europe in the last event of the Rolex series!
“Enjoying every minute out there, most fun I’ve had on a golf course ever!” Matt Wallace back in August at the PGA Championship.
It is also quite telling how well he took the disappointment of missing out on this years Ryder Cup team...
“I've had a lot of disappointments in my life, in my career, playing golf, and I've always used it as fire to get better"
If he keeps going at his current pace, he won't be waiting on any phone call to board the plane to Wisconsin in two years time.
Swing Myths
Keep you left arm straight in your backswing!
Swing Myths this week talks about something I actually teach regularly but is so misunderstood by the majority of amateur golfers that it goes from good advice to poison. Sit back YouTube golfers and learn reality.
- At address, you should have about 3-5 degrees of bend in your elbows. They should feel relaxed and hanging like ropes. So, two nice images at address are (1) a nice firm grip, not tight and (2) soft arms.
- Into the backswing, locking out those arms starting back causes you to use up all your pivot motion early, you will have an inside takeaway which will lead to an arm lift backswing. Locking out those elbows can also cause you to be pulled out of your posture as you try to create width in the backswing.
- Top, if you have avoided the pitfalls of address and into the backswing, the top of the backswing is where you need to pay real attention, most poor golfers I see who suffer from poor rotation cheat by either using a baseball type swing to get the club around themselves in the backswing OR collapse the left elbow at the top of the backswing. This is the important part of trying to keep the left arm somewhat straight, don't let that left arm wrap itself around your neck at the top of the backswing. This will make you very narrow at the top.
- Downswing, again watch that the left elbow doesn't collapse on the downswing. This will cause poor steepness in the downswing. Yes, there is such a thing as good steepness in the backswing.
"Competent golfers swing the club from wide (takeaway) to narrow (impact area) to wide (follow through) - poor golfers swing the club from narrow (in around themselves, baseball swing) to wide (downswing, casting etc) to narrow (follow through, hang back etc)"
For all you golf nerds out there, using K-Motion and Gears technology, here are some guidelines for elbow bend throughout the golf swing in professionals. They have about 3-5 degrees at address, 10-13 degrees hip high on the way back, early 20's (degrees) at the top, mid 20's (degrees) hip high on the way down and mid-teens (degrees) at impact. NOT STRAIGHT AT IMPACT!! Finally, locking out the left elbow reduces speed in the swing and nobody wants that!
As per usual, my advice is to find a competent professional teacher and ask him/her to help you. Ask fellow members of your golf club for advice on who they went to for lessons. Word of mouth is the best recommendation.
Around the World
- QE2 Shootout - the European Tour are at it again! More magic from their marketing department!
- Patrick Reed - doing Patrick Reed things!
- Francesco Molinari - doing Frankie things!
An hour to spare?
Podcast Corner!
I am a big fan of Podcasts, I like to listen to them in the background while working on all things digital! There are some terrific ones around (if you know where to look) and I will try to guide you towards some of my favorites! This week it's Suzy Whaley, the new President of the PGA of America, along with Angela Garvia and Hally Leadbetter discussing growing women's golf. Brought to you by the always entertaining, "SiriusXM Pga Tour Radio" podcast.
"We are always looking for ways to give opportunity to women..." Suzy Whaley
Quotes of the week
“I just had a four-footer there and it was the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life” Gavin Moynihan, talking about the putt that secured his European Tour ticket for 2019.
“He is the biggest name in the game, he is the needle mover, he is the needle, he is the bottom line.” Pat Perez, talking about that phenomenon known as Tiger Woods, a year ago. Prophetic!
“Geez, I'd cause all the stirs in the world if I go back to winning majors.” Rory McIlroy, no holds barred as he attempts to get back to winning ways.
Last Word
The last word this week goes to two golfers, Tom Murray, and Cormac Sarvin. Both suffered the slings and arrows of Tour school but will no doubt come back stronger for the experience. Tom first missed out on a Tour card by the narrowest of margins on the season-long Challenge Tour, finishing one spot outside the cards! Then, a few days later at Tour School this week, he was going well at seven under par after two rounds but was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. To make it even worse, he shot 70, signed for 70 but put the wrong scores in on the wrong holes. "If I can deal with what happened on the Challenge Tour I can definitely deal with being disqualified from Q School for being an idiot."
Cormac Sharvin inadvertently teed it up a few inches in front of a tee marker on the par three, 7th hole, in the final round of Tour School. Cue two shot-penalty for the 26-year-old and yes you guessed it, missed his full tour card by one shot. “With the pin being so far left on the green it obviously through me off [in my alignment]. But I didn’t let it affect me in any way and just treated it as a test of character and I feel I showed great character to respond the way I did!”
They both have just gained a new member of their respective fan clubs!
Thank you for reading, enjoy your golf this weekend if you get out to play, and I will talk to you all next Tuesday!
Tadhg
Tadhg Harrington is a full time, professional golf instructor, and owner of the Harrington Golf Academy, based in Dublin, Ireland. He is a graduate of the Titleist Performance Institute and Setanta College. He is the eldest brother of three-time time Major Champion, Padraig Harrington.
He succeeds, employing empathy, passion and exceptional customer service, teaching above the noise, the quick tips, and the latest fads and is truly unique in the Irish golf industry.
The Harrington Golf Academy provides long term coaching programs designed to bring sensory processing to motor learning skills. Tadhg teaches the long game at Drynam Park Golf Centre and short game at Roganstown GC. His business partner, Ex European Tour Player, Rebecca Codd, also teaches full time at Drynam Park Golf Centre.