Connect with us

Opinion & Analysis

How much distance is lost with age?

Published

on

There seems to be a steady progression of lost driving distance that comes with age, but I don’t recall ever seeing much actual information on the topic. My curiosity got the best of me, so one day I sat down and tried to figure it out.

I started by looking up the ages and driving distances of 440 players on the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour, Champions Tour, European Tour and European Senior Tour.

Here’s a breakdown of the averages I found in five-year increments, along with a calculation of their estimated average swing speeds based on the average Tour players driving distance efficiency being about 2.57 yard/mph.

Screen Shot 2014-12-26 at 12.16.58 PM

If I break down the numbers in 10-year increments to decades, here’s what I found.

Screen Shot 2014-12-26 at 12.17.28 PM

As expected, we see a decline in distance and club head speed over time. Below are a few points of interest.

  • Pros in their 20’s, and more specifically in their late 20’s, hit the longest drives and swing the fastest.
  • Pros on the main tours (i.e. non-senior tours) in their 30’s are around the tour average in both categories, meaning the guys in their 20s boost both averages and guys in their 40’s bring down the averages.
  • There’s a really sharp decline in speed and distance around age 50. I wonder if there is something psychological at play here. As soon as golfers turn 50 and start playing the “senior” tours, they could start thinking of themselves as older and it could manifest in their play. Who knows.

Since the lowest club head speed for a competitive player on a tour for a player under 50 years old is usually around 104 mph, it makes sense that we don’t see as many guys in their 50s or 60s being competitive on the main tours. But does it have to be like that?

Trackman research shows that when a golfer goes from a 15 handicap to a +5 handicap, there is a correlation of about 1:1 of club head speed to handicap. That means that for every 1 mph increase in clubhead speed, you’ll see about a 1-shot drop in handicap. I suppose that it’s not too far of a stretch to say that as tour players lose club head speed and distance, it becomes more difficult for them to shoot lower scores and be competitive at the highest levels.

Still, there is only about a 10 mph club head speed difference between the guys in the 60-to-69 age category and the main tour average of about 113 mph. In my work as a Swing Speed Trainer, I can definitely tell you it’s possible to add 10 mph of speed to swing through swing speed training. Furthermore, I believe that age is largely a state of mind and if you are willing to put in some work, a great deal of physical capability can be maintained and even increased well in to the latter parts of life. As the saying goes, “use it or lose it.”

Related: Three ways to add distance to your drives

The video below of Sam Bright, Jr. is a fine example. It stands to reason that if a senior tour player in his 50s or 60s is still motivated and interested in playing one of the main tours, he could certainly do so with Swing Speed Training.

[youtube id=”iU4yAZobbfI” width=”620″ height=”360″]

Assuming the same regression happens at the amateur level, here’s what those numbers might look like for 14-to-15 handicappers who swing 93.4 mph and hit drives 214 yards when they’re 30-to-39. It could then be said that maintaining this handicap level could also become difficult with age.

Screen Shot 2014-12-26 at 12.22.05 PM

To help combat potential distance and handicap loss with age, I refer you to another article I wrote called “Three ways to longer drives.” As George Bernard Shaw once said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.”

I say to you, get out there and play!

Your Reaction?
  • 420
  • LEGIT109
  • WOW32
  • LOL22
  • IDHT6
  • FLOP12
  • OB7
  • SHANK31

Jaacob Bowden is Coach, Trainer, and Professional Golfer, keen on exploring golf and life’s broader lessons while offering coaching and swing speed training through JaacobBowden.com and SwingManGolf.com. With a history of driving remarkable golfing achievements, Jaacob intertwines his sport passion with holistic living. His writings reflect this blend, offering readers insights into improving both their game and their lives. Explore JaacobBowden.com and SwingManGolf.com to unlock a new level of golfing prowess and holistic enrichment.

66 Comments

66 Comments

  1. Pingback: Best 8 average swing speed by age - lindaadvisors.com

  2. Pingback: Best 14 average golf swing speed by age - lindaadvisors.com

  3. Pingback: The 5 Best Golf Drivers For Mid Handicappers (2021) Reviewed

  4. Pingback: The 5 Best Golf Driver For Seniors And Slow Swing Speed (2021)

  5. Advanced French

    Oct 14, 2019 at 11:17 pm

    Woah this weblog is great i enjoy reading through your content regularly.. Advanced French Continue being inside the good work! You understand, a lot of people usually are seeking circular because of this data, you can guide these people drastically.

  6. Bob Hill

    Sep 13, 2018 at 11:23 am

    I manage a group of up to 40 golfers who are in their 60s, 70s, and 80, all of whom mention every round how short the hit the ball compared to 10-20 years ago. I would like to remind the better golfers who build courses, plan tee distance or even put the tee markers in their course at the start of play: players do not move to the seniors tees because they have lost 10 or 20 yards. They move to the senior tees because they have lot 30 to 40 yards off the the tee, and continue to lose as they age. So don’t put the senior tee marker 10 yards in front of the white tee; we consider that an insult.

  7. Jim Hamilton

    Apr 11, 2017 at 8:02 pm

    In 2004, at 61 years old, I won my regional ReMax World Long Drive championship at 355 yards at Riverside in Indianapolis with a clubhead speed of 127 mph. I’m a physicist, and found that efficient long drive swings used both torso rotation and whole-body bending around, most typically, the solar plexus to swing the arms. Both motions generate speed without significant movement of the center of gravity of the body, but like a platform diver, or a falling cat, generate useful motion around the CG. I swung an SMT head on an Accuflex shaft… long-drive specialties. Fast-forward to today, at 74. i just started to play again after illness and am 25 pounds lighter. Clubhead speed is 112 with that same old driver and distance is about 280. With a more appropriate and modern driver and work on flexibility, 300 will come. Injury is the biggest distance loser, and tour pros are most vulnerable. Leading knee twist and lumbar vertebral damage are the result of powerful swings done for decades. My advice: learn to let your forward foot rotate (there is a special golf shoe that does it automatically) on the ground on your all-out drives, and use more lateral bend ( see Mike Dunaway’s DVD) and a little less pure torsion. It makes a big difference. I agree about low T and fast twitch muscles, but injuries are the biggest swing killers.

  8. George Saalmann

    Nov 3, 2016 at 9:17 pm

    I am 76 & I took up golf at 60 by error. With a young family, it was important to bond with them while they were growing up. After my doctor recommended an operation to relieve my back pain, I went to our local driving range, every day for 18 moths. I would hit between 450-500 balls a day. I had blisters, bleeding hands and tore muscles in my back, till I thought I was going to have a heart attack. The golf pro called me a machine gun. Then one day, the Manager came over and said, “Could I please stop hitting over the safety net at the back as you are hitting the homes behind it”. My severe back pain stopped & I realized, I might be able to play golf.
    Now at age 76 I still drive 227 metres. My back pain with regular & moderate exercise every day, Has gone. I have had 3 golf lessons, for a right hander. Which did not help, as being a left hander. However for reason, I play right handed golf. Having read, Ben Hogan’s book on golf has helped heaps.
    Thanks for golf. the exercise & and cameraderie with my golf friends of same age..

    That is when I started to realize .over wanted to operate on my spend time with them In m in th

  9. Tom Horne

    Oct 30, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    I am 80 yrs. young and hit my drives up to 250 yds and 75% of my gaqmes in2015 were uner my age aqt Trickle Creek Golf Course on the blue tees.Love my Callaway clubs.

  10. John

    May 25, 2015 at 1:43 am

    Great article.

    At the 1988 PGA at Oaktree in Edmond Oklahoma, I was 33 years old. I had Contestant’s Family badges as I used to work for a club pro that had played his way into the tournament that year. Those badges gave me access to a PGA Tour operated hitting cage that could measure clubhead speed. I used a persimmon driver with a steel shaft that was provided by the PGA rep (Remember, the first titanium driver, the Big Bertha, didn’t hit the market until 1991). On a dozen swings, I averaged around 112 mph. One swing was 118 mph. The operator told me that my clubhead speed was in the top half of PGA pros. This didn’t really surprise me because at 33 years old, I was 6′ 1″ and a strong and limber 175 pounds. I was lucky enough to live a mile from the golf course and I started playing golf almost every day from the age of 12. I played to a four handicap, hit short irons into all the par fours, and was rarely out-driven.

    Fast forward to 2015 and I am now 60 years old, 210 pounds, can’t touch my toes, and I rarely hit wedges to par fours anymore. My Clubhead speed now is in the 98-102 mph range and that’s with a titanium driver and the graphite shaft. I have one video of me swinging when I was 17 years old and I had just won a junior tournament. I compare that video to my current swing and all I can say is that I’m now watching a fat old man swing that appears to have nothing correct in his swing anymore.

    I showed my young swing to the PGA pro at the club I belong to and he commented “nice swing, is that you?” He then agreed with me that until I lose 20 pounds and gain back some flexibility, my distance is just going to continue to drop. So, all I can say is that this article is spot on. Flexibility is the key to distance, not stength. If it was strength, Arnold Schwarzenegger would hit a ball 500 yards.

  11. Pingback: How Much Distance is Lost With Age? - Dan Hansen Golf Instruction

  12. Phil E

    May 2, 2015 at 9:07 am

    UPDATE: The GM at the course I play the most, laughed at me & explained that playing that much golf tears the little muscles in your shoulders akin to lifting weights. He said “Dude give your body a rest & you’ll be fine”. Turns out he was correct. Distance numbers on the course are more in line with what I’m used to.

  13. robert coles

    Apr 30, 2015 at 7:21 am

    Turn 78 this yr [2015] 20 yrs ago played off 3. Now with rotator cuff injury + loss of prostate [less test.] have gone down to 200 yd max drive with roll. Struggling to stay close to 80 on 72 par course.
    good putting and chipping is my only chance to stay in the game. Putting stats = 28 putts / round.
    Swing speed is 85 but playing on kike grass courses well watered have taken its toll on length. Give me the good old days with no course watering [like they still do in UK] and couch fairways. I call course watering of golf course the American disease.

  14. CJaenike

    Jan 28, 2015 at 3:41 am

    Significant drop off from 20s to 40s, while commonplace, is certainly not inevitable. I’ve followed the same (aggressive) workout regimen and level of activity throughout, and my club head speed at 46 (115 mph average, 116 max) is essentially the same as it was at 26 (115, 117 max). I’m average height and weight at 5’10”, 165#, btw. It’s all about putting in the fitness work.

  15. Ron

    Jan 19, 2015 at 11:49 am

    Interesting article. I had not seen any attempt at this analysis before, although I have wondered about what to expect with age. After a several decades-long hiatus from golf, I started playing again at age 60, so don’t know how my distance changed over time. But I am longer now at 74 than I was as a college player (where I was not particularly long – or even straight) – and that has to be the gains in technology. I may have lost a few yards over this last decade, but not a lot. With a smooth tempo 90-94 mph driver speed, a center-hit still makes me pretty long for my age-group. (And my sense is that center-of-the-club-face is more important to distance then a few mph speed-gain if off-center.) All other things being equal, the 2+ yds per mph off the driver is a good measure to keep in mind – but center-hits are still key. My index is about 4.

    • bradford

      Jan 29, 2015 at 11:21 am

      If you’re hitting the middle of the club face, the new technology does very little. There’s a lot of “data” out there designed to sell clubs, but the fact is average driving distance on the pro level has only increased by ~20 yards (probably less) in the last 30 years, and most of that is due to the ball. The increase seen from amateurs is usually due to matching a more forgiving club to someone who makes poor or inconsistent contact. I play to an 8 or 9 and I still get a kick out of 20+ handicappers that believe they have a solid grasp on their driver distance. If they told me “I hit the ball between 190 and 250.” I’d believe that. Most will tell you they hit it “Ya know 270 on a good day…”, and that means one day in a simulator they hit that number one time-ever. Now it’s their “average”.

  16. Lowell

    Jan 13, 2015 at 5:37 pm

    I believe that in order for this to hold true with regards to losing distance with age, the golfer must then use the same golf club for the entirety of his golf career. In seeing golfers actually adding distance is more to advancement in technology that has helped. So as a result you are finding those who have aged also picking up yardage. Now if they were to stick with the persimmon or steel head drivers of the past then I would be in total agreement. As for now, with lighter shafts that launch lower with a better launch angle, who knows, we might actually see another slight increase in distance in relation to age.

  17. LY

    Jan 8, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    I’m almost 61 and have not lost much distance since the age of 50. What I do everyday is swing a 5lb. golf club 50 times a day. You would be surprised how much that helps with distance, strength and flexability.

    • Phil E

      Apr 15, 2015 at 3:43 pm

      I will be 61 in a few months, 5’2″ 120lbs. single digit golfer. Still very flexible. 5yrs ago: 101mph ss, 3yrs ago: 98mph ss. Just came from Dick’s for a regripping (played about 80 rounds 2014). While waiting used monitor (the real one, little metal box)> Was bummed. Avg. ss 90mph, carry distance 206, total 232 yds. Did hit a few 93-95mph 228 carry 250 total yds. Only a few years ago was 238 carry(max) 262total yds. 4/13/15 (mon.) played 40holes next day 26holes (riding). 4/15/15 went to Dick’s. Could fatigue have played a role? I stopped playing ice hockey (laced em up 6 times in the past year). Any thoughts, I’m bummed!

  18. WarrenPeace

    Jan 7, 2015 at 4:50 pm

    Advice for all you aging older players- spend 80% of your practice time chipping and putting…..the great equalizer. Injuries will take their toll on you hitting too many range balls so shadow swing slow at home instead making the correct moves…you’ll be amazed how much more connected and better contact you will make on course without the wear and tear of whacking balls. I love hitting balls and practice honestly but the joints take a beating hitting 100-200 balls. Be smart about your body.

  19. WarrenPeace

    Jan 7, 2015 at 4:24 pm

    These numbers are for regular old people that have given into the low T BS! Now days people are in better shape and have healthy active lifestyles that enable them to retain both strength and flexibility. I will be 60 in April and while I hit it about 240 in my competitive 20’s (persimmon and balata), and with the new equipment, I hit it 250-280 now. My friends who are 50-60 all hit it past me so I agree with Gary Player- it’s about moving, staying active and eating correctly. FYI- We all walk most rounds while the fat boys are riding the carts drinking their beer. That’s the difference.

  20. Lancebp

    Jan 7, 2015 at 3:33 pm

    Something seems drastically wrong with some of these comments. I’m 65, I’ve played for 50 years. I was never a long hitter. In the persimmon era, 225 (carry and roll) was my standard. Today, at 65, I use a highly accurate radar unit, average about 97 mph and occasionally reach a legitimate 100. I have no question my clubhead speed at 65 is higher than it was at 40, and it’s not because I’m a walking miracle. I suppose 1 mph lost for every year after 50 might be true if you also get fatter, weaker and lazier every year after 50 too.

  21. Golfraven

    Jan 7, 2015 at 3:28 pm

    things just go downhill when you turn 40. I better start my excercise routine like Gary Player otherwise I see no tomorrow. Maybe my Orange Whip will help me maintaining or gaining the extra MPH. However I think that length is not everything. you become a refined player with age just like good wine.

  22. Jim

    Jan 7, 2015 at 2:48 pm

    Getting old simply “sucks.” In two months I’ll turn 65. At 63 I spent the summer fighting a kidney stone for two months ending in surgery. I only played three rounds the entire summer and they were all in May. The following summer I was astonished at how much eye-hand coordination I had lost. I suddenly couldn’t hit my Mizuno MP-32’s with any consistency and my 7-iron which was automatically dialed in at 150 yards was playing at least 10 yards shorter. Even my wedges were coming up short by at least a club. I don’t even want to talk about driver distance fading away.
    My wife did buy me a new set of Titleist AP1’s as well as Ping G25 driver, 5-wood and 20 and 23-degree hybrids. I struggled through most of last summer getting used to my new game, but still enjoyed playing. My drives now average about 220. My longest drive in early September was 240, but that was a perfectly struck ball. And I am forgetting to mention that I now play optic yellow balls because I truly can’t see white balls any more (thanks to 20 years of staring at computer monitors for 12 hours a day).
    I still love the game immensely and have found the Ping metals are keeping me in the fairway consistently. I also rely much more on my short game, especially putting, to keep me in the mid-80’s. And the young pups I play with, who are still in their 50’s, still demand that I play from the blues with them. I simply hit a lot more hybrids and 5-woods into the long Par-3’s now.
    The same thing will likely happen to most of you reading this right now. You’ll get discouraged at first, learn to accept it and finally, if you truly love this great game as I do, you’ll adapt to reality and change your game and expectations so that you still love playing and practicing all summer long. As an old hockey player, golf is still the best game ever invented.

    • Golfraven

      Jan 7, 2015 at 3:32 pm

      The worst thing is when wifes start to buy improvement clubs for you. Length can only maintained through practice so no wonder you were short after short after a serious heath break.

  23. Dana Upshaw

    Jan 7, 2015 at 12:46 pm

    It’s been my experience being a professional fitter for over 20 years that just about EVERYONE starts losing clubhead speed at the rate of 1mph per year at age 50. It’s just part of the natural slowing down process in everything we do. It’s a gradual process that is imperceptible in the short term, but the cumulative effect is great. As we age, we talk slower, we walk slower, we chew slower, we swing slower. And while 1mph doesn’t seem like a lot, 15 years down the road the cumulative effect is 15mph and a loss of 35-45 yards with a driver and 20-30 with an iron. Combined together, the second shot PW of yesteryear is now a 4-5 iron. In 20 years of watching my clientele age I’ve had ONE 68 year-old golfer who has maintained his clubhead speed and ONE 72 year-old golfer who actually gained 4mph. Everyone else has decayed at 1mph per year once over 50. Add in the effects of not-so-good impact conditions and misfit clubs and the yardage “rollback” can be severe enough to discourage the staunchest curmudgeon from playing as much as they’d desire. Unfortunately, for most folks that just the way it is and without significant dedication to strength and flexibility training and lessons they will never recapture the speed of their glory days.

    • JOEL GOODMAN

      Jan 7, 2015 at 2:18 pm

      I’LL BE 80 IN JULY AND HIT MY DRIVES 210-220 REGULARLY AND A 4 IRON IS MY 175 YD CLUB. MOST OF THE GUYS MY AGE CAN’T COME CLOSE TO ME BUT THE YOUNG STUDS FLY THEIR 7 IRONS PAST MY 4 IRON. IS THERE ANY REAL WAY I CAN RESUME MY YOUNGER DAYS PERFORMANCE, WHERE I WAS 30-40 YARDS LONGER?? I PLAY 5 DAYS A WEEK 52 WEEKS A YEAR. LIVE IN SOUTH FLORIDA. NO STEROIDS, PLEASE…….

    • Tom Kelly

      Jan 8, 2015 at 9:52 pm

      I think your comment “Combined together, the second shot PW of yesterday is now a 4-5 iron.” to be totally accurate. The data Jacob Bowden sites from the various tours is taken from the records of the best players in the world. Stronger lofts, longer clubs, more forgiving heads and wonderful balls have enabled older players to retain some of that lost distance. Those that disagree should get access to a Trackman and see what really is happening. There are a few lucky people with unusual genes that don’t lose speed. A very, very few lucky people…

  24. talljohn777

    Jan 7, 2015 at 12:37 pm

    Flexibility is the number one reason for club head speed going down. If you can maintain flexibility your club head speed will not drop of dramatically.

  25. Plane

    Jan 7, 2015 at 3:46 am

    We used to say, we lost 10 yards every 10 years! But that was with the old equipment before the giant headed drivers and super-duper balls came into play.
    Amazing what technology can give us now.

  26. Pingback: How Age Decreases Distance in Golf - The Golf Shop Online Blog - The Golf Shop Online Blog

  27. Steve

    Jan 6, 2015 at 1:30 pm

    I remember as a kid we would take our top hand pinky off the grip and rest it on the butt. Essentially making the club longer. Hit it farther lose some accuracy. It does work try it. Never heard anyone mention it, but was common practice when I was young

  28. Zak

    Jan 6, 2015 at 2:04 am

    So at 25 y/o I haven’t peaked with my distance yet? Nice to know!

  29. David

    Jan 5, 2015 at 11:48 pm

    I still hit long drives at age 44. To me the biggest factors as we age would be how well we have taken care of our backs (or if we have sustained a back injury during our life) and maintaining flexibility as we age. Additionally, since some studies indicate that many men experience drops in testosterone levels as they age that may also be a contributing factor to loss in clubhead speed due to muscle atrophy and loss of overall strength.

  30. Tom Kelly

    Jan 5, 2015 at 9:48 pm

    A wonderful article. At 71 I can still swing a 44.5″ driver 96 to 100 mph. At 49 I could swing a 43.5″ Dynamic shafted persimmon driver 106 to 110 mph and thought about trying to play on the senior tour. I blamed the loss of speed as I aged to injury and drugs related to cancer. The answer is much more simple. As ‘Archie Bunker’ suggests, the answer is going forward and for club events, to have more divisions in tournaments by age. And maybe we’d get more older players to continue to play competitive golf. Trying to play against 30 year old players who are hitting six clubs less at greens makes for a long day.

    • Rich

      Jan 5, 2015 at 11:45 pm

      Tom, I’m not saying that people don’t lose distance with age (I know I have) but since when has age and how far you hit have anything to do with what your score is? I play golf with a guy who is 10 years older than me (he’s early 50’s and I’m early 40’s) and he doesn’t come anywhere near me with the driver. His handicap is 3-4 shots less than mine and most weeks he would run rings around me because he manages HIS own game so well. He doesn’t hit the ball as well as me but he plays better golf. This is the essence of our game, not making sure I’m hitting it as far as the bloke I’m playing with. Golf is about the score, not now far you hit it.

      • christian

        Jan 6, 2015 at 2:14 am

        All else being equal, the longer player wins.

        • Rich

          Jan 6, 2015 at 4:38 pm

          Maybe, but you don’t win just because of your length. If the rest of your game is not in shape, length means nothing. If you can’t putt or manage your game, it doesn’t matter how far you hit it. Just ask Nicholas Colsarts or Alvaro Quiros. Very long bombers but not winning at the moment.

          • Regis

            Jan 7, 2015 at 2:01 pm

            Although some of your points are well taken the fact remains that all other things being equal (short game, putting, fundamentals remaining intact)if you lose 15%-20% of your distance as you age that driver wedge combo on that 320yds opening hole becomes driver/7 iron and it gets worse as the holes get longer. And forget going for any par 5 in two.

        • RG

          Jan 7, 2015 at 4:58 am

          Sounds good, but hard to prove. I think club and shot selection have a lot more to do with it.

      • Tom Kelly

        Jan 6, 2015 at 8:00 pm

        I agree that length isn’t the only thing. But, increasingly on the various tours, you see that the consistent money winners rank high on distance. You also see extremely good players try to make swing changes for more distance – Luke Donald certainly comes to mind. The story from 70 years ago about Sam Snead playing Paul Runyon in a PGA match play championship where Snead outhit Runyon by 50 yards but still lost supports your position. But Runyon’s are invisible today at all tour levels. As Christian says, all else being equal, the longer player wins.

        • Rich

          Jan 6, 2015 at 9:56 pm

          Fair enough but when is all else equal? Hardly ever if at all. I don’t understand this fascination, wait, infatuation people have with distance. Your point (along with Christians) might be more relevant on tour but in our world of social golf and club competitions, it means diddly squat. I guess I don’t think of tour pros as being relevant to me and the way I play (except for the entertainment of watching them play) because they play a game of golf that is unrecognisable to me. They are another universe.

        • Rich

          Jan 6, 2015 at 11:07 pm

          BTW, I think Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Graeme McDowell and Zach Johnson might have something to say about being invisible………….

  31. other paul

    Jan 5, 2015 at 9:44 pm

    I just bought into Jaacobs speed swinging program and I am noticing a difference and its only been a week. Should get go 110MPH this month. Maybe more. Just hit 4 of my longest drives ever. Measured, 284,284,286,286. Goal is 310 a month from now. Want to average 290 or better.

  32. Big Mike

    Jan 5, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    Turned 58 two days before Thanksgiving. SS has dropped from 112-114 to 104-109 or so. Still can hit the ball very well off the tee and last week hit a couple approaching 300. No doubt I’ve slowed but can still keep up with many guys younger than me. Started a new workout regimen on my birthday and am getting stronger, more flexible, etc.

  33. Barney Adams

    Jan 5, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    Jaacob. You stop data at 69 yrs. those of us past 70 or god forbid 75. We dead?

    • Jaacob Bowden

      Jan 5, 2015 at 11:05 pm

      Haha, no, there just wasn’t really any data for Tour players at that age range. Would be curious to see, though.

  34. Steve St Clair

    Jan 5, 2015 at 7:35 pm

    I love it when the young (read: less than 50) make statements about what the old can accomplish with more stretching and strengthening. I have yet to see any data that suggest that stretching and strengthening have any more beneficial effects for older golfers than for younger golfers.

  35. Randy Dandy

    Jan 5, 2015 at 6:31 pm

    Is this another one of those foolish ideas brought on by Monty’s fallacies and misconceptions on the golf swing ? He is so far off in right field that dude

  36. Martin

    Jan 5, 2015 at 5:08 pm

    Well you guys who are middle aged body builders are impressive.

    I’m a middle aged 51 year old with bad knees and have gone from 105-108 in my 20’s and 30’s to low 90’s at 51.

    A little over 10% drop in club head speed, but I make much better contact now with big drivers etc.

    I suspect the article is correct, my knees would make me about 65 in dog years.

  37. moses

    Jan 5, 2015 at 4:10 pm

    I got into weight lifting at the age of 36. Been doing it about 3-4 times a week and at the age of 50 I am much stronger now than when I was in my 20’s. I still swing around 110. Sam’s right. Age is just a number to a certain degree and it is what you make of it.

  38. enrique

    Jan 5, 2015 at 3:57 pm

    I hit the ball much further at 46 than I did at 30 – and I’ve played golf since I was 18.

    It’s all about health. My buddy is 61 years old and a 6’2″ lean workout freak. Runs and lifts regularly. He hits the ball a mile. He hits it further now than he did in his 40’s. We’ve had this conversation.

    • kev

      Jan 5, 2015 at 4:57 pm

      you both hit it further because of ball, shaft, and clubhead evolution.

      • enrique

        Jan 5, 2015 at 9:15 pm

        Not true. I still have my 983k that I break out sometimes. My club head speed is faster and I actually use stiffer shafts than I used to.

  39. davepelz4

    Jan 5, 2015 at 3:53 pm

    You might need to change his name…it’s Sam Bryant Jr. as opposed to Sam Bright.

  40. Mnmlist Golfr

    Jan 5, 2015 at 3:35 pm

    What about the introduction of 460cc drivers and multi layer golf balls?
    Champions Tour players such as Fred Couples, Kenny Perry, Billy Andrade, etc were 20 yards longer in 2014 than they were in 1994.
    Does the new technology more than make up for losing 10 mph of club head speed?

    • Jaacob Bowden

      Jan 5, 2015 at 8:16 pm

      Well, the thing is that although the Senior Tour players are benefiting from technology, the regular PGA TOUR players are too.

      In comparing 1994 to 2014, the PGA TOUR player mean went up 27.9 yards from 261.8 to 289.7 (about 10.7%) and the Senior Tour players went up 18.3 yards from 254.6 to 272.9 (about 7.1%).

      So for whatever reason it seems Senior Tour players as a whole are more worse off now than they were before despite the improvements in technology. Interesting.

      • Mnmlist Golfr

        Jan 5, 2015 at 8:47 pm

        Thanks for replaying, Jacob.

        1994 PGA Tour players and 2014 PGA Tour players are (for the most) different cohorts.

        If you’re talking about how much distance a player lose with age, then I think you need to look at the SAME players over time, not different players over time.

        A 34 year old Fred Couples averaged 279.9 yds while 54 year old Fred Couples averaged 295.0.
        A 33 year old Kenny Perry averaged 264.9 yds, while 53 year old Kenny Perry averaged 289.4.
        A 30 year old Billy Andrade averaged 258.3 yds, while 50 year old Billy Andrade averaged 282.6.

        I don’t think these three players are the anomalies either. I would say that the vast majority of current Champions Tour players are at least 15 yards longer than they were 20 years ago. Clearly these guys have not lost distance with age.

    • The dude

      Jan 5, 2015 at 9:09 pm

      Just look at CHS….that ends the conversation.

  41. cdvilla

    Jan 5, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    At 45, I can’t just roll out of bed and expect to play decent golf. You definitely have to put in work to “maintain” and any strokes that I gain from here on out are going to be through efficiency as opposed to power.

  42. Philip

    Jan 5, 2015 at 3:08 pm

    Myself, I am going in the opposite direction as I approach 50. A few years ago I was closer to mid 90’s and now I am approaching 115+ as my technique, flexibility, weight, and muscle strength all improve. Lucky I guess that I took a 30 year break from golf and sports after I hurt myself when quite young and haven’t had any recent injuries.

  43. Archie Bunker

    Jan 5, 2015 at 3:05 pm

    There’s a cure for all that distance loss. It’s called the Senior Tees.

    • Larry Fox

      Jan 8, 2015 at 12:12 pm

      Great point Archie Bunker! But for that to work they have to leave their ego back at the Blue tee!

  44. Pat

    Jan 5, 2015 at 2:29 pm

    It’s called Manopause, LOL. There is a sharp decrease in test production once a male hits 40. No test means no strength. No strength equals sharp decline in swing speed. I was doing long drive comps in Japan when I was in my mid 20’s. Swing speed was 133mph. I still workout and have a bodybuilding backround, but injuries and age have taken it’s toll. I can still swing 122mph, but it gets harder to maintain every year.

    • Tom Kelly

      Jan 9, 2015 at 10:45 pm

      It is not just testosterone. Fast twitch muscles at the bottom of the shoulder blade create ~80% of club speed. Flexibility and turn maintain speed, not create it. Fast twitch muscles age more rapidly than slow twitch, the reason why dash runners deteriorate more quickly than distance runners.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open betting preview

Published

on

As the Florida swing comes to an end, the PGA Tour makes its way to Houston to play the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course.

This will be the fourth year that Memorial Park Golf Course will serve as the tournament host. The event did not take place in 2023, but the course hosted the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Memorial Park is a par-70 layout measuring 7,432 yards and features Bermudagrass greens. Historically, the main defense for the course has been thick rough along the fairways and tightly mown runoff areas around the greens. Memorial Park has a unique setup that features three Par 5’s and five Par 3’s.

The field will consist of 132 players, with the top 65 and ties making the cut. There are some big names making the trip to Houston, including Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala.

Past Winners at Memorial Park

  • 2022: Tony Finau (-16)
  • 2021: Jason Kokrak (-10)
  • 2020: Carlos Ortiz (-13)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Memorial Park

Let’s take a look at several metrics for Memorial Park to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds:

Strokes Gained: Approach

Memorial Park is a pretty tough golf course. Golfers are penalized for missing greens and face some difficult up and downs to save par. Approach will be key.

Total Strokes Gained: Approach per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Tom Hoge (+1.30)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+1.26)
  3. Keith Mitchell (+0.97) 
  4. Tony Finau (+0.92)
  5. Jake Knapp (+0.84)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Memorial Park is a long golf course with rough that can be penal. Therefore, a combination of distance and accuracy is the best metric.

Total Strokes Gained: Off the Tee per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+0.94)
  2. Kevin Dougherty (+0.93)
  3. Cameron Champ (+0.86)
  4. Rafael Campos (+0.84)
  5. Si Woo Kim (+0.70)

Strokes Gained Putting: Bermudagrass + Fast

The Bermudagrass greens played fairly fast the past few years in Houston. Jason Kokrak gained 8.7 strokes putting on his way to victory in 2021 and Tony Finau gained in 7.8 in 2022.

Total Strokes Gained Putting (Bermudagrass) per round past 24 rounds (min. 8 rounds):

  1. Adam Svensson (+1.27)
  2. Harry Hall (+1.01)
  3. Martin Trainer (+0.94)
  4. Taylor Montgomery (+0.88)
  5. S.H. Kim (+0.86)

Strokes Gained: Around the Green

With firm and undulating putting surfaces, holding the green on approach shots may prove to be a challenge. Memorial Park has many tightly mowed runoff areas, so golfers will have challenging up-and-down’s around the greens. Carlos Ortiz gained 5.7 strokes around the green on the way to victory in 2020.

Total Strokes Gained: Around the Green per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Mackenzie Hughes (+0.76)
  2. S.H. Kim (+0.68)
  3. Scottie Scheffler (+0.64)
  4. Jorge Campillo (+0.62)
  5. Jason Day (+0.60)

Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult

Memorial Park is a long and difficult golf course. This statistic will incorporate players who’ve had success on these types of tracks in the past. 

Total Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+2.45)
  2. Ben Griffin (+1.75)
  3. Will Zalatoris (+1.73)
  4. Ben Taylor (+1.53)
  5. Tony Finau (+1.42)

Course History

Here are the players who have performed the most consistently at Memorial Park. 

Strokes Gained Total at Memorial Park past 12 rounds:

  1. Tyson Alexander (+3.65)
  2. Ben Taylor (+3.40)
  3. Tony Finau (+2.37)
  4. Joel Dahmen (+2.25)
  5. Patton Kizzire (+2.16)

Statistical Model

Below, I’ve reported overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed.

These rankings are comprised of SG: App (24%) SG: OTT (24%); SG: Putting Bermudagrass/Fast (13%); SG: Long and Difficult (13%); SG: ARG (13%) and Course History (13%)

  1. Scottie Scheffler
  2. Wyndham Clark
  3. Tony Finau
  4. Joel Dahmen
  5. Stephan Jaeger 
  6. Aaron Rai
  7. Sahith Theegala
  8. Keith Mitchell 
  9. Jhonnatan Vegas
  10. Jason Day
  11. Kurt Kitayama
  12. Alex Noren
  13. Will Zalatoris
  14. Si Woo Kim
  15. Adam Long

2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open Picks

Will Zalatoris +2000 (Caesars)

Scottie Scheffler will undoubtedly be difficult to beat this week, so I’m starting my card with someone who I believe has the talent to beat him if he doesn’t have his best stuff.

Will Zalatoris missed the cut at the PLAYERS, but still managed to gain strokes on approach while doing so. In an unpredictable event with extreme variance, I don’t believe it would be wise to discount Zalatoris based on that performance. Prior to The PLAYERS, the 27-year-old finished T13, T2 and T4 in his previous three starts.

Zalatoris plays his best golf on long and difficult golf courses. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the category, but the eye test also tells a similar story. He’s contended at major championships and elevated events in the best of fields with tough scoring conditions.  The Texas resident should be a perfect fit at Memorial Park Golf Club.

Alex Noren +4500 (FanDuel)

Alex Noren has been quietly playing some of his best golf of the last half decade this season. The 41-year-old is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes in Florida including a T9 at The PLAYERS in his most recent start.

In his past 24 rounds, Noren ranks 21st in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 30th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, 25th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses and 21st in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast Bermudagrass greens.

In addition to his strong recent play, the Swede also has played well at Memorial Park. In 2022, Noren finished T4 at the event, gaining 2.2 strokes off the tee and 7.0 strokes on approach for the week. In his two starts at the course, he’s gained an average of .6 strokes per round on the field, indicating he is comfortable on these greens.

Noren has been due for a win for what feels like an eternity, but Memorial Park may be the course that suits him well enough for him to finally get his elusive first PGA Tour victory.

Mackenzie Hughes +8000 (FanDuel)

Mackenzie Hughes found himself deep into contention at last week’s Valspar Championship before faltering late and finishing in a tie for 3rd place. While he would have loved to win the event, it’s hard to see the performance as anything other than an overwhelming positive sign for the Canadian.

Hughes has played great golf at Memorial Park in the past. He finished T7 in 2020, T29 in 2021 and T16 in 2022. The course fit seems to be quite strong for Hughes. He’s added distance off the tee in the past year or and ranks 8th in the field for apex height, which will be a key factor when hitting into Memorial Park’s elevated greens with steep run-off areas.

In his past 24 rounds, Hughes is the best player in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens. The ability to scramble at this course will be extremely important. I believe Hughes can build off of his strong finish last week and contend once again to cement himself as a President’s Cup consideration.

Akshay Bhatia +8000 (FanDuel)

Akshay Bhatia played well last week at the Valspar and seemed to be in total control of his golf ball. He finished in a tie for 17th and shot an impressive -3 on a difficult Sunday. After struggling Thursday, Akshay shot 68-70-68 in his next three rounds.

Thus far, Bhatia has played better at easier courses, but his success at Copperhead may be due to his game maturing. The 22-year-old has enormous potential and the raw talent to be one of the best players in the world when he figures it all out.

Bhatia is a high upside play with superstar qualities and may just take the leap forward to the next stage of his career in the coming months.

Cameron Champ +12000 (FanDuel)

Cameron Champ is a player I often target in the outright betting market due to his “boom-or-bust” nature. It’s hard to think of a player in recent history with three PGA Tour wins who’s been as inconsistent as Champ has over the course of his career.

Despite the erratic play, Cam Champ simply knows how to win. He’s won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, so I feel he’s due for a win at some point this season. The former Texas A&M product should be comfortable in Texas and last week he showed us that his game is in a pretty decent spot.

Over his past 24 rounds, Champ ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 30th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses. Given his ability to spike at any given time, Memorial Park is a good golf course to target Champ on at triple digit odds.

Robert MacIntyre +12000 (FanDuel)

The challenge this week is finding players who can possibly beat Scottie Scheffler while also not dumping an enormous amount of money into an event that has a player at the top that looks extremely dangerous. Enter McIntyre, who’s another boom-or-bust type player who has the ceiling to compete with anyone when his game is clicking on all cylinders.

In his past 24 rounds, MacIntyre ranks 16th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 17th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 10th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses.

MacIntyre’s PGA Tour season has gotten off to a slow start, but he finished T6 in Mexico, which is a course where players will hit driver on the majority of their tee shots, which is what we will see at Memorial Park. Texas can also get quite windy, which should suit MacIntyre. Last July, the Scot went toe to toe with Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a narrow defeat. It would take a similar heroic effort to compete with Scheffler this year in Houston.

Ryan Moore +15000 (FanDuel)

Ryan Moore’s iron play has been absolutely unconscious over his past few starts. At The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field, he gained 6.1 strokes on approach and last week at Copperhead, he gained 9.0 strokes on approach.

It’s been a rough handful of years on Tour for the 41-year-old, but he is still a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who’s young enough for a career resurgence. Moore has chronic deterioration in a costovertebral joint that connects the rib to the spine, but has been getting more consistent of late, which is hopefully a sign that he is getting healthy.

Veterans have been contending in 2024 and I believe taking a flier on a proven Tour play who’s shown signs of life is a wise move at Memorial Park.

 

Your Reaction?
  • 13
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW1
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK1

Continue Reading

Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Why the race to get better at golf might be doing more harm than good

Published

on

B.F. Skinner was one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, developing the foundation of the development of reinforcement, and in doing so, creating the concept of behaviorism. In simple terms, this means that we are conditioned by our habits. In practical terms, it explains the divide between the few and far between elite instructors and college coaches.

To understand the application, let’s quickly review one of B.F. Skinner’s most important experiments; superstitions in the formation of behavior by pigeons. In this experiment, food was dispensed to pigeons at random intervals. Soon, according to Skinner, the pigeons began to associate whatever action they were doing at the time of the food being dispensed. According to Skinner, this conditioned that response and soon, they simply haphazardly repeated the action, failing to distinguish between cause and correlation (and in the meantime, looking really funny!).

Now, this is simply the best way to describe the actions of most every women’s college golf coach and too many instructors in America. They see something work, get positive feedback and then become conditioned to give the feedback, more and more, regardless of if it works (this is also why tips from your buddies never work!).

Go to a college event, particularly a women’s one, and you will see coaches running all over the place. Like the pigeons in the experiment, they have been conditioned into a codependent relationship with their players in which they believe their words and actions, can transform a round of golf. It is simply hilarious while being equally perturbing

In junior golf, it’s everywhere. Junior golf academies make a living selling parents that a hysterical coach and over-coaching are essential ingredients in your child’s success.

Let’s be clear, no one of any intellect has any real interest in golf — because it’s not that interesting. The people left, including most coaches and instructors, carve out a small fiefdom, usually on the corner of the range, where they use the illusion of competency to pray on people. In simple terms, they baffle people with the bullshit of pseudo-science that they can make you better, after just one more lesson.

The reality is that life is an impromptu game. The world of golf, business, and school have a message that the goal is being right. This, of course, is bad advice, being right in your own mind is easy, trying to push your ideas on others is hard. As a result, it is not surprising that the divorce rate among golf professionals and their instructors is 100 percent. The transfer rate among college players continues to soar, and too many courses have a guy peddling nefarious science to good people. In fact, we do at my course!

The question is, what impact does all this have on college-age and younger kids? At this point, we honestly don’t know. However, I am going to go out on a limb and say it isn’t good.

Soren Kierkegaard once quipped “I saw it for what it is, and I laughed.” The actions of most coaches and instructors in America are laughable. The problem is that I am not laughing because they are doing damage to kids, as well as driving good people away from this game.

The fact is that golfers don’t need more tips, secrets, or lessons. They need to be presented with a better understanding of the key elements of golf. With this understanding, they can then start to frame which information makes sense and what doesn’t. This will emancipate them and allow them to take charge of their own development.

Your Reaction?
  • 14
  • LEGIT4
  • WOW1
  • LOL2
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB0
  • SHANK11

Continue Reading

19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Valspar Championship betting preview: Elite ballstrikers to thrive at Copperhead

Published

on

The PGA TOUR will stay in Florida this week for the 2024 Valspar Championship.

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort is a par 71 measuring 7,340 yards and features Bermudagrass greens overseeded with POA. Infamous for its difficulty, the track will be a tough test for golfers as trouble lurks all over the place. Holes 16, 17 and 18 — also known as the “Snake Pit” — make up one of the toughest three-hole stretches in golf and should lead to a captivating finish on Sunday.

The field is comprised of 156 golfers teeing it up. The field this week is solid and is a major improvement over last year’s field that felt the impact of players skipping due to a handful of “signature events” in a short span of time. 

Past Winners at Valspar Championship

  • 2023: Taylor Moore (-10)
  • 2022: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2021: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2019: Paul Casey (-8)
  • 2018: Paul Casey (-10)
  • 2017: Adam Hadwin (-14)
  • 2016: Charl Schwartzel (-7)
  • 2015: Jordan Spieth (-10)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Copperhead

1. Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach grades out as the most important statistic once again this week. Copperhead really can’t be overpowered and is a second-shot golf course.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds (per round)

  1. Tony Finau (+.90)
  2. Nick Taylor (+.81)
  3. Justin Thomas (+.77)
  4. Greyson Sigg (+.69)
  5. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+.67)

2. Good Drive %

The long hitters can be a bit limited here due to the tree-lined fairways and penal rough. Playing from the fairways will be important, but laying back too far will cause some difficult approaches with firm greens that may not hold shots from long irons.

Golfers who have a good balance of distance and accuracy have the best chance this week.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+91.3%) 
  2. Zach Johnson (+91.1%)
  3. Sam Ryder (+90.5%)
  4. Ryan Moore (+90.4%)
  5. Aaron Rai (+89.7%)

3. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking

Adding ball-striking puts even more of a premium on tee-to-green prowess in the statistical model this week. Golfers who rank highly in ball-striking are in total control of the golf ball which is exceedingly important at Copperhead.

SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds:

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1.32)
  2. Keith Mitchell (+1.29)
  3. Tony Finau (+1.24)
  4. Cameron Young (+1.17) 
  5. Doug Ghim (+.95)

4. Bogey Avoidance

With the conditions likely to be difficult, avoiding bogeys will be crucial this week. In a challenging event like the Valspar, oftentimes the golfer who is best at avoiding mistakes ends up on top.

Gritty golfers who can grind out difficult pars have a much better chance in an event like this than a low-scoring birdie-fest.

Bogey Avoidance Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+9.0)
  2. Xander Schauffele (+9.3)
  3. Austin Cook (+9.7) 
  4. Chesson Hadley (+10.0)
  5. Greyson Sigg (+10.2)

5. Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions

Conditions will be tough this week at Copperhead. I am looking for golfers who can rise to the occasion if the course plays as difficult as it has in the past.

Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1,71) 
  2. Min Woo Lee (+1.39)
  3. Cameron Young (+1.27)
  4. Jordan Spieth (+1.08)
  5. Justin Suh (+.94)

6. Course History

That statistic will tell us which players have played well at Copperhead in the past.

Course History Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Patrick Cantlay (+3.75) 
  2. Sam Burns (+2.49)
  3. Davis Riley (+2.33)
  4. Matt NeSmith (+2.22)
  5. Jordan Spieth (+2.04)

The Valspar Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), Good Drive % (15%), SG: BS (20%), Bogeys Avoided (13%), Course History (13%) Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions (12%).

  1. Xander Schauffele
  2. Doug Ghim
  3. Victor Perez
  4. Greyson Sigg
  5. Ryan Moore
  6. Tony Finau
  7. Justin Thomas
  8. Sam Ryder
  9. Sam Burns
  10. Lucas Glover

2024 Valspar Championship Picks

Justin Thomas +1400 (DraftKings)

Justin Thomas will be disappointed with his finish at last week’s PLAYERS Championship, as the past champion missed the cut despite being in some decent form heading into the event. Despite the missed cut, JT hit the ball really well. In his two rounds, the two-time major champion led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach per round.

Thomas has been up and down this season. He’s missed the cut in two “signature events” but also has finishes of T12 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, T12 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, T6 at the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am and T3 at the American Express. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking in the field.

Thomas loves Copperhead. In his last three tries at the course, he’s finished T13, T3 and T10. Thomas would have loved to get a win at a big event early in the season, but avoidable mistakes and a balky putter have cost him dearly. I believe a trip to a course he loves in a field he should be able to capitalize on is the right recipe for JT to right the ship.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000 (FanDuel)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is playing spectacular golf in the 2024 season. He finished 2nd at the American Express, T20 at Pebble Beach and T24 at the Genesis Invitational before finishing T13 at last week’s PLAYERS Championship.

In his past 24 rounds, the South African ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 26th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. Bezuidenhout managed to work his way around TPC Sawgrass last week with minimal damage. He only made five bogeys in the entire week, which is a great sign heading into a difficult Copperhead this week.

Bezuidenhout is winless in his PGA Tour career, but certainly has the talent to win on Tour. His recent iron play tells me that this week could be a breakthrough for the 35-year-old who has eyes on the President’s Cup.

Doug Ghim +8000 (FanDuel)

Doug Ghim has finished in the top-16 of his past five starts. Most recently, Ghim finished T16 at The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field.

In his past 24 rounds, Ghim ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 5th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. In terms of his fit for Copperhead, the 27-year-old ranks 12th in Bogey Avoidance and 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions, making him a great fit for the course.

Ghim has yet to win on Tour, but at one point he was the top ranked Amateur golfer in the world and played in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup and 2017 Walker Cup. He then won the Ben Hogan award for the best male college golfer in 2018. He certainly has the talent, and there are signals aplenty that his talent in ready to take him to the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.

Sepp Straka +8000 (BetRivers)

Sepp Straka is a player who’s shown he has the type of game that can translate to a difficult Florida golf course. The former Presidents Cup participant won the 2022 Honda Classic in tough conditions and should thrive with a similar test at Copperhead.

It’s been a slow 2024 for Straka, but his performance last week at the PLAYERS Championship surely provides some optimism. He gained 5.4 strokes on approach as well as 1.88 strokes off the tee. The tee-to-green game Straka showed on a course with plenty of danger demonstrates that he can stay in control of his golf ball this week.

It’s possible that the strong performance last week was an outlier, but I’m willing to bet on a proven winner in a weaker field at a great number.

Victor Perez +12000 (FanDuel)

Victor Perez is no stranger to success in professional golf. The Frenchman has three DP World Tour wins including a Rolex Series event. He won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, as well as the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which are some big events.

Perez earned his PGA Tour card this season and enters the week playing some fantastic golf. He finished in a tie for 16th in Florida at the Cognizant Classic and then tied for third in his most recent start at the Puerto Rico Open.

In his past 24 rounds in the field, Perez ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 1oth in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, 6th in Good Drive % and 15th in Bogey Avoidance.

Perez comes in as a perfect fit for Copperhead and offers serious value at triple-digit odds.

Your Reaction?
  • 16
  • LEGIT3
  • WOW2
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB2
  • SHANK6

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending