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And Butch said, “He likes to tinker”

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Your swing is broken. You know it. Your playing partners know it. The 15-year-old kid picking up balls on the range knows it. There is something fundamentally wrong. Everything was fine, and then one day it wasn’t. Well, that’s not entirely true. You started to feel it slipping away a few weeks ago, like a slow leak in a tire, but you ignored it hoping that it would get better. Unfortunately it got worse, until you had a complete blow-out today. What happened?

You aren’t sure, and so the first chance that you get, you make your way to the practice range and buy three large buckets of balls, determined to find the answer. You then begin to randomly experiment, trying one thing after another. What was it you heard on the Golf Channel the other night? What about the tip that your brother-in-law gave you last weekend when you were up at the lake? Your mind begins to race. Maybe if you took the club back a little slower? What if you were to hold your finish? Maybe try pausing at the top? And then, before long, you find yourself lost in a maze of thinking.

In desperation you begin to tinker, hoping you can fix the problem yourself. You realize that there is a certain audacity in thinking that you can repair your own swing. You would of course call a plumber if a pipe burst in your house. Why wouldn’t you hire a teaching professional to help you with your golf swing? And then a random thought crosses your mind. He would probably charge less than a plumber. The truth is that you like to tinker with your swing. You think of it as a hobby. But then you remember what the speaker at last year’s men’s club fall banquet said: “I would agree that tinkering with your swing can be fun, but it is an absolute guarantee that you’ll never improve.”

What exactly is a “tinkerer?” The dictionary defines a tinkerer as an individual who would repair, adjust, or work with something in an unskilled manner. The key words in that sentence is “unskilled manner.” As a life-long teacher, I’ve witnessed times when a skilled player is able to fix their own swing by experimenting around the edges.

That is not the case with the average golfer, who more often makes the mistake of confusing the symptoms they are experiencing for a root problem. And then, in an attempt to fix it, an average golfer often puts a band-aid on what amounts to an open wound. The problem may then appear as if it has been solved, but only temporarily — maybe for a day, a week or a month — but then the original problem reappears again, but this time often in a more virulent form.

When that occurs, the player is then forced once again to search for a secondary cure, and then a third, and a then fourth, beginning an endless cycle of tinkering. And in time, they often find themselves so confused, it is as if they have tumbled down into Alice’s rabbit hole where up is down and down is up, creating their own wonderland where nothing seems to make sense anymore.

Butch Harmon

I attended a teaching seminar hosted by the Iowa Section of the PGA in Des Moines, Iowa, a few years ago. Butch Harmon was the guest speaker. He had just been fired by Tiger Woods a few weeks before. After finishing his presentation, someone in the audience asked him about Tiger. Butch was quiet for a moment, clearly weighing what to say — or not say. The room became quiet, and then when it seemed as if he may have forgotten the question, he said quietly, “He likes to tinker.”

The Scientist

In the mid ’80s, I had a student who loved to tinker with his swing. He was a 15-handicapper who never improved because he was constantly experimenting. In his case, it was to a degree understandable because he was a scientist. He would spend his day conducting laboratory experiments, mixing the contents of one test tube with another and then observing the outcome.

The doctor would come to see me for a lesson every week without fail. He was like a man who might go for a haircut or a massage on a regular basis, whether he needed it or not because he enjoyed it. And each time he came, it was the same. He had made a discovery. He would first explain his latest idea and then how it had come to him.

“I was lying in bed when it occurred to me that if I pointed my left elbow joint downward it might force my wrist into a better position at the top of the backswing. What do you think?”

“I think if it works that’s great,” I said. 

“Let me show you,” he said, taking a practice backswing then looking at me like an expectant puppy begging for approval. “Do you think it will work?”

“We won’t know that until you hit a ball,” I said. “As you know, the practice swing and the real swing are always different.”

The problem was that he suffered from a nasty hook that might have put Ben Hogan to shame. The primary problem, was that like Hogan, he bowed his left wrist outward at the top of his backswing, which closed the clubface. The problem then was that he had to find a way to open up the clubface on the downswing so that at impact it was somewhere close to square. The doctor was capable of emulating the top-of-the-backswing position when making a practice swing, but then, when he went to actually hit the ball, his left wrist would revert to the same convex position.

And so lesson after lesson, the doctor continued to come up with a new idea, none of which worked. The next time he came for his appointment, I suggested that we talk for a moment. I started by saying “Doctor, there is something we need to discuss.” I could see the anxious look on his face. “Yes. I’m listening” he replied. He was used to doing the lecturing, but now he was on the receiving end. “I’d like you to stop tinkering with your swing,” I said. And then he said the words that I will never forget: “But I tinker to improve.”

I thought for a moment before answering him and then said, “I’m sorry doctor but I’m afraid that is just not true.” He looked at me as if I’d killed the family dog.

“You want me to stop tinkering with my swing?” he asked. 

“Yes, that is what I’m suggesting,” I said. 

“I’m not sure that I can do that,” he said. He paused. “But if you think it is important, I’ll try to stop.”

The word “try” gave him away. What I’ve learned is that when someone says they will “try” something, they are giving themselves a way out. They usually have no intention of following through on the promised action. I knew he couldn’t stop. I knew he wouldn’t stop. And so, at that moment, I resolved that I would allow him to tinker, and I would play the role of the janitor, sweeping up whatever mess he might leave behind.

A Dream

The doctor continued to take lessons from me for a few more years after that with only minor changes in his swing — or his scores. And then one day he just stopped coming. He was elderly, but in good physical condition. And then a macabre thought crossed my mind; maybe he had passed away.

That night I had a dream. I saw a picture of him lying in a coffin. There was a pastor standing at the church alter inviting members of the congregation to come forward to pay their last respects. As I shuffled forward down the center aisle, I saw his wife, Francis, seated in the front pew with a black veil covering her face. She turned her head as I passed, nodding in my direction. As I neared the open coffin I could see that his hands were crossed, left over right. As I looked closer, his left wrist was bowed outward just like in his golf swing. And then I woke-up with a start.

A few weeks later, I was relieved to see him at the airport with his wife. He apologized for not mentioning it before, but they were going on a trip around the world. “I’ll call you when we get back,” he said, waving over his shoulder as the two of them made their way toward their gate with a porter trailing behind. That was the last time I saw him, but I tell his story as a cautionary tale to students of mine who are inclined to tinker with their swings

The Author (as a sponsor)

You enjoy tinkering, you say? I understand perfectly. Just realize that as a tinkerer, there is a good chance that you will never be a better golfer than you are today. And so if you really want to improve, quit tinkering. Should you make that decision, you will in all probability find that you have become addicted. And so, as you begin to pull away, you may experience a period of withdrawal. This is normal, but during this period do not let your guard down. This is when you are most vulnerable.

Also, it is important that you remove any forms of temptation that could draw you back into your old behavior.

Step 1: Go through your house with a large trash bag and put all of the books, magazines, and videos that you own, including those stashed under your bed, into the bag.

Step 2: Cancel your magazine subscriptions, effective immediately.

Step 3: This step is related to watching the Golf Channel. In the event one of the instructional segments should suddenly come on while you are watching, you should do one of three things immediately:

  1. Mute the sound.
  2. Switch the channel.
  3. Put your hands over your ears and start mouthing, “La, la, la, la, la,” until the segment is over.

As your sponsor, I want you to understand that the only way to break your addiction is to go “cold turkey.” You may feel an impulse to jump into your car and drive to the local drug store for a copy of the latest golf magazine. Should you feel that urge, I want you to start counting backward from 100. That usually does the trick.

Let’s return to the subject of your swing. You are probably wondering, “What should I do next? You are a little confused, and I understand. You’ve had a good deal of new information to process. Here is my thought. I’d advise you to sign-up for a series of lessons with a competent professional who has a track record of success working with players at your level… and then never look back.

Also, as your sponsor, I want you to remember that if you should need me during a moment of crisis, you can always reach me. I’m only a phone call away. And now before leaving, I want you to take the Tinkerer’s Pledge. Please raise your right hand while placing your left hand on this old copy of Golf Digest with Gay Brewer on the cover. Now, repeat after me:

“I, (then state your name for the record)…”

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As a teacher, Rod Lidenberg reached the pinnacle of his career when he was named to GOLF Magazine's "Top 100" Teachers in America. The PGA Master Professional and three-time Minnesota PGA "Teacher of the Year" has over his forty-five year career, worked with a variety of players from beginners to tour professionals. He especially enjoys training elite junior players, many who have gone on to earn scholarships at top colleges around the country, in addition to winning several national amateur championships. Lidenberg maintains an active schedule teaching at Bluff Creek Golf Course Chanhassen, Minnesota, in the summer and The Golf Zone, Chaska, Minnesota, in the winter months. As a player, he competed in two USGA Public Links Championships; the first in Dallas, Texas, and the second in Phoenix, Arizona, where he finished among the top 40. He also entertained thousands of fans playing in a series of three exhibition matches beginning in 1972, at his home course, Edgewood G.C. in Fargo, North Dakota, where he played consecutive years with Doug Sanders, Lee Trevino and Laura Baugh. As an author, he has a number of books in various stages of development, the first of which will be published this fall entitled "I Knew Patty Berg." In Fall 2017, he will be launching a new Phoenix-based instruction business that will feature first-time-ever TREATMENT OF THE YIPS.

28 Comments

28 Comments

  1. Speedy

    Sep 23, 2017 at 2:20 pm

    Butch Harmon’s the best.

  2. Double Mocha Man

    Sep 20, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    I am so glad I am not a tinkerer. I proudly admit that I “experiment” on the range.

  3. bh

    Sep 20, 2017 at 10:58 am

    Tinkering is what makes it fun for me. I like the puzzle. Sure, I could leave well enough alone, but doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

  4. Acew7iron

    Sep 19, 2017 at 4:25 pm

    If your not tinkering…yur not trying

  5. RonMcD

    Sep 19, 2017 at 2:29 pm

    We know he likes to tinker with his dinker ……..

  6. Square

    Sep 18, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    That last post was a mess. Sorry guys. Let’s try that again.

    I admit, I used to tinker. Even though would shoot between 68-78, I was never consistent. Tinkering was the culprit. I would try this, try that…you name it. A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to have the money and the desire to see a real teacher in Tampa. I make a point of seeing him 2 x per year. His name is Rich Abele and by using Trackman we identified my one serious, consistent swing fault. Rich focuses on impact and I just needed one thing to think about. When I practice or play this single thought is the sole thing I concentrate on when I swing. Without question this year with less practice and play, I was able to play my best. I was able to consistently shoot 68-72 with a few 73s. Having one swing thought and having confidence in that single thought was the key. Having a great teacher helped too.

  7. Square

    Sep 18, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    I admit, I like to tinker. Even though would shoot between 68-78 I was never consistent. Tinkering was the culprit. I’ll try this, try that…you name it. A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to have the money and the desire to see a real teacher in Tampa. I see him 2 x per year. His name is Rich Abele and by using Trackman we identified my consistent swing fault. Rich focuses on impact and I just needed one think to think about. When I practice or play it is the sole thing I concentrate on when I play golf. Without question the last year, with less practice and play was the best. I was able to consistently shoot 68-72 with a few 73s. Having one swing thought and having confidence in that though was the key.

  8. BW

    Sep 18, 2017 at 7:38 pm

    Most rec’n players who seek help from an ‘instructor’ are usually in poor physical shape and the instructors know it’s futility, so they just string them along to suck $$$ from the suckers.
    Many go to instructors to have a ‘golf buddy’ to talk to and then brag they went to so-and-so for lessons and it was great.
    Those who avoid instruction are usually ashamed of their bodies and avoid embarrassment. They just keep on hacking and clowning on the golf course.
    Golf is a dying activity and even the club manufacturers know that so they just cater to the upper 1% and wannabes with over-engineered clubs at ludicrous prices. They are just milking the stragglers. It’s over, baby…..

  9. Ray Bennett

    Sep 18, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    There is so much BS in this article. I had to laugh about the bowed wrist and opening the clubface bit. No wonder the average golfer is in Limbo after reading this nonsense.

  10. Steve S

    Sep 18, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    Much of this article seems to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, so enjoyed it. Bottom line though is that I have not found a teacher yet that doesn’t want to remake my swing. I play to a 10-11; mostly due to an erratic short game. I use a modified single plane swing that takes into account a bad knee and an arthritic back. It looks ugly but when I’m not in pain I hit the ball mostly straight with a very tiny draw. I’m sure most pros would gag if they saw my swing but I have fun. I’ve taken video of my swing when I was hitting the ball well and use it to compare to when I’m going bad. With all the new technology available to us, many of us no longer need a teaching pro to enjoy the game.

  11. acemandrake

    Sep 18, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    For me, “tinkering’ = “chasing tips”

  12. AB

    Sep 18, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    I tinker all the time and my swing gotten better, plus I have gained yards. There’s nothing wrong with tinkering

  13. Patricknorm

    Sep 18, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    Excellent article. I taught tennis and squash for 30 years from beginners to world champions. It’s easy teaching players with skills and motivation. It’s near impossible to teach those that question your methods. These people ” have an idea” but really don’t grasp the reality. If I could have had these people as children then maybe there would be hope.
    As adults, busy with life, successful in business but mediocre in sports. We all have aptitudes: music, math, athletics, memory, spatial, etc. I can take you so far but, there are limitations. We all need mentors regardless of our skills. Nobody can do it themselves and be great.

    • mlecuni

      Sep 19, 2017 at 4:54 am

      As an adult, i think that the tinkering way is possible if you Eat, drink, sleep golf like a child would do.
      So in a way, i agree with you when you say, if only i had these people when they were child, and i add, “or if they have way more time to practice/play”.

  14. Dennis Lurvey

    Sep 18, 2017 at 4:10 pm

    Tiger is a perfectionist to the point it takes over his life and his golf. He is incapable of playing as an art, has to be in control of everything all the time. Michelle Wie as well and others. It’s a mental disorder. Tiger has never been able to take direction from others, except maybe his dad. When he said he liked to tinker he was searching for a phrase that wasn’t, he’s an arrogant control freak perfectionist who believes he’s the only one who knows golf.

  15. Philip

    Sep 18, 2017 at 3:18 pm

    Have to disagree … I play with so many that regularly have lessons and do not even understand what they are trying to accomplish at times. Granted it is highly likely that they do not have the ability or desire to get better, however, I have witnessed lessons being given and received lessons that have no chance of resulting in real improvement. Personally, I think the main reason is the difficulty that people have in truly communicating. Luckily, I’ve had a few pros in which it clicked nicely. On the other side, the tinkering that I have been doing this season has resulted in me having more control than I ever did of the golf ball, and without losing distance … actually gaining some.

  16. Redley Jacob

    Sep 18, 2017 at 1:17 pm

    Where I practice next to it is Pro area where he teaches his students. All I hear is BS for 60 bucks an hour.

  17. Andrew Broom

    Sep 18, 2017 at 1:14 pm

    All the Pros want you to cough up your hard earned money but you will never actually improve. I went from 22 to 8 by tinkering only. Don’t listen to these vested interest and tinker away.

  18. Chris Baker

    Sep 18, 2017 at 12:29 pm

    I think the article makes a lot of sense, especially for the average golfer. But I’m not sure using Tiger Woods as an example is most effective way to get people to buy into your idea/theory (yes if you want them to open the article). He is either the greatest or second greatest golfer to ever play the game and he likes to “tinker”. I can only assume that people who hear Tiger Woods liked to “tinker” will take it upon themselves to also “tinker” because it seemed to work pretty well for him. My opinion is to use a golfer who liked to “tinker”, but ultimately was not successful in doing so.

  19. RonG

    Sep 18, 2017 at 11:49 am

    Adult men believe there is a golf swing buried in their big strong body and their massive minds only need to be told what to do and it will happen… consciously. It’s mind over matter and a small golf tip is all they really need to knock out the glitches.
    Oh, and the newest model golf clubs with SGI features will launch them and conquer the golf course. So easy….

  20. Avery

    Sep 18, 2017 at 11:27 am

    Hahaha.

    Step 4: Stop visiting Golf WRX

  21. Acew7iron

    Sep 18, 2017 at 11:25 am

    Oh and BTW…Ive dropped 4 strokes off my HC just this season. It is possible to Tinker and improve…the key? You have to play the game more than 4 times a month…

  22. Acew7iron

    Sep 18, 2017 at 11:22 am

    Well…As a player of the game for over 25 years and currently a 9 I consider myself somewhat of a “tinkerer”. As a avid follower of this site I recently read a very informative piece about how every golfer eventually hits the skids with their swing because its all tied to every sense you have and at some point it WILL come off the rails (not “if”…but “when”) mostly because we are human and not machines. It has been my experience that the more I practice and play the longer I can ride those good playing waves but I know one day it will just seem to leave…without warning.
    Now to my point…What shall I do when this happens? Run to a Pro and pony up $100 for a lesson to immediately get me back on track? I admit…would be nice to have that luxury but the game itself is expensive besides pay a Pro every time a hitch gets in my giddyup. No…Most of us must resort to the tinker…eventually the good swing returns and you ride the wave again until it crashes on shore 6-8 strokes above your HC.

    Tinkering is not the Devil…Its the only way to fix what ails you.

  23. Nick

    Sep 18, 2017 at 10:38 am

    Tinker = Trial and Error & Error & Error & Error ………….

  24. Doug Ferreri

    Sep 18, 2017 at 10:26 am

    I have been an instructor for many years and truer words were ever written.

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Instruction

The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic

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My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.

As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.

The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.

Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply.  Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:

Mis-aligned hands

By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.

The position of the grip in the upper/left hand

I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean.  Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.

To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.

Too much lower (right) hand on the club

It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.

Gripping too tightly

Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.

So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.

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19th Hole

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

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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.

 

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Opinion & Analysis

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

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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.

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