Opinion & Analysis
Bobby Clampett: Why Tiger and I Could Never Find a Golf Coach
News of Tiger’s departure from his most recent coach, Chris Como, should come as no surprise to anyone. Tiger’s growing list now includes the so-called world’s best instructors: Butch Harmon, Hank Haney, Sean Foley and now Chris Como. It’s also worth mentioning that Tiger has spoken to so many more and gotten their feedback over the years. After the “interview” process, he chose not to hire many of them.
I’ve gotten to know many coaches that Tiger has hired and interviewed over the years. They all share a common passion for teaching and genuinely wanted to help Tiger. But why would Tiger end up firing all of them? Why were they not able to provide him what he needed? What is it that he needs?
Watching Tiger go through this process brought back memories for me, and not good ones. After winning back-to-back Northern California Junior Points Annual totals, winning back-to-back Fred Haskins Trophies (the Heisman Trophy of College Golf), being the No. 1 ranked Amateur in the world and having back-to-back years on the PGA Tour where I finished in the top-20 money winners, I got talked into trying some new coaches. I was told it was the only way to become the No. 1 player in the world.
Ben Doyle had been my coach for 10 years and I felt my game had plateaued with him. Never wanting to look back and regret that I didn’t at least try a new coach, I went for it. Like Tiger, I would talk to my Tour friends whom I trusted and get their opinions on who the best coaches were. Of course, they all advocated their coach at the time. That’s part of the ethics of being on Tour and having a coach. As a player, you want their success, too, just like they wants yours. Like Tiger, I dabbled with them for a while before I committed. Some I committed to longer than others, just like Tiger.
Like Tiger, I got differing opinions from different coaches. The one thing they all had in common is that they wanted me to make some pretty significant style changes, some that I just wasn’t capable of making. The changes were all different and some even conflicted with one another. One coach wanted my swing plane steeper in the backswing; the other wanted it flatter. One coach wanted a slight cupping of the left wrist at the top of the backswing; the other wanted the wrist to be flat. One coach wanted my hands low at address; the other wanted my hands to be higher. One coach wanted me to have a shorter backswing with a smaller hip turn; the other just wanted to change my setup posture. Tiger has been experiencing the very same things.
Not once did I ask the one question I should have asked. It’s probably the biggest regret I have in my 15+ years on the PGA Tour, and it could have changed the outcome of my career. I sincerely doubt any of the coaches could have given me a satisfactory answer, but I would have really enjoyed hearing the answer. The question is, “How is this style change you want me to make going to affect my impact?”
Impact is the only thing that really matters in golf. It is 100 percent responsible for sending the ball where it goes. Where the ball goes is 100 percent due to the conditions created at impact. Like I used to joke with my caddie Cliff Robinson on the Champions Tour, “The ball goes where I hit it every time!” Sure, things you alter in your swing can affect your impact, but the real key to understanding golf lies in answering the question, “How?”
I didn’t mention my other coaches, because I don’t believe in throwing them under the bus. They genuinely wanted to help me and were gracious with their time, but they were all looking in the wrong direction. I believe Tiger is experiencing the very same thing. Tiger was the No. 1 ranked player in the world with each of his three coaches, and he was also No. 1 without a coach. One of his coaches, who had been one of my coaches for a while, confided in me that he actually taught Tiger differently that he did me and others. He let Tiger determine the direction the coaching would go. I found that very interesting and certainly a departure from how he coached me. I think that was wise on his part and kept Tiger playing well. But did it improve his game? Tiger wouldn’t have left if he had kept improving. Tiger likes playing his best.
What I think Tiger is beginning to discover is what I discovered many years ago that led to my current impact-based instruction. What else explains why Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson, Eamonn Darcy, Corey Pavin, Bernhard Langer, Jim Thorpe, Fuzzy Zoeller, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and countless others have had such great careers with such unorthodox and even in some cases, ugly swings. It certainly isn’t their swing style. The common ingredient of all these great champions is impact.
Tiger has proven this. He’s been No. 1 in the world with countless different styles of swings. In my opinion, Tiger doesn’t need a coach. He knows more than they do anyway. At least he doesn’t need a coach that’s going to try to improve his style of swing. To improve his golf, Tiger needs to stick with a style that’s comfortable. He needs to feel he can repeat his swing in competition. Then, he then needs to fine tune his impact, consistency and cause/affect understanding.
If Tiger can keep it simple, it will allow for the brilliant artist that exists to come out and paint the pallet of great shots. The world waits with anticipation.
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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.
For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.
The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.
The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.
*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*
Past Winners at LIV Adelaide
- 2023: Talor Gooch (-19)
Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami
Green in Regulation
- Richard Bland
- Jon Rahm
- Paul Casey
Fairways Hit
- Abraham Ancer
- Graeme McDowell
- Henrik Stenson
Driving Distance
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Joaquin Niemann
- Dean Burmester
Putting
- Cameron Smith
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Matt Jones
2024 LIV Adelaide Picks
Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)
When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.
At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.
The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.
Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)
Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.
In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.
For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.
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Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.
Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.
But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.
To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.
Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.
If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.
In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.
Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.
While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.
So, what about grooves and face texture?
Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.
Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.
But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?
The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.
So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.
And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.
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19th Hole2 days ago‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
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Steve Wozeniak
Jan 6, 2018 at 1:46 pm
Load of GARBAGE…….Clampett could not sustain a high level of play because of one thing…..The Golfing Machine, your not alone bud, this took EVERYONE out that got into it……
Nice excuse though.
Steve Wozeniak PGA
Stephen Finley
Jan 18, 2018 at 9:45 pm
Not saying TGM is for everybody, or that it’s not possible it eventually led to too much complication for Clampett, but the guy was one of the best players in the world for several years, and he says it was a big factor in how he got there. Who else on this comment list has been on that level? You?
Tyler
Jan 29, 2018 at 12:15 pm
100% agree.
Mikele
Jan 6, 2018 at 7:38 am
Bobby has a nice gig over at TIburon. He gets all their tourists golfers and lots of kids and teens during the off season down here. But he is right all that matters is what happens at the moment of impact. Who really cares what is going on before that if you can train yourself to get impact right? That’s Clampett’s entire theory and it’s not wrong.
Every time we play Tiburon gold and we look over at his area from the first tee we do wonder how much he is able to soak out of those people. They pay a pretty penny, especially the in season resort people.
DS Sportsgolf
Jan 4, 2018 at 5:03 pm
Impact is largely predetermined by certain body, lever positions and angles which put the club path and club face into the best possible areas, as CG, weight shift and pressure is moved into the lead side. This occurs before impact when the golf club draws maximum CG force of around 3G’s – gravity is the most powerful force in the universe – roughly just out of transition, when the golf club first points into the ground on the downswing, and between 18 and 22 inches before impact. You can’t physically manipulate the golf club against those forces…… top players try to correct in that area, that’s where the “saved it” action comes in. It’s not just about impact…..impact is the result or action determined by previous actions with variables …… just my basic opinion.
Brennan Woods
Jan 4, 2018 at 3:08 pm
He needs The Golfing Machine, Bobby!
Jim
Jan 4, 2018 at 1:29 pm
Tiger just needs his confidence, bravado and unapologetic self back. Guy has more mojo than anyone on tour, ever.
pelzy
Jan 4, 2018 at 1:07 pm
This is right on the money but too many read who wrote it before they read what was written. This is the only way to explain how so many great champions had unorthodox swing motions yet were very successful. The intention to improve a player’s swing must start with impact deficiencies and expand from there.
I am also a guy who thinks he should have never left Butch and I firmly believe Butch would agree with Clampett’s impact first approach.
John Krug
Jan 4, 2018 at 12:58 pm
The most important thing about a swing is that it be mechanically sound and not harm the body. This requires the classic golf swing, namely, a flared left foot, a lifting of the left ankle and a hip turn. Any attempt to twist the spine is a recipe for physical injury, e.g. Tiger and numerous other pros. Tiger’s body has been destroyed by his instructors.
Doug
Jan 4, 2018 at 10:26 am
Great attempt at promoting more of your nonsense instruction!
Dana Booth
Jan 4, 2018 at 4:39 pm
How is Bobby’s instruction nonsense, Doug?
Tyler
Jan 4, 2018 at 9:19 am
I truly hate to be negative but this article is just like Clampett’s books; 90% bragging about his personal accomplishments and 10% self-promotion. Bobby, you have one PGA tour win so don’t ever compare yourself to any Hall of Famer again. Hell, I’ve won a few scrambles in my day. I remember when I bought the Impact Zone after it came out. I waited patiently for slow shipping and was extremely excited to see the book arrive at my doorstep. Upon reading the book I had a bigger let down than three putting for par. I thought how is knowing all about Bobby Clampett’s acheivements going to help my game??? It didn’t! Nice Golfwrx profile, by the way. I am sure all PGA Touring professionals list every single amateur event they won.
steve2
Jan 4, 2018 at 1:10 am
Unfortunately, Tiger seems to have lost his swing mojo some time ago by losing confidence in his golf swing knowledge. Perhaps he’s gone too cerebral and can’t get the answers from current teachers. So where should he look?
I believe he must look within himself to find what he is searching for… a consistent swing that delivers the clubhead to the ball at impact.
How can Tiger use the K.I.S.S. approach to reawaken his inner artistry? Perhaps he’s lost even that artistry. Perhaps he’s concentrated too much on athleticism, i.e. building up his body in the gym.
Yes, athleticism is the foundation for artistry…. just like technique is the foundation for musical, dancing, painting artistry. But, excessive dependence on athletic technique can destroy artistry. It’s a tricky balance.
Bryan
Jan 3, 2018 at 7:53 pm
It’s the coaches fault that I plateaued and didn’t win more. Maybe there is a correlation between changing coaches like underwear and being really really into yourself.
SK
Jan 3, 2018 at 3:14 pm
“To improve his golf, Tiger needs to stick with a style that’s comfortable. He needs to feel he can repeat his swing in competition. Then, he then needs to fine tune his impact, consistency and cause/effect understanding.
If Tiger can keep it simple, it will allow for the brilliant artist that exists to come out and paint the pallet of great shots.”
———————————
Those last sentences of this fine article just about says it all!!
Unfortunately, Tiger seems to have lost his swing mojo some time ago by losing confidence in his golf swing knowledge. Perhaps he’s gone too cerebral and can’t get the answers from current teachers.
So where should he look? Now he must look within himself to find what he is searching for… a consistent swing that delivers the clubhead to the ball at impact.
How can Tiger use the K.I.S.S. approach to reawaken his inner artistry? Perhaps he’s lost even that artistry. Perhaps he’s concentrated too much on athleticism, i.e. building up his body in the gym.
Yes, athleticism is the foundation for artistry…. just like technique is the foundation for musical, dancing, painting artistry. But, excessive dependence on athletic technique can destroy artistry. It’s a tricky balance.
What Tiger needs is a mentor to guide him in his search for his lost artistry. Only I can do it and tell him where he’s gone wrong in his compulsive athleticism. Tiger, if you’re reading …??!!! 😎
Skip
Jan 3, 2018 at 2:31 pm
Shameless plug for your “current impact-based instruction.” lol, geez took you long enough to discover that impact is all that matters.
And I’m gonna disagree, I’m pretty sure Tiger Woods, already knows what you’re referring to. He doesn’t need to discover anything.
David
Jan 3, 2018 at 2:23 pm
I agree with your assessment regarding style vs. impact. Bradley Hughes at Golfaus teaches the 4:30 path and he uses many of the all time greats as examples. Many ways to swing the club in the backswing. As long as the golfer gets to that 4:30 path.
Mike
Jan 3, 2018 at 1:41 pm
First off, Tiger didn’t fire Hank Haney. Haney quit after the scandal. Also I feel there is so much more scrutiny on Tiger that he gets criticized for things other don’t. For example, he’s had 4 coaches over a 20 year career. Is that even equal to the PGA Tour average? He’s had 3 caddies which I’m certain is way less than the average. 2 agents. Also probably less than average over 20 years. yet he gets hammered in the press for firing so many people. He also got to #1 with all 3 coaches that had a healthy Tiger to work with and had his best winning percentage with Hank (for all those never should have fired Butch people). Bottom line, Tiger knows what he needs. Everyone should stop armchair quarterbacking.
Philip
Jan 3, 2018 at 12:46 pm
Tiger didn’t fire all his coaches … and yet you write like you know everything about him intimately, but nice article about you and how Tiger may be lucky enough to follow your advice
farmer
Jan 3, 2018 at 12:42 pm
It’s all so simple: great impact makes for great golf. This little infomercial completely ignores the factors that lead to a great impact position. That is a different and considerably more complicated process. BC was a great college player, never a particularly good pro, and never got away from the TGM nonsense. Total bust of an article.
RG
Jan 3, 2018 at 12:41 pm
Great article Bobby, and right on point. Tiger was longoff the tee and with the irons, but his greatness came because he could get up and down out of a garbage can and in his prime he was the best putter ever, period. When I watched Tiger deteriorate I watched a man who was trying to do things that just aren’t necessary. There is no reason to hit all nine shots with perfect mastery, you just need a couple that are really good. Tiger used to have beautiful rhythm and tempo to his swing, then it disappeared. His confidence was supreme in his prime. I stood next to him at the Tavistock and watched him hit a pitch shot (that he chunked) and he looked more nervous than I get. If he stays within himself and finds the back of the ball with the smoothness he used to have, it’s game on.
juststeve
Jan 3, 2018 at 12:36 pm
Another Clampett article that’s really all about Clampett.
mwf0001
Jan 3, 2018 at 11:51 am
What Tiger needs to do is find consistency, especially off the tee. Why was he so good for so many years in the early 2000s? It’s because he had consistency off the tee. He used to have a go to shot with the stinger, whether with the 2 iron or the 3 wood. He almost never missed a fairway with those two clubs. That instilled confidence in the rest of his game and took the pressure off of the rest of his game, especially the driver. Why he ever got away from hitting those shots is beyond me. He was already the best iron player in the game, and he was already the best putter in the game. The only thing missing was consistency off the tee. In my opinion, in order for Tiger to get back to being a force on the PGA Tour, he needs to rekindle his flame with the stinger. Find fairways and let the rest of your game speak for itself.
Sincerely,
A Guy That Thinks He Never Should Have Left Butch
Dino
Jan 3, 2018 at 11:28 am
I respect Bobby’s opinion in this matter (ie: of going through a variety of swing coaches and the propensity that they have to make significant swing changes).
Yet, when I read the article, and knowing Bobby’s relationship in advocating for “Impact Zone Golf”, I cannot help but come to the conclusion that this was really an “infomercial” of sorts. It seems to be continuing in the same vein of seeking out another coach to help you get to number one or in every amateur golfer – to be the best that you can.
The only thing different is that he is advocating for “Impact golf” rather than “swing golf”. I do agree though that there are more ways to swing a club … after all, no two people swing the club exactly alike.
Brian
Jan 3, 2018 at 11:23 am
If only someone would come out with a book concerned with impact.