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Opinion & Analysis

Golf simulators: For bad weather and great golf

Published

11 years ago

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By Dennis de Jesus Jr.

GolfWRX Contributor

The snow has fallen.  Another golf season in the books.

In past years, the first snowfall only brought doom and gloom for me.  I don’t ski or snowboard anymore, my tired knees cannot take the punishment.  As a Canadian I should play hockey, but I’m light years behind people my age who have been playing hockey before they could walk.  In my fantasy world, I define myself as a golfer who unfortunately has been shackled to a 5-6 month imprisonment every year when my real world is full of scraping windshields, shoveling driveways and seeing my breath with each exhale.  I go to bed and dream of lush fairways and well manicured pastures of green as far as the eye can see.  I hear the gentle flapping of a flag a hundred yards away, inviting me to approach it.  Here, the warmth of the air makes my breath invisible but in each exhale, my dreamscape environment just takes it away.

For a golf fan like myself, there are few things in the winter months that help cure the off season golf blues.  I’ve tried them all – PS3 videogames, domed indoor driving range, the heated outdoor driving range, watching more Golf Channel, reading more GolfWRX (cheap plug). They are all nice temporary solutions, but absolutely nothing compares to actually playing.  So I’ve taken golf trips the last few years to get away from the winter in Calgary – trips to Florida, Arizona, California — all wonderful and excellent golf destinations that can have my money if I had enough to give. Though there are way too many years left in my working career, these trips have already set my mind to being a snowbird as my retirement plan A (Retirement plan B is to be Holly Sonders’ personal cabana boy).

Golf trips are a great cure, but they are really expensive, especially if you are a casual visitor. As with most great ideas hatched in the mind of geniuses, I told myself, “There’s got to be a better way.”  So I went hard at work, did my research, talked to professionals and found that winning the lottery wasn’t a statistically feasible plan and that buying my own Lear jet would only be possible if I won the lottery. Back to square one.

A few weeks ago, a friend suggested I try out golf simulators as a way to scratch the itch, feed the need, get the fix … you get the idea. My impression of simulators was relegated to the ones they have at golf shops, you know, the ones where they dial up the settings ever so slightly to make you think that you are the longest, straightest shot maker in the entire world. I mean come on, a 212-yard shot straight down the pipe with a 52-degree wedge (that’s carry distance by the way – it zipped back about 36 yards after backspin).

But golf simulators were a solution I’ve never really given a chance so I packed up my clubs and headed off to my nearest golf simulator center to see if it would be the Advil to my off season golf headache.

First impression – the simulators at this golf center were something amazing. They were like the Cadillac of golf simulators when I’d only experienced a K Car.  The screens were larger, the visual display was in HD, the fake turf was flawless and I had my own clubs with me. Add to that another big screen to watch NFL and some leather club chairs to relax in and the experience was something totally different than I expected.

What I was experiencing wasn’t so much a golf simulator as it was an entertainment oasis that just happened to provide enough room to swing a driver. I’m pretty sure I was as wide eyed as a kid at Disneyland that just happened to see Mickey Mouse peek out from behind those Country Bears that no one really cares about or know what film they’re from. But I digress.

As I teed up my first shot, I couldn’t help but notice how real it all felt. Once the computer overlay interface faded away, I was enamored by the visual of the HD screen. It really looked like I was at the tee at TPC Scottsdale, a course I have actually played in real life.  Gone was the sweltering afternoon heat, but the 150 yard stakes were right where I remember them and the fairway perfectly framed by the desert trees and cactus that personalized this infamous course.

I gripped my driver and THWACK! I heard a booming sound that was unfamiliar to me, and the enclosed space echoed from the sound of my driver. I was shocked: that was the sound my tee shot makes in a simulator when I shank it. The result was a nice 180-yard pull hook that brought me right next to someone’s backyard with a tree right in front of me.  The post shot stats were telling – -the club head speed, the ball speed, the backspin all presented for everyone to see. If my four letter curse word didn’t indicate how poor of a shot that was, the large HD screen surely shouted it out for everyone to see.  And as a typical macho golf simulator rookie would do, I looked back at my playing partners and questioned how accurate this thing must be.

“Oh that’s weird, that’s a lot more right than I normally hit a mishit,” I said. Meanwhile, I thought to myself silently, “Holy crap, this thing is pretty accurate, I totally pulled that.”

The putting was another adventure in itself.  How am I supposed to gauge feel and distance when I’m putting into a screen?  The hole isn’t real and I’m trusting some numbers to tell me how far I am, but I don’t know how much pace I put on a 50 foot putt that visually looks like a 15 foot putt.  It totally messed with my mind and I often times left it short because I had no clue what I was doing (this simulator is good – it’s just like real life!).  The only saving grace I did find was the grid and the ants that crawled across the screen, which helped indicate the high/low points on the green and helped me calculate the right amount of break for the putt.  If anything, that was very useful and I would like to take the grid/ants concept out onto the real course sometime – before every putt, I’d like to lay out a transparent sheet of plastic near the pin with grid lines on it and then spill water on the plastic to watch where the beads of water end up.  This may slow the pace of play down, but I might be able to shave about seven or eight strokes off my game so it might be worth it. Thankfully, the putting did get better as the round wore on, but it will take some getting used to for sure.

For the three of us in the flight, it took us three hours to finish TPC Scottsdale.  I managed to hit some good shots and did misfire on occasion but I was impressed with how accurate the simulator was.  My average yardage was correct for virtually every club in my bag and mishits predictably went where they were supposed to go if I was to open or shut the club too early on impact.  I topped the ball once and it did exactly that on the screen, burning the grass for a while and losing distance as it skimmed along the fairway.  My putting was horrendous and I argued that a ball on any part of the green should be a gimmie, but I guess when you are playing for beer that is being way too generous.

The big takeaway from the experience was that for a few hours on a cold wintery day, I was able to enjoy the game of golf with my friends in the comfort of my own city.  I shared a few laughs, had a beer, teased and got teased just like I would in a real round.  Sure, the lie was always perfect and the NFL game next to us was a nice distraction, but it was still a round of golf when the temperature outside was below freezing.  The lush fairways I dreamt about were digital but they were there. The well manicured greens were infested with ants, but at least they were helpful.  The flag was accurately flapping with the wind and I definitely heard a bird or two invite me to this faux Scottsdale – a breathtaking course in person and not so bad in simulation. I can’t wait to play Sawgrass next week.

Click here for more discussion in the “Golf Talk” forum. 

Dennis de Jesus Jr. is a passionate fan of golf both outdoors and now indoors.  If he isn’t playing golf, he is thinking about ways to improve his game and sharing ideas about how to improve the game (did someone say belly drivers?)  You can follow him on twitter: @jugojr.

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Dennis lives in Calgary, Canada where golf is available (at best) six months of the year. The other six months are spent understanding the nuances of the game that make it so addicting and wonderfully frustrating. In a perfect world, Dennis would take his set of G10s and his D300S to travel the world playing and photographing the beautiful, unique landcapes of the golf world. For now, he sits at a desk and is developing an eight-layer golf ball simply called "The Tour Ocho."

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. where is santiago de compostela

    Jan 6, 2014 at 9:44 pm

    Hurrah, that’s what I was searching for, what a stuff!
    present here at this weblog, thanks admin of this web page.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Troy Vayanos

    Jan 27, 2013 at 12:54 am

    I would love to try out one of these simulators Dennis. Unfortunately we don’t have any of these in my state Queensland in Australia.

    Fortunately in Australia for have golf 365 days of the year so we don’t necessarily have quite the same need for a simulator. In saying that I would still love to try one out.

    Reply Report comment

  3. Dennis de Jesus Jr.

    Jan 21, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    I agree, sims do cost a lot in YYC. I have been to other cities where their prices were far more reasonable and even outdoor driving ranges were fairly inexpensive. The problem we face is that we have a strong demand for anything golf and people with incomes to match. Come summertime, I would also complain that our municipal courses are overpriced too – but then you see how hard it is to get a tee time. It would be so nice to live in Florida…

    Thanks for reading the article!

    Reply Report comment

  5. Rangetime

    Nov 6, 2012 at 8:59 pm

    Sims cost a lot in YYC. You do not get a sense of true ball flight. Yet then again, its warm, you get to use balls that dont feel like rocks even with the best endo fordging know to man.

    If sims lowered there absurd prices in Calgary, I would do it. Till then its the outdoor ranges and a game in my mind

    Reply Report comment

  6. Mark Burk

    Nov 5, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    During the off season I use to hit rocks with sticks when I lived in a pipe. It is a good option if there is not a golf sim nearby.

    P.S I now live in El Camino with a camper top in the parking lot of a the golf course I work at picking the range.

    Still trying to clear my name.

    Reply Report comment

  7. sebastien

    Nov 5, 2012 at 1:46 pm

    I am trying to find the best simulator… (sure i can try them all… but was looking for your opinion) golfotron, virtuo, golf hd…. which one is the best in your opinon? tx

    Reply Report comment

    • renoir99

      Nov 7, 2012 at 11:29 am

      In my opinion, the two best simulators are made by aboutGolf and HD Golf. aboutGolf is the simulators used on The Golf Fix. HD Golf is used by many of the Top 100 Clubfitters. HD Golf also has a lot of options if you are using it for swing work in the winter. Options like DTL/HO cameras, weight shift monitors.

      Reply Report comment

    • Mark

      Nov 7, 2012 at 11:54 pm

      There is no best thing in golf simulator. It is important that you know what is your objective behind getting one and then have a demo on all the leading golf simulators and then only come to conclusion and decide which one will suit you. In addition to Renoir suggestion, I would also like you to try Bogolf simulators.

      Reply Report comment

    • James Laidlaw

      Nov 13, 2012 at 10:01 am

      Sebastian,
      There are 2 key factors to qualifying golf simulators; 1) image quality – most simulators use conventional computer graphics that look and play like video games, and it’s difficult for most adults to take that seriously,
      2) Accuracy – ball and club tracking is critical to making any simulator FEEL real. If you’ve got trouble with a slice, you want your simulator to show your good shots AND your bad ones. The worst possible outcome is for you to work on your game all winter indoors and come out in the spring to realize you’ve been developing your slice instead of correcting it. Have you ever used the simulators in the big box retail stores like Dick’s, or Golf Town? If so, then you’ll know what I mean.

      You should ALWAYS try any simulator before you buy it – they are not created equally.

      Take a look at this:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eDiOWEydCmM

      Reply Report comment

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

Published

1 day ago

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Apr 18, 2024

By

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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Golf's Perfect Imperfections

Golf’s Perfect Imperfections: Amazing Session with Performance Coach Savannah Meyer-Clement

Published

1 day ago

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Apr 18, 2024

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In this week’s episode, we spent some time with performance coach Savannah Meyer-Clement who provides many useful insights that you’ll be able to implement on the golf course.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 RBC Heritage betting preview: Patrick Cantlay ready to get back inside winner’s circle

Published

4 days ago

on

Apr 15, 2024

By

Just a two-hour drive from Augusta National, the PGA TOUR heads to Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Hilton Head Island is a golfer’s paradise and Harbour Town is one of the most beautiful and scenic courses on the PGA TOUR.

Harbour Town Golf Links is a par-71 that measures 7,121 yards and features Bermuda grass greens. A Pete Dye design, the course is heavily tree lined and features small greens and many dog legs, protecting it from “bomb-and-gauge” type golfers.

The field is loaded this week with 69 golfers with no cut. Last year was quite possibly the best field in RBC Heritage history and the event this week is yet another designated event, meaning there is a $20 million prize pool.

Most of the big names on the PGA Tour will be in attendance this week with the exceptions of Hideki Matsuyama and Viktor Hovland. Additionally, Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Gary Woodland and Kevin Kisner have been granted sponsors exemptions. 

Past Winners at Harbour Town

  • 2023: Matt Fitzpatrick (-17)
  • 2022: Jordan Spieth (-13)
  • 2021: Stewart Cink (-19)
  • 2020: Webb Simpson (-22)
  • 2019: CT Pan (-12)
  • 2018: Sotoshi Kodaira (-12)
  • 2017: Wesley Bryan (-13)
  • 2016: Branden Grace (-9)
  • 2015: Jim Furyk (-18)

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 Harbour Town

Let’s take a look at key metrics for Harbour Town Golf Links to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their past 24 rounds.

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach is exceedingly important this week. The greens at Harbour Town are about half the size of PGA TOUR average and feature the second-smallest greens on the tour. Typical of a Pete Dye design, golfers will pay the price for missed greens.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+1.27)
  2. Tom Hoge (+1.27)
  3. Corey Conners (+1.16)
  4. Austin Eckroat (+0.95)
  5. Cameron Young (+0.93)

Good Drive %

The fairways at Harbour Town are tree lined and feature many dog legs. Bombers tend to struggle at the course because it forces layups and doesn’t allow long drivers to overpower it. Accuracy is far more important than power.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (88.8%)
  2. Shane Lowry (+87.2%)
  3. Akshay Bhatia (+86.0%)
  4. Si Woo Kim (+85.8%)
  5. Sepp Straka (+85.1%)

Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye Designs

Pete Dye specialists tend to play very well at Harbour Town. Si Woo Kim, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk and Webb Simpson are all Pete Dye specialists who have had great success here. It is likely we see some more specialists near the top of the leaderboard this week.

SG: TOT Pete Dye per round over past 36 rounds:

  1. Xander Schauffele (+2.27)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+2.24)
  3. Ludvig Aberg (+2.11)
  4. Brian Harman (+1.89)
  5. Sungjae Im (+1.58)

4. Strokes Gained: Short Game (Bermuda)

Strokes Gained: Short Game factors in both around the green and putting. With many green-side bunkers and tricky green complexes, both statistics will be important. Past winners — such as Jim Furyk, Wes Bryan and Webb Simpson — highlight how crucial the short game skill set is around Harbour Town.

SG: SG Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Jordan Spieth (+1.11)
  2. Taylor Moore (+1.02)
  3. Wyndham Clark (+0.98)
  4. Mackenzie Hughes (+0.86)
  5. Andrew Putnam (+0.83)

5. Greens in Regulation %

The recipe for success at Harbour Town Golf Links is hitting fairways and greens. Missing either will prove to be consequential — golfers must be in total control of the ball to win.

Greens in Regulation % over past 24 rounds:

  1. Brice Garnett (+75.0%)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+69.9%)
  3. Corey Conners (+69.0%)
  4. Shane Lowry (+68.3%)
  5. Patrick Rodgers (+67.6%)

6. Course History

Harbour Town is a course where players who have strong past results at the course always tend to pop up. 

Course History over past 24 rounds:

  1. Patrick Cantlay (+2.34)
  2. Cam Davis (+2.05)
  3. J.T. Poston (+1.69)
  4. Justin Rose (+1.68)
  5. Tommy Fleetwood (+1.59)

The RBC Heritage Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (24%), Good Drives (20%), SG: SG (14%), SG: Pete Dye (14%), GIR (14%), and Course History (14%)

  1. Shane Lowry
  2. Russell Henley
  3. Scottie Scheffler
  4. Xander Schauffele
  5. Corey Conners 
  6. Wyndham Clark
  7. Christiaan Bezuidenhout
  8. Matt Fitzpatrick
  9. Cameron Young
  10. Ludvig Aberg 

2024 RBC Heritage Picks

Patrick Cantlay +2000 (FanDuel)

With the exception of Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour has yet to have any of their star players show peak form during the 2024 season. Last week, Patrick Cantlay, who I believe is a top-5 players on the PGA Tour, took one step closer to regaining the form that’s helped him win eight events on Tour since 2017.

Cantlay limped into the Masters in poor form, but figured it out at Augusta National, finishing in a tie for 20th and ranking 17th for the week in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. The former FedEx Cup champion will now head to one of his favorite golf courses in Harbour Town, where he’s had immaculate results over the years. In his six trips to the course, he’s only finished worse than 7th one time. The other finishes include three third places (2017, 2019, 2023) and one runner-up finish (2022). In his past 36 rounds at Harbour Town, Cantlay ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Total per round at the course by a wide margin (+2.36).

Cantlay is winless since the 2022 BMW Championship, which is far too long for a player of his caliber. With signs pointing to the 32-year-old returning to form, a “signature event” at Harbour Town is just what he needs to get back on the winning track.

Tommy Fleetwood +3000 (FanDuel)

I truly believe Tommy Fleetwood will figure out a way to win on American soil in 2024. It’s certainly been a bugaboo for him throughout his career, but he is simply too talented to go another season without winning a PGA Tour event.

At last week’s Masters Tournament, Fleetwood made a Sunday charge and ended up finishing T3 in the event, which was his best ever finish at The Masters. For the week, the Englishman ranked 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 10th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking and 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Harbour Town is a perfect layout for Fleetwood, and he’s had relative success at this Pete Dye design in the past.  In his four trips to the course, he’s finished inside of the top 25 three times, with his best finish, T10, coming in 2022. The course is pretty short and can’t be overpowered, which gives an advantage to more accurate players such as Fleetwood. Tommy ranks 8th in the field in Good Drive % and should be able to plot his way along this golf course.

The win is coming for Tommy lad. I believe there’s a chance this treasure of a golf course may be the perfect one for him to finally break through on Tour.

Cameron Young +3300 (FanDuel)

Cameron Young had a solid Masters Tournament last week, which is exactly what I’m looking for in players who I anticipate playing well this week at the RBC Heritage. He finished in a tie for 9th, but never felt the pressure of contending in the event. For the week, Young ranked 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Despite being one of the longest players off the tee on the PGA Tour, Young has actually played some really good golf on shorter tracks. He finished T3 at Harbour Town in 2023 and ranks 20th in the field in Good Drive% and 16th in Greens in Regulation in his past 24 rounds. He also has strong finishes at other shorter courses that can take driver out of a players hand such as Copperhead and PGA National.

Young is simply one of the best players on the PGA Tour in 2024, and I strongly believe has what it takes to win a PGA Tour event in the very near future.

Corey Conners +5500 (FanDuel)

Corey Conners has had a disappointing year thus far on the PGA Tour, but absolutely loves Harbour Town.

At last week’s Masters Tournament, the Canadian finished T30 but ranked 20th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach. In his past 24 rounds, Conners ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 3rd in Greens in Regulation % and 24th in Good Drive %.

In Conners’ last four trips to Harbour Town, his worst finish was T31, last season. He finished T4 in 2021, T12 in 2022 and ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Total at the course over his past 36 rounds.

Conners hasn’t been contending, but his recent finishes have been encouraging as he has finished in the top-25 in each of his past three starts prior to The Masters, including an impressive T13 at The PLAYERS. His recent improvement in ball striking as well as his suitability for Harbour Town makes Conners a high upside bet this week.

Shane Lowry (+7500) (FanDuel)

When these odds were posted after Lowry was announced in the field, I have to admit I was pretty stunned. Despite not offering much win equity on the PGA Tour over the last handful of years, Shane Lowry is still a top caliber player who has the ability to rise to the top of a signature event.

Lowry struggled to score at The Masters last week, but he actually hit the ball really well. The Irishman ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Approach on the week and 7th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. As usual, it was the putter that let him down, as he ranked 60th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Harbour Town is most definitely one of Lowry’s favorite courses on the PGA Tour. In his six starts there, he’s finished in the top 10 three times, including third twice. Lowry is sensational at Pete Dye designs and ranks 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in his past 36 rounds on Dye tracks. 

Lowry is perfect for Harbour Town. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 5th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 2nd in Good Drive% and 5th in Green in Regulation %. If he figures it out on the greens, Shane could have his first win in America since 2015.

Lucas Glover +12000 (FanDuel)

This is one of my weekly “bet the number” plays as I strongly believe the odds are just too long for a player of Glover’s caliber. The odds have been too long on Glover for a few weeks now, but this is the first event that I can get behind the veteran being able to actually contend at. 

Glover is quietly playing good golf and returning to the form he had after the understandable regression after his two massive victories at the end of 2023. He finished T20 at The Masters, which was his best ever finish at Augusta National. For the week, Lucas ranked 18th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 20th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Over his past 24 rounds, Glover ranks 9th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th in Good Drive %. Harbour Town is a short course that the 44-year-old will be able to keep up with the top players on Tour off the tee. He’s played the course more than 20 times, with mixed results. His best finishes at Harbour Town include a T7 in 2008, but recently has a finish of T21 in 2020.

Glover has proven he can contend with the stars of the Tour on any given week, and this number is flat out disrespectful.

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