Connect with us

Opinion & Analysis

20 signs you’re a victim of style-based golf instruction

Published

on

How can one explain how major championship winners like David Duval, Sandy Lyle, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Baker-Finch and Mike Weir (to name a few) all completely lost their games and were driven off the PGA Tour? The list of talented players, like these major winners, who tried to improve their games by changing their style of swing and only got worse is an unnecessary and long list.

Though I never won a major championship, I contended twice when I was 22, losing a seven-stroke lead in the third round of the British Open at Royal Troon and getting to within a stroke of the lead on the back nine on Sunday at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. After those losses, like so many before and after me, I blamed my style of swing. I thought my swing wasn’t good enough. I went to work to change it. I took lessons from style-based teachers, who were concerned with various body and club positions during the swing. I never contended for a major championship again and ultimately left the PGA Tour like David and Ian for a broadcasting career.

When I think back on that pivotal decision I made when I was 23 to change my style of swing, it makes me wonder now, what if? What if I had stayed with my old swing? What if I had worked with a coach who could have revealed to me how I was improving through measurable results? What if I had worked with a coach who would have let me keep my style of swing, isolated the variables of impact and focused on helping me improve those? What if I could have measured those improvements? I now know my career and countless others would have been saved and been even more successful.

Having recently retired from the PGA Champions Tour, where I played more than 200 pro-am events in my five-year career, it was evident to me that the leading cause of 4 million golfers quitting golf every year in the United States is not the cost or the time, but rather the FRUSTRATION. Like me and the before-mentioned major championship winners, so many of these 4 million golfers believed that by simply changing their style of swing they would play radically better golf. The style-changing lessons they invested in proved to be unsuccessful and their games never got better. Feeling like there’s nowhere to turn, so many of them simply put their clubs for sale on eBay and quit the game.

What exactly is “style-based” teaching? It’s a connect-the-dots approach to building your swing to achieve a certain look. One needs to have a certain grip, an exact posture at address, the club in specific positions at several check points on the backswing, a certain top of the backswing position, etc., etc., etc.

The only time “style-based” teaching can help your game is if and when it improves certain key aspects of your impact… but sadly it rarely does. Golfers can improve so much faster and more efficiently when they are able to isolate all the key variables of impact, measure them and work backward to modify elements of the swing solely for the purpose of improving their impact. Additionally, the mental or emotional state of all golfers is upgraded dramatically as a result of being inspired by the realization that their swing style is just fine. They begin to see tangible improvements both in their ball flight as well as in the key measurements occurring at impact.

Technology has now reached such heights in golf that we can zero-in on several critical measurements, offering very helpful insights regarding key performance indicators. Good teachers today know how to use this technology, how to measure impact and how to work backward from there to improve a golfer’s game by improving their impact variables.

Take a look at this picture of Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk and Shane Lowery at the top of their backswings. Everything is different, from the right knee bends, hip rotations, spine angles, left-arm positions, right-elbow positions, left-wrist positions, club-face rotations, swing planes (both angled and shaft plane), and even where their heads are pointing.

The golf instruction faction hasn’t yet made the transition, meaning style-based teaching is still king of the teaching world. But ask yourself — how can one explain the fact golfers like Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and many of the great champions of yesterday such as Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Fuzzy Zoeller, Hubert Green, Jim Thorpe, Miller Barber and many more had styles of swings that differed greatly from one another and were quite unorthodox, yet all worked so well? The bottom line is that each of them created great impact conditions that were virtually all the same.

Here are the top 20 ways to know if you are currently a victim of style-based teaching:

  1. Your golf instructor asked you which PGA Tour player you think has the best swing. You may have even taken a golf lesson where the instructor placed your swing on a screen side-by-side your favorite player’s swing and revealed to you the style differences.
  2. Your golf instructor explains the many key check points of the swing and the proper position of the hands, body and club at each checkpoint. Some instructors even give these checkpoints numbers.
  3. Your golf instructor explains that proper posture at address is key to a bio-mechanically sound swing. A strong movement exists today of “style-based” instructors using the new buzzword “biomechanics” to suggest the perfect swing style.
  4. Your golf instructor explains one correct backswing plane. Many instructors lead their students to create the perfect backswing plane, but it’s interesting how many differing opinions exist about what is the perfect backswing plane. Some suggest the shaft points above the plane at the three-quarter backswing position, while others suggest that the shaft should point at or even inside the plane. How much the vertical plane should shift in the backswing is another point of discussion among style-based teachers.
  5. Your golf instructor suggests the best top of the backswing position of the arms, wrists, club shaft and/or face angle. Many instructors prioritize how the club should look at the top of the backswing, that is, the club face is square and the shaft is parallel to the ground and parallel to the target.
  6. Your golf instructor suggests the proper degrees that the hips should turn on the backswing. Or they talk about “The X Factor,” which advises golfers to limit their hip turn on their backswing.
  7. Your golf instructor suggests the Vardon Grip. Meanwhile, PGA Tour winners and major champions have use various grips: interlock, 10-finger and even reverse overlap.
  8. Your golf instructor suggests you “keep your head down.”
  9. Your golf instructor suggests you “keep your eye on the ball.”
  10. Your golf instructor suggests you “keep your left arm straight.”
  11. Your golf instructor suggests you “finish high.”
  12. Your golf instructor suggests your swing is “too fast.”
  13. Your golf instructor discusses your “face angle rotation” on your backswing.
  14. Your golf instructor wants you to swing the “Stack and Tilt” swing.
  15. Your golf instructor wants you to swing the “A Swing.”
  16. Your golf instructor wants you to swing the “Square-to-Square” swing.
  17. Your golf instructor wants you to swing the “Natural Golf” swing.
  18. Your golf instructor wants you to swing the “Gravity Golf” swing.
  19. Your golf instructor wants you to swing the “One-Plane or Two-Plane” swing.
  20. Your golf instructor never discusses how swing changes are going to affect your impact.

My adversaries suggest I am writing these articles for self-promotion. Those who know me know I write these articles because I want to help the game I love and that has given me so much. Style-based teaching is nebulous, arbitrary, subjective, opinion-based, un-factual, unfounded and unproven. Impact-Based teaching is fundamentally the opposite. It is precise, fact-based, measurable, objective and results driven. That is why I retired from the PGA Champions Tour and chose to pursue my passion of helping golfers and instructors understand that golf is not an enigma nor a mystery that style-based methods leave one to believe, but rather a game of impact that can be measured and improved.

Here’s to better impact!

Your Reaction?
  • 665
  • LEGIT80
  • WOW30
  • LOL22
  • IDHT12
  • FLOP20
  • OB17
  • SHANK137

For students wanting to experience how improving their impact will improve their games, Bobby suggests coming to his next Signature Golf School, creating your own private school for your own group, and/or signing up for a private lesson. Simply go to: www.impactzonegolf.com or call 239-236-5536. For those instructors who want to learn "Impact-Based®" instruction, Bobby Clampett now has a fully developed Advanced Level One online training fully supported by the PGA and LPGA with continuing education credits. For those who complete, Bobby and Impact Zone Golf are developing a Certification Program and ultimately a masters Program. Impact Zone Golf is ready to build an army of good golf instructors and rid the epidemic of frustrated golfers victimized by "style-based" instruction methods. Bobby Clampett is a well-known PGA Tour Winner and Longtime CBS Golf Broadcaster, but perhaps he will be best known for his discovery of Impact-Based® Instruction. His two golf academies are in Naples, Florida: Indoor Performance Studio (1040 Collier Center Way, Unit 14, Naples, FL 34110) and at the Tiburon Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. Bobby is the first golf instructor in history to be a PGA Tour winner and earn PGA Master Professional in Teaching and Coaching. He and his team of Impact-Based® Academy Trained instructors offer year-round Golf Schools, Private Lessons, Women’s Programs, Annual and Seasonal Coaching Programs, Competitive Junior Training and much more. He now offers Instructor Training and Certification approved by the PGA and LPGA. Visit: https://impactzonegolf.com or call: 239-236-5536.

80 Comments

80 Comments

  1. Jim

    May 15, 2018 at 8:39 pm

    Clampett is a disciple of Homer Kelley’s yellow TGM book…. the nuttiest book on the golf swing ever. He doesn’t want to publicly admit it but his instruction reeks with TGM.

  2. Sean Lee

    Apr 30, 2018 at 10:07 pm

    Do not try to make you look special by telling non sense like this. PGA guys have more things in common when compared among themselves than to club golfers. World of golf instruction already has too much bs in it and it’s not even funny.

  3. Jack

    Apr 28, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    Bobby, I loved your book, and this article is spot on! I believe that most average golfers really have no idea how the club moves through the ball in a really good golf swing. Most golfers are trying to hit the back of the ball square on, instead of the inside of the ball while release ing the clubhead. That is why almost every club level golfer is steep, over the top, and hits a slice.

  4. Dan

    Apr 27, 2018 at 10:40 am

    I think this article is biased towards a better player. When you are talking about a player that already hits it pretty well and finds the center of the face most of the time I agree with most of what is said here. But when you are teaching older people, beginners, or some not as talented, posture and body positions play a huge role in finding the center of the club face or good impact position. I do not believe that there is any one template or style for all players but if their posture is bad and they can not maintain their posture while swinging, they need a style or template to follow. The key is choosing the correct one for the player.

  5. Sherwin

    Apr 26, 2018 at 9:29 am

    My game improved 100% when I met my current instructor whom help me focus solely on what I want the ball to do. Which, in turn, forces the club into different positions to produce the desired results. Who cares how your swing looks, it is the results that matter.

    Bobby is right!

  6. ochowie

    Apr 23, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    If players can consistently achieve the optimal impact point regardless of the remainder of their swing they probably don’t need lessons from you.

  7. Kess

    Apr 16, 2018 at 1:59 pm

    I like the point of the article but not necessarily the article itself. I have never taken a lesson but I was struggling to break 90 and read Impact Zone and that changed my game to where I’m breaking 80 and rarely see the 90’s. My main take aways were knowing my lead wrist position at impact and bottoming my swing in front of the ball. I also read Hogan’s book and it was OK but didn’t help much. Read Nicklaus’s book and had to put it down because my swing was getting wrecked. Knock Clampett all you want but the truth is mileage may vary with any instruction so it’s just about finding what works for you.

    • Orin

      Apr 16, 2018 at 2:28 pm

      Thank you Bobby Clampett PR department for that enlightening bit of propaganda. By chance, is there any discount offered to Golf WRX members?

      • Bobby Clampett

        Apr 16, 2018 at 4:55 pm

        Yes, there is a discount for Golf WRX members as long as their name isn’t Orin.

  8. Dale Owens

    Apr 16, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    Hal Sutton calls it chasing perfect. It has ruined many a talented golfer.

    • Orin

      Apr 16, 2018 at 2:32 pm

      But if you are ranked 125th on the tour your game and your swing need first aid… or it’s back to the mini-tours.

      • Adkskibum

        Apr 16, 2018 at 5:44 pm

        Yeah, well then maybe you just aren’t good enough. You’re good, but maybe it isn’t your swing. It’s your head, your heart, your guts, your nerve. There are lots of golfers with “pretty” swings who are also rans. Can you get the ball in the hole in crunch time? That’s the measure

      • RS

        Apr 28, 2018 at 1:56 pm

        If you’ve made it to 125th on tour then you have a fine swing. At that point it’s a split between subtle putting work and the mental game. The rest HAS to be good to get anywhere near 125th on tour.

  9. Jack Nash

    Apr 16, 2018 at 1:23 pm

    I don’t worry about Clampett’s impact zone. I just worry about, “do I have enough cigars, and beers in the cooler”, then go out and have fun. Thinking too much out there causes brain cramps. If you can’t have a bit of fun out there try another game.

  10. joro

    Apr 16, 2018 at 1:05 pm

    A great Golf Instructor, AKA Butch Harmon, take what you have and makes it work. These “Gurus” are great because they had the opportunity to work with great players who made the Instructors “great”. not the other way around. How many times have players won a Major and then gone to a “Guru” not to be heard of again. As Si Ri Pak said after going to Leadbetter, “it took him a couple of Months to set me back 2 years”, she was smart enough to get out. As Haney once said about what he did with Tiger, “I would watch him hit a ball and say nice shot all day” These guys and many others like them teach what they know, not what the student needs, and that applies to a lot of PGA Teachers also.

    If you want a good lesson go to someone who teaches what you need, not just changing your swing to clone someone else.

    • Orin

      Apr 16, 2018 at 2:30 pm

      But I love Tiger and I want his swing, his clothes, his clubs, his balls, his teeth, etc..

      • joro

        Apr 18, 2018 at 10:06 am

        That’s great but he would probably dump you in time for a Blond Waffle House waitress. : )

  11. GetRichOrTyTryon

    Apr 16, 2018 at 12:45 pm

    Age, athleticism, body type and coordination also being major contributing factors. Golf Tech can get you so left brain(or is it right) that it’s difficult to pull the trigger out on the course. If I can save anyone time and strokes don’t play golf swing on the course, play golf.

    • Orin

      Apr 16, 2018 at 2:34 pm

      Play play play play …. how about ‘perform’…. 😮

  12. Bob Jones

    Apr 16, 2018 at 11:58 am

    I have figured out how to make a golf swing work which takes into account my size, body shape, flexibility, and habitus. There are “flawed” movements in my swing that I do because that’s just what happens when I swing a golf club. I tried to take them out, and that made things worse, so I learned how to make them work FOR me. The result is that I hit the ball very straight and get reasonable distance for a guy in his late 60s. I don’t analyze any more. I just play.

    • Boyo

      Apr 16, 2018 at 12:58 pm

      You are Bob Jones. What would anyone expect?

  13. Dennis

    Apr 15, 2018 at 2:39 pm

    Great article! I see the collage players at the range all looking like clones of each other. There is evidence that today’s golf instruction is one cause of so many golf injuries.

  14. Steve Wozeniak

    Apr 15, 2018 at 11:25 am

    HILARIOUS coming from the MOST “style” based instructor in the game……my god……

    99 percent of people that come away from this guys “schools” are more confused then when they came in…….

    Hey nice try though Bob……

    • ogo

      Apr 15, 2018 at 7:24 pm

      Haven’t you figured it out yet?!! All the duffers just want to brag to their golfing buddies that they were at somebody’s golf school and the “feeel a lot better now about their golf swing” (if only they could think about everything they “learned”). 😀

    • Andrew Wood

      Apr 16, 2018 at 7:36 am

      I have taken lessons from a dozen of the top 50 instructors and the Impact zone golf school I took last month made more sense than any of them. In am striking the ball far better than I did a decade ago when I was off scratch and have the clearest undestanding ever of how to improve and get back there. When the student is ready then Master will appear!

    • farmer

      Apr 25, 2018 at 1:26 pm

      A TGM guy from the jump, who criticizes “numbered positions” in the swing? Considering good posture and a proper grip to be a bad thing? You have to have some fundamentals to achieve good impact. Good impact position is a result of good mechanics, however they may be defined.

  15. ogo

    Apr 15, 2018 at 10:22 am

    WOW!!!!! This article has topped the WRX website for 2 days!!! I bet the desperate gearheads are flocking to Clampett’s Impact-Based® Academy to find out how to make their WITB fancy clubs work on the golf course. 😛

  16. Tom Duckworth

    Apr 15, 2018 at 10:11 am

    He makes some good points but overall I don’t agree. Getting to a good position at impact is important and some people can have any kind of back swing and they make the corrections on the way down and have great impact. Having clean mechanics can make that easier. I do think some swing styles have hurt people the X Factor swing can be very hard on your back.
    Simple is better and safety and ease on the body should always be considered.
    I also very strongly disagree with SteveK I’m 62 and getting better week by week I still take lessons and still work on my game and I’m a pretty good golfer. I didn’t pick up a club until I was 25. I was also told at the time by a crusty old instructor that tall people can never be good at golf. That was right after he asked me if I could make the ball curve left and right and I did both on my first try.
    If you think you can’t get any better after a certain age you may as well hang up your clubs.

    • ogo

      Apr 15, 2018 at 10:30 am

      Congratulations, Tom… your inspiring story just confirms that commitment to golf will overcome inherent physical problems such as being too tall and too slim. Do you have an athletic background before taking up golf at age 25? Obviously you don’t carry a pot belly like most older rec golfers.

  17. Carlos Danger

    Apr 14, 2018 at 7:54 pm

    I must disagree. Golftec has fixed so many flaws I had in my swing (over the top, casting, balance) and my instructor encourages my own move, not a copy if a tour player. Sure, we look at things they all do, but not to copy exactly…
    Also, the 20 point list is garbage. Overall, just a poorly written article.

    • Devyn Ensign

      Apr 14, 2018 at 11:54 pm

      Absolutely agreed. That 20 point list is hilarious… clearly trying to discredit others methods. Just a terrible article

      • Kyle johnson

        Apr 21, 2018 at 1:33 am

        Devyn ensign, your comment should not be taken seriously considering you can’t even spell Devin correctly.

    • Caroline

      Apr 15, 2018 at 12:05 am

      So funny, Golftec gave you just what Mr. Clampett is talking about, everything they were fixing in your swing was what YOU needed to get proper impact…you had years of doing the wrong things built up trying to get to impact…..amazing now you know how? (Maybe) think about it had you started by working on impact you may have saved a lot of money because you would have known which faults you had were not getting you to impact correctly….

    • OG

      Apr 15, 2018 at 1:18 am

      You should have had an MRI in addition to the Golftec experience… just to cover all bases … 😀

    • OG

      Apr 15, 2018 at 1:19 am

      Golftec plus an MRI would have likely cured your many flaws … 😎

    • Jonathan

      Apr 17, 2018 at 9:22 am

      My experience with Golftec was totally different. Conceptually, it seemed to make sense. However, in practice the Golftec method is only as good as the instructors. Over several years i worked with at least 5 Golftec instructors, including two site managers. Only one of those was an actual PGA pro (he didn’t stay long with Golftec). These guys were all slaves to the numbers. When they got away from the numbers, their comments were often contradictory from lesson to lesson, between each other and to the sacred numbers.

      Look, I am not defending or supporting everything that is in the Clampett article. Find an actual teaching pro that will take the time to work with your swing characteristics, your body type, your athletic ability and them work with you to develop a repeating swing that fits you, not some ideal.

  18. Rich

    Apr 14, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    It’s just a way to hook a weak mind into a robotic method intending to make a “perfect”mechanical like swing which there is no such swing..Swing the stick,hit the ball ! What ever works, doesn’t have to be a picture “pretty”thing.
    Learn what control is and how to use it. Strong of mind,sound body, confidence, DO IT!!!

    • OG

      Apr 15, 2018 at 1:05 am

      The Clampett Robotic Method is founded by that great book “The Golfing Machine” by that equally great swing guru “Homer (Duh) Kelley”. If you haven’t attempted to read this yellow book, don’t, because it’s total rubbish.

      • Dave Tutelman

        Apr 16, 2018 at 7:12 am

        I have read Clampett’s book. I have read Kelley’s book. They have nothing whatsoever to do with each other.

        • ViagrGolfer

          May 3, 2018 at 12:37 pm

          But Clampett was pimping TGM as the best thing since slicing balls.

  19. larry

    Apr 14, 2018 at 4:02 pm

    terrible article. proper impact happens due to a good swing you can’t try and force a good impact position.

    • Caroline

      Apr 15, 2018 at 12:07 am

      Good thing you never told Moe Norman that….

      • OG

        Apr 15, 2018 at 1:13 am

        Moe (r.i.p.) was an obsessive-compulsive ball beater.

  20. Todd Dugan

    Apr 14, 2018 at 2:29 pm

    We can have our cake and eat it too. Teachers should continue to enjoy the freedom to teach whatever they want. The measure of success is simple; Is the student striking the ball better, yes or no? Measuring impact conditions is the best way to tell. When you measure impact, you measure performance. Is the impact location closer to center? Are the path and face closer to what is required for the desired ball flight? Don’t tell a student they’re going to get worse before they get better. Teach a student to strike the ball better…NOW!

    • Orin

      Apr 16, 2018 at 2:39 pm

      Yup… because if you told your student the truth, like lose about 50+lbs. off your belly, you would starve as a teacher. So just give the duffers astrological hope and send them home to try to figure out what they learned in their HEAD…!!!!

  21. EismanGolfAcademy

    Apr 14, 2018 at 10:26 am

    Well I got a full schedule of “victims” today on the lesson tee, can’t wait to go out there and just say nothing to them but measure impact. So let’s not discuss your face in the takeaway or wrist conditions and hopefully that -12.6 path cleans up on its on. Let’s not discuss how the body moves and tilts and see if that vert plane angle of 66 degrees with a driver just miraculously fixes itself. Mr. Clampett with all due respect closing the door on open discussion of the swing and calling people victims is what’s wrong with golf instruction. Telling some brilliant minds of the game that their “style” is wrong… is saying that they are uneducated in their profession. Maybe it’s not right for some and maybe some instructors don’t communicate it well, but keeping things simple in a complex movement is robbing students of knowledge on how to improve. Best of luck for those believers. Will always appreciate your opinion but a better understanding and “proof” of why these styles are wrong would have been a better article.

    • OG

      Apr 15, 2018 at 1:16 am

      The game of golf and instruction is a shrinking market… unless somebody wants to know why their WITB set of PXGs just don’t perform as advertised … 😮

  22. Andrew Cooper

    Apr 14, 2018 at 9:48 am

    Knowing where you want to be at impact is important, but there also has to be some understanding of how to get there. In many ways what shows up at impact, good or bad, is the result of what’s gone before. Impact is just one split second moment within the whole motion, and the club will be travelling at +100mph. You can’t consciously place your club and body in a correct impact position. Also, fixating over impact can lead to hitting at the ball, rather than through and past the ball-a big difference between pros and ams.

  23. DJ Morris

    Apr 14, 2018 at 5:43 am

    Forget all these positions and what makes a golfer successful, it all comes down to 3 things that the best players in the world all have in common: 1) They take one side of the course out of play. 2) Their swings repeat 3) They have an undeniable belief in themselves.

    I roomed with Jim Furyk on the AJGA Tour and have known him since I was 15 and he was made fun of when he first came on tour, but the one thing Jim never stopped doing was believing in himself. Now he has the 4th most earnings ever in professional golf, so who is laughing now:

    Jim Furyk
    Earnings: $67,977,577
    Major championships: 2003 U.S. Open
    PGA Tour wins: 17
    Lowest score on the PGA Tour: 58

    BTW, he is a great guy and is as humble today as he was 35 years ago. I actually roomed with him the year he broke through with his game and won on the AJGA Tour.

    • SteveK

      Apr 14, 2018 at 12:34 pm

      … and 4) Their neuro-muscular system is hard-wired, from childhood, resulting in a generally repeating swing. If you start golf in your pre-teens, your brain is engrammed with golfswing circuitry. If you attempt to learn as a mature adult it’s unlikely you will succeed.

    • SteveK

      Apr 14, 2018 at 12:46 pm

      4) Their neuro-muscular system is hard-wired from childhood resulting in a repeating swing. Starting golf in your pre-teens, your brain is engrammed with golfswing circuitry. If you attempt to learn as a mature adult success is unlikely.

      • steve s

        Apr 16, 2018 at 12:09 pm

        “Their neuro-muscular system is hard-wired from childhood resulting in a repeating swing. Starting golf in your pre-teens, your brain is engrammed with golfswing circuitry. If you attempt to learn as a mature adult success is unlikely.”

        Nonsense. If you have any athletic ability at all you can learn to play the game. One of my playing partners is an ex-college tennis player. He started golf at 44. He now plays to a 12 handicap and occasionally breaks 80. He loves the game and practices often. A little athletic ability and desire is all you need.

  24. Way

    Apr 14, 2018 at 3:06 am

    It’s true that getting the impact correct is an important factor in hitting the ball well; but the fact is, there are ways to get to that delivery mechanism to work, as people are all different with different anatomies and such – and the styles of movement might actually be even more important to get the body to get to the impact using each unique delivery mechanism for the strike, and therefore you cannot just dismiss any of this list at all in any way, shape or form, because it might be that, just one of those is enough to make it work for that one particular person.
    So Mr Clampett, with all due respect, don’t be so dismissive. You have to have an open mind.

    • OG

      Apr 15, 2018 at 1:23 am

      The “delivery mechanism” starts at the feet and then progresses upwards to the shoulders which fling the arms, hands and club towards the ball. Of course starting at the clubhead is a lot simpler for feeble minded golfers in distress.

  25. Ray McNamee

    Apr 14, 2018 at 2:56 am

    The entire 20 points trashed Leadbetter and a few others. I took lessons 25 years ago from the #1 teacher in golf and was told to let the “ball get in the way” of the swing. It took a year to learn and it was over in 3-4 years. I lost 25 yards off the tee and at least a full club in the irons. My experience is that the best ideas are from Joe Dante and Ben Hogan. The hands must set/hinge in a consistent manner in order to be square at impact, the weight must shift to the right on the backswing with a full shoulder turn and begin to move forward before the backswing is complete. The club should return to the address plane as close as possible at impact and the right side should continue through to a finish. Sounds like any athletic movement. Take it back with the left, shift and crush it with the right. It’s only worked for about 500 years… so far. And it doesn’t matter what it looks like.

  26. SteveK

    Apr 14, 2018 at 12:42 am

    All forces and torques generated in the golfswing are ultimately felt between your feet and the ground via the shoe soles. Your swing mechanics style is dependent on your body physique. If you are weak and inconsistent at your feet your golfswing right into impact will suffer immeasurably…. believe it.

  27. Rod Clarke

    Apr 13, 2018 at 10:35 pm

    Last year at Arnold Palmer Inivitational, there was a ceremonial drive by all the players in deference to the King. Players all lined up and drove a ball on the driving range. The tv coverage showed the players, were of all sizes, had different swing speeds and swings but had one thing in common and that was their setup at ball impact. It was amazing to see the consistency at impact. Get a video of your swing at impact and match it against those of scratch golfers and you’ll have something worthwhile to work on.

    • Way

      Apr 14, 2018 at 3:25 am

      You’re being deluded by what’s called “geometrical-optical illusions” that they all appear to be the same of some form and our psychology wanting to make them all collectively the same, because you are stopping the image at only the moment of impact and disregarding the rest of the motion of swing:
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometrical-optical_illusions#Examples_of_geometrical-optical_Illusions
      Besides, if you take away the rest of the other aspects of the swing, then all you do see if the shaft with a clubhead at impact hitting a ball. That’s all golf is, a stick with a metal slab or block of some shape hitting a round ball and moving it forward. But the fact that the swings, the delivery mechanisms, are all different, are as profound as how every human’s personality is as different as his anatomy. That’s more important than realizing that the impacts are all the same, because the person has to figure out a way to get to that impact with force and speed

      • Dave Tutelman

        Apr 16, 2018 at 7:18 am

        Exactly, Way! And the drills in Clampett’s book are about impact, not about where you are at P4 or P6 or whether you “crossed the line” at transition. There are lots of ways to get there, and he recognizes that.

  28. Matt

    Apr 13, 2018 at 8:20 pm

    Says the guy selling golf instruction and books. The idea that impact can be isolated and worked on while ignoring the prior contributing motions is nonsense.

    • Way

      Apr 14, 2018 at 3:26 am

      Bingo

    • SteveK

      Apr 14, 2018 at 12:42 pm

      Bobby and all the PGA-certified teachers would go out of business if they told all the decrepit rec golfers seeking an instant cure for their many golfswing problems that their bodies are uncoordinated and intensive gym work is necessary.

  29. ogo

    Apr 13, 2018 at 6:09 pm

    Read: The LAWs of the Golf Swing: Body-Type Your Swing and Master Your Game by Jim Suttie, Mike Adams, and T.J. Tomasi

  30. ogo

    Apr 13, 2018 at 6:00 pm

    Bobby forgot to mention that his downfall began after reading Homer Kelley’s TGM (The Golfing Machine) and believing it! 😮

  31. David Aceto

    Apr 13, 2018 at 5:43 pm

    i have tried every swing type ledbetter ballard chuck hogan eddie merrins and i still struggle except when i do the feet together drill i really compress the ball and actually hit it the same yardages go figure

    • ogo

      Apr 13, 2018 at 6:06 pm

      Have you tried: “The LAWs of the Golf Swing: Body-Type Your Swing and Master Your Game
      Book by Jim Suttie, Mike Adams, and T.J. Tomasi” ?
      Google it.

  32. george

    Apr 13, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    “golfers are paying very dearly to learn useless check lists but they are not learning how to play the game of golf. Proof of the true fundamentals of motion will forever eliminate the check lists..
    …… There is a place and a need for check lists but not in golf! Hope this helps some.” Gerry Hogan Copyright © all rights reserved October 2009

    http://forums.iseekgolf.com/topic/31955-ask-gerry-hogan/page-3

    • george

      Apr 13, 2018 at 4:47 pm

      so no check lists, whether about positions or impact
      are of any value, without the understanding of the true fundamentals of motion.

  33. Henkedejk

    Apr 13, 2018 at 4:23 pm

    Interesting article. I practice without a coach and thus I tend to focus on impact and ballflight rather than angles, look and such.

    Can you suggest where ro read more on impact focused training, perhaps also find good drills.

    Thanks,

  34. Luke Demaree

    Apr 13, 2018 at 3:03 pm

    I couldn’t agree with this article more. used to do the adam scott/rory mcilroy finish and it looked fantastic! Too bad my shot would slice so far right i scrambled every hole. it wasn’t until i was told about impact that i started playing good golf shots. my swing (and my scores) will never be compared to a PGA pro but the shots i hit are significantly better now that they were when i cared about swing style.

  35. Jim Donegan

    Apr 13, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    I see points in the article that are relatable from lessons I received at Golftec. I always felt they tried too hard to teach me a singular correct way to swing, not using my natural swing at all. Wish I could afford attending his golf school!

  36. Sean Foster-Nolan

    Apr 13, 2018 at 2:46 pm

    I like the article. I always thought the swing was about impact…it doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you do, as opposed obsessing over all that other “stuff”. I also think it was Arnold Palmer who said you don’t hit the ball with your back swing.

  37. Rob Pfeil

    Apr 13, 2018 at 1:43 pm

    I remember being taught that my club face at the top of the swing needed to be inline with the target and not shut (as I have always done). It single handedly ruined my golf game and led me to getting burnout when I was in high school.

    I have yet to see a swing on the PGA Tour that has the face square to the target. It has absolutely no bearing on what you do the rest of the swing. In fact, to get to that position, you have to completely change how your wrists are from the beginning of your swing and then get back to that point at impact. It’s wasted energy. Since then, I’ve tried to go to a few different teachers and each time they start off with one of the things in this list of 20 and I immediately check out and never go back.

    The source of this problem (in regards to the elite pro’s/amateur’s) is that everyone thinks they don’t hit it good enough. But watch a pro play 18 holes and tell me how many shots they hit perfect with the expectations you give yourself in a round? I see pro’s hit a wedge to 20 feet and move on like it’s nothing. I see guys at my course do the same and they are slamming clubs and pissed they didn’t hit it to 2 feet.

    The problem isn’t how people hit the ball, it’s what you do inside 100 yards, putting, and mental game.

    • Bill

      Jan 28, 2020 at 5:52 pm

      Dear Rob – this is probably the greatest comment I have ever read on any golf board. period. and I have probably read thousands and thousands. thank you for this.

  38. TigerMom

    Apr 13, 2018 at 12:10 pm

    The 20 point list is a little unfair. It depends on what the player is currently doing that is leading to a problematic swing. If you are correcting that issue, fine. It’s another thing to try to remold the swing into some preconceived package — this I disagree with.

  39. Michael

    Apr 13, 2018 at 12:07 pm

    I wish I’d been taught this 30 years ago. I’ve been wasting time working on finding the right body mechanics and tempo (when I found it I called it ‘mojo’ because it was unexplainable and fleeting) instead of focusing on impacting the middle of the clubface and the ground correctly. I’m hitting so much better now, finally, after spending some time with impact tape and watching divot patterns.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

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

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

19th Hole

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

Published

on

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

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

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

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

Past Winners at Memorial Park

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

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

Key Stats For Memorial Park

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

Strokes Gained: Approach

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

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

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

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

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

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

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

Strokes Gained Putting: Bermudagrass + Fast

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

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

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

Strokes Gained: Around the Green

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

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

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

Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult

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

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

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

Course History

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

Strokes Gained Total at Memorial Park past 12 rounds:

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

Statistical Model

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

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

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

2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open Picks

Will Zalatoris +2000 (Caesars)

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

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

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

Alex Noren +4500 (FanDuel)

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

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

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

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

Mackenzie Hughes +8000 (FanDuel)

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

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

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

Akshay Bhatia +8000 (FanDuel)

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

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

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

Cameron Champ +12000 (FanDuel)

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

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

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

Robert MacIntyre +12000 (FanDuel)

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

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

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

Ryan Moore +15000 (FanDuel)

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

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

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

 

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

Continue Reading

Opinion & Analysis

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

Published

on

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continue Reading

19th Hole

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

Published

on

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

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

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

Past Winners at Valspar Championship

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

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

Key Stats For Copperhead

1. Strokes Gained: Approach

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

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

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

2. Good Drive %

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

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

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

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

3. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking

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

SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds:

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

4. Bogey Avoidance

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

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

Bogey Avoidance Over Past 24 Rounds

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

5. Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions

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

Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions Over Past 24 rounds

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

6. Course History

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

Course History Over Past 24 rounds

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

The Valspar Championship Model Rankings

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

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

2024 Valspar Championship Picks

Justin Thomas +1400 (DraftKings)

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

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

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

Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000 (FanDuel)

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

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

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

Doug Ghim +8000 (FanDuel)

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

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

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

Sepp Straka +8000 (BetRivers)

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

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

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

Victor Perez +12000 (FanDuel)

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

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

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

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

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

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending