News

WATCH: John Senden’s driver shaft snaps mid-swing

Published

8 years ago

Nov 29, 2018

As challenging and unpredictable as golf is, professional golfers can usually count on one thing, making contact with the ball. However, when John Senden attempted to rip his tee shot at the par-5 ninth hole in his opening round at the Australian PGA Championship, the Aussie’s club snapped mid-swing producing an air shot.

John Senden…..not having a good day ???? pic.twitter.com/7NyaymgQ4b

— Scott Springer (@Springco) November 29, 2018

Despite not causing himself a severe injury, Senden did wound his hand during the bizarre incident, and after deliberating with a rules official, things got even worse for the Aussie. After failing to make contact with the ball, rules officials told Senden that not only would that swing count as a stroke but that he would also be forced to play his next shot from the original high standing tee. A decision that left his fellow countryman Geoff Ogilvy seething.

John Senden's driver snapped in the grip in his backswing. He missed the ball and stabbed himself with a jagged shaft. The rules official says the stroke counts. Geoff Ogilvy's reaction: pic.twitter.com/uGuAqnZjMa

— Ryan Ballengee (@RyanBallengee) November 29, 2018

Senden did, however, end up making a bogey on the hole, and despite being forced to finish his back nine driverless, the two time PGA Tour winner managed to get in the house with a solid round of level par.

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22 Comments

Dave f

Nov 30, 2018 at 1:32 pm

Good explanation from the full axcent of the one and only Charlie Rymer on the golf channel report, along with mr know it all Mr. Brandel man are they a pair or what they sure have it figured out.

Reply Report comment
James A.

Nov 30, 2018 at 11:44 am

That happened to me with one of the early gen lite-weight graphite shafts – I’ll just say it was 23yrs ago & they were bright red & light years ahead of the other offerings at the time. I had been using XXX Penley – which weighed in ALMOST twice as much as these did and the designer/owner was very good to us. It played almost as firm in the tip, but to do that a lot of material was taken from the butt. We still saw a lot of high breaks in many different shafts until maybe 8 yrs ago but these Red ones were cutting edge. If you leaned on it at all teeing up? – SNAP. Bag fell over? SNAP- but you could hit 300+ balls on a test day at 115-120 club head speed and (almost) no problem.

I did snap 10 one day but was testing a couple versions for them and most snapped if I let it bounce off my back on a ‘gorilla swing’ follow through.

The bad one was another gen later when they changed the outer layer material to be stronger lengthwise. I had a relatively slow backswing for my swing speed to force a big turn – being a big guy with a back injury. I capitalized on 20+ yrs of karate & being a professional drummer with fast hands. In a pro-am, I went after it on a reachable 340yd hole & the shaft snapped halfway into the downswing – at peak lag when my hands started to turn into impact, but instead of half the club flying away, the head stayed on – connected by a strip of the new outer layer. I hit the ball, but the head wrapped completely around my back & came up and drilled me right on my right eye brow…inch or so lower, it would’ve shattered the orbit & I might’ve lost the eye. As it was, I just saw all blue light – like gettin’ KO’d and almost went down. The missing 2′ of shaft hit someone 10yds away (no harm done) and I just put my hand on the spot which was golf ball size in 3 seconds…I was lucky.

I ended up with 6 stitches. I called the company & ‘my guys’ were out & the person I talked to sounded a little spooked & just said “I don’t think I can talk to you about this…sounds like you need to speak to our legal dept (lol)…I told him I was a sponsored test ‘driver’ & I wasn’t gonna sue! I just needed them to know it happened & maybe they needed to let the head/broken piece just go flying down the fairway if one broke. They stopped using that material lengthwise & created ‘Rings’so to speak – to make sure if it broke it’d be ‘cleaner’…

True story 🙂

For 8 years I didn’t carry a 3 wd. Used a Big Bertha one iron with ‘the red shaft’ and couldn’t miss. Best combo EVER. Eventually, just got tired of them breaking hitting off the deck, & other – now the all well known ‘high end’ shafts got so good I moved on ????

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Ray Bennett

Nov 29, 2018 at 5:45 pm

Come on USGA and R&A, surely this circumstance needs to be addressed in the Rules of Golf in the players favour.

Reply Report comment
jc

Nov 29, 2018 at 5:19 pm

one of my friends just ticked the ball and it fell off the tee, he used his 3 wood, then an iron and made the putt…one of the best pars I had eve seen.

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Curt

Nov 29, 2018 at 4:56 pm

Was that a TPT Shaft?

Reply Report comment
- Michael
  
  Nov 29, 2018 at 8:26 pm
  
  I think so. Those shafts are incredibly overpriced for the lack of quality control that seems to exist. I’ve heard of many of these snapping, way above the norm.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Scheiss
    
    Nov 29, 2018 at 8:38 pm
    
    What do you expect from ski poles, they’re not meant to be swung at something lol
    
    Reply Report comment
Kevin

Nov 29, 2018 at 4:05 pm

Very stupid ruling and yes they should be fkd off. Should the club shaft stay intact he would have hit the ball, it is the one thing that the player does not have any control over. There was no obstacles, no roots in the ground, it is a faulty shaft and the player could not anticipate nor be prepared for. Its the same as punishing a Bus taker for the bus’ engine failture as soon as he stepped into the bus.

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KL Nix

Nov 29, 2018 at 3:17 pm

I had that happen to me once with a 1 iron during a tournament. Just after impact i heard and felt a snap and it didn’t compute until I felt the club pinching my hands and the head smacking me in the leg. One of the most bizarre things that I have ever had happen to me and until now I thought I was the only one to have that kind of luck. The following 16 holes of viagra jokes were not that funny at the time but in hindsight have grown on me.

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Kevin

Nov 29, 2018 at 11:35 am

I very well may be mistaken, but should he not have been able to tee off again without a penalty? He did not make contact with the ball and that would only be a stroke if he intends to make contact with the ball. Much like Kevin Na from years back, he still followed through but was able to say that he did not intend to hit the ball. It very much looked like after the club snapped he tried to stop his swing?

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- Tips
  
  Nov 29, 2018 at 1:11 pm
  
  No.
  In this case, it happened during the normal action of the actual swing, and the judgment is the same as if you were to break a club against a tree, for example. You can clearly see that it was not a practice swing or a waggle, it happened during the actual intended swing.
  Whether the shaft was poorly made or not is irrelevant.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Kevin
    
    Nov 29, 2018 at 3:27 pm
    
    This is the ruling of which I am talking about.
    
    14/1.5 Intent to Strike Ball Ceases During Downswing; Club Not Stopped But Path of Clubhead Altered to Avoid Striking Ball
    
    Q.A player begins his downswing with the intention of striking the ball but decides during the downswing not to strike the ball. The player is unable to stop the club before it reaches the ball, but he is able to swing intentionally over the top of the ball. Is the player deemed to have made a stroke?
    
    A.No. The player is considered to have checked his downswing voluntarily by altering the path of his downswing and missing the ball even though the swing carried the clubhead beyond the ball.
    
    If the player had not successfully checked his downswing (i.e., he had struck the ball), he is considered to have made a stroke.
    
    Any doubt regarding the player’s intent must be resolved against the player.
    
    Although it does not match perfectly and the rules in Australia may vary slightly I think this would apply. I would say once the shaft broke he clearly made an attempt to not make contact/check his swing and he did not make contact.
    
    Reply Report comment
- jc
  
  Nov 29, 2018 at 5:17 pm
  
  nope, if you take a swing, it is just like a whiff…the only thing that will change wit the new rules is that if the ball was falling off the tee, you no longer get a penalty for hitting a moving ball…
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Willem van der Merwe
    
    Nov 30, 2018 at 5:22 am
    
    Under the new rules, the ball is still on the teeing are, so although the stroke counts, he would be able to re-tee, put the ball on the ground or on any surface irregularity, whether created by the player or natural.
    
    In fact, if you had hit a shot which rebounded and ended up back on your teeing area (the 2 club-length space behind the tee markers for your tee on the hole), you would be entitled to tee it up again for your second shot.
    
    Reply Report comment
Thomas Horonzy

Nov 29, 2018 at 11:13 am

I would have never assessed him a swing. I feel Geoff felt likewise. Where’s the logic?

Reply Report comment
KingSingh

Nov 29, 2018 at 9:53 am

What shaft was Senden using in his driver?

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Nigel Kent

Nov 29, 2018 at 9:39 am

He did not have to finish the round driver-less . If you break a club deliberately (in temper across your leg ,against a tree or the ground ),that would be true .If it just breaks in normal play , you are allowed to have it replaced either from the pro-shop or your own spare supply in your vehicle , as long as you don’t delay play . I saw Sam Torrance snap a driver across his back on the follow-through,they sent a buggy to the pro- shop ,had a new one back to him in 15 minutes .

Reply Report comment
- GP
  
  Nov 29, 2018 at 9:48 am
  
  The commentators said he didn’t have a back-up driver that day, but was hoping to get one for the next day from some place.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Eric Clancey
  
  Nov 29, 2018 at 9:51 am
  
  Good call Nigel.
  
  It looked like a snap at the grip from banging the club head on the ground after a bad shot.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Engineer Bob
    
    Nov 29, 2018 at 3:26 pm
    
    No…. that’s the result of applying a hands force couple to the club handle and the very thin-walled butt section of the shaft collapsing under the grip. Do not apply a hands force couple approaching impact because that signifies you are attempting a swing compensation.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - gps
      
      Nov 29, 2018 at 5:53 pm
      
      Its very natural that there are forces at the point of the fulcrum, between the hands.
      
      In 5L, Ben Hogan pointed out the center of gravity of a golf club, without the golfer
      and fulcrum when it becomes a lever in the hands of the golfer.
      
      Reply Report comment
      - Engineer Bob
        
        Nov 29, 2018 at 6:57 pm
        
        Sorry but there is no golf swing ‘fulcrum’ between the hands during a force couple, just a rotation axis. A fulcrum is a support whereas the rotation axis just floats through the downswing. You are confusing a lever with a static fulcrum and a moving object subject to a force couple.
        
        Reply Report comment

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Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
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Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
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