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Professional golfers who have never had a lesson

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“Swing your swing. Not some idea of a swing, not a swing you saw on TV, or swing you wish you had. No, swing your swing.”

Arnold Palmer’s words have been quoted for years, and over time, it’s been proved that distinctive swings can more than get the job done in the professional sphere of golf.

But what about those who take it that one step further and not only swing their own swing but reach the upper echelons of the game without even taking lessons? While it is rare, some players are entirely self-taught and have had major success in the sport.

Here we’ll take a look at some tour pros that have used the swing they were blessed with to forge both a living and a legacy in the game.

Professional golfers who have never had a lesson

Lee Trevino won six major championships. Here he is after winning the 1972 Open Championship, his second Claret Jug.

Bubba Watson

The most-well know self-taught genius is Bubba Watson.

Watson taught himself to play as a kid by hitting whiffle balls in loops around his house, and his journey has taken him right to the very top, with 12 PGA Tour wins to his name, including two Masters titles.

The American taught himself to swing harder and harder as he progressed and invented his own version of golf: ‘Bubba Golf’, which involves Bubba often hitting either a giant cut or draw. 

His rope hook shot during the 2012 Masters playoff was the perfect example of a self-taught genius at work. No other player on tour would have seen the shot, let alone pull it off.

Lee Trevino

Lee Trevino’s career is highlighted by 6 major triumphs, and another perfect example of how your unique and individual swing can’t be taught but only learned.

After being discharged from the Marines, Trevino took a job as a club pro in El Paso, Texas and made side money gambling on himself in head to head matchups.

He would famously say about his swing: “No one who ever had lessons would have a swing like mine.”

Moe Norman

The Canadian, Moe Norman, is considered one of the best ball strikers of all time and was given the nickname “Pipeline Moe” out of respect for how pure he hit the ball.

The stories regarding Norman’s self-taught swing are legendary, with tales of how he could hit hundreds of balls without touching a blade of grass. 

Vijay Singh called him a genius, while Tiger Woods once said that Moe Norman and Ben Hogan were the only two golfers to “own their swings.”

Jim Herman

Another current pro who has never had a lesson is Jim Herman. Herman started at the age of 9 and learned the game by playing daily at Shawnee Lookout Golf Course in North Bend. The American plied his trade as an assistant pro and ironically an instructor before making it onto the PGA Tour.

Since then, Herman, who says “things like course management and strategy get ignored in the beginning stages of instruction”, has gone on to win three times on the PGA Tour.

As far as owning your own swing, Jim Furyk is another excellent example, whose only ever coach has been his father. While Luke Donald  throughout his career would only occasionally seek the council of his college golf coach, Pat Goss at Northwestern.

To succeed in a sport like golf is hard enough, but to do it without any lessons is almost miraculous. Are there any self-taught professionals we’ve missed? Let us know if so!

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

19th Hole

3-time PGA Tour winner calls for LIV to buy Champions Tour to fix ‘joke’ purses

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While speaking on the Subpar podcast, former PGA Tour winner and current PGA Tour Champions player Chris DiMarco said he hopes LIV buys the Champions Tour.

“We’re kind of hoping that LIV buys the Champions Tour,” he said.

“Let’s play for a little real money out here. I mean this is kind of a joke when we’re getting $2 million. There were like seven guys last week from TPC (Sawgrass, at the $25 million PLAYERS Championship) that made more money than our purses.”

In 2024, the Champions Tour had a total of $67 million in prize money over the course of 24 events.

DiMarco also defended LIV players for taking the money and said he would take it also.

“They wanted to play for a lot of money, and they deserve it. They have had some great careers, why not go and get some money?”

DiMarco also offered insight on Graeme McDowell’s move to LIV.

“I saw Graeme McDowell at the Old Memorial Pro Member, and he goes, ‘Listen, I went up to Jay Monahan and said I love the tour but I am struggling to keep my card and these guys are offering me all this money and less golf. I’m sorry, I’m going.’ And I do not blame him one bit, and I said I would have too.”

DiMarco was ranked as high as 6th in the world in 2006.

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19th Hole

‘It won’t win you golf tournaments’ – Golf analyst rips Charley Hull’s course management

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Charley Hull came just short of her third LPGA Tour victory over the weekend at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship when she played her last two holes at 3 over to slip all the way to 10th on the leaderboard.

After the round, Hull was blasted by Sky Sports commentator and former LPGA Tour player Trish Johnson for her lack of golf course management.

While speaking on the Sky Sports Golf podcast, Johnson spoke harshly of Hull.

“I’m probably her harshest critic, because I know how good she is. She doesn’t win anywhere near enough for her talent, and she doesn’t get involved enough, in all honestly.

“The thing with Charley is that you’re never going to change her. I read something the other day that said how much she loves the game and it’s her love of the game [that costs her]. She’s never going to change and she’s just going to go for every pin.

“In theory that’s great, but it won’t win you golf tournaments, it just won’t because she’s not that much better than anybody else. If you put Charley against Nelly Korda, then I’m picking Nelly every single day of the week.”

Johnson also made a fascinating comparison between Hull and a famous male golfer, John Daly.

“Golf-wise that’s the way she plays the game and it’s a little bit like watching John Daly I suppose.”

“There’s something that John Daly had that made him a major winner and a winner, but Charley is kind of lacking that. Her talent is not in question, but maybe her application is. Maybe it’s just the case of her never changing and that will cost her golf tournaments, there’s no two ways about it. You cannot go for every pin because that’s the way you play and it being fun, as other players are better than that and you have to have course management.”

Hull is still only 27, and therefore has plenty of time to work on her flaws to achieve the success her talent should allow.

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19th Hole

Former agent lifts lid on being fired by ‘zombie’ Tiger Woods

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Discussing his new book “Rainmaker” with the Daily Mail, Tiger Woods’ former agent, Hughes Norton, recounted the events leading up to and after his split with the 15-time major champion.

Norton was abruptly fired by Woods in 1998 after his 1997 Masters win and monster deal with Nike.

In the book, Norton talks about the way Tiger views his relationships, calling him a “zombie.”

The solace I can take, which doesn’t provide much, is this: He was an equal opportunity zombie with relationships, his swing coaches, his lawyer, the guy negotiated the IMG representation deal, with caddies, When it’s over, it’s over.”

Norton added:

“It is the way he terminates relationships with everyone. Whether it’s girlfriends, whether it’s his former golf coaches. It’s ironic, really. In a way he’s so good at confrontation on the golf course. If he’s playing you, he will beat your brains out every single time.

“But when it comes to confronting things like me and other people that are in his life, he has no social skills whatsoever. It’s maddening, actually.”

After he was fired by Woods, Norton was let go by IMG, which he believes was due to Woods’ influence.

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