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While former Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington doesn’t seem eager to jump over to the LIV Golf circuit, he’s not calling for outright blacklisting of those who have.

Harrington told The Times Tuesday members of the upstart, Saudi-backed league should be allowed to play in major championships.

“I strongly believe the majors should stay above everything,” the three-time major winner said. “I would not want to turn up at a major and not play against the best players in the world. They need to say, ‘We’re above all this.'”

Harrington’s comments come as two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson said last week at LIV Golf’s Boston Invitational he didn’t want to be at Augusta if the tournament didn’t want him there, but that banning LIV players would be the wrong approach for the club.

There’s also controversy this week because several LIV golfers, including a few who are not DP World Tour members, are teeing it at at the tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship. That’s drawn the ire of several PGA Tour stars, including Jon Rahm and Billy Horschel.

“I honestly don’t think that the American guys who haven’t supported the PGA Tour should be here,” Horschel said Tuesday. “Abraham Ancer, Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak — you’ve never played this tournament, you’ve never supported the DP World Tour. Why are you here?”

Harrington seems to see it differently. He said he understands why players have come to Wentworth from the event, since their Official World Golf Rankings have been tumbling since joining LIV Golf as the league does not yet have ranking points. LIV commits can still play on the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour), pending the outcome of an appeal on the suspensions handed down by the Tour in British court.

All LIV golfers have been suspended from the PGA Tour.

“If LIV had world ranking points and these players were turning up [at Wentworth], I’d be protesting myself,” Harrington said. “But they need to protect their position and this is the only way.”

LIV signees were allowed to play in all of this year’s majors. Augusta National has not made any indications that it will revoke any invitations for next April’s Masters. Among the LIV commits who would otherwise be traditionally given a Masters invite are past champions such as Watson, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

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Harrington also admitted many of his friends are playing on LIV, likely referring to his fellow European Ryder Cup stalwarts Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia, all of whom he captained last fall at Whistling Straits. He said he didn’t want to “throw them under the bus.”

“Nobody is paying me to support LIV, and the PGA is my bread and butter,” Harrington said. “This is the first time I’ve done an interview where I didn’t want to. I’ve been procrastinating about it, putting it off. Why? Because an opinion now can be taken as dissent. It’s an awkward time. It’s so volatile.”

Harrington compared the dispute between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour to cricket, when the Indian Premier League (IPL) was formed in 2007. That league was not initially recognized by cricket’s governing bodies and purses were increased by Board of Control for Cricket in India and bans were levied for players playing in the IPL.

Harrington seemed to see parallels between the two quarrels.

“In the end, the IPL became the mainstream,” he said.

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The post ‘You’ve got to stick to it’: Padraig Harrington is disappointed in Henrik Stenson’s Ryder Cup captaincy void appeared first on Golf.

Team Europe is experiencing unprecedented upheaval in the wake of Henrik Stenson’s departure to Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which resulted in the Swede being stripped of his 2023 Ryder Cup captaincy when the Cup heads to Rome next year.

Stenson served as vice captain to Padraig Harrington at the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in September, and Harrington was clearly disappointed in Stenson’s decision when Harrington was asked about the situation ahead of last week’s Senior Open Championship at Gleneagles.

“Clearly it’s unfortunate, the situation that he’s not going to continue on as captain,” Harrington said. “He signed a contract not to do that and was specifically asked not to do that. So yes, I don’t — I have no empathy there. No, he took The Ryder Cup job when LIV was in doubt, and now that LIV is pretty much mainstream normalized, he’s jumped ship.”

Stenson is one of many European stalwarts who have recently left the PGA and DP World Tours for LIV Golf, joining Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter.

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“He wanted to take something on when LIV looked like it wasn’t going to happen. And now that LIV, as we see, is mainstream, pretty close to being mainstream, there’s certainly less risk in joining the LIV Tour. He’s gone over, which I know it’s a financial decision,” Harrington continued. “We’re all here to make money and things like that but there is an element of like signing up to do something, and as much as it might suit him now and as much as it financially — financially being a Ryder Cup Captain in Europe is very lucrative. Clearly it’s financially better to go over to LIV but sometimes when you sign up for something, you have to accept that you made the decision at the time and you’ve got to stick to it. In that sense, he signed to say he wouldn’t do it.”

Harrington is on Team Europe’s selection committee and said that despite the setback with Stenson, the team will be ready next fall.

“It’s plenty of time. Fifteen months is loads of time,” he said. “Give him credit, he didn’t pull out like a month before or three months before. It is 15 months, plenty of time. No issue as regards the actual team and like there’s been nothing set in place about the selection processes or qualification processes. Really doesn’t affect the Ryder Cup in any shape or form. I’m sure we’ll have a new captain installed pretty soon.”

It will be a big moment for Team Europe, who will be looking to bounce back from a 19-9 thumping by Team USA at Whistling Straits when the match heads back to Europe next year.

The 2023 Ryder Cup begins on Friday, September 29, 2023.

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While some stakeholders in golf are bemoaning the ripple effects that the upstart LIV Golf League has produced, Padraig Harrington has quite the opposite point of view.

“Personally, I believe there’s room in golf for lots of tours and lots of competition,” Harrington said at this week’s JP McManus Pro-Am. “The more the merrier, if you ask me.”

It’s a stark difference from what many of the non-defectors have stated in recent weeks, but for Harrington, he believes the disruption the Saudi-backed league presents might turn out to be a positive for the sport. In his view, competition breeds innovation — and that is a very good thing.

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“At the moment, there is disruption, there’s no doubt about it, but disruption is not bad at times,” he said. “It looks at the moment like as I said, the PGA Tour look like they have strengthened their position and European Tour are strengthening their position. I feel there is plenty of room and time will tell.”

Harrington has remained neutral on the topic of LIV Golf each time the topic is broached. Last week, he told the press he “didn’t have any problem with the guys who have gone to LIV,” but he did reiterate that he believed their main motivating factor was money.

Some of Harrington’s former Ryder Cup teammates — Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey — are among those who have made the jump to LIV in recent weeks. And even though Harrington does not find himself on the same side of the aisle on this issue as his fellow Europeans, he still considers them his friends.

“Being here is a little bit like Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving for your family,” Harrington said. “You could have a sibling sitting there and — we’ll Americanize it: You could be a Republican; they could be a Democrat, but you’re friends at that particular time, and maybe politics isn’t mentioned at the dinner table. We are here for two days, and it’s great to see.”

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That being said, other stakeholders in the game haven’t been quite as friendly when it comes to defectors. The PGA and DP World Tours have already levied suspensions and fines for those playing in LIV events, and possible bans from the Ryder Cup are on the table as well.

Harrington said he hadn’t considered how the future of the Ryder Cup will be impacted by these decisions, but he did say that his time as a part of the European team is behind him.

“I had my chance,” he said. “As much as I loved the experience of being Ryder Cup Captain, and I really did, it was a tough call, and I don’t see myself going back into that arena again. It’s just the nature of the business. It’s a one-and-done, and it’s a bigger event than the individual.”

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Padraig Harrington is one of the game’s greatest European champions.

He’s a three-time major winner, Ryder Cup captain, and last week, claimed his first senior major at the U.S. Senior Open.

Right after winning, Harrington jetted to Ireland to compete in the Irish Open, where a second-round 71 ensured he made the cut.

After his round on Friday, Harrington was inundated with questions on the day’s hot topic: DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley’s harsh response to a threat of legal action from LIV Golf participants, who are contesting their fines and suspensions. Currently suspended players on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour will be prevented from playing in next week’s Scottish Open, a popular tune-up for the following week’s Open Championship. (The DP World Tour does not have jurisdiction over the Open Championship, which is run by the R&A. The governing body is allowing LIV Golf participants to compete at St. Andrews this year.)

While some high-profile players have been leery about sharing opinions on LIV Golf, Harrington had plenty to say on the state of the world tours and the many defectors to LIV Golf.

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“I actually don’t have any problem with the guys who have gone to LIV golf. They are gone to go and do their thing,” he said. “Everybody’s got to make their own choices but you make a choice. You make your bed and you sleep in it, that’s it. It was very clear that the guys who didn’t go, especially guys who could have gone, who possibly would have had offers on the table, they have taken a big decision not to take the money.

“The guys have gone because there was an incredible amount of money on the table. No other reason. No other reason,” he continued. “It’s not going to make their golf better. It’s not going to do anything more that they could have done playing anywhere else. They have gone for the money, and there’s great money on the table. They are professional golfers, and everybody has got to make that decision. I have no problem, and those guys are going to remain my friends. I certainly have no issue with what they have done.

“It was very, very clear that there would be severe sanctions for anybody who went. But I honestly don’t judge the guys who went for the money. It’s a pretty good offer.”

Harrington also said he thinks LIV Golf could ultimately be a good thing for the game going forward.

“There’s certainly room in golf,” he said. “I’m particularly happy that the European Tour and the PGA Tour have come out and started focusing on themselves to get better. Instead of trying to pull down the other tour, let them at it.

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“I see it as a competitive tour,” he continued. “I grew up seeing the PGA Tour as a competitive tour. I don’t have a problem with another tour being out there competitive. The players who have gone, that was their choice and they knew what was coming. With the commitment that LIV look like they have, they look like they will be here for years to come and players will do very well out of it. And a bit of rivalry won’t do us any harm at all. As I said, in 20 years’ time, we could have a match between the LIV Tour and the PGA Tour.”

This week, LIV Golf is playing in Portland, the PGA Tour is playing in Illinois, and the DP World Tour is in Ireland, with many worried about the dilution of talent in various fields. But Harrington is unconcerned.

“The PGA Tour and European Tour statements are starting to focus on their tours and as far as I’m concerned, let LIV go and do their thing,” Harrington said. “I think it’s good for golf having competition and other tours, and I think there could be room for it, too. I don’t have a problem with that.”

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Arnold Schwarzenegger, Padraig Harrington says, is good. He can click away. 

But most every other amateur would do themselves well to scroll down. 

In a recently released video by the PGA Tour Champions, Harrington dished on how to hit a greenside bunker shot. It’s straightforward, too, the three-time major champion and last year’s European Ryder Cup captain said: Slide your club under the ball. And to do this best?

“We’re trying to hit about two inches behind,” Harrington said. 

Only amateurs quadruple that distance, he said. And few can hit a whopping eight inches away from the ball.

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“I think you’d want to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to lift eight inches of sand and the ball,” Harrington said. 

“… You don’t have to hit the ball hard in the bunker because I’m only taking a little bit of sand, whereas amateurs take this big heap of sand in it, and you just, physically nobody is strong enough to do that.”

So what’s an amateur to do? You could lift. Or, Harrington said, you could move most of the weight you do have to the left. 

“You want to get your sternum left on top of the ball,” he said. “So you want to get like 90 percent of your weight onto your left side. The whole idea, you’re trying to slide the club under the ball — it’s nearly like fresh-airing the ball by sliding underneath it. So to do this, we want to be on the left side, and watch, we’re trying to hit about two inches behind. A lot of people will try to hit two inches, and it really does end up hitting back here. But most people are trying to lift the ball in bunkers. So if I can, if I’m set up nicely on my left-hand side, sternum’s over the ball, ball position is quite a bit forward. 

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“The key here is as we’re coming in, we don’t want to try and help it in the air because again, if you’re trying to help it in the air, you’re going to back up onto this right side; you’re going to squeeze in here. And watch, if that’s two inches behind, watch what would happen.”

Harrington swung. 

“All of a sudden, you’re hitting eight inches behind.”

He then swung twice more.  

“This is what you guys look like: If you back up [swings], all that effort, and the golf ball’s gone nowhere,” Harrington said. “Whereas when a pro hits it, he sits on his left-hand side, he stays left, and watch how [swings] how easy I hit that to get it to go all the 15 yards or so to the hole.”

To watch the complete video, please scroll down. And to watch additional tips from Harrington — and all are worth your time — check out his YouTube channel here.   

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The post Padraig Harrington Q&A: Why ‘funky swings’ work better in pro golf appeared first on Golf.

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The sun is setting at the Ritz-Carlton. The range has cleared. Legendary golf dads and their families have dispersed into the Orlando night; they’re off to dinner, even Tiger Woods and his son Charlie. All is quiet at the PNC Championship. Except for one man, alone on the putting green.

I approach Padraig Harrington cautiously, the way you might greet a friend in the midst of meditation. There’s a reason both putting and meditating are called “practice,” after all. But there’s no sneaking up on him; we’re the only two people in the entire practice area.

I’m worried that I’m interrupting him and that he’ll be unwilling to chat. That dissipates immediately; Harrington always has something to say.

What follows is a lightly edited version of our conversation, which appears in the March issue of GOLF.

Dylan Dethier: What has you excited about starting a new golf season?

Padraig Harrington: I’m excited about improving myself. Last season, I got lapped at a couple of Champions Tour events, and I hit it way past everybody! So I’m going, ‘I’m getting beat. Why is that?’ It’s a matter of getting back to the stuff I was good at when I was good. Being mentally strong and — well, really, that was it.

DD: How do you keep yourself motivated?

PH: You’ve got to find a different way of doing it. When you’re young, you’ve got the whole thing in front of you, and that keeps you going. When you’re old, you’ve got to find a different way of turning the wheel.

DD: Is that why you’re out here putting till sunset?

PH: I still enjoy it. I still enjoy practicing. I still get up every morning believing I’m going to find the secret. I go to bed thinking I’m going to find the secret. I look at these guys in the gym and I think, ‘Yeah, I’ve done that.’ When I was a young man, I did the weight gain. Did the weight loss. Whatever you think is new, I’ve done it 10 years ago. I still can do the practice because I like that. But a lot of the stuff that goes with it? A little less, a little less.

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DD: Does Bryson DeChambeau remind you of yourself?

PH: [Long pause] In a sense, yes. I always felt I had to find every little edge to beat the guy next to me. If he does x, and I already can beat him at y, and then I match him at x, I’m okay. My confidence came from being ahead of the curve. Bryson’s, too. With him, it might go back to the one-plane swing. Think of it like this: If you have two pros coming out who are equally talented players, the one with the funky swing is more likely to make it than the one with the perfect golf swing.

DD: Why is that?

PH: Because the guy who’s a good player with a funky swing is always trying, and moving, and working. If you’ve got a perfect swing and you’re a good ball striker, when you miss a green it’s like, what do you blame? When you don’t get your card, when you don’t win the tournament, what do you blame? Great swingers are maybe the ones who will find pro golf the hardest. But if you go out there and you find somebody who’s a bit of a scrambler, who’s scrappy, who in his head has so much to get better at? A bad day doesn’t hurt him. He’s been dealing with that all his life. He’s been being himself all his life.

I bring it up with Bryson because with the one-plane swing, Bryson was setting himself up to be himself. And that’s the easier way to become a professional. Collin Morikawa has it too. He’s a short-ball hitter, relative to the Tour. And that’s the little chip on his shoulder. He’s going to beat you by being a better iron player, a better golfer, better mentally. That’s what’s giving him his edge.

DD: On the spectrum of pure ball striker to scrapper, where do you rate yourself?

PH: Definitely a scrapper. I hit the ball better now than at any stage in my career—way better. But my consistency, I’ve lost some of that.

DD: I saw you on the tee earlier, making a backswing holding a ball instead of a club, and then on the downswing you threw the ball to the ground, hard. What was that about?

PH: If I throw a couple balls, it’s the closest thing I’ve found to the tension of swinging a golf club.

DD: Do other people do that?

PH: No, I made that one up. I think it could be a speed drill, but I don’t know. I went to see Tom House — he’s a baseball coach, but he started working with Tom Brady, Drew Brees, all the quarterbacks. I went to see him as well, for shoulder care and speed work. I would do throwing drills with weighted balls, so this is an extension of that. I had a rain delay at Jack’s event [The Memorial] last year. Two hours later, when we came back, I didn’t hit any shots. I just threw a few balls and I felt fine.

DD: You’ve been making videos, Paddy’s Golf Tips, on social media the last few years. Do you do them out of the goodness of your heart? Make money off them?

PH: I put them on Instagram and YouTube, but I’ve never looked to see if I could make a cent. It’s more to get my opinion out. I became aware that all the coaching on Instagram was for real elite players. But, like, telling a 14-handicap, a 50-year-old, to “lay the club down”? That’s not going to happen.

DD: What do you like about teaching?

PH: You’re always learning. I’ll speak with kids, or with professional teams in other sports, and I’m learning. Say I go meet with a rugby kicker. Whatever I’m telling him, it’s really a matter of reminding myself.

DD: These are things you already know.

PH: And have forgotten! As a kid, you might think this stuff is proprietary, but everybody’s taught it before. You can’t reinvent the wheel.

DD: You’re going to grasp it in your own way, anyway. Is that what you mean?

PH: Often you hear the same thing from a coach. After a year, you’ll think he’s telling you something new, and he’ll say, “Look, I was telling you this the whole time. You just weren’t ready to hear it.”

DD: Sounds like a parent. “I’ve been telling him this forever, but when you say it he listens.”

PH: Everybody should be allocated somebody else’s son to teach. We’d all learn something.[As his caddie takes his clubs into the locker room, Harrington walks to the parking lot, putter in hand.]

DD: You taking the putter with you?

PH: I take my putter to the hotel a lot now. I was outside of a leading player’s hotel room, talking to his coach, and I saw there was a putting mat inside. I thought, Why aren’t I doing that? Check your alignment, hit a few putts. He was one of the world’s best putters.

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Two major winners. Two cracks. Two cracks at crack relief. 

But only Ernie Els was able to crack a smile. And Padraig Harrington did not. 

At tournaments some 9,000 miles apart, over the course of about 12 hours, rules that govern cracks in gear were in play both late Friday and early Saturday ET, and they defined what is — and isn’t — allowed for damages. Crack one came during the second round of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, the season opener on the Champions Tour, when Els hit his tee shot right on the 16th at Hualalai Golf Course, the ball banged off lava, and it settled just in play. An official was called. 

And Els was allowed to change out his golf ball. In play was Rule 4.2c, which states: “You may only substitute another ball (by replacing it on the original spot) if it can be clearly seen that your original ball is cut or cracked and this damage happened during the hole you are playing — but not if it is only scratched or scraped or its paint is only damaged or discoloured.”     

“If there’s a hole in it, or a cut in it, then it’s damaged,” official Joe Terry was overheard saying on the Golf Channel broadcast. “And this one has been pierced. It’s quite evident that you can see. You may take it out of play.”

Crack two came during the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the season opener on the DP World Tour (the formerly named European Tour). According to a tweet from Harington, he had played the first 10 holes of his third round at Yas Links, then, on the par-5 11th, saw that his driver was cracked. A ruling was called for. 

And Harrington had to keep playing with the club. In play was Model Local Rule G-9, which states: “If a player’s club is “broken or significantly damaged” during the round by the player or caddie, except in cases of abuse, the player may replace the club with any club under Rule 4.1b(4). … A club is “broken or significantly damaged” when: the shaft breaks into pieces, splinters or is bent (but not when the shaft is only dented); the club face impact area is visibly deformed (but not when the club face is only scratched); the clubhead is visibly and significantly deformed; the clubhead is detached or loose from the shaft; or the grip is loose.

“Exception: A club face or clubhead is not “broken or significantly damaged” solely because it is cracked.”

And Harrington played on. Six of his remaining eight holes were non-par-3s, and he hit five fairways, missing only the 11th, where he first noticed the crack. 

“Another strange ruling today,” Harrington tweeted. “I realized the face of my driver was cracked on the 11th tee. I was not  allowed change it as it wasn’t cracked enough to be out of shape. Drove it well enough for  last 8 holes. I’ve got a replacement head ready to go. @DPWorldTour #ADGolfChamps”

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As a three-time major champion still with plenty of pop in his swing, 50-year-old Padraig Harrington might rightfully have expected to enjoy immediate success when he played his first couple of PGA Tour Champions events late last year.  

In at least one statistical category, he did: driving distance.

In his maiden start, at the SAS Championship, in Cary, N.C., in October, Harrington — who averages north of 300 yards per poke on the PGA Tour — quickly established himself as one of the senior circuit’s biggest bashers. Harrington didn’t play enough events in 2021 for his stats to register in the PGA Tour Champions’ database, but this anecdote from the SAS, which Harrington recalled recently in a video released by the Tour, said it all: On the par-5 17th hole at Prestonwood Country Club’s Meadows course, Harrington said, most of the field was hitting 3-woods into the green, whereas all Harrington required was a 9-iron. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s roughly a 10-club differential.

Advantage, Harrington? Yes, but also … no.

“I was shocked,” Harrington said. “I’m substantially longer than the field and yet I got lapped in the first two events.” Harrington finished 18th at the SAS then a week later finished 55th at Jim Furyk’s event in Jacksonville, Fla. “I just wasn’t with it. These guys were just running by me. I played with Bernhard [Langer] and he made me look like an amateur golfer.”

Harrington, along with Phil Mickelson and a few others, is in a unique position in that he’s still long enough and good enough to compete on the PGA Tour — he tied for fourth at the PGA Championship in May — but now of an age where he also can try to rack up wins and cash on the Champions tour. It’s an enviable position to be in, but also a tricky one.

“It was a lesson for me,” Harrington said of the transition. “For me to try and stay competitive on the main tour, I’ve worked on speed, I’ve worked on length. Last year, I led on Strokes Gained in over 200 yards on the PGA Tour.”

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But booming tee shots, he realized, is not at all what he needs to climb leaderboards against the senior set. “What I thought I needed was not the case at all,” he said. “I needed to be smart like I would have been in my heyday. I’ve got to be strong mentally. I’ve got to be good with my wedges. I’ve got to be clever.

“I’ve definitely strengthened my weaknesses but I [also] weakened my strengths, and that was a big eye-opener. If I want to go out there and beat these guys, compete with these guys — just because you hit it past them ain’t gonna do it. You’ve got to [be] very good with your wedges, very good scoring. It was fascinating to me. I’m just not a good enough wedge player.”

The stats support that assessment. Harrington ranked 147th in SG: Around the Green in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season. His scrambling from 10-20 yards was particularly problematic. Harrington’s up-and-down conversion rate from that distance was just 51%, compared to the Tour average of 64%.

Drive for show and putt for dough? Sure. But the putting part becomes much easier when you’re chipping it close — no matter what tour you’re on.

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The 130-ish-mph swing speed version of Bryson DeChambeau has been around for about 15 months now, and he’s had a lot of people talking. 

His body won’t hold up.

He’s altering our courses.

He’s not the ball-striker he once was.

Surely you’ve heard the chatter, but it has all revolved around one man in one moment in time. Bryson, in the here and now. But what about the future? Will DeChambeau’s power game have the same impact on his sport as, say, Stephen Curry’s three-point accuracy has had on the NBA? One future Hall of Fame golfer thinks so. 

The ultimate tinkerer, Padraig Harrington, has spent enough time on Instagram to notice there are plenty of youthful, free-swinging DeChambeau disciples (DeChiples?) working their way up the ranks. He discussed as much with Michael Breed on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio this week:

“The Holy Grail for any golfer is to be able to walk up on the tee and only worry about their game for the week, not worried how anyone else is playing,” Harrington said. “If [DeChambeau] does play his best, he really does have an advantage. 

“What is interesting is that’s gonna be a dime a dozen in 10 year’s time. If you go on your social media, there’s kids 16, 17 years of age who are cruising at 200 mph ball speed. Eventually, some of them — there’s gonna be 10 of them, 20 of them, 30 of them on Tour in 15 year’s time, 10 year’s time. Some of them are going to be really good players. Not just being able to hit the golf ball. It’s tough to beat one Bryson DeChambeau, but it’s really tough to beat 30 of them if you’re not one of them.”

How bold is it, predicting swing speeds to increase to that level across the top players in the game? Not very. That trend has slowly been happening. What is bold is to suggest that there are many 16-year-olds “cruising” at 200 mph ball speed. That’s a number that DeChambeau hopes he can hit in the future consistently during competition. He currently has to work his body up to reach those numbers.

When Tony Finau, one of the longest players in the game, decided he’d chase speed video last year, he tapped out at 206 mph. That’s a world-class golfer in his prime chasing after it. There’s no cruising going on. So, perhaps a big of an exaggeration from Harrington there, but his point remains: The game is filling up with ball-speed chasers, and even more distance is coming. 

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The post This major winner’s biggest tip for hitting out of the rough? Look down. appeared first on Golf.

The post This major winner’s biggest tip for hitting out of the rough? Look down. appeared first on Golf.

Keep your head down. 

It’s likely going to be there anyway, when you’ve hit into the rough. And golf’s most-used tip — and maybe most-abused! — may help you get out. 

In a video posted to his YouTube channel this week, Padraig Harrington says looking low uncovers the truth about your lie. Your ball is not just in the thick grass. It may be in grass that runs with your ball. It may be in grass that runs against it. It may be in grass that’s under a tree. And so on. And each, Harrington says, requires a different swing.

“All rough is not the same,” the three-time major winner said on the video. “It really depends on how the ball — not how deep it is into it, but what way the grass is lying and how much moisture is in the grass. There’s a number of factors that come into it.”

Let’s listen to Harrington on how to handle each.

If the ball sits straight down in the grass  

“If the golf ball sits straight down in the grass and the grass is sitting straight up, we call that neutral,” Harrington said. “It’s going to come out slightly dead, so you’re going to have to hit it harder. It’s not going to have spin. It’s not going to come out very fast. … Again, it’s quite green when you look at it.”

If the ball sits in grass running toward the target  

“If the grass is brushed down that way … that ball is going to come out fast and spin,” Harrington said. “With a short shot and a long shot, it’s going to come out fast with a flier and go a long way. So it’s going to go farther out of that lie than it would out of the fairway because the grass is helping accelerate the club because the grass is going the same direction I’m going.”

If the ball sits in grass running away from the target 

“Now if I was to turn around and try and hit against that grass, it would come out exceptionally heavy because as I hit in, I’m going to hit grass, it’s all going to stand up and it’s going to grip around the hosel, it’s going to grip the face,” Harrington said. “So you can see the grass stands up, it’s going to come out particularly dead and go nowhere. 

If the ball sits in grass running toward you 

“So if the grass is going across you — the grass is going towards me, when I swing, that grass is going to stand up and I’m actually going to make the ball push — pushing it, but it certainly won’t hook,” Harrington said. “If the grass is going towards me, the ball is more likely to go right.”

If the ball sits in grass running away from you 

“If I change the grass and push it away from me, when I swing into that grass, the grass is going to stand up this way. I’m really in danger of hitting a hook here,” Harrington said. “This is the one that whips around your hosel and you hit it across your left toe and left. The grass is flowing that way, it’s going to stand up and pull the ball left. That’s the danger one. That’s where you have to take extra loft, don’t go for much. If the grass is going away from you, if it’s dark green, if your ball is sitting in it, and you’re off the fairway, take more loft — hit a 9-iron or 8-iron; don’t go for broke with the heavy green lie that’s standing straight up.”

If the ball sits in grass on green grass — or less-than-green grass 

“The greener the grass, obviously the more moisture in it, the heavier the ball is coming out, the harder you got to hit it,” Harrington said. 

“The paler the grass … you’re going to get fliers; it’s just going to come flying. So that would be like links grass — the ball is going to come out really quick and go a long way. So if the grass is brown, usually the ball comes out quick. If the grass is dark green, it comes out slow.”

If the ball sits in grass under a tree 

“If the grass is under the tree — so if you’ve hit it under the tree, you’ll see all golfers, they’ll take a practice swing, and what we note when we take the practice swing a lot of times is how thick, how much resistance is in the grass,” Harrington said. “If you’re under the tree line, generally there’s no roots; the grass can be quite long, but under the trees, the grass won’t grow heavy with thick roots so the ball will come out quick and you don’t have to worry if you’re under the tree line. 

“If you’re close to the fairway and sprinklers, usually the grass is quite thick and lush, it will be dark green and the roots are strong, and that’s the one that you have to hit really hard.” 

A word on technique 

“So when you’re playing a pitch shot-chip shot, there’s this thought that on a chip shot, you should hit two inches behind the ball in the rough, a bit like a bunker shot. Rubbish,” Harrington said. “If you try and hit two inches behind the ball, you’re going to end up hitting six inches behind the ball. 

“You always try and hit the ball as clean and tight to the golf ball as you can in the rough whether it’s a long shot or a chip shot.”

The post This major winner’s biggest tip for hitting out of the rough? Look down. appeared first on Golf.