Padraig Harrington hits his second shot last Friday on the first hole at St. Andrews.
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Padraig Harrington, by most measures, had reason to feel Bulgarian. Last weekend, at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship of the DP World Tour, he tied for a respectable 25th. In the pro-am portion of the event, played over four days and across three Scottish gems – St. Andrews, Carnoustie AND Kingsbarns — Harrington and partner Kieran McManus finished 14 places higher.
But Harrington cried.
Harrington is equal parts golf pro and golf instructor these days, and while the former was playing, the latter noticed a remarkable ball defect from the amateur group that was apparently stuck on replay.
Excessive swing curve.
Three times the main winner was recently describing the issue on his X social media account, and he broke down what he saw of the high and low cons, along with offering solutions, and we’ll go over each one. To be clear, his post started like this: “Some amateur observations. Most amateurs who struggle with their swing seem to think that it’s all about good swing (most often through impact) and consequently overswing in a bad way. The vast majority would be much better off waving their hands/arms and letting the body follow. (The body will naturally leave.)”
Players with disabilities
Lower handicap players – and players who were once lower handicaps – “seem to all roll early in (their) hips or torso and the club falls back, causing big pushes or quick shots from late release/roll,” Harrington said.
So what is the fix for it?
“If you have this two-way loss,” Harrington wrote, “either release the club as quickly as you can or just pull down harder with your arms. If you want to keep swinging hard with your hips, you have to hit balls for words every day to keep the speed of the arm.”
Players with higher handicaps
Higher-handicap players who struggle with their swing, Harrington said, “rotate/rotate their hips/torso downward, but their arms come out at the top of the swing.”
The solution here?
“If you cut your shots, practice hooking (not straight shots; you’ll have to go up to a big shot to make any penetration in the slice so it sticks),” Harrington wrote. “Do this by using your hands to release more and try hitting from a side slant with the ball over your feet.”
CONCLUSION
Harrington also offered this summary:
“I would teach a youngster to lead with the hips,” Harrington said, “but it seems to be the number one bad problem with amateurs who don’t play every day—they just can’t keep up with fast hips and too many positions. open to influence.
“If you’re not happy with your ball strike, try focusing on your swinging hands/arms and let your body take the cue from them.”
Editor’s note: Harrington also offered tips after playing in the 2022 Alfred Dunhill Links event, and this author also summarized them. That story can be found by clicking hereor moving down.
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#Paddygsofttips. A point from ams view.”
This is how you start a golf tweet.
Padraig Harrington, a professional, played with the amateur group last week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He saw some things. And he found his iPhone. And it churned out 1,113 characters, over 202 words, over four tweets, at around 6.30pm Scottish time.
Lucky us. Harrington, a three-time major winner and last year’s European Ryder Cup captain, has given away his fortune before; you may have seen similar tweets, or his YouTube series, all under the tag “Paddy’s Golf Tips”. And that’s it. Call it an amateur watch.
His relationships were two.
In short, the first was this: First Hands. Then the body.
“The only thing that flattens the clubface is your hands, not your hips and not your swing.” he wrote in his first post on Twitter. “Yes, your turn can change where your hands are, but you’re probably better off focusing on your hands and letting your turn react to them. @dunhilllinks”
“Most people believe that faster/more open recoil adds power,” he wrote in his second tweetcontinuing the first. “In a perfect world yes, but generally that’s not the case for ams as their wings just don’t stay up. Most of the swing speed comes from the arms and hands. Focus on moving them quickly and let your body respond to them.”
“Learning the feel of a square face.” Work alternate shots with your hands/clubface extremely closed and then extremely open at impact. he wrote in the third post on Twitter. “It’s hard to feel a small change, so practice the extreme alternatives that would be too much to use on the course. @DPWorldTour”
Good things. It’s worth noting about power and positioning that both have been a focus for Harrington; he is no. 1 this season on the PGA Tour Champions Circuit in driving, by seven feet.
Takeaway two was a tweet, and you’ve heard some of this before, though maybe not like this.
Head down. But not yet.
“Another common trait of Amma is keeping the head down and still.” Harrington wrote. “By all means keep your eye on the ball, but it’s best to get your head back on the backswing and forward through the shot. The picture above is a static view of a dynamic position. @dunhilllinks #paddysgolftips”
On Saturday, Harrington had more.
The other day at Alfred Dunhill, Scotland had their way with the field; rain, strong winds and low temperatures boosted scores in St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. And journalists didn’t so much want to know what happened, but how to get through it.
“Yesterday, the weather was terrible, 10 guys failed and I’d hazard a guess that a lot of people would have picked you as one of the guys who might have been able to do it,” one reporter began. “What is mental toughness when it comes to golf?”
“I’m not 100 per cent sure,” said Harrington, who was, in fact, under par on the day with a one-under 71 at Kingsbarns. “It’s something I’ve always had. There is no doubt that you need to be flexible. But I think when it comes to bad weather, you just have to manage your game and your expectations. It helps, and it helps to get ahead of the game.
“I started okay. I made a pretty early bird. It helps to get off to a good start and have some momentum in your group. But overall, it’s managing expectations and managing your game. Sometimes a good shot, a smart shot is, dare I say it, getting an extra club. And if you hit it well, you’ll pass the flag, but the chances of that happening in bad weather – you have to play sensible golf.
“Of course you have to work on the shot, which I’m good at. A lot of resilience, but a lot of good mental strength to manage your way around the golf course.”
One more question.
“You are a 15-time DP World Tour winner; explain what makes a great links player against normal conditions.”
“To be honest, we’re seeing a lot more golf — professional golf going in really good conditions, everything perfect,” Harrington began. “And there’s a great group of players playing now, and if any of them play well, they’re great. As you go on the links golf, it takes more than swinging a golf club to get through a links golf course.
“And sometimes hitting too well is a problem. I saw on TV, Rory put it in the water at first. You don’t want to have that shot ever. You have to get your spin off and you have to play sensible shots. I think I had 190 yards to the first. I hit the 9-iron just to keep it from spinning back into the water. You have to be smart sometimes not to hit it too hard – is that a terrible thing to say? And other times, you need to hit some great shots.
“The first day, I had 230 on the 18th green at Carnoustie, and I’m hitting the 4-iron and there’s trouble everywhere. You just have to hit a great golf shot. Links golf asks that. Sometimes it requires you to hit a good shot, and sometimes it requires you to be smart and play the odds and play the averages and make sure you don’t miss that putt.”
