Ask Padraig Harrington a question and you’ll always get an answer, and it won’t be a one-word, throwaway answer either.
Ahead of the PNC Championship Pro-Am where the three time Major winner is playing with son Ciaran for the first time having partnered eldest son Paddy in each of the last four stagings, Golf Digest’s Christopher Powers tossed the topic up to Harrington, and, in keeping with the baseball narrative that Harrington himself invokes, he knocked it out of the park.
In the post, Harrington delves into the differing views on the topic either side of the Atlantic, why reeling in distance is necessary for many golf courses, and what we’re likely to see in the coming years in terms of swing speed and distance.
“The one thing about the rollback,” Harrington told Powers, “it is distinctly different, the attitude to the rollback in the United States than, certainly in Ireland and Europe. You guys hate the USGA, we actually love the R&A. Golf isn’t an exclusive game in Europe. Some golf courses – we have the whole gambit – but the majority of golf courses, say in Ireland, are just regular members’ golf courses. Yes you need to be rich to play golf, but rich in time.
“So the people who play golf in Ireland are the people who have time. Taxi drivers, policemen, anybody on shift work, and obviously then people who are wealthy enough that they can make some spare time, but everybody plays in Ireland and we all know a golf course that we grew up on, that was near, that has had to change its golf holes, move part of its golf course, even move the whole course because the ball is just going too far.”
He goes on to explain that maybe five, ten percent of young amateur golfers hit the ball miles and says: “when they miss, they miss big. It goes off the golf course or pitches in the middle of other fairways, it’s dangerous. They can’t get insurance, they have to change the holes, so I know there’s a bit of pain involved for the majority, but it’s for the greater good of the game.”
He goes on to explain how Rory McIlroy changed the game in the way top players think and encouraged the big hitters to use the biggest weapon in their bag, and how he believes that the upcoming generation will continue to get faster and faster, with the women’s game possibly the branch where the biggest explosion in swing and ball speed is likely to be seen.
So if you’ve got seven minutes to spare, watch the video below.
Sit back, get yourself a cup of tea and enjoy.
I asked @padraig_h for his ‘quick’ rollback take. He then spoke for 7 consecutive minutes without coming up for air.
I promise it’s worth your time, especially if you stick around for the very end when he makes an incredibly bold prediction for the future of golf pic.twitter.com/czH17T6i85
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) December 14, 2023
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