When Peter O’Mahony, the inventor of ClubHouse Tags, asked me whom I thought would be the best golfing ambassador for their innovative ClubHouse Tags product, the first image that popped into my mind was the charismatic and somewhat unpredictable Charley Hull. I could easily imagine her, with her fiery, always-in-motion personality, being someone who might leave her favourite wedge behind or have her clubs go missing on her world travels.
I first met Charley at last year’s KPMG Women’s Irish Open. She was a refreshing breath of fresh air. In my 40 years working in both women’s and men’s golf – running events and managing players including Seve Ballesteros – Charley’s level of charisma ranks right up there with Seve and Arnie [Palmer] in the personality stakes. Her sincere but often brutal honesty is as refreshing as her approach to fashion and the way she plays the game. She hits the ball with real authority and contempt, almost telling it, “Go where I tell you.” It reminded me of the authority with which Christy O’Connor Senior used to strike the ball.
I watched a clinic that Charley Hull gave for Golf Ireland’s Golf for Disability programme. One of the kids asked her, “What do you think about in your swing when you want to hit a high draw?”
“I know absolutely nothing about the golf swing,” she replied. “I grew up searching for balls in my home club and then going into the trees and hitting shots from behind them – high, low, hooks and slices – just like how Seve learned. He was my idol. I just see the shot and do it without thinking.”
Another young girl asked her, “What do you think about on the golf course when you’re waiting to play or when it’s slow, like at the US Open?”
“Well, nothing about golf, that’s for sure. I never think about golf on the golf course. If I have to wait, I’ll be thinking about what outfit to wear tomorrow or tonight, where to go for dinner with my friends – anything but golf. That would be exhausting over a five-hour period if I did nothing but think about golf!!”
The kids loved her as she stood up and hit an array of flawless shots – high, low, hook, slice, draw, fade – one after another, as if they were coming off a conveyor belt, all without apparent thought.
During a Q&A I hosted with Charley and Women’s Open winner Georgia Hall, both the same age and with a warm friendship having grown up together since the age of eight, playing golf all the way through the amateur ranks and now both on the LPGA Tour.
The vibe between the two very different personalities reminded me of some of the characters in Derry Girls – warm, witty, dry and fun. There is no doubt in my mind that the girls on tour have more fun together than the men. They have their spa days, shopping days, dinners out and talk a lot more, as I have learned from my own 26-year-old daughter and her ‘girls’ nights’.
Her profile exploded when she unashamedly lit up a cigarette during a tense moment in an LPGA event. She spontaneously and politely went over to a fan to get a light, thinking nothing of it. Her honesty endeared her to her growing fan base. When I think of the many closet smokers I knew on tour over the years – including Seve, Ben and Arnie – it made me laugh. She now has a $10,000 bet with her boyfriend on quitting, which she is currently winning.
During the Q&A I delved more deeply into Charley’s contempt for much of the modern-day approach to golf, fitness and technology.
Her approach to fitness is far more grounded, focusing on total body and mind health and strength through the Hyrox training model with Kate Davey, a highly respected high-performance coach.
“I don’t believe in all this golf-specific training stuff in the gym. I focus on my overall body strength and that works better for me. It also means I’m not thinking about golf, which is better for my mental health as well.”
I then asked her about all the latest technology and stats that players are obsessed with these days – swing speed, launch angle, spin rates, and so on.
“That’s all a load of nonsense in my opinion,” she said. “Golf was made to be played naturally and that’s the way I play it, like many of the greats of the past, especially Seve.”
The more I thought about this afterwards, as an observer of high-performance athletes for many years and having heard sports psychologists preach about ‘less is more’ and ‘just let it happen, don’t try to make it happen’, the more I realised she is spot on.
It made me think about Rory shooting 61 around Portrush at 16 years old, when there was no Trackman, no launch angles or swing speed data – just purely natural, youthful, fearless golf. This is exactly the way Charley Hull plays, and she is now the exception rather than the norm, unfortunately.
What a pleasure it is to see this authentically honest and brave woman live her life with such a free and refreshing spirit. She is a wonderful example for young girls to follow, and it is great to have her back here for the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at the K Club again this year.
Good luck, Charley, and it’s wonderful to have you as our ambassador for ClubHouse Tags… you’ll never lose a club again – I promise!
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