3-time major winner played with amateurs for 1 week. He spotted this flaw

Padraig Harrington, by most measures, had reason to feel bullish. Last weekend, at the DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, 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 spots higher.

But Harrington wept.  

Harrington is equal parts golf pro and golf teacher these days, and as the former played, the latter spotted one ball-striking flaw from the amateur bunch that was seemingly stuck on repeat.

Overdoing the swing turn. 

The three-time major winner was recently describing the issue on his X social-media account, and he broke down what he saw from both high and low handicaps, along with offering solutions, and we’ll review each. To note, his post started this way: “A few observations of the amateurs. Most amateurs who struggle with their ball striking seem to be of the opinion it’s all about a good turn (more often through impact) and as a consequence overdo it in a bad way. The vast majority would be far better off swinging their hands/arms and letting their body follow. (The body will get out of the way naturally.)”

Lower-handicap players   

Lower-handicap players — and players who were once lower handicaps — “all seem to spin [their] hips or torso early, and the club falls behind, causing big pushes or quick hooks from the late release/flip,” Harrington said. 

So what’s his fix?

“If you have this two-way miss,” Harrington wrote, “either release the club as early as you can or just pull harder down with your arms. If you want to keep rotating hard with your hips, you need to hit balls literally every day to keep the arm speed up.”

Higher-handicap players 

Higher-handicap players who struggle with ball-striking, Harrington said, “spin/rotate their hips/torso in the downswing, but their arms come out over the top steep with the rotation.”

The solution here?

“If you slice your shots, practice hitting hooks (not straight shots; you will have to go all the way to a big hook to make any inroads into the slice, so that it will stick),” Harrington wrote. “Do this by using your hands to release more and try hitting off a side slope with the ball above your feet.”

Conclusion 

Harrington also offered this wrap-up:

“I would teach a young person to lead with the hips,” Harrington said, “but it seems to be the number one bad issue with amateurs who don’t play every day — they just can’t keep up with the fast hips and way too open impact positions. 

“If you’re not happy with your ball striking, try focusing on the hands/arms swinging and let the body take its 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 here, or by scrolling down.   

***

#Paddysgolftips. A point from watching the ams.”

That’s how you start a golf tweet. 

Padraig Harrington, a professional, played with the amateur folk last week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He saw some things. And he found his iPhone. And thumbed out 1,113 characters, over 202 words, over four tweets, at about 6:30 at night, Scottish time. 

Lucky us. Harrington, a three-time major winner and last year’s European Ryder Cup captain, has donated his wealth before; you may have seen similar tweets, or his YouTube series, all under the label “Paddy’s Golf Tips.” And this is that. Call it amateur hour.  

His takeaways were two. 

In short, the first was this: Hands first. Then the body. 

“The only thing that squares the clubface is your hands, not your hips not your turn,” he wrote in his first tweet. “Yes your turn can change where your hands are but you are probably better focusing on your hands and let your turn react to them. @dunhilllinks”

“Most ams believe turning faster/more open adds power,” he wrote in his second tweet, continuing the first. “In a perfect world yes but generally this isn’t the case for the ams as their arms just don’t keep up. Most of the speed in the swings comes from the arms and hands. Focus on moving these fast and let the body respond to them.”

“To learn the feel of a square clubface. Work alternative shots with your hands/clubface extremely shut and then extremely open at impact,” he wrote in his third tweet. “It’s hard to feel a small change, that’s why you practice the extreme alternatives that would be too much to use on the course. @DPWorldTour” 

Good stuff. It’s worth noting in talking power and positioning that both have been a focus for Harrington; he’s No. 1 this season on the PGA Tour Champions circuit in driving, by seven yards. 

Takeaway two was one tweet, and you’ve heard some of this before, though maybe not this way.

Head down. But not still. 

“Another common trait by the ams is keeping their head down and still,” Harrington wrote. “By all means keep an eye on the ball but it’s best to turn your head back in the backswing and forward through impact. The picture above is a static picture of a dynamic position. @dunhilllinks #paddysgolftips”

On Saturday, Harrington had more. 

A day earlier at the Alfred Dunhill, Scotland had its way with the field; rain, high winds and low temps ballooned scores across St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. And reporters not so much wanted to know what went down, but how to get through it. 

“Yesterday, the weather was horrific, 10 guys broke par, and I would hazard a guess that a lot of people would have picked you as one of the guys that might have been able to do it,” a reporter started. “What is mental toughness when it comes to golf?”

“I’m not 100 percent sure,” said Harrington, who was, in fact, under par on the day in question, with a one-under 71 at Kingsbarns. “It’s something that I’ve always had. There’s no doubt you’ve got to be resilient. But I think when it comes to bad weather, you just have to manage your game and your expectations. It does help, and it helps to get ahead of the game.

“I started OK. I made a birdie early enough. It helps to have 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, take extra club. And if you hit it well, you’re going to be past the flag, but the likelihood of that happening in bad weather — you have to play sensible golf.

“No doubt you have to chip and putt well, which is something I’m good at. A lot of resilience, but a lot of good mental fortitude of managing your way around the golf course.”

One more question. 

“You’re a 15-time winner on the DP World Tour; explain what makes a great links player versus normal conditions.”

“To be honest, we’re seeing a lot more golf — professional golf goes to really nice conditions, everything perfect,” Harrington began. “And there’s a big pool of players now playing, and if any one of them plays well, they are great. Whereas you go to links golf, it takes more than swinging a golf club to get around a links golf course.

“And sometimes hitting too well is a problem. I saw on TV, Rory put it in the water at the first. You don’t want to have that strike at times. You have to take your spin off, and you have to play sensible shots. I think I had 190 yards to the first. I hit 9-iron just so it would not spin back in the water. You have to be clever at times with not hitting it too well — is that a terrible thing to say? And other times, you have to hit some great shots.

“The first day, I had 230 into 18 green at Carnoustie, and I’m hitting 4-iron and there’s trouble everywhere. You just have to hit a great golf shot. Links golf asks that. Sometimes it asks you to hit a great shot, and sometimes it asks you to be sensible, play the odds and play the averages and make sure you don’t miss that putt.”

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.