Padraig Harrington.....2015 Honda Classic Champion

pelevin

True, he has the right to be called a legend but he's also become a bit, & maybe even a big bit, embarrassing.

Mr.Prodston

pelevin wrote: »

True, he has the right to be called a legend but he's also become a bit, & maybe even a big bit, embarrassing.

I will never be embarrassed by Padraig Harrington, he may not have gotten many things right since 2008 but he is a hero and has 3 majors. The only reason to be embarrassed is that he has so many and it's humbling.

*falls back into the shadows like any good thread lurker*

pelevin

Mr.Prodston wrote: »

I will never be embarrassed by Padraig Harrington, he may not have gotten many things right since 2008 but he is a hero and has 3 majors. The only reason to be embarrassed is that he has so many and it's humbling.

*falls back into the shadows like any good thread lurker*

If he could just stop making an eejit of himself though . . .

Speak Now

pelevin wrote: »

If he could just stop making an eejit of himself though . . .

When did this happen then?

vienne86

For the love of God, Paddy, please put in a good round today. That's all I ask for now.

Speak Now

Greens in regulation have been the killer again this week. Belly putter going well this week, top 5 in strokes gained.

Almaviva

kevthegaff wrote: »

hes still a legend

Legend implying historical.

Dolph Starbeam

Jesus this thread is unreal. He is going through a purple patch the last few years but saying he is an embarrassment is hilarious. Does anyone know how hard it is to compete on the PGA Tour or any tour at that? Just take a quick look at the players that missed the cut this week or the players around him on the leaderboard and you will realize that he is far from an embarrassment.

Russman

Agreed, I don't think his golf is an embarrassment, nobody, at any level of golf, tries to play bad or should be criticised for putting themselves out there and playing.

I do think some of his recent ideas and statements are a bit off the wall though. He seems to write every crazy idea off as "that's just who I am".
He wasn't spouting that sh1t when he first changed his swing in the late 90s, he was always saying he wanted to get to a low maintenance swing that he would have with him anytime he stepped on a course and didn't want to be constantly wondering where his swing was at. After a, relatively speaking, hugely successful 10 years or so, he wins a few majors, get a bit crazy in the head and looks for the next level - there isn't one, its just golf, go out and play it FFS !!

I mean, seriously, some of this sh1t with swing jackets, electrodes monitoring his right & left brain activity, glasses when he's had laser surgery etc etc, jaysus man pull yourself together !!

mickmackey1

YayaBanana wrote: »

He is going through a purple patch the last few years

I'd hate to see him going through a bad patch so :pac:

vienne86

vienne86 wrote: »

For the love of God, Paddy, please put in a good round today. That's all I ask for now.

Uh oh - +3 after 7 holes.

dball

pelevin wrote: »

True, he has the right to be called a legend but he's also become a bit, & maybe even a big bit, embarrassing.

nothing embarrassing about competing

PRAF

vienne86 wrote: »

Uh oh - +3 after 7 holes.

It's a shame. He seems to have lost the ability to keep grinding out a decent score. Not sure what it is exactly - the mental side of the game, a deteriorating short game, too many penalty shots off the tee, too many 3 putts, etc. - perhaps a combination of all of that. However, he has lost all consistency in his game.

He can get it back though, just look at Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood who've resurrected their games in recent years. However, he needs to change something, fast.

PRAF

PRAF wrote: »

It's a shame. He seems to have lost the ability to keep grinding out a decent score. Not sure what it is exactly - the mental side of the game, a deteriorating short game, too many penalty shots off the tee, too many 3 putts, etc. - perhaps a combination of all of that. However, he has lost all consistency in his game.

He can get it back though, just look at Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood who've resurrected their games in recent years. However, he needs to change something, fast.

Actually, from looking at his shot tracker today, I think the short game is probably the main culprit at the moment. Between missed GIRs and par 5s that he can't reach, he'll be hitting somewhere between 8-10 wedges in and around the greens most days. At his best, he'd be getting up and down 70% of the time (maybe even 85% on a very good day). These days he is hitting very few of them stone dead and I think his scrambling % is something like 20% so far today. Very, very poor.

If I were him, I'd ring Dave Pelz and beg him to join Team Harrington. He needs him much more than Mickelson does!

abff

PRAF wrote: »

Actually, from looking at his shot tracker today, I think the short game is probably the main culprit at the moment. Between missed GIRs and par 5s that he can't reach, he'll be hitting somewhere between 8-10 wedges in and around the greens most days. At his best, he'd be getting up and down 70% of the time (maybe even 85% on a very good day). These days he is hitting very few of them stone dead and I think his scrambling % is something like 20% so far today. Very, very poor.

If I were him, I'd ring Dave Pelz and beg him to join Team Harrington. He needs him much more than Mickelson does!

I noticed that too. Short game seems to be the main problem.

As for the posters on here who seem to be taking pleasure in Padraig's recent travails, all I can say is form is temporary, class is permanent.

vienne86

abff wrote: »

I noticed that too. Short game seems to be the main problem.

As for the posters on here who seem to be taking pleasure in Padraig's recent travails, all I can say is form is temporary, class is permanent.

I don't actually think that anyone here is taking pleasure in his bad form. It is such a shame....he used to be great at grinding out pars even when things were going badly, but that ability seems to be gone now.

abff

vienne86 wrote: »

I don't actually think that anyone here is taking pleasure in his bad form. It is such a shame....he used to be great at grinding out pars even when things were going badly, but that ability seems to be gone now.

I think most people on here are supportive, but there are a few who seem to take pleasure in his misfortunes.

vienne86

Well, at least he wasn't last. But my much hoped for decent round didn't materialise today.

vienne86

PRAF wrote: »

It's a shame. He seems to have lost the ability to keep grinding out a decent score. Not sure what it is exactly - the mental side of the game, a deteriorating short game, too many penalty shots off the tee, too many 3 putts, etc. - perhaps a combination of all of that. However, he has lost all consistency in his game.

He can get it back though, just look at Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood who've resurrected their games in recent years. However, he needs to change something, fast.

The Stenson and Westwood stories show that a player can get back into the mix....it's just that Harrington seems to be going the same way as Martin Kaymer rather than the way of these two.

MungoMan

what gives me confidence that Paddy will turn it around is that he is a very positive character.

He is always trying new things (glasses, anchored putter, adding kilos to get extra length, trying new coaches, trying to continuously improve.

No way is he going to give up, and he is still young enough and fit enough to do something. He believes in himself.

I wouldnt expect the consistency of 10 years ago to return, but I'd expect him find short term bursts of form over 4 days.

Id say he'll win again big, at a time when nobody expects it to happen.

who_ru

has he ever changed caddy?

PRAF

who_ru wrote: »

has he ever changed caddy?

His brother in law, Ronan Flood, has been on the bag for years. Ronan is supposed to be a very good golfer himself and is a trusted and loyal member of the team. I'd say its one of the longer player / caddy relationships on tour. It has also been one of the most successful, although less so in recent times obviously.

IMO it may be worth trying someone new on the bag, at least for a few tournaments. There are lots of things he could try:
- A hard ass caddy who'll take no nonsense from him, won't be afraid to say 'no' as needs arise, and who'll help him identify his weaknesses so that he can focus his practice on addressing his faults
- A mind guru who can ensure he is focussing on his shots and not getting distracted, frustrated, down on himself, etc.
- A friend who could generally keep things light hearted and fun

If he does look to change things up, I think he could do with a real hard ass to be honest.

vienne86

PRAF wrote: »

His brother in law, Ronan Flood, has been on the bag for years. Ronan is supposed to be a very good golfer himself and is a trusted and loyal member of the team. I'd say its one of the longer player / caddy relationships on tour. It has also been one of the most successful, although less so in recent times obviously.

IMO it may be worth trying someone new on the bag, at least for a few tournaments. There are lots of things he could try:
- A hard ass caddy who'll take no nonsense from him, won't be afraid to say 'no' as needs arise, and who'll help him identify his weaknesses so that he can focus his practice on addressing his faults
- A mind guru who can ensure he is focussing on his shots and not getting distracted, frustrated, down on himself, etc.
- A friend who could generally keep things light hearted and fun

If he does look to change things up, I think he could do with a real hard ass to be honest.

I think that's a really good idea. Maybe he doesn't want to put his brother-in-law out of a job, but I think it would be well worth a try, even for a few tournaments. Most pros change caddies to get fresh ideas, not necessarily because they think their caddy is no good......he has changed his coach, so why not change caddy?

JohnnyLocke

Looks like The Byron Nelson next, then the BMW championship, then a break, then st jude classic, then the us open.

levitronix

PRAF wrote: »

His brother in law, Ronan Flood, has been on the bag for years. Ronan is supposed to be a very good golfer himself and is a trusted and loyal member of the team. I'd say its one of the longer player / caddy relationships on tour. It has also been one of the most successful, although less so in recent times obviously.

IMO it may be worth trying someone new on the bag, at least for a few tournaments. There are lots of things he could try:
- A hard ass caddy who'll take no nonsense from him, won't be afraid to say 'no' as needs arise, and who'll help him identify his weaknesses so that he can focus his practice on addressing his faults
- A mind guru who can ensure he is focussing on his shots and not getting distracted, frustrated, down on himself, etc.
- A friend who could generally keep things light hearted and fun

If he does look to change things up, I think he could do with a real hard ass to be honest.

played a good few times with ronan at youths and boys events, hes a member now in hermitage, he was a 1 or 2 when I playing with him

realgolfgeek

Harringtons performance for the past few years has nothing to do with his caddy, give me a break !!!!

It's his swing changes he's tried to implement, and more importantly, that thing between his ears which is not wired properly at the moment !!!!

As far as him winning again, there is absolutely ZERO signs of this happening.
Hope I'm wrong but let's get realistic please !!!!

vienne86

realgolfgeek wrote: »

Harringtons performance for the past few years has nothing to do with his caddy, give me a break !!!!

It's his swing changes he's tried to implement, and more importantly, that thing between his ears which is not wired properly at the moment !!!!

As far as him winning again, there is absolutely ZERO signs of this happening.
Hope I'm wrong but let's get realistic please !!!!

I think you are right in that his woes seem to be self inflicted. I am sure that Ronan is an excellent caddy, but I still think it would just be interesting if he played a couple of tournaments with a different caddy - preferably someone tough, experienced and decisive - Colin Byrne maybe? I don't know a whole lot about caddies, so that might be rubbish. Padraig has tried wearing a hat, wearing specs, putting on weight, using the belly putter.....I don't think he'll grow a pony tail, and I don't think these physical tweeks have done him much good.

PRAF

realgolfgeek wrote: »

Harringtons performance for the past few years has nothing to do with his caddy, give me a break !!!!

Hmmm, not sure about that. Off the top of my head, here are some of the things that have been killing PH lately
- Failure to trust his green reads
- Screwing up his on course strategy (especially the par 5s)
- Failing to prioritise short game practice and endlessly working on fiddling around with his long game

These are all areas that a caddy can influence.

Yes all of the other stuff is important too. You need to be a pretty good golfer to be a tour pro. However, a caddy has a key role to play. That's why they often get 10% of the earnings.

WH BONNEY

who_ru wrote: »

has he ever changed caddy?

IIRC Johnny Reilly RIP was his first caddy followed by David McNeilly and then Ronan Flood.

If he was to change, Billy Foster anybody ?

RadicalBob

Sad to see things going bad for Paddy, an Irish legend. Seems like he's lost the confidence in the short game. I think he should stop with all the fads just get back to basics the things that made him great and get space between his ears right again, would love to see him winning again.