Do Australian Golfers Lack Competitive Steel?
Do our professional golfers have less of the right stuff than their American counterparts? Do Australian golfers lack competitive steel when it matters most? Watching the recent Presidents Cup and looking at past records in this event the evidence indicates that this may be so.
The game of golf comes down to making putts and the Americans get it done on the greens.
Getting that little white ball in the hole is what winning is all about in golf. Big drives are great but if you can’t get it done on the greens you are playing for second place.
Are Aussie Pro Golfers Light Weights in Team Golf Events?
Adam Scott is one of the best ball strikers in the business but run of the mill on the greens. Young Cam Davis did a great job in his first Presidents Cup and was impressive. The American team were ranked far ahead of the Internationals in form and class, as they usually are in this event.
In addition, they are all veterans of a college golf system which produces matchplay hardened golfers. Australia lacks any comparable competitive pathway format.
Do We Under Perform on the Greens Under Pressure?
Unless our best players go to the States and follow this pathway (as many aspiring golfers do) our professionals will lack this grounding. There is not enough team golf competition in Australia at both amateur and professional levels. The Americans play the Ryder Cup, of course, and this doubles their exposure to matchplay and team golf at the highest level.
The International players are dilettantes in comparison to guys like Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. Boy, is this obvious to see watching an event like the Presidents Cup.
The International team really missed someone like Cameron Smith on the greens at Quail Hollow. The Koreans’ left us for dead on the greens at this event showing a lot more moxie than the Aussies. Do Australian golfers lack competitive steel? Forget the excuses, our golfers have a pretty average record in the single’s matches on Sundays in the Presidents Cup. Tom Kim was outstanding for the International team. How can we as a nation get better? What can we do to train our professional tournament golfers to perform better on the greens under the immense pressure of international competition?
Does the PGA of Australia need to pull their finger out at home? It would be great to see an international team event between Australasia and Africa every two years.
More events like this would capture the interest of golf fans locally and improve the bonafides of Aussie golfers for top shelf stuff like the Presidents Cup.
©GolfDom
