Whatever happened to Michael Campbell?

Whatever happened to Michael Campbell?

What do Trevor Immelman, Shaun Micheel, Michael Campbell and Todd Hamilton have in common?  These are all names that will be familiar to the golfing world, perhaps not quite the same way that Nicklaus, Woods and McIlroy have become but the answer is that these golfers are what some might affectionately call one hit wonders, they won a major.  Immelman the surprise winner of a Green Jacket in 2008, Shaun Micheel the unlikely producer of what was termed the best shot ever to win a Major with a 7 iron from the rough to 3 feet at the 2003 PGA championship, Michael Campbell the winner at the US open in 2005 and who can forget Todd Hamilton’s playoff victory over current champ Ernie Els in 2004 for the British Open.  Actually it would be quite easy to forget that and all the other victories mentioned because the real similarity between them is that since their Major victories they have faded into obscurity, and they’re not the only ones – Paul Lawrie also springs to mind although he has enjoyed recent success over the last two seasons but the real question is what have they been doing since and why does this happen to some golfers and not to others? 

                Michael Campbell has enjoyed very recent success, 3 successive top 15 results on the European tour in the last month, leading going into Sunday in Hong Kong before fading to an unsurprising +2 final round and a tie for 8^th.  However this recent form has seen a significant rise in his world rankings; having slumped to 910^th in the world in June he currently stands at 288^th after recording his first top 5 finish in 5 years and still chasing his first victory since the World Matchplay in ’05, the same year as his Major success.   Shaun Micheel has all but exhausted his options, having achieved little success in the 9 years since his PGA success and relying on the 10 year exemption the European Tour offers for Major winners.  Micheel posted just one top 25 finish in 27 events in the 2011 PGA tour season and has slumped to 803^rd in the world.  Immelman was perhaps the most well known golfer before his surprise major success and it is therefore fitting he is still around.  Despite not winning since Augusta in 2008 he has continued to keep his card on the PGA tour winning over $1,000,000 in 2011 and just squeezing in at 114 in the FedEx cup this year, he has retained a respectable ranking just inside the top 200, currently residing at 183rd.  By contrast Todd Hamilton was perhaps the least known before his major victory having spent the vast majority of his career on the Japanese Tour, where he won 11 times and amassed a career earnings total of 630,000,000 yen.  He has had a reasonable few seasons but posting only one top 10 this season he has failed to retain his card on the PGA tour finishing this season in 189^th on the FedEx points list.  Hamilton currently resides at 660^th in the world rankings.  The story of how their careers have panned out since winning one of golf’s big ones is interesting and highlights the point that some players simply fall off the golfing planet after doing so but...why?

                While it is undoubtedly different for each individual there are some potential reasons that I see.  Media coverage rockets when you land a major and while some like Tiger and McIlroy have been used to that throughout their amateur and professional careers, it is probably very daunting being in the public eye so much more than you are used to.  While winning a Major opens a lot of doors in the long run, social and media commitments almost certainly take up a lot of time as well.   My alternative reason has most recently been in other sports.  Jason Kenny recently won an Olympic gold in London and has since told the media that having won the pinnacle of achievement he has found it difficult to motivate himself to begin training again.  This could be the case for some golfers; having won a Major, the biggest prize in golf, some may find it difficult to train and practice with the same intensity although I do wonder why then would they keep playing golf at all?

Whatever the reason it is a good assumption that there will continue to be one hit wonders, some will strive to win more, some will, some may fall of the planet and maybe a few, like Paul Lawrie, will simply take 12 years to re-find some form.  I look forward to watching them.

FF

What to do about the Belly Putter?

Belly Putter Ban

According to recent newspaper articles, the R & A are set to make a decision on the use of Belly Putters in the professional game.  While it is believed that they will wait to make a formal vote in around March of next year there is some speculation that they may make the somewhat quick decision to ban them immediately, beginning in tournament play in January 2013.  This will affect a lot of the top players and unfortunately it may have quite a damning affect on some of the worldwide favourites.  Ernie Els, for example, while a very popular winner of The Open earlier this year will undoubtedly be the first to attribute it to the Belly Putter.  The use of the Belly Putter has also rejuvenated the games of Vijay Singh, Adam Scott and Retief Goosen; it is also of course a very popular method on all the senior tours as well.  It is, therefore, a justified fear that banning them will cause some of the most beloved and popular players to drift further away from the winner’s circle.  However this judgement, perhaps, comes at an important time.  Juniors have, reportedly, been encouraged and coached into using the Belly Putter from the beginning and this seems a little too much, them having been designed primarily to help those older golfers who still wish to compete and combat the dreaded “yips”.  I myself have never used one and am told that they can take some while to get used to, but I have seen success in the amateur game in both young and old; while I think some distinction needs to be made between the amateur and pro game, starting juniors with them seems a tad excessive.   As mentioned, the Belly Putter and indeed the Broom Handle have transformed the declining games of some of the world’s top pros and the same is true in the amateur scene however my personal views on the so called “ cheat sticks” differ quite significantly when comparing the impact on the pro and amateur games.  I am not a proponent of their use in Pro events and tournaments, players should be made to use similar equipment.  Not all players use putters of the same length, Garrigus famously using a 27” putter when he came on tour- rather ironically now using a belly putter – but most pros that still use the conventional putter tend to range between 32” and 36”.  Belly putters clearly make a significant difference to that part of the game which we all know is most important and it is therefore perhaps even more crucial that pros should use standardised equipment.  However the impact of the Belly Putter in the amateur game is not so important and perhaps there should be separate rules governing its use in the amateur circle.   

While we all want to see birdies, the powers that be seem to be trying their hardest to toughen up courses and change equipment so that not everybody can hit the ball 350 yards, and spin it from the rough.  This is perhaps most commonly seen at the US open every year when a score very close to par and sometimes above it wins.  They recently changed the grooves on wedges, something that will affect us mere mortals in a couple of years, but they have been very reluctant to change this rule on putters.  Maybe it’s because so many people are using them, maybe the pros calling for their ban are the ones not using them who aren’t winning so regularly anymore.  When Miller started using one in the 80s people laughed, said they would never catch on and for 20 years they really didn’t but now 3 of the last 5 major winners have used one and unless the rules change pretty soon one of two things will happen.  One scenario is that everybody will use one and the problem of standardised equipment will be solved, or they will be banned and there will be some uproar in the amateur game as many people will struggle without them.  I personally think that they should only be banned for the Professional circuit, not amateurs because at the end of the day the Belly Putters don’t make as much difference in the hand of an 18 handicapper as they do in the hands of a Pro and at worst somebody might win some extra cash of his friends each week or maybe one or two monthly medals each year and there really isn’t much harm in that. 

Please let me know your thoughts on this, it is quite a contentious topic and would be interesting to hear what other people’s views are on it.  Do you use a belly putter? Do you think they should be banned? Do you not really understand what all the fuss is about?  Maybe you agree with me that there should be different rules governing the pro and amateur games.  Whatever your views are about this or any other topic that I write about I would love to hear them.   

FF