And then there are his 19 tour wins, including a U.S. Open.
I caddied for him once during the Amana VIP Pro-Am back in the 70s. What a nice guy. And the apparent ease with which he consistently made phenomenal shots boggled this teenager’s mind.
I recall the size of his “targets” was impressed me. Whereas I would aim at the green, or maybe a half or quarter of the green, he’d have a specific pinpoint he’d be trying to hit.
It was a criticism of Kite that he hit the ball straight. he worked it less than other players. I have seen so many greens missed by golfers overcooking a fade . I have always liked hitting it straight and playing angles. Kite was very successful with it. I think some players should consider it.
I have nothing against Tom Kite. I said in my post that he was a very good player. Almost everyone with 15 PGA Tour wins has at least one major among them.
Kite was very, very lucky in his U.S. Open win. I remember watching it - A big wind kicked up at Pebble Beach towards the end of the last round, just as Kite was finishing up. The leaders were just getting started on the back nine when Kite finished, and had to play seven or eight holes in brutal conditions. I can’t find the scorecards of the leaders, but IIRC Kite was 2 shots or so behind them when he finished with a 72. The leaders were humbled by the conditions and their scores ballooned, leaving Kite with the win.
People have said the same about Annika Sorenstam, except in her case it amounts to “she’s too boring, because she just hits the ball straight at her target every time.” Which is a ludicrous criticism of someone whose job is exactly that.
I’ve never been able to hit a straight ball – I wish I could. I used to be a permaslicer, but after some lessons I learned to work it either way. I tend to overdo it at least half the time in whatever direction I’m going, but I almost never achieve a straight ball flight.
Many teaching pros advocate pinpointing a specific target as opposed to a large “area”. I have found this particularly useful when putting. I can consistently roll more putts into a rock glass than say, a five litre pail.
gonzomax and I went to the senior tournament in Deaborn, Michigan a few years ago. Nicklaus caught some fire on the weekend and was tied for the lead, so he was in the final group. We remember watching him hit on the range, every ball coming out exactly the same trajectory and we’d think that you could have put a bucked about 270 yards out and catch what he hit. The first tee, we went down the left side to watch (first hold is a slight dogleg right around a tree) and he yanked his drive. It landed in the rough right in front of us. This robot, after hitting 50 balls exactly the same pulls one literally right in front of our feet. He comes over, looking for his ball, so we pointed it out. He said “thanks”, hit the ball, and went on his way.
Additionally, I worked security for the same tournament a couple of years before that. Some of the seniors are incredibly nice, especially in the practice rounds. Andy North is a dick, though.