Austin Connelly WITB: shot at 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

TTT · February 10, 2016

Kid hits it about 240 but I don't think he's ever missed a fairway. Shorter courses this week should suit his game, and he has moutains of it.

PatScan · February 10, 2016

I was last surprised about a short-hitting young amateur turning pro in Matthew Fitzpatrick. He's currently 44th in OWGR and has a European Tour win under his belt.

What's really interesting, from his rookie to sophomore year ('14 and '15, respectively) he improved his average driving distance by 15 yards (now averaging 286), but also his driving accuracy improved by six percentage points (to 72%). That said, presumably the reason for his success in '15 was that his GIR went from 61% to 76%; whether there's some causality between the two, who's to say.

It's not hard to find 15 yards if you're 18 and starting at 260 or 270, but it's hard gaining both speed and accuracy. But as Fitzpatrick instructs us, it's all about hitting those greens.

bigeasy · February 10, 2016

Where is he from and is he a pro or amateur? thanks

hammy83 · February 10, 2016

Where is he from and is he a pro or amateur? thanks

Turned pro last year around august. He has a dual citizenship for the US and Canada as he was born in Dallas Texas but his grand parents live in Nova Scotia and his dad is Canadian. He's a member at Hackberry G&CC in Irving Texas as well as Clare G&CC churchpoint Nova Scotia.

Stonebridge · February 10, 2016

Has a great short game but his swing needs some help.

SwingLikeElk · February 10, 2016

Has a great short game but his swing needs some help.

They used to say the same about Jim Furyk. Not too many guys on the range at PGA tour events in need of help. Maybe some refinement?

Dunwoody Boy · February 10, 2016

Great pictures of a great young man. I've had the good fortune to spend a little time around Austin on two separate occasions while he was in Atlanta. He is a class act. Very well mannered and well spoken. He couldn't have been nicer to my young son, who tagged around him for a day at the course. As for his game, he's got oodles of it. He could play golf in a tunnel. Really hope he can get a little length because he will compete on the big tour when he does. Best of luck to him.

Hedgehog · February 11, 2016

Kid hits it about 240 but I don't think he's ever missed a fairway. Shorter courses this week should suit his game, and he has moutains of it.

240 compared to 340 that the top guys are hitting it is a pretty huge differense though..

Stonebridge · February 11, 2016

Has a great short game but his swing needs some help.

They used to say the same about Jim Furyk. Not too many guys on the range at PGA tour events in need of help. Maybe some refinement?

Furyk's swing is different but far more consistent. Austin is 50 yards shorter than Furyk when comparing to longest hitters on tour. Hopefully his new TaylorMade technology can help overcome this problem.

j_king · February 11, 2016

Kid hits it about 240 but I don't think he's ever missed a fairway. Shorter courses this week should suit his game, and he has moutains of it.

240 compared to 340 that the top guys are hitting it is a pretty huge differense though..

I think that "240" number is an inaccurate representation of what his average distance off the tee will be. Yea, his stats on the PGA website show 241 for this year but that's including what, 1 event? The kid is swinging in the low 100's so he's not going to average out at 240.

Based on similar swing speeds on tour he shouldn't be at any more of a disadvantage than say a Tim Clark, Ben Crane, etc is.

And DJ led the tour last year at 317.7, so generalizing that he will be 100 yards behind the competition off the tee is quite a stretch.

If he can hit fairways and average in the 270-280's, he shouldn't have any more of a disadvantage than other shorter drivers of the ball.