Does anyone know why Seve Ballesteros was inconsistent off the Tee?

[Golf-Geek]

I'm a big Fan of Seve and he was arguably one of the best or the best at recovery shots and short game I just wonder why perhaps the tee box seem to be his nemesis from past footage I've seen of him which effectively made him inconsistent at going for those Major trophies of course he won plenty of professional comps but he had plenty of attempts at this love to know other golfers views on this :)

[ohioglfr]

I'm also a Seve fan. I came across this . . .

 

[RBImGuy]

I'm a big Fan of Seve and he was arguably one of the best or the best at recovery shots and short game I just wonder why perhaps the tee box seem to be his nemesis from past footage I've seen of him which effectively made him inconsistent at going for those Major trophies of course he won plenty of professional comps but he had plenty of attempts at this love to know other golfers views on this :)

 

He was inconsistent from tee.

Main reason was his movements that was all over the map combined with a bad pivot.

He never could get it right from tee and he tried to fix it many times.

 

Seve learned to play with a 3i from sand, that meant his movements was based on timing the movement which is fine to an extent but when you play agaisnt the best if your off a bit then you wont win.

same happens to Rory as he continiously loose his swing which just shows the golf trainers dont know how to teach what works.

Tiger went the same route and listen to experts that couldnt teach him what he wanted to do.

[Warrick]

I watch and play the game because of this man.

 

The definition of a "mad slasher" off the tee. I am not sure how to explain it, and it was painful to watch at times.

 

If Seve , or Jose for that matter could ever hit a tee ball like Sergio, who knows how many they could have won.

 

Then again, if Sergio had Seve's mental capacity, same thing for him.

 

I refer to these 3 as they have been the only 3 "favorite" golfers in my life.

[Golf-Geek]

I'm a big Fan of Seve and he was arguably one of the best or the best at recovery shots and short game I just wonder why perhaps the tee box seem to be his nemesis from past footage I've seen of him which effectively made him inconsistent at going for those Major trophies of course he won plenty of professional comps but he had plenty of attempts at this love to know other golfers views on this :)

 

He was inconsistent from tee.

Main reason was his movements that was all over the map combined with a bad pivot.

He never could get it right from tee and he tried to fix it many times.

 

Seve learned to play with a 3i from sand, that meant his movements was based on timing the movement which is fine to an extent but when you play agaisnt the best if your off a bit then you wont win.

same happens to Rory as he continiously loose his swing which just shows the golf trainers dont know how to teach what works.

Tiger went the same route and listen to experts that couldnt teach him what he wanted to do.

Thank you very much for your depth in knowledge there I suppose he made up for it with his short game but pretty much had to be a magician at times to keep himself in the game :)

[Golf-Geek]

I watch and play the game because of this man.

 

The definition of a "mad slasher" off the tee. I am not sure how to explain it, and it was painful to watch at times.

 

If Seve , or Jose for that matter could ever hit a tee ball like Sergio, who knows how many they could have won.

 

Then again, if Sergio had Seve's mental capacity, same thing for him.

 

I refer to these 3 as they have been the only 3 "favorite" golfers in my life.

Nice thanks for your thoughts it's always interesting how every golfer has it's own weaknesses that decide what there likely to achieve :)

[Golf-Geek]

I'm also a Seve fan. I came across this . . .

 

Thanks for the share that was really interesting :)

[dlygrisse]

Probably many reasons.

 

No one in the history of the game has all the tools. From Jack, to Hogan, to Jones, to Watson to Faldo to Norman to Seve to Tiger to Rory to Speith....they all have a weakness.

 

Very long and loose swing when he was young. Then he started tweaking his swing a lot, much like Tiger. This at times made things worse.

 

The equipment of the day allowed him to work the ball a lot, but he lost control when his timing was off.

 

Seve was much more of an artist than a technician. When he started thinking about mechanics it really started going south.

 

His swing caused physical problems, back pain etc. (Sound familiar?)

 

Seve's game was a lot like Phil's. At times brilliant, at times painful to watch if you were a fan. Although Phil has prolonged his career better than Seve, Seve was basically done being a force in his early to mid 30's.

 

Who really knows if the brain tumor had any effect on his decline as well.

[vman]

I think Seve's inconsistency is somewhat exaggerated although,admittedly,he did hit his fair share of wild drives.From 1974 - 1995 Seve had 91 worldwide professional victories and I'm sure had spells of exceptionally long and accurate driving.I think Seve was prone to being too much underneath through impact,left shoulder too low,hips moving laterally.This led to club face rotation issues through impact and a reliance on rhythm and timing to square the face.These issues were exacerbated later in his career,I believe,due to his ailing back.

I had the pleasure of watching Seve close up,in 1984 and '88 at the Open he was spectacular and was pretty much splitting fairways.Also in '91 at Wentworth in the PGA Championship he was exceptional.It really was a sight to behold to see Seve in full flow at the top of his game.He was charismatic,full of flair and emotion and just the most exciting player to watch,a golfing genius.At 38,however,he was done with chronic back pain,who knows possibly the same fate will be handed to Tiger.

[Hstead]

Just think what could have been if Seve only would have had $300k?

[starsail85]

Swing thoughts got in the way of his swing flow

[pappaf2]

Just think what could have been if Seve only would have had $300k?

 

Obviously his dispersion would have decreased to 4%

[Hstead]

Just think what could have been if Seve only would have had $300k?

 

Obviously his dispersion would have decreased to 4%

 

And he could have picked up 60 yards easy.

[David C]

I'm a big Fan of Seve and he was arguably one of the best or the best at recovery shots and short game I just wonder why perhaps the tee box seem to be his nemesis from past footage I've seen of him which effectively made him inconsistent at going for those Major trophies of course he won plenty of professional comps but he had plenty of attempts at this love to know other golfers views on this :)

 

He was inconsistent from tee.

Main reason was his movements that was all over the map combined with a bad pivot.

He never could get it right from tee and he tried to fix it many times.

 

Seve learned to play with a 3i from sand, that meant his movements was based on timing the movement which is fine to an extent but when you play agaisnt the best if your off a bit then you wont win.

same happens to Rory as he continiously loose his swing which just shows the golf trainers dont know how to teach what works.

Tiger went the same route and listen to experts that couldnt teach him what he wanted to do.

 

You like Mike Austin. It's a totally different method. Maybe the world is genuinely missing a trick. We might never know.

 

You even had a general point about Seve and timing. Although to say I'd question how much his brief time on Pedrena beach as a kid with a stick and pebbles influenced his future golf game is a bit of an understatement.

 

But what are you smoking when you say 'but when you play agaisnt the best if your off a bit then you wont win.' Curious to know who you are alluding to being 'the best' considering you write off everyone. Who are these mysterious golfers who win all the time on tour but don't play on tour?

[David C]

RBIm Guy,

 

Could you drive the 10th at the Belfry or are you between irons and that's an awkward distance for you?

[dodger]

One of my all time favorites. I think his golf swing in his prime was under-rated, you do not win the British Open and Masters multiple times without driving the ball well. Prior to the early 1990's when his long game left him completely, he was very long and accurate enough. His short game and shot making made up for it. From 1985-1989, his swing actually improved significantly and he drove the ball very well. In the mid 1980's, his swing tightened up a little and his foot work was better. Look at video of the 1986 Masters, 1987 Masters and the British Open in 1988. He really played well those years. His bad driving in his prime was more myth than anything else. He never did well in the US Open or PGA, but no Euro did in the 1980's.

[Hawkeye77]

If only Seve had a certain "instructor's" one pupil's mechanics, he'd have won 30 majors and never missed a fairway.

[MMB1500]

I'm a big Fan of Seve and he was arguably one of the best or the best at recovery shots and short game I just wonder why perhaps the tee box seem to be his nemesis from past footage I've seen of him which effectively made him inconsistent at going for those Major trophies of course he won plenty of professional comps but he had plenty of attempts at this love to know other golfers views on this :)

 

He was inconsistent from tee.

Main reason was his movements that was all over the map combined with a bad pivot.

He never could get it right from tee and he tried to fix it many times.

 

Seve learned to play with a 3i from sand, that meant his movements was based on timing the movement which is fine to an extent but when you play agaisnt the best if your off a bit then you wont win.

same happens to Rory as he continiously loose his swing which just shows the golf trainers dont know how to teach what works.

Tiger went the same route and listen to experts that couldnt teach him what he wanted to do.

 

Genuine question - do you think Seve would have been more successful if he'd had you as a coach?

[oikos1]

I'm a big Fan of Seve and he was arguably one of the best or the best at recovery shots and short game I just wonder why perhaps the tee box seem to be his nemesis from past footage I've seen of him which effectively made him inconsistent at going for those Major trophies of course he won plenty of professional comps but he had plenty of attempts at this love to know other golfers views on this :)

 

He was inconsistent from tee.

Main reason was his movements that was all over the map combined with a bad pivot.

He never could get it right from tee and he tried to fix it many times.

 

Seve learned to play with a 3i from sand, that meant his movements was based on timing the movement which is fine to an extent but when you play agaisnt the best if your off a bit then you wont win.

same happens to Rory as he continiously loose his swing which just shows the golf trainers dont know how to teach what works.

Tiger went the same route and listen to experts that couldnt teach him what he wanted to do.

 

Genuine question - do you think Seve would have been more successful if he'd had you as a coach?

 

Dude, that's blasphemy. Everyone would be better with him as their coach.

[CrabDaddy]

Golf Geek, You're in Finland, RBImGuy is in Sweden. Close enough for a road trip, right? You should get a lesson from him and post it on your YT channel. That would be HUGE! Everybody on GolfWRX would tune in to see it! Double, maybe quadruple, your subscribers, guaranteed!

[Fort Worth Pro]

I'm also a Seve fan. I came across this . . .

 

 

That is literally one if the worst analysis I have ever seen. Nobody manipulates camera angles more to try and prove a point.

[pinhigh27]

Golf Geek, You're in Finland, RBImGuy is in Sweden. Close enough for a road trip, right? You should get a lesson from him and post it on your YT channel. That would be HUGE! Everybody on GolfWRX would tune in to see it! Double, maybe quadruple, your subscribers, guaranteed!

 

if he could make it out alive

[JustTheTips]

You can argue for ever about technique and the like but the reality is that was his swing and the one he could win with. At some point his back started to bother him and he couldn't swing that way anymore. He made some changes and then started to think about his swing instead of the shot and he lost his game.

 

 

And the other part is that the main reason we think of him as being poor off the tee is that the other parts of the game were insanely good. If he was just average, the driving looked horrible when compared to the rest of the game.

[PowderedToastMan]

Focal dystonia maybe. Or he just came too far from the inside.

[HoganAfficianado]

I heard from an inner source that he was actually a super accurate driver of the ball but he would intentionally hit it off the planet so he could showcase his recovery shot skills.

[ALIF]

Flopper, have you ever killed any cereals?

[carrera]

Seve came in 3rd at the 1987 US Open at Olympic Club, one of the most difficult driving courses on the planet even in non-tournament conditions (back then when it was choked by trees on every hole). So keep things in perspective.

[Golf-Geek]

Probably many reasons.

 

No one in the history of the game has all the tools. From Jack, to Hogan, to Jones, to Watson to Faldo to Norman to Seve to Tiger to Rory to Speith....they all have a weakness.

 

Very long and loose swing when he was young. Then he started tweaking his swing a lot, much like Tiger. This at times made things worse.

 

The equipment of the day allowed him to work the ball a lot, but he lost control when his timing was off.

 

Seve was much more of an artist than a technician. When he started thinking about mechanics it really started going south.

 

His swing caused physical problems, back pain etc. (Sound familiar?)

 

Seve's game was a lot like Phil's. At times brilliant, at times painful to watch if you were a fan. Although Phil has prolonged his career better than Seve, Seve was basically done being a force in his early to mid 30's.

 

Who really knows if the brain tumor had any effect on his decline as well.

Nice to here your thoughts always interesting factors that make or break you as player :)

[Golf-Geek]

Seve came in 3rd at the 1987 US Open at Olympic Club, one of the most difficult driving courses on the planet even in non-tournament conditions (back then when it was choked by trees on every hole). So keep things in perspective.

Seve came in 3rd at the 1987 US Open at Olympic Club, one of the most difficult driving courses on the planet even in non-tournament conditions (back then when it was choked by trees on every hole). So keep things in perspective.

I think it's what other's have already commented have said that if Seve timing was on he was fine of the tee. :)

 

I heard from an inner source that he was actually a super accurate driver of the ball but he would intentionally hit it off the planet so he could showcase his recovery shot skills.

pretty cool if he did :)

[Golf-Geek]

I think Seve's inconsistency is somewhat exaggerated although,admittedly,he did hit his fair share of wild drives.From 1974 - 1995 Seve had 91 worldwide professional victories and I'm sure had spells of exceptionally long and accurate driving.I think Seve was prone to being too much underneath through impact,left shoulder too low,hips moving laterally.This led to club face rotation issues through impact and a reliance on rhythm and timing to square the face.These issues were exacerbated later in his career,I believe,due to his ailing back.

I had the pleasure of watching Seve close up,in 1984 and '88 at the Open he was spectacular and was pretty much splitting fairways.Also in '91 at Wentworth in the PGA Championship he was exceptional.It really was a sight to behold to see Seve in full flow at the top of his game.He was charismatic,full of flair and emotion and just the most exciting player to watch,a golfing genius.At 38,however,he was done with chronic back pain,who knows possibly the same fate will be handed to Tiger.

Thank you for your insight there :)