Poetry in motion: Stockton is renowned as a flat-stick virtuoso.
Through his work with a number of PGA Tour stars, including Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan and Rory McIlroy, former Ryder Cup captain Dave Stockton has developed a reputation for providing uncomplicated and potent short game advice.
But, as he explained to the Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive”, the players most in need of tuition are often the ones least interested in receiving it.
Committed to espousing a philosophy that emphasises comfort and intuition over technical perfection, the coach believes his advice could prove invaluable to a number of high-profile players.
Cure Lee Westwood’s infamous final round jitters, Sergio’s fear of scoring? Why not?
“I have my wish list. There are just certain people I look at and shake my head.”
“I had a couple of days with (Lee) Westwood last year in Akron. He had just started working with (sports psychologist) Bob Rotella at the same time that week, and kind of went that direction. I look at Westwood, or Sergio, or Michelle Wie now, Ernie Els – people that I really respect and you would just love to have 10 or 15 minutes of their time, because you know you can fix them.”
While adopting the Stockton philosophy has clearly yielded results for some players, I’ve yet to reach a judgement as to whether its success lies in the integrity of its principles or the charismatic, forceful way in which Stockton communicates them.
Conor Nagle
Can’t argue with his results.
I tweeted Bubba at least 3 times in the last year…
DAVE STOCKTON.. and he didint resppond but I told him he was hitting tee to green better than anyone but his putter was holding him back…I still believe this and if he improved his putting just 1/2 stroke a round…he would win at least 50 percent more tounaments!
@Mike Q I don’t think Bubba over complicates putting
You can’t win the Masters if you can’t putt!
NOBODY can cure Sergio – Sergios Putting is the Charles Barkley of the full swing.
Unless he can brainwash those guys into forgetting about all of the putts they have missed, no amount of technical advice will fix them. To quote Tin Cup, those gentleman’s problems are en la cabesa.
Michelle Wie has evolved in the worst putter professional golf has seen in the last half-century. She literally putts like a 10-handicap player.
Stockton should start with her – because if he can fix that disaster, he might be able to help Els, Garcia, and Westwood.
if you are struggling with putting why wouldn’t you go to Stockton?
Because everyone is different, the same method and idea’s don’t work for everybody.
Wie worked with Stockton briefly before her first win and her undefeated Solheim Cup.
Then she dumped him for Pelz.
http://golf.about.com/b/2010/05/17/a-win-for-stockton-a-loss-for-wie.htm
Add that to the many other puzzling decisions made by (or for) Michelle Wie. I admire her as she seems down to earth and finished college, etc, etc. But she is a freaking mind case on the golf course. She takes FOREVER to putt and then misses them badly. I saw an interview with Stacy Lewis who just said it is hard to watch. Now, her swing is in the crapper as well. 3 missed cuts in a row and not only missed, but BADLY missed. Someone needs to step in and save this talent before her parents completely waste it.
Sad, but so so true. Michelle Wie is fast becoming Ty Tryon v2.0. Her interview with Feherty was great, but that’s the best thing she’s done on or off the course in like 18 months.
M. Wie won in ’09, won in ’10, had 7 top-10′s in ’11, maintained a top-20 world ranking, all while attending and ultimately graduating from Stanford University.
How does this body of work relate to Ty Tryon in any way?
M. Wie won in ’09, won in ’10, had 7 top-10′s in ’11, maintained a top-20 world ranking, all while attending and ultimately graduating from Stanford University.
How does is this body of work in any way reminiscent of Ty Tryon?
It may not compare to Tryon, but anyone that doesn’t think that her career hasn’t been a disappointment is out of it. She almost made the cut in a PGA tour event as a teenager! Two wins against the women is disappointing no matter how you frame it. Though honestly, given how she has been “handled” by her parents, she has probably done about as well as she could have.
It’s not Tryon it’s not even close to Tryon. A better current comp for Wie may be Anthony Kim. Two young players with a ton of game, some wins, and who have totally lost it at the moment.
Wie wil be fine – she was a high school atudent and then a full time college student while being a pro.her pro results are great.Give her time to realise that she can practise and play 24/7 for the first time since she became a pro.She is 22 years old.Do you know that Annika won her first pro tourney at age 23 and then went to win how many?when she retired.Wie has to now decide if she wants to pursue pro golf as a career and she probably at that crossroads.
The comments about a 22 yearold is just too snarky and foolish