Did you must be able to just pull names out of a hat, said Wyndham Clark.
After all, if you did in the last four men’s pro golf team events, the gap in average world ranking between teams is an eye opener. At last month’s Presidents Cup, it was 35.7 (US 15.1 and International 50.8). At last year’s Ryder Cup, it was 12.5 (US 11.1 and Europe 23.6). At the 2024 Presidents Cup, it was 22.4 (US 11.9 and International 34.3). At the 2023 Ryder Cup, it was 17.1 (US 12.9 and Europe 30). All that must say, the Americans must be role in the alternative shooting game.
Must to be. Even if you’re a casual observer, you know the rankings: In those same four events, the United States is an amazing 8-26 in foursomes. So, no, the hat technique probably won’t work. But what gives? Are there any corrections? Clark he saw everything up close. He’s played in three of those events (the 2023 Ryder Cup and the last two Presidents Cups) — and is 0-3 in foursomes.
But it is not without some thought. Hon a recent episode of Sirius XM’s Gravy & the Sleeze show, this year’s US Open winner said a solution may lie in what the players share.
“I think sometimes we overlook the golf ball,” he said.
How so?
“We had some guys playing that their golf ball difference was about 800 to 1000 RPM,” Clark said on the show. “And when you put it on a steady golf course. I mean, some guys were struggling to keep the green because they were playing a lower spinning golf ball or vice versa.”
How did it happen, though?
“I think we feel like we’re taking the approach of maybe what Europeans do by putting friends together,” Clark said on the show. “And you think that’s going to be the best way. I mean, we did that and it didn’t work.
“Some of the discussions I had about JT (Justin Thomas) or some of the other guys are, maybe we need to match the golf balls better. For example, Colin (Morikawa) and I have a very similar golf ball and he likes my golf ball. So it was a good matchup. For us, I know we lost some of the games, but we can play the same (Patrick, and then play the same). Those are probably the two guys who should play and maybe who traditionally didn’t play with those guys.
In the show, Clark also said that Americans should practice an alternative stroke more.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I’d like it if we just went into practice rounds and just played alternate shots, not even hitting other shots,” he said. “I think there’s something to not hitting a shot, the rhythm of it. Putting, feeling like you don’t hit a putt for four holes and then you have to hit a 15-footer, or you don’t hit a drive in X amount of holes. And I think there’s something to that.
“So I think the combination of practice and the golf ball is probably the biggest thing that, if we put it together, I think we’re going to start having success.”
The United States will play its next team event in September after the Ryder Cup.
Editor’s Note: To listen to the full episode with Clark, which requires a subscription, click here here.
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