The SpinDoctor with Trevor Immelman Trevor Immelman certainly wasn’t in a huff when he exited the WGC Accenture in the first round last week...
The SpinDoctor with Trevor Immelman
Trevor Immelman certainly wasn’t in a huff when he exited the WGC Accenture in the first round last week at the hands of Shingo Katayama. “I’m just out of the refrigerator”, he told me when we met up a couple of weeks ago. After a Winter in the gym building up layers of muscle in all the right places, Immelman is only now picking up his sticks again. As he waggles the latest technology from Nike, I get the South Africans views on equipment, practise, Padraig and Augusta as he attempts to recreate last years glory all over again.
What do you practise most?
“I practise my irons most but lately I’m trying to ramp up practise on my short game because I feel that’s the thing that’s halting my progress right now. My iron play (I think) is right up there.”
What do you practise the least?
“You know the driver is probably the thing I practise the least. For a few reasons. Once you find the driver that you’re comfortable with and that’s set up right for you, that’s the one you are going to use. Not too much is going to change there. I believe you have to make a slightly different swing with your driver. With new technology we are able to grip it stronger, play the ball further up in our stance and hit it more on the upswing as opposed to irons which you try to sweep off the deck. For me, if I hit too many drivers it feeds bad tendencies.”
What, in your opinion, is the key to golfing success?
“I think the top athletes play their best when they train hard and then go and play without caring for the result. Have your strategy and when you get you out there just swing for the fences and trust that it’s going to be there.”
It seems like most of the players on tour are going more towards bigger style cavity back clubs. Why should any amateur ever again consider playing blades?
“I’m going to be 100% honest and say no amateur should ever consider playing blades. There’s no advantage to it. It’s like having a choice between a Ferrari and a bicycle and choosing the bicycle. The stuff that the engineers and scientists (who design clubs) are coming up with is pretty incredible. The challenge is to utilise the technology while still retaining the look of the club. My clubs have the perimeter heel-toe weighting, which gives a bigger sweet spot. But my (Nike victory red) irons have very little offset, so when you put it down it appears to be a blade but you’re getting the advantage of the technology.”
We all know golf goes in cycles and form goes in cycles but do you try to build yourself for one special period every year? When are you targeting to be at your peak?
It’s really difficult to try and peak at the right time. Obviously you’ve got the four Majors. Tiger and Paddy have spoilt us really, leading people to maybe believe it’s easily done. The truth is it’s not.” Trevor laughs because he has done it! “The game is so fickle, it comes and goes so regularly, so I think the main thing you can aim for is to be mentally tough and to be able to handle the times when your game is not quite there. All the greatest champions are still able to win when they’ve not got their best stuff there. Those are the things you learn as you mature in the game.”
Do you feel it’s an advantage going to Augusta, the one major with the same course and the same set up? Does it make it any easier to win?
“It’s unique being the only major we do play on the same course year after year, so guys get familiar with it. They start to get comfortable with it; they get to know the greens and the lines off the tees. Once you’ve won there, obviously every time you go back, you’ve got a lot of good memories. That part is going to be fun, it’s going to be nice but I’m also going to have to deal with so many emotions every time I go back because that day was the greatest of my career. Yep, there’s going to be a lot of crazy emotions, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Trevor Immelman certainly wasn’t in a huff when he exited the WGC Accenture in the first round last week at the hands of Shingo Katayama. “I’m just out of the refrigerator”, he told me when we met up a couple of weeks ago. After a Winter in the gym building up layers of muscle in all the right places, Immelman is only now picking up his sticks again. As he waggles the latest technology from Nike, I get the South Africans views on equipment, practise, Padraig and Augusta as he attempts to recreate last years glory all over again.
What do you practise most?
“I practise my irons most but lately I’m trying to ramp up practise on my short game because I feel that’s the thing that’s halting my progress right now. My iron play (I think) is right up there.”
What do you practise the least?
“You know the driver is probably the thing I practise the least. For a few reasons. Once you find the driver that you’re comfortable with and that’s set up right for you, that’s the one you are going to use. Not too much is going to change there. I believe you have to make a slightly different swing with your driver. With new technology we are able to grip it stronger, play the ball further up in our stance and hit it more on the upswing as opposed to irons which you try to sweep off the deck. For me, if I hit too many drivers it feeds bad tendencies.”
What, in your opinion, is the key to golfing success?
“I think the top athletes play their best when they train hard and then go and play without caring for the result. Have your strategy and when you get you out there just swing for the fences and trust that it’s going to be there.”
It seems like most of the players on tour are going more towards bigger style cavity back clubs. Why should any amateur ever again consider playing blades?
“I’m going to be 100% honest and say no amateur should ever consider playing blades. There’s no advantage to it. It’s like having a choice between a Ferrari and a bicycle and choosing the bicycle. The stuff that the engineers and scientists (who design clubs) are coming up with is pretty incredible. The challenge is to utilise the technology while still retaining the look of the club. My clubs have the perimeter heel-toe weighting, which gives a bigger sweet spot. But my (Nike victory red) irons have very little offset, so when you put it down it appears to be a blade but you’re getting the advantage of the technology.”
We all know golf goes in cycles and form goes in cycles but do you try to build yourself for one special period every year? When are you targeting to be at your peak?
It’s really difficult to try and peak at the right time. Obviously you’ve got the four Majors. Tiger and Paddy have spoilt us really, leading people to maybe believe it’s easily done. The truth is it’s not.” Trevor laughs because he has done it! “The game is so fickle, it comes and goes so regularly, so I think the main thing you can aim for is to be mentally tough and to be able to handle the times when your game is not quite there. All the greatest champions are still able to win when they’ve not got their best stuff there. Those are the things you learn as you mature in the game.”
Do you feel it’s an advantage going to Augusta, the one major with the same course and the same set up? Does it make it any easier to win?
“It’s unique being the only major we do play on the same course year after year, so guys get familiar with it. They start to get comfortable with it; they get to know the greens and the lines off the tees. Once you’ve won there, obviously every time you go back, you’ve got a lot of good memories. That part is going to be fun, it’s going to be nice but I’m also going to have to deal with so many emotions every time I go back because that day was the greatest of my career. Yep, there’s going to be a lot of crazy emotions, but I’m looking forward to it.”
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