PGA Tour pro opens a vein with course debate...gets Ryder Cup skipper to agree
PGA Tour pro Michael Kim opened up a lively debate on X over one of golf's oldest debates...and got a Ryder Cup skipper to agree with him.
Did you know in professional golf there are more debates to be had other than how much money players should be earning?
You would be forgiven for thinking otherwise given the events of the last two years involving the PGA Tour and LIV.
One debate perhaps as old as the game itself is whether to aim for the danger or away from it.
Living legend Jack Nicklaus has his own thoughts on this topic. You might remember his argument discussion with Sir Nick Faldo during the 2022 Memorial.
"Don't ever aim the ball at trouble," Nicklaus said. "Don't ever aim the ball at out of bounds. Don't ever aim the ball at a lake.
"You always aim away from it."
Faldo disagreed. You do the opposite, providing you trust your swing.
He said: "Mr. Hogan said you aimed at the trouble and then worked it off the trouble. Like you'd aim at the lake and fade it off it."
Nicklaus said while he was 'pretty good' at what he did, he didn't trust it that much.
"You could have done a lot better than those 19 seconds," Faldo joked, referencing the Golden Bear's runner-up finishes in majors.
Over a sleepy weekend of golf, PGA Tour pro Michael Kim opened up the floor for discussion once again.
If you're not familiar with Kim, he's one of the best follows on social media.
For this example, he used No. 13 at TPC River Highlands, host of the Travelers.
Take a look at the picture below. Kim explained his target was the red 'T'.
Kim explained: "Don't always just aim to the other side of the trouble.
"That is often tougher because you know you can't miss it to the side with the trouble but you also don't have room to the side you're aiming at.
"If there's trouble on the right, more times than not, I'll aim pretty close to the water and if anything overdo my draw and I'll have most of the fairway to play with."
The post was seen by more than one million users and prompted a lively discussion.
Even PGA Tour pro Mark Hubbard waded in: "Not saying you are wrong at all… but if I aim at the red T on that hole my ball is ending up in the white part right of the lake."
One person who did agree with Kim was former European Ryder Cup skipper Padraig Harrington:
Michael is so right here. Go on to the course when it’s quiet and try both options, if possible with a number of balls/clubs and see what works for you. I know in the above scenario if I’m aiming left away from the water I often swing with the unintentional thought of don’t go…
— Padraig Harrington (@padraig_h) November 26, 2023
What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you aim for the trouble like Sir Nick or play away from it like Jack? Let us know on our social media channels.
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