fbpx
favourite tour pro

What lengths have you gone to copy your favourite tour pro?

Copied a haircut? Bought the same putter or driver? Maybe even mimicked their celebrations? The NCG team reveal all in this week's Niggle
 

Mark Townsend: Everything I do in life is a version of copying a favourite pro. As early as 1984 I used to retrieve my ball from the cup like a) Sam Torrance, by doing a sort of bending down in instalments and b) Greg Norman, picking the ball out while levitating the putter in my other hand.

James Broadhurst: It’s all about Rory for me. I have a lot of Nike gear and dream of being able to look as cool as him smashing a driver down the fairway. I was gutted when Nike stopped manufacturing golf equipment. My Nike Vapor driver has slightly lost its appeal.

Joe Urquhart: Thinking about it. I remember doing that weird ‘hold a pose when it’s a good shot’ thing Rory used to do. Shoulders together, club aloft, maybe even stare the flag down whilst slightly biting my lip if it was REALLY good.

Steve Carroll: I wouldn’t know anything about that Joe…

Joe Urquhart: No idea who I thought I was. The full Rors…

James Savage: Padraig Harrington started copying my dodgy footwork.

Joe Urquhart: Yeah, copying…

Mark Townsend: I walked like Faldo, palms out and in a brisk fashion, from 87-89.

Steve Carroll: I had Seve’s classic 1984 Slazenger blue jumper – not his obviously – and wore it until it was threadbare. In fact, I had everything Slazenger in those days. Lovely.

Tom Irwin: I own three Seve Slazenger blue jumpers that don’t fit…

Mark Townsend: I incorporated a Paul Way-like waggle into my routine for much of the mid 80s.

Tom Irwin: I like to keep my hair like dear Robert Rock’s.

Mark Townsend: I have worn any waterproof bottom like Seve from 1983-present, half undone at the bottom.

Tom Irwin: I have affected a club twirl and skip like Rory.

Joe Urquhart: Guys…

Mark Townsend: If I’m feeling good about myself I wear my shirt out like Johan Edfors.

Tom Irwin: For several years I did Adam Scott’s pre-shot grip routine.

Mark Townsend: I used to sniff after any iron shot which I think I got from Sandy Lyle.

Tom Irwin: I have acquired Titleist blades because I am obsessed with Justin Thomas.

Joe Urquhart: Seriously, guys…

Mark Townsend: About 10 years ago I used to puff my chest out before coming into a shot, like Robert Karlsson.

Tom Irwin: I watch and mimic Justin Thomas fitness videos everyday.

Mark Townsend: I flatter myself that my hair has followed a similar path to Robert Rock’s too.

Tom Irwin: I used a Wilson TPA for seven years because Faldo did.

Joe Urquhart: Is there anything Faldo did that you two didn’t do?

Dan Murphy: I used a beryllium Ping B60 for years in Faldo’s honour and have always tried to stick to his Basil Brush putting thought from that era.

Joe Urquhart: Oh good, Dan’s joining in…

Mark Townsend: I wear Wolsey clothes, like Rock and Eddie Pepperell.

Joe Urquhart: That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.

Tom Irwin: I walk into the shot right foot first because Norman and Faldo did it.

Joe Urquhart: Anything else?

Tom Irwin: I wore a bobble hat and a cap for several winters because Per-Ulrik Johansson did it in the Dunhill. I saw him chip once at an event in Australia and spent the next three years thinking about that over every chip shot, I am thinking about it now.

Joe Urquhart: Oh good, you’re still going…

Tom Irwin: I watched about five Chronicles Of A Champion Golfer the other day. Faldo hit the eight best consecutive shots in history on the final four holes at Muirfield in 1992. It was amazing. The 5-iron he hit into the 15th is possibly my favourite shot of all time. I often think about that over a long iron.

James Savage: I’ve tried the Matsuyama pause, the Dufner waggle, the Spieth forward press and the Kuchar rock back. They weren’t for me.

Tom Irwin: Anytime I wedge out of rough rather than lashing at it I think of Faldo’s par 4 to beat Curtis Strange at Oak Hill.

Mark Townsend: I watched four Chronicles. I also used to finger my hair like Faldo and, post Way, adopted his waggle.

Tom Irwin: I wish I walked around like Danny Willett. He always looks like he is rushing to look over a brow of a blind shot knowing he has flushed it.

Mark Townsend: In just the past three rounds I have adopted a Westwood-type-slightly-too-long-over-the-ball-at-address-but-only-with-the-driver process. I do it to try and help regulate my breathing. The results have been extraordinary.

Tom Irwin: Also, Harrington was on about the flow he felt in his routine when he knocked in the putt to get in a play-off at Carnoustie. He said it was the most routine, routine he has ever done. It was odd to hear someone talking about the quality of a routine. It is a Bob Rotella thing? I fell asleep clutching ‘Putting out of your mind’.

Mark Townsend: I got my putter out of the downstairs toilet and tried to work out how Faldo had the time in his head to say ‘yes’ on his backstroke on a putt to win the Open.

Joe Urquhart: Alright, let’s put a stop to this before it gets out of hand.

Latest Posts

dp world tour 2024 schedule

DP World Tour

DP World Tour 2024 schedule and results

Read full article - DP World Tour 2024 schedule and results
liv golf schedule 2024

LIV Golf

LIV Golf schedule 2024: Every date, venue and result

Read full article - LIV Golf schedule 2024: Every date, venue and result
Lydia Ko WITB

News

What’s in Lydia Ko’s bag?

Read full article - What’s in Lydia Ko’s bag?
players championship field 2024

News

Players Championship field: Who is playing at TPC Sawgrass?

Read full article - Players Championship field: Who is playing at TPC Sawgrass?
LIV Golf

LIV Golf

How far have the LIV golfers fallen in the world rankings?

Read full article - How far have the LIV golfers fallen in the world rankings?
pga championship field

News

World Golf Rankings 2024: Who’s in the top 10?

Read full article - World Golf Rankings 2024: Who’s in the top 10?
LIV Golf

LIV Golf

Show me the money! How much has each LIV player made since signing up?

Read full article - Show me the money! How much has each LIV player made since signing up?
rory mcilroy talor gooch

News

Rory McIlroy’s advice for Talor Gooch: Be more like Joaquin Niemann!

Read full article - Rory McIlroy’s advice for Talor Gooch: Be more like Joaquin Niemann!
viktor hovland prize money

News

Soulless, comical and sad: Viktor Hovland has a bleak outlook on golf

Read full article - Soulless, comical and sad: Viktor Hovland has a bleak outlook on golf