How and why?! Tour pro loses three clubs in a tree in Dubai
Joost Luiten threw his driver in a tree at the DP World Tour Championship and he tried to knock it out with other clubs in his bag. Guess what happened next…
Joost Luiten appeared to take leave of his senses for a moment in Dubai.
The Dutchman angrily threw his driver into a tree after a wayward drive on the 9th hole in the final round of the DP World Tour Championship.
Luiten was two-over-par for his round, hence the launch of his big stick, but the club got caught in the branches and didn’t come down.
He and his caddie tried to knock the driver out of the tree. Curiously, they opted to use more of his clubs which led to the type of comical disaster found in a Laurel and Hardy sketch.
“I tried to get it out by throwing some other clubs at it and (two) other clubs got stuck up the tree so I couldn’t get them out,” he said.
Taking tree trouble to the next level 🌳@joostluiten threw his driver into a tree and then loses two more clubs trying to retrieve it! #DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/uOqUmPyxZm
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 19, 2023
The 37-year-old was now three clubs down. As the video posted by the DP World Tour shows, even the large log they threw up got lodged in the branches.
He played the rest of the hole with 11 clubs and made his third bogey of the day.
A volunteer, along with Luiten’s wife Melanie-Jane, eventually got his clubs down and he was able to use them on the back nine of the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Luiten, a six-time winner on the DP World Tour, went on to shoot a one-over-par 73 to finish 48th out of 50 players in the UAE.
Nicolai Hojgaard won the season finale to climb to second in the Race to Dubai standings behind Rory McIlroy – who was confirmed as the tour’s points list winner for a fifth time before the event started.
10 players also confirmed their spots on the PGA Tour next year as part of the tour’s initiative to form a pathway to the US circuit.
NOW READ: Which DP World Tour players have earned a PGA Tour card?
NOW READ: Race to Dubai prize money
Have you ever seen anything like this Joost Luiten club throw footage? Tell us on X!
Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
