Butch Harmon is stepping away from the world of tour golf. The teacher is generally renowned as being the best in the business but, at 75, he is shutting things down a bit.
“I told my guys that I wasn’t going to go out on tour anymore but if they wanted my help they can always come here (to Vegas),” Harmon said. “The only event I will now travel to is The Masters because I will do the Sky Sports broadcast and that will be the only television I do.
“In all honesty, it was just time; 35 years of traveling the tour has been a long grind and I was tired of the whole thing. The travel, the hotels, the restaurants, the pressure of it wore me out. It’s time for me to start enjoying my life.”
His son Claude will take over some of his work, with the likes of Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, and he will still be on the end of the phone to pass on his wisdom.
Here we touch on his remarkable career..
The incredible career of Butch Harmon
1. What does his CV like?
How about this – Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Fred Couples, Darren Clarke, Justin Leonard, Nick Watney, Rickie Fowler, Jimmy Walker, Gary Woodland, Brandt Snedeker, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Natalie Gulbis, Danielle Kang and, most recently, Ollie Schniederjans.
Oh, and King Hassan II in Morocco.
2. It’s in the genes
And how about this for a golfing dynasty – his dad Claude Harmon Sr won The Masters in 1948. He was the head pro at Winged Foot and, in the winter, Seminole and he had four sons Butch, Dick, Billy and Craig.
Dick, who died in 2006, was the head pro at River Oaks and taught Craig Stadler, Lanny Wadkins, Jay Haas, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington and Lucas Glover. Craig was the head pro at Oak Hill while Billy has worked with Bill Haas and worked as an instructor on the Golf Channel.
