5 Questions With... Hale Irwin

As many of our regular readers know, we at ChicagoDuffer.com like to provide a unique insight into the lives of some of golf's biggest personalities via a segment titled "5 Questions With...". Past guests for this segment include the PGA TOUR's John Daly and Mark Wilson, ESPN's Paul Azinger and The Golf Channel's Jason Sobel. This week we welcome the first World Golf Hall of Famer on the segment: Hale Irwin.

Hale Irwin's professional career is something that any golfer would love to have under his (or her) belt. He boasts 87 professional wins on his resume, including 20 on the PGA TOUR and an astounding 45 on the Champions Tour. Irwin has also played on 5 Ryder Cup teams in his career and three US Open Championships (1974, 1979, and 1990). Thanks to his impressive career and success in some of his generation's biggest tournaments, Irwin was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992. Following his playing career, Irwin has established himself as a leading golf course architect having designed numerous courses around the globe.

I had the opportunity to correspond with Mr. Irwin recently, asking him our usual five questions pertaining to golf. Here are his responses:

ChicagoDuffer.com: Where did you receive your first set of golf clubs?

Irwin: My first "set" of clubs were cut-off shafts with taped grips of no particular brand (that I can remember) and were every other club, maybe.  My first "half" set came to me at Christmas at about 12 years of age--Wilson Sam Snead Blue Ridges.

Who did you look up to in the golfing world when growing up?

My father as there were no pros where I lived.

What was the best golf tip you received when learning to play the game?

Never give up as golf can change quickly as long as you play within yourself.

If you could play a match against anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

Players of great success and fortitude of yesteryear-- e.g., Hogan, Snead, Jones, and Nelson

Players of my era--e.g., Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Watson, Ballesteros, and Faldo 

Players of today--e.g., (yet to be determined)

What is the most annoying golf term used on television today?

"Not a very good effort"--how do they know?

We'd like to thank Mr. Irwin for his time and willingness to participate in our segment this month and wish him the best of luck in his future golf endeavors!

INTERVIEW: European Senior Tour's John Hoskison

When I'm not toiling to throw together a blog post on CD.com or WaggleRoom, I usually spend a little time freelance writing over at Suite101.com on a variety of different subjects.  Along the way I have "met" a few interesting writers at the studio, including John Hoskison - who just so happens to be a professional TOUR golfer.  Recently, I had the chance to speak to John on his experience with playing on the European Senior PGA TOUR (which he is still an active participant), writing on golf, and his opinion on today's game and talent pool.  Click the link below to view a few excerpts from my correspondence with John Hoskison.

From a golf instructor perspective, would you say that amateur golf skill and talent has improved over the past two decades, gotten worse, or remained roughly the same? Junior golfers definitely swing the club better than they used to.  This can be traced back to the Faldo era when specific exercises were introduced to 'train' golfers.   Now pros use those drills to teach ypungeters.  Junior golfers enjoy these drills but older golfers tend to approach their golf in a different way and therefore find change difficult.  

As a current member of the PGA European Seniors Tour, what is your opinion on Tom Watson - an American - leading the Order of Merit rankings on the European Tour? My golfing hero has always been Tom Watson.   When I first saw him rip 3 irons off bare ground at Muirfield in 1980 I idolised him.  As far as I'm concerned I think it's great for golf and fantasic for the European Seniors Tour that he is number one.  He utterly deserves it and we are proud that he is there.

As a writer, you have published numerous articles on proper golf mechanics, game improvement, and course management.  If you could pinpoint your favorite "golf tip" for amateur golfers, what would it be and why? My favourite tip and lesson I give to amateur golfers that has more immediate affect than any other is to do with the position of the head at address.  The position of the head affects the way the body turns and therefore dictates swing shape.  If someone tilts during the swing - angle their head to the right at address and it helps immediately  

Do you feel that the current Official World Golf Rankings system is an appropriate and accurate manner to determine the best golfers in the world? Since Tiger Woods has slid down the world rankings the number one spot has been up for grabs.  Personally I think it a fascinating time when a number of golfers can rightly claim top spot.  Not many of the current pros have won major championships so the emphasis seems to have have slipped to consistency.   Tiger definitely knocked everyone's confidence - now it's returning I expect to see the current top golfers starting to win more regularly.   I think everyone would expect to see winning golfers dominating the top spots - but it was difficult to win when Tiger was there.