How Matt Kuchar did a Bryson! Yes, really
Of all the people you wouldn't expect to see trying to hit 'bombs', it would be Matt Kuchar. The American has never threatened to be a long hitter, with his one-plane swing, and he has always been down at the lower reaches of the driving distance stats but he has spent his valuable time in the past year or so trying to add some extra yards.
"The COVID break, I figured this was my chance to pick up some speed," Kuchar said. "Did some stuff trying to do that and probably wasn't the right move. Tried some version of the Bryson route. I spent some of those months seeing if I could do it. Looking back, it probably was the thing where if I had to point a finger at one thing, that's where I went down the wrong path."
The 43-year-old worked with speed sticks and force plates, to use the ground more effectively, but it also coincided with his worst season since his slump 15 years ago. He recorded one strokeplay top 10 in 2021 and, thanks to his third in the Match Play, he just made it into the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
He began 2021 in 42nd spot in the world and he's now down to 99th. But now he's focusing on finding the short stuff more and playing his normal Kuchar-like game.
"I tell people, golf to me is the hardest but most fun game you can play. When you're playing well, you can't wait to keep going. And when you're playing bad, you can't wait to go fix it. And I've been in fix-it mode."
"The COVID break, I figured this was my chance to pick up some speed," Kuchar said. "Did some stuff trying to do that and probably wasn't the right move. Tried some version of the Bryson route. I spent some of those months seeing if I could do it. Looking back, it probably was the thing where if I had to point a finger at one thing, that's where I went down the wrong path."
The 43-year-old worked with speed sticks and force plates, to use the ground more effectively, but it also coincided with his worst season since his slump 15 years ago. He recorded one strokeplay top 10 in 2021 and, thanks to his third in the Match Play, he just made it into the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
He began 2021 in 42nd spot in the world and he's now down to 99th. But now he's focusing on finding the short stuff more and playing his normal Kuchar-like game.
"I tell people, golf to me is the hardest but most fun game you can play. When you're playing well, you can't wait to keep going. And when you're playing bad, you can't wait to go fix it. And I've been in fix-it mode."