What would Seve do?

 

What would Seve do?
Just for a bit of fun, and borne out of an immense love for the legendary Spaniard, we imagine how the maestro would handle some of today’s modern-day golfing head scratchers.

Would Seve be pals with the American Ryder Cup team?
The days of flying over mob-handed on Concorde for an away match are long gone with a chunk of the European team living in far-off places like ‘Jupiter’. Times move on and things change but if you’re looking to Seve to develop transatlantic relations over the course of three days in September then think again.
Here’s a nice reminder of the great man’s views on matchplay.
“I look into eyes, shake their hand and wish them luck, but I am thinking, I am going to bury you. If you ever feel sorry for somebody on a golf course, you better go home. If you don’t kill them, they’ll kill you.”

Would Seve wear white trousers/belt?
You would have to trawl the annals pretty meticulously to try and divulge either of these. Try and picture Seve trotting down the clubhouse steps in a pair of white strides? Try and picture Seve complementing a stylish pair of navy trousers with a white belt? Not in a month of Sundays.
I’m doing my very best, delving deep into the recesses of my brain, to try and picture Seve in a pair of spikeless shoes.

What would he wear on Sundays?
We’ll all associate Seve with the navy blue Slazenger but, in this modern day, they would be flying off the shelves. We all owned a ‘Slazzy’ back in the say but you’re struggling these days to get your hands on one. While Rickie has his orange ensemble and Tiger has done pretty well in red, there’s nothing quite like the simple brilliance, helped by film-star looks, of the navy V-neck.
What would Seve do with modern course design?
Include a lot of bunkers, everywhere. Think Whistling Straits and double it. And limit the players to 10 clubs and make players use their 3-iron for any greenside recovery.
“They say I get in too many bunkers. But is no problem. I am the best bunker player.”

Would Seve wear a baseball cap?
In a word no. He actually rocked a really classy one when he won the 1980 Masters but, otherwise, you’d more likely catch him in a visor, bucket hat or going au naturel to showcase his good looks.
There are plenty of ways that golf has moved on but, being able to stand out from the crowd by simply not wearing one, is a sad state of affairs.

Would Seve do social media?
This is a tricky one. Part of you would want him to play it cool and keep his thoughts to himself, heaven forbid he’d fall into the trap of having his manager run his account like one or two of today’s superstars.
The other part would want him to see him become an Instagram sensation by hitting drivers off his knees and chipping in from a variety of gorse bushes.

Would Seve use a TrackMan?
In his autobiography Seve wrote: “My swing was all hands and brain, everything natural, my hands followed orders dictated by my brain. This allowed me to create shots, and artfulness and intuition stood out as my great virtues. This enabled new to connect with spectators and my charisma drew a following wherever I went.”
Please let the answer be no.

Would Seve be one of today’s big hitters?
Even back in the 80s Seve would average around 285 yards off the tee and would be up in the top handful of players for driving distance. In his early days he was long AND straight as opposed to the general assumptions of his latter-day crookedness.
“The driver was always one of my best clubs. I was a very powerful golfer; good proof of this are the driving competitions I won in the 1970s and 1980s. At a time when players didn’t pay the attention they do now to building themselves up physically, my natural physique gave me a considerable advantage.”
Throw in the modern ball, driver, biomechanics and Seve’s moves he’d be a phenomenal driver of the ball.

Would Seve be plastered in logos?
The rose-tinted answer is no though there’s enough to suggest otherwise. Seve supposedly liked money and didn’t like spending it. There’s a good story about the 1986 Masters, the one where he dunked it in the water at 15 when Jack Nicklaus won, and Seve appeared on the 1st tee on Sunday with a different look.
On his visor he had not one but two Nike logos which was a good effort given it was a Masters visor. Knowing he would be getting plenty of air time Seve cut out the logos from two of his Nike shirts and glued them over the top of the Augusta one.
Though that’s not to be said he would have every inch of his chassis plastered in finance companies.