Tyrrell Hatton’s Confidential Guide to Some F%@king Golf Courses

There could be a concern about reaching “bad tempered elf who cried wolf” levels, but overall, Tyrrell Hatton should be considered a treasured contributor to the golf discourse. I would include his thoughts on golf courses, golf holes, setup and conditioning, and architecture in general. We need to hear a wide range of views, opinions, contrarianism, and even outrage. You may not agree with his thoughts, but exposure to them, even if wrong or ill-conceived, is edifying. Understanding what’s bad helps you better identify what’s good. It’s also entertaining as hell.

I’ll give Hatton further credit for coming by his opinions honestly. This isn’t some Skip Bayless stir-the-pot act for engagement or attention. Tyrrell is pissed and has some real thoughts, however emotional, he wants to be made known. Those takes are arrived at genuinely.

So with the DP World Tour’s return to the Yas Links for this week’s Abu Dhabi Championship, where Tyrrell kicked off a busy 2022 of course reviews, I thought I’d revisit some of his course criticism from the past year.

The Yas Links

Perhaps the most explosive and vehement critique came at Tyrrell’s first event of the year, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The Yas Links was a new venue for an event that was 17 years old at that point.

The Kyle Philips design debuted on the DP World Tour in some especially windy and tough conditions that confounded the players and forced the Tour to play it cautious with some of the green speeds. It was a fascinating test of a coffee golf to watch for a mid-January event.

But change often breeds contempt for professional golfers, who were and are still getting used to this new course on tour. Hatton rarely lets that contempt go unsaid and he seemed most perturbed by the beast par-5 18th hole.

On Saturday, he really let it rip:

“It must be one of the worst par 5s that I’ve ever seen in my life and, over the last two days, I’ve clearly played it about as well as it was designed. What’s wrong with it? Where do you start? It shouldn’t have a bunker in the middle of the fairway, and it shouldn’t be over 600 yards from a forward tee. If you hit a good drive as a pro you should have at least a chance to go for the green in two, otherwise the hole becomes a par 3 and that’s if you play it well.”

To leave no doubt, he came back a day later and decided to not be that guy just moaning about problems while offering no solutions or fixes:

“I would love for a bomb to drop on it and blow it up to oblivion to be honest. It’s just such a terrible finishing hole. And the fact that they moved the tee back today is ridiculous. I hit a really good tee shot and still got 290 front. I could peg-up driver up and still not get there. It would be a much better finishing hole if you’re actually rewarded for hitting the fairway, which as it stands, you’re not. I’m obviously not a fan.”

Hmm, are we sure about that? I think I need to hear more testimony.

“If we’re coming back here next year, it would be nice if they redesigned it. But I think that’s a bit of an ask. Perhaps I may not be back.”

Hatton will be off the first tee on Thursday at 11:45 local and could be hitting his favorite finishing hole as many Americans on the east coast wake up to pour their coffee.

Augusta National Golf Club

Another place he was unsure about coming back to, though this time maybe not by his own choice, was Augusta National. Criticism of the undisputed grand dame of pro tour stops is sacrosanct, at least from high-profile commentators and pros looking to be invited again. It just does not happen very often, at least on the record and so out loud but rather in whispers or away from public view.

Tyrrell’s scorn does not discriminate. It was a particularly rough weekend at the Masters. He was seen mimicking putting repeated bullets into various areas around the 13th green and also being comforted by the equally tempestuous Billy Horschel, who had his own flare-up at ANGC in 2021.

Forgive me but I couldn’t resist seeing how Tyrrell Hatton reacted to his 8 at 13 yesterday. This was after shot 6. Have the anger management classes paid off? pic.twitter.com/Rw8JgENgWi

— Dave Tindall (@DaveTindallgolf) April 10, 2022

There’s no such thing as a cooldown after getting off the course, and Tyrrell let it fly in a way typically reserved for the other three majors.

“You can hit good shots here and not get any reward for it. It’s unfair at times. I don’t agree with that.”

He won’t be asking to defund the fair police.

“If you hit a good shot, you should end up near the hole. Not then short-sided into a bunker because of the slopes that they’ve created and stuff. Yeah, I don’t think it’s a fair test at times, and when you hit good shots and you’re not rewarded for it, it shows. I think it’s how the course is set up in general. You don’t really have to miss a shot, and your next one you’ll have — you’re really struggling to make par. With how it runs off the greens here and the slopes that you are then chipping into and how obviously it’s cut, it just makes it really hard to even get chip shots close. I think everything is exaggerated here.”

Whew … it sure sounds like he’s saying it’s tricked up without saying it’s tricked up!

“Yeah. I haven’t enjoyed it…When you are clearly bottom of the field during the weekend, even if I feel like I’ve hit good shots out there, I’ve not been rewarded for them, so it’s a case of just losing a bit of interest. Certainly with the scores I had going, I’m kind of just — it’s not even trying to build on anything for next week. I’m just trying to ideally get off the golf course as fast as possible.”

I know of at least one curmudgeonly golf writer who had a similar thought when he got the opportunity to play Augusta National, but few others of this mindset.

“I’m glad it’s over. I think that’s a pretty good way to sum it up. Obviously, disappointed, but I just never do well here. This course doesn’t really suit my eye, to be honest, so, yeah, it’s just one of those weeks that I feel like if I come back in the future, it’s just a case of trying to get through the best that I can.”

Hatton is qualified for this year’s Masters by being in the top 50 of the OWGR at the end of 2022. It is unconfirmed whether he received and/or will accept an invitation, but we’ll plan to see him on the first tee on Thursday, April 6.

The PGA Championship at Southern Hills

Hatton made a valiant early bid at the grand slam, following up his comments about Augusta with more fury on the PGA setup at Southern Hills.

The diminutive Brit started well enough, shooting 70 and then a 2-under 68, but he was not pleased. There were some windy conditions in the early rounds at Southern Hills, prompting the PGA to keep the green speeds in check. He was asked if he gained an advantage given his favorable side of the draw.

“I wouldn’t say it’s an advantage. I mean, we’re playing a major championship, not a monthly medal. You know, they’re bubbling all over the place. It’s so hard to hole putts. So you can hit a great putt and they just don’t look like going in, which is hard to accept when we’re playing in a major championship. From my point of view obviously I hope that the greens are nicer over the weekend.”

This seems to be more of a setup issue than an outright critique of the Maxwell gem, though he did have some concerns about the layout earlier in the week. Had the greens been sped up or kept faster than what they were at on those slopes in a windy first couple days, Hatton may not have been appeased, given his pre-complaint about pace of play before the championship started.

“If they don’t set the course up in a way that — the rounds could be just stupidly slow, which at the end of the day no one wants. You want to get around in a reasonable time. Hopefully they’re fairly smart with how they do that.”

This needle was not thread, in his estimation, and we got a monthly medal.

St. George’s Golf and Country Club

From the Middle East to the USA, from majors to regular tour stops, Tyrrell lobbed golf course architecture takes in 2022. He brought them north of the border to the Canadian Open, which was held at St. George’s. The restored Stanley Thompson course was called “the best course in Canada” by Canadian architect Ian Andrew.

It’s a place with some pedigree and status in that country, but that’s never mattered to Hatton. Here he let his feelings be known on a particular par-5, the 15th hole, which Tom Doak called the most memorable and intimidating hole on the course. Hatton called it awful, but the course commentary did come with his usual self-flagellation — again, he’s making an honest effort at these critiques!

There isn’t a golf course in North America that is up to Tyrrell Hatton’s standards. pic.twitter.com/StYoktKUQ8

— Brain Phillips (@HatinAssBrian) June 10, 2022

As the tweeter Brian Phillips here noted in the subsequent thread, Hatton did seem to be struggling with a left miss all day, and that had left him in a blind and less-than-acceptable spot for his standards.

***

Hatton missed only two cuts in 24 starts last year and contended early in a couple majors. But his overall assessment of the season was not kind. “There was a few good events at the start of the year I guess, but then I guess after Bay Hill, it’s been pretty boring,” he said at the year-closing DP World Tour Championship. “Nothing to get excited about to be honest.” Yet he did seem pretty excitable all year, especially by the courses he encountered. Here’s hoping for another fruitful year of golf course architecture and setup commentary.