We are All Danny Willett – Just Without the Green Jacket

One would think after winning the Masters in April of this year, all would be fine with Danny Willett.

But, alas.

Well this game is really kicking me in the nuts at the minute!! If it's not one thing it's another.. Haha.. #grinditout #TurkishAirlinesOpen

— Danny Willett (@Danny_Willett) November 4, 2016

Instead, the Englishman seems to been infected with a bit of self-doubt.

“It just comes and goes, couple of good days and couple of bad days.” Willett said of his inconsistent swing.

“To be honest I don’t really want to be out there playing golf.”

Since his Major victory, Willett has seen just two, top-ten finishes, finishing 3rd at the BMW Championship and and 2nd in the Italian Open. This past Sunday he walked off the course after shooting a dismal 75, tied for 68th place.

In his defense, he is in the middle of major swing change. But aren’t we all.

As so many of us know, during a swing change you can often find it on the range, but have a hard time trusting it on the golf course.

In Willett’s case, he’s been unable to find it completely on the range; to the extent that he was contemplating skipping the Nedbank Challenge, the second leg of The Final Series, in which he is currently in second place.

“It couldn’t happen at a worse time,” Willett remarked. “Things are just not going our way, nothing feels that great.”

The question that always comes about whenever a professional golfer changes his swing is “why?” Why fix what essentially isn’t broken? He was having success, including a Major, with the swing he had, why change?

But the answer, as many of us can attest to, is that there is always better. Therein lies both the beauty and maddening thing about the game of golf.

You can be a weekend warrior that flirts with shooting in the mid-80s or a professional golfer who is disappointed with a score in the low 70s. There is always better. I cannot tell you how many times and for how long I’ve been tweaking my golf swing.

It’s basically been since forever.

And while at first the returns of those swing changes were immediate, as I’ve continued to improve, it has taken longer for recent changes to truly pay-off. Finally, towards the end of this season, I’m starting to reap some of my own swing-change benefits. I’ve also decided to quit messing with it for a while. Of course, it’s also November in Chicago. So I’m kind of forced to leave my swing alone for a few months.

At any rate, this is what Willett is currently experiencing. The struggle before the reward. It takes patience and commitment.

It will be interesting to see if he can persevere and return to defend his green jacket come April.

Cover Photo via YouTube