GREENSBORO (N.C.) — Could Billy Horschel’s irons have contributed to his poor performance this season
Horschel has had a tough season. He only managed two top-10 finishes this year and entered the week ranked No. The FedEx Cup points standings for the entire season show Horschel at No. 116.
Horschel’s game, which was at its lowest point in June when he shot an opening round 84 at Muirfield Village, while defending his Memorial title, has improved dramatically since then. His 8-under 62, his career-low on the PGA Tour, on Friday is a testament to this. Horschel, when asked to explain his improvement, cited the fact that on the Tuesday before the U.S. Open he realized that his Titleist irons had lie angles that were 2-3 degrees too upright.
He said that his numbers may have been a bit off because he switched manufacturers (from PXG to himself) and was on his own.
Horschel credits Michael Neff with working on the Gears 3D system (Golf Evaluation and Research System), an optical motion tracking system that measures and analyzes every aspect of sports-specific skills in3D.
Horschel stated that “that made a huge difference”.
Horschel quickly said that nobody was at fault but he dug up a spreadsheet he had from his time with Ping, and confirmed the numbers didn’t match what he used with his current set.
He said, “It was causing my cut to be less than what I wanted to achieve.” “It gave me confidence that what Todd (Anderson, the coach) and I were doing with our swings was right.
He said, “We just recently realized that the wider and shorter the club is the better it stays in front of me.” “Getting back to what we did in ’13 and ’14, and a bit more of it now. The club is a bit too sloppy. “The simple thing to do is keep the club wider and further out from me during the backswing. This allows it to be farther out on the downswing for me to hit my cut more easily.”
Horschel’s six consecutive rounds under par are proof enough. He said it was something he hadn’t done in a long time. Horschel finished T-13 last week at the 3M Open.
