PADRAIG HARRINGTON

Pádraig Harrington makes  his 28th consecutive appearance in the Horizon Irish Open this week, and he could well be hitting the ball further than any prior outing at the age of 51.

One of Ireland’s most celebrated golfers, Harrington is a three-time Major champion and winner of the Horizon Open after coming out on top at Adare Manor in 2007, the first success by an Irishman since John O’Leary 25 years prior.

Those triumphs are fondly remembered by the Irish faithful who will flock to capture a glimpse of ‘Paddy’ this week, but he’s also making a name for himself for his astonishing distance off the tee, which has developed rapidly over the last few years.

Never renowned as a bomber during his prime, Harrington is now driving the ball farther than ever, topping the PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS’ driving stats last season with an average of 308.7 yards – more than ten yards ahead of the next longest driver on Tour.

Those numbers would have also put him inside the top 25 on the DP World Tour’s Driving Distance leaderboard last season – ahead of the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Adrian Meronk.

So, how did the two-time Champion Golfer of the Year average nearly 309 yards off the tee in 2022 at the age of 51?

“It’s complicated at one level and it’s quite simple at another level,” said Harrington in a recent chat with Me and My Golf.

“I got a launch monitor in 2003 and my top ball speed was 169mph on the old vector cameras. By 2008 I could get 190mph ball speed doing a Happy Gilmore and could do that for four hours and get faster and faster, but it wasn’t transferring to the course.

“I changed my attitude around two to three years ago – now I want my first swing to be the best, not my 150th swing. I used to peak around 70 swings in, so that’s why you see me take three vigorous practice swings out on the golf course as generally my third of fourth swing is quickest at this stage.

“The simple answer to hitting it longer is to lose some inhibitions, stop trying to hit it straight and just swing at it.”

So, how can us amateurs improve our distance off the tee?

“I say this to pretty much every amateur – you’ve got to hit at least 20 balls once a week with no interest in hitting them straight. You’ve got to be purely focused on getting the clubhead to go as fast as it can. You’re trying to get to a limit on the range that you can back off on the course.

“You’ve got to be athletic and move your feet. You should never be still, everything I do is in a beat.”

But perhaps Harrington’s biggest secret, which nobody seems to have noticed until he let the cat out of the bag, is that he has a different grip that he uses only for his driver.

“Nobody has ever noticed this and I’ve been doing it for three years,” he said.

It’s a small adjustment, but which allows him to release a little extra energy into the clubhead for more power overall.

With Harrington arriving at The K Club this week driving the ball further than ever before, you wouldn’t back against him rolling back the years and delighting the home crowds with a charge at a second triumph at the Horizon Irish Open.