Charley Hull weighs in on the style of the modern game: 'I wouldn't really watch golf now'

USA Today

5 days ago

Growing up, Charley Hull didn't watch much women's golf. The one women's event she attended was the Weetabix Women's British Open at age 9. She'd never heard of the Solheim Cup until she was named to the junior team.
Her golf heroes: Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros.
Hull's father, Dave, had her watching Ballesteros' short game DVDs as a kid, and she grew up loving the old ways.
"I wish golf was like that because I think it was way more interesting back then rather than these days, it's all about how far you hit the golf ball," said Hull back in May at the AIG Women's British Open preview day.
"Back then, it was all about how to shape the shot and create all the shots and everything and play blades and all that. I think golf was 10 times more interesting."
Hull was asked if she would've won more on the LPGA if everyone had to play blades.
"Yeah, I reckon so, 100 percent," she said.
Fast forward to this week's pre-tournament presser at the AIG Women's British Open at Royal Porthcawl and the conversation once again shifted to the ancient game, where Hull revealed that 20 years ago, she and her coach, Kevin Theobald, actually made a hickory-shafted club, "like when you grind it, varnish it, sand it, everything, we done it and went out with played with it, and that was pretty cool."
Hull went on to say that up until the 2000s, golf was more of an art.
"The players, even the men, would have to hit draws and fades and stuff it in, where I think now it's become more of a power game and where it's become – the technology has advanced so much everyone can just hit it straight and far, and it's kind of taking the art away from it," said Hull.
"Whenever I watch golf, I watch Shell's Wonderful World of Golf and all that lot, like who won the British Open in the 1970s and that, I find it way more interesting back then. Like I wouldn't really watch golf now, really."