Ernie Els
Ernie Els
Theodore Ernest "Ernie" Elsis a South African professional golfer. A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his 71 career victories are four major championships: the U.S. Open in 1994 at Oakmont and in 1997 at Congressional, and The Open Championship in 2002 at Muirfield and in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St Annes. He is one of six golfers to twice win...
NationalitySouth African
ProfessionAthlete
club couple maybe next thinking trying utility weeks work
I was thinking about that, trying to maybe work on a utility club the next couple of weeks to use it at Augusta.
ball bit flatter game hard hitting last plane steep trying worked
I worked really hard on my long game the last two week, especially last week. I'm working on a bit of a flatter plane through the ball. I got a little bit steep on the ball so I'm trying to flatten it out a little bit through the hitting area.
biggest dig ground hitting pinch ripping trying
The biggest mistake is trying to pinch down on the ball and ripping out a big divot, often hitting the ground before the ball. You'll dig up some turf, but you won't create much backspin.
avoid ball club dry flyer hit loft open percent shots sitting swing top trying unless
Because of the grass and open face, I take one more club for shots from the rough, unless the ball is sitting on top of dry grass. Then, I use more loft and swing softer, trying to hit it about 70 percent to avoid a flyer over the green.
avoid puts spin tee tricky trying
Spin is a tricky thing. When you're trying to avoid it - say, on a tee shot, where sidespin puts you in the trees - it's easy to make it happen.
concern helped hit talking tiger trying
Exactly. That's where Jos really helped me a lot. I've got to hit my shots. I have to play my game. We weren't even talking about Tiger ever -- or any other player, for that matter. Jos was just trying to brainwash me and get me to go from A to B. And that's all I must concern myself about.
bad gotten habits hard knee obviously protect trying work
The knee has been very good. I've obviously had to really work hard on little bad habits I got into because of trying to protect the knee a little bit. I think I've gotten over that.
cut iron streak trying
I'm not trying to keep the cut streak alive, I was trying to get back in the tournament. My iron play let me down a little bit.
cut gives half simply streak trying weekend
I'm not trying to keep my cut streak alive. I'm simply trying to get back into the tournament. Making it to the weekend gives you half a chance.
believe trying bother
If you don't believe you can make every putt, why bother trying?
athletic club good posture
When I stay athletic with good posture and get the club away in a good position, I get through it better.
coming penalty rough
The rough is pretty thick. It's a half-shot penalty coming out of there.
america asia game helped playing won
I've won tournaments in Europe, Asia and America and I think playing around the world has really helped me game playing in different conditions, not just one-dimensional golf.
ball fine overly tried
I've tried to play the way you play in Opens, which is to get the ball in play, not be too overly aggressive, and play away from the flags. But there's a fine line. You need to be careful, but you can't play defensive.