Corey Pavin

[bens197]

One of my first memories of watching golf as a kid was Corey's approach to 18 in the ‘95 Open. A 4-wood with 209 to the front and adrenaline pumping.

 

He made it to my hometown Rochester for the ‘95 Ryder Cup and played some great golf during the weekend.

 

I am still fascinated by a 5'9” 140# guy competing with balata golf balls and stainless Woods.

 

I didn't really have a point to make, just reflecting. My dad and I always loved watching Pavin...he was cool as ice.

[JTexGolfer]

I was just picking up the game around this time and remember the same shot you mentioned as that was the fisrt US Open I watched on TV! I always admired Corey and his bulldog nature on the golf course. He was far from the most talented or athletically gifted, but he sure made a heck of a career out of what he had! 

[bens197]

I was just picking up the game around this time and remember the same shot you mentioned as that was the fisrt US Open I watched on TV! I always admired Corey and his bulldog nature on the golf course. He was far from the most talented or athletically gifted, but he sure made a heck of a career out of what he had!

He had his swing and he made it work for him!

 

 

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[russtopherb]

Interesting he comes up now, I was reading the article about the Cleveland VAS irons he won with just yesterday. Those things were certainly unique, but he obviously made them work.

[downlowkey]

One of my first memories of watching golf as a kid was Corey's approach to 18 in the ‘95 Open. A 4-wood with 209 to the front and adrenaline pumping.

 

He made it to my hometown Rochester for the ‘95 Ryder Cup and played some great golf during the weekend.

 

I am still fascinated by a 5'9” 140# guy competing with balata golf balls and stainless Woods.

 

I didn't really have a point to make, just reflecting. My dad and I always loved watching Pavin...he was cool as ice.

 

I remember watching Sunday coverage with Pops. He was rooting on Pavin; while 15 yr old downlowkey was naively pulling for Greg Norman (my circa '95 golfing hero).

 

Me: "There's no way Pavin makes par on #18 coming in with a 4 wood"

Pops: "Oh yes he will"

Me: "No chance"

Pops: "If he doesn't make par I'll give you $10 - if he does, you wash my truck"

Me: "Deal"

 

a few moments pass...

 

Pops: "You know where we keep the bucket... don't forget the roof"

 

I've been a big Corey Pavin fan ever since. Rrrrrrrespect!

[StrokerAce]

I wanted a set of those VAS irons sooooo bad.

 

absolutely LOVE how he ran up to see the result.... 

 

 

[bens197]

I remember watching Sunday coverage with Pops. He was rooting on Pavin; while 15 yr old downlowkey was naively pulling for Greg Norman (my circa '95 golfing hero).

 

Me: "There's no way Pavin makes par on #18 coming in with a 4 wood"

Pops: "Oh yes he will"

Me: "No chance"

Pops: "If he doesn't make par I'll give you $10 - if he does, you wash my truck"

Me: "Deal"

 

a few moments pass...

 

Pops: "You know where we keep the bucket... don't forget the roof"

 

I've been a big Corey Pavin fan ever since. Rrrrrrrespect!

Love that story.

 

 

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[deejaid]

Interesting he comes up now, I was reading the article about the Cleveland VAS irons he won with just yesterday. Those things were certainly unique, but he obviously made them work.

Mustache and Cleveland Vas(ectomy) Irons are the first two things I think of when I think of Corey Pavin.

 

I remember when those irons came out, they were so different, just very strange looking but also looked purposeful. It really seemed like they were engineered to perform, while every other cavity back club was really just a Eye 2 copy.

 

But no one I know played those. I remember a guy at the pro shop calling them the Cleveland Vasectomy Irons and my buddies and I having a laugh at that. No way we were gonna play those after that.

 

 

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[StrokerAce]

Pavin's game from junior golf on through the decades was relatively short carry, low trajectory straight tee shots, accurate iron play, steady wedge game, and a consistent, some times red hot, putting game.

There is no reason a player with a style of game similar to Pavin's can't emerge to win Tour events. I hope to see it happen because these days too much golf talk and media hype is about "distance" .

Sounds like how Zach Johnson won the Masters...

 

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[revkev]

Of course - short hitter - is relative. Greg Maddox didn't through very hard either - for an MLB all star.

 

Have you seen an 88 mph fastball live? It's faster than it looks like on TV and it hurts when it hits you or if you catch it wrong. I've done both.

 

I saw Pavin play live enough to know that he was longer than you think just not very long compared to the guys he played against.

 

Norman has 7 iron where Pavin had 4 wood in that day. The hole has been lengthened 20 yards and unless there's a strong wind the entire field will have less than 7 iron in.

 

I enjoyed Corey's win - I was there for Ray Floyd's win in ‘86.

 

 

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[Gg Owen]

He was sneaky long at that time.Just like many pros that focus more on accuracy vs distance.He could easily squeak out 20 plus yards if needed.Still long enough to reach most par 5's in two during that era

[revkev]

Good comparison. Zach's style of play is very similar to Pavin's.

Before them , through the 70's and 80's, John Mahaffey had a successful Tour career with a style of play similar to Pavin. Mahaffey was very focused on hitting fairways off the tee, he developed his swing for accuracy, not distance. Calvin Peete played that style as well.

So did Larry Nelson - hit the fairway, hit the green and if the putts drop, get the trophy - if not try again next week - at least no one was shooting at him.

 

 

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[Gg Owen]

Larry Nelson may have had the most simple efficient game and swing in golf history.

[Peaksy68]

Pavin is one of the best examples of a sportsman knowing his game and owning it, despite it not being necessarily pretty to watch.

 

I love the fact he just did what he did and ignored the noise around him.

 

 

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[Nunfa0]

I was always a big Greg Norman fan but I was absolutely delighted for Corey when he finally won a major. He had been so close for so long and had always been such a great competitor.

[nixlix26]

Good read for an interview with Corey's long time caddy. Talks about VAS, woman, and how he got started with Corey and choosing that 4 wood. http://www.golfconversations.com/2011/11/eric-schwarz-corey-pavins-caddy/

 

 

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[Siamese Moose]

I am the same height, weight, and age as Corey Pavin. At the time he won his Open I was hitting my clubs the same distance as he did (I've fallen behind since, but Corey hasn't had two back surgeries). He was my "cold slap in the face" that I didn't need to hit it farther to get better, I needed to hit it better to get better. While I'd still love to hit it farther, I know that's not what's going to lower my handicap.

[revkev]

Hitting it farther is huge but there is such a thing as far enough. The average distance on the LPGA is 245 - that's certainly far enough to get to scratch or better. Our two LPGA players are a plus 3 and a plus 2 handicap at our course playing from 7200 yards. Not surprisingly both are above average distance wise - one is longer than lots of guys on the PGA tour - she's actually longer than Nicklaus or Norman in their prime - think about that for a moment.

 

While speed kills today I do miss the day when there was a far greater variety to guys games. You could win hitting it 250 - Corey Pavin, Larry Nelson or 280 plus Greg Norman, John Daly.

 

That's all gone now - too bad - I've learned to live with it.

 

I'm hoping to get back up to 230 plus off the tee - do that and I can get close to scratch from the tees that I'm expected to play from because it's long enough.

 

 

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