The golf trainer discusses McIlroy’s elbow injury, touched on the physical transformation of DeChambeau, and gives us his two picks to win this year’s Masters.
Ahead of the start of The Masters this week, golf strength and conditioning expert Rob Hobkinson lifts the lid on the preparation that goes into taking on one of the toughest courses in the game.
Amid rumours that Rory McIlroy – who is / in the latest Masters betting markets – may have gone under the knife to tackle an elbow injury, Hobkinson gave his view on the condition of the Northern Irishman going into a tournament that could see him finally land the Grand Slam.
He also touched on the physical transformation of Bryson DeChambeau, how Scottie Scheffler has recovered from getting glass in his hand, and what he would do to put Tiger Woods back together after his ongoing injury issues.
You work with Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard, the first twins in Masters history to play in the same tournament. How good are they?
They are 24 years old and have already made history several times, not just as twins, not just as brothers but as individuals too. It is really exciting to see what the next 20 years hold for them.
Aside from their talent, they’re great guys and very good to work with. It’s a big deal for me to work with good people who are committed and passionate about their game.
They’re 24 years old now. I think back to when I was 24 and they are leagues ahead of what I was like at that age. They’re extremely mature, obviously highly competitive and, as I said, really talented golfers.
People like Thomas Bjorn have been a big factor in the success of Danish golf in the past couple of decades. It is great to see how close the Danish golfers all are, and how they support each other.
When in Europe it is common to see them together as a group, together for dinner, both the young players and those with much more experience. The more experienced guys really help inspire the young Danish golfers. Success breeds interest and passion and that breeds more success. It is like wildfire.
With Viktor Hovland of Norway, Alexander Bjork, Ludwig Aberg and numerous other Swedes down the years, what is it about the amount of Scandinavian talent in golf?
Guys like that really inspire others, and that is what they are seeing in the Nordic countries – an influx of juniors and a lot of national support and the success will grow.
Thanks to people like Thomas Bjorn paving the way, there are now a lot of talented guys from that region, which is so brilliant to see. There is such a vibe around them.
It is interesting, as when you think about the climate there and the sport of golf – it is not the most enjoyable to play when it is freezing but the passion is strong despite that. I don’t know if it is something relating to the type of people who hail from Scandinavia – I often note that while they can be very social there is a strong focus on independence and a real value placed on personal space. I often wonder if that makes golf even more appealing in these regions, as for many of us in Britain!
Was it Thomas Bjørn who inspired the twins?
Thomas has definitely had a big impact on them, and while they weren’t born until the early 2000s, they have spent a lot of time watching Tiger on YouTube. These boys know so much about the history of golf, from Tiger’s era and the other greats. It’s incredible, and it’s really interesting to see because when I was playing golf, we never got to see golf on TV – except maybe the back nine of The Masters on Sunday. Sometimes you’d see The Open but you wouldn’t really see the live televised tournaments, so there was nothing to really hype you up, even though for me Nick Faldo was a hero as a junior. Now younger golfers can study the greats from down the years and see the greats of now live on social media.
What particular demands does Augusta place on a player in terms of their preparation?
A lot of people talk about how much the gradient changes on the course, and it is surprising how downhill the walk is from the 10th tee to the 12th green and then you gradually work your way back up to when you’re coming up 18.
Augusta National is now a long course but the majority of the field are used to playing long courses therefore I don’t feel there is concern from a physical performance perspective when compared to other venues. Obviously, some of the older past winners in the field may feel a bit more fatigued than they had done in the earlier years, but their competitive juices will help them get round.
As with all events, we will monitor weather conditions and adapt accordingly. While routine from one event to the next is imperative from a physical preparation perspective, time spent during practice rounds at Augusta National are valuable. Therefore, when there are weather delays, or even this Monday, virtually the whole day was cancelled due to heavy rain, we then have to change our daily schedule differently. More specifically, training routines will be adjusted to allow for more time on-course preparation and also recovery time at the end of the day.
How have golfers changed to become proper athletes in recent decades as the game has shifted?
It has changed significantly. They really are athletes now. I would say it really ramped up a couple of years prior to COVID, even more since we came out of COVID. In the past, when we get to an event, we obviously went to the gym to do a warm-up or training session. Typically, before COVID, you would easily be able to train because they’d not be so many players about. Nowadays the gym spaces are really in demand and it is busy – especially around the tee times and end of play. That’s not necessarily to say that is following extensive programmes, but everyone is in there doing something. This is also something that nobody sees, which I find interesting – there was a little bit on Netflix now with Full Swing, but not a big focus. Yet a lot of time is spent there.
If you were to see them, and not all may be in the prime of their life or the most physically conditioned, like Rory for instance, you would be surprised that they can do what they do in the gym.
If you didn’t know anything about golf, some of them could easily look like a guy that works in an office if you walk past them in the street. But then you see them in the gym and recognise they are doing some really good work. But I think it is important to also recognise that the training is a means to an end, the golf is what matters, but each player ought to have a reason for being in the gym. That might be doing some corrective rehab work, maybe something to some longevity and for many, to help support developing clubhead speed.
Can players overdo it in the gym to affect their swing and performance?
They can for sure, but it is relatively easy to avoid it. Overdoing it generally is a time and training frequency problem. It typically comes from either rushing into a programme with gusto but then the body responding with extreme muscle soreness and subsequently a sense of stiffness that impacts the awareness of a reduced body turn. Another factor is trying to focus on too many training goals too soon and therefore becomes an overload issue whereby the body does not get the time to recover fully for the next session. This can be demoralising when the golfer had initially the best intentions. A large part of my role is in the monitoring of training load which simply is how often and how hard are we training session-to-session, week-to-week and recovery time. If golfers are complaining of more niggles, difficulty sleeping, the sense of getting weaker, they are demonstrating strong signs of overdoing or overloading themselves. Their training must help, not hinder their golf.
Did Bryson overdo it, do you think?
In professional golf, we have to be looking at developing ourselves. But there comes a risk related to pushing hard. However, Bryson won his first major during his initial physical development programme. The methods he used were different from what the general golfing population, and for most of the elite professional population were used to seeing. But he seemed to use the Covid period as a platform to develop himself, certainly during that first lockdown. How impressive is that, to decide to give that a try? He immersed himself into training, increased his body weight significantly and went out determined to hit the ball harder than he ever has done before. He has had some injuries since, but it is hard to say with certainty that these can be related to overdoing it. Conversely, people can injure themselves when they are in poor condition.
Bryson was obviously trying to drive as far as possible, and that attracted a lot of attention. Rory, despite already being one of the best drivers of a golf ball, has commented on feeling he went down the path of chasing more clubhead speed and felt it impacted him negatively.
Bryson has really tried to seek out what can he do in every part of his game and uses multiple platforms to demonstrate that to the public and I feel that has to be good for the growth of the game.
What are your thoughts on these rumours about Rory McIlroy’s elbow injury?
Rory is super consistent with how he trains, and he and the people around him will have it all under control. It is more about understanding the tolerance of the problem. With any injury, there’s a huge variance in symptoms. You may have noticed from time to time, Rory has some tape over the area in question. Therefore, this seems to be a chronic problem that is going through an acute period of irritability. It is very likely he is used to these exacerbations and understands how to manage it appropriately.
These kinds of issues can in some cases be debilitating to the point where lifting anything up, your grip strength vanishes. But at the other end of the spectrum, you can play a full round of golf with no pain.
Remember that Rory has been playing great this year. He has won two great events. And typically with this type of problem, you have to strike a balance of work and rest depending on its severity. There were suggestions that he may have had a little bit of surgery but I don’t know. There may be some calcification in the tendon and that might need to be removed, but I haven’t heard of any kind of surgical intervention.
Sometimes people would opt for a corticosteroid injection around that area. That’s always one of those latter stage options if it’s really getting sore but that still only plays a small part in a typical treatment plan. In professional sport 30 years ago they’d be quicker to go to injection. We’re more careful with that decision making process now.
How has Scottie Scheffler responded to his own injury?
In the way you would expect him to respond, calmly. When he suffered that injury he pushed his schedule back a few times to ensure that he felt ready to come back and then not have to take more time off because he came back too early. It is so easy to become impatient with how long healing can take. In reality, the body can heal really well if you allow it time. Unfortunately, the golf schedule doesn’t wait for anyone. But obviously, Scottie backed himself to perform once he was ready to return to play.
How would you rebuild Tiger Woods given his ongoing injury issues?
Managing niggles and getting them to resolve in good time is part of the job. But with Tiger, we aren’t talking about niggles. We are talking about a back catalogue of injuries. Prior to his car crash, he had undergone multiple surgeries. I believe his first surgery was in his knee before he turned pro. Whilst surgical intervention is often called for, there is always work to be done afterwards. And since then, he has had multiple knee surgeries. Followed by multiple spinal surgeries. And this is whilst Tiger is getting older and still playing a busy schedule of tournament golf. Even managing to win the Masters in 2019 – unbelievable. What a message that sends out to people struggling with injuries that are stopping them doing what they love.
It would be unfair to state how I would rebuild Tiger because I don’t think anyone has a clear understanding of what he has been through, physically and emotionally. Furthermore, the science, and art of helping people through injury is so complex, it goes way beyond a big statement of how I would rebuild him. I cannot begin to describe how much work must go into deciding the best course of action, planning an appropriate treatment strategy and rehabilitation plan. And this is one of the best sports persons we have ever seen who currently cannot play golf no matter how determined he is.
I was 19 years old when Tiger won the Masters. I’m glad I didn’t know then what has happened to Tiger now, because he has brought so much entertainment, astonishment and wonder to me and countless others, that I can only feel glad I’ve been around when he did what he has achieved.
You would probably be starting from the ground up, getting that Achilles good, and whilst you’re doing that, you’re never just going to focus on one at a time, but you are going to start looking at everything else. His trunk, his hip, his shoulders. Whilst we’re doing the other stuff around the foot, you’re thinking like the Formula One engineers and mechanics around the car in the garage.
That’s what I feel we’re doing. These guys, when they’ve got an injury, it’s just like a challenge of trying to hit a great driver off the tee. They’ll just face up to it and see it as a challenge, crack on. But for Tiger, it would be wow. There’d be some work to do.
What do you think could have gone wrong for Tiger in his treatment of injuries and his rehab?
It’s impossible to say without all the information. Typically though, with many injuries in professional sport, it is a case of trying too hard to get the player quickly back on the field, course, court or pitch. And in professional sport, the competitive mentality can be a help but also a hindrance, to how an injured athlete returns to play.
Tiger will have seen many health professionals for opinions on the best approach to resolve his injuries; but that is all it is – an opinion. Is surgery the best course of action? How invasive is it? What is the recovery time, and how do we define that recovery period? When can golf start again – chip shots or full tournament play? All very complex questions and at the heart of it, hopefully, is a health professional doing their job and trying to provide the best advice and care possible. The work really starts if surgery is chosen as the best course of action and it starts with being patient. But being patient needs support and help frequently from others to avoid isolation and demotivation. Putting a time on how long it is going to take is very difficult because it is a multi-faceted and complex puzzle. This is made even harder when you have a living legend of the game desperate to get back out competing.
Is it a case of limiting how much he plays once he returns and picking his tournaments carefully?
It seemed prior to the Achilles tendon going, that’s what it seemed to be like, wasn’t it?
He was very protective of what his schedule would be. We don’t take into account often enough the total impact on the body with an injury, both physical and mental. The problem will now always be, and probably has been for a few years at least, is the balance of age and impact on recovery time alongside the ability to perform the work required to maintain a level of physical performance, both from a rehabilitation standpoint and golf skill perspective
Will golf move on from Tiger given the level we now see?
Unfortunately, I feel the whole of the golfing world has already begun to move on without Tiger. And there won’t be many people that doesn’t find that really sad; despite what he’s given us – we want more of his magic, we don’t want it to vanish, but it has faded quickly and it is something seemingly out of his control. The payoff I hope now for him is the time he gets to spend with his kids.
However, we have not seen the level that Tiger played at yet. Maybe I won’t see it in my lifetime, Scottie might prove otherwise – that would be cool. But the strength of fields now makes it so hard to be able to have a win rate for as long as Tiger did. What we don’t fully appreciate perhaps is the standard we are now seeing was born from watching Tiger. The way the golfers play the game is because of Tiger. So therefore, the game has already evolved because of Tiger, but ironically, at the same time his performance declined.
Who stands out among the professionals right now for their conditioning and preparation?
Aside from my guys where we are working on setting a particular gold standard for their physical performance goals, I feel there are less than you might think and tend to not train at a level that is likely to stimulate an adaptation; such as local or global strength development in the body. But I feel the ones to recognise are the guys that are consistently using methods underpinned by evidence-based strength and conditioning methods. This helps the golfer separate physical output (resistance training to improve a physical characteristic) and golf skill acquisition (technical aspect from golf coaching). There are still golfers performing movements that simulate a golf swing in the gym, and this is not normally recognised as the lowest hanging fruit when recruiting strength and conditioning strategies to support the performance of a golfer.
What about Rory though?
Rory is clearly a great example of being super disciplined. When he goes into the gym, he does not waste time. Given how busy he appears to be off the course, it is impressive how he manages his overall workload but still manages to win events.
He’s a sportsman and a figurehead for the PGA Tour and a businessman and yet when he goes into the gym, it is as if that’s all he is doing, and that is a super example.
When Rory trains, it is with intensity and focus. It’s a shame aspiring tour golfers don’t get to see it.
What’s missing from Tyrrell Hatton to get him winning the Majors?
Only Tyrell can answer that. I think before he signed for Liv Golf, he was one of the most underrated golfers on Tour. I don’t actively follow the results on that tour so I have no idea how he’s getting on. But, quite simply, his results speak for themselves. Adam Scott has won around the world, played 94 consecutive majors and only managed to win one, so far. It is hard and I am sure that Tyrrell will contend in multiple majors but to win a Major, many things have to also go your way.
What’s the most challenging tournament for players?
The Majors are probably the most challenging because they are what every elite professional golfer wants to win.
Ultimately, weather conditions and course setup creates the challenge.
Some of the tournaments played in hot and humid climates can add to the challenge further due to the increased stress on the body. The flip side is then somewhere like the Alfred Dunhill Championship where the teams play three courses St. Andrews, King’s Barns, and Carnoustie with very early morning starts. You’re often freezing and soaked in rain at some point.
There isn’t a gym on site, but we do a locker room warm up and we’ll use resistance bands just to do some muscle activation exercise. But if you start getting that player to sweat a little bit, and then they’re about to step outside and it’s six degrees Celsius, when that cold air hits the skin, it can negate the goal of the warmup.
What’s the next frontier for golf?
With the methods that we use, you’re always thinking, is there a better way, a tweak and adjustment to give more?
Therefore, in the gym, we will use further statistical analysis to assess progress season to season. Artificial intelligence is aiding the development of biomechanical analysis but there is still a long way to go to make this something accurate, reliable and applicable in the real-world of professional golf, without it causing more issues than it helps. The technology is available and developing quickly, but using it in a meaningful way is lagging behind; a little bit of information is dangerous and we can jump to conclusions about the efficacy of something too soon.
From a strength and conditioning standpoint, we walk a fine line between performance development and reducing risk of injury. Some golfers aren’t using the best strategies currently from a long-term career development perspective. They’re thinking more in the short term. I am always thinking about the next 5, 10 and 15 years of my clients careers and the impact of what I am doing. Furthermore, hitting hundreds of golf balls per week with these guys is a huge stress test on the spine. Therefore, implementing strategies that positively impact spine health in golfers is an area that is expanding but for the global population of golfers could have the biggest impact on extending playing years further.
Who would you love to work with to maximise their potential?
When I first started doing this, you’d look at players and you think, ‘Oh, I’d love to work with him.’
Now I’ve got to a point where it’s not necessarily the most famous golfers or the most successful golfers. When I do my job, I want to make a difference. I want to support great talent to achieve their full potential. So to work with younger players with such talent is a real privilege and I fully respect the responsible role I have.
The guys that I work for now, they’re very young, hopefully with a long career ahead of them, and they are desperately wanting to do well. For me, that is something that I find really appealing to work with.
What’s the human limit for how far golfers will be able to drive the ball?
If we were talking to the guys from the manufacturers, I’m guessing given what they could make golf clubs do, the sky’s the limit, but then the rules have been brought in constantly to try and negate the physicality of the golfers. There just isn’t the space to extend golf courses that much. That’s why the quickest change is going to potentially be that we’re going to make the ball not go as far. That’s why there’s so much talk around reining back the golf ball. My guys will cruise between 186 to 192 mph ball speed. There is still a payoff with accuracy when dealing with such high speeds. But, there is a negative impact on the body when producing such power. Which is what I am always battling with. The guys aren’t going to be getting any weaker and they’re going to be putting essentially engine limiters on the equipment as they already have done. So it’s this conflict of rules versus the manufacturers trying to push it because hitting the ball further is really appealing.
It’s not just about how far you can hit the ball though is it?
At the Masters you’ve still got to be able to control how far the ball goes. It’s not just about hitting it as far as possible. Although the course is now really long. It’s how you control how far it goes, and that’s where Scottie is a master of controlling the distance the ball flies.
On the tour, there’s obviously a handful of big hitters now. Rasmus and Nicolai are up there. Rory can obviously absolutely launch it. He always has done.
We’re talking about the players that can get ball speed consistently over 180, 185 mph. When you’re in that zone, you’re actually in quite a small group of golfers.
Who is going to win The Masters?
In my heart, I hope it’s Rory. The head says Scottie. Those are the people to beat.
I saw Rory play with Rasmus in the Pebble Beach Pro Am. Watching him control the driver in awful conditions was a real sign that he’s just in the right place right now. He’s picked up some wins, some really good wins. But the control he had on his ball was so impressive, especially in the cross-winds.
Who are your dark horse picks?
I think it’s absolutely impossible because we know what the sport is like but when you think of someone like Ludvig, he came second last year at the Masters, and he is just super solid.
He hasn’t shown a huge amount of form this year but he’s coming back into having a knee injury which is now resolved but it’s probably taking a bit of time just to get the knives sharpened.
Viktor Hovland has had loads of written about his trials and tribulations in trying to get the golf ball around the golf course and having a nightmare and then suddenly he wins. How he’s going about things, he could be an interesting one.
His form was poor and then he went and wins the tournament and was interviewed saying that that’s not what he was expecting. Now if you’ve got the mental strength to win when playing so badly, then that is a super power when playing in The Masters.
Which other sports people have the physique that could translate to golf?
One that comes to mind, which has been really cool, is Roger Federer. He hung up his rackets, and started to play golf and I saw a video of him hitting some shots recently.
He’s basically a beginner but when you think how he moves on the court, super-efficient, he is just wired to move beautifully. He is demonstrating that as a new golfer.
He could be really interesting and obviously the time that you have to put in to get good at tennis is the same as golf. You’ve got to live on the range, and we’ve been out in Dubai and he’s still playing loads of padel tennis with his kids, and he’s practicing loads of golf, so he’s obviously been bitten by the bug.
Sport people respect how hard golf is. It’s like saying, ‘Rory, do you fancy jumping in a Red Bull car and racing in China?’ I mean he’d be immediately respectful appreciating how hard that is. What’s really good for the sport is seeing stars at Pro Ams.
If we saw Roger Federer turning up at a Pro-Am that would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it? Michael Jordan does it. Steph Curry does it. That’s amazing for the sport.