Cameron Smith changed coaches for the first time since he was a junior golfer, and has seen immediate results.
The Australian parted ways with Grant Field, who was his coach since Smith was eight years old, and instead hired Claude Harmon, the son of Tiger Woods’ legendary coach, Butch.
This new partnership got off to a brilliant start, as Smith was immediately in contention at the PGA Championship just weeks later. Smith put himself in position to win the tournament on Sunday, tying the lead on the 13th hole.
Harmon has already resurrected the 2022 Open Championship winner. Smith looked like a lost man before making this move, but he’s nearing his best golf once again. Harmon said there’s one key area of Smith’s game they’ve been working on to bring on this success.
Claude Harmon reveals what he fixed in Cameron Smith’s game
Smith is known for his incredible short game, and mainly his putting which was the best in the game when he was on form. But Harmon said that in recent years, he’s been using this short game to survive rather than win.
That’s because his iron play has been so poor, and that’s what Harmon set out to fix immediately.
Speaking on his Son of a Butch podcast, Harmon explained, “We really did a lot of work on the backswing. That’s really to me been the main domino that we’re trying to fix. Because I knew if we did not let the golf club get so quickly inside, then the backswing position could get a little bit better. We could make the backswing a little bit shorter and get in a much better position.
“And we’ve seen the last month, we’ve seen Cam’s ball striking really improve. The iron striking let him down a little on the weekend at Valderrama but he actually drove it good. He was gaining in strokes gained off the tee.
“The first round of the PGA he hit one under, and hit nine fairways. He came off the course and said, ‘I can’t remember the last time I hit nine fairways with a driver. Certainly can’t remember the last time I hit nine fairways in a major championship.’
“Cam Smith’s 32 years old. He’s already a major champion, he’s already a Players champion. I believe some of his best golf is ahead of him.”
It’s incredibly impressive that he’s been able to turn Smith’s game around so quickly. But Harmon himself isn’t surprised. In fact, he predicted this turnaround.
Claude Harmon’s Cameron Smith prediction was proved immediately correct
Judging by his recent form, no one would have predicted Smith to be in the mix at the PGA Championship. Well, almost no one, as Harmon claims that he told Smith he’d be in contention weeks before.
He said, “We went to lunch, and we spoke about some of the things we were doing. And I said, ‘Listen, I think if you buy into these changes and we hone in on this, we’ll go to the LIV event in DC and go to the PGA, you’ll be on the leaderboard on Sunday at the PGA on the back nine with a chance to win. And he hit it inside 15 feet on Sunday on 13, tied for the lead.
“I just know that when you putt and chip as well as someone like Cam Smith does, if the ball striking improves marginally you’re going to use your superpower for scoring, as opposed to using your superpower for life support.
“I think when his ball striking has been poor, that’s what Cam has been doing. His superpower, putting and the short game, has been used to not shoot 78, 79 when his ball striking is not there.
“I was pretty confident that if we made some changes, and kept the changes pretty simple, that things would come around.”
Whether this is true or not, Harmon clearly saw something in Smith, and has been able to unlock his potential. The next few years should be exciting for the Aussie.
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