Whether he’s playing well or poorly, Viktor Hovland is never satisfied.
He was playing the best golf of his career in 2023, as FedEx Cup champion, Ryder Cup star and arguably the best player on the planet. But after a difficult 2024 season, he parted ways with the coach who got him there, Joe Mayo.
He became a winner again last year at the Valspar Championship, again starred in the Ryder Cup, and looked back to his best. But again, Hovland changed his coach, turning back to TJ Yeaton.
It’s been a rollercoaster, but a largely positive start to the year for the Norwegian. He’s had two consecutive T13 finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players. But you wouldn’t know it, as his behaviour on the range is that of a man who has lost his swing entirely.
He’s been toying with different training aids and drills in a constant pursuit for perfection, and Hovland explained that, and his decision to change coaches before the 2026 Valspar Championship.
Viktor Hovland says coaching change has been ‘misconstrued’
Hovland spoke to Today’s Golfer ahead of the Valspar Championship and explained that his seeming unhappiness with his swing isn’t about completely reinventing his game. Instead, he’s attempting to refine his game with relentless hard work, which got him here in the first place.
The seven-time PGA Tour winner said, “Some of that has been misconstrued a little bit. It’s not like I had the best year of my life and now I’m just going to explode everything and start from scratch. You always have tendencies you want to revert back to and there’s always things that you’re fighting.
“When you get to that level what you want to do is try to fight entropy, but certain things were creeping away from my pattern. I was starting to just draw it more and more and it was difficult for me to stay over stand over the ball and feel the fade that I’d hit all my career.
“Towards the end of ’23 I played the game very well, but I didn’t feel super confident in what I was doing.
“I might be a little bit different compared to some of the other guys out here but I really value just standing over the ball and it doesn’t necessarily have to go to two feet, but it gives me more confidence if I hit a flush shot that matches what I was trying to do. Let’s say it goes to 15 or 20 feet, that feels like that’s something that’s repeatable and I didn’t just get lucky.
“Maybe my ceiling for that is a little bit higher than it should be but that’s also what drives me. That’s why I wake up in the morning and try to get better at this game.”
Viktor Hovland crowdsources golf advice
Hovland was also asked about his coaching changes in a press conference before this year’s Valspar Championship, and he said that he’s always seeking the advice of the smartest coaches in the world to improve his game.
He said, “It’s not like I have a theory behind it, but the game of golf is constantly evolving and there’s new challenges that arise all the time. I feel like I’m obviously a very curious person and there’s a lot of smart people out there.
“If I feel like there’s something missing or — and I obviously haven’t been very happy with the state of my game the last few years — I’m constantly searching to try to hear other perspectives that might resonate with me a little bit more.
“It’s not to say that — like I feel like every single person that I work with I’ve gotten good information, and I don’t seek out dumb people, I find the smartest people that I deem are out there, and I really listen to them and I’ve learned from a lot of them.
“But I obviously got to filter that information and make that applicable to myself. And there’s some information, some bits and pieces kind of resonate with me more than others, and then I kind of, that’s how I go about it and try to filter out the information the best that I can.”
It would be easy to become overwhelmed by information with that approach, which would put a lot of stress on his ability to determine which advice works for him. But judging by his recent performances, he’s close to finding his best form.
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