Tiger Woods’ former coach, Hank Haney, is not convinced by Viktor Hovland’s new technique off-the-tee.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for the Norwegian, which culminated in a tie for 15th at The Sentry in Hawaii.
Before the PGA Tour season opener, Hovland split with his coach, Joseph Mayo, and broke his toe after a freak injury at his accommodation.
The 2023 FedEx Cup champion is now sending videos to another unnamed coach, and there was a noticeable difference in Hovland’s technique with the driver.
Hank Haney reacts to Viktor Hovland’s new technique at The Sentry
Hovland appeared to ‘double-pump’ with his driver, which involves stopping halfway back before completing his swing and following through.
Haney, however, isn’t convinced by the alteration.
“I’m not sure the double-pump swing is a good thing long term,” he wrote.
Hovland’s latest alteration comes after he split with Mayo at the start of the 2024 season before reuniting with his long-term coach before the PGA Championship.
Are Viktor Hovland’s swing changes working?
Since his FedEx Cup win, Hovland has become one of the biggest tinkerers on the PGA Tour—and his efforts have done more harm than good. Last year, the Norwegian was extremely inconsistent, a far cry from the player who dominated in 2023.
The initial data from Hovland’s changes does not appear to be very promising. Hovland ranked 27th for strokes gained off the tee at The Sentry (0.9) and was well down in the driving accuracy metric as well.
Hovland’s driving distance was up, however, with the 27-year-old ranked 12th over the four days. Throughout the 2024 season, Hovland gained 0.57 strokes off the tee, ranked 152 for total driving, averaged 305 yards and hit 60% of his fairways.
One area where Hovland must improve is his short game. Last year, he lost 0.5 strokes around the greens and had a 55% scramble rate.
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