What Scottie Scheffler has achieved in 2024 is likely to be talked about for years to come, with the world number one winning eight times worldwide to cement his spot as the best player on the planet right now.
Scottie Scheffler took advantage of his head start to win The Tour Championship at East Lake on Sunday, ensuring that he put the icing on the cake for his outstanding season on the PGA Tour. Of course, he also won The Masters, four signature events, The Players and an Olympic gold medal.
There is no question that Scheffler has been the player of the year. In fact, it is going to be nearly impossible for Scheffler to replicate his 2024 in future seasons. For some, it may seem particularly remarkable given that the 28-year-old does not appear to have what would be considered a textbook swing.
Of course, much has been said about Scheffler’s footwork, with his right foot certainly moving a lot more than the average tour player. However, Tiger Woods‘ former coach Hank Haney clearly sees nothing in Scheffler’s swing which should hold him back.
What Scottie Scheffler does as well as anyone who’s ever played the game
In fact, speaking on The Hank Haney Podcast, Haney suggested that he sees Scheffler do something in his swing which is as good as anyone who has ever played the game.
“He’s a phenomenal talent, Scottie Scheffler, and what he’s talented at is he has a very consistent golf swing. I actually think he’s got a very good golf swing, I look at what the club’s doing, I look at the plane of the swing, I look at what the club’s doing. I don’t pay as much attention, a lot of people pay a lot of attention to what the body’s doing; I pay more attention to what the club’s doing. I also look at the body and it’s not like I totally ignore it, but I pay close attention to what the club’s doing, and I like what his club does. So I think Scottie has a very, very good golf swing,” he said.
“But what he’s exceptional at, honestly as good as anybody who’s ever played the game, and there’s been a lot of great players that have played the game, but there’s no-one I don’t think that’s ever played the game that has better club face control. I’m talking about being able to square his hands and the club face to the ball at impact – there’s nobody that has had better club face control than Scottie Scheffler.”
An ominous sign heading into 2025
It is definitely high praise, particularly from a swing coach who worked with Woods for six years. But it perhaps provides an exciting indication that Scheffler still has huge potential.
The one question Scheffler arguably still needs to deal with is whether he can sustain anything like this form over a much longer period, as golf has seen several players dominate for year or two before they fade away – perhaps most notably, with Jordan Spieth in the last decade.
There are so many outstanding players around right now, so it is going to be tough for Scheffler to remain anywhere near as dominant, but it is an ominous sign for his rivals that Haney is so impressed by the way he controls the club face.
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