Q&A with John Mahaffey

Editor’s Note: John Mahaffey turned professional in 1971 and recorded 10 victories during his regular PGA TOUR career including the 1978 PGA Championship and the 1986 Tournament Players Championship (now THE PLAYERS Championship). John joined the Champions Tour in 1998 and won the Southwestern Bell Dominion the following year. Born in Kerrville, Texas, John was the 1970 NCAA champion while at the University of Houston. John Mahaffey played on two World Cup teams (1978 and 1979 – medalist in 1978) and was a member of the 1979 Ryder Cup team. John can be seen regularly on the Golf Channel where he works as an analyst on the Champions Tour.
 
A Conversation with John Mahaffey
 
Casey / Q:
John, how do you define an approach shot?
 
John / A:
I think it’s anywhere from 150 yards and in. But it would also depend on what the hole is. If it’s your second shot on a par-5, then that’s an approach shot as well. A tee shot on a par-3? Is that an approach shot? I guess technically it is although I don’t really think most people think of it in those terms. There are a lot of ways to define an approach shot but clearly it means a shot in to the green.
 
Casey / Q:
How do you rate the importance of the approach shot?
 
John / A:
The approach shot is absolutely critical in terms of scoring. And that’s one of the things that Mr. Hogan talked to me a lot about when I first started. He taught me that you have to learn how to play your misses. You play the smart shot in to the greens. In other words, if the pin is on the left side of the green you should try to hit a draw to the flag using the slope of the green to help work the ball close to the hole. This way, if you happen to not draw it like you wanted to, you still have a 20-footer and you’re not going to make worse than par. If you do draw it like you wanted to, you’ll have a nice putt at birdie. But you don’t try to hit some crazy shot right at the flag, not pull it off, and end up in the water.
 
Casey / Q:
And with the pin on the right side?
 
John / A:
Just the opposite. If the pin is on the right side of the green you should try and hit a fade in there. But, don’t overcook it. If you miss, miss to the center of the green. If the pin is up front you don’t want to go long because chances are you’ll have a tough downhill putt. And if the pin is back, take a little more club, maybe hit the ball a little lower and let it skip back there. If you pull the shot off just like you want you’ll end up with a nice putt at birdie. But if the ball checks up short you’ll still be in the middle of the green and you won’t make any worse score than par. It’s one of the most valuable lessons Mr. Hogan taught me; par is a pretty good score.
 
Casey / Q:
What’s your take on working the ball? We don’t seem to see as much of that out on TOUR these days.
 
John / A:
I think it’s all in how you grew up playing the game. The younger guys now are used to the ball flying straighter. They are more inclined to take dead aim at the flag because the ball doesn’t move as much as it used to. I learned to play at a different time. A time when the ball curved a lot more than it does today. I grew up playing with Mr. Hogan, with Byron Nelson and Lee Trevino. These guys worked the ball a ton. They moved it all over the golf course: left to right, right to left, high, low…and that’s how I learned how to play golf as well.