Toptracer has become an integral part of today’s TV coverage over the last few years, and it’s easy to see why. The viewer finally has a chance to put a professional’s ball flight into perspective.
While the majestic drives Dustin Johnson smashes or the 60-yard power fades Bubba Watson hits mesmerize us with that little red line that seems to go on forever, it also captures pros at their worst.
Here are 10 of the worst Toptracer bloopers we’ve seen.
Phil Mickelson and The Old Course Hotel At St. Andrews
We get this started with one of the more iconic holes at the home of golf. Something about having to hit a drive over a hotel usually adds some value to Toptracer technology. Of course, we are referring to the 17th at St. Andrews, also known as the Road Hole. The 2015 Open Championship was no exception when Phil Mickelson decided to take it on.
Unfortunately, he overcooked this one and it ended up on somebody’s balcony. While he was forced to take a drop, we are willing to bet Lefty would’ve played it from there if he had the chance.
Rod Pampling
Rod Pampling wasn’t going to be coming back for an early-morning restart during the 2017 PGA Championship. Needing to have someone in his group tee off before the horn sounded, Pampling went full Happy Gilmore in a major. Check out the reaction from the cameraman on the right side of the video.
Steve Stricker
Steve Stricker is one of the most consistent players on tour, but even he is not above hitting it off the hosel every now and again. During the 2013 U.S. Open, he hit this gem which was captured using Toptracer technology. Just wait for the replay – fore right!
Bubba Watson
Bubba Watson makes his presence felt with this ballooning tee-shot during the 2015 PGA Championship. The other lefty likes to work the ball more than most, but here’s one where he got a little too cute. In an attempt to hit a draw, he overcooked it and instantly expressed some frustration. We think the ball came down eventually.
Rory McIlroy
There’s a lot happening here, so we’ll give you some time to digest. Going for the green in two at the 2016 Open Championship, Rory took a mighty swipe with a fairway metal and was not impressed. Thankfully Toptracer was there to offered the viewers some perspective as to why. Too bad they did have it for the club throw as well!
Tiger Woods
Tiger makes his first appearance on this list with this horrendous 3-wood attempt during the 2015 U.S. Open. Arguably the best golfer of all-time cold-topped it just like us mere mortals would do, except you probably don’t have the world watching and the Toptracer cameras rolling.
Henrik Stenson
Henrik Stenson gave us this rare Toptracer gem during the 2016 Ryder Cup. He had everything working when he went for this par-5 in two except the part when he flared his fairway metal way out to the right. Add in the Toptracer and the club toss and we got ourselves a winner.
D. Metcalf
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. There is no such player on tour with the name D. Metcalf, nor did this really happen, but you can imagine if it did though. Penske aired this commercial in 2016 and it was too good to pass up for this list. Chances are there’s a good portion of you out there who can relate as well.
Joost van den Broek
Joost is not a Tour pro, but he is a lucky fan who won the opportunity to play in a “Beat the pro” competition during the European Tour’s KLM Open back in 2016. While he plays to a 4-handicap, he didn’t exactly look like it on this swing. Hey, you’d be nervous to in front of all those fans too.
Jon Rahm
While we feel bad because Jon Rahm was only a rookie at the time in 2016, it didn’t stop us from including this beauty, and it’s obvious why. Besides it being a cold shank, Toptracer captured this rare feat in its truest form, even including the 50-foot apex label over the heart of the trees. Welcome to the pros!
