"We were thrown out" - When Padraig Harrington shared parental tips on how to make kids fall in love with golf
Golf has several legends who have contributed to the sport, and Padraig Harrington is one of them. Harrington, 52, has 39 professional wins to his name and is most known for his back-to-back championship victories at Carnoustie and Royal Birkdale in 2008. He also won The PGA Championship that year.
Recently, the X handle of the PGA Tour posted a video of Harrington sharing his wisdom with the golfers, talking about how they should bring up their kids to fall in love with golf. Harrington urged parents to not bring their kids to the nice country club as he believed it makes them soft.
Padraig Harrington said:
"All the players out there on tour, I guarantee we had nothing else to do in our summers. We were thrown out, go to the golf course, and we played 45 holes a day and it was something to do. Having too many options also won't make them want to play golf." [at 1:38]
He further added:
"It's nice when in the summer time the kids all cycle up to the golf course and they just spend the whole day there. That's another way kids will get to love the game."
Harrington also reminded parents that just because their children get good at the game, it does not mean they love the game. Recently inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame, Padraig had also remarked that if they (kids) love the game, they will likely be good at it.
Exploring the competitions Padraig Harrington won on the PGA Tour
Padraig Harrington's induction into the Golf Hall of Fame comes after he spent years perfecting his craft and winning titles. In the 39 professional wins Harrington had to date, he managed to win 3 Major Championships. Here is the complete list of Harrington's wins on the professional circuit.
PGA Tour wins:
- Date: 13 Mar 2005
- Event: The Honda Classic
- Score: −14 (73-69-69-63=274)
- Date: 26 Jun 2005
- Event: Barclays Classic
- Score: −10 (71-65-68-70=274)
- Date: 22 Jul 2007
- Event: The Open Championship
- Score: −7 (69-73-68-67=277)
- Date: 20 Jul 2008
- Event: The Open Championship (2)
- Score: +3 (74-68-72-69=283)
- Date: 10 Aug 2008
- Event: PGA Championship
- Score: −3 (71-74-66-66=277)
- Date: 2 Mar 2015
- Event: The Honda Classic (2)
- Score: −6 (67-66-71-70=274)
Apart from his wins on the PGA Tour, Harrington also found success on the European Tour. Over the course of his career, he won several competitions, including Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe, Linde German Masters, and the Irish Open.
His performance on the course also earned him individual awards such as European Tour Golfer of the Year (2007 and 2008) and PGA Player of the Year (2008).