the (dis)equilibrium theory: what brought duval’s fall
I have a theory to explain what happened to David Duval. It goes something like this: some golfers, particularly those with unorthodox swings, have a certain comfort level or equilibrium that allows them to play well, even with quirks in their swing. But if you change the equilibrium, you run the risk of throwing off the swing.
Putting aside Duval’s dramatic changes in his personal life, Duval had one big change in his golf game before his dramatic fall: he switched from a Titleist driver and Titleist irons to Nike. The stats are pretty telling (from Golf Channel):
Duval’s victories with Titleist driver: 12 wins (including British).
Duval’s victories with Titleist irons: 11 wins.
Duval’s victories with Nike driver: 1 win.
Duval’s victories with Nike irons: 2 wins (including British).
Now that David’s changing his grip, the (dis)equilibrium may be getting worse. How does he get back the equilibrium? I don’t know, but I’d think about a change in clubs, starting with the driver, his bugaboo. It’s worth a shot.
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