“That doesn’t surprise me” – Patrick Cantlay says young players today are better than older generations

Patrick Cantlay believes that today’s young players are better than their older generations. The golfer said in an interview ahead of the 2022 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links that the upcoming players are better prepared than their seniors.

Cantlay referenced Jordan Spieth, who became the Tour’s youngest to win a tournament. He won the 2013 John Deere Classic at age 19, as the trendsetter.

The PGA Tour player said that golfers like Spieth come into the Tour with better skillsets to win. He stated that the under-30 players performing better than the seniors didn’t surprise him anymore.

Patrick Cantlay said, as quoted by Golf:

“That’s a trend we’ve continued to see, that the best players in the world, in the past they used to be over 30 and now they seem to be around 30 or a little younger. That doesn’t surprise me with all the technology and more availability of good coaching and good feedback to younger players.”

According to world no. 4, golfers begin training at a good level from a younger age, making them better prepared. He said:

“I mention all the time to friends of mine, when I was in high school, I had no sense of how much my ball was spinning, how to hit the driver further, not realizing that spin and launch were the most important things to hitting the golf ball far. I just had a feeling that if I swung harder it would go farther, but that’s not necessarily the case."

He added:

"And so, there’s kids that are growing up with Trackman from 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old. So, by the time they’re 16, 17 and they’re developing into really good junior players, they’re dialed in on all of that stuff and they have been working on launching it at 2,000 spins at 13 or 14 to get it to go as far as possible.”

It's pertinent to note that players like Spieth, Scottie Scheffler (26), Cameron Smith (29), Collin Morikawa (26), Jon Rahm (28) and Viktor Hovland (25) have better ranks over seniors over 30.

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Patrick Cantlay says young players are quicker

According to Patrick Cantlay, young players reach better ranks due to their technique and their speed.

Cantlay said, as quoted by Golf:

“They swing hard, they hit it high and straight and they go for almost every flag stick. And I would say when I was growing up it was slightly different. It was maybe, there was some guys that were on that model, but a lot of guys were play to the edge of the dogleg, old school, you know, like when DL3 (Davis Love III) won here five times."

He added:

"Play to the edge of the dogleg … putt up the hill to the corners. So I would say that’s been the biggest difference and what I would attribute to maybe a younger generation playing better quicker.”

However, Cantlay also reflected on the negativity of such a trend in age. According to him, golfers will have shorter careers. He stated that players peaking at under-25 will not go on to play until 50 like the legends of his generation.