“Sometimes I beat my bus up… sometimes I beat the hotel room” – John Daly on dealing with his anger after having a bad round of golf

US golfer John Daly shocked the world with his surprise 1991 PGA Championship victory. The two-time major winner was known for his long drive. However, Daly had several on-and-off moments on the course. His good run, unfortunately, was not very consistent.

In a 2014 interview with Graham Bensinger, he talked about how he dealt with bad games. He joked about his then form and said that he had gotten used to it now. However, it used to be very tough for him.

"It's gotten easier because I've had so many of them lately. But used to it, it was tough. Used to it, it was very very tough for me to play back and feel like I let people down. Let myself down especially when I kind of gave them 'I don't care' attitude. You know not thinking of what it could do to people who are watching and stuff."

John Daly added that he doesn't give anyone the 'I don't care attitude' anymore. He said that, instead, he thinks about what he can do to improve.

"I don't do that anymore. 'Least I have not in a long time. Not going to say I never will. It's golf. It's crazy. I don't know if it's gotten easier because I just haven't played great or if I'm just maybe a little more mature and think about okay, what do I need to work on to get better?"

Graham Bensinger asked him about the stories of him destroying his hotel room after a bad game. He answered:

"Well I mean, you know, you see people in these commercials now, the banging bag, you know, and you take a bat and bang a bag. Some people are paying to do this now so they don't destroy stuff. I mean to me that's what it is sometimes. I'd beat my bus up sometimes, I beat my car up sometimes, I'd beat the hotel room up."

When asked what would lead him to destroy things, Daly replied that it was just, "bad golf" or somebody poking him or pushing him to his limits.

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"The only thing I've ever done is hurt myself" - John Daly

John Daly at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship - Round One (Image via Getty)

US golfer John Daly may have dealt with a short temper after a bad game but, according to him, he has never hurt anybody else. He spoke about it during an interview for In Depth with Graham Bensinger in 2014.

"The only thing I’ve done is hurt myself. I haven’t hurt anybody else, Thank God."

Back in the 80's, John Daly was playing in Swaziland (now known as Eswatini) in a tournament that was part of the South African tour. His first round did not go great. On top of that, he had recently gotten a divorce from his first wife, Dale Crafton, and he was upset over it. So, he attempted to put his hand through a television.

"I was upset that we got a divorce and all that and so I beat up a hotel room."

He still had another round to play the next day and if he made the cut, he would have to play one more round. His now caddie, Peter von Reit, was his competitor back then and didn't think he could have played with the injured hand.

"I still had another round of golf to play, maybe two if I make the cut. Yeah I was fortunate. The hand was bandaged up and the guy caddying for me now, Peter von Reit, he was playing with me the first two days, he always called me pro. 'Pro, you're not playing. There's no way you're playing today.'"

When asked how bad the injury was, John Daly said that it was "broke". His hand was bandaged up and he went on to win the tournament. Interestingly, however, the prize money received was the amount of damage he had done to the hotel room. So, he ended up giving the money as reparations.

"So this big Swedish guy, he bandaged it up and says you try playing. I just gripped the left hand tighter. And next thing you know, comes Sunday. I beat John bland in the final round and won the tournament. What I'd done to the hotel was about 20,000 rand worth of damage. Well that's what I won the tournament, so I end up giving them that back."

Fortunately, he was able to keep the watch he earned after winning the tournament.

Although John Daly's long journey has been dotted with multiple controversies, it cannot be denied that he is a brilliant golfing talent.