Hal Sutton on his two careers, his ‘regret’ tour and what brings him joy

Hal Sutton was a 24-year-old sophomore when he won the 1983 Players Championship. Five months later he stared down his idol, Jack Nicklaus, to win the PGA Championship at Riviera. Over the next three seasons, he won four more times. The “Bear Apparent,” as Sutton was nicknamed, seemed to be on his way to an incredible height.

But then came the drought, a nine-year winless streak from 1986 to 1995. “I took my foot off the accelerator,” said Sutton, now 66. The native of Shreveport, La., finally regained the gas breakthrough at the 1995 BC Open, the first of seven tour titles he would add to his resume. Sutton also captained the US Ryder Cup team, in a losing campaign at Oakland Hills in 2004.

Today, Sutton has shifted his focus from golf to development, including the likes of TPC Treviso Bay in Naples, Fla., and Boot Ranch in Fredericksburg, Tex., a pursuit that, Sutton says, has brought him great joy. . In a recent visit with Sutton at his latest design credit – the Darmor Club in Columbus, Texas – GOLF.com spoke with the 14-time tour winner about his playing and design career, his regrets and what advice he can offer today. – they came.

This interview has been slightly edited for clarity.

GOLF.com: How do you evaluate your playing career compared to your design career?

Hal Sutton: I am happier as an architect than when I was an actor. What I’ve found is that playing is fast, but architecture can last forever. I get real joy from people enjoying my lessons [Darmor]and I think it gets better every day. … When I did Boot Ranch and this, I was there every day, working every hole and seeing every detail. No builder does that. They come in every six weeks and move on. I did a course in Florida with Arthur Hills and another in Japan; I just put my name on those. This is where I want to spend my time.

Your last PGA Tour win came in Houston in 2001, and you haven’t played much on the Champions Tour because of hip problems. How much do you remember from your playing days?

I regret and make mistakes when I start.

How?

I started hitting it big with the PGA Championship and the Players title, but a seasoned player I respected told me I didn’t know how to play for money. I asked him what that meant and he said I don’t know how to play golf with percentages and get good checks if you don’t win.

How did that affect you?

I took my foot off the accelerator on the fairway and put my foot on the break and started playing 100% golf, which I regret. As a result, I shot very low scores in the 80s, but no one cares about that. I didn’t win that much.

What advice would you give to rising talents today?

Don’t listen to people about your game, listen to yourself. When you come out on Tour, everyone is a professional. One of the problems I had when I came out was listening [the media]. I thought they had been in this game, and when they wrote someone about me, I thought they knew something and I listened. That was a mistake.

How important is it for young players to have mentors like you and Jack Burke, Jr.?

Get someone to call you unexpectedly. Jack was like that to me – not the man behind the mighty dollar. When you turn on Pro, everyone is a pro, and everyone is trying to make a place for themselves. You don’t need that.

Are you misunderstood as a golfer?

I never thought about it to be honest. I think if I had thought about it it would have meant that I cared what people thought, and I didn’t.

Did you think much about your hot start, winning both the PGA and the Players Championship in 1983?

I didn’t really think about it at the time. When you are a competitor you never think that it will not go well. You don’t think the other way around. That is some wisdom of yours.

It has become customary to blame US Ryder Cup losses on the American captain, as happened with Zach Johnson last year. Would you like a mulligan with your captain?

No, I have big shoulders, I can carry you. I feel like I’m dropping a few majors. I led from behind on Sunday nine and I didn’t close it. Yes, I never missed a short one [putt] to lose one, or. I didn’t really focus on it. I did everything I could and moved on.

What other memories, good or bad, stick with you from your playing days?

I like to collect art. I was in Carmel, California, with my wife and I saw a large painting of a train getting ready to leave the station with a man standing there watching it leave. That really spoke to me, because for most of my career, I just felt like I was on another plane, another car, going somewhere to another tournament, another event.

Is golf architecture your life now?

I love being out here, giving lessons, watching people play, spending time with my wife and traveling with her. It’s very peaceful, and it’s really hard to piss me off about anything these days. I just want this [Darmor Club] to have my contribution back to the game that has done so much for me.