Butch Harmon Bio | Wiki
Butch Harmon ( Full name: Claude “Butch” Harmon Jr.) is an American golf instructor and former professional player. He has been in the golf industry since 1965. Butch started playing golf at an early age. From 1970 to 1971, he was a PGA Tour player with one win to his name on the Tour, the 1971 inaugural Broome County Open.
This was a satellite event during The Open Championship in the UK. In the 1970s, Butch lived in Morocco for several years serving as the personal instructor to King Hassan II. Also, he was a club professional in the United States, starting his career at Crow Valley Golf Club in Davenport, Iowa where he met his now wife Christy. Butch became well known for his work with Greg Norman, starting in the early 1990s.
Butch Harmon Age
He was born on August 28, 1953, in New Rochelle, New York, United States of America. Butch is 79 years old.
Butch Harmon Height
He is a man of average stature. Butch stands at the height of 5 ft 7 in ( Approx 1.7 m).
Butch Harmon Family
He was born and raised in New Rochelle, New York. He is the son of 1948 Masters Tournament champion Claude Harmon Sr. His mother Alice Cullen McKee Harmon was born in 1918 and died in 1970. Butch’s father was the head pro at the nearby Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck. When Butch’s father served as the winter professional at the Seminole Golf Club, the family lived part of the year in Florida. He has three younger brothers namely Craig, Bill, and Dick (1947-2006). They all became golf professionals.
Butch Harmon Wife
He has been married to his wife Christy Harmon since 2001. The couple has three children. Christy worked as a flight attendant at American Airlines from 1987 to 2006. Reports have it that Butch met her in the late 1970s when he started his career at Crow Valley Golf Club in Iowa. Previosly, Butch was married to Lillie Duran, a woman of Mexican descent. The couple eloped shortly after completion of high school because Butch’s parents were against their interracial relationship.
They welcomed two children together. They welcomed a daughter Michaele Ann in 1967 and a son Claude Harmon III in 1969. The duo’s children grew up well aware of their mixed heritage, but their relationship couldn’t last long. Some sources have claimed that Butch and Lillie divorced sometime in the mid-70s though no authentic details of the couple’s separation have been revealed. Butch had a tough time moving on from his broken marriage with the responsibility of raising two kids.
Butch Harmon Son
He has a son called Claude Harmon III who was born in 1969 to Butch and his first wife Lillie Duran. He also has another son named Cole Harmon. Not to be confused with Cole Harmon, a character from the Dexter series, which was played by Chris Vance. Cole is around 22 years old.
Butch Harmon Education
He attended Iona Grammar School and graduated in 1958. From there, Butch went to Iona Prep for one year prior to transferring to and graduating from New Rochelle High School in 1962. While a student, Butch excelled at all sports and was a star halfback on the 1961 New Rochelle High School football team that compiled a 5–2–1 record. After high school, Butch joined the University of Houston. He served in the U.S. Army for three years, seeing duty in the Vietnam War.
Butch Harmon On Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods
He is best known for serving as Tiger Woods’s golf coach from 1993 to 2004. From 2007 to 2015, Butch was Phil Mickelson’s golf coach. Also, he worked with other major champions such as Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Greg Norman, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, and Justin Leonard. He as well worked with younger stars such as Nick Watney and Rickie Fowler. Prior to his semi-retirement from the tour in 2019, Butch coached Jimmy Walker, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Gary Woodland, and Nick Watney.
Golf Digest magazine rankedButch as the top golf teacher in the United States in 2003 in a poll of his peers organized. He has repeatedly been ranked as the winner of this honor each year since then. Butch runs the Butch Harmon School of Golf at the Rio Secco Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school has a branch in Dubai at The Els Golf Club in Dubai Sports City as well as The Floridian in Palm City, Florida. Also, he gives golf clinics around the world. Ernie Els officially announced on April 8, 2008, that he was switching swing coaches from David Leadbetter to Butch.
The former had worked with Ernie since 1990. During the 2008 Masters press conference, Els said the change was made to try to shorten and tighten his swing, and also get a fresh perspective. Butch’s brothers Craig and Bill are both top golf coaches. They have made the top 50 Instructors’ list compiled by Golf Digest on several occasions. His other brother Dick was a golf professional at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas from 1977 to 2001. Dick established two teaching centers in Houston after leaving that position. He died on February 10, 2006, from pneumonia at age 58.
Butch Harmon Golf Tips |Golf Swing
– Keep steel in the left wrist, not linguine
– A clubface too closed is better than too open
– You can teach golf to people, or people to play golf
– The secret to golf is repetition
– Make the game simple
– Shanks are caused by a clubface that’s too closed
Butch Harmon Eye
In 2011, Justice John Hawksworth ruled that Butch had absolutely no control over the actions of his left eye and he could not be responsible for its behavior. A psychologist’s report dubbed the eye as “completely crazy.” He admitted failure in trying to get it to open up after several sessions. Butch’s eye is widely believed to have developed the Herbert Lom twitch after a freak accident. The accident caused the sun’s rays to refract off the diamond embedded in his belly button and burned his retina. It was hoped that recent advances in Botox treatment may give Butch back his quality of life and its thought it might be used on his eye.
Butch Harmon Book
He wrote the 2006 book titled The Pro which described his life in golf with his father, brothers, friends, and also the top players he has coached. Butch has written golf instructional books such as Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf and Butch Harmon’s Playing Lessons. Also, he worked with Greg Norman on his multi-media learning system Greg Norman’s Better Golf. It consists of three videos, a book, skill guide cards, and an audio tape. Also, Butch contributed to Greg Norman’s book Advanced Golf. Currently, Butch writes a regular monthly instructional column in Golf Digest magazine. He also appeared in an episode of the TV show Pawn Stars in which he taught Chumlee to play golf, along with Corey Harrison.
Butch Harmon Ball Position
It takes zero athletic ability to perfectly set up the ball every time.
– Clubface Square stance Shoulder width ball position, One ball inside the front heel weight 60 to 40 on the front foot posture.
– Head over the ball shaft leaning slightly forward
– Very narrow ball position off the back foot weight 90 to 10 on the front foot posture.
– Head in front of the ball shaft Leaning well forward
– Clubface open stance Shoulder width ball position off the front instep weight 60 to 40 on the front foot posture.
– Head behind the ball shaft Leaning slightly back
Butch Harmon Net Worth
He is an American golf instructor and former professional player. Butch has an estimated net worth of $28 million.
How Old Is Butch Harmon
Butch is 79 years old. He was born on August 28, 1953, in New Rochelle, New York, United States of America.
Who Is Butch Harmon Married To
He has been married to his wife Christy Harmon since 2001. The couple has three children. Previosly, Butch was married to Lillie Duran, a woman of Mexican descent and they share a son and a daughter.
Who Is Butch Harmon
Butch is an American golf instructor and former professional player. He started playing golf at an early age and has been in the golf industry since 1965.