If you followed golf in the 2000s and early 2010s, you remember Tim Clark - the South African with the steely nerve and a pre-shot routine that was impossible to look away from. For years, he was a fixture on leaderboards, known for his incredible accuracy and consistent play. Then, seemingly all at once, he vanished from the PGA Tour. This article explains what happened toTim Clark, from his unique swing and major victories to the unfortunate injury that brought his professional career to a premature end.
Tim Clark, hailing from Durban, South Africa, was a consummate professional golfer who built a career on precision, consistency, and mental fortitude. Before he became a household name for winning one of golf's most prestigious events, he was known for something else entirely: his swing.
Clark’s swing was, to put it mildly, unorthodox. He had a very pronounced and deliberate pause at the start of his takeaway. While other pros started their backswing with a fluid, one-piece motion, Clark would set himself, address the ball, and then just... wait. It wasn't a quick pause, it was a full stop, a moment of profound stillness before he began his backswing. To many viewers, it looked jerky or disconnected, but for Clark, it was the secret to his incredible consistency.
This unusual motion wasn't some affectation he picked up. It was a natural part of his personal rhythm, something he’d had since he was a junior golfer. Paired with this strange trigger was an oddity with his putter. Due to a congenital condition that prevented him from fully supinating his left wrist (turning his palm upwards), he struggled with a conventional putting grip. This led him to use an anchored long putter for most of his career, a decision that would have significant consequences down the road.
As a coach, I spend my days helping golfers build sound, repeatable swings. The conventional wisdom focuses on tempo, rhythm, and a smooth takeaway. So when we look at Tim Clark’s swing, it seems to break all the rules. But here's the lesson: golf isn't about looking perfect, it's about being effective.
Clark's pause, while visually jarring to some, served a very specific purpose. It was his personal reset button. By stopping completely before initiating the takeaway, he ensured a few things:
His swing is a fantastic example that there isn't one "correct" way to swing a golf club. His movement was built around his physical makeup and what allowed him to deliver the clubface squarely to the ball time and time again. He built a system that worked for him. He owned it, he trusted it, and he never let anyone tell him it was "wrong" because the results proved it was right for him. This mental strength - to stick with what’s unconventional in the face of scrutiny - is just as impressive as the physical act itself.
Tim Clark wasn't just the guy with the funky swing, he was an elite player and a proven winner on the biggest stages. His career wasn't filled with dozens of wins, but the ones he captured were massive, cementing his legacy as a world-class competitor.
His most significant achievement came in 2010 when he won The Players Championship. Often called "the fifth major," The Players is contested on the treacherous TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, a track that demands precision and punishes the slightest mistake. On that Sunday, Clark was flawless. Playing against one of the strongest fields in golf, he shot a final round 67, navigating the famous island green 17th hole with trademark composure to secure a one-shot victory. It was his first PGA Tour win, and it was a monumental one.
Clark proved his win at The Players was no fluke. In 2014, he captured the RBC Canadian Open, outpacing Jim Furyk to win by a stroke. This victory demonstrated his resilience and ability to win again several years after his biggest-ever triumph.
Aside from his victories, his career was marked by consistent excellence:
So, what happened? A player this consistent and mentally tough doesn't just fall off the map. Tim Clark’s career was ultimately derailed by a persistent and painful elbow injury, compounded by a rule change that upended a core part of his game.
His problems began in 2011, not long after his win at The Players. He suffered a torn tendon in his right elbow that required surgery and sidelined him for nearly a year. He successfully returned from that injury, culminating in his 2014 Canadian Open win. However, things took a turn for the worse starting in 2015.
At the beginning of 2016, golf's governing bodies, the USGA and R&A, officially banned the practice of anchoring a putter against the body. This rule directly impacted players like Clark, who relied on a long putter anchored to his chest. Recall his congenital wrist condition, the long putter wasn't a choice for him - it was a necessity. He had a medical exemption for years because he physically couldn't putt traditionally without pain or difficulty.
Forced to switch to a non-anchored method, he put incredible stress back on his arms and, more critically, his previously injured right elbow. The same injury flared up severely. He tried to play through the pain, but it was just too much. He could no longer complete a full swing without debilitating pain. His last PGA Tour event was in 2016. Despite several attempts to rehab the injury, he was never able to return to the tour. It wasn't a retirement by choice, his body simply wouldn't allow him to continue playing at a professional level.
Thankfully, Tim Clark's passion for golf found a new outlet. He didn't fade away from the game entirely. Instead, he channeled his meticulous, strategic mind into another area of the sport: golf course architecture and design.
He partners with his friend, South African architect Peter Matkovich, at Matkovich & Clark, a golf course design firm. Clark is heavily involved in the on-site routing and design process, using his decades of experience as an elite tour player to help create courses that are both challenging for top players and enjoyable for amateurs. He's found a way to stay deeply connected to golf, shaping the future of the game from the ground up, proving that his chapter on the PGA Tour was just one part of a larger story.
Tim Clark's story is a powerful reminder that there is no single right way to play golf, but there are physical limits the game can impose. He was a world-class player who won one of golf's biggest titles with a swing others called strange and a putting style born of necessity, only to have his career cut short by injury and a subsequent rule change.
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