The German Tour players` recent history-part 3

The third of the German Tour Player series takes a short look at the two greatest players Germany has produced.

Martin Kaymer- Born 1984 in Dusseldorf

Being only the second German player to win a Major, for several years Kaymer looked like he might be able to take over the reins from Bernard Langer. Unfortunately, his form dipped after winning the U.S. Open in 2014 ( he was number 1 on the world ranking for 8 weeks in 2011), and he has failed to recover since. In total Kaymer has 23 professional wins under his belt with two of those being Majors.

Martin Kaymer showed his enormous potential when he played a 59 (click on the image to enlarge).

I will always remember my disbelief when I first heard of the 59 round that Kaymer shot in 2006. He had been making a name for himself for a few months before, but when I heard of this performance it seemed to me that this kid could go all the way.

The famous scorecard hangs on the wall in the PGA of Germany offices.

The most impressive thing about a young golfer achieving such a score is how the player has no fear.

Although I am sure that playing under 60 in the future will become more common, Kaymer achieved this while it is still a phenomenon that only very few can achieve.

The first player to shoot 59 in a tour-sanctioned event was American Al Geiberger in 1977, who became known as Mr. 59

Bernard Langer-Born 1957 in Anhausen, Germany.

When Langer first came to prominence on the tour by winning the 1980 Dunlop Masters. Langer had long been showing the signs of a potential star when he finally broke through. After Bernard Cooke had photographed and captured his swing on camera in the 70`s he immediately predicted a great future career for the young German.

The swing of young Langer in the late seventies. Although he corrected the soft left knee in the swing finish, little else has changed throughout an enormously successful career, even the stronger grip (although it has become more common in modern professional golf ).

He is, without a doubt, Germany's greatest golfer ever. Langer`s career spans a total of 50 years since he started his professional life as an apprentice in 1972, the winner of 2 Majors and a total of 129 tournaments!

Yet despite laying claim to world superstar status (which is measured by both length of their career and the number of significant wins) Langer will be equally remembered for his patience, quietness, and discipline.

Germany can be proud of their greatest player.

Important throughout Langer`s long career was his relationship with German coach Willie Hoffman.

One of the great coach/mentor relationships is that between Langer and "Willi" Hoffman. It started in 1976 when Heinz Fehring (Teaching professional and former president of the German PGA) introduced the young Langer to Hoffman. At the time Fehring was employing Langer as his assistant in the Münchener golf club. The relationship was to last for 45 years until Hoffmann recently passed away as the result of a second heart attack.

As mentioned earlier, one of the greatest attributes Langer possesses is his very strong disciplined approach. Although it is a prerequisite for being the best in any sport, there are very few sportspeople in history who can claim to be equal to Langer in this aspect. This may be one of the results of being a Professional from a very early age (although Langer regrets he did not have more time as an amateur).

Over the years, the Langer swing may have lost its youthful dynamics, but the quality remains at the highest level. Again, Langer`s extraordinary discipline helps him maintain a combination of nutritional diet, fitness, and hard work. This work ethics mean he will stay at the top for a while yet.

I feel sure it would also be fair to say Langer's self-belief and longevity may be at least in part owing to his religious faith.

For more on Langer on this website, click on the LINK

Franz Beckenbauer

A little bonus on this post is the swing of footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer. I caught this action while he was practicing at Stuttgart in 1990. He may not have possessed the prettiest of swings, but he was registered as an eight-handicap at the time.

From an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine:

"Angefangen hat es 1982, 29 Jahre ist das jetzt her. Ich habe in Hamburg Fußball gespielt, beim HSV, im letzten Jahr, und ich war viel verletzt, habe viel Zeit gehabt. Ein Freund wollte mich immer mit zum Golf nehmen. Ich habe gesagt: Hau ab mit diesem Großvatersport, wenn ich siebzig bin, dann fang ich langsam damit an. Dann bin ich doch mal mit. Wir sind beim Golfclub Hoisdorf auf der Driving Range gestanden, die haben die Bälle geschlagen, und ich habe gesagt, gib mal her den Hacklstecken, dann zeig ich euch, wie das geht. Dann steh ich da, habe den Stecken vollkommen verkehrt in der Hand - und hau an dem Ball vorbei. Das war ein echtes Schlüsselerlebnis. Da liegt ein Ball, und ich hau vorbei! Ich hab gedacht: Das interessiert mich! Dann sagte der Golflehrer, Barry hieß er, komm, jetzt zeig ich dir mal, wie du den Schläger hältst. Dann hab ich wieder geschlagen - und der Ball ist geflogen, 150 Meter, kerzengerade, wunderbar, seitdem bin ich dabei."

Franz Beckenbauer 2011

Part one of this series can be found on this Link.

All rights reserved