Golf runs deep in the family lineage of one of Western Australia’s brightest prospects
Golf has become a more competitive sport, Hayden Hopewell says. The rookie professional – who turned pro in time for the Australian PGA Championship last November – recognises how making the jump into the pro ranks is still a delicate choice for top amateurs. World amateur rankings and whatever wins you manage form only part of the equation. “If you have the right team around you, and they can direct you, it can help you in a good way,” he says. Fortunately the young West Australian is armed with a legion of support – and has been since the beginning of his golf journey.
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I started playing golf at a very young age, about 3 or 4. My dad was a big golfer at the time. He started when he was pretty young as well. I learned a lot from Dad and gradually got better and better. We lived at Noggerup – about an hour from Collie – so we were right in the country. As my golf got better, we slowly moved to Bunbury. Eventually, when I was 13, we moved up to Perth.
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We’re a huge golf family and golf has been passed down through the generations. Mum loves the stats; she loves helping me with that. And my sister Ariel, she’s been on the bag a few times, caddieing in America. She was on the bag when I won the 2020 WA Open at Royal Fremantle, which was pretty cool. And Dad got into golf through his dad. Granddad was my No.1 supporter. Unfortunately he passed away after I won the WA Open. So that week definitely holds a special place in my heart, given the circumstances and the people that were around me. Granddad being there to watch my first professional win was unreal.
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My Instagram page says, “Work hard, dream big.” It sums up my attitude to life and golf. If you work hard enough at something, you’ll eventually achieve your goals. I heard a nice quote the other day: “If you knew you couldn’t fail, how high would you dream?” That one’s stuck with me.
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I also have a nickname: Houdini. It originated from when I played Aussie Rules football. I was always the one to break from the pack, so that bled into golf where I’m always performing Houdini-like tricks from the bush and getting through the gap. I was given licence plates that say “Houdini” for my 21st birthday last November, so I think it’ll be sticking for a while.
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There’s one escape shot that stands out in memory. I was playing a junior pennants match, and it was all-square with a couple to play. I’ve hit my drive right on this par 4, I’ve got about 160 to the flag and I’ve got a good lie in the bush, but I’ve got absolutely no options low – that’s dead. I’ve looked up in the sky and I’ve got a little gap, so I thought, Well, that’s about an 8-iron. But there was a tree branch in the way. So I actually hit it under the tree branch, it’s risen into the gap and drew onto the green to about 10 feet. I holed the putt and we both parred the last for me to win the match.
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Dad was my coach for a long time, but about eight or nine years ago I started working with Ritchie Smith. He’s got a really good eye for my swing and a lot of other players’ swings. We’ve worked hard on my posture over the years, just keeping that structure to my backswing and follow-through, and creating a healthy swing that’ll last me years going forward. One of our main priorities is to maintain a safe and injury-free swing.
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I made a paperwork blunder that cost me points on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It was to do with being an ‘Affiliate Future Tour Member’ – you pay your fee as an amateur, you get to enter and play the events; you don’t gain prizemoney, but that prizemoney does turn into points. Anyway, I finished equal second to Hannah Green at the TPS Murray River in February 2022 but none of those points counted because I hadn’t filled out the forms. I may have been a week late with them, but when I finished second I paid for it. It cost me a few points but, luckily, finishing in second place at the WA Open a few months later just put me over the line, so I managed to get a card.
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My length off the tee and short game are definitely assets. But if you have a look at the stats on the PGA Tour, all the guys that are winning rank highly with their approach play – their proximity to the hole with the irons. That’s a good one for me to focus on.
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Just missing out at Q-Schools is hard. I’ve played in a couple now, and missed out by a couple of shots at both of them. It definitely stings a lot. That’s the toughest part of pro golf but the worst part as a professional is not getting your clubs while travelling.
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The travel part can be wearing sometimes. It’s mainly the late flights and when your baggage doesn’t arrive, but you tend to get through it eventually. Sometimes you wake up and think, Where am I? Eventually it clicks. I’m a good sleeper on planes, so I tend to deal with jet lag pretty well, but it is draining sometimes when you have to spend a lot of hours in the air.
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The biggest lesson I’m learning is how to finish off golf tournaments. I’ve had a few chances now, and I have capitalised, but I have let a couple slide. At last year’s Aussie Open, if I just had a slightly stronger finish I would’ve been teeing it up at the Open Championship in July. Finishing off tournaments and getting myself in those positions more often – just ‘man-ing up’ and owning those last few holes – I think I’ll eventually be more comfortable with.
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I love going to the beach. I spend a lot of hours at the beach swimming. Being on the west side of Australia is pretty nice. We’re spoilt for choice. My favourite beach is Cottesloe. We go there quite a bit. I do a bit of spear-fishing as well. We go diving – not deep where the sharks live, but just deep enough to get a good fish. We’ve done that at the back of Garden Island, going for King George whiting and herring or maybe a few stray snappers when they’re around.
getty images: angel martinez
