Charley Hull has shocked the golfing world. This time, not with her smoking, but rather, with an admission. In the press conference of the PIF Saudi Ladies International, she talked about her regimen and how she is trying to improve her timing. “I want to try and get my 5K run time down to 20 minutes by the end of the year,” the 28-year-old stated, adding that her current time is around 26 minutes. She was then asked whether the training for 5k helps her out in improving her golf.

Her answer was something no one expected. “I don’t train for golf. I have zero interest in training for golf. I think golf training is a load of rubbish,” the two-time LPGA Tour winner stated. She then went on to add that her training regimen focused on her being a better holistic athlete.

Her words meant that she did not want to label herself as a golfer but rather an athlete. ” I just train because it’s good for my mental health and it’s good for me. I want to be an athlete. I just don’t want to be a golfer. It’s like a hobby to me.” the Brit added surprisingly.

Fans were severely displeased at this revelation from Hull, especially because of how other golfers like Nelly Korda and Annabel Dimmock have talked openly about their strict and hard training regimen. “My short-game coach makes me hit shots out of bunkers every single day and just focus on the strike of the ball and how it sounds,” said Nelly Korda of her training. “On the putting green I do a drill because your eye-line and eyesight change every single day. You may see the ball and your line differently every single day, so doing a line drill is really important as you start your putting. Try it for five minutes to make sure you dial in your alignment. Once you do that, then you work on your distance,” she also told Golf Monthly in an interview when asked about her warm-up routine. You see how she spoke of training.

In 2024, Dimmock won the KPMG Women’s Irish Open. What helped her? Her diligence and toughness, of course, but she said a swing thought helped her, too. The swing she practiced hard to perfect. “I have completely slowed my swing right down. Me and my dad keep saying to each other ‘Lydia Ko tempo’, it rhymes and it sticks,” Dimmock said. “I’ve been trying to have a really good tempo out there and not think about technical things. I think that’s what I’ll be doing from now on.”

Let us see what fans had to say about it.

Charley Hull catches the smoke from fans

One user was quick to anger, stating that her answer was incredulous and ludicrous with a short one-word response, “Bulls**t!”. After all, how can World No.11 at golf not train in the sport she is good at or even publicly accept that she does not like the sport at all? The disbelief in this case is mutual.

Another user drew comparisons to former PGA Tour Pro and fan favorite John Daly who was known to be not that particularly interested in training outside of games or tournaments. Daly is also not a fan of norms, having once admittedly drank 13 cans of Diet Coke during the 2007 PGA Championship.“John Daley is her idol,” stated the user. One other thing had previously got her compared to Daly. The smoking.

She went viral for signing autographs while smoking at the 2024 US Women’s Open. Then, at the Solheim Cup in 2024, a viral moment came to being when the English golfer borrowed a lighter from a fan on the sidelines to continue her smoke. Hull had later revealed in Dan Le Batard’s ESPN Radio Show that she smokes around five cigarettes per round.“ Hahaha. Zero interest in training? Yeah most smokers are like that. Female John Daly.”

Korda had laid bare her tough and focused training regime. And this could be one key difference between the standards that are set. “That’s why she will never be the best,” explained one fan, hinting at the closed potential Hull has. Charley Hull has two LPGA victories to her name. However, despite coming in close with three top-three finishes over the last three seasons, the Northamptonshire native has yet to win a major. One fan stated that it is this lack of a more serious approach to the game that is costing her, as she undeniably has the talent. Another fan also piled on the misery drawing comparisons to other former young prodigies, “No wonder she doesn’t win.”

Do you think Charley Hull could establish herself as one of the greats in the game if she shifts her training focus to something centered on golf alone? Or do you think her overall holistic training and improvement is what matters in the grand scheme of things?