Former U.S. Open champ on pro golf then versus now: They drink protein, we drank wine

Retief Goosen explains the differences the sport has seen since he won the second of his two golf majors here at Shinnecock Hills in 2004.

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Published Jun 18, 2026  •  3 minute read

Retief Goosen of South Africa lines up a putt during the final round of the Principal Charity Classic last week. Getty Images

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SOUTHHAMPTON, N.Y. — Much has changed in the world of golf over the past 25 years with pros getting stronger and faster.

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One past U.S. Open champion says no matter how physically fit a player is, wear and tear “eventually will catch up” to everyone and that the game is “easy to dial in” these days.

“Golf now is more of an athletic sport than it’s ever been,” the two-time U.S. Open champ said on Thursday as the tournament kicked off. “The guys drink protein shakes and stuff, and we used to drink wine and all that stuff.”

“Speak for yourself,” 1995 champion Corey Pavin piped in with a smile.

Goosen further explained the differences the sport has seen since he won the second of his two majors here at Shinnecock Hills in 2004.

“When we grew up, there was none of that science around, or early on, all the launch monitors and all that stuff. It wasn’t that easy to dial in your stuff like they can now,” he said.

“The guys are definitely much more athletes now than they used to be,” Goosen added. “As you get older, with us flexibility is the main thing. We work on trying to stay flexible and stay away from injuries is the main thing to keep going, but when you’re young, as we all know, you just swing away. There’s no issue. Eventually it will catch up.”

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Other differences: Then vs. Now

The 57-year-old most recently played in a major at the 2018 Open Championship and these days Goosen can be found on the Champions Tour, where he has won five times, including in April when he won the Stableford scoring Mitsubishi Electric Classic by two points over Stephen Ames.

Pavin, who also won at Shinnecock, explained some of the differences at the famed course since his victory 31 years ago.

“Certainly the length of the course has changed,” Pavin said of the 7,400 yard setup. “The fairways are much wider. I’m not a huge fan of that personally, but it is what it is.

“When I won, it was all rough around the greens. It was long rough right off the edge. Now there’s the run-off areas, which changes a lot of how you play.

“You can miss the green by five feet, or even (hit it) on the green it can roll off and roll 20 yards. So your short game ability and what you need to do has changed out here … It’s just a different setup than if you want to call it a typical U.S. Open.”

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During Thursday’s two-hour fog delay, the 66-year-old Pavin was thinking about Padraig Harrington, one of this week’s elder statesmen in the field at 54 years old.

“I was watching the TV this morning, and Padraig came on and said that he warmed up, and then he had to stop and come back,” Pavin said. “He’s in good shape, but he said, it’s kind of tough on an old guy like that to have to warm up twice. You only have so much energy. I’m sure he was joking, but that’s hard.”

Goosen agreed that it’s advantage youth in these situations.

“These young guys, they have physios and nutritionists and all that stuff with them. I’m sure they will find good use of their time,” he said.

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