Jason Day has grown to become an elite golfer. With 13 PGA Tour titles under his hood, he is one of the finest on the golf course these days. But the story that shaped the golfer he is today isn’t as great as his numbers. He faced abuse from his own father when he was just eight years old. Day’s account of early years in Rockhampton, where golf became both refuge and pressure point, sets a gripping tone, exposing the harsh treatment he endured from his father.

“I remember one time we were on the golf course, and it was just me and him. And he would do little things to hurt me around the golf course,” recounted the Australian. “Finally, after five holes on the golf course, where we’re in the deepest part of the golf course, where no one’s at, I just had enough and I started walking the other way. And he said, ‘Come back.'”

“And I didn’t listen. And he then, for some reason, talked me into coming back, and for some reason he goes, ‘I’m going to say sorry blah blah blah.’ So I walk back, and as soon as I walk back, he knocks me out. He closed fist knocks me out,” Jason Day told Ryan McPartlin.

“I mean, it was tough because you go through that, you love something so much. And I had some friends at school, but I just loved golf so much, and I was willing to go through the pain of it all just to play golf because I really thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Day’s father, Alvin, worked at meat processing plants, relocating for jobs. And it all started when they moved from Beaudesert to Rockhampton. The 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson winner attributes his father’s upbringing and alcohol consumption to his abusive nature. He says that Alvin was raised tough, and he was doing the same to Day.

But irrespective of the cause, Day has been open about the difficulties he faced growing up with his father’s abuse. But when Day was just 12 years old, Alvin died of stomach cancer.

His father’s death exacerbated his turmoil, leading to fights and alcohol consumption. His mother, Dening, a Filipina immigrant, later sold their home to send him to Kooralbyn boarding school in an attempt to rein in his behavior.

This was the turning point for Day, as coach Colin Swatton became a stabilizing father figure and long-term caddie. “He’s taken me from a kid that was getting in fights at home and getting drunk at 12 and not heading in the right direction to a major champion,” Day once said.

While his childhood was undoubtedly tough, Jason Day still took something positive from it.

“I definitely have memories of him beating me up on the golf course and obviously outside the golf course. But the one positive that I always take away from it, which is like never a positive that a little kid like that should ever go through, it made me and forced me to focus really hard on the golf course because if I didn’t, I knew I was going to get whooped back home,” Jason Day said.

“But because I loved the game of golf so much, I wanted to play the game of golf so much, it didn’t matter. For some reason in my mind, I still remember saying this, I’m like, ‘I don’t care if I get walked every day. I just love golf so much.'”

He emphasized that this pressure forced focus at a young age, turning a negative into a driver for excellence. Day’s passion for the game outweighed the pain.

Jason Day turned pro in 2006 and has won 13 titles on the PGA Tour. He is one of the most consistent golfers on the tour. 2015 was his best season, when he won 5 events, including his only major win at the PGA Championship. He continues to maintain his exceptional form to date. Of the 17 starts, he missed the cut only in three. While he didn’t win any event, he made it to the top 10 four times.

One of the biggest reasons behind this consistency is Jason Day’s chipping. Even Tiger Woods himself turned to the 13x PGA Tour winner for advice on chipping.

Top Stories

Charley Hull Opens Up on Traumatic Divorce from Ex-Husband for the First Time Ever

‘Penalize Him’: PGA Tour Q-School Faces Heat as Slow Play Incident Goes Unaddressed

LIV Golf to Cut Ties With Veteran Pro After His PGA Tour Return Intentions Became Public

Si Woo Kim Shows Where His Loyalty Lies With Clear Stance on LIV Golf Rumors – Report

Justin Thomas Undergoes Intense Physical ‘Rehab’ After Surgery Delayed His PGA Tour Return

Jason Day’s chipping secrets

Jason Day shared chipping techniques in a YouTube masterclass titled “How Not to Chip” on The Lads channel. He addressed five common chipping mistakes amateurs make. Day’s tips were on setup, swing path, head position, body sync, and tempo.

The major champion recommends a balanced wedge stance narrowed to a quarter, about 6-10 inches between feet. This helps with weight distribution, which allows a light lift of the trailing foot off the ground for stability. He also advises neutral positioning where the club aligns with the hands on both backswing and downswing.

Most amateurs move their head back when going for a forward swing. Day suggests imagining a wall next to the head to steady its position and checking the movement on camera, while placing a towel under the armpits helps keep the arms connected to the body for better drives, according to him. For the tempo part, he says that using a tempo-training app that cues the start, backswing finish, and impact to create a smoother, more consistent swing pattern would be helpful.

Jason Day’s journey shows how resilience can push an athlete beyond circumstances that would break most people, shaping both his character and his game. His openness about the past, paired with the expertise he now shares, reflects a player who turned hardship into lasting influence on and off the course.