How to Begin Your Round

I often find myself wondering why I can't seem to play my best more often. I have had some pretty good rounds over the years, and a few rounds stand out for me because they seemed so easy. Today, I read again about the fact that Bobby Jones had a similar experience, but obviously on a grander scale.

In his book Bobby Jones on Golf, Bobby talked about playing his best and offered some sage advice. He wrote:

    "Of all the times that I have struggled around the golf course, there are a few easy rounds that stand out in my memory. These are the ones I should like to play over again, and it would not take long, for there are not that many. One at Sunningdale, England, one at East Lake in Atlanta, two at Augusta, Georgia (both in one day), one at Interlachen in Minneapolis, and that's about it. Other scores were as good, but no other rounds were as satisfying.

     Strangely, perhaps, one thing stands out about all those rounds; I had precisely the same feel on each occasion; I was conscious of swinging the club easily and yet without interruption; my left side was moving through without hindrance, yet I was making no special effort to get it out of the way; in fact, I had to make no special effort to do anything.

     Sunningdale came first. I did not recognize the symptoms, because I had never had them before. Then, the next year, we had an open tournament at East Lake. In warming up before the second round, I suddenly realized that I had the same feel I had at Sunningdale--and it worked again. It is not unnatural that I tried to get it every time I went out on the course, but only a few times did it come."

I've had some magical rounds--at least for me--that were just like that. Everything seemed easy and effortless. Like Bobby, I've tried to find that feeling most every time I play. But it can't seem to be summoned at my command, any more than it could be for Bobby Jones.

So, what's the solution to this apparent mystery? If we can't always play that kind of "golf in the kingdom" golf, where everything just seems to flow, how should we approach every round? Bobby provides the answer:

    "I think it is helpful to begin a round, or better still, to begin warming up for a round, swinging the club as easily as possible, gradually working up speed until you play yourself into a tempo that feels about right. After you have found the right rhythm for the driver, try to carry the same beat down through the other clubs. In other words, vary the selection of clubs for the fairway shots so that they can be swung as nearly as possible in the same rhythm. If you are able to swing the driver easily and get a good solid contact and good direction, it is more likely that on that particular day you will have better luck with your irons if you will take the stronger club and swing it easily also. If you find that in driving it is necessary to swing hard in order to move the left side out of the way, the chances are that the irons will be better if the more lofted clubs are chosen and swung nearly with full force.

     No matter how 'average' one's game may be, there are always vast possibilities in this matter of finding the proper beat for a given day. It is really a sort of tuning-up process everyone can go through with profit. And always the start should be made on the low side, swinging easily at first, gradually increasing the speed until the thing begins to click. And remember, it is not length that is wanted so much as accuracy and consistency."

I've often been puzzled by the fact that in there somewhere for me is this effortless golf swing that I seem to only be able to find occasionally. I guess, after reading this from Bobby, I shouldn't be puzzled, or surprised, it's just golf.

Bobby Jones on Getting Better

Bobby Jones never fails me. His books are so jam-packed with golfing wisdom and common sense. I have a man-cave where I can sit in my recliner with a television, and surrounded by books. There's a pool table as well because the same sort of mental exercise used in golf is used in shooting pool. My pool game is pretty decent, but interestingly I spend little or no time thinking about pool. I think about golf pretty much all the time.

Next to my chair is a small bookcase that holds my go-to golf books; the ones by Bobby Jones showing the most wear. Today, for example, I read a blog from a fellow in England who is trying to get to a single digit handicap. He outlines all the hard work he has been doing on the range, the instruction he's been receiving, etc. Sadly, despite all the work, he actually saw his handicap go up last season. That's the sad thing about this game. It doesn't reward all effort equally.

Thinking of what Bobby Jones might say about this fellow's situation--and mine for that matter--I reached for the book Bobby Jones on Golf. I randomly opened it right to the first page of chapter eleven.  The subject was Golf as Recreation. And I think the answer to my English friend's dilemma is found right there. Notice how Bobby begins:

    "The golfer with a fairly good swing who never seems able to score well is a familiar figure on any course. In many respects, he is in the same boat with the tournament player who burns up the course in practice rounds, but does nothing in the actual competition. Obviously, there is a great deal more to playing golf than swinging the club.

     There is scarcely one golfer of the so-called average class who could not benefit from an effort to school himself in applying good sense, judgememt, and a little intelligent thinking to his game; and this without reference to the mechanics of the swing. Merely by adopting measures that will help him get a consistently high rate of performance from what ability he has, a surprising improvement can be made.

     The trouble with all of us, who grumble over the game and thus spoil an otherwise pleasant afternoon with congenial friends, is that we do not understand the game, nor ourselves. In this we could take a number of lessons from the dub. For no matter how good we may be, if we should fancy that we have mastered golf to the extent that we can go out day after day and play as we please, then we are greater fools than ought to be left at large."

Not very comforting words for those of us who hang on the the hope that some magic move or swing change can make us better players. The fact is that a swing can't be rebuilt in a day, a week, or even a season. And swing changes are really undertaken at our peril. We don't know whether they will make us better or worse. 

The key, as Bobby pointed out, is "applying good sense, judgement, and a little intelligent thinking" to our play. That's what will make almost all of us better without hitting another practice shot. But thinking is hard work. That's why so few of us are inclined to do it. I, for one, am guilty of making the same mental mistakes over and over again. I am still unable, or unwilling, to play this game one shot at a time. That's because thinking is hard. The best players are smart players. They understand the game, and they understand themselves.

Let the Right Hand and Arm "Go Along For the Ride"

In his book Play Better Golf, Jack Nicklaus offers some excellent advice for those just learning the game, and those who find themselves struggling with their ballstriking. While golf is a two-handed game, all the old teachers considered the golf swing to be controlled by the left side for a right-handed player. Bobby Jones considered the golf swing a back-handed strike with the left hand for a right-handed player.

The fact is that the early or improper application of the right hand and side probably ruins more golf shots than anything else. Consider what the greatest Major champion of them all had to say on the subject:

    "Golf is a two-handed game. But until a golfer's muscles are fully trained there's a great danger his stronger hand and arm will overpower his weaker side. The way to overcome this is to establish a sensation of 'softness' in the trailing hand and arm at address. Then consciously try to keep them passive throughout the swing. Let them just 'go along for the ride' most of the time and they'll automatically do their job in the hitting area in response to centrifugal force."

So, don't believe me, believe Jack Nicklaus and try to relax that right hand and arm during the swing. It may just help you lose that slice, or that pull hook, that keeps rearing its ugly head.

Icing on the Cake

Tiger finally tees it up again this week. We will all be interested in seeing how he plays. There are those who will be rooting for him and those hoping to see him fall flat on his face. Tiger has always had his detractors as well as his fans.

I suppose I've always been one of the detractors. When I watched him win his last US Amateur and leave poor Steve Scott standing there on the final green waiting to shake his hand while he celebrated and hugged his entourage, my first thought was that this kid has no class. I must admit that he has not done much since to make me change that opinion. But Tiger has been a great player, if not the greatest we've ever seen. And you really must walk a mile in a guys shoes to properly understand him.

I have come to realize that Tiger was and is simply a product of his upbringing and training; just like the rest of us. He had been raised by his father to win. The niceties of the game--respect for your opponent, the fans, possibly even the game, came second to winning. The boulder incident in the desert was the icing on the cake for me. I just couldn't imagine Jack, or Bobby Jones, having the audacity to call on a rules official and ten or twelve fans to move a boulder out of his way, deeming it to be a "loose impediment." It just wouldn't have occurred to them.

Nevertheless, I've softened in my old age because I'm beginning to appreciate just how much we all are a product of our genetics and our upbringing. Most of us, including Tiger, are just trying to do the best we can with what we have to work with. In Tiger's case he had, and still has, a great deal to work with. But even Tiger has had to learn the facts of life. In golf you simply can't win every time you tee it up. In fact, you can't even win most of the time you tee it up. As Jack said, "Golf is the only game where you can win twenty percent of the time and be the best player in the world."

In golf you lose more often than you win. In golf second place does not suck. I think Tiger has had to learn that lesson. When he lost the PGA championship to YE Yang in 2008, after starting the final round with the lead, I don't think Tiger, or anyone else for that matter, doubted that he would win. After all, he'd done it 14 times in a row. He was bullet-proof.  That he hasn't won a Major since certainly suggests that it had a big impact on him. Sure there were other things in his personal life; and there were the health issues; but I really believe that loss was a big factor in Tiger's play in the Majors since. He now knew he wasn't bullet-proof; and perhaps even more importantly, so did everyone else.

I hope Tiger can come out this week and play well. If he wins, all the more power to him. But, as Bobby Jones pointed out, there is golf and there is championship golf and they bear very little resemblance to one another. Tiger can hit it great on the range, and shoot in the low sixties in practice rounds. The real test will be how he handles the pressure of the Majors. It's been over eight years since he's won one. And eight years is a long old time. 

When Tiger actually wins a big one, we can then say he's back. And while getting five Majors to beat Jack's record seems unlikely, if not downright impossible, perhaps it would be only fitting that a player as great as Tiger has been have an '86 moment like Jack did. 

Whatever happens, I'm sure that any victories he might earn from now until the end of his career will surely feel that much sweeter for Tiger--like the icing on the cake.

The Great Danes and Li Hao-Tong

The World Cup of Golf, played at the wonderful Kingston Heath Club in Melbourne, was quite a show. It was highlighted by a superlative performance by the Danes, Thorbjorn Oleson and Soren Kjeldsen, who, with their best ball round of 60 on Friday, seized control of the tournament and refused to let go despite the best efforts of the French, the Americans, and the pair from China that included the twenty-one year old budding superstar, Li Hao-Tong.

After going out in even par on the final round to make things interesting and give some hope to the chasing pack, the Danes settled down and produced six birdies on the final nine to win handily. They were simply too good. The diminutive Kjeldsen, who has played his best golf since turning 40, was rock solid and allowed his equally small-in-stature--but big in power and explosiveness--partner, "Thunder Bear" Oleson, let it all hang out. It was a perfect partnership and the two, as Kjeldsen said in the post-tournament interview, have cemented a great golfing friendship this week. And that, as Kjeldsen also aptly pointed out, is really what this sort of team golf is all about.

The Danes proved to be the class of the field, but one player who I think has now announced his arrival on the world's golfing stage is the young Chinese player, Li Hao-Tong. This young man seems to have it all. He's got length. He hits all the shots. He is a terrific, bold putter. And he has lots of personality and clearly just loves to compete. Expect to see him become a world-class player; perhaps even the first Chinese golfer to win a Major. He is that good.

As for Kingston Heath; it won rave reviews from the players. Kjeldsen said it was the kind of course he could happily play every day. The weather conspired to make it not as hard, fiery and fast as it can be. The greens never stopped receiving well-hit shots. And birdies were there to be had. The course identified the best players, allowed them to showcase their shotmaking abilities, and once again proved that great courses are all about risk and reward and strategy. Length isn't everything.

A great win for the Danes. And watch out for Oleson and Li in the coming season. I expect to see them making plenty more noise.

Don't Hurry, Don't Worry

Walter Hagen famously said, "You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way." It was great advice for living and for playing golf. Worrying and hurrying are two things that can ruin your swing and your game.

With respect to the golf swing, Bobby Jones said that no one ever swung the club too slowly. And he identified two points where most golf swings go wrong--the takeaway and the first move from the top. If the takeaway and the change of direction from the top can be accomplished in a leisurely fashion, good things can happen.

How many times, especially when it's a difficult shot, haven't I taken the club back nice and slowly, only to lurch at the ball from the top and ruin the shot. Hurrying the strike is a killer. There is, after all, no need to hurry. The ball isn't going anywhere. 

But Bobby Jones also said that many golfers think they are concentrating when, in fact, they are only worrying. And worry causes physical as well as mental tension. Tense muscles don't help the golf swing. They might be good for bending iron bars, but they don't make the club head move faster.

Someone said, "you don't play golf to relax; you relax to play golf." There's a distinct difference. We want to be engaged in our golf game. We don't want to relax, we need to try to play as well as we possibly can every time we tee it up. It is in the throwing yourself wholeheartedly into the playing of the game that we derive the most benefit from it. But, again as Bobby Jones said, we must fight tension whetever it may be found when we are swinging the golf club. A relaxed body can really whip that club through the impact zone.

So, I think the Haig's motto is a great one for us golfers. Don't hurry, don't worry. Pick your shot, take the club back slowly and leisurely, and make that change of direction nice and smooth. And while you're walking or riding the course, stop and smell the flowers. Enjoy the birds, the trees, the deer, even the gators, you come across in your travels on the links. We are, after all, only here for a short visit.

Kingston Heath the Winner

I haven't watched much golf of late, but tuned in to the World Cup being played this week at Kingston Heath down under. What a wonderful golf course by Alistair McKenzie; fantastic, natural-looking bunkering, firm faurways, firm, fast greens, and still a great test of golf for the world's best players. Remember the good old days when golf courses were built to walk and not to sell real estate? 

Playing alternate shot the first day we saw the American team of Rickie Fowler and PGA champion Jimmy Walker, despite some iffy ball-striking, put on a short-game clinic to be one back of the Spanish team at two under along with the French, the up-and-coming team from China.

In his post round interview Jimmy Walker summed up the beauty of great designs like Kingston Heath when he said, "That's what's fun about this place; you've got options. It's however you want to play." Great courses give you options. They force you to think and strategize. And they demand a great short game if you are going to score. 

There are some terrific players assembled in Melbourne. And it's likely going to be a battle to the end. But the real winner has already been established; and that is Kingston Heath. I hope some day to be lucky enough to get down under and play some of those wonderful sandbelt courses around Melbourne. Until then, I've always got Pinehurst within driving distance.