A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Kathryn found me the autobiography The Walter Hagen Story yesterday at a Goodwill. Naturally I couldn't wait to see what the Haig had to say about life and dug into it last night. 

Walter Hagen was definitely a colourful character. He was a crowd favourite who admittedly played to the crowd, making easy shots appear difficult and difficult shots appear easy. He very quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with when he won the US Open on his second try. He never looked back.

Hagen was soon able to charge $200 an hour for lessons. This was a time when two hundred bucks was two hundred bucks! As with most other things, the Haig approached giving lessons somewhat differently from most teachers. He would let his pupil hit a few shots, then he would grab the club and say, "This is how you do it." The student would then, whether he or she liked it or not, be treated to an hour of watching the Haig hit shots. Sounds like a pretty good way to teach. We would all likely gain more just watching a top player hit shots than having him try to tell us how to hit them. A picture is, after all, worth a thousand words.