F A T - the good kind.
There were 2 things my parents hammered into my brother and myself. The first was a good grip [however uncomfortable it was at first]- the fundamental of an uninhibited natural swing. - aim, stance and posture was sneaked naturally onto that first basic.
The second thing runs like a stream through my memory and my lesson notebooks - F A T, Firm at Top - in other words, a compact, controlled swing. Even what might be called a ‘half swing’, but is actually a 3/4 swing. I remember moaning that I was being asked to play hockey till either mum or dad took that trusty club and held it over our left shoulder. If our swing was too like John Daly, we banged our club off the butt. which I have marked with a blob. You’ll get glares, and accusations of moving the club if you are the club holder, but I wish I could swing this length every shot! The desire for distance, alas, takes over from time to time.
If you play golf as your sport, in a round you really do not hit all that many shots [once you get going!] Our hand and arm muscles are not exactly Chippendale size - so controlling a club by power, which hits a ball pretty violently, only happens with loads of practice. Tempo and timing; smooth and short[ish] - that is the only thoughts a golfer should have once they have set up or ‘hit right through and after the ball. That is all our minds can cope with.
I heard Tom Lehman banging on about getting the right knee to kiss the left knee for a correct follow through. I wondered how I had managed to play all these years without encouraging my knees to have a love affair. Why do grown ups make a game so complicated when kids just keep it child’s play?
At the Home Internationals I took some pix of the girls at Irvine going through their pre-shot routine. This is Kylie Walker Copy, copy, copy! But quickly!
Just 1, 2, 3 every shot [- even on the range!].
An interesting practice tip. [definitely advanced]
During a lunchtime discussion at the Open at Turnberry, in the R&A hospitality marquee on golf’s new technology, I admitted that I had only last year bought a ‘big driver’ because I liked to carry only 6 clubs in winter and had always used my old Callaway ‘off the deck’ and felt the gap from a 'big' driver to a 7 wood now was tricky. I was assured that to choke down on the grip of my new TaylorMade Burner, keep the takeaway smooth and controlled and, ok, the result might not be a thing of beauty, but it will go a considerable distance and fill that gap. It reinforces your timing, but it is a ‘no fear’ thing; I have done the deed for 2 winters now and some shots are a bit duff, but Captain Hamish was right and I am glad I took his advice.
