It’s just six inches!

Unwarranted criticism to sport professionals usually is not the right course of action for anyone to pursue. Take the latest article written by Alex Myers and was posted on www.golfdigest.com dated August 5, 2021, “Former LPGA player destroys random dude on Tinder for giving her swing tips.” Needless to say, it was not a good response from former LPGA golfer Anya Alvarez.

Likewise, I read a story on www.independent.com dated about four months ago about Bryson DeChambeau written by Tom Kershaw, “Inside the mind of Bryson DeChambeau, golf’s polarising genius.” Reading Mr. Kershaw’s article, you find out how DeChambeau uses geometry calculations for every swing. The one thing I have learned over the years in my poor attempts to improve my golf game is your mind does not need to occupied with any unnecessary junk when you are playing.

Calculating drive distances, pitching angles when approaching the green, and green slopes for putting may just be too much handle while playing. It is not the 300-to-400-yard fairways, the 100-yard pitches up to the green, or the 20-foot putts that is the problem. It is the six inches between the ears that cause all the problems. As a friend told me when I first started playing at the age of 18, just hit the ball. Bryson may be able to drive the golf ball into the next county when teeing off but having that as a prime directive means you will constantly have wayward shots ending in the trees, the lake, the sand, and anywhere else an errant shot can take you. Golf is 90 percent a mind game with the remaining 10 percent hitting the ball. As I stated in a previous posting, golf is not always about how far you can drive the ball. You must be able to hit the target you set for yourself for if you are not consistent in hitting the ball then it does not matter how hard you drive it. Without accuracy and consistency, you will have nothing.

The actions of which I mentioned were confirmed after watching the final round of the WGC FedEx-St. Jude Invitational this weekend. Bryson DeChambeau started his final round as a co-leader at (-) 16 but by the time he made his final bogey putt on the 18th green, he finished some four strokes off the lead and was not able to participate in the 2-hole playoff as the other three: Abraham Ancer, Hideki Matsuyama, and Sam Burns. Ultimately, Abraham Ancer won and was crowned the champion. To understand the true complexity and difficulty of playing golf, I suggest you view the attached link of Robin Williams description of the history of golf. Then and only then will anybody who has never played will understand. Of course, those of us who play will most assuredly relate. Robin Williams Standup - Golf (full version) - Bing video

As a parting thought, another observation I take note of regarding this years PGA events I refer to the magazine Golf. I receive monthly issues of the magazine and I noticed a strange occurrence this year concerning Dustin Johnston and John Rahm. When I received both issues, both gentlemen had secured the presence of being on the cover, April 2021, and June 2021 respectfully. Dustin, as the 2020 Masters champion, being on the April cover prior to the playing of the Masters in Augusta, Georgia resulted in a less than stellar tournament play. John Rahm likewise even had a worse event. After being on the June cover prior to playing in the Memorial, at the end of his third round on Saturday as he was walking off the 18th green, the country watched on live TV being told he had to withdraw from the tournament for he tested positive for COVID-19. He had just finished his third round six strokes ahead and was in sole possession of the lead. It seems the curse of being on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine has now been transitioned over to Golf magazine. All of this is just thoughts.

References

The Independent, “Inside the mind of Bryson DeChambeau, golf’s polarising genius” (April 4, 2021), Tom Kershaw

(The Masters 20201: Inside the mind of Bryson DeChambeau, golf’s polarising genius | The Independent)

Golf Digest, “Former LPGA player destroys random Dude on Tinder for giving her swing tips” (August 5, 2021), Alex Myers

(Former LPGA player destroys random dude on Tinder for giving her swing tips | This is the Loop | GolfDigest.com)