Bringing Order to the Anarchy -- Knowledge
by Bob Duncan, Author of the GolfeCoach
Do you really want to play better golf? C’mon, really?
Everything you need to play better golf and succeed is already here. So, is the perfect golf swing all you need? If that
were the case we would all be talking about George Knudson (never heard of him? click George Knudson ) instead of
Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. Jack Nicklaus said George Knudson had a Million Dollar Golf Swing!
Hey, the swing helps, since George did win 8 times on the PGA Tour.
But, why aren’t we using George Knudson as the model? And more importantly, is the model all there is? What are the
other things you need? Clubfitting? Absolutely. Correctly fitted clubs support -- and allow -- a biomechanically correct
swing (do you really think your swing can compensate for clubs that don’t fit -- and why would you want it to?). More
practice? Maybe. How about:
Knowledge! Remember, you heard it here: The more you know, the less mental toughness you need! Is Tiger Woods
really that gifted? Does he practice harder than anyone else -- like Vijay Singh (legendary for practice)? Or, does he
know something that others don’t?
In the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, won by Tiger, an interesting event occurred on the 8th hole that has been
completely overlooked. Number 8 is a par 4, not very long, and doesn’t look that hard. It’s along the ocean, and is a lay-
up off the tee, then a mid to short iron to the green across a ravine. At one point on Saturday, the wind blowing softly
from the right off the ocean, and 48 of the best golfers in the world went through.... but only 2 of them made birdie. Tiger
Woods and Fred Couples. That hole is not that hard -- was it luck or skill?
Or, was it knowledge? Every one of those golfers could have ‘played’ the hole the way Tiger and Freddie did, but they
played it differently. Each of those other ‘golfers’ tried to land the ball somewhere near the pin, which was back left, but
they all failed to leave the ball where they could make the next shot.
But Tiger and Freddie played it differently. They landed the ball on the front right part of the green and rolled it up to
about 12 to 15 feet to the right of the pin, and then made the putt. Now seriously, you can’t tell me that it was skill that
helped them make birdie and no one else. Every one of those other golfers had the skill to land the ball on the front right
part of the green, but they didn’t. What’s different?
It must be KNOWLEDGE! So, what did Tiger and Freddie know that the other golfers didn’t?
Looking at the situation, the 2nd shot was from a downhill lie, and they knew that the green was hard, the wind would
blow the ball from right to left, the ball would be on a lower trajectory because of the downhill lie, and the ball would not
stop where it landed. Therefore, if it’s going right to left and won’t stop, if you want to get it close to a back left pin then
landing it front right makes sense!
Now, there’s a level of knowledge that 46 of the best golfers in the world didn’t have, but 2 of the best PLAYERS did
have! What’s up with those other 46?
Of course, you say, how does that help me since I’m not at that level of thinking (yet) let alone skill?
The payoff is that the ball rarely goes exactly the same distance or trajectory that you hit it on the range and you need to
start recognizing that. If you add the influence that the lie of the ball has -- grass, slope, etc, along with the wind, and the
landing zone, you will now realize that when combined they can do almost anything to your ball.
Don’t base your complete performance on what you did on the range. The reason we play golf is specifically because it
is not the range! Your results on the range are from perfect, flat lies. Your results on the course are from completely
inconsistent lies. Golf really isn’t about what you do with good lies -- it is about knowing that you’re going to miss-hit
every other lie to some degree and deciding what that miss-hit is going to be. Even if you get a nice, fluffy lie that you hit
solid, if it goes farther than your range performance it is a miss-hit that goes too far.
In order to truly PLAY the game of golf, you need to expand your experience to know when the ball will not go the same
distance as on the range. Much like a baseball player hits different pitches to different fields, players recognize when
conditions are different and start playing for something other than solid and straight.
Bob Duncan is a PGA Golf Professional from Redmond, Oregon, with a strong player / coach philosophy. Learn more
about Bob and his forthcoming book, Critical Golf, Personal Golf Coaching System at www.golfachievement.com, and
email Bob at [email protected].