Article #32
Featured Teacher: Bobby
To meet this week's teacher, or to purchase a copy of MUNIE ~ The Jitterbug Collection, go to www.bobbysteiner.com
Jitterbug and I showed up at Munie one summer Saturday morning, and after checking in with the pro shop, teed off with two men we met on the first tee.
The day had casual round written all over it, as the course was packed and the gentlemen with whom we had the pleasure of playing were also walkers, which meant there would be more time than usual to chat.
Walking off the fourth tee, Stan, the better of the two players, said, "Say, Bobby, have you ever read Ben Hogan's book?"
"Which one?" I asked.
He reached in his bag and pulled out a copy of Ben Hogan's "Power Golf."
"I guess I've thumbed through it," I said.
Stan looked at me like I had two heads. "Thumbed through it? This is the greatest book ever written! It saved my game. My handicap has gone from 22 to 16 in the last three months, and it's all because of what I read in this book!"
Something didn't seem quite right. Don't get me wrong, I believed the story about his handicap-the man had a glow. But, he sure didn't swing like Ben Hogan.
For starters, the late Mr. Hogan would roll over at the very sight of Stan's four-knuckle grip. Not to mention Stan's up-and-out-and-around-and-down-and-over swing shape, which would shatter Mr. Hogan's imaginary pane of glass in five or six places.
Trying to appear only vaguely curious, I said, "Oh, yeah? What have you been working on?"
"Everything," Stan said. "Grip, stance, forearm rotation, the whole bit. I've been hitting balls every day. Some days, three or four big buckets at a time."
I glanced down at Stan''s hands; they looked like a battlefield. The places that weren't taped were callused, and the index finger on his right hand had a huge crack in it. Yes, indeed, Stan had been putting in some hours.
So I started thinking…
Isn't it odd that two tour players can go out, both shoot 66, and neither hit a single shot that looked like the other's?
Some hit it high, others low. Some hook it with their irons, but play a fade with their woods. Some employ a wristy motion while others use a torso-driven swing. But, they all get it done, and with nearly the same degree of consistency.
The fact is, with the exception of only a few fundamentals, the only thing they all have in common is the number of hours they put in.
Jack Grout said of a young Jack Nicklaus, "Jack will practice in weather a brave man wouldn't venture out in."
Seve Ballesteros was said to have a similar work ethic.
And, Mickey Wright.
And, Lee Trevino
What about Nick Price? Many remember Nick's game was only mediocre among tour players until he fine tuned his big-muscle, "dog wags the tail" swing with the help of David Leadbetter. And, he won three majors in two years. But, few remember he practiced so much during this time that he wore a hole in the face of an 8-iron. Of course, everyone is more than willing to emulate Nick's new magic swing, all except the hours it took to develop. I guess since Nick did all that work, the rest of us don't have to. Thanks for that, Nick.
Let's not forget Ben Hogan, and his mid-career swing change. Some say the secret to golf came to him in his sleep, and that learning to fade the ball saved his game.
But, was it the fade, or his unswerving determination to learn the fade? I mean, the man practiced until his hands bled, then rubbed dirt on his hands and kept practicing. Had Mr. Hogan spent an equal number of hours learning a gentle draw, or any other flight for that matter, surely he would have been just as successful.
Jitterbug must've noticed my wheels turning, as walking off the fourth green, he said, "I know what you're thinking, Bobby."
"Oh, yeah? What am I thinking?"
"You're thinkin' about straightenin'' Stan out on what he's been readin' in that book."
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it," I said. "But, I'm not gonna. He's doin' fine without me."
"It's good you can see that," Jitterbug said. "Some days, a simple, 'Keep up the good work' is best advice there is."