Scott Weems - Golf University: Become a Better Putter, Driver, and More—the Smart Way

Copyright 2019 by Scott Weems

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Qualcom Designs

Cover photo credit iStock

ISBN: 978-1-51074-305-2

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-51074-306-9

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Freshman Orientation

Some people say that a book cant teach you how to play golf. I agree and would add that books cant teach you how to be a doctor either, because advanced skills take practice. Yet I would never trust a surgeon who hasnt opened an anatomy textbook, and I would certainly not step on a plane with a pilot who cant explain the concept of lift.

Learning a sport as complex as golf can be intimidating. One problem is that instruction books can make swinging clubs at little white balls sound like neurosurgery. Always keep your right elbow tucked. Keep knees aligned, ensure left wrist is flat at takeback, and never I mean never lift your head before entering your follow-through. The sheer number of instructions can be overwhelming, which is why sport can only be mastered through practice. But knowing why golf is so challenging, and also so rewarding, is as important to your swing as anatomy textbooks are to avoiding costly malpractice suits.

Golf is about more than intense practice. If that were all there was to the sport, you wouldnt play. Golf also involves psychology and the thrill of competition. Its played outdoors, so theres also the joy of different weather conditions and course designs. And since it takes both strength and coordination, youre not breaking par without at least some understanding of what your body can do and how a small twist of the wrist can determine the future path of a tiny white ball.

Still, this is just a start. If the game depended only on a mix of psychology and physics, youd stick with billiards instead.

Golf is also about self-discipline. Easy tasks are seldom rewarding, and golf is the perfect exampleI still have the scorecard from my first game, and it wasnt pretty. Twice, I took ten swings to reach the hole and one was a par three! I lost five balls over nine holes, and though in my defense it was a rural, hilly course with lots of leaves on the fairways, my problem wasnt the fairways. I doubt I saw a fairway all day. And this isnt unusual for a beginner.

Golf is difficult, but thats why we love it. Its also old, and that age has given it a rich history and tradition. When Bobby Jones beat Walter Hagen in golfs Match of the Century, our country still had no Empire State Building. When players teed off at Americas first golf club, not far from Savannah, Georgia, George Washington was still our president. And by the time Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, two continental kings had already declared golf illegal, worried that it was distracting soldiers from archery practice.

In short, golf is hard and its old and it cant be mastered from a book alone. But you can still learn a lot more about how we play.

Thats what this book is for. Its for those who love the sport and want to learn more. For those who recognize it for what it really isa learning process.

And not just about a 1.2-second swing.

I love golf, and I have ever since I first swung a club. My relationship with the sport started at the University of Maryland, which has a course located just off the main campus. As a faculty member, I was able to play and take lessons there relatively cheaply, and it was a great way to learn. I visited the driving range whenever I could, and I spent many hours watching both students and professors struggle with their swings. It was empowering and frustrating at the same time, because I quickly saw that golf doesnt discriminate. Patience is rewarded, but rank and seniority are not. No matter your age, or athletic ability, or even your disposable income, its easy to play badly. Playing well is also possibleit just takes practice.

I also discovered something elseno matter how hard you practice, theres always more to learn. Even the best players arent perfect.

For some people, that could be discouraging, but for me, its the sports charm. Golf isnt about mastering a set of skills, because mastery is a fools goal. Even golfs greatsRory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, to name just a fewstill make mistakes. Often. They also practice every day and hire swing coaches because they know that the sport will never be mastered. Its about the journey, not the destination.

The same applies for our education, which is why school and golf go so well together. Even when I was a graduate student, I knew that the education I was receiving was just a beginning. We go to school because we want to learn, and that doesnt stop when we graduate. We learn new things every day, and if were lucky, we develop a curiosity that remains a central part of our future lives.

Im fortunate that as a cognitive neuroscientist, and also an avid golfer, I have a lot to be curious about. This book is written for players and students like me who want to keep learning about the sport we all love.

Take Harvey Penick as an example. Hopefully, you have heard of him, because hes as inspirational a figure as youll find. Granted, Jack Nicklaus won eighteen majors, and Ben Hogan practically invented the modern golf swing despite being nearly paralyzed in a car wreck, but Penick did something even more remarkablehe made millions of people love the game.

I feel particularly drawn to Penick because, like me, he wasnt an exceptional player. He was good, a lot better than Ill ever be, but he wasnt like Nicklaus or Hogan. He never won a tournament, and he spent almost no time on the professional tour. Instead, he was a world-class instructor, learning something new about golf every day and sharing that knowledge with whomever he could find. For over 60 years, he taught players of all ages and abilities, earning his team at the University of Texas 21 titles and his individual students wins in more than three hundred professional tournaments.

Three hundred! Thats more than Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Ben Hogan combined with almost a hundred to spare. Not bad for a player who never even placed in a professional competition.

Clearly, you dont have to be as dedicated as Penick to enjoy the game, but we could all benefit from sharing his enthusiasm. Penick loved the sport, and not just playing it. He loved learning about it, talking about it, and exploring it from all angles. Hopefully, by the end of this book, youll see why.

I believe that sport, like any advanced skill, takes study. In this book, well explore the parts of your game that dont ordinarily get your attention, like how golf is driven by physics (it doesnt just have to do with the arc of the swing). Have you ever wondered whats the benefit of a three-layer ball? Or why a lofted pitch shot sticks next to the pin on your home course but rolls off the green everywhere else? Or why companies constantly advertise revolutions in shaft or clubface designs, even though golf equipment looks basically the same year after year? Some of those designs help your game, but most just take money from your bank account.