I love the story of the great pianist Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989) who after performing in a concert, was approached by a young pianist who said, "Mr. Horowitz, I would give my life to play like you". The master's answer was a simple, "I did son, I did". The young pianist became one of the best ever as well (Glenn Gould).
When you become a professional at something, you must dedicate your time to that something 100%. In golf, we have many stories of how several of the great champions DID PRACTICE, they were their own coaches,
they spent hours and hours on the range, digging the answers from their practice sessions.
Once, Tommy Bolt, the 1958 U.S. Open Champion, in Southern Hills, Tulsa OK, no less (he ought to know something!), said that he thought Ben Hogan was better than Nicklaus because he saw Nicklaus watch Hogan practice, but he never saw Hogan watch Nicklaus' practice sessions. But you have to wonder if perhaps Nicklaus became the champion with the best record of all time because he was a good student of good habits. Hogan was 28 years his senior, and Hogan himself once said of Nicklaus "I played with a kid who plays a game I am not familiar with, he should have won by 10 shots!"(1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills won by Arnold Palmer).
As it was, in his generation, Jack Nicklaus practiced harder than anyone, and then Tom Watson did likewise (his friend and caddy, Bruce Edwards, in the book "A Caddy for Life" describes how he wanted to be Tom Watson's caddy because Tom practiced like no one else he saw). And now, the young kids that we see taking up the game, have Tiger Woods as a role model for their practice and fitness for their motivation.
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| Practice at all times! |
However, it was Hogan who "invented practice" as we now know it. Some players are "famous" or glamorous because of their lack of practice compared to their success, or perceived underachievement (Bruce Lietzke comes to mind - (*)). In the early 1950's, when Hogan was at his best, he was, and in many ways continues to be, a mystical personality. After a round, he always hit the practice range while his contemporaries went on for dinner and a drink.
A man of a few words who seldom opened his mouth on the course except to say "you are away, it's your shot", never carried a conversation on the golf course when he was either in a practice round (part of his job, so to speak of), or in a competitive round (his job). His focus is best described by the following story during a practice round for the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion which he won...
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| Practice in bad weather makes it easier to play in bad weather |
He was paired with an amateur who wanted to start small talk to "break the ice". After five holes without a word, they arrived at this hole with a fairway bunker on the left (Merion) where the amateur asked, "Mr. Hogan, does that bunker come into play?". Hogan simply answered, "No, just aim to the right of it". Other than "you are away", he never spoke another word during the round. After the round, however, Hogan went on to invite the amateur for a short drink of ginger ale before he went on to practice. The story goes that all Hogan said was about 7 words, "what is your name? and "good luck son".
During his recovery, the story is that Hogan used to sneak out of the house to go walks around the block, then a few blocks, then to the golf course to hit some chip shots. He could not live without golf. You could take him out of a golf course, but you could not take golf from inside him. Thus, a few years later, when he wrote "The Five Modern Fundamentals of Golf", because of his reputation born of his personal story and the mystique he created, the book became the best selling golf book of all time (it still is).
Everyone "knew" that he was finally going to "tell his secret". And he did in a round about way. The book is a compilation of everything he learned by himself, no coaches, no swing gurus, no mental coaches. In Hogan's own words. It is still published. And what did he write about? He goes on to say "how he did it himself, which is what he actually found out that worked for him. The truth is that many have learned from that book, including great players like Larry Nelson, who has won three majors, but many golfers have ruined their golf swing with that book as well,
because they miss the main point: Hogan's swing, and particularly his grip, does not work for everyone. He had massive hands and forearms that allowed a weak hand position to help him work the ball from left to right, with a soft fade, yet, was very long with every club.
But, if you work on the right things, and learn to use someone else's knowledge, use what works for you and discard what doesn't,you will learn.
When I see young people work out, practice and practice their swing, particularly their weaknesses in order to have the "full package", play round after round around the course, trying to shoot lower and lower scores; I hear Horowitz's words sound in their ears; I see a little of Ben Hogan's, Tom Watson's, Jack Nicklaus', Lee Trevino's habits in them. I see the will to get better. I see the will to learn. I see hatred of losing. I see the love of the game and the love of trying to find excellence. I sense their pride and know that they will not give up. They feel like Hogan: "One day without practice is one more day that it will take me to get better. An "If I cannot beat the others, at least I can outwork them!" attitude.
In short, let there be no mistake, once you get to certain level,
you need little instruction and a lot perspiration, because in the end, just like Hogan said, the simple truth is that "THE SECRET IS IN THE DIRT... IN TRULY IN DIGGING THE ANSWERS OUT OF THE DIRT UNTIL YOU FIND OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU".
Note: Originally I had written Fred Couples here, but he did win a major and a friend of mine reminded me that Couples could not practice a lot because of his back.. fair enough. On the other hand, Bruce's lack of practice and participation in the summer events is well documented. It shows that for him golf has been a job, not a true passion. He certainly had (has) the talent and has achieved a lot of success with over 20 wins in the PGA Tour and the Senior Tour, including the U.S. Senior Open... enough to make millions over the years, yet, to his credit, it is also well documented that Bruce is a true family man who spent all summers with his family and watching his kids grow. The above is not to undermine him, in fact, it shows that where where there is talent, a good living can be made while not giving away your family life (Nicklaus made a commitment early in his career not to leave home more than 3 weeks at a time any year, and to spend more time at home than on the road). It also shows that no modern champion ever got to the top without lots of practice. There is one thing saying "I'll give up anything to be with my family" and it is another thing actually doing it. There is no telling how much Bruce could have won if he had chosen to play and practiced more.
It doesn't sound like many golfers, but think about it: Hammon, OK is a town of less than 1,000 people.... yes, not a typo, only three zeroes!
That said, this is more like a family reunion, and less like an alumni tournament and you see people who truly had not seen each other for years, enjoy the company of each other, so they hurry to get finished in order to share a coke and a hotdog with old acquaintances and see the results, which this year, included a small "door prize" for everyone! The golf is not bad either, even if the participants do not play as often, or only play once a year... in this event.
