The U.S Open.
The national championship of the largest golf playing nation on earth.
What a tournament, feels to me that summer is just getting started when the US Open starts and one of my favourite venues is Pebble Beach.
Did you know that Pebble Beach is actually a public course, anyone can play it, provided you have the moola of course.
Anyways, one of the best performances I’ve ever seen, not just in a US open but anywhere in golf, in fact anywhere in sport, was way back when a young uncle Bob was in short trousers, when people actually spoke to each other rather than look at smartphones all day, and Flakebook and Twatter were nowhere to be seen.
It was the year 2000 and a young Tiger Woods strolled to victory by a wopping 15 shots.
Unheard of at the time.
No one wins a major by 15 shots.
He did though, he was that good.
And that got me thinking.
You see Tiger has a bit of a reputation not only for the ladies but also for missing fairways, which yes he has been a bit wild in latter years but he still hits his share.
Fact is you can’t be that good hitting it into the junk all day.
Onwards
Now here’s the thing. When Tiger was at his peak, he was very very long compared to the field off the tee but he was also lazer accurate. Quite a potent combination long and straight, when it comes to winning golf tournaments.
But back in the day, Tigers driver of choice was a steel shafted little number, but more important than that, it measured around 44 inches long.
Short by the modern standard.
Is it a coincidence that Tiger’s driving issues started when he switched to a graphite shaft and a longer shaft, me thinks not.
Being the sceptical old pro I am, I don’t believe in coincidence.
Graphite shafts are one thing but the length of the club is key. Modern drivers are so long nowadays they could double as a nice fishing pole.
With manufacturer after manufacturer lining up to sell you the latest driver, claiming it now goes 15 yards further than the one they bought out 3 months ago, it’s not surprising blokes and sheilas at golf clubs up and down the land can’t find a fairway for love nor money.
Certainly not on a regular basis.
And it’s the extra length of the club that makes it so hard to swing, to square the face and to get the middle of the club on the back of the ball time and time again.
Simple fact , the further you stand from the ball the harder it is to apply the middle of the clubface.
So here’s two things Uncle Bob recommends, get your driver cut down to size so you actually have a chance of finding the middle of the clubface, don’t worry you won’t lose distance, the fact you hit it from the middle will make up for the lost length of club.
Secondly checkout my free e-book “The #1 Distance Killer”, so many golfers are being robbed of vital yardage through no fault of their own, this will clear up the mess for you.
Get your hands on a copy at this link here.
Bob James PGA