Bubba Watson's Masters
I confess myself one of the doubters about Bubba Watson taking a second Masters. But when he got into contention, he was so compelling to watch that it was hard not to be wishing him into the winner's enclosure.
He mastered his emotions to speak clearly and concisely at the elegant little ceremony when the previous winner Adam Scott presented the famous Green Jacket. Engaging was the way he compared 2012 with 2014, feeling that he rather “lucked in” the first time but had to work very hard to achieve the second.
Unless a new generation of players learns to hit the ball as long and high and straight as he does off the tee, then there is little to stop him adding one or two more Green Jackets to his collection.
Fascinating to me were the action photos of his golf swing in the Daily Telegraph on the Tuesday after his success. I noted his TWO straight arms well into the backswing giving great width. Then there is the huge lift of his right foot at the top. The moderns tend to stay more flat footed but I remember Jack Nicklaus lifting his heel pretty high so there may be something to it.
The most eccentric part is that he never actually grounds his heel at any stage being on his toe at impact and then, not surprisingly swivelling the foot through the best part of 90 degrees at the finish.
This reminded me of Henry Cotton giving Gary Player, no less, a swing tip to beat the pull hook that beset his driving from time to time. On the practice ground Henry said “ hit a few without grounding your left heel”. The result was a series of dead straight shots flying twenty yards further than usual.
I read somewhere that some of Gary's best golf was played subsequently when he had the feeling, at least, that his left heel was in the air at impact.
All power to you, Bubba. I hope that your body stands up to the inevitable stresses and strains of your fabulous hitting and that you will have the chance to defend the Masters title in April 2015.
Meanwhile there was much made by commentators of the recent spate of successes of left hand golfers. arguing that, under pressure it is safer for them to fade the ball at the key right to left holes like the 10th and the 13th. What they failed to mention was that prior to the new breed of golf balls and the huge headed metal drivers. no left handed fader of the ball was ever going to be long enough. Any right-hander hitting long raking hooks was always at an advantage. It must be said however, that Bubba Watson did not bother with such niceties much of the time, hitting the ball so long and straight that he had no need to.
He mastered his emotions to speak clearly and concisely at the elegant little ceremony when the previous winner Adam Scott presented the famous Green Jacket. Engaging was the way he compared 2012 with 2014, feeling that he rather “lucked in” the first time but had to work very hard to achieve the second.
Unless a new generation of players learns to hit the ball as long and high and straight as he does off the tee, then there is little to stop him adding one or two more Green Jackets to his collection.
Fascinating to me were the action photos of his golf swing in the Daily Telegraph on the Tuesday after his success. I noted his TWO straight arms well into the backswing giving great width. Then there is the huge lift of his right foot at the top. The moderns tend to stay more flat footed but I remember Jack Nicklaus lifting his heel pretty high so there may be something to it.
The most eccentric part is that he never actually grounds his heel at any stage being on his toe at impact and then, not surprisingly swivelling the foot through the best part of 90 degrees at the finish.
This reminded me of Henry Cotton giving Gary Player, no less, a swing tip to beat the pull hook that beset his driving from time to time. On the practice ground Henry said “ hit a few without grounding your left heel”. The result was a series of dead straight shots flying twenty yards further than usual.
I read somewhere that some of Gary's best golf was played subsequently when he had the feeling, at least, that his left heel was in the air at impact.
All power to you, Bubba. I hope that your body stands up to the inevitable stresses and strains of your fabulous hitting and that you will have the chance to defend the Masters title in April 2015.
Meanwhile there was much made by commentators of the recent spate of successes of left hand golfers. arguing that, under pressure it is safer for them to fade the ball at the key right to left holes like the 10th and the 13th. What they failed to mention was that prior to the new breed of golf balls and the huge headed metal drivers. no left handed fader of the ball was ever going to be long enough. Any right-hander hitting long raking hooks was always at an advantage. It must be said however, that Bubba Watson did not bother with such niceties much of the time, hitting the ball so long and straight that he had no need to.
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