Bubba Watson, one of the longest hitters on tour, won his first tournament as a professional this past Sunday, beating Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank in a playoff.  It is surprising that it took Watson this long to gain his first victory on any tour, due to his length and talent. 

More surprising to me was that Corey Pavin, at age 50, and probably the shortest hitter on tour, is able to compete with players like Watson on select venues.  I think most golfers should pay attention to Pavin and how he gets around a golf course.

Pavin does not have a pretty swing, but he is able to work the ball right to left and left to right, pretty much at will.  He has an excellent wedge game and is a great putter.  In the final round, on the 18th hole, Pavin hit is tee shot about 240 yards, while Watson hit his 390 yards.  The hole is 444 yards.  That is an unfair fight, yet the two were tied at the end of 72 holes.  Watson should study Pavin’s game if he wants to win more.

While Pavin is not a long hitter, he is in control of his swing.  He does not have a pretty swing, as I said, but he does not have the flaws of the typical golfer such as an over the top downswing, a reverse pivot backswing, or a reverse weight shift on the down swing.  Since he does not have these flaws, he is able to work the ball, which he needs to be able to do, since at his low ball speed, he can not hit the ball very high.

It is amazing to me how long some of these players like Watson, Dustin Johnson and J.B. Holmes can hit the ball, but they do not win much.  Even the pretty swingers like Adam Scott and Luke Donald do not win as much as they should.  It appears that they still need to learn how to manage their game properly and quit worrying about making a perfect swing. 

While it is ideal to have a nice swing that is on plane, it is more ideal to have the ability to get it in the hole quicker than the other guy.  Corey Pavin, at age 50, showed them how to do that this weekend.

Today I watched the end of the St. Jude Classic PGA event, and watched in horror as Robert Garrigus had an 18 hole meltdown that almost rivaled that of Jean Van de Velde in the 1999 British Open.  Heading to the 18th tee, Garrigus had a 3 shot lead over Lee Westwood and playing partner Robert Karlsson.  The 18th was a dog leg left par 4, fairly long, with water along the left side of the fairway. 

Garrigus, in spite of a not so great golf swing, was playing well all day, and his back nine surge put him in position to win.  Basically, all he needed was a bogey to win, and even a double bogey would force Karlsson to make birdie on one of the most difficult holes on the course.

So, Garrigus makes his worst swing of the day and hits his tee shot in the water left.  He was forced to drop short of the hazard.  He then proceeded to try a heroic shot toward the green with a mid-iron, and pulled it into a tree.  This forced him to chip out and he ultimately made triple bogey and fell into a playoff, which he lost.

First and foremost, Garrigus does not have a great golf swing that can hold up under this type of pressure, that is clear.  If he wants to take his game to the next level, he needs to change his swing.  Most tour pros are unwilling to do that since it takes time and effort, and they worry more about making a living.  The better players are able to do it because they can still compete when they don’t have their best game.

Secondly, with the water hazard to the left, Garrigus should be aiming well to the right, even if it means missing the fairway into a fairway bunker.  With a 3 shot lead, he might even consider an iron off the tee, or just blasting a driver as far down the fairway and to the right as possible.  The fairway opened up past the curve of the dogleg and driver may have taken the water out of play. 

But, Garrigus chose to play a 3 wood, and made a poor swing.  It was his next shot that made the difference.  Hitting 3 after his drop, all he needed to do was hit a wedge somewhere up the fairway, hit another wedge on and two putt for 6, which would have forced Karlsson to make birdie (Westwood was already in the clubhouse).  Instead, he tried a more heroic and stupid shot, and paid the price.

This is why most golfers shoot higher scores than what they are capable of.  They throw away shots all over the golf course with penalty shots, poor short game shots and 3 and 4 putts.  Since most people are unwilling to put in the work to really improve their golf swing, they should learn to manage their game on the golf course.  If they learn how to play within themselves and score better with the short game, they will see much lower scores.

Next time you are faced with a situation on a golf course similar to what Robert Garrigus faced, play within yourself.  Making sure you make 5 will save you many strokes.  Trying a heroic shot that is likely beyond your ability will only bring 7 and 8 into play. 

Scott Cole

The PGA Tour had its first golfer test positive for performance enhancing drugs.  Details were not provided due to the tour’s privacy policy.  The player in question is Doug Barron, not a big name, and a player who has struggled with a variety of health issues over the years.  He played little on the tour this year.

Although Tiger Woods has elevated fitness in the minds of many tour players over the last decade, it is really not from the standpoint of hitting the ball further.  He was a very long hitter when he first arrived on tour, but decided to approach his profession as a professional athlete, and prepare accordingly.  This was to avoid injury more than anything else.  Golf can be pretty tough on the body, and we have seen many great players suffer from a variety of ailments over the years. 

Can performance enhancing drugs help your golf game?  Doubtful.  Can it help you hit the ball further?  Certainly, if you get a lot stronger.  Just look at many of the participants in the world long drive competitions these days.  Many are built like NFL safeties or small linebackers.  But, in 2008, the World Championship was won by a small Canadian weighing less than 165 pounds. 

However, steroids are not going to help your putting or your short game.  That is where you score.  And the fact is, you really do not need steroids to hit the ball further.  Most people need to become more flexible first, so they have a longer, more fluid golf swing.  Then a little strengthening and some core work can help add a bit more swing speed. 

So, stick with the more natural ways of gaining strength, and you will see a benefit to your golf game. 

Scott Cole