I have watched, the last 2 days, the Tournament of Champions PGA event from Hawaii. More and more, golf is becoming a power game. How far you can hit it? How strong and how fit are you? These are often the major topics of the commentators. It is impressive to watch guys bang it out there 350 yards, but there is more to the game than that.
Proof? The leader is last year's phenomenon. Jordan Speith. Jordan is a slightly longer than average driver, barely longer than average. McElroy. Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and many other players can bomb it 40 and 50 yard past him, yet Jordan was player of the year, won the Masters and the US Open and finished 4th at the British Open and second at the PGA. How? Skill combined with thought. By planning the round, by being consistent and by being a fine chipper and a superb putter, he can more than compensate for the lack of power. The Game is mental and he is as tough as they come. You win at Golf by avoiding mistakes, minimizing the effects of the bad shots everyone hits, and taking advantage of the opportunities that arise. Power, while nice, is not always an advantage. When long drivers are off and spraying the ball all over the course, they do not score well.
Golfers now, we are told, spend countless hours in the gym. If you want to do that. fine, I guess, but think of two things. First, the past greats of the game, for the most part did no such thing. Second, look at Bubba Watson. Bubba is as long as anyone, maybe longer, but by no means is he a great muscular guy. Actually, he is quite slender. Now, I am sure he does something to stay in shape, but his power doesn't come from hours in the gym. Instead, Bubba just seems to have an instinctual feel for how to get the most out of his swing. His power is the result of impeccable timing, each part perfectly coordinated to produce the utmost results.
An example of the limits of power and training is Tiger Woods. Tiger always had power, even when he was a skinny young man and that power, like Bubba's, came from the timing of his swing. Time went by, he became obsessed with fitness and muscle, and guess what? He got very little more distance. Then, as he became more and more bloated with muscle, the injuries started, and with each injury he spent more and more time in the gym. Finally, almost inevitably, he tore up his back. After surgery? Back to the gym, back to the course, and back to surgery, twice, and now, possibly through with the game. You can overdo exercise, and, unless you are planning a career as a power lifter, you need to use great care in the drive for power. Golf, like many other sports, is more that power.
Why this emphasis in Golf. Simple. They want to be as noticed and make as much money as other sports figures. Baseball and football, have over the years, placed more and more stress on power. The results? Season ending injuries in football have become common. In the past, football players got beat up a lot but most made it through at least most of the year without catastrophic injury. Now, it is quite common for player to be out for the year before pre-season is over.
Same with baseball. Pitchers are constantly dealing with bad arms when in the old days, they pitched often, went deeper into the game (yes, they used to pitch the whole 9 innings, frequently). Position players got banged up and pulled muscles but missing months at a time was unheard of. Too much muscle is not a good idea. The building of unnatural muscle mass does not make you a lot stronger and those muscles are easy to tear. Also, in baseball, like golf, the drive for power causes other skills to falter.
Remember, in any sport, power is nice, to a limited degree, but how strong you are is not the issue. The important thing in any game of skill, especially at the professional level, is who wins.
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