Davis Love III, stronger thanks to a cutting-edge training program, pulled off a spectacular six-iron shot to clinch his victory at the Players

Courtesy of NBC

By Dave Phillips
One of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers

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Davis Love III iced his victory at the Players Championship with one of the gutsiest shots I've ever seen. Nursing a two-shot lead, Love's drive on the par-5 16th hole came to rest on pine straw left of the fairway. Love then ripped a six-iron (above) 197 yards over a strand of trees to a green guarded by water. The ball stopped 10 feet from the cup, and he drained the putt for a dramatic eagle. A year ago Love's mind and body were so fragile that he probably would've laid up. Now Love is controlling his enormous power, partly because he has embraced a fitness program that I codesigned with Greg Rose, a Maryland-based sports-fitness specialist. In January, Rose and I put Love through several hours of tests to gauge his strength and flexibility. We also had him hit shots while wireless sensors attached to his body sent data to our computer. With that information we pinpointed the body parts that Love needed to make stronger and more flexible, including his glutes and hamstrings, and prescribed a daily regimen to target those areas. In the past Love might have coasted after early wins at Pebble Beach and the Players, but now he wants to intensify his training. Last week at Sawgrass, Love told me, "I'm feeling much stronger, and I want to take my program to the next level."

Dave Phillips, 36, teaches at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., and is one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers.

Issue date: April 7, 2003