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Instant golfer How quickly can one become tour-ready?Posted: Friday May 03, 2002 11:23 AM
Sports Illustrated senior writer John Garrity was a 42-year-old 8-handicapper when he suddenly lost his swing. Since December 1989 he has been looking for it -- a modern-day Odysseus adrift on the troubled waters of swing theory. As Garrity travels the world reporting on golf, he visits as many driving ranges as he can, avoiding the dreaded "mats only" ranges that prevent him from teeing it up. Monday, April 29 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- I haven't touched a club since my three-day vacation at Hilton Head, S.C. There's been too much to do around the house. New windows going in. A rusting water heater. The wind blew over a potted tree and broke the pot. On top of that, I had jury duty. Sat all day in a stiff chair at the Jackson County Courthouse waiting for my name to be called. Wasn't called. John Novosel , the tempo titan of Leawood, Kan., also is sidelined. Kidney stones! (When he gets well, I'll show John the new golf gadget I've invented. It's a clubface squeegie that doubles as a golf-cart jack. Completely useless, of course, but I bet we could sell a bunch of them on the Internet.) I called my brother, Tom , down in Houston, thinking he might like to join me in July for a few rounds of golf in Scotland. "I'd love to," he said, "but I did something to my rotator cuff, and now I've got 'frozen shoulder.' I can't swing a club." Ah, spring. Thursday, May 2 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A reader wants me to settle an argument he is having with his friends. "We are all avid golfers and are awed by the ability of tour professionals to hit the golf ball," writes Keith Shin of Austin, Texas . "But I contend that if one were financially secure enough to devote a year of his life to hitting golf balls -- and, of course, with proper instruction -- anyone could make the PGA Tour. I seem to be in the minority on this stance and I would be interested in your comments." My knee-jerk reaction, Keith, is to side with your friends. There are thousands of scratch golfers, many of them young enough to pursue their dreams, but fewer than 200 have tour cards. Your average college All-America golfer winds up selling bonds or working behind the counter in a pro shop. So what are the chances for some Joe Bogey who buys the million-ball bucket at Smiley's? "Of course, when I say a year of practicing, I'm talking about daily practice," Keith continues. "Almost like a full-time job." And I say, fine, hit 1,000 balls a day for a year. Your 30-year-old tour player has been practicing and playing almost every day for 15 years; plus, he is tournament hardened. "I'm not trying to undervalue the athletic gifts of tour players," Keith adds, "but if you see John Daly or Duffy Waldorf and others ... well, I wouldn't call them world-class athletes." Maybe not, Keith, but do you think a year of practice will miraculously endow you with clubhead speeds of 120 to 130 miles per hour? "In one of your columns you talk about your brother's swing and his god-given abilities, but I contend that a good, repeatable golf swing can be practiced and learned." I won't argue that point, but my brother started when he was a toddler, and he could beat most adult golfers when he was in sixth grade. Keith concludes with a P.S.: "You wouldn't happen to know any golf instructors out there who might be interested in turning a 20- to 25-handicap casual player into the next Tiger Woods , would you? Of course, payment and gratitude for the instruction would have to wait until I get on tour." As it happens, I do know some top instructors who turn 20-handicappers into scratch players. Unfortunately, you have to be about 12 years old. Gary Gilchrist , director of the David Leadbetter Junior Golf Academy in Bradenton, Fla., says, "It takes at least eight years to develop a golfer who knows how to win. But I believe we can build a scratch golfer in four years." Keith doesn't give his age, but I'm betting he isn't 12. And tuition at the Leadbetter Academy runs about $20,000 a year. Still, Gilchrist's claim that he can build a scratch golfer in four years is mesmerizing. I would like to hear from any reader who actually knows of a golfer who has undergone such a transformation as an adult (other than Calvin Peete , whose rise from farm-goods salesman to Ryder Cupper is well known). Better yet, tell me about a golfer you know whose skills eroded when he/she tried the total-immersion method. We'll feel better. As for you, Keith, e-mail me your address and I'll send you a copy of The Ultimate Golf Book, a just-published gem featuring original essays by the likes of Dan Jenkins , Rick Reilly , John Updike , David Owen and Michael Bamberger , glorious photographs by the world's best golf photographers, and a loosely historical text by yours truly. Read it every day for a year, and I promise -- you'll be a much better reader. Watch this space for another installment of Mats Only. To send John Garrity advice, share your experiences, or suggest a driving range, click here.
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