Freddie in My Head
...and that's a good thing...
Master’s Week is upon us, and the sports media is gushing with speculation about Tiger’s chances for the Grand Slam this year. While I like to gush as much as the next person, my mind today is more on Freddie Couples than on Tiger Woods.
“What????” you exclaim incredulously. “You think Freddie is going to win the Masters???”
Now, that’s not what I said, nor what I meant. Let me explain.
Several years ago, I was playing in one of the local men’s club tournaments, and I was really struggling with the driver. This was supposed to be a competitive situation, and here I was spraying it around like the hacker that I am. I noticed that one of the competitors in my group tended to hit it down the middle every time. He wasn’t swinging real hard, but the ball was getting down the fairway far enough to leave him in good shape on every shot. Did I mention that he was hitting it down the middle?
After a few holes, his tempo started to get into my head. I began to slow down, and quit trying so hard. By the end of the two day tournament, I was hitting it down the middle, every time. I finished second in my flight. I’ve been trying to find my way back to that swing ever since.
Fast forward to yesterday. I walked off the course with a bogey-bogey finish to shoot 35 on the front nine. Staring incredulously at my scorecard, I realized that I had three bogies, two pars, and four (yes, 4) birdies. “How did that happen?” I wondered. My playing companions warned me that I was seriously jeopardizing my status as The Bogey Golfer.
Well, one thing I noticed was that I had hit every fairway but one. And sure enough, once I thought about it, I realized I had found that magical swing that had gotten into my head at that tournament. But why? I hadn’t seen the guy I’d been trying to copy in a long time.
Then it came to me. I’d been watching “Playing Lessons From the Pros” on The Golf Channel, and Freddie Couples was the featured guest. Freddie Couples with the silky smooth swing, and the slow unhurried approach to the game. Freddie Couples who won the Masters in 1992. Freddie Couples who has won more Skins Games than anybody. Freddie Couples who has been a perennial fan favorite since turning pro. It was Freddie’s swing that got into my head.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Nobody is ever going to call me “Boom-Boom” – more like “Thud-Thud”. I’m not nor ever have been as flexible as Freddie, who even with a bad back can wrap his swing 540 degrees around his body. But for one nine hole round, I wasn’t trying to kill the ball – I was relaxed, kept good posture, released through the ball, and hit it straight.
Now, if I could just get a short game wizard into my head…
And, dang, I erased that show from my Tivo before I went out to play…
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