Mutt: Son, did you learn anything that you could apply to your own game from watching Wyndham Clark winning the Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow last weekend? It’s always interesting to watch a golfer achieve a lifetime ambition when they win a big tournament for the first time.
Cicero: I learned a lot of numbers!
Mutt: What do you mean? The only number that counted was the total on the bottom of the card when the recorder initialled it before it went up on the scoreboard.
Cicero: Clark is a poster boy for Mark Broadie’s ‘Shots Gained Golf’. He has been consistently posting 190mph ball speeds on his TrackMan and is widely regarded as an excellent putter. That’s a potent combo. Good technique is less important than ever. It’s all about the numbers.
Mutt: Go on, tell me more.
Cicero: The number of players on the Tour with ball speed in excess of 180mph is increasing steadily. It is getting harder and harder for the guys on 170mph to keep up. I have been on TrackMan myself a lot in the last 12 months. My ball speed is in the low 160s and I am considered a long hitter. My launch numbers, spin and smash factor numbers are excellent too. I am making a lot of gains in distance but I’m not at the races compared to Rory’s 185mph average and Jon Rahm’s 182mph.
Mutt: You can’t compare yourself to those guys!
Cicero: I’m not. I’m doffing my hat to them for getting into such great shape. It’s very clear to me that as long as we play golf we must be doing some serious level of resistance training. Even at your age, Dad, you should do it. Pull that elastic! I don’t expect you to try the TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) fitness/power test where strength and speed tests are done separately. Power is divided into 3 areas:
1. Vertical jump for my leg explosive strength. The average on the Tour is 23”. I did 20”. I can tick that box, I think?
2. Core strength: using a 4kg medicine ball I had to do a sit up and throw. The average on the Tour is 22 feet. I am maxing out at 18’.
3. An upper body test throwing a 4kg med ball chest throw sitting down. The average on Tour is 22 feet and I am 12 feet. That’s my weakness! I can create power up from the ground but am not transferring it from my chest into my arms. So I do not hit the ball as far as my 160mph should allow.
Mutt: Valuable information, I suppose? Golf has totally changed and I don’t like it! I prefer to depend on ball control skills, heart, guts and a good putter.
Cicero: Sorry, Dad, you haven’t a clue! You think you know everything but science has passed you by. Every golf club needs a weights & fitness room. There is no denying the benefit of appropriate gym work to maximise one’s golf.
Mutt: Far too late for me to be concerned with comparing my physique to young fellows one third of my age. Golf is cerebral too. I got good at that part of it eventually by living long enough.
Cicero: Nobody can get to 180mph ball speed just by hitting balls (like you do). It can only be done by lifting weights, jumps, squats and pulling exercises. The smartest players today are also the fittest ones. I tested the physiques of my Fred Daly panel recently. Some are tight all over; some are too loose; their balance was miles off. A few are able to vertical jump over 30” high. According to TPI if you are over 23” then you should have minimum 166 mph ball speed so that tells me their ball-striking is way off kilter. They did not like being exposed. I hope I did not undermine them because I was only trying to help? I can see a golf future with little or no technical coaching, no text books; no fundamentals. It will all be strength and conditioning and whatever works, works!
Mutt: I’d sure like to see a new Jimmy Bruen emerging. While it may be more interesting to watch golfers with quirky swings coming to the fore, if I wanted to be a weight-lifter, I’d take up lifting weights not a golf club. People who are exceptional at one sport are usually exceptional at any sport if they give it the time. Time is everything. The big difference in my lifetime is the professionalism of sport. Fifty years ago, even pros were not a fraction as ‘professional’ as they are today. When I was kid pros were looked down upon. They had no status. If a pro was seen in a golf clubhouse, it was a scandal! Why would I bother? What would I ever hope to achieve? Hitting the ball straight and being out in the fresh air is enough for me (now). Not every sport is like golf where you can become mega-rich very quickly. It’s surprising that more super talented, giant, athletes are not attracted to it. Access and snobbery are still golf’s big weakness.
Cicero: Golf in America is seeing failed basketballers or baseball players switching to golf. They are bringing their superior athletic ability to jump and throw with them. They can be turned into decent golfers very quickly. All they need is to practice putting and chipping and to understand strategy.
Mutt: But, why are they good at Basketball and Baseball? They play it ‘on the road’ with their friends ALL THE TIME is why.
Cicero: Mark Broadie’s EVERY SHOT COUNTS has taught me the metrics to analyse my golf game with no favour or bias. It’s absolutely brilliant! Everything makes sense in a post round analysis. Fine margins make huge differences.
Mutt: Not good for the ego, eh?
Cicero: As you would say yourself, Dad, knowledge is no load. The key is how you apply it. Broadie is factual and it exposes weaknesses. We all have them.
Leave a comment