Greetings Golfers,

So Tiger Woods withdrew after the first round in Dubai. Supposedly he had back spasms that wouldn’t relax. He also shot 77 – that probably added to his lack of interest in playing the second round.

As you’ve heard me say before … I’m no lover of this modern golf swing with all of the emphasis on body positions and resistance. No has ever swung the club better than Sam Snead, and he played very well into old age. Everyone talks about Tiger catching Jack’s record of winning Majors … but catching Snead’s record of winning tournaments is even more unrealistic.

Jason Day – the current number one player in the world – is also dealing with back problems … and he’s a kid!

Many years ago Tommy Armour was the best golf instructor in the world – he emphasized good foot work and good hand action. Good footwork is what allows the body to wind-up (pain free) and gets the body back in position on the downswing to hit the ball with the hands. The human body hasn’t changed since Tommy Armour gave golf lessons.

Last week when when I was in Orlando, I was talking to an old friend who has moved to North Carolina. Joe was a good player in Minnesota and has done well in Carolina PGA events. He was telling me that he just came back from a seminar about how to putt with your back muscles – he was pretty impressed. I asked Joe why he thought that he’d been a good player over the years … he said “I’ve got good hands”. So I asked why he would want to quit using his hands and putt with his back muscles. I then asked how old was this putting guru – he was a young guy.

Nothing wrong with being young … but he’s all about hypothetical. He hasn’t been around long enough to see what works. Real science tests the hypotheses.

While at the PGA Show, I met the inventor of the Orange Whip. While he’d been caddying on the Tour, he noticed that they all seemed to have the same swing … not the same body action. Their swings seemed to have the same timing of swinging the clubhead. So he invented this whippy shaft with a big orange ball at the end of the shaft. He had me swing it back and forth, and use my feet to keep my balance so I could keep swinging without stopping.

Mister Orange Whip is really on to something.

I wish Tiger Woods and Jason Day and everyone else would stop working on this modern swing and just start swinging an Orange Whip … and start chipping and putting with their hands.

How can you putt with your back muscles?

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com