The below video on Bubba Watson is almost like I scripted it. He has a lot in common to how I think golf should be played. Watch the video and see further comments below.
Some things to consider about Bubba’s comments:
1. When he is on the driving range before play he is warming up. He is not working on his swing. He is getting reading to play by warming up is body.
2. He is focused on “playing golf”. This is the perfect mindset. Thoughts about technique are not important when you’re about to play. I’ve been banging on about this for years and it’s great to hear a PGA Tour Star say the same thing.
3. He doesn’t spend much time on the practice fairway when he is away from the tour. He keeps playing the game. I’m not sure why so many golfers separate play and practice – when you’re playing the game you’re getting all the swing training and technique improvement you need.
4. Doesn’t do golf drills. This but was quite funny. In the background you can see a guy working on his back swing. Big Bubba just gets up there and makes this free flowing golf swing. He’s not stuffing about with drills or any other garbage. Either he is warming up or playing the game.
I’ve been a fan of Watson since I first saw him. The fact that he’s left handed (like me) adds to the charm. Golfers the world over would play far better, have more fun and get more out of their game if they adopted Bubba’s approach.
The critics will say that he has many swing flaws (over swings and open stance for a start), plays too quickly and gets too emotional. This is traditional attitude/mindset not understanding the beauty of natural learning and performance. There are hundreds of extremely talented golf pros around the world that have better golf swings and do everything by the book. But the chances are you’ll never hear of them because they are too busy doing what they think is right, rather than doing what they really want to do. They are scared to break away from convention.
Bubba Watson is a breath of fresh air in a professional game that is becoming stale and a tad boring. Be like Bubba and you can’t go wrong.