Another exciting Masters this year!   Without a doubt the best televised golf event of the year with the beauty of the course and the coverage.   The rare “double eagle” by Oosthuizen and the shot by Bubba in the playoff on #10 with the hooked wedge from the trees were just crazy.

Here are a few things I like about Bubba as a player:

1) He is basically self-taught. 

I am not sure I believe that he has never had a lesson.   Maybe not in the sense of a structured time on the tee with a swing coach.  But I have to believe through all his younger days, he must have picked up pointers just by watching others, reading and talking with his fellow competitors.  I suppose you could call all of those experiences,  “lessons”!   Being somewhat self-taught myself, that is exactly how I developed as a player in my early days.   I spent a lot of time working in front of a mirror  to perfect my fundamentals.   I also, read everything I could, listened to the older players at the course I practiced at and attended Tour events when I could to observe the best and copy their actions.  Having done things myself, it may have taken longer but I think it helped me become a better teacher having gone through a lot of changes and different techniques in the quest to get better.  The lesson here for everyone is that you must take it upon yourself to learn the game in many different ways, not just from a swing coach.

2) Bubba plays all kinds of shots and is not afraid to try them.

I really love this because I try to teach almost all of my students to work the ball in different trajectories and curves.  I feel you can become more self corrective if you can accomplish that.  Hitting a perfectly straight shot requires in a sense, a perfect swing.  Bubba has said this himself and claims it’s the reason he always tries to curve the ball.    It does take some time and understanding of the ball flight laws to learn to work the ball but in the long run it is the best way in my opinion.   Even short game shots like flop shots, bunker shots and low running chip shots are hit using techniques that put different types of spin on the ball.   All the more reason to learn to work the ball in different ways!

3)  Bubba uses a swing that suits his body type.

Bubba makes full use of his arm swing!   The extremely upright, more vertical arm swing is a good fit for his lanky body build.  This arm swing creates tremendous swing arc which is one of the big reasons for his amazing power.  Typically, shorter golfers will tend to be more rotary in creating power and taller players use a lot of arc and leverage.   Either way works!  The key is to fit the proper swing style to the particular body type in my opinion.  This will make for a more natural swing feel to each particular student.   Bottom line, if you have long arms, use them and allow them to swing off the body and create arc.  The arms will just need to re-connect closer to the body as you approach impact and that is easy to achieve.

Here is a recent addition to my lesson tee, very exciting!   New “Covershots” canopy for lessons.