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Could Bubba Watson Benefit From Instruction?


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Originally Posted by Old1964

Agreed.

Wonder if mvmac thinks that he has the 5 simple keys down?

Yep, no doubt about it.  He'll have off weeks or bad rounds, as everyone does, but he's got all 5 Keys.  Dude won the Masters, can't do that with 3 or 4 Keys

Like Erik said, I suggested AimPoint in an earlier post, the most glaring weakness is his putting.

Originally Posted by iacas

Who has said anything about "re-teaching Bubba how to play golf"?

Why do so many people think that taking lessons or getting instruction means the instructor is going to start from scratch? Is this one of the main reasons why so few people get instruction?

I think that's part of it, I also think people just don't like being told they're doing something wrong or admit they need help.

Mike McLoughlin

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Off Course he will benefit lessons. they/we all do. Taking lessons does not mean you have to rebuild a swing.

I know it's hard to teach a feel player like Bubba, but on short game there is a lot to win for bubba.

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Originally Posted by tomvk77

Off Course he will benefit lessons. they/we all do. Taking lessons does not mean you have to rebuild a swing.

I know it's hard to teach a feel player like Bubba, but on short game there is a lot to win for bubba.


Its even harder when a player is as hard-headed and arrogant as Bubba is, thinking they know it all and anyone who takes lessons and spends time on the range trying to improve their swing is an idiot.

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Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

Its even harder when a player is as hard-headed and arrogant as Bubba is, thinking they know it all and anyone who takes lessons and spends time on the range trying to improve their swing is an idiot.

where did you hear all this from?

My philosophy on golf "We're not doing rocket science, here."

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I obviously don't know Bubba personally but I think he enjoys playing the character "Bubba" on television.  In reality, I think Bubba is a pretty sharp guy who has a lot better understanding of his swing and ball flight laws than he lets on.

As for him benefiting from instruction?  If he found an instructor that saw the golf swing as Bubba does and could (as others here stated) use Bubba's good swings and bad swings as teaching examples I'd think he could benefit from it.  In watching him play, Bubba seems to lose mental focus, gets too caught up in playing to the crowd or hitting a shot that will end up on a highlight film versus the best shot to help him win.

I see some of these same problems with Phil, but his could also be related to his arthritis and fatigue.

Joe Paradiso

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Originally Posted by Paradox

where did you hear all this from?

His wording may be a bit extreme, but that comes close to the sentiment Bubba expressed either last year or two seasons ago.

Brandon a.k.a. Tony Stark

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Bubba is testament to the fact that there is no right or wrong way to go about it. As long as he's where he needs to be at contact is all that matters.

Bill M

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Originally Posted by phan52

Bubba is testament to the fact that there is no right or wrong way to go about it. As long as he's where he needs to be at contact is all that matters.

Bubba's swing is not as unconventional as that statement implies.

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Originally Posted by phan52

Bubba is testament to the fact that there is no right or wrong way to go about it. As long as he's where he needs to be at contact is all that matters.

Like Erik said it's not as unconventional when you take a closer look.  And there are definitely wrong ways to go about playing good golf.  Bubba doesn't do any of the wrong things you might commonly see in a bogey golfer's swing.

Mike McLoughlin

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  • 2 weeks later...

Of course it's true that he could benefit from instruction, like any other golfer out there, but if DJ has some serious issues with his game could someone please let me know how to accurately introduce them into my own swing, with all proper compensations of course.  Thank you in advance.

Bowing my left arm like he does threatens all wildlife to the left ....

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He is like Phil in a lot of ways. Feel player who gets hot and can't be stopped, but isn't ever going to be that consistent. I think a coach would hurt more than help with him. Maybe a putting coach??

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Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

If I saw Bubba at the range, every impact sounding like a gunshot,

"you're welcome"

LOVE his commercials and his purposeful lack of a coach ... I've always thought swing coaches at the professional level is silly (ok, I'll go even farther out & call it a crutch).   Sure, we amateurs can benefit from a swing coach, but when you get to be a pro, you're supposed to have it down, or be able to go back to the woodshed and get it down through practice based on your knowledge base and all the video analysis tools available today.   Funny, I doubt Ted Williams or Hank Aaron had baseball swing coaches on payroll working with them before each game ...

John

Fav LT Quote ... "you can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen"

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Originally Posted by inthehole

"you're welcome"

LOVE his commercials and his purposeful lack of a coach ... I've always thought swing coaches at the professional level is silly (ok, I'll go even farther out & call it a crutch).   Sure, we amateurs can benefit from a swing coach, but when you get to be a pro, you're supposed to have it down, or be able to go back to the woodshed and get it down through practice based on your knowledge base and all the video analysis tools available today.   Funny, I doubt Ted Williams or Hank Aaron had baseball swing coaches on payroll working with them before each game ...

The Red Sox have had hitting coaches since 1947 when Paul Schrieber began his 13-year career there.  You really think Ted Williams was so cocky that he refused the services of the team's hitting coach?

As for Aaron, I couldn't find a historic list of Braves hitting coaches, but I'm betting just about every team had one (or more).

Why do you think golf would be different from virtually every other professional sport in that you think none of the golfers need coaches?

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Originally Posted by dave67az

The Red Sox have had hitting coaches since 1947 when Paul Schrieber began his 13-year career there.  You really think Ted Williams was so cocky that he refused the services of the team's hitting coach?

As for Aaron, I couldn't find a historic list of Braves hitting coaches, but I'm betting just about every team had one (or more).

Why do you think golf would be different from virtually every other professional sport in that you think none of the golfers need coaches?

Having read Ted Williams book, I think he probably would have not taken advice on hitting from anyone.     It just seems odd to me that at the PROFESSIONAL level, some golf pro's have private instructors overseeing every ball they hit on the practice range .... I guess it just rubs me wrong.

John

Fav LT Quote ... "you can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen"

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Originally Posted by inthehole

Having read Ted Williams book, I think he probably would have not taken advice on hitting from anyone.     It just seems odd to me that at the PROFESSIONAL level, some golf pro's have private instructors overseeing every ball they hit on the practice range .... I guess it just rubs me wrong.

I'll admit I haven't read Ted's book.  But then again, there was only one Ted Williams and I'm not sure Bubba is a fair comparison...yet.

It does seem that swing coaches are getting a lot more press these days, but I watched Jack Nicklaus on Feherty the other day and even Jack had a swing coach.  I don't think it's a new thing.  I see where you're coming from, but on the other hand I would think it's quite rare for anyone to get to a stage where a swing coach wouldn't be beneficial.  It's tough enough to groove a pro swing, I think.  I would think it's nearly impossible to maintain it at that level, evidenced by the rises and falls of golfers on the Tour.  And that's WITH a swing coach saying "hey, you're doing it differently, let's go to the video and I'll show you."

As for every ball on the range?  Yeah, that's probably overkill UNLESS they're working on improving something specific.  It's a lot easier to tell a coach to "watch my hand position at the top" than to video it and play it back every time.

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Here's Jack's take on swing coaches, from an interview last year:

You had one swing coach, Jack Grout, and you didn't change your swing much over your career. That's very different from Tiger's approach. How many majors would you have won if you'd had three different coaches and several swing overhauls?
I don't know. Jack Grout was smart. He knew that he didn't know everything about golf, so he sent me to Byron Nelson and Claude Harmon and other guys. When I came back, I would say, "That's much different than what you taught me. What do I do?" He said, "Jack, understand that there's more than one way to play the game." From that, I learned that I was able to blend [other philosophies] into my swing. It was part of my learning process. So if you talk about Tiger and different swing coaches and different swings, Tiger knows more about the swing than anybody. He doesn't need a swing coach. It's just another pair of eyes, as long as he understands that he has to be responsible for his own swing, just like I had to be responsible for my swing. Do you understand what I mean?

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Here's Jack's take on swing coaches, from an interview last year: You had one swing coach, Jack Grout, and you didn't change your swing much over your career. That's very different from Tiger's approach. How many majors would you have won if you'd had three different coaches and several swing overhauls? I don't know. Jack Grout was smart. He knew that he didn't know everything about golf, so he sent me to Byron Nelson and Claude Harmon and other guys. When I came back, I would say, "That's much different than what you taught me. What do I do?" He said, "Jack, understand that there's more than one way to play the game." From that, I learned that I was able to blend [other philosophies] into my swing. It was part of my learning process. So if you talk about Tiger and different swing coaches and different swings, Tiger knows more about the swing than anybody. He doesn't need a swing coach. It's just another pair of eyes, as long as he understands that he has to be responsible for his own swing, just like I had to be responsible for my swing. Do you understand what I mean?
Read more: [COLOR=003399][URL=http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/jack-nicklaus-no-1-player-all-time#ixzz2ME3lmEfb]http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/jack-nicklaus-no-1-player-all-time#ixzz2ME3lmEfb[/URL][/COLOR]

That's interesting and consistent with Haney's take on Tiger portrayed in Haney's book. Haney of course thought he had all the answers and was offended (more like felt as a an overly sensitive child might) when Tiger passed on one of Haney's suggestions. Ultimately, though, Tiger would decide whether he agreed with what was being offered and felt comfortable enough to implement it. Tiger went about it as a CEO might. He would receive suggestions or COAs from the staff, evaluate them, and decide what to act on. But he was definitely in control of his own swing.

Kevin

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Originally Posted by Chas

Of course it's true that he could benefit from instruction, like any other golfer out there, but if DJ has some serious issues with his game could someone please let me know how to accurately introduce them into my own swing, with all proper compensations of course.  Thank you in advance.

Bowing my left arm like he does threatens all wildlife to the left ....

oops .... ahem, slight mishit there.  Well, the same can be said about Bubba, mutas mutandis.

Actually not so much, there is probably more of a downside to Bubba taking much instruction.  He has developed such an armsy, idiosyncratic swing I doubt many instructors would have the nerve to intervene.

You guys must be slipping, or you've got more sense than I thought and have tuned me out .....

Driver: Cobra 460SZ 9.0, med.
3 Wood: Taylor stiff
3-hybrid: Nike 18 deg stiff
4-hybrid:
Taylor RBZ 22 deg regular
Irons:5-9, Mizuno MP30, steel
Wedges: PW, 52, 56, 60 Mizuno MP30
Putter: Odyssey 2-ball

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Note: This thread is 4046 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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