There's hope yet...

Thomas Sturges Watson was born on September 4, 1949. In the 1970s and 1980s, he won 8 Major Championships and headed the PGA Tour money list five times. He enjoyed a stint as world number one between 1978 - 1982 before being dethroned by a certain Meester Seve Ballesteros. Watson is ranked sixth in the list of all time Major winners and almost added an unexpected 9th title at Turnberry in 2009.

In a nutshell the guy is a legend and in the eyes of many, a golfing deity. So imagine my surprise when I saw this YouTube clip where Watson reveals the secret of the golf swing, but most importantly when he discovered it.



Funnily enough this is a tip that my teaching pro has encouraged me to factor into my practice regimen. I'm not a believer in that there is one size fits all approach to aid every golfer. I have grown to understand that you need to develop your own technique around sound basic fundamentals. You must own and believe in your own swing.

What I find fascinating is that Watson achieved his great accomplishments with a swing he wasn't comfortable with, a swing that he was copying from the great Jack Niklaus. The pause before the laughter on the vid when Watson states he discovered the 'secret' in 1992 sums it up for me. "1992? But that would have been...oh I get it, [laugh]"

I'm starting to get a bit down about my golf. Frustrated by the fact I know I can play but I'm so hideously inconsistent. This little gem helped remind me that even the greats of the game have had their struggles. Wintertime makes practice and play tough but I'm hoping to play a lot over the Xmas break and that will be the catalyst I need to make inroads into that pesky handicap.