“Just be the ball, be the ball,” intones the very Zen Ty Webb character in the 1980 cult film Caddyshack. And with that the most infamous golf tip ever became immortalized in pop culture.
But what about some serious golf tips for us big guys to help us toward success in life and not just on the green? I’m talking about how we big men can learn the essential skills of the pro golfer so as to have more patience, master our craft and maintain perspective both in the office and at home.
You know what they say about the game of golf? It ruins a good walk.
However, the old game of nine holes can teach the modern gentleman much about self-mastery.
Read on to discover how we big guys can not only get better at golf but better ourselves overall.
Golf Tip #1: Get in the swing
"I hit the ball as hard as I can. If I can find it, I hit it again" ~ John Daly
A golf swing can be a tricky thing to perfect. But it need not be.
Take big man golfer John Daly’s powerful golf swing for example.
Low and slow is the way the big man describes how his golf swing begins. In fact, the big guy first picked up one of his father’s golf clubs at age 4 and somehow, after much practice and repetition, learned to swing a full-sized golf club as a young child. Indeed, the fall of Daly’s club over his shoulder at the top of his swing is unique and the result of his early practice with his dad’s heavy clubs. After much repetition, Daly developed a swing that was not only distinctive but one that eventually came natural to him. A super strong swing that led him to successfully winning the 1991 PGA Championship as well as the 1995 Open Championship.
Just like a golf swing, it is important for us big men to find our own groove in life. This means we need to take what we have been naturally endowed with and use it to our advantage. We already have physical significance, we just have to use it. Beyond that, find out what you are good at and do more of whatever this happens to be. In the words of big man motivational guru Tony Robbins, the most important thing to do is establish where you are right now before planning where you want to go. Much like planning what golf club to use and what approach to take on a given hole, we big guys owe it to ourselves to find out what makes us truly happy and then design our lives accordingly.
Golf Tip #2: Fix the fundamentals
The following tips are to help novice golfers improve their game. However, they very much apply to life in general:
- Proper stance: you want your feet shoulder length apart and your knees slightly bent. If you are right-handed, address the ball by aligning it with your left breast pocket (vice versa for left handers). In life, take a proper stance when it comes to things that are important. This means we big guys need to stand up against bullies, stand by our convictions and just be all round stand up guys.
- Good posture: flatten your back, bend at the hips, and keep your head down as you swing through the ball. In life, we big men can achieve a more upright, confident posture by imagining a piece of string is tied to the top of our heads. Now imagine the string is being pulled tight upwards. In turn, the string pulls you upright, lifting your chest, and aligning your shoulders, head and neck. You will look large and in charge in no time!
- Use a good grip: there is a plethora of advice out there when it comes to perfecting your golf grip. We won’t go into this here and now. Suffice it to say beginners should aim for a neutral grip. This means when you have taken your grip, the crease between the left thumb and forefinger should point to your right shoulder. In life, we always want to make sure we have a grip on any given situation by maintaining mindfulness. It’s also a good idea to use a firm grip when shaking hands (when social distancing laws relax, of course) so we can project self-confidence and aptitude.
“Success in this game depends less on strength of body than strength of mind and character” ~ Arnold Palmer
Golf Tip #3: What to wear
Most golf clubs disallow players from playing in jeans and require that you wear a collared shirt. Polo shirts are preferred. No, this does not mean you can wear your favourite supporters polo. So make sure you grab a quality shirt and slacks (and whatever else you need) from our new range before you hit the course. And of course, we big men need to know what to wear when we’re not on the fairways too. Always we want to be putting our best foot forward fashion-wise in order to not only strike a great impression but show off our best features (whilst minimising attention being drawn to our less advantageous ones).
Hopefully now you have all the tips you need to successfully tap tap tap it in on the green.
By Anthony Cheadle.
