I have some bad news for most of the crappy golfers out there…it’s very likely that you are going to stay crappy no matter how much you practice and how many lessons you take.
Why?
Because it is likely that you don’t have enough athletic ability.
Yup, there it is, the elephant in the room.
Most golfers suck because they simply are not good enough athletes.
The fact is, most really good golfers are really good athletes.
I’ll toot my own horn a little bit… I’m a pretty good, albeit aging, athlete.
My first foray into sports was baseball…I started playing little league baseball when I was eight years old, and the next year I was the starting pitcher. I played competitive baseball until I was 12, the summer I started focusing on golf.
That same summer when I was eight, I joined the swim team, and I swam competitively through the age of 18. I wasn’t great, because I didn’t train hard, but I was good enough to make it to the PA state high school swimming championships on two relays my senior year.
I often swam the individual medley in high school meets, an event where you swim all four strokes in this order…butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.
In 5th grade I won my local pass, punt and kick competition, primarily because I could throw a football further than anyone else, but I could also kick well and punt well.
I took up skiing in 6th grade, and continued to ski into my thirties. I hate the cold now, so I haven’t skied in years.
Now, it is possible to be a good athlete in some sports, and still suck at golf. For instance, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, is a horrible golfer.
On the other hand, some hockey players are among the best celebrity golfers…Mario Lemieux comes to mind.
One way that I generally judge whether someone has the potential to be a good golfer is how they can throw.
Most really good golfers can throw well. Most of the good golfers I grew up with also played baseball at some point.
I’ll make a political comparison here now.
Barack Obama, who is a good basketball player, has poor throwing skills, as evidenced when he threw out the first pitch at the Nationals home opener in 2010.
Barack Obama is not a good golfer, and likely never will be. Judging from what I’ve seen, he likely struggles to break 100, like most people (he reportedly has a 17 handicap, but that seems generous).
On the other hand, Donald Trump was actually scouted by the Philadelphia Phillies. Trump carries a 5 handicap as a golfer.
Caitlyn Jenner (yes, the former Bruce Jenner, Olympic Decathlon gold medalist) didn’t take up golf until age 50, and claims to have played down to a 5 handicap. The decathlon includes three throwing events…javelin, shotput and discus.
Some of the very best celebrity golfers are quarterbacks and pitchers. Former NFL quarterback John Brodie was the first athlete from another sport to play on the Champions Tour. Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers are notably good golfers.
Former Major League pitchers Rick Rhoden and John Smoltz have qualified for the Senior U.S. Open.
Just because you can throw well however, doesn’t mean you will automatically be a good golfer.
George W. Bush has an excellent throwing motion, but isn’t a very good golfer, although he’s reportedly played to a 10 handicap (again, probably a bit generous). However, judging from his swing, he would have some potential, as the overall motion is decent.
Steph Curry is a great basketball player who probably also has a future as a professional golfer at some level. The difference between himself and Barack Obama is that he grew up playing football and baseball as well. This allowed him to develop the throwing skills that have translated into a good golf swing.
Final Thoughts
There is a lot of focus on improving your golf fitness in order to become a better golfer. Well, you can be very fit, but still not improve unless you improve your athletic ability.
You’ve got to learn how to do other motions similar to a golf swing, and you’ve got to learn to do them reasonably well if you want to become a good golfer. Throwing a baseball or football is one such motion. Throwing a frisbee is another.
I personally developed these skills at a young age, because I was constantly outside playing sports such as baseball and football as a kid with my neighborhood friends.
If you are an adult and you haven’t developed these types of skills, you are going to struggle to play golf.
So, one of the best pieces of advice I can give to any adult is to go and develop these skills in addition to working on your golf game. You’ll benefit in the long run!
