Golf Talk With Greg Holman – #52

Do as I say, not as I do.

I didn’t give it a thought when I was in my 20’s because I wasn’t worried about hitting the ball ten yards farther. I was more concerned about putting the ball in the fairway and eliminating my big hook, which developed because I was still using my early teen swing at the age of 25.

My early teen swing consisted of swaying off the ball and lifting my left heel way off the ground and rolling my wrists through the ball at impact, giving me a 20-yard draw, which served me well on the burned our August fairways in mid-Missouri in the 70’s. When you are 5-foot-8 and 110 pounds, you have to use your whole body to get 200 yards off a drive and then rely on 50 yards of roll to keep up with your much older college buddies. Now as a senior golfer I am once again working on ways to get a few more yards out of my drive. I still have the draw, which helps, but I need more flexibility like I had at a much younger age.

Don’t add insult to injury.

As we head into the holiday season, you will be tempted to indulge in some of the best comfort food you’ve had all year. All I’m saying is know when to say when to that 3rd helping of mashed potatoes and gravy. Or a third homemade roll, or a second piece of pecan pie. You get the picture. Enjoy but don’t overeat. Adding pounds to the torso means less flexibility in your golf swing.

A friend of mine, who is five years older and always was a little on the stocky side, worked as a mechanical engineer. He had many clever sayings. One of my favorites was to play your best golf keep your weight down to less than an eighth of a ton. That’s 250 pounds. He’s 5-11. I try to do better than that. At 6-2 I try to keep my weight below 200. There are a few “large” people that are still flexible. John Daly comes to mind. He’s Incredibly strong and flexible. He could probably drive 275 with a three-quarter swing. You and I aren’t John Daly, so do the sensible thing and don’t spend an hour grazing at the dinner table.

It’s not much, but for the last twenty years or so, my family has always gone for a walk after our Thanksgiving meal. It doesn’t burn that many calories but it’s better than eating a big meal and sacking out in the recliner. So when spooning out your holiday meals think about taking that full golf swing to parallel and say no to the clogged arteries.

Hit ’em straight, and happy Thanksgiving!