Tom Watson: A Swing For The Ages
Swing Sequence: Tom Watson
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
20世纪伟大高球浪潮~ 杰克‧尼克劳斯
出生：
1940 年1月21 日，哥伦布，俄亥俄州。
绰号：
金熊。但早期在建立了他的丰功伟业前，人们常叫他"胖杰克"。
主要冠军：
‧PGA 巡回赛：73座
‧长春PGA 巡回赛：10座
(在全世界赢得113座冠军)
大赛冠军：
职业：18座
‧名人赛：1963/1965/1966/1972/1975/1986年
‧美国公开赛：1962/1967/1972/1980年
‧英国公开赛：1966/1970/1978 /年
‧PGA锦标赛：1963/1971/1973/1975/1980年
业余赛：2座
‧美国业余公开赛： 1959 /1961 年
获颁：
‧高尔夫名人堂成员
‧8 次PGA 年度奖金榜首位
‧5 次获选PGA 年度最佳球员
‧2次获颁"世纪高尔夫球运动员" 褒奖
‧1970 年代由运动画刊Sports Illustrated形容为"十年来最佳运动员"
‧6 次美国莱德Ryder 杯成员
‧担任莱德杯队长：1983/1987/2005年
‧担任总统杯队长：1998/2003 年
名言录：
‧我在比赛时从未认为我必须打败某一位球员。我必须击败的是高尔夫球场。如果我已经充分准备并且专注在比赛上，然后顺利击败了高尔夫球场。其他的就看造化了。
‧1960年20岁的杰克说"琼斯是一位最伟大的球员，他是我唯一的目标。"
‧我想如果说我有什么传奇的话，我想是我为高尔夫球带来了不同的元素，成为一个更有意思的运动。我可能是第一个把力量加入高尔夫运动中的球员，现在看到所有的球员都能感受到击球的力量，我应该改变了这项运动的方向。
‧我深信当一个人非常喜欢或享受其中时才会有最好的表现。
‧不管是名人赛或是奥古斯塔球场都给带我很特别的感觉，当我第一次把球开上Magnolia(奥古斯塔第五洞)就有这种感觉。直到现在，当我站上Magnolia时依然感觉战战兢兢。
‧我想是我最大的资产就是：专注并且努力的去达成目标的个性。
事迹：
‧从1957 美国公开赛到1998 美国公开赛，在他有资格参加的比赛中，杰克持续不断的打了154场大赛。
‧杰克连续17年蝉联奖金榜前十名(1962-78) 。
‧杰克连续17年每年至少赢得一座PGA 巡回赛冠军(1962-78) 。
杰克‧尼克劳斯 生平：
杰克‧尼克劳斯是高尔夫球史上最伟大的传奇之一，2005年７月，尼克劳斯在圣安卓球场完成了他的谢幕演出后，当天他立即宣布告别他的高尔夫球员生涯，虽然早在比赛开始前，尼克劳斯就已经向媒体大众们告知了这项讯息，但当事情真的发生时，大家心中的震撼及不舍仍是不断荡漾着…
出生在美国俄亥俄州药剂师家庭的尼克劳斯，早在青少年时期就已展露出高尔夫的才能，当时仍在俄亥俄州大学就读的他，便以业余身份赢得1959 年和1961年两次获得全美业余锦标赛冠军。 1960年尼克劳斯还曾以两杆差距获得美国公开赛第二名。那一年，尼克劳斯最后一轮与球王阿诺‧帕玛和一代名将班‧侯根同组争夺冠军荣誉，当年的冠军正是阿诺‧帕玛。帕玛知道这位年青人就是既将在未来挑战自己的对手，但他没有想到这一天来临的那么快。当年一起打完比赛的班‧侯根曾预言「如果他（尼克劳斯）再年长两岁，他将以十杆的差距赢得冠军。」后来事实证明：班‧侯根说对了！
当我们在电视上看到尼克劳斯精湛的球技时，总讶异于他的挥杆技巧竟会如此扣人心弦，但你知道吗？尼克劳斯曾在13岁时，曾被检查出罹患小儿麻痹，当时他的身体开始感觉僵硬，便且迅速的减重20磅左右，还好因为即时发现，加上家里因为从事药剂师工作，而有比较正确且良好的医疗常识，才没让情况更加恶化！而这段过程也培养他专注并且努力的去达成目标的个性，这也是尼克劳斯自身相当自豪的一点！
在面对高尔夫球走向电视转播的时代，在赛场上的「金熊」尼克劳斯起初并不像阿诺‧帕玛那样受到电视观众和球迷的欢迎。因为他的体型比较肥胖，跟帕玛风度翩翩的的形象成了相当大的对比，他就像是电视剧当中的反派角色。甚至在一次纽约的巡回赛中，尼克劳斯发现一些观众手中握着一面旗帜站在长草中，上面写着「把球打到这里来，肥男孩」。这让尼克劳斯深受刺激，回家后努力塑身，减去四十多磅。这一转变使他开始逐渐被接受，并和球王帕玛一样成为球迷喜欢的高球代表人物。之后他的绰号也从『胖杰克』转变成霸气十足的『金熊』！
26岁时，尼克劳斯完成了生涯得重大里程碑：取得全部四大赛的冠军头衔！然后赢得第二次全部大赛冠军。并且终于在1978年英国公开赛取得了全部大赛冠军。 1986年他获得最后一个大赛冠军，当时他已经46岁，这已经是他第六个名人赛优胜。尼克劳斯接下来参加的PGA长春巡回赛中，赢取了10 次，包括8 个常春组的大赛。 PGA 巡回赛中也包括了他所主办的纪念公开赛。
在尼克劳斯的世代来说，他也是开球最远的选手。不仅如此，他也是有史以来最佳的推杆选手！他对于比赛的专注力实在是足以为所有人的榜样，为高尔夫球运动注入了一股很大的力量，也让20世纪的高尔夫运动展现辉煌的历史！
尼克劳斯的两大心理特质是无限的耐心和幽默感，这构成他稳定的内在因素。他说：“要在高尔夫球上有所作为，最重要的是要知道我们永远无法有所作为。”就是因为保持这份平常心让尼克劳斯总是在球场上能尽情发挥。
1978年夺冠之后，尼克劳斯身兼多种角色：商人、建筑师、好丈夫以及5 个孩子的父亲。常有人说当高尔夫选手不能妥善的照顾家庭，这个论点在尼克劳斯身上完全不是这么回事，他非常重视家庭观念，套句Lee Trevino曾说过：「假如尼克劳斯能把高尔夫事业放在首位而不是家庭，上帝知道他还会有多?伟大的成就。」就可知道尼克劳斯对家庭的重视可见一斑！
尼克劳斯现在和他的设备公司设计建造了上百座高尔夫球场，彻底运用他的专业以及经验，造福了更多的高尔夫爱好者。
1974 年Jack Nicklaus荣登世界高尔夫球名人堂。
1940 年1月21 日，哥伦布，俄亥俄州。
绰号：
金熊。但早期在建立了他的丰功伟业前，人们常叫他"胖杰克"。
主要冠军：
‧PGA 巡回赛：73座
‧长春PGA 巡回赛：10座
(在全世界赢得113座冠军)
大赛冠军：
职业：18座
‧名人赛：1963/1965/1966/1972/1975/1986年
‧美国公开赛：1962/1967/1972/1980年
‧英国公开赛：1966/1970/1978 /年
‧PGA锦标赛：1963/1971/1973/1975/1980年
业余赛：2座
‧美国业余公开赛： 1959 /1961 年
获颁：
‧高尔夫名人堂成员
‧8 次PGA 年度奖金榜首位
‧5 次获选PGA 年度最佳球员
‧2次获颁"世纪高尔夫球运动员" 褒奖
‧1970 年代由运动画刊Sports Illustrated形容为"十年来最佳运动员"
‧6 次美国莱德Ryder 杯成员
‧担任莱德杯队长：1983/1987/2005年
‧担任总统杯队长：1998/2003 年
名言录：
‧我在比赛时从未认为我必须打败某一位球员。我必须击败的是高尔夫球场。如果我已经充分准备并且专注在比赛上，然后顺利击败了高尔夫球场。其他的就看造化了。
‧1960年20岁的杰克说"琼斯是一位最伟大的球员，他是我唯一的目标。"
‧我想如果说我有什么传奇的话，我想是我为高尔夫球带来了不同的元素，成为一个更有意思的运动。我可能是第一个把力量加入高尔夫运动中的球员，现在看到所有的球员都能感受到击球的力量，我应该改变了这项运动的方向。
‧我深信当一个人非常喜欢或享受其中时才会有最好的表现。
‧不管是名人赛或是奥古斯塔球场都给带我很特别的感觉，当我第一次把球开上Magnolia(奥古斯塔第五洞)就有这种感觉。直到现在，当我站上Magnolia时依然感觉战战兢兢。
‧我想是我最大的资产就是：专注并且努力的去达成目标的个性。
事迹：
‧从1957 美国公开赛到1998 美国公开赛，在他有资格参加的比赛中，杰克持续不断的打了154场大赛。
‧杰克连续17年蝉联奖金榜前十名(1962-78) 。
‧杰克连续17年每年至少赢得一座PGA 巡回赛冠军(1962-78) 。
杰克‧尼克劳斯 生平：
杰克‧尼克劳斯是高尔夫球史上最伟大的传奇之一，2005年７月，尼克劳斯在圣安卓球场完成了他的谢幕演出后，当天他立即宣布告别他的高尔夫球员生涯，虽然早在比赛开始前，尼克劳斯就已经向媒体大众们告知了这项讯息，但当事情真的发生时，大家心中的震撼及不舍仍是不断荡漾着…
出生在美国俄亥俄州药剂师家庭的尼克劳斯，早在青少年时期就已展露出高尔夫的才能，当时仍在俄亥俄州大学就读的他，便以业余身份赢得1959 年和1961年两次获得全美业余锦标赛冠军。 1960年尼克劳斯还曾以两杆差距获得美国公开赛第二名。那一年，尼克劳斯最后一轮与球王阿诺‧帕玛和一代名将班‧侯根同组争夺冠军荣誉，当年的冠军正是阿诺‧帕玛。帕玛知道这位年青人就是既将在未来挑战自己的对手，但他没有想到这一天来临的那么快。当年一起打完比赛的班‧侯根曾预言「如果他（尼克劳斯）再年长两岁，他将以十杆的差距赢得冠军。」后来事实证明：班‧侯根说对了！
当我们在电视上看到尼克劳斯精湛的球技时，总讶异于他的挥杆技巧竟会如此扣人心弦，但你知道吗？尼克劳斯曾在13岁时，曾被检查出罹患小儿麻痹，当时他的身体开始感觉僵硬，便且迅速的减重20磅左右，还好因为即时发现，加上家里因为从事药剂师工作，而有比较正确且良好的医疗常识，才没让情况更加恶化！而这段过程也培养他专注并且努力的去达成目标的个性，这也是尼克劳斯自身相当自豪的一点！
在面对高尔夫球走向电视转播的时代，在赛场上的「金熊」尼克劳斯起初并不像阿诺‧帕玛那样受到电视观众和球迷的欢迎。因为他的体型比较肥胖，跟帕玛风度翩翩的的形象成了相当大的对比，他就像是电视剧当中的反派角色。甚至在一次纽约的巡回赛中，尼克劳斯发现一些观众手中握着一面旗帜站在长草中，上面写着「把球打到这里来，肥男孩」。这让尼克劳斯深受刺激，回家后努力塑身，减去四十多磅。这一转变使他开始逐渐被接受，并和球王帕玛一样成为球迷喜欢的高球代表人物。之后他的绰号也从『胖杰克』转变成霸气十足的『金熊』！
26岁时，尼克劳斯完成了生涯得重大里程碑：取得全部四大赛的冠军头衔！然后赢得第二次全部大赛冠军。并且终于在1978年英国公开赛取得了全部大赛冠军。 1986年他获得最后一个大赛冠军，当时他已经46岁，这已经是他第六个名人赛优胜。尼克劳斯接下来参加的PGA长春巡回赛中，赢取了10 次，包括8 个常春组的大赛。 PGA 巡回赛中也包括了他所主办的纪念公开赛。
在尼克劳斯的世代来说，他也是开球最远的选手。不仅如此，他也是有史以来最佳的推杆选手！他对于比赛的专注力实在是足以为所有人的榜样，为高尔夫球运动注入了一股很大的力量，也让20世纪的高尔夫运动展现辉煌的历史！
尼克劳斯的两大心理特质是无限的耐心和幽默感，这构成他稳定的内在因素。他说：“要在高尔夫球上有所作为，最重要的是要知道我们永远无法有所作为。”就是因为保持这份平常心让尼克劳斯总是在球场上能尽情发挥。
1978年夺冠之后，尼克劳斯身兼多种角色：商人、建筑师、好丈夫以及5 个孩子的父亲。常有人说当高尔夫选手不能妥善的照顾家庭，这个论点在尼克劳斯身上完全不是这么回事，他非常重视家庭观念，套句Lee Trevino曾说过：「假如尼克劳斯能把高尔夫事业放在首位而不是家庭，上帝知道他还会有多?伟大的成就。」就可知道尼克劳斯对家庭的重视可见一斑！
尼克劳斯现在和他的设备公司设计建造了上百座高尔夫球场，彻底运用他的专业以及经验，造福了更多的高尔夫爱好者。
1974 年Jack Nicklaus荣登世界高尔夫球名人堂。
一代球神～班．侯根
出生：
1912 年8月13 日在Stephenville, 德克萨斯
(许多资料指出他的出生地为都伯林,德克萨斯。因为他后来是在都柏林长大但他是在Stephenville这个城镇里。)
1997 年7月25 日 过逝
绰号：
The Hawk or Bantam Ben鹰或矮脚鸡
巡回赛优胜：
64 次
大赛冠军：9 座
‧ 名人赛：1951 年1953 年
‧ 美国公开赛： 1948 年1950 年1951 年1953 年
‧ 英国公开赛：1953 年
‧ PGA 锦标赛： 1946 年1948 年
获颁：
‧高尔夫名人堂成员
‧ 5次PGA 巡回赛奖金榜冠军
‧ 3次PGA巡回赛瓦登奖(Vardon Trophy) ： 1940 年1941 年1948 年
‧PGA年度最佳球员：1948 年1950 年1951 年1953 年
‧ 2 次个美国莱德Ryder 杯成员
‧ 3次美国莱德杯队长：1947 年1949 年1967 年
名人榜：
1974 年班‧侯根荣登世界高尔夫球名人榜。
名言录：
‧"我恨左曲球，觉得恶心。如果我看到搞不好会呕吐。它就是像一条响尾蛇在你的口袋里。"
‧"我跟朋友打球，但我们不打友好的比赛。"
‧"我总是在指导别人，指导从来不会影响我。"
‧"去改变每一项人体自然反应并做到相反的程度，那你接近拥有一个完美的挥杆动作。"
‧"考虑如何打击就像选择妻子一样。对他的每一个来说…"
‧"放松？有人放松的去打高尔夫球吗？你必须先握住球杆不是吗？"
‧"在探索完美的过程中是没有捷径的。"
‧"人们有总是认为我什么事做不到。我会想要去做到，我想这样是驱动我前进的一大动力。"
‧"你可能意外的打了一个直球，大部分的球不是左曲就是右曲，那你最好练到把球童一个方向，不管是左曲还是右曲。"
‧"我认为我还没有达到我认为的成功，高尔夫对我来说也许是事业，一份我喜欢做又可以维持生计的工作，我不喜欢魅力，我就是喜欢比赛。"
‧Dave Marr形容他："侯根打一场比赛而我们似乎在打另一场比赛。"
BEN HOGAN生平：
告诉大家一个数据吧！侯根在292 次的PGA巡回赛里，名列前3名的次数是百分之47.6，如果算他前10名的话更高达了241次。
1912 年侯根出生地靠近沃斯堡这个地方。侯根和Byron Nelson(于1974年入选世界高尔夫名人堂)是童年好友。两人也同在沃斯堡高尔夫俱乐部当任杆弟。他们甚至在同一年的俱乐部员工比赛里平手(纳尔逊赢得了冠军) 。
侯根的童年是坎坷而艰辛的，因为在他幼小时他的父亲自杀，而且记载中相年幼的侯根目击了这个悲剧的事件。
1929 年，侯根17岁就转入了职业，都参加德州的职业比赛，但他并没有在PGA巡回赛里崭露头角，直到1932 年才参加巡回赛。在他早期的球风里，侯根都是打左曲球，但后来经过了长时间的大力改造后，他变成了小右曲球的打者，1940 年起他便开始赢得比赛而且非常频繁。
后来他的事业因为第二次世界大战的关系中断了几年，1946年赢得了13次的比赛，包括个人第一做大赛的冠军—PGA锦标赛，自1945年8月到1949年二月期间侯根总共赢得37场比赛。
没想到就在侯根高尔夫事业如日中天的时候，在1949年在一次车祸意外中受了重伤，他的腿伤让他从此他再也无法全程参与巡回赛的赛程。大家都认为侯根将永远无法再打高尔夫球了，但伤势并没有减弱他的决心，当时他说：当时人们总是不断告诉我什么不能做、无法做！也许是因为这样，我更想克服，告诉他们：我可以做！
就在16个多月的调养与复健后，侯根成功的克服了这次几乎致命的伤害。从1950 年开始，侯根一年里从未参加了超过7 次的PGA巡回赛。但他还是在伤后赢得了13座的冠军。直到2000 年老虎‧伍兹破纪录演出之前，侯根是唯一在同一赛季里赢得三座职业高尔夫大赛的选手。那是在1953 年的时候，当侯根赢得了名人赛，同一年度还一举夺下美国公开赛和个人唯一座英国公开赛的奖杯，这也让他成?历史上第二位完成职业四大赛满贯的高尔夫大师。 PGA锦标赛因为开赛时间与英国公开赛太接近的关系他无法参加。从1946 年到1953 年期间，侯根参加了16场的大赛并抱回其中的9座冠军。
他以他的专业造福了无数爱好高尔夫球的球迷，众所周知的品牌Ben Hogan便是球具厂商以他的名号创立，多年来生产了许多最为优良的高尔夫球具。
除了事业上的成就之外，最为人津津乐道的是侯根的脾气，他总是一贯的以白色遮阳帽压低着住他的表情，非常安静而且专注的面对每一次的击球，其他时候都给人难以亲近的冷漠，甚至是暴躁的印象，但他对高尔夫的执着还是赢得了大家的敬重。
侯根在1995 年时，被诊断出有结肠癌以及老人痴呆症，之后于1997年7月25日于沃斯堡的家中过世。
1912 年8月13 日在Stephenville, 德克萨斯
(许多资料指出他的出生地为都伯林,德克萨斯。因为他后来是在都柏林长大但他是在Stephenville这个城镇里。)
1997 年7月25 日 过逝
绰号：
The Hawk or Bantam Ben鹰或矮脚鸡
巡回赛优胜：
64 次
大赛冠军：9 座
‧ 名人赛：1951 年1953 年
‧ 美国公开赛： 1948 年1950 年1951 年1953 年
‧ 英国公开赛：1953 年
‧ PGA 锦标赛： 1946 年1948 年
获颁：
‧高尔夫名人堂成员
‧ 5次PGA 巡回赛奖金榜冠军
‧ 3次PGA巡回赛瓦登奖(Vardon Trophy) ： 1940 年1941 年1948 年
‧PGA年度最佳球员：1948 年1950 年1951 年1953 年
‧ 2 次个美国莱德Ryder 杯成员
‧ 3次美国莱德杯队长：1947 年1949 年1967 年
名人榜：
1974 年班‧侯根荣登世界高尔夫球名人榜。
名言录：
‧"我恨左曲球，觉得恶心。如果我看到搞不好会呕吐。它就是像一条响尾蛇在你的口袋里。"
‧"我跟朋友打球，但我们不打友好的比赛。"
‧"我总是在指导别人，指导从来不会影响我。"
‧"去改变每一项人体自然反应并做到相反的程度，那你接近拥有一个完美的挥杆动作。"
‧"考虑如何打击就像选择妻子一样。对他的每一个来说…"
‧"放松？有人放松的去打高尔夫球吗？你必须先握住球杆不是吗？"
‧"在探索完美的过程中是没有捷径的。"
‧"人们有总是认为我什么事做不到。我会想要去做到，我想这样是驱动我前进的一大动力。"
‧"你可能意外的打了一个直球，大部分的球不是左曲就是右曲，那你最好练到把球童一个方向，不管是左曲还是右曲。"
‧"我认为我还没有达到我认为的成功，高尔夫对我来说也许是事业，一份我喜欢做又可以维持生计的工作，我不喜欢魅力，我就是喜欢比赛。"
‧Dave Marr形容他："侯根打一场比赛而我们似乎在打另一场比赛。"
BEN HOGAN生平：
告诉大家一个数据吧！侯根在292 次的PGA巡回赛里，名列前3名的次数是百分之47.6，如果算他前10名的话更高达了241次。
1912 年侯根出生地靠近沃斯堡这个地方。侯根和Byron Nelson(于1974年入选世界高尔夫名人堂)是童年好友。两人也同在沃斯堡高尔夫俱乐部当任杆弟。他们甚至在同一年的俱乐部员工比赛里平手(纳尔逊赢得了冠军) 。
侯根的童年是坎坷而艰辛的，因为在他幼小时他的父亲自杀，而且记载中相年幼的侯根目击了这个悲剧的事件。
1929 年，侯根17岁就转入了职业，都参加德州的职业比赛，但他并没有在PGA巡回赛里崭露头角，直到1932 年才参加巡回赛。在他早期的球风里，侯根都是打左曲球，但后来经过了长时间的大力改造后，他变成了小右曲球的打者，1940 年起他便开始赢得比赛而且非常频繁。
后来他的事业因为第二次世界大战的关系中断了几年，1946年赢得了13次的比赛，包括个人第一做大赛的冠军—PGA锦标赛，自1945年8月到1949年二月期间侯根总共赢得37场比赛。
没想到就在侯根高尔夫事业如日中天的时候，在1949年在一次车祸意外中受了重伤，他的腿伤让他从此他再也无法全程参与巡回赛的赛程。大家都认为侯根将永远无法再打高尔夫球了，但伤势并没有减弱他的决心，当时他说：当时人们总是不断告诉我什么不能做、无法做！也许是因为这样，我更想克服，告诉他们：我可以做！
就在16个多月的调养与复健后，侯根成功的克服了这次几乎致命的伤害。从1950 年开始，侯根一年里从未参加了超过7 次的PGA巡回赛。但他还是在伤后赢得了13座的冠军。直到2000 年老虎‧伍兹破纪录演出之前，侯根是唯一在同一赛季里赢得三座职业高尔夫大赛的选手。那是在1953 年的时候，当侯根赢得了名人赛，同一年度还一举夺下美国公开赛和个人唯一座英国公开赛的奖杯，这也让他成?历史上第二位完成职业四大赛满贯的高尔夫大师。 PGA锦标赛因为开赛时间与英国公开赛太接近的关系他无法参加。从1946 年到1953 年期间，侯根参加了16场的大赛并抱回其中的9座冠军。
他以他的专业造福了无数爱好高尔夫球的球迷，众所周知的品牌Ben Hogan便是球具厂商以他的名号创立，多年来生产了许多最为优良的高尔夫球具。
除了事业上的成就之外，最为人津津乐道的是侯根的脾气，他总是一贯的以白色遮阳帽压低着住他的表情，非常安静而且专注的面对每一次的击球，其他时候都给人难以亲近的冷漠，甚至是暴躁的印象，但他对高尔夫的执着还是赢得了大家的敬重。
侯根在1995 年时，被诊断出有结肠癌以及老人痴呆症，之后于1997年7月25日于沃斯堡的家中过世。
第一位绿夹克英雄~山姆．史奈德
出生
1912 年5月27 日Hot Spring, 维吉尼亚州。
2002 年5月23 日逝世
绰号：
"Slammin ' Sam," 或"Slammer"重炮手山姆
巡回赛优胜：
82座
(Snead 估计赢得了160场职业比赛。)
大赛冠军：7座
‧ 名人赛：1949 年1952 年1954 年
‧ 英国公开赛： 1946 年
‧ PGA 锦标赛：: 1942年、1949、年1951 年
获颁：
‧世界高尔夫球名人堂成员
‧ PGA 巡回赛终身成就奖
‧ 3 次PGA 奖金榜优胜
‧ 4 次平均最低杆数的瓦顿奖(Vardon Trophy)
‧ 8 次美国莱德Ryder 杯队员
‧ 3次美国Ryder 杯队长
名言录：
‧"仔细计算你的每一个硬币，记得离威士忌远一点，然后在推杆时永远不要让步。"
‧”如果有人拿高尔夫球杆的方式如同他们拿着刀叉一样，那他们一定会饿死”
‧”光想不练是高尔夫最大的伤害”
‧”练习到肌肉像脑子记住”
‧"有一个说法：如果发现有一个人回家时他的裤脚里面有沙子的话，那就不用问他去做了什么了。"
‧"我打高尔夫球的唯一的原因就是：我可以负担去打猎和钓鱼。"
‧"一次只改正一个缺点。然后集中所有精神克服这一个缺点。"
‧"这些果岭速度实在太快了，快到我要提起球杆用影子来打。"
‧"没有人问你怎么看，只是要看你打。"
‧"你是无法在高尔夫球专卖店买到「打一场好球的」。 "
‧"巡回赛里已经没有短打者了，只有长距选手和更长距的选手。"
‧"有三件事下场时我最害怕！打雷、Ben Hogan和下坡的推杆。"
‧"当我觉得挥杆时正确无误的时候，我心里是空白的并且身体像鹅毛一样柔软。"
‧Tim Finchem：”没有人可以复制Sam Snead也没有人可以超越Sam Snead，因为他是这么的独特”
事迹：
‧ Snead也是PGA巡回赛里单场冠军的纪录保持人，赢得8次Greensboro公开赛，1938年第一次夺冠，1965年最后一次他已届52岁(也创造了最高龄赢得巡回赛冠军的纪录) 。
‧ 在赢得大赛之前，Snead已经赢得了27座巡回赛的胜利。
Sam Snead生平：
什么东西如丝绸般平滑，如诗歌般纯净，又非常地优雅？只有超级的高球迷才能给出正确的答案：Sam Snead的挥杆。当然，Snead是得到上天眷顾的，他身体的柔软度极好，到了80岁的时候，仍然可以抬腿至头顶，因此练就无可挑剔的挥杆动作。
1912年，Snead出生在美国弗吉尼亚的偏僻山区，家庭相当的困窘。 Snead完全像个野孩子般长大，和同伴无忧地去打猎、钓鱼。但不一样的是，他还喜欢上了打高尔夫，因为他家靠近著名的高尔夫旅游胜地Hot Springs。
当88岁高龄的Snead在接受采访时谈到：“人们总是因为我挥杆自然而认为我没有勤奋练球，只是靠天赋。其实，年轻的时候，我没日没夜地练球，晚上光线不足的时候，我就借着车前灯光来练球，直到手流血了我还在继续练，我的勤奋度是其他任何球手都比不上的。”此外，Snead还有一个打球秘诀：“尽量放松与自如，因为在你挥杆的时候，球不会逃跑。”
富有韵律的挥杆，使Snead成为第一个开球距离超过270码的球手(当时球的制造材质不同今日，现在的球手能轻易打出300多码)。 1936 年，Snead背着花费了九美金买来的九支球杆，第一次在世人面前展现他的魔力挥杆，345码的距离让球迷震惊不已，因此，大家给了“重炮手山姆” (Slammin Sammy)的称呼。
带着一股冲劲的Snead征战四大赛战绩斐然，同时也留下了人生中最大的遗憾。他赢得了三次PGA锦标赛冠军( PGA Championships)，三次名人赛(The Masters)冠军和一次英国公开赛冠军(The British Open)，然而，独缺美国公开赛(US Open)。
1979年，球迷再次看到他的伟大，年届67岁的Snead成为第一个打出低于自身年龄杆数的球手，因为在Quad Cities Open上，他取得了67与66杆的成绩。
当他晚年接受采访的时候，Snead谈到：“我能打倒老虎吗？我想在我年轻的时候是可以的，当时我可以随心所欲在球场上得到我想要的东西，无所畏惧！”
晚年的Snead成为一名热心的高球使者，他在常青巡回赛上起了非常大的作用。他也尝试去设计球场，与Gene Sarazen一起设计了Slammer and the Squire球场。阿诺‧帕玛(Anald Palmer)在Snead离世后，中肯地说：“他是一个对于高尔夫的普及起了关键作用的一个人物。”
1974 年Sam Snead 名列世界高尔夫球名人堂。
1912 年5月27 日Hot Spring, 维吉尼亚州。
2002 年5月23 日逝世
绰号：
"Slammin ' Sam," 或"Slammer"重炮手山姆
巡回赛优胜：
82座
(Snead 估计赢得了160场职业比赛。)
大赛冠军：7座
‧ 名人赛：1949 年1952 年1954 年
‧ 英国公开赛： 1946 年
‧ PGA 锦标赛：: 1942年、1949、年1951 年
获颁：
‧世界高尔夫球名人堂成员
‧ PGA 巡回赛终身成就奖
‧ 3 次PGA 奖金榜优胜
‧ 4 次平均最低杆数的瓦顿奖(Vardon Trophy)
‧ 8 次美国莱德Ryder 杯队员
‧ 3次美国Ryder 杯队长
名言录：
‧"仔细计算你的每一个硬币，记得离威士忌远一点，然后在推杆时永远不要让步。"
‧”如果有人拿高尔夫球杆的方式如同他们拿着刀叉一样，那他们一定会饿死”
‧”光想不练是高尔夫最大的伤害”
‧”练习到肌肉像脑子记住”
‧"有一个说法：如果发现有一个人回家时他的裤脚里面有沙子的话，那就不用问他去做了什么了。"
‧"我打高尔夫球的唯一的原因就是：我可以负担去打猎和钓鱼。"
‧"一次只改正一个缺点。然后集中所有精神克服这一个缺点。"
‧"这些果岭速度实在太快了，快到我要提起球杆用影子来打。"
‧"没有人问你怎么看，只是要看你打。"
‧"你是无法在高尔夫球专卖店买到「打一场好球的」。 "
‧"巡回赛里已经没有短打者了，只有长距选手和更长距的选手。"
‧"有三件事下场时我最害怕！打雷、Ben Hogan和下坡的推杆。"
‧"当我觉得挥杆时正确无误的时候，我心里是空白的并且身体像鹅毛一样柔软。"
‧Tim Finchem：”没有人可以复制Sam Snead也没有人可以超越Sam Snead，因为他是这么的独特”
事迹：
‧ Snead也是PGA巡回赛里单场冠军的纪录保持人，赢得8次Greensboro公开赛，1938年第一次夺冠，1965年最后一次他已届52岁(也创造了最高龄赢得巡回赛冠军的纪录) 。
‧ 在赢得大赛之前，Snead已经赢得了27座巡回赛的胜利。
Sam Snead生平：
什么东西如丝绸般平滑，如诗歌般纯净，又非常地优雅？只有超级的高球迷才能给出正确的答案：Sam Snead的挥杆。当然，Snead是得到上天眷顾的，他身体的柔软度极好，到了80岁的时候，仍然可以抬腿至头顶，因此练就无可挑剔的挥杆动作。
1912年，Snead出生在美国弗吉尼亚的偏僻山区，家庭相当的困窘。 Snead完全像个野孩子般长大，和同伴无忧地去打猎、钓鱼。但不一样的是，他还喜欢上了打高尔夫，因为他家靠近著名的高尔夫旅游胜地Hot Springs。
当88岁高龄的Snead在接受采访时谈到：“人们总是因为我挥杆自然而认为我没有勤奋练球，只是靠天赋。其实，年轻的时候，我没日没夜地练球，晚上光线不足的时候，我就借着车前灯光来练球，直到手流血了我还在继续练，我的勤奋度是其他任何球手都比不上的。”此外，Snead还有一个打球秘诀：“尽量放松与自如，因为在你挥杆的时候，球不会逃跑。”
富有韵律的挥杆，使Snead成为第一个开球距离超过270码的球手(当时球的制造材质不同今日，现在的球手能轻易打出300多码)。 1936 年，Snead背着花费了九美金买来的九支球杆，第一次在世人面前展现他的魔力挥杆，345码的距离让球迷震惊不已，因此，大家给了“重炮手山姆” (Slammin Sammy)的称呼。
带着一股冲劲的Snead征战四大赛战绩斐然，同时也留下了人生中最大的遗憾。他赢得了三次PGA锦标赛冠军( PGA Championships)，三次名人赛(The Masters)冠军和一次英国公开赛冠军(The British Open)，然而，独缺美国公开赛(US Open)。
1979年，球迷再次看到他的伟大，年届67岁的Snead成为第一个打出低于自身年龄杆数的球手，因为在Quad Cities Open上，他取得了67与66杆的成绩。
当他晚年接受采访的时候，Snead谈到：“我能打倒老虎吗？我想在我年轻的时候是可以的，当时我可以随心所欲在球场上得到我想要的东西，无所畏惧！”
晚年的Snead成为一名热心的高球使者，他在常青巡回赛上起了非常大的作用。他也尝试去设计球场，与Gene Sarazen一起设计了Slammer and the Squire球场。阿诺‧帕玛(Anald Palmer)在Snead离世后，中肯地说：“他是一个对于高尔夫的普及起了关键作用的一个人物。”
1974 年Sam Snead 名列世界高尔夫球名人堂。
Adam Scott 亚当·斯科特
破釜沉舟挥杆式—亚当·斯科特篇
Swing Sequence: Adam Scott
下杆时，要将右手臂保持在左手的下方。这样一方面可以造成延后击球，另一方面也可以创造较浅平的击球角度。不仅可以将球打得更远，还可以打得更直
Swing Sequence: Adam Scott
下杆时，要将右手臂保持在左手的下方。这样一方面可以造成延后击球，另一方面也可以创造较浅平的击球角度。不仅可以将球打得更远，还可以打得更直
Sunday, November 15, 2009
挥杆时你会抬起你的左脚跟么？
高尔夫站位的重要性对于高尔夫选手来说是首当其冲的。来到球场上，我们首先要做的是有一个正确的站位，然后才会考虑挥杆的事情。
首先， 在站位的时候，我们要做到放松，保持身体挺拔的感觉，抬起头，而不是缩在胸前，手臂要伸展，后背挺直但不要僵硬，握杆牢固但不要紧抓，腿部站位扎实但不要 像木头桩子。其实这种准备姿势不单适用于高尔夫，也可以适合很多体育运动。高尔夫挥杆中所需要的力量和准确性，往往受到你站位姿势的影响。
好的站位可以保持选手全挥杆以及后挥杆的平衡。使用不同的球杆时，我们也需要调整站位方式，以获得最佳的击球效果。
在这里，我们需要特别注意一下左脚后跟的动作，因为不同的教练，教法可能完全不同。有很多年轻教练要求学生在整个挥杆过程中保持左脚跟着地，始终不要抬起。但是一些老教练和球员都会在上挥杆的同时，左脚脚跟稍稍抬起，在开始下挥杆的时候重新踏回地面。
不是因为前人们挥杆动作那么的经典，才使我们效仿，而是因为让左脚跟抬起确实最容易完成挥杆动作。
一些伟大的球手如杰克-尼克劳斯，就是允许自己的左脚脚跟抬起，使他的身体能够充分扭转，不必放松握杆的双手就能完成上挥杆动作，而且在挥杆顶点能够控制的如此之好。
但是也有一些伟大的球员从来不会在意自己的脚跟是否抬起来，他们的脚跟抬起还是不抬起完全取决于当时挥杆动作的需要，是自然形成的独特风格。
高尔夫是个性化的运动，脚后跟是否抬起其实就是各人调整重心位置的方法。一般来说，那些喜欢使用手臂击球的选手站位重心都倾向于脚后跟，而那些使用身体来击球的球手则更倾向于前脚掌，这里没有对错之分，只是个人的击球习惯而已。
不过我还是要强调一下，如果你挥杆时选择抬起脚跟，也不能有意识的抬起左脚脚跟，应该是首先让左脚脚跟着地，然后在你挥杆身体转动的同时自然抬起。
好的站位可以保持选手全挥杆以及后挥杆的平衡。使用不同的球杆时，我们也需要调整站位方式，以获得最佳的击球效果。
在这里，我们需要特别注意一下左脚后跟的动作，因为不同的教练，教法可能完全不同。有很多年轻教练要求学生在整个挥杆过程中保持左脚跟着地，始终不要抬起。但是一些老教练和球员都会在上挥杆的同时，左脚脚跟稍稍抬起，在开始下挥杆的时候重新踏回地面。
不是因为前人们挥杆动作那么的经典，才使我们效仿，而是因为让左脚跟抬起确实最容易完成挥杆动作。
一些伟大的球手如杰克-尼克劳斯，就是允许自己的左脚脚跟抬起，使他的身体能够充分扭转，不必放松握杆的双手就能完成上挥杆动作，而且在挥杆顶点能够控制的如此之好。
但是也有一些伟大的球员从来不会在意自己的脚跟是否抬起来，他们的脚跟抬起还是不抬起完全取决于当时挥杆动作的需要，是自然形成的独特风格。
高尔夫是个性化的运动，脚后跟是否抬起其实就是各人调整重心位置的方法。一般来说，那些喜欢使用手臂击球的选手站位重心都倾向于脚后跟，而那些使用身体来击球的球手则更倾向于前脚掌，这里没有对错之分，只是个人的击球习惯而已。
不过我还是要强调一下，如果你挥杆时选择抬起脚跟，也不能有意识的抬起左脚脚跟，应该是首先让左脚脚跟着地，然后在你挥杆身体转动的同时自然抬起。
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Shop Online
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Be careful Not to buy fake counterfeit clubs from other online sites
http://www.golfdiscount.com/
http://www.intheholegolf.com/
http://www.hurricanegolf.com/
http://www.rockbottomgolf.com/
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/
http://www.golfsmith.com
Be careful Not to buy fake counterfeit clubs from other online sites
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
賈西亞的致勝武器－TaylorMade全新Tour Burner開球木桿
| 2008-05-21 |
| TaylorMade 旗下指定贊助的西班牙職業高球好手瑟吉歐．賈西亞（Sergio Garcia），在潛沉3年後，再度以傲人球感結合TaylorMade全新Tour Burner開球木桿的野獸級爆發力，勇奪美國PGA巡迴賽選手錦標賽（The Players Championship）冠軍，再次證明TaylorMade的實力！ |
◎ TEXT / 張為揚 |
| 多重頂尖科技的最佳結合－Tour Burner 號稱美國PGA巡迴賽旗艦賽事的選手錦標賽聚集多位各國好手，賈西亞精湛的開球表現與準確的擊球落點是摘下本屆選手 錦標賽冠軍的關鍵因素。TaylorMade推出的全新Tour Burner開球木桿不僅成功輔佐賈西亞奪得冠位，更讓他以平均開球距離283碼的高水準表現，搶下Driving Accuracy與Greens in Regulation雙項排名的寶座，在高手雲集賽事中傲視群雄！ 黑金色澤與獨特外型設計 此次，TaylorMade不僅展示Tour Burner開球木桿，更推出專為想要擁有職業級表現的球友們所設計的Tour Burner TP（Tour Preferred）系列。Tour Burner TP系列的球桿已伴隨許多知名職業選手，如Justin Rose及Sergio Garcia，征戰各大巡迴賽並贏得優異成績。Tour Burner TP的桿面角度較Tour Burner更開放兩度，並提供三種不同桿身硬度讓球友依個人需求挑選，TaylorMade以貼心考量與極緻設計，讓球友們在場上的表現更加無懈可擊！ |
一揮千里─TaylorMade全新「r7 Limited開球木桿」
| 2008-10-20 |
| 對於熱愛高球活動的球友們而言，除了勤練球技外，選擇一支好的球桿，更是讓成績更加突破精進的致勝關鍵，TaylorMade在推出全球第一支具備可調節重心技術的r7 系列球桿後，即廣受職業球員與業餘愛好者的喜愛... |
◎ TEXT / 林柏攸 |
在 今年，TaylorMade更推出全新終極版r7 Limited開球木桿，運用最頂級的「可調節重心技術」，以及更強化的「倒錐形桿背技術」，結合TaylorMade各世代球桿的製桿精湛工藝與洗鍊簡 潔造型，在揮擊瞬間，即能開出比原有彈道更增進35碼以上的極大遠距，以更深、更低的重心結構，大幅提升擊球準度，讓球友在每次揮桿，都是職業水準的銳力 展現！ TaylorMade此次以旗下兩大頂級強化版的「可調節重心技術」（Movable Weight Technology）與「倒錐形桿背技術」（Inverted Cone Technology），精心規劃研發r7 Limited Driver系列球桿，搭配三顆可調式「配重匣」，球友只要使用隨桿附贈的專利MWT扳手，即可按照擊球需要自由調整桿頭重心結構，創造更快、更低、更深 的擊球重心，讓開球距離隨著每次揮擊，皆能飛出極致遠距與絕對爆發力！而在擊球角度方面，配置眾多高科技與材質的r7 Limited Driver，則可完全改善r7 SuperQuad與CGB Max系列開球木桿在擊球時，會出現曲道稍微偏左的問題，讓球友能完全掌控擊球的方向與角度，打出最理想的小白球飛行路線。 |
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
高尔夫挥杆的单平面和双平面
曾经和好几位PGA的职业教练学习或者探讨过高尔夫挥杆理论，他们都是真正的专家，有着丰富的教学经验和实战理论，但好象还没有两个人的说法完全一样的，每个人都有自己的特点和见解，每个人都可以给你一些不同的说法和窍门，而且有些方法和窍门竟然是互相矛盾或者相斥的，我想学习高尔夫挥杆最大的沮丧也莫过于此了。不知道其它的体育运动，比如游泳田径什么的，是否有一套标准的训练方法或者动作理论可以全世界通用，好象高尔夫还没有，不过就目前来看，两个平面的理论我认为应该是比较有借鉴作用的。
其实两个平面的理论不难理解，简单来说，人体挥杆时会产生两个主要的平面，一个是身体或者说肩部旋转的平面，另外一个就是手臂挥杆的平面。如果这两个平面相吻合，就是单平面的挥杆，如果这两个平面不重合而是手臂挥杆的平面比肩部转动的平面更陡直，则是双平面的挥杆。
根据该理论的鼻祖Jim Hardy的说法，这两种不同的平面挥杆方法是截然不同的，好象油和水之间的关系，如果你一直为你的挥杆苦恼不已的话，很有可能就是你还没有了解自己的挥杆是属于哪一种并且按照相应的正确方法去练习。
两种挥杆平面在握杆，站位，瞄球，上挥和下挥等环节上都有或多或少的差别，我个人通过实际练习体会到最主要的区别还是在上挥。单平面挥杆的上挥是手臂和肩部严格围绕身体的中轴线来同步绕转，保持两者在同一平面上。而双平面在上杆的时候在肩部扭转的同时胯部也有一定幅度的转动，同时手臂挥杆的方向更靠近外侧，也就是远离身体的一侧，从而形成一个更宽但比较陡直的上杆平面。在上挥的顶点，我们可以清楚地看到，单平面的挥杆双手的位置基本和右肩持平，同时感觉右臂同身体夹紧并右肘朝下，而双平面的挥杆双手的位置会高于右肩，同时右肘向外微张。
下杆的时候单平面挥杆只要原路返回即可，而双平面挥杆则要先把手臂拉回到和身体的同一平面，再释放杆头击球，两者是不同的。所以如果你的教练要你夹着毛巾练习挥杆，他教的是单平面，如果你的教练要你下杆时先收杆再送杆，他教的是双平面。如果他要求你上杆时夹紧右臂而下杆要有意识旋转手腕释放杆头的话，那么他就有李鬼的嫌疑了。
我认为，对于单平面还是双平面的选择，绝对是个人的偏爱。一般来说，身高臂长的人士比较适合双平面，有利于发挥自己手臂力量的优势，而身材不高或者体形敦实的人士，可以考虑选择单平面，发挥上身扭转的力量。其实我们会看到很多职业选手的挥杆并不是严格意义的单平面或者双平面，但他们的挥杆都是适合自己的身体情况的。对于初学者，你是选择单平面还是双平面并不重要，重要的是理解正确的理论并在正确的指导下练习，否则越打越胡涂最后发展到好象不会打球的情况会不断的重演。
Sunday, March 22, 2009
揮桿改造心得
[高爾夫]真理的瞬間 -- 揮桿改造心得之一
[高爾夫]O因子(O-factor)的奧義 -- 揮桿改造心得之二
Rick Smith 強調所有的好手, 不論John Daly或Greg Norman, 不論其上桿多麼不正統, 到position 4他們的姿勢都一樣.
[高爾夫]現代揮桿(Modern Swing) -- 揮桿改造心得之三
[高爾夫]O因子(O-factor)的奧義 -- 揮桿改造心得之二
Rick Smith 強調所有的好手, 不論John Daly或Greg Norman, 不論其上桿多麼不正統, 到position 4他們的姿勢都一樣.
[高爾夫]現代揮桿(Modern Swing) -- 揮桿改造心得之三
Monday, March 9, 2009
Moe Knows What Nobody Else Knows
Moe Knows What Nobody Else Knows by David Owen Part One
Sam Snead played an exhibition match with Ed (Porky) Oliver and Moe Norman in Toronto in 1969. On one par-4 hole, a creek crossed the fairway about 240 yards from the tee. Norman, a Canadian pro who lived in the area, reached for his driver.
"This is a lay-up hole, Moe," Snead warned him. "You can't clear the creek with a driver." "Not trying to," Norman said. "I'm playing for the bridge." Snead's and Oliver's tee shots ended up safely on the near side of the water. Norman's drive landed short and rolled over the bridge to the other side.
Every golfer hits a lucky shot from time to time. But Norman, who recently turned 66, has hit so many lucky shots during the last half-century that you begin to search for a different adjective.
Consider Norman's experience during a practice round before the 1971 Canadian Open. A week earlier, at the Quebec Open, he had come to the final hole with a one-stroke lead, but had four-putted the final green to finish second. (His playing partner, Gary Slatter, explained later that Norman putted poorly on the hole because he was upset that the crowd had not applauded him for being the only player that day to reach that green in two.) "Any four-putts today?" a reporter asked Norman as he came to the tee of a 233-yard par 3. Norman teed up a ball in silence and hit it straight at the pin. He watched the ball's flight a moment, then turned to the reporter and said, "Not putting today." The ball landed on the front of the green and rolled into the cup.
Norman is mostly unknown to American golf fans, but he has long been a nearly mythical figure among tour professionals. Paul Azinger first saw him hit balls on a driving range in Florida 15 years ago when Azinger was a college player.
"He started ripping these drivers right off the ground at the 250-yard marker, and he never hit one more than 10 yards to either side of it, and he hit at least 50," Azinger told Tim O'Connor, a Canadian writer whose forthcoming biography of Norman, A Feeling of Greatness, is excerpted in the December issue of Golf Digest. "It was an incredible sight. When he hit irons, he was calling how many times you would see it bounce after he hit it--sometimes before he hit it--and he'd do it. It was unbelievable," said Azinger.
At an exhibition once, Norman hit 1,540 drives in a little under seven hours. None was shorter than 225 yards, and all landed inside a marked 30-yard-wide landing zone.
Norman doesn't look like a legend. His graying red hair stands more or less straight up, giving him a look of perpetual surprise. He wears long-sleeved shirts in even the hottest weather, and he buttons them up to his chin. His pants don't fit very well; during his playing days, they often gave out just south of mid-shin.
He likes bright colors and enjoys mixing stripes and plaids. His teeth would give an orthodontist pause. A huge proportion of his daily caloric intake is in the form of Coca-Cola. His voice is high; he speaks rapidly and often repeats himself, especially when he's nervous. But Iron Byron doesn't have much star quality, either. Professional golfers' high regard for Norman has always been based primarily on his phenomenal ball striking. Lee Trevino ranks Norman with the game's very best, including Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson.
Ken Venturi agrees: "Because Moe is kind of eccentric, he never got the credit he deserved or played the kind of golf he was capable of. You had to ignore the way he looked over the ball and judge his ball striking. Hogan, Snead, Nelson--they all look esthetic. Moe looked very awkward. But he could do anything. He is one of the premier ball-strikers I have ever seen. Hell, I'd give Moe three strokes a side just to watch him hit the golf ball."
In his heyday, Norman translated his ball-striking genius into an impressive competitive record. In the late '50s, he won dozens of amateur tournaments in Canada, including the Canadian Amateur two years in a row. His best year as a pro was 1966, when he won five of the 12 Canadian tournaments he entered, came in second in five, finished no lower than fifth, and won the CPGA scoring-average title by 2 1/2 strokes, with 69.8.
Beginning in 1979, when Norman turned 50, he won seven consecutive Canadian PGA senior championships, finished second in the eighth, and won the ninth by eight strokes. He has set more than 30 course records, including three with scores of 59 and four with scores of 61. (He shot his most recent 59 four years ago, at the age of 62.) Last August, the Royal Canadian Golf Association inducted him into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.
These are considerable accomplishments. Still, there are conspicuous gaps in Norman's record. He played almost exclusively in Canada and made only a brief attempt, in 1959, to play on the U.S. tour. If Norman is one of the greatest ball-strikers in history, why doesn't he also have one of the greatest records?
The reasons are complex. One of them, paradoxically, has to do with the very foundation of his game: his golf swing. Simply put, Moe Norman's swing doesn't look like the ones you see on TV. He grips the club in his palms rather than his fingers, stands far from the ball with his legs spread wide; he soles the club as much as a foot behind the ball, squeezes the grip almost unbelievably hard with his left hand, takes the club back scarcely past the level of his right shoulder, makes only a moderate shoulder turn and virtually no hip turn, and finishes with the club pointing up at the sky. Nearly every time Norman teed it up in a tournament, he had to endure the laughter of spectators. He was often viewed as an amusing sideshow, not as the main event, and he reinforced his own reputation as a clown by playing to the galleries.
Norman is different in other ways as well. His personality is eccentric, to say the least. He is uncomfortable with strangers and has difficulty making eye contact with people he doesn't know. He does not like to be touched. He has never married or had a serious relationship with another person, and he has essentially no interests outside golf. He suffers from a crippling shyness that was often interpreted by others as arrogance or rudeness. Despite all he has accomplished, he has always been plagued by a fear that he doesn't measure up.
That Norman managed any sort of competitive career can begin to seem astonishing. His upbringing was modest in the extreme and did little to prepare him for the U.S. tour, where he felt conspicuous and inadequate next to famous players who dressed better and had more money than he did. He spent much of his 40-year competitive career in obscurity and poverty. He never had a mentor, a manager, or a sponsor. He sometimes carried his own bag in tournaments because he couldn't afford a caddie. When he had money, he kept it in a wad in his front pocket and sometimes had to move it to one side so it wouldn't interfere with his putting stroke. He spent 14 winters--including the one before the 1956 Masters, to which he had been invited as the reigning Canadian Amateur champion--setting pins in a bowling alley for a few cents a line. As recently as eight years ago, he was so broke that only the last-minute intervention of friends prevented his car from being repossessed. At that time, he was eking out a subsistence living by giving golf clinics for a couple of hundred dollars apiece. Even today, Norman lives in a $400-a-month motel room and has no telephone. He keeps his clothes in the back seat of his car.
Norman might be destitute and forgotten were it not for the efforts over the years of a few close friends. Among those friends are Gus and Audrey Maue. Gus Maue has known Norman for more than 40 years, and for a time was the pro at a golf club where Norman had caddied as a boy. Today, Maue owns Foxwood Golf Club, in Baden, Ontario, where Norman spends most of his days during the warm months. (He spends his winters in Florida, where he plays at a golf club owned by the Canadian PGA.) In 1987, the Maues conducted a golf tournament at Foxwood, which raised $25,000 for Norman and put him back on his feet.
For Audrey Maue, the key to understanding Norman came several years later, in a movie theater. "We went to see Rain Man," she said, "and suddenly it came to me: that's Moe. It just seemed like a light was turned on. I had always known that Moe was different, and I had known a little about autism, but I had never thought about it in connection with Moe. I don't know that he's ever seen a doctor, about that or anything else, but everyone who knows him who saw the movie felt the very same way. "Most people don't understand where Moe's coming from or why he is like he is. Life has always been a struggle for him. Just to be around people, period, made him feel uncomfortable. What he accomplished, he accomplished on his own."
Part Two
When you first see Moe Norman hit a golf ball you wonder, Why on earth does he swing the club that way? After you have watched him hit half a dozen 250-yard drives out of a divot, though, you begin to wonder, Why on earth don't I?
On the practice tee at Foxwood Golf Club not long ago, Norman warmed up with a pitching wedge, although "warming up" doesn't really describe any part of Norman's practice routine. The first shot was perfect, the second was identical to the first, the third to the second, and so on. Then he switched to his 4-iron. His swing--for all appearances, a nearly effortless half-swing--was the same with the 4-iron as it had been with the wedge. The shots came one after another, just three or four seconds apart. "How far you hitting those?" a spectator asked. "One-eighty," Norman said. Every shot was within a few degrees of dead straight, despite a stiff crosswind, unless he announced ahead of time that he was going to hit a draw or a fade. The divots were identical (surreally rectangular scrapes that Norman calls "bacon strips.")
Norman switched to his driver. Once again, the swing was the same. If you watched only his arms and hands, you wouldn't know that he wasn't still swinging his wedge. After hitting one ball, he would watch it a moment, then bend over and place another on the tee--and I mean place it. The tee never came out of the ground. In fact, it didn't move a millimeter.
"I hit balls, not tees," he explained. On a driving range once, he hit 131 drives in a row from the same tee without having to straighten or adjust it. In tournaments, he sometimes entertained galleries by hitting drives from the mouth of the bottle of Coke he had just been drinking.
"When was the last time you hit a bad shot, Moe?" I asked him.
"Thirty years ago," he said as he bent over to tee up another.
After he had been hitting drives awhile, a friend of his asked if he could try. The friend took Norman's driver and placed a ball on Norman's tee. The shot wasn't too bad, but the tee came out of the ground and tumbled into the long grass 20 feet ahead.
"Oh, dear, I loved that tee," Norman said wistfully. "I had it for seven years."
Before Norman's demonstration on the practice tee, he and I had spent some time together in Foxwood's unpretentious dining room. It was there, about a month before, that he had been inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. The audience at Norman's induction was limited mostly to friends. At his request, the dinner was served family style.
As we talked, Norman held a putter and fiddled with his grip, or rolled a golf ball in his palm. He often finds it easier to be with children than with adults, and if a child is present he will sometimes pull a ball from his pocket and start an impromptu game of catch. I had been told that it might be hard to get him to talk, but that once he had started, it might be hard to get him to stop. He didn't look me in the eye at first, but gradually he seemed to relax. Bit by bit, with numerous digressions--all of them related to golf--he told me about his life.
"It's tough to do things when you're broke," he said. "Hitchhiking to tournaments, sleeping on park benches, sleeping in bunkers. I slept in bunkers all over Canada. You name it. I'd go and shoot 61 or 65, win the tournament, then hitchhike back on the highway with my TV set or whatever my first prize was, soaking wet. Couldn't afford an umbrella then. Sometimes I had to put my golf bag over my head. Nobody would come to my rescue, not back then. This was back in the early '50s. I was born in '29."
Norman grew up in a small house in a working-class neighborhood in Kitchener, an industrial city about 1 1/2 hours outside Toronto. The house was just 1 1/2 blocks from a Uniroyal Tire factory. The sky was often black, the air smelled of burning rubber. Money was very tight.
Norman's grade-school years were difficult. He had trouble getting along with other children and with other members of his family. He struggled in all subjects at school, except math, at which he was a prodigy. He also had a phenomenal memory. Today, he can recite the yardage of virtually every golf hole he has ever played, and he remembers every golf shot from every tournament that meant anything to him. He has a reputation as a deadly cribbage player because he remembers all the cards.
When Norman was a child, other children teased him mercilessly over his academic difficulties, his shyness, his big ears, his high voice, and his tendency to repeat himself.
An expert quoted in O'Connor's book speculates that Norman's speech and personality quirks, and even his unusual mathematical ability, may have arisen not from the mild autism that Audrey Maue suspects, but from untreated head injuries he may have suffered in a sledding accident when he was five. In that accident, he was dragged under a car a long distance, and he says he remembers seeing a tire roll over the side of his face. His parents could not afford to take him to the hospital, and his mother worried for the rest of her life that the accident had made a permanent change in her son's personality. Whatever the reason, Norman's childhood was mostly lonely. He found refuge in sports, and especially in golf, which he pursued with a devotion verging on mania.
Norman's first golf club was a tree branch he and his older brother used to knock balls around their yard; his second was a hockey stick. At the age of 12, he began caddying at a local club called Westmount. He bought his first real golf club, an old 5-iron, from a member who let him pay it off at 10 cents a week. "Oh, I was as happy as a pig in s---," he told me. "I had a steel-shafted club." Norman was left-handed, but the member was right-handed, so he switched.
Norman practiced in his family's tiny backyard by hitting balls against a neighbor's garage. He rapidly developed a local reputation as a golf terrorist. When he would break a neighbor's window--as he did 11 times in two years, usually because he was aiming at one--he would shout, "Bull's-eye!" He built his golf game against enormous odds. The other members of his family made fun of him for playing what they viewed as an effeminate game and called him a sissy at the dinner table.
Norman told me: "My father used to say, 'Come on, play a man's game. Play hockey or baseball.' I said, 'No, Dad, I'm too light.' I was a little skinny kid then, wasn't over 130 pounds. I couldn't play any other sport and be good at it so I kept playing golf. But my father wouldn't let me bring my clubs into the house. I had to hide them under the front porch."
When he wasn't aiming at the neighbors' windows, Norman practiced in a field at a nearby public course. When I referred to this field as a driving range, Norman laughed. "Nobody had ranges then," he said. "It was only a field, maybe 200 yards long. I had to wait till there was nobody playing to hit my driver. And the grass was tall. We had to use our irons to cut the grass down to fairway height, in a little square, and hit our balls from that."
Norman carried his cherished collection of battered golf balls in an old canvas bowling bag. After he had hit them all, he would drop the bag among them and chip into it. Fear of losing his balls in the tall grass increased his desire to hit straight shots. He often hit balls until his hands were bleeding. When the blood made his grip slippery, he wiped hands on his golf towel and his pants, and kept hitting balls until it was too dark to see. When he got home, he looked as though he had spent the afternoon slaughtering chickens.
Norman assembled his swing by feel, with a few clues gleaned from photographs in newspapers and magazines, and occasional encouragement from a kindly local pro. His progress was not immediate; he didn't break 100 until he was 16. But gradually his golf game fell into place. By the time he was 19, he felt he had his swing "trapped." From that point forward, he says, "I knew I could hit a golf ball where I wanted it to go for the rest of my life."
Part Three
The first significant step in Norman's competitive career came in 1949 at the St. Thomas Golf and Country Club, at a one-day amateur event later known as the Early Bird. He had not been invited. He showed up the day of the tournament and was given an empty slot. He was wearing sneakers. He had just seven clubs and carried them in his own bag, which was falling apart. Against a field that included several of Ontario's amateur stars, he shot 67 and won by two strokes. Too shy to attend the awards dinner, he slipped away after finishing his round. A friend had to make apologies and bring him his prize.
Norman wasn't like the other golfers in the tournaments he played. For one thing, he played fast. He would sometimes lie down and pretend to sleep in the fairway, waiting for slower players to hit. "I always thought the day was going to come when I'd get penalized two strokes for playing too fast," he told me. "They had a meeting about it at one tournament. They said that people were complaining because they had taken off work to come to the tournament, and I was four under after five holes and they hadn't seen me hit a shot. They said, 'Please don't walk so abruptly to your ball. Walk like you're drunk.'"
At the Masters in 1956, Norman hit his first tee shot while the announcer was in the middle of introducing him. Asked by a playing partner why he took so little time to line up his shots, he said, "Why? Did they move the greens since yesterday?" He once putted between the foot and outstretched arm of a competitor who was marking his ball.
Norman's background also set him apart. Unlike most of the other top amateurs, he didn't belong to a country club. He often hitchhiked to and from tournaments, and he had to juggle his competitive schedule with a succession of dreary factory jobs, including one stitching rubber boots. He had to play hooky in order to compete in weekday tournaments, and he was fired five times. "There was no sense saying I was sick," he says, "because they'd read the headline NORMAN SHOOTS 65 AGAIN AND WINS." He liked night jobs best, because they left his days free for practice.
Norman also supported himself by selling the prizes he won in amateur events. As his confidence in his playing ability increased, he sometimes sold the prizes before the tournaments began. According to friends, on at least five occasions he intentionally finished second because his customers hadn't wanted the first-place prize. In 1955, with a birdie on the 39th hole in the final match, he won the Canadian Amateur--the first Canadian to do so since 1951. His victory was widely viewed as a fluke by those who felt that no one with such an unconventional swing and seemingly frivolous attitude could really play golf at the highest levels. But then the next year he won it again, and even more decisively. At the age of just 27, Norman had now laid the foundation for what might have been one of golf's greatest amateur careers. But his clowning on the golf course and his penchant for selling his prizes had long infuriated the RCGA. Taking money under the table was a common practice among amateurs, but no player was as open about it as Norman was. The RCGA threatened to strip him of his amateur status. Afraid that he would lose his two national titles, he announced he was turning pro.
This was harder than it sounded. He didn't have a club job and was an unlikely candidate for one, and thus could not qualify for a Canadian PGA Tour card. Finally, in 1958, under pressure from the public, and with the help of a driving-range pro who had hired Norman as an assistant, the CPGA relented. His first tournament as a card-carrying pro was the three-day Ontario Open. He shot 68-69-74 and won by three.
Norman's obvious next move was to the U.S. tour, to which he won a partial exemption with a third-place finish in a Canadian qualifying event. His U.S. debut took place at the 1959 Los Angeles Open, which was held that year at Rancho Municipal. He putted poorly--a recurrent affliction--but was thrilled to be playing alongside Hogan, Sam Snead and his other golf idols. He continued to play indifferently, with occasional flashes of brilliance (among them a 62 at the San Diego Open) until the tour reached New Orleans. There he shot four solid rounds, played in the final group on Sunday, led briefly, and finished fourth.
Gus and Audrey Maue were in Daytona, Fla., at that time. On Monday morning, Gus saw in the newspaper that Norman had played well and finished fourth. He predicted to his wife that Norman would win the following week in Pensacola.
"About two hours later," Maue told me, "there was a knock at my door, and it was Moe. I said 'Moe, why are you here? You're supposed to be in Pensacola.' And Moe said, 'I will never play that tour again.' I asked him what had happened, but he said he would never tell me. He was distraught.
"He would come over each night with six Cokes, and we would play cribbage until the wee hours, and the next morning Audrey would wake up and there would be Moe's six empty Coke bottles. His heart was broken, but he wouldn't talk about it; then he went back to Toronto. "A few weeks later, a young tour player I knew came through Daytona, and I asked him what had happened to Moe in New Orleans. He said that some of the big names on the tour--and I'm not going to say who--were upset that Moe was hitting the ball off the big tee, and they were upset with the way he dressed, and they didn't like his appearance. That's the bottom line."
Part Four
What had happened was that several well-known pros had cornered Norman in the locker room and chewed him out. They told him to stop clowning around, said he had to dress better and have his teeth fixed. It was a harrowing experience for someone who was already painfully shy and socially ill-at-ease, and Norman never went back. He doesn't like to talk about it now. When Maue told me the story, Norman looked at his feet and said quietly, "It stopped me from having fun." The conventional wisdom about Moe Norman's golf game is that he hits the ball extraordinarily well despite an extremely peculiar golf swing. "Moe's swing is not fundamentally sound," Bob Toski told me recently. "He gets away with it, I think, because by intuition and by instinct he played that way when he was young. He has great hand and eye coordination, and he has great hand and arm strength. But he doesn't have the posture of a good player, where the arms look more relaxed and hanging from the body. He has very little bend from his waist. I think he's another Lee Trevino--he's a freak. And I use the word in a complimentary sense. He learned his golf swing intuitively, he learned it by trial and error. He didn't understand the fundamentals.''
Trevino is an interesting comparison, because if you asked other pros to name the best ball-striker among active players, Trevino would get a lot of votes. Are he and Norman really freaks? Or could there possibly be an advantage to having a golf swing that doesn't look like Bob Toski's?
Similar thoughts occurred to a Chicago businessman named Jack Kuykendall. In the early '80s, Kuykendall was a middling middle-aged golfer with Walter Mittyish fantasies of making it as a pro. The senior tour was beginning to attract a lot of attention. Kuykendall's handicap was 12. At 44, he decided to devote the next six years of his life to finding out once and for all whether he had the right stuff to play for money on TV. Two years later, after many hours of hard work, Kuykendall's handicap was two strokes worse. Frustrated and discouraged, he decided the problem lay not in himself but in the golf swing. "I was convinced," he says, "that there had to be an easier way to hit a round object on the ground with a stick."
Kuykendall had been a physics major in college, and he had put in two years toward a master's before deciding there wasn't enough money in academics. Examining the golf swing from the point of view of basic physics, he decided the problem was the modern grip. Holding a golf club in the fingers, as virtually all golfers are taught to do, creates a complex mechanical system involving so many different angles, axes, and planes that for most players hitting the ball squarely is an accident, Kuykendall believed. He redesigned his golf swing based on the principles he had discovered. After a month of practice, Kuykendall told me, he shot three consecutive subpar rounds. The next day he started a company, which today is called Natural Golf.
Overthrowing the modern golf swing is a major undertaking. Kuykendall peddled his system for several years without much success. Then, one day, after a clinic in Florida, Kuykendall was approached by a Canadian pro named Mark Evershed. "Mark came up to me and said, 'You're talking about Moe Norman.' I still remember my reaction. I said, 'What's a Moe Norman?'" Evershed sent Kuykendall a videotape of Norman's swing, and Kuykendall was flabbergasted. Point by point Norman's swing matched the one he had devised.
"Scientifically, what Moe does is perfect," Kuykendall says. "It's what we call an ideal mechanically advantaged golf swing. It is maximum force with least effort. It's as perfect as a human being can do. Incidentally, the second best is Lee Trevino's. Most people think of his mechanics as unorthodox, but that's only because it's not what they're used to seeing. "But Lee Trevino and Moe Norman are very, very close in their swings. If Trevino moved his right hand under the club a little more, he and Moe Norman would be identical. The closest on tour right now would be Paul Azinger. He has a single-axis right-hand grip, like Moe's, but he also has something that hurts him--a super-strong left-hand grip. Moe's left-hand grip is about as weak as you can make it. Azinger, because of his strong left hand, has to block the ball by spinning his hips to get the clubface square at impact, to keep his left hand from shutting the clubface down. If he moved his left hand to neutral and stopped spinning his hips, he would be almost unbeatable. He would be Moe Norman."
Kuykendall set out to get in touch with Norman, but had no luck for two years. Norman seldom talks to people he doesn't know. Kuykendall persevered, though, and eventually Norman agreed to meet him in Florida, where Norman was spending the winter.
"I spent an hour going through the science with Moe," Kuykendall says. "When I finished, Moe stood up and pulled some film out of his pocket and threw it on the table. He said, 'Here, take this. You can help someone with it.' It was some old black-and-white pictures, from 1966, of what he called his best swing ever. He said, 'All my life I've wondered why I can do what I can do with a golf club. And you are the first person who ever explained it to me.'"
Meeting Kuykendall was a major turning point for Norman. Natural Golf pays Norman a modest fee for the use of his name and image, and he and Kuykendall conduct several dozen clinics a year. Their alliance led to an article in the Wall Street Journal last year, and the article caught the attention of Wally Uihlein, who is the president of Titleist and Foot-Joy Worldwide. Uihlein got in touch with Kuykendall and Gus Maue, and arranged to meet Norman at the 1995 PGA Merchandise Show.
"Mr. Uihlein told Moe that Titleist would like to shoot a video," Kuykendall told me, "so that his swing would never be lost. The Titleist booth had one of those big blocks of video monitors, and Moe said, 'Can I be on there next year? Can I be on there next year?' And Mr. Uihlein said he could."
Uihlein then told Norman that Titleist would like to pay him $5,000 a month for the rest of his life.
"Moe looked kind of funny," Kuykendall says. "He took a step backward and said, 'I've played your balls all my life. I've played your balls all my life. What do I have to do for that money?' And Mr. Uihlein said, 'You don't have to do anything. You've already done it. We just want to thank you for what you've already done.'
"Mr. Uihlein said that Moe was in the same league as Ben Hogan and Bobby Jones and that he deserved the same kind of respect. Moe didn't say anything. He just went kind of limp, and he almost went into shock. I thought he was going to pass out. By that time, the hair was standing up on my arms, and all of us who were there were about to cry. Moe and I had to go do a clinic right after that, and in the car on the way there, Moe said, 'Jack, I don't know if I can hit the ball.'"
The Titleist stipend has made a huge difference in Norman's life. He still lives in the same motel room, eats all his meals in inexpensive restaurants and keeps his clothes in the back seat of his car. But he doesn't have to worry about money anymore. Eight years ago, Norman told Gus Maue that he was worried he'd never be able to afford to get back to Florida, saying, with deep sorrow, "My days are through." Today, he can go anywhere he wants.
Even more important, Norman has finally received the kind of recognition that throughout his playing career he felt he was denied. He sometimes grumbles that his induction to the hall of fame came 20 years too late, but he is nonetheless pleased to be there. Recently, he has even begun to talk about returning to competitive golf, perhaps by playing some events on the U.S. senior tour.
Although the hall of fame induction was a great honor, most people who hear Norman's story end up feeling that a huge opportunity was missed. If circumstances had been different--if he'd had a sponsor, if he'd had a mentor, if other players had been kinder, if he had worked harder on his putting--could he have dominated the PGA Tour?
The more I think about it, though, the more I think the question misses the point. The most striking fact about Norman's competitive record is not that it falls short of Hogan's or Nelson's or anyone else's but that it exists at all, especially if Norman is disabled in anything like the way people who know him speculate that he may be.
Norman overcame gargantuan obstacles as a young man and then went public with a golf swing that provoked titters. He set out to learn how to hit a golf ball, and he worked at it until he could do it better than anyone else--maybe better than anyone else who ever lived. His succeeding required skill and courage and self-assurance on an almost inconceivable scale.
The difficulties Norman endured undoubtedly took a toll on him. "When the sun goes down," Gus Maue says, "Moe is a very, very lonely man. He goes back to his motel room and turns on the TV. He's fine during the day, because he can play golf, but at night he doesn't know what to do."
That's Maue talking, not Norman. Norman speaks freely about injustices he feels he's suffered, but he doesn't dwell on the dark side of his life. For all he's been through and all the hard times he has seen, it is not his sorrows that stand out.
Norman with a golf club in his hands looks to me like a happy man. Even back in the days when he practiced till his hands were bleeding, golf for him was a source of joy. It was that attitude, as much as anything, that got him into trouble with various authorities--as in the tournament in which he came to the final green with a three-stroke lead, intentionally putted into a bunker, and got up and down to win anyway. It was also that attitude that sustained him.
"Golf is to have fun," he told me toward the end of our conversation, repeating a theme he had brought up before. "What do you have to lose? A lousy ball, that's all. If you lose yours, grab another one out of your bag and hit it. That is what the game's about, and that is the first thing I was taught 55 years ago: have fun. Most golfers don't see the bright things. All they see is the bad things.
"But if you see the bad things, that's where your mind will take you. If you drive a car down the road and look at the sidewalk, where do you think you're going to put the car? It's the same thing on a golf course. People see only the trees and the water. But I don't. To me, they are only there as an ornament. They are there to make the course look nicer. All I see is the tee, the middle of the fairway, and the middle of the green. That's golf. I hit my 18 fairways and my 18 greens, and go on to the next day."
"Gee, Moe," I said, "it must be boring for you." "Like heck it is," Norman said. "That's fun."
Moe Norman Golf Academy
Sam Snead played an exhibition match with Ed (Porky) Oliver and Moe Norman in Toronto in 1969. On one par-4 hole, a creek crossed the fairway about 240 yards from the tee. Norman, a Canadian pro who lived in the area, reached for his driver.
"This is a lay-up hole, Moe," Snead warned him. "You can't clear the creek with a driver." "Not trying to," Norman said. "I'm playing for the bridge." Snead's and Oliver's tee shots ended up safely on the near side of the water. Norman's drive landed short and rolled over the bridge to the other side.
Every golfer hits a lucky shot from time to time. But Norman, who recently turned 66, has hit so many lucky shots during the last half-century that you begin to search for a different adjective.
Consider Norman's experience during a practice round before the 1971 Canadian Open. A week earlier, at the Quebec Open, he had come to the final hole with a one-stroke lead, but had four-putted the final green to finish second. (His playing partner, Gary Slatter, explained later that Norman putted poorly on the hole because he was upset that the crowd had not applauded him for being the only player that day to reach that green in two.) "Any four-putts today?" a reporter asked Norman as he came to the tee of a 233-yard par 3. Norman teed up a ball in silence and hit it straight at the pin. He watched the ball's flight a moment, then turned to the reporter and said, "Not putting today." The ball landed on the front of the green and rolled into the cup.
Norman is mostly unknown to American golf fans, but he has long been a nearly mythical figure among tour professionals. Paul Azinger first saw him hit balls on a driving range in Florida 15 years ago when Azinger was a college player.
"He started ripping these drivers right off the ground at the 250-yard marker, and he never hit one more than 10 yards to either side of it, and he hit at least 50," Azinger told Tim O'Connor, a Canadian writer whose forthcoming biography of Norman, A Feeling of Greatness, is excerpted in the December issue of Golf Digest. "It was an incredible sight. When he hit irons, he was calling how many times you would see it bounce after he hit it--sometimes before he hit it--and he'd do it. It was unbelievable," said Azinger.
At an exhibition once, Norman hit 1,540 drives in a little under seven hours. None was shorter than 225 yards, and all landed inside a marked 30-yard-wide landing zone.
Norman doesn't look like a legend. His graying red hair stands more or less straight up, giving him a look of perpetual surprise. He wears long-sleeved shirts in even the hottest weather, and he buttons them up to his chin. His pants don't fit very well; during his playing days, they often gave out just south of mid-shin.
He likes bright colors and enjoys mixing stripes and plaids. His teeth would give an orthodontist pause. A huge proportion of his daily caloric intake is in the form of Coca-Cola. His voice is high; he speaks rapidly and often repeats himself, especially when he's nervous. But Iron Byron doesn't have much star quality, either. Professional golfers' high regard for Norman has always been based primarily on his phenomenal ball striking. Lee Trevino ranks Norman with the game's very best, including Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson.
Ken Venturi agrees: "Because Moe is kind of eccentric, he never got the credit he deserved or played the kind of golf he was capable of. You had to ignore the way he looked over the ball and judge his ball striking. Hogan, Snead, Nelson--they all look esthetic. Moe looked very awkward. But he could do anything. He is one of the premier ball-strikers I have ever seen. Hell, I'd give Moe three strokes a side just to watch him hit the golf ball."
In his heyday, Norman translated his ball-striking genius into an impressive competitive record. In the late '50s, he won dozens of amateur tournaments in Canada, including the Canadian Amateur two years in a row. His best year as a pro was 1966, when he won five of the 12 Canadian tournaments he entered, came in second in five, finished no lower than fifth, and won the CPGA scoring-average title by 2 1/2 strokes, with 69.8.
Beginning in 1979, when Norman turned 50, he won seven consecutive Canadian PGA senior championships, finished second in the eighth, and won the ninth by eight strokes. He has set more than 30 course records, including three with scores of 59 and four with scores of 61. (He shot his most recent 59 four years ago, at the age of 62.) Last August, the Royal Canadian Golf Association inducted him into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.
These are considerable accomplishments. Still, there are conspicuous gaps in Norman's record. He played almost exclusively in Canada and made only a brief attempt, in 1959, to play on the U.S. tour. If Norman is one of the greatest ball-strikers in history, why doesn't he also have one of the greatest records?
The reasons are complex. One of them, paradoxically, has to do with the very foundation of his game: his golf swing. Simply put, Moe Norman's swing doesn't look like the ones you see on TV. He grips the club in his palms rather than his fingers, stands far from the ball with his legs spread wide; he soles the club as much as a foot behind the ball, squeezes the grip almost unbelievably hard with his left hand, takes the club back scarcely past the level of his right shoulder, makes only a moderate shoulder turn and virtually no hip turn, and finishes with the club pointing up at the sky. Nearly every time Norman teed it up in a tournament, he had to endure the laughter of spectators. He was often viewed as an amusing sideshow, not as the main event, and he reinforced his own reputation as a clown by playing to the galleries.
Norman is different in other ways as well. His personality is eccentric, to say the least. He is uncomfortable with strangers and has difficulty making eye contact with people he doesn't know. He does not like to be touched. He has never married or had a serious relationship with another person, and he has essentially no interests outside golf. He suffers from a crippling shyness that was often interpreted by others as arrogance or rudeness. Despite all he has accomplished, he has always been plagued by a fear that he doesn't measure up.
That Norman managed any sort of competitive career can begin to seem astonishing. His upbringing was modest in the extreme and did little to prepare him for the U.S. tour, where he felt conspicuous and inadequate next to famous players who dressed better and had more money than he did. He spent much of his 40-year competitive career in obscurity and poverty. He never had a mentor, a manager, or a sponsor. He sometimes carried his own bag in tournaments because he couldn't afford a caddie. When he had money, he kept it in a wad in his front pocket and sometimes had to move it to one side so it wouldn't interfere with his putting stroke. He spent 14 winters--including the one before the 1956 Masters, to which he had been invited as the reigning Canadian Amateur champion--setting pins in a bowling alley for a few cents a line. As recently as eight years ago, he was so broke that only the last-minute intervention of friends prevented his car from being repossessed. At that time, he was eking out a subsistence living by giving golf clinics for a couple of hundred dollars apiece. Even today, Norman lives in a $400-a-month motel room and has no telephone. He keeps his clothes in the back seat of his car.
Norman might be destitute and forgotten were it not for the efforts over the years of a few close friends. Among those friends are Gus and Audrey Maue. Gus Maue has known Norman for more than 40 years, and for a time was the pro at a golf club where Norman had caddied as a boy. Today, Maue owns Foxwood Golf Club, in Baden, Ontario, where Norman spends most of his days during the warm months. (He spends his winters in Florida, where he plays at a golf club owned by the Canadian PGA.) In 1987, the Maues conducted a golf tournament at Foxwood, which raised $25,000 for Norman and put him back on his feet.
For Audrey Maue, the key to understanding Norman came several years later, in a movie theater. "We went to see Rain Man," she said, "and suddenly it came to me: that's Moe. It just seemed like a light was turned on. I had always known that Moe was different, and I had known a little about autism, but I had never thought about it in connection with Moe. I don't know that he's ever seen a doctor, about that or anything else, but everyone who knows him who saw the movie felt the very same way. "Most people don't understand where Moe's coming from or why he is like he is. Life has always been a struggle for him. Just to be around people, period, made him feel uncomfortable. What he accomplished, he accomplished on his own."
Part Two
When you first see Moe Norman hit a golf ball you wonder, Why on earth does he swing the club that way? After you have watched him hit half a dozen 250-yard drives out of a divot, though, you begin to wonder, Why on earth don't I?
On the practice tee at Foxwood Golf Club not long ago, Norman warmed up with a pitching wedge, although "warming up" doesn't really describe any part of Norman's practice routine. The first shot was perfect, the second was identical to the first, the third to the second, and so on. Then he switched to his 4-iron. His swing--for all appearances, a nearly effortless half-swing--was the same with the 4-iron as it had been with the wedge. The shots came one after another, just three or four seconds apart. "How far you hitting those?" a spectator asked. "One-eighty," Norman said. Every shot was within a few degrees of dead straight, despite a stiff crosswind, unless he announced ahead of time that he was going to hit a draw or a fade. The divots were identical (surreally rectangular scrapes that Norman calls "bacon strips.")
Norman switched to his driver. Once again, the swing was the same. If you watched only his arms and hands, you wouldn't know that he wasn't still swinging his wedge. After hitting one ball, he would watch it a moment, then bend over and place another on the tee--and I mean place it. The tee never came out of the ground. In fact, it didn't move a millimeter.
"I hit balls, not tees," he explained. On a driving range once, he hit 131 drives in a row from the same tee without having to straighten or adjust it. In tournaments, he sometimes entertained galleries by hitting drives from the mouth of the bottle of Coke he had just been drinking.
"When was the last time you hit a bad shot, Moe?" I asked him.
"Thirty years ago," he said as he bent over to tee up another.
After he had been hitting drives awhile, a friend of his asked if he could try. The friend took Norman's driver and placed a ball on Norman's tee. The shot wasn't too bad, but the tee came out of the ground and tumbled into the long grass 20 feet ahead.
"Oh, dear, I loved that tee," Norman said wistfully. "I had it for seven years."
Before Norman's demonstration on the practice tee, he and I had spent some time together in Foxwood's unpretentious dining room. It was there, about a month before, that he had been inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. The audience at Norman's induction was limited mostly to friends. At his request, the dinner was served family style.
As we talked, Norman held a putter and fiddled with his grip, or rolled a golf ball in his palm. He often finds it easier to be with children than with adults, and if a child is present he will sometimes pull a ball from his pocket and start an impromptu game of catch. I had been told that it might be hard to get him to talk, but that once he had started, it might be hard to get him to stop. He didn't look me in the eye at first, but gradually he seemed to relax. Bit by bit, with numerous digressions--all of them related to golf--he told me about his life.
"It's tough to do things when you're broke," he said. "Hitchhiking to tournaments, sleeping on park benches, sleeping in bunkers. I slept in bunkers all over Canada. You name it. I'd go and shoot 61 or 65, win the tournament, then hitchhike back on the highway with my TV set or whatever my first prize was, soaking wet. Couldn't afford an umbrella then. Sometimes I had to put my golf bag over my head. Nobody would come to my rescue, not back then. This was back in the early '50s. I was born in '29."
Norman grew up in a small house in a working-class neighborhood in Kitchener, an industrial city about 1 1/2 hours outside Toronto. The house was just 1 1/2 blocks from a Uniroyal Tire factory. The sky was often black, the air smelled of burning rubber. Money was very tight.
Norman's grade-school years were difficult. He had trouble getting along with other children and with other members of his family. He struggled in all subjects at school, except math, at which he was a prodigy. He also had a phenomenal memory. Today, he can recite the yardage of virtually every golf hole he has ever played, and he remembers every golf shot from every tournament that meant anything to him. He has a reputation as a deadly cribbage player because he remembers all the cards.
When Norman was a child, other children teased him mercilessly over his academic difficulties, his shyness, his big ears, his high voice, and his tendency to repeat himself.
An expert quoted in O'Connor's book speculates that Norman's speech and personality quirks, and even his unusual mathematical ability, may have arisen not from the mild autism that Audrey Maue suspects, but from untreated head injuries he may have suffered in a sledding accident when he was five. In that accident, he was dragged under a car a long distance, and he says he remembers seeing a tire roll over the side of his face. His parents could not afford to take him to the hospital, and his mother worried for the rest of her life that the accident had made a permanent change in her son's personality. Whatever the reason, Norman's childhood was mostly lonely. He found refuge in sports, and especially in golf, which he pursued with a devotion verging on mania.
Norman's first golf club was a tree branch he and his older brother used to knock balls around their yard; his second was a hockey stick. At the age of 12, he began caddying at a local club called Westmount. He bought his first real golf club, an old 5-iron, from a member who let him pay it off at 10 cents a week. "Oh, I was as happy as a pig in s---," he told me. "I had a steel-shafted club." Norman was left-handed, but the member was right-handed, so he switched.
Norman practiced in his family's tiny backyard by hitting balls against a neighbor's garage. He rapidly developed a local reputation as a golf terrorist. When he would break a neighbor's window--as he did 11 times in two years, usually because he was aiming at one--he would shout, "Bull's-eye!" He built his golf game against enormous odds. The other members of his family made fun of him for playing what they viewed as an effeminate game and called him a sissy at the dinner table.
Norman told me: "My father used to say, 'Come on, play a man's game. Play hockey or baseball.' I said, 'No, Dad, I'm too light.' I was a little skinny kid then, wasn't over 130 pounds. I couldn't play any other sport and be good at it so I kept playing golf. But my father wouldn't let me bring my clubs into the house. I had to hide them under the front porch."
When he wasn't aiming at the neighbors' windows, Norman practiced in a field at a nearby public course. When I referred to this field as a driving range, Norman laughed. "Nobody had ranges then," he said. "It was only a field, maybe 200 yards long. I had to wait till there was nobody playing to hit my driver. And the grass was tall. We had to use our irons to cut the grass down to fairway height, in a little square, and hit our balls from that."
Norman carried his cherished collection of battered golf balls in an old canvas bowling bag. After he had hit them all, he would drop the bag among them and chip into it. Fear of losing his balls in the tall grass increased his desire to hit straight shots. He often hit balls until his hands were bleeding. When the blood made his grip slippery, he wiped hands on his golf towel and his pants, and kept hitting balls until it was too dark to see. When he got home, he looked as though he had spent the afternoon slaughtering chickens.
Norman assembled his swing by feel, with a few clues gleaned from photographs in newspapers and magazines, and occasional encouragement from a kindly local pro. His progress was not immediate; he didn't break 100 until he was 16. But gradually his golf game fell into place. By the time he was 19, he felt he had his swing "trapped." From that point forward, he says, "I knew I could hit a golf ball where I wanted it to go for the rest of my life."
Part Three
The first significant step in Norman's competitive career came in 1949 at the St. Thomas Golf and Country Club, at a one-day amateur event later known as the Early Bird. He had not been invited. He showed up the day of the tournament and was given an empty slot. He was wearing sneakers. He had just seven clubs and carried them in his own bag, which was falling apart. Against a field that included several of Ontario's amateur stars, he shot 67 and won by two strokes. Too shy to attend the awards dinner, he slipped away after finishing his round. A friend had to make apologies and bring him his prize.
Norman wasn't like the other golfers in the tournaments he played. For one thing, he played fast. He would sometimes lie down and pretend to sleep in the fairway, waiting for slower players to hit. "I always thought the day was going to come when I'd get penalized two strokes for playing too fast," he told me. "They had a meeting about it at one tournament. They said that people were complaining because they had taken off work to come to the tournament, and I was four under after five holes and they hadn't seen me hit a shot. They said, 'Please don't walk so abruptly to your ball. Walk like you're drunk.'"
At the Masters in 1956, Norman hit his first tee shot while the announcer was in the middle of introducing him. Asked by a playing partner why he took so little time to line up his shots, he said, "Why? Did they move the greens since yesterday?" He once putted between the foot and outstretched arm of a competitor who was marking his ball.
Norman's background also set him apart. Unlike most of the other top amateurs, he didn't belong to a country club. He often hitchhiked to and from tournaments, and he had to juggle his competitive schedule with a succession of dreary factory jobs, including one stitching rubber boots. He had to play hooky in order to compete in weekday tournaments, and he was fired five times. "There was no sense saying I was sick," he says, "because they'd read the headline NORMAN SHOOTS 65 AGAIN AND WINS." He liked night jobs best, because they left his days free for practice.
Norman also supported himself by selling the prizes he won in amateur events. As his confidence in his playing ability increased, he sometimes sold the prizes before the tournaments began. According to friends, on at least five occasions he intentionally finished second because his customers hadn't wanted the first-place prize. In 1955, with a birdie on the 39th hole in the final match, he won the Canadian Amateur--the first Canadian to do so since 1951. His victory was widely viewed as a fluke by those who felt that no one with such an unconventional swing and seemingly frivolous attitude could really play golf at the highest levels. But then the next year he won it again, and even more decisively. At the age of just 27, Norman had now laid the foundation for what might have been one of golf's greatest amateur careers. But his clowning on the golf course and his penchant for selling his prizes had long infuriated the RCGA. Taking money under the table was a common practice among amateurs, but no player was as open about it as Norman was. The RCGA threatened to strip him of his amateur status. Afraid that he would lose his two national titles, he announced he was turning pro.
This was harder than it sounded. He didn't have a club job and was an unlikely candidate for one, and thus could not qualify for a Canadian PGA Tour card. Finally, in 1958, under pressure from the public, and with the help of a driving-range pro who had hired Norman as an assistant, the CPGA relented. His first tournament as a card-carrying pro was the three-day Ontario Open. He shot 68-69-74 and won by three.
Norman's obvious next move was to the U.S. tour, to which he won a partial exemption with a third-place finish in a Canadian qualifying event. His U.S. debut took place at the 1959 Los Angeles Open, which was held that year at Rancho Municipal. He putted poorly--a recurrent affliction--but was thrilled to be playing alongside Hogan, Sam Snead and his other golf idols. He continued to play indifferently, with occasional flashes of brilliance (among them a 62 at the San Diego Open) until the tour reached New Orleans. There he shot four solid rounds, played in the final group on Sunday, led briefly, and finished fourth.
Gus and Audrey Maue were in Daytona, Fla., at that time. On Monday morning, Gus saw in the newspaper that Norman had played well and finished fourth. He predicted to his wife that Norman would win the following week in Pensacola.
"About two hours later," Maue told me, "there was a knock at my door, and it was Moe. I said 'Moe, why are you here? You're supposed to be in Pensacola.' And Moe said, 'I will never play that tour again.' I asked him what had happened, but he said he would never tell me. He was distraught.
"He would come over each night with six Cokes, and we would play cribbage until the wee hours, and the next morning Audrey would wake up and there would be Moe's six empty Coke bottles. His heart was broken, but he wouldn't talk about it; then he went back to Toronto. "A few weeks later, a young tour player I knew came through Daytona, and I asked him what had happened to Moe in New Orleans. He said that some of the big names on the tour--and I'm not going to say who--were upset that Moe was hitting the ball off the big tee, and they were upset with the way he dressed, and they didn't like his appearance. That's the bottom line."
Part Four
What had happened was that several well-known pros had cornered Norman in the locker room and chewed him out. They told him to stop clowning around, said he had to dress better and have his teeth fixed. It was a harrowing experience for someone who was already painfully shy and socially ill-at-ease, and Norman never went back. He doesn't like to talk about it now. When Maue told me the story, Norman looked at his feet and said quietly, "It stopped me from having fun." The conventional wisdom about Moe Norman's golf game is that he hits the ball extraordinarily well despite an extremely peculiar golf swing. "Moe's swing is not fundamentally sound," Bob Toski told me recently. "He gets away with it, I think, because by intuition and by instinct he played that way when he was young. He has great hand and eye coordination, and he has great hand and arm strength. But he doesn't have the posture of a good player, where the arms look more relaxed and hanging from the body. He has very little bend from his waist. I think he's another Lee Trevino--he's a freak. And I use the word in a complimentary sense. He learned his golf swing intuitively, he learned it by trial and error. He didn't understand the fundamentals.''
Trevino is an interesting comparison, because if you asked other pros to name the best ball-striker among active players, Trevino would get a lot of votes. Are he and Norman really freaks? Or could there possibly be an advantage to having a golf swing that doesn't look like Bob Toski's?
Similar thoughts occurred to a Chicago businessman named Jack Kuykendall. In the early '80s, Kuykendall was a middling middle-aged golfer with Walter Mittyish fantasies of making it as a pro. The senior tour was beginning to attract a lot of attention. Kuykendall's handicap was 12. At 44, he decided to devote the next six years of his life to finding out once and for all whether he had the right stuff to play for money on TV. Two years later, after many hours of hard work, Kuykendall's handicap was two strokes worse. Frustrated and discouraged, he decided the problem lay not in himself but in the golf swing. "I was convinced," he says, "that there had to be an easier way to hit a round object on the ground with a stick."
Kuykendall had been a physics major in college, and he had put in two years toward a master's before deciding there wasn't enough money in academics. Examining the golf swing from the point of view of basic physics, he decided the problem was the modern grip. Holding a golf club in the fingers, as virtually all golfers are taught to do, creates a complex mechanical system involving so many different angles, axes, and planes that for most players hitting the ball squarely is an accident, Kuykendall believed. He redesigned his golf swing based on the principles he had discovered. After a month of practice, Kuykendall told me, he shot three consecutive subpar rounds. The next day he started a company, which today is called Natural Golf.
Overthrowing the modern golf swing is a major undertaking. Kuykendall peddled his system for several years without much success. Then, one day, after a clinic in Florida, Kuykendall was approached by a Canadian pro named Mark Evershed. "Mark came up to me and said, 'You're talking about Moe Norman.' I still remember my reaction. I said, 'What's a Moe Norman?'" Evershed sent Kuykendall a videotape of Norman's swing, and Kuykendall was flabbergasted. Point by point Norman's swing matched the one he had devised.
"Scientifically, what Moe does is perfect," Kuykendall says. "It's what we call an ideal mechanically advantaged golf swing. It is maximum force with least effort. It's as perfect as a human being can do. Incidentally, the second best is Lee Trevino's. Most people think of his mechanics as unorthodox, but that's only because it's not what they're used to seeing. "But Lee Trevino and Moe Norman are very, very close in their swings. If Trevino moved his right hand under the club a little more, he and Moe Norman would be identical. The closest on tour right now would be Paul Azinger. He has a single-axis right-hand grip, like Moe's, but he also has something that hurts him--a super-strong left-hand grip. Moe's left-hand grip is about as weak as you can make it. Azinger, because of his strong left hand, has to block the ball by spinning his hips to get the clubface square at impact, to keep his left hand from shutting the clubface down. If he moved his left hand to neutral and stopped spinning his hips, he would be almost unbeatable. He would be Moe Norman."
Kuykendall set out to get in touch with Norman, but had no luck for two years. Norman seldom talks to people he doesn't know. Kuykendall persevered, though, and eventually Norman agreed to meet him in Florida, where Norman was spending the winter.
"I spent an hour going through the science with Moe," Kuykendall says. "When I finished, Moe stood up and pulled some film out of his pocket and threw it on the table. He said, 'Here, take this. You can help someone with it.' It was some old black-and-white pictures, from 1966, of what he called his best swing ever. He said, 'All my life I've wondered why I can do what I can do with a golf club. And you are the first person who ever explained it to me.'"
Meeting Kuykendall was a major turning point for Norman. Natural Golf pays Norman a modest fee for the use of his name and image, and he and Kuykendall conduct several dozen clinics a year. Their alliance led to an article in the Wall Street Journal last year, and the article caught the attention of Wally Uihlein, who is the president of Titleist and Foot-Joy Worldwide. Uihlein got in touch with Kuykendall and Gus Maue, and arranged to meet Norman at the 1995 PGA Merchandise Show.
"Mr. Uihlein told Moe that Titleist would like to shoot a video," Kuykendall told me, "so that his swing would never be lost. The Titleist booth had one of those big blocks of video monitors, and Moe said, 'Can I be on there next year? Can I be on there next year?' And Mr. Uihlein said he could."
Uihlein then told Norman that Titleist would like to pay him $5,000 a month for the rest of his life.
"Moe looked kind of funny," Kuykendall says. "He took a step backward and said, 'I've played your balls all my life. I've played your balls all my life. What do I have to do for that money?' And Mr. Uihlein said, 'You don't have to do anything. You've already done it. We just want to thank you for what you've already done.'
"Mr. Uihlein said that Moe was in the same league as Ben Hogan and Bobby Jones and that he deserved the same kind of respect. Moe didn't say anything. He just went kind of limp, and he almost went into shock. I thought he was going to pass out. By that time, the hair was standing up on my arms, and all of us who were there were about to cry. Moe and I had to go do a clinic right after that, and in the car on the way there, Moe said, 'Jack, I don't know if I can hit the ball.'"
The Titleist stipend has made a huge difference in Norman's life. He still lives in the same motel room, eats all his meals in inexpensive restaurants and keeps his clothes in the back seat of his car. But he doesn't have to worry about money anymore. Eight years ago, Norman told Gus Maue that he was worried he'd never be able to afford to get back to Florida, saying, with deep sorrow, "My days are through." Today, he can go anywhere he wants.
Even more important, Norman has finally received the kind of recognition that throughout his playing career he felt he was denied. He sometimes grumbles that his induction to the hall of fame came 20 years too late, but he is nonetheless pleased to be there. Recently, he has even begun to talk about returning to competitive golf, perhaps by playing some events on the U.S. senior tour.
Although the hall of fame induction was a great honor, most people who hear Norman's story end up feeling that a huge opportunity was missed. If circumstances had been different--if he'd had a sponsor, if he'd had a mentor, if other players had been kinder, if he had worked harder on his putting--could he have dominated the PGA Tour?
The more I think about it, though, the more I think the question misses the point. The most striking fact about Norman's competitive record is not that it falls short of Hogan's or Nelson's or anyone else's but that it exists at all, especially if Norman is disabled in anything like the way people who know him speculate that he may be.
Norman overcame gargantuan obstacles as a young man and then went public with a golf swing that provoked titters. He set out to learn how to hit a golf ball, and he worked at it until he could do it better than anyone else--maybe better than anyone else who ever lived. His succeeding required skill and courage and self-assurance on an almost inconceivable scale.
The difficulties Norman endured undoubtedly took a toll on him. "When the sun goes down," Gus Maue says, "Moe is a very, very lonely man. He goes back to his motel room and turns on the TV. He's fine during the day, because he can play golf, but at night he doesn't know what to do."
That's Maue talking, not Norman. Norman speaks freely about injustices he feels he's suffered, but he doesn't dwell on the dark side of his life. For all he's been through and all the hard times he has seen, it is not his sorrows that stand out.
Norman with a golf club in his hands looks to me like a happy man. Even back in the days when he practiced till his hands were bleeding, golf for him was a source of joy. It was that attitude, as much as anything, that got him into trouble with various authorities--as in the tournament in which he came to the final green with a three-stroke lead, intentionally putted into a bunker, and got up and down to win anyway. It was also that attitude that sustained him.
"Golf is to have fun," he told me toward the end of our conversation, repeating a theme he had brought up before. "What do you have to lose? A lousy ball, that's all. If you lose yours, grab another one out of your bag and hit it. That is what the game's about, and that is the first thing I was taught 55 years ago: have fun. Most golfers don't see the bright things. All they see is the bad things.
"But if you see the bad things, that's where your mind will take you. If you drive a car down the road and look at the sidewalk, where do you think you're going to put the car? It's the same thing on a golf course. People see only the trees and the water. But I don't. To me, they are only there as an ornament. They are there to make the course look nicer. All I see is the tee, the middle of the fairway, and the middle of the green. That's golf. I hit my 18 fairways and my 18 greens, and go on to the next day."
"Gee, Moe," I said, "it must be boring for you." "Like heck it is," Norman said. "That's fun."
Moe Norman Golf Academy
Sunday, March 8, 2009
只有两位球员真正的控制着自己的挥杆
老虎伍兹赢得第三个英国公开赛冠军以及第11个大满贯赛头衔最值得关注的一个方面，却是比赛结束之后人们最为忽视的一个方面：老虎伍兹不再花过多口舌解释他的高尔夫挥杆。
第135届英国公开赛的话题变成了老虎伍兹的父亲厄尔五月份去世之后，他如何独自撑起一片天空。在这种情绪激荡的时刻，人们的确容易忘记那个帮助他实现新辉煌的挥杆。/p>
可是刚刚在一年前，也就是老虎伍兹赢得第二个英国公开赛的时候，他才平息了人们对他新挥杆的质疑。这一新挥杆开始于2003年，是在教练汉克-哈尼指导下完成的。甚至在2005年美国名人赛夺取冠军之后，老虎伍兹仍然没有躲过人们对他的批评。那场比赛，老虎伍兹赢得的确很艰难。他在最后两洞吞下柏忌，不得不与迪玛科展开延长赛。幸好，加洞赛第一洞的那只小鸟帮助老虎伍兹封锁了绿茄克，也及时解除了他的大满贯赛冠军荒。老虎伍兹与以前哈蒙帮助建立起来的那种密不透风的挥杆姿势有了迥然的不同。批评者在这中间发现了漏洞。
圣安德鲁斯媒体中心的景象非常热烈。人们明显想知道老虎伍兹挥杆嬗变的情况。汉克-哈尼的身旁站满了记者。在帮助这个时代最伟大的球员找回了夺冠的威力，汉克-哈尼终于觉得自己获得了解脱、证明。不用说，老虎伍兹再次获得了世界第一，而且继续保持在那里，时间已经达到了406周。
“现在，当然，我是一个聪明人了。”汉克-哈尼去年七月份笑着说。
从哈蒙转到哈尼这一决定在2004年看起来并不明智。那一年，老虎伍兹只赢得了一场比赛，维杰-辛格取代他成为了新的世界第一。可是在事业的顶峰时期，老虎伍兹有理由做这么重大的改变。
就像这个运动中的其他运动员一样，老虎伍兹总是觉得自己能更好，尽管他已经赢得了8个大满贯赛冠军(包括2000年到2001年连赢四个)，与哈蒙合作时取得了39场胜利。在哈蒙的帮助下，老虎伍兹变得非常犀利，就像八、九十年代他帮助诺曼成为世界第一时一样。
1996年，老虎伍兹转为职业球员那一刻，他的挥杆已经很成熟了，可是还不够规整。他的距离控制存在污点，同他的精确性一样。可是通过大的弧线，以及强劲的力量，老虎伍兹仍能够挥出非凡的杆头速度。他在1997年美国名人赛上占据着主动地位。以12杆优势夺取了冠军，他还创造了赛事270杆纪录。很显然这正是老虎伍兹初出道时挥杆的产物。老虎伍兹随后也承认那一周偶然性很强，主要是动力和时机结合得很巧妙。
老虎伍兹与哈蒙自从1993年开始就惺惺相惜，可是哈蒙的对老虎伍兹挥杆的锤炼直到1998年才实施。在哈蒙的帮助下，老虎伍兹终于对抗住了这项运动的艰难。2000年，他总共赢得了九场比赛，包括年度最后三场大满贯赛。在20场比赛中，他没有一场高于标准杆。老虎伍兹创造了或者平了美巡赛27项纪录，包括未经修订的平均杆数68.33杆(修订后为67.79)，破了1945年拜伦-尼尔森所创造的纪录。
老虎伍兹离开哈蒙的阵营转向哈尼看上去没有一丝道理。唯一说的通的是哈蒙所创立的挥杆对体力消耗很大，即便是对于世界上最强健的高尔夫球员也有点过分了。最大的损害在老虎伍兹左膝盖的受伤上显示出来。2002年年末，老虎伍兹不得不为此动手术。
孩童时滑雪板以及自行车事故已经对老虎伍兹的膝盖造成了损伤。当老虎伍兹努力追求额外的10到20码距离时，他需要对膝盖提出了更高的要求。事实上，到2002年，膝盖问题已经成为老虎伍兹不得不解决的当务之急，否则他将很难超越尼克劳斯的18个大满贯赛头衔纪录。
进入哈尼以及他的同一挥杆平面理论。作为马克-欧米拉长期的教练，汉克-哈尼相信最优秀的挥杆需要从头到尾保持同一平面角度。这一理论应用到老虎伍兹的身上，他的挥杆更加平滑而圆润。在老虎伍兹想采取这一新理论的过程中，他不得不与原来的旧习惯相抗衡。他的精确性以及他的自信心都在衰减，尽管在更改过程中，他连续晋级记录就始终延伸着。这一点也显示出老虎伍兹的整体高尔夫能力以及顽强的斗志。
2004年，人们对老虎伍兹的挥杆持续提出疑问的时候，老虎伍兹就始终表达着他对这一决定的满意。“我曾经有过二心吗？没有！”老虎伍兹在2005年年初说，“我先退后进，然后大踏步前进。”
在汉克-哈尼的指导下，老虎伍兹减轻了他的膝盖伤痛，开始在后挥杆以及下挥杆上努力。去年五场胜利，两个大满贯赛头衔证明了这一决定的正确性。现在老虎伍兹又多赢了六场比赛，其中包括第二个英国公开赛冠军和一个美国PGA锦标赛冠军。当然在2006年，他也第一次在大满贯赛上被淘汰。可是美国公开赛的失利有很大程度上可以解释为他父亲去世对他的负面影响。
“我有充足的时间做准备。”老虎伍兹谈到翼脚高尔夫俱乐部举行的美国公开赛时说，“我只是没有很好地去执行。”
老虎伍兹在霍伊莱克肯定执行得很好。他的开球上球道率为85.7%。这是阵容中最高的一个数值，也达到了他职业生涯的最高。另外，他的标准杆上果岭率为80.6%，也相当出色。就像2000年在圣安德鲁斯取胜一样，老虎伍兹坚持了自己的比赛策略，将一号木始终放在球包中，整周下来巧妙地避免着皇家
利物浦的沙坑。
“我知道自己的技术已经接近了我在大满贯赛上所需要的程度。”老虎伍兹说，“当我达到那一点，我的技术每一天都在好转。这正是你想要坚持的东西。”
是对距离的控制，而不是他出名的力气使得老虎伍兹再次无法征服。也正是由于距离控制，老虎伍兹才转投了哈尼。胜利是衡量一个球员的最好工具。老虎伍兹世界范围内已经赢得了60场胜利，包括12个大满贯赛头衔。在大满贯赛冠军榜上，他现在唯一落后的是尼克劳斯。
“只有两位球员真正的控制着自己的挥杆：默伊-诺曼(Moe Norman)和本-侯根。”老虎伍兹对《高尔夫文摘》说，“我也想拥有自己的挥杆。也只有这样，我才会满足。”
换句话说，老虎伍兹现在仍在磨砺进步之中。
第135届英国公开赛的话题变成了老虎伍兹的父亲厄尔五月份去世之后，他如何独自撑起一片天空。在这种情绪激荡的时刻，人们的确容易忘记那个帮助他实现新辉煌的挥杆。/p>
可是刚刚在一年前，也就是老虎伍兹赢得第二个英国公开赛的时候，他才平息了人们对他新挥杆的质疑。这一新挥杆开始于2003年，是在教练汉克-哈尼指导下完成的。甚至在2005年美国名人赛夺取冠军之后，老虎伍兹仍然没有躲过人们对他的批评。那场比赛，老虎伍兹赢得的确很艰难。他在最后两洞吞下柏忌，不得不与迪玛科展开延长赛。幸好，加洞赛第一洞的那只小鸟帮助老虎伍兹封锁了绿茄克，也及时解除了他的大满贯赛冠军荒。老虎伍兹与以前哈蒙帮助建立起来的那种密不透风的挥杆姿势有了迥然的不同。批评者在这中间发现了漏洞。
圣安德鲁斯媒体中心的景象非常热烈。人们明显想知道老虎伍兹挥杆嬗变的情况。汉克-哈尼的身旁站满了记者。在帮助这个时代最伟大的球员找回了夺冠的威力，汉克-哈尼终于觉得自己获得了解脱、证明。不用说，老虎伍兹再次获得了世界第一，而且继续保持在那里，时间已经达到了406周。
“现在，当然，我是一个聪明人了。”汉克-哈尼去年七月份笑着说。
从哈蒙转到哈尼这一决定在2004年看起来并不明智。那一年，老虎伍兹只赢得了一场比赛，维杰-辛格取代他成为了新的世界第一。可是在事业的顶峰时期，老虎伍兹有理由做这么重大的改变。
就像这个运动中的其他运动员一样，老虎伍兹总是觉得自己能更好，尽管他已经赢得了8个大满贯赛冠军(包括2000年到2001年连赢四个)，与哈蒙合作时取得了39场胜利。在哈蒙的帮助下，老虎伍兹变得非常犀利，就像八、九十年代他帮助诺曼成为世界第一时一样。
1996年，老虎伍兹转为职业球员那一刻，他的挥杆已经很成熟了，可是还不够规整。他的距离控制存在污点，同他的精确性一样。可是通过大的弧线，以及强劲的力量，老虎伍兹仍能够挥出非凡的杆头速度。他在1997年美国名人赛上占据着主动地位。以12杆优势夺取了冠军，他还创造了赛事270杆纪录。很显然这正是老虎伍兹初出道时挥杆的产物。老虎伍兹随后也承认那一周偶然性很强，主要是动力和时机结合得很巧妙。
老虎伍兹与哈蒙自从1993年开始就惺惺相惜，可是哈蒙的对老虎伍兹挥杆的锤炼直到1998年才实施。在哈蒙的帮助下，老虎伍兹终于对抗住了这项运动的艰难。2000年，他总共赢得了九场比赛，包括年度最后三场大满贯赛。在20场比赛中，他没有一场高于标准杆。老虎伍兹创造了或者平了美巡赛27项纪录，包括未经修订的平均杆数68.33杆(修订后为67.79)，破了1945年拜伦-尼尔森所创造的纪录。
老虎伍兹离开哈蒙的阵营转向哈尼看上去没有一丝道理。唯一说的通的是哈蒙所创立的挥杆对体力消耗很大，即便是对于世界上最强健的高尔夫球员也有点过分了。最大的损害在老虎伍兹左膝盖的受伤上显示出来。2002年年末，老虎伍兹不得不为此动手术。
孩童时滑雪板以及自行车事故已经对老虎伍兹的膝盖造成了损伤。当老虎伍兹努力追求额外的10到20码距离时，他需要对膝盖提出了更高的要求。事实上，到2002年，膝盖问题已经成为老虎伍兹不得不解决的当务之急，否则他将很难超越尼克劳斯的18个大满贯赛头衔纪录。
进入哈尼以及他的同一挥杆平面理论。作为马克-欧米拉长期的教练，汉克-哈尼相信最优秀的挥杆需要从头到尾保持同一平面角度。这一理论应用到老虎伍兹的身上，他的挥杆更加平滑而圆润。在老虎伍兹想采取这一新理论的过程中，他不得不与原来的旧习惯相抗衡。他的精确性以及他的自信心都在衰减，尽管在更改过程中，他连续晋级记录就始终延伸着。这一点也显示出老虎伍兹的整体高尔夫能力以及顽强的斗志。
2004年，人们对老虎伍兹的挥杆持续提出疑问的时候，老虎伍兹就始终表达着他对这一决定的满意。“我曾经有过二心吗？没有！”老虎伍兹在2005年年初说，“我先退后进，然后大踏步前进。”
在汉克-哈尼的指导下，老虎伍兹减轻了他的膝盖伤痛，开始在后挥杆以及下挥杆上努力。去年五场胜利，两个大满贯赛头衔证明了这一决定的正确性。现在老虎伍兹又多赢了六场比赛，其中包括第二个英国公开赛冠军和一个美国PGA锦标赛冠军。当然在2006年，他也第一次在大满贯赛上被淘汰。可是美国公开赛的失利有很大程度上可以解释为他父亲去世对他的负面影响。
“我有充足的时间做准备。”老虎伍兹谈到翼脚高尔夫俱乐部举行的美国公开赛时说，“我只是没有很好地去执行。”
老虎伍兹在霍伊莱克肯定执行得很好。他的开球上球道率为85.7%。这是阵容中最高的一个数值，也达到了他职业生涯的最高。另外，他的标准杆上果岭率为80.6%，也相当出色。就像2000年在圣安德鲁斯取胜一样，老虎伍兹坚持了自己的比赛策略，将一号木始终放在球包中，整周下来巧妙地避免着皇家
利物浦的沙坑。
“我知道自己的技术已经接近了我在大满贯赛上所需要的程度。”老虎伍兹说，“当我达到那一点，我的技术每一天都在好转。这正是你想要坚持的东西。”
是对距离的控制，而不是他出名的力气使得老虎伍兹再次无法征服。也正是由于距离控制，老虎伍兹才转投了哈尼。胜利是衡量一个球员的最好工具。老虎伍兹世界范围内已经赢得了60场胜利，包括12个大满贯赛头衔。在大满贯赛冠军榜上，他现在唯一落后的是尼克劳斯。
“只有两位球员真正的控制着自己的挥杆：默伊-诺曼(Moe Norman)和本-侯根。”老虎伍兹对《高尔夫文摘》说，“我也想拥有自己的挥杆。也只有这样，我才会满足。”
换句话说，老虎伍兹现在仍在磨砺进步之中。
两不同平面挥杆都正确 不混淆彼此基本要素
一个平面的挥杆，肩膀在倾斜的平面上转动，手臂的挥动围绕并横过胸部。
两个平面的挥杆，站位相对比较直一点，转动比较水平，手臂挥动相对比较陡直。 区别在何处？
肩膀的转动总是围绕脊柱，那么其必定在一个平面上运动。身体从髋关节开始的弯曲越多，肩膀的平面就会越陡直。如果身体直立，肩膀水平转动，则平面看起来就像是肩膀高度的旋转木马。如果身体弯曲90度，看起来又会像一个费雷斯大转轮。
与肩膀相比，手臂的挥动只有两种选择。要么与肩膀的转动保持在一个平面上，要么在另外一个平面上。因此我把肩膀的挥动和肩膀的转动在一个平面的挥杆称作“一个平面的挥杆”，而将手臂的挥动和身体转动在不同平面的挥杆称作“两个平面的挥杆”。
吉姆· 哈蒂(Jim Hardy)是一位在高尔夫挥杆方面知识博学的教练，你也许从来都没有听说过他。我能够这样自信地说他是最优秀的教练之一，是因为我曾和你所听说过的所有教练合作过，而吉姆的确让我值得尊敬。1992 年，父亲的去世让我几乎丧失了对高尔夫比赛的欲望。是吉姆的建议和指导帮助我渡过了职业生涯最艰难的时光，并重返PGA 赛场。
1993 年，在吉姆的建议下，我决定将原本两个平面的挥杆改为一个平面。下面的文章是摘自吉姆出版的《The Swing Truth for Golfer》。这本书讲述的是一个挥杆平面与两个挥杆平面之间的区别和各自的基本原理，以及为什么不能将二者的基本原理混淆的原因。
你将在后边几页看到我所展示的一个平面和两个平面的连续动作。我认为自己有资格来展示，因为在职业生涯的早期，我用的是两个平面的挥杆方法，随后又换成了一个平面。虽然无法与过尼克劳斯的辉煌战绩相媲美，但我还是在1995 年拿到过2 次冠军。2003 年，我又在49 岁的时候拿到了一个冠军，在2004 年的夏天更是成为了美国常青公开赛的冠军。不过我觉得在挥杆方面还有很多方面有待完善，吉姆认为我对于挥杆方法的改变是成功的。
吉姆并没有以职业教练为生，因此你可能不会经常在电视上看到他。所以这篇文章以及他所编写的书是你认识他的一个好机会。同时我也希望你们能够喜欢这个重要的部分。我相信吉姆的挥杆理论将是自本· 霍根的《The Morden Fundamentals of Golf 》之后的又一次革命。努力研究、认真学习、享受乐趣，并祝你好运。
彼得·雅各布森(Peter Jacobsen)，PGA 巡回赛球员
两个平面的挥杆，站位相对比较直一点，转动比较水平，手臂挥动相对比较陡直。 区别在何处？
肩膀的转动总是围绕脊柱，那么其必定在一个平面上运动。身体从髋关节开始的弯曲越多，肩膀的平面就会越陡直。如果身体直立，肩膀水平转动，则平面看起来就像是肩膀高度的旋转木马。如果身体弯曲90度，看起来又会像一个费雷斯大转轮。
与肩膀相比，手臂的挥动只有两种选择。要么与肩膀的转动保持在一个平面上，要么在另外一个平面上。因此我把肩膀的挥动和肩膀的转动在一个平面的挥杆称作“一个平面的挥杆”，而将手臂的挥动和身体转动在不同平面的挥杆称作“两个平面的挥杆”。
吉姆· 哈蒂(Jim Hardy)是一位在高尔夫挥杆方面知识博学的教练，你也许从来都没有听说过他。我能够这样自信地说他是最优秀的教练之一，是因为我曾和你所听说过的所有教练合作过，而吉姆的确让我值得尊敬。1992 年，父亲的去世让我几乎丧失了对高尔夫比赛的欲望。是吉姆的建议和指导帮助我渡过了职业生涯最艰难的时光，并重返PGA 赛场。
1993 年，在吉姆的建议下，我决定将原本两个平面的挥杆改为一个平面。下面的文章是摘自吉姆出版的《The Swing Truth for Golfer》。这本书讲述的是一个挥杆平面与两个挥杆平面之间的区别和各自的基本原理，以及为什么不能将二者的基本原理混淆的原因。
你将在后边几页看到我所展示的一个平面和两个平面的连续动作。我认为自己有资格来展示，因为在职业生涯的早期，我用的是两个平面的挥杆方法，随后又换成了一个平面。虽然无法与过尼克劳斯的辉煌战绩相媲美，但我还是在1995 年拿到过2 次冠军。2003 年，我又在49 岁的时候拿到了一个冠军，在2004 年的夏天更是成为了美国常青公开赛的冠军。不过我觉得在挥杆方面还有很多方面有待完善，吉姆认为我对于挥杆方法的改变是成功的。
吉姆并没有以职业教练为生，因此你可能不会经常在电视上看到他。所以这篇文章以及他所编写的书是你认识他的一个好机会。同时我也希望你们能够喜欢这个重要的部分。我相信吉姆的挥杆理论将是自本· 霍根的《The Morden Fundamentals of Golf 》之后的又一次革命。努力研究、认真学习、享受乐趣，并祝你好运。
彼得·雅各布森(Peter Jacobsen)，PGA 巡回赛球员
汉克-哈尼说候根的一个平面是错的，应该是同一个平面角度。
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Bush Harmon 布奇哈蒙: 改造挥杆十戒
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
美津浓铁杆
对于普通的消费者，要挑选一款适合自己的精制铁杆，需要观察、尝试、感觉、应用，甚至是回味，这是一个相当耗费时间的过程。但如果你了解品牌名称的一些内涵特质，配合自己的实践经验，就可以化繁为简，一眼锁定属于自己的场上利器。
以铁杆技术领先世界的美津浓在2009年推出了4款更新换代的力作，MP62、MP52、MX200和MX100。去年的这个时候，MP57几乎横扫铁 杆市场，被很多球友誉为神奇的铁杆，只要你轻松挥动，没有打不出去的球。这充分体现了美津浓铁杆在亚洲市场广泛的适用性。可其实，MP57是给那些低差点 高手准备的，因为MP系列，就代表着美津浓最高级别的产品。同以MP命名的67就不是谁都能用了，很多人钟情于它刀背式的潇洒外观，买进手才发现，刀背的 锐利需要极佳的精准性，没有点职业的架子，根本无法得心应手。
今年，美津浓MP62、MP52加入了双重肌条(DUAL MUSCLE)的概念，标志着凹背式铁杆迈入了崭新的技术阶段。外部肌条在杆面击球区域后部实现了重心的精准定位，提高了挥击的控球感。内部肌条则为球杆 带来了与众不同的击打手感。很多职业选手反映，这种令人感到余韵绵长的回味，甚至让选手在击打后仍能感受到球的落点。其中62弹道较低，击打的感觉更加锐 利，明显更加职业化；而52的长铁性能优越，与短杆的击打感如出一辙，显然迎合了那些中低差点的选手。
相较于MP系列的高端，美津浓 的MX系列，其实是真正横扫市场的王牌产品。MX25在美国就一度遭遇断货的危机，而这个系列，其实是来自于针对中差点选手的设计初衷，初学者也较容易掌 握。早先的MX19也曾应用过一个力量条的概念，在杆头外圈的包裹，使整个杆头的重心降低。这种凹背似的设计，使初学者能够轻松领悟力量的传递，而长铁的 精准和高弹道，自然成为中差点选手的福音。
MX系列的广泛性，可以预见其换代产品MX200和MX100的来势汹汹。颇为不同的 是，MX200为锻造，MX100则为铸造。在融合了软铁锻造技术的精华后，MX200成为这一季美津浓铁杆广泛适应性的代表作，中高差点选手都可以从中 体验到轻松挥杆，操控简单的乐趣。这也是MX200为什么价格最高的原因。而MX100的宽大杆底，则为初学者奠定了击打坚实的基础，让高尔夫变得更加简 单易学。
什么是适合自己的？当然要试了才知道。但明确了品牌系列名称的内涵，可以更好地为自己的挑选省时省力。
以铁杆技术领先世界的美津浓在2009年推出了4款更新换代的力作，MP62、MP52、MX200和MX100。去年的这个时候，MP57几乎横扫铁 杆市场，被很多球友誉为神奇的铁杆，只要你轻松挥动，没有打不出去的球。这充分体现了美津浓铁杆在亚洲市场广泛的适用性。可其实，MP57是给那些低差点 高手准备的，因为MP系列，就代表着美津浓最高级别的产品。同以MP命名的67就不是谁都能用了，很多人钟情于它刀背式的潇洒外观，买进手才发现，刀背的 锐利需要极佳的精准性，没有点职业的架子，根本无法得心应手。
今年，美津浓MP62、MP52加入了双重肌条(DUAL MUSCLE)的概念，标志着凹背式铁杆迈入了崭新的技术阶段。外部肌条在杆面击球区域后部实现了重心的精准定位，提高了挥击的控球感。内部肌条则为球杆 带来了与众不同的击打手感。很多职业选手反映，这种令人感到余韵绵长的回味，甚至让选手在击打后仍能感受到球的落点。其中62弹道较低，击打的感觉更加锐 利，明显更加职业化；而52的长铁性能优越，与短杆的击打感如出一辙，显然迎合了那些中低差点的选手。
相较于MP系列的高端，美津浓 的MX系列，其实是真正横扫市场的王牌产品。MX25在美国就一度遭遇断货的危机，而这个系列，其实是来自于针对中差点选手的设计初衷，初学者也较容易掌 握。早先的MX19也曾应用过一个力量条的概念，在杆头外圈的包裹，使整个杆头的重心降低。这种凹背似的设计，使初学者能够轻松领悟力量的传递，而长铁的 精准和高弹道，自然成为中差点选手的福音。
MX系列的广泛性，可以预见其换代产品MX200和MX100的来势汹汹。颇为不同的 是，MX200为锻造，MX100则为铸造。在融合了软铁锻造技术的精华后，MX200成为这一季美津浓铁杆广泛适应性的代表作，中高差点选手都可以从中 体验到轻松挥杆，操控简单的乐趣。这也是MX200为什么价格最高的原因。而MX100的宽大杆底，则为初学者奠定了击打坚实的基础，让高尔夫变得更加简 单易学。
什么是适合自己的？当然要试了才知道。但明确了品牌系列名称的内涵，可以更好地为自己的挑选省时省力。
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
本‧侯根1964
It was a rare privilege and a splendid experience to see Ben Hogan and Sam Snead in head-to-head competition, however that’s what occurred at the Houston Country Club in 1964. For the first time in over 30 years, watching these titans of the game is now possible for golf fans with the video release of the classic Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf match between Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. Staged in May 1964 at the Houston Country Club, it originally aired on February 21, 1965. This was a big match, even by Shell standards. The sponsor didn’t invite reporters to cover the matches, but this one was so big, they made an exception. Famed New York sportswriter Red Smith was among the estimated 5,000 who showed up, according to producer Fred Raphael. The city of Houston rises from topography as flat as a skillet. The pancake-flat terrain of the Houston Country Club had been molded and shaped into dipping swales, doglegs, and elevated greens by the individualistic endeavors of its designer, Robert Trent Jones.
侯根史海钩沉(下) 顽强斗士为典型的后来居上者
大满贯赛胜利
在美国名人赛上出现名誉扫地的三推之后，本-侯根的一些东西可能最终融会贯通了。因为那一年晚些时候举行的美国PGA锦标赛(1946年)，他终于获得突破，夺取了冠军。
虽然在1947年本-侯根没有赢得一场大满贯赛，再接下来一年，他就开始了五年的狂飙。所参加的11场大满贯赛，他赢得了8场，包括1953年日历年内连续3场。这也就是所谓的“侯根大满贯”。本-侯根那一年没有参加美国PGA锦标赛，因为英国公开赛在同一周举行。
本-侯根这五年的成就在历史上只有波比-琼斯能与之争辉。更让人惊讶的是1949年发生的车祸差一点让本-侯根丧命。
在1949年之前，本-侯根并不受媒体和球迷的喜爱。虽然他是一个很有礼貌，很完美的职业球员，他却非常严肃，而且沉默寡言，将球迷和同辈球员拒之千里。可是那次致命的车祸，以及随后英勇的反弹就改变了本-侯根的公众形象，人们对他的同情随之也转化成了对他的喜爱。
其它的遗产
本-侯根是第一个实现当代大满贯的选手，这意味着他一生赢得了全部四场大满贯赛。其他实现这一成就的选手有吉恩-萨拉岑(Gene Sarazen)、尼克劳斯、加里-普莱尔和老虎伍兹。尼克劳斯实现了三轮，老虎伍兹也在2008年实现了三轮。
以下这个事实也许听起来不可思议，然而它却是事实。本-侯根是历史上第一个开始密集训练的球手。本-侯根童年时的朋友拜伦-尼尔森说他“发明了练习”。我们要记住的一点是，六十年代之前，职业高尔夫赛事的奖金都不高，许多球员都不能靠此维持生计。所有的职业球员都有固定的工作，经常情况下是在私人俱乐部开设球具店。
事实上，那个时候的英国公开赛在一周的中间举行，这样安排，球员可以在周末的时候返回俱乐部，销售球具，以及给一些富人上课。那个时代，要像本-侯根那样练习，非要十分专心不可。
本-侯根经常在练习场上花数个小时练习，与之相对，他的同辈们都努力在紧张的一周中放轻松。想象一下这样一幕：维杰-辛格每个星期要在麦当劳工作30个小时，紧接着还要练习和健身。
本-侯根总共赢得64场美巡赛，在去年老虎伍兹超越他之前，他排在总冠军榜第三位上。除此之外，他还认真钻研过高尔夫挥杆，所出版的教学书到今天仍被大家奉为圭皋。
结论
毫无疑问，本-侯根是历史上最伟大的球员之一。他的大满贯赛胜率意味着如果他与尼克劳斯参加同样多场大满贯赛，他的冠军至少会有20个。可是当我们定义本-侯根的伟大时，也遇到了与波比-琼斯相同的问题。本-侯根的职业生命不够长寿。从某个角度来说，他是波比-琼斯的镜面反射，后者很早就退出了高尔夫球坛。而本-侯根的伟大日子主要集中在他生涯的第二部分。直到28岁，本-侯根才赢得第一场美巡赛，而到34岁才赢得第一场大满贯赛。从持久度来说，本-侯根不如哈里-沃尔登、沃尔特-哈根和尼克劳斯。
在美国名人赛上出现名誉扫地的三推之后，本-侯根的一些东西可能最终融会贯通了。因为那一年晚些时候举行的美国PGA锦标赛(1946年)，他终于获得突破，夺取了冠军。
虽然在1947年本-侯根没有赢得一场大满贯赛，再接下来一年，他就开始了五年的狂飙。所参加的11场大满贯赛，他赢得了8场，包括1953年日历年内连续3场。这也就是所谓的“侯根大满贯”。本-侯根那一年没有参加美国PGA锦标赛，因为英国公开赛在同一周举行。
本-侯根这五年的成就在历史上只有波比-琼斯能与之争辉。更让人惊讶的是1949年发生的车祸差一点让本-侯根丧命。
在1949年之前，本-侯根并不受媒体和球迷的喜爱。虽然他是一个很有礼貌，很完美的职业球员，他却非常严肃，而且沉默寡言，将球迷和同辈球员拒之千里。可是那次致命的车祸，以及随后英勇的反弹就改变了本-侯根的公众形象，人们对他的同情随之也转化成了对他的喜爱。
其它的遗产
本-侯根是第一个实现当代大满贯的选手，这意味着他一生赢得了全部四场大满贯赛。其他实现这一成就的选手有吉恩-萨拉岑(Gene Sarazen)、尼克劳斯、加里-普莱尔和老虎伍兹。尼克劳斯实现了三轮，老虎伍兹也在2008年实现了三轮。
以下这个事实也许听起来不可思议，然而它却是事实。本-侯根是历史上第一个开始密集训练的球手。本-侯根童年时的朋友拜伦-尼尔森说他“发明了练习”。我们要记住的一点是，六十年代之前，职业高尔夫赛事的奖金都不高，许多球员都不能靠此维持生计。所有的职业球员都有固定的工作，经常情况下是在私人俱乐部开设球具店。
事实上，那个时候的英国公开赛在一周的中间举行，这样安排，球员可以在周末的时候返回俱乐部，销售球具，以及给一些富人上课。那个时代，要像本-侯根那样练习，非要十分专心不可。
本-侯根经常在练习场上花数个小时练习，与之相对，他的同辈们都努力在紧张的一周中放轻松。想象一下这样一幕：维杰-辛格每个星期要在麦当劳工作30个小时，紧接着还要练习和健身。
本-侯根总共赢得64场美巡赛，在去年老虎伍兹超越他之前，他排在总冠军榜第三位上。除此之外，他还认真钻研过高尔夫挥杆，所出版的教学书到今天仍被大家奉为圭皋。
结论
毫无疑问，本-侯根是历史上最伟大的球员之一。他的大满贯赛胜率意味着如果他与尼克劳斯参加同样多场大满贯赛，他的冠军至少会有20个。可是当我们定义本-侯根的伟大时，也遇到了与波比-琼斯相同的问题。本-侯根的职业生命不够长寿。从某个角度来说，他是波比-琼斯的镜面反射，后者很早就退出了高尔夫球坛。而本-侯根的伟大日子主要集中在他生涯的第二部分。直到28岁，本-侯根才赢得第一场美巡赛，而到34岁才赢得第一场大满贯赛。从持久度来说，本-侯根不如哈里-沃尔登、沃尔特-哈根和尼克劳斯。
侯根史海钩沉(上) 一个与死神搏斗书写奇迹的勇士
在此之前，我们已经拿哈里-沃尔登(Harry Vardon)、沃尔特-哈根(Walter Hagen)、波比-琼斯与尼克劳斯进行了对比，我们的结论是尼克劳斯虽然在大赛冠军总数上历史第一，但是细加分析，我们并不能得出他就是历史上最伟大的高尔夫球员。今天，我们将深入谈论这个话题，这一次我们分析的对象是历史上另外一个伟大球员本-侯根。
本-侯根受到的种种限制
本-侯根1930年转为职业球员，当时他18岁。他的黄金时期一直延续到1960年。本-侯根总共赢得了9场大满贯赛，并且是当代意义下的大满贯赛。在 2005年老虎伍兹超越他之前，他在大赛冠军总数上仅次于尼克劳斯，总共赢得了9个。这是为什么许多评论家把本-侯根置于尼克劳斯之下，视他为历史上第二伟大球员的缘故。(注释：波比-琼斯和沃尔特-哈根虽然在大满贯赛总数上超过了本-侯根，但是他们所赢得的大满贯赛不是现代意义上的大满贯赛。)
不过我们在这里并不想单纯以9个大满贯赛冠军作为依据来衡量本-侯根的成就。我们将更仔细地分析他的数据和遗产。本-侯根所参加的大满贯赛场数超过了哈里-沃尔登、沃尔特-哈根和波比-琼斯。在黄金时期，他总共参加了47场大满贯赛，与之相对，尼克劳斯参加了118场，沃尔特-哈根参加了43场，波比- 琼斯参加了27场，而沃尔特-哈根参加了24场。
来到本-侯根的时代，当今的四大满贯赛已经出现了。尽管如此，他却不能像当代的高尔夫球员那样，一年全部参加完四场大满贯赛。原因主要有以下几点。
(1) 美国名人赛始于1934年，也就是本-侯根转职业之后4年。
(2) 英国公开赛经常与美国PGA锦标赛同一周举行。1960年以前，很少有球员能在同一年参加这两场大满贯赛。因为这个原因，本-侯根在1953年无法实现大满贯。
(3) 因为要走海路，本-侯根参加英国公开赛可以说困难重重。另外旅行对于本-侯根来说也是经济上的负担。本-侯根基本上是一个穷人。
(4) 由于第二次世界大战，本-侯根有三年没有参加大满贯赛。
(5) 1949年发生车祸之后，本-侯根每年的参赛数量非常有限。五十年代，他基本上只参加美国名人赛和美国公开赛，只有1953年是例外。那一年他参加了卡洛斯蒂举行的英国公开赛，以4杆优势夺冠。那也是他唯一一次参加英国公开赛。
有鉴于以上种种原因，我们在对比高尔夫球员的时候，更倾向于对比他们的大满贯赛胜率，而不是单纯的大满贯赛冠军数。本-侯根在黄金时期的胜率为19%，好过尼克劳斯的16%。如果他像尼克劳斯那样参加118场大满贯赛，而且维持19%的胜率，他应该能够赢得22个，或者23个冠军，而不是9个。
本-侯根早期的坎坷
本-侯根与其它我们谈论过的高尔夫球员有一个重大的区别。他到34岁的那一年才赢得第一个大满贯赛头衔。尼克劳斯、沃尔特-哈根和波比-琼斯都是21、 22岁的时候便在美国公开赛上赢得了他们的第一个大满贯赛冠军。而哈里-沃尔登26岁那一年在英国公开赛上实现了首胜。
前十年的巡回赛生涯，本-侯根发现自己在压力下，经常开出很大的左曲球。因为这个原因，直到1940年28岁的时候他才赢得第一场常规赛。在那个时候，他突然着火了，在 1940年到1946年间，赢得了30多场常规赛。尽管如此，本-侯根在5次进入大满贯赛前五名的情况下，仍然没有夺取过冠军。
在那漫长的六年时间中，本-侯根是“从没有赢过大满贯赛的最优秀选手”的完美代表。1942年，他在18洞的延长赛中丢掉3杆领先，将美国名人赛冠军输给了拜伦-尼尔森(Byron Nelson)。
四年之后在1946年美国名人赛(第二次世界大战之后)上，本-侯根来到第72洞的时候领先1杆，可是他面对10英尺的距离却出现了3推，不得已只能进入延长赛争胜负。第二天，他不幸又一次失手。在哈里-沃尔登、沃尔特-哈根、波比-琼斯和尼克劳斯的职业生涯中可从来没有出现过这样的崩溃。
本-侯根受到的种种限制
本-侯根1930年转为职业球员，当时他18岁。他的黄金时期一直延续到1960年。本-侯根总共赢得了9场大满贯赛，并且是当代意义下的大满贯赛。在 2005年老虎伍兹超越他之前，他在大赛冠军总数上仅次于尼克劳斯，总共赢得了9个。这是为什么许多评论家把本-侯根置于尼克劳斯之下，视他为历史上第二伟大球员的缘故。(注释：波比-琼斯和沃尔特-哈根虽然在大满贯赛总数上超过了本-侯根，但是他们所赢得的大满贯赛不是现代意义上的大满贯赛。)
不过我们在这里并不想单纯以9个大满贯赛冠军作为依据来衡量本-侯根的成就。我们将更仔细地分析他的数据和遗产。本-侯根所参加的大满贯赛场数超过了哈里-沃尔登、沃尔特-哈根和波比-琼斯。在黄金时期，他总共参加了47场大满贯赛，与之相对，尼克劳斯参加了118场，沃尔特-哈根参加了43场，波比- 琼斯参加了27场，而沃尔特-哈根参加了24场。
来到本-侯根的时代，当今的四大满贯赛已经出现了。尽管如此，他却不能像当代的高尔夫球员那样，一年全部参加完四场大满贯赛。原因主要有以下几点。
(1) 美国名人赛始于1934年，也就是本-侯根转职业之后4年。
(2) 英国公开赛经常与美国PGA锦标赛同一周举行。1960年以前，很少有球员能在同一年参加这两场大满贯赛。因为这个原因，本-侯根在1953年无法实现大满贯。
(3) 因为要走海路，本-侯根参加英国公开赛可以说困难重重。另外旅行对于本-侯根来说也是经济上的负担。本-侯根基本上是一个穷人。
(4) 由于第二次世界大战，本-侯根有三年没有参加大满贯赛。
(5) 1949年发生车祸之后，本-侯根每年的参赛数量非常有限。五十年代，他基本上只参加美国名人赛和美国公开赛，只有1953年是例外。那一年他参加了卡洛斯蒂举行的英国公开赛，以4杆优势夺冠。那也是他唯一一次参加英国公开赛。
有鉴于以上种种原因，我们在对比高尔夫球员的时候，更倾向于对比他们的大满贯赛胜率，而不是单纯的大满贯赛冠军数。本-侯根在黄金时期的胜率为19%，好过尼克劳斯的16%。如果他像尼克劳斯那样参加118场大满贯赛，而且维持19%的胜率，他应该能够赢得22个，或者23个冠军，而不是9个。
本-侯根早期的坎坷
本-侯根与其它我们谈论过的高尔夫球员有一个重大的区别。他到34岁的那一年才赢得第一个大满贯赛头衔。尼克劳斯、沃尔特-哈根和波比-琼斯都是21、 22岁的时候便在美国公开赛上赢得了他们的第一个大满贯赛冠军。而哈里-沃尔登26岁那一年在英国公开赛上实现了首胜。
前十年的巡回赛生涯，本-侯根发现自己在压力下，经常开出很大的左曲球。因为这个原因，直到1940年28岁的时候他才赢得第一场常规赛。在那个时候，他突然着火了，在 1940年到1946年间，赢得了30多场常规赛。尽管如此，本-侯根在5次进入大满贯赛前五名的情况下，仍然没有夺取过冠军。
在那漫长的六年时间中，本-侯根是“从没有赢过大满贯赛的最优秀选手”的完美代表。1942年，他在18洞的延长赛中丢掉3杆领先，将美国名人赛冠军输给了拜伦-尼尔森(Byron Nelson)。
四年之后在1946年美国名人赛(第二次世界大战之后)上，本-侯根来到第72洞的时候领先1杆，可是他面对10英尺的距离却出现了3推，不得已只能进入延长赛争胜负。第二天，他不幸又一次失手。在哈里-沃尔登、沃尔特-哈根、波比-琼斯和尼克劳斯的职业生涯中可从来没有出现过这样的崩溃。
Friday, February 20, 2009
最后一个传奇
这个拥有贵族气质的德克萨斯人，有着行云流水般的挥杆和时间跨度最长的夺冠经历。传奇的拜伦•纳尔森，人类历史中仅有的一个，如假包换。
2006年9月26日，星期四，94岁的纳尔森被发现安详地躺在自家农场庄园的走廊上，已经悄悄地离开了人世。世界高尔夫不仅失去一位德高望重的传奇大师，而昔日脍炙人口的黄金铁三角——山姆•史尼德（Sam Snead）、本•霍根（Ben Hogan）和纳尔森，都已成为无法复制及再生的历史。纳尔森的离去带走了一个时代，而他，就是PGA Tour最后一个传奇！
1912年2月4日，德克萨斯waxahachie小镇一户普通的农场人家迎来个他们的小儿子——约翰•拜伦•纳尔森二世（John Byron Nelson Jr），就是我们文中提到的“传奇”主角。在纳尔森的儿童时期，他曾两次幸运地逃离鬼门关。如果稍有闪失，未来挤身世界高尔夫名人堂的荣誉就归他人所有了。纳尔森刚出生时12磅8盎司的体重帮助他逃离当时频发的新生儿并发症。1922年，纳尔森全家搬到福特沃斯定居后不就，他被感染伤寒。持续高烧毁了纳尔森的免疫系统，体重减轻到65磅，热度达到106华度，医生早已将最坏情况告知他的父母“你们的孩子活不了多久了”。纳尔森是个被神眷顾的孩子，他奇迹般的得救了。此后3年多的时间里，纳尔森始终与后遗症进行着艰苦的斗争。就像The Golden Age of Pericles，纳尔森创造了高尔夫之外的第一个生命传奇。
转眼到了1927年12月，一年一度的溪谷花园球童锦标赛（The Glen Garden Caddy Championship）。这是纳尔森从1924年担任球童以来，第一次参加比赛。尽管118杆的成绩说出来有点儿丢人，纳尔森已经找到了人生目标，他开始苦练球技，还神奇般的在福特沃斯图书馆，找到一本高尔夫小册子。
“是亨利•瓦登教握杆的内容，只有四五页。”今年年初，纳尔森在一次采访中回忆说：“瓦登的建议非常有用，我总是拿着小册子找个静静的角落，一看就是一天。”经过几年的卧薪尝胆后，纳尔森再次走上溪谷花园球场。这次，他打败了有“同事”之谊的本•霍根（Ben Hogan）。这是场艰苦卓绝的战斗，纳尔森需要推进30英尺的推杆才能与霍根在18洞延长赛再决高下。在这场被世人津津乐道的大师对决中，纳尔森的勇气 /镇静和出神入化的铁杆，助他一杆险胜霍根，而“铁杆拜伦”的封号也名声大震。
1932年，纳尔森跟着比赛开始了颠沛流离的选手生活。那时美国正处于大萧条时期，纳尔森一边打零工糊口，一边寻找机会参加各种业余比赛。他像职业选手一样奔波在灰尘漫天的公路上，穿梭在不同的球场中。一次，他交了5美元的报名费，取得了第三的好成绩：“我虽然赢了75美元，依然没有工作。我意识到必须冬天去加利福尼亚，或许还有戏。”揣着东拼西凑的500美元，纳尔森信心百倍地向梦想奔去。结果不容乐观，冬天过后，一文不名、没有工作的纳尔森回到最后的避难所——福特沃斯的父母家，休养生息。这次短暂的休息给他带来意想不到的收获，首先，他在当地的特克萨卡纳乡村俱乐部谋到一份差事，月薪60美元。更重要的是，纳尔森在工作之余每天有几小时的空余时间，可以好好研究他的“现代挥杆”。1933年6月，纳尔森在球场遇见一位有着浅黑色头发，在查经班学习的姑娘，名叫路易斯•舒纳（Louise Shofner）。路易斯的父亲资助纳尔森650美元参加巡回赛。
从加利福尼亚、凤凰城到德克萨斯，纳尔森越来越有冠军相。在圣安东尼赢得亚军后，他也拿到800美元的奖金支票。把650还给未来岳父后，纳尔森用100美元买了一支结婚戒指，完成了人生大事。
经过初期的困顿后，纳尔森的事业在1935和1936年加速攀升。1937年4月，他单枪匹马来到奥古斯塔，挥杆的稳定性也日臻完善，纳尔森自己也意识将迎来事业的新变化。果不其然，纳尔森在第一轮就打出66杆，这个单轮最低杆纪录被束之高阁44年之久，直到1976年美国名人赛被雷•佛洛伊德（Ray Floyd）的65杆改写。跟以前完全不同的挥杆动作，让纳尔森的每一次挥杆都很有效率，在奥古斯塔最凶险的“阿门角”，纳尔森不仅轻松穿过雷区，3洞总成绩低于标准杆3杆不说，还在标准杆5杆的第13洞射中罕见“老鹰”，而纳尔森在周日下午穿上“绿夹克”也是水到渠成的事。而横跨第13洞的小石桥，也被称为“纳尔森的小桥”。传说亚特兰大一位体育专栏作家看到纳尔森击出的弧线激动万分，立即提笔作诗赞美这条美丽的弧线，署名就是Lord Byron（传奇拜伦）。第二天，各大报纸头条不约而同引用Lord Byron，纳尔森的代名词就此诞生。
在3人参加的36洞延长赛上笑到最后，加冕1939年美国公开赛。他以胜1洞打败山姆•史尼德，成为1940年PGA锦标赛的冠军。他在18洞延长赛中再次打败“同僚”本•霍根，穿上1942年美国名人赛的“绿夹克”。在不到10年的时间里，纳尔森创造并改写了一个又一个传奇，人们叹为观止、人们诚心膜拜……他也成为巡回赛的典范，成为职业选手们认同的偶像！
历史的车轮不断前进，大浪淘沙中造就了每个时代特定的代表人物。不论是早期的亨利•瓦登、还是红极一时的杰克•尼克劳斯、尼克•佛度，还是如日中天的老虎•伍兹，已然不可能重现纳尔森在1945年的黄金岁月。他像一位骁勇善战的将军所向披靡，胜利就如挥挥衣袖如此简单。赛季结束后，纳尔森载着丰厚的战利品回到溪谷花园球场，18个冠军、7次亚军、从未跌出前10名、连续19轮低于70杆、超过112轮平均杆保持在68.33……上帝啊，任何溢美之词对“传奇拜伦”而言，都是苍白无力的！
“拜伦是个奇迹！”史尼德不吝送给纳尔森最高的评价：“他让挥杆充满了更多的乐趣，他从未停止过练习和改进。每次赛前去球场的第一件事就是热身，练练挥杆和推杆，掌握果岭状况，根据果岭速度选择推杆力道。看着吧，拜伦随随便便打出65杆。”退出精彩纷呈的赛场后很多年，纳尔森回忆起闪亮的1945年：“那年我确实赢了很多比赛，获得很多成就。我打得很棒，但是已经厌烦了那种生活，每一杆都不能出错。我一直对牧场情有独钟，在那里每一杆我都可以随心所欲，目标我自己随便设定，我的生活由我自己完全支配。 ”
虽然纳尔森在1946年初就赢了两场比赛，但他决定要进行一些改变。在参加1946年美国公开赛的时候，纳尔森宣布自己的退役计划。 34岁的他正值当打之年。从1935年到1946年，纳尔森赢了52场比赛，其中32场出自1944-1946年。那时，第二次世界大战的硝烟笼罩全世界，纳尔森用顽强拼搏鼓励着水深火热的同胞。
离开喧嚣的赛场，深爱高尔夫的“传奇拜伦”并没有将它抛于脑后，他以各种形式继续着对此项运动的一腔热情。1947年，他获邀参加美国名人赛，取得亚军的佳绩。又参加了同年的“莱德杯”，率领美国队顺利凯旋。1965年，纳尔森作为队长参加了 “莱德杯”，当然，胜利是唯一的结果。2006年“莱德杯”，他还自己用刀雕刻了几件木质工艺品。
之所以成为“传奇”，除了辉煌职业成绩，纳尔森的人品和作为公民的社会责任感也让人们对这位慈祥的老者深深敬重。1968年，以他命名的EDS拜伦•纳尔森精英赛代替了达拉斯公开赛（Dallas Open），作为PGA Tour慈善捐款的长期合作者，纳尔森精英赛的慈善捐款超过了9400万美元，占PGA Tour总捐款的1/10。纳尔森还常担任一些高尔夫节目的嘉宾或者球评，温和亲切的笑容和谦逊中肯点评对很多球迷都是无法抗拒的吸引力。纳尔森以他出众的球技和人格魅力征服了全世界，毫不夸张地说，你找不出来一个会说他坏话的人。
“这辈子我赢得的好名声，对我而言比那些冠军更让我自豪。”这是纳尔森在1993年说过的话。所以，2006年9月26日，当纳尔森安详地离去时，世界高尔夫历史仅存的传奇时代也跟着烟消云散了。没有人能和 “传奇拜伦”比肩，没有人能创造出20世纪40年代的传奇岁月。
永远的“传奇拜伦”！舍不得的“最后一个传奇”！
2006年9月26日，星期四，94岁的纳尔森被发现安详地躺在自家农场庄园的走廊上，已经悄悄地离开了人世。世界高尔夫不仅失去一位德高望重的传奇大师，而昔日脍炙人口的黄金铁三角——山姆•史尼德（Sam Snead）、本•霍根（Ben Hogan）和纳尔森，都已成为无法复制及再生的历史。纳尔森的离去带走了一个时代，而他，就是PGA Tour最后一个传奇！
1912年2月4日，德克萨斯waxahachie小镇一户普通的农场人家迎来个他们的小儿子——约翰•拜伦•纳尔森二世（John Byron Nelson Jr），就是我们文中提到的“传奇”主角。在纳尔森的儿童时期，他曾两次幸运地逃离鬼门关。如果稍有闪失，未来挤身世界高尔夫名人堂的荣誉就归他人所有了。纳尔森刚出生时12磅8盎司的体重帮助他逃离当时频发的新生儿并发症。1922年，纳尔森全家搬到福特沃斯定居后不就，他被感染伤寒。持续高烧毁了纳尔森的免疫系统，体重减轻到65磅，热度达到106华度，医生早已将最坏情况告知他的父母“你们的孩子活不了多久了”。纳尔森是个被神眷顾的孩子，他奇迹般的得救了。此后3年多的时间里，纳尔森始终与后遗症进行着艰苦的斗争。就像The Golden Age of Pericles，纳尔森创造了高尔夫之外的第一个生命传奇。
转眼到了1927年12月，一年一度的溪谷花园球童锦标赛（The Glen Garden Caddy Championship）。这是纳尔森从1924年担任球童以来，第一次参加比赛。尽管118杆的成绩说出来有点儿丢人，纳尔森已经找到了人生目标，他开始苦练球技，还神奇般的在福特沃斯图书馆，找到一本高尔夫小册子。
“是亨利•瓦登教握杆的内容，只有四五页。”今年年初，纳尔森在一次采访中回忆说：“瓦登的建议非常有用，我总是拿着小册子找个静静的角落，一看就是一天。”经过几年的卧薪尝胆后，纳尔森再次走上溪谷花园球场。这次，他打败了有“同事”之谊的本•霍根（Ben Hogan）。这是场艰苦卓绝的战斗，纳尔森需要推进30英尺的推杆才能与霍根在18洞延长赛再决高下。在这场被世人津津乐道的大师对决中，纳尔森的勇气 /镇静和出神入化的铁杆，助他一杆险胜霍根，而“铁杆拜伦”的封号也名声大震。
1932年，纳尔森跟着比赛开始了颠沛流离的选手生活。那时美国正处于大萧条时期，纳尔森一边打零工糊口，一边寻找机会参加各种业余比赛。他像职业选手一样奔波在灰尘漫天的公路上，穿梭在不同的球场中。一次，他交了5美元的报名费，取得了第三的好成绩：“我虽然赢了75美元，依然没有工作。我意识到必须冬天去加利福尼亚，或许还有戏。”揣着东拼西凑的500美元，纳尔森信心百倍地向梦想奔去。结果不容乐观，冬天过后，一文不名、没有工作的纳尔森回到最后的避难所——福特沃斯的父母家，休养生息。这次短暂的休息给他带来意想不到的收获，首先，他在当地的特克萨卡纳乡村俱乐部谋到一份差事，月薪60美元。更重要的是，纳尔森在工作之余每天有几小时的空余时间，可以好好研究他的“现代挥杆”。1933年6月，纳尔森在球场遇见一位有着浅黑色头发，在查经班学习的姑娘，名叫路易斯•舒纳（Louise Shofner）。路易斯的父亲资助纳尔森650美元参加巡回赛。
从加利福尼亚、凤凰城到德克萨斯，纳尔森越来越有冠军相。在圣安东尼赢得亚军后，他也拿到800美元的奖金支票。把650还给未来岳父后，纳尔森用100美元买了一支结婚戒指，完成了人生大事。
经过初期的困顿后，纳尔森的事业在1935和1936年加速攀升。1937年4月，他单枪匹马来到奥古斯塔，挥杆的稳定性也日臻完善，纳尔森自己也意识将迎来事业的新变化。果不其然，纳尔森在第一轮就打出66杆，这个单轮最低杆纪录被束之高阁44年之久，直到1976年美国名人赛被雷•佛洛伊德（Ray Floyd）的65杆改写。跟以前完全不同的挥杆动作，让纳尔森的每一次挥杆都很有效率，在奥古斯塔最凶险的“阿门角”，纳尔森不仅轻松穿过雷区，3洞总成绩低于标准杆3杆不说，还在标准杆5杆的第13洞射中罕见“老鹰”，而纳尔森在周日下午穿上“绿夹克”也是水到渠成的事。而横跨第13洞的小石桥，也被称为“纳尔森的小桥”。传说亚特兰大一位体育专栏作家看到纳尔森击出的弧线激动万分，立即提笔作诗赞美这条美丽的弧线，署名就是Lord Byron（传奇拜伦）。第二天，各大报纸头条不约而同引用Lord Byron，纳尔森的代名词就此诞生。
在3人参加的36洞延长赛上笑到最后，加冕1939年美国公开赛。他以胜1洞打败山姆•史尼德，成为1940年PGA锦标赛的冠军。他在18洞延长赛中再次打败“同僚”本•霍根，穿上1942年美国名人赛的“绿夹克”。在不到10年的时间里，纳尔森创造并改写了一个又一个传奇，人们叹为观止、人们诚心膜拜……他也成为巡回赛的典范，成为职业选手们认同的偶像！
历史的车轮不断前进，大浪淘沙中造就了每个时代特定的代表人物。不论是早期的亨利•瓦登、还是红极一时的杰克•尼克劳斯、尼克•佛度，还是如日中天的老虎•伍兹，已然不可能重现纳尔森在1945年的黄金岁月。他像一位骁勇善战的将军所向披靡，胜利就如挥挥衣袖如此简单。赛季结束后，纳尔森载着丰厚的战利品回到溪谷花园球场，18个冠军、7次亚军、从未跌出前10名、连续19轮低于70杆、超过112轮平均杆保持在68.33……上帝啊，任何溢美之词对“传奇拜伦”而言，都是苍白无力的！
“拜伦是个奇迹！”史尼德不吝送给纳尔森最高的评价：“他让挥杆充满了更多的乐趣，他从未停止过练习和改进。每次赛前去球场的第一件事就是热身，练练挥杆和推杆，掌握果岭状况，根据果岭速度选择推杆力道。看着吧，拜伦随随便便打出65杆。”退出精彩纷呈的赛场后很多年，纳尔森回忆起闪亮的1945年：“那年我确实赢了很多比赛，获得很多成就。我打得很棒，但是已经厌烦了那种生活，每一杆都不能出错。我一直对牧场情有独钟，在那里每一杆我都可以随心所欲，目标我自己随便设定，我的生活由我自己完全支配。 ”
虽然纳尔森在1946年初就赢了两场比赛，但他决定要进行一些改变。在参加1946年美国公开赛的时候，纳尔森宣布自己的退役计划。 34岁的他正值当打之年。从1935年到1946年，纳尔森赢了52场比赛，其中32场出自1944-1946年。那时，第二次世界大战的硝烟笼罩全世界，纳尔森用顽强拼搏鼓励着水深火热的同胞。
离开喧嚣的赛场，深爱高尔夫的“传奇拜伦”并没有将它抛于脑后，他以各种形式继续着对此项运动的一腔热情。1947年，他获邀参加美国名人赛，取得亚军的佳绩。又参加了同年的“莱德杯”，率领美国队顺利凯旋。1965年，纳尔森作为队长参加了 “莱德杯”，当然，胜利是唯一的结果。2006年“莱德杯”，他还自己用刀雕刻了几件木质工艺品。
之所以成为“传奇”，除了辉煌职业成绩，纳尔森的人品和作为公民的社会责任感也让人们对这位慈祥的老者深深敬重。1968年，以他命名的EDS拜伦•纳尔森精英赛代替了达拉斯公开赛（Dallas Open），作为PGA Tour慈善捐款的长期合作者，纳尔森精英赛的慈善捐款超过了9400万美元，占PGA Tour总捐款的1/10。纳尔森还常担任一些高尔夫节目的嘉宾或者球评，温和亲切的笑容和谦逊中肯点评对很多球迷都是无法抗拒的吸引力。纳尔森以他出众的球技和人格魅力征服了全世界，毫不夸张地说，你找不出来一个会说他坏话的人。
“这辈子我赢得的好名声，对我而言比那些冠军更让我自豪。”这是纳尔森在1993年说过的话。所以，2006年9月26日，当纳尔森安详地离去时，世界高尔夫历史仅存的传奇时代也跟着烟消云散了。没有人能和 “传奇拜伦”比肩，没有人能创造出20世纪40年代的传奇岁月。
永远的“传奇拜伦”！舍不得的“最后一个传奇”！
Byron Nelson 拜伦·纳尔逊
纳尔逊的挥杆动作尤其引人注目，他的挥杆轨道更接近于垂直，他更接近于沿着目标方向线挥杆。他使肩部充分转动，限制手腕上翘，下杆时使双膝保持弯曲。
其他常见译名: 拜伦·尼尔森
Sam Snead 山姆‧史尼德
如丝般平滑,富有韵律的挥杆，使斯尼德成为第一个开球距离超过270码的球手(当时球的制造材质 不同今日，现在的球手能轻易打出300多码)。
Swing Sequence: Sam Snead, The Slammer
其他常见译名: 山姆·斯尼德
Ben Hogan 本‧侯根
胯部启动下杆过程。在挥杆的连锁反应中有些关键点,胯部就是一个关键部件,下杆开始时如果能够正确启动胯部,实际上就完成下杆了。它产生了速度,重心由右脚移到了左脚,胯部转动为手臂下杆让开了足够的空间,创立了向目标方向用力的通道,能让你处于强有力的打击位置。背上大肌肉群以及肩、臂和手上肌肉要适度延迟启动,以便在正确时刻和位置创造出最有力的击球效果。
在正确的下杆过程中,当手接近胯部高度时,胯部已经开始转动,朝下方面对球道。下杆中,两腿响应胯部转动,左腿有弹性地向左微曲,身体倾斜于左脚外侧,腿倾向外侧向目标方向。至于右腿,如前所述,当胯部开始转动时屈膝内扣。
首先，要正确完成收杆，应该怎么做？我们已经介绍过，在挥杆的最后过程并不需要新动作，正确的连锁反应加上杆头产生的速度，球手必定能正确地完成收杆，只要击向球的动作和击中球的动作正确
其次是在击中球的过程中，球手必须做那些主要动作才能归位到正确的击球位置？
如果做对三个主要动作，球手便可以在击球时处于正确位置：1）向左转胯启动下杆过程；2）从击球到收杆必须是一个浑然一体的动作，依次动作顺序为胯部、双 肩、手臂和手；3）必须在触球前左手开始向外翻转手腕。只要上杆正确到顶部，集中精力做好这三个动作，就是我们所要需要的。
如何才能正确地上杆到顶部呢？如果能做好以下三个动作，球手实际上就能正确地上杆到顶部：1）正确甩摆杆；2）启动上杆用手、手臂和双肩并且让双肩带动转胯；3）上杆过程保持在挥杆平面上。只要站位和姿势都正确，这些便是上杆时肯定能做好的动作。
最后，怎样才是好的站姿呢？当然是正确的站位、姿势和握杆。
现在，并没有多少关键的基本功需要记住和练习，我认为有8个。整个挥杆从握杆开始，一个正确的动作连结并启动下一个动作，这完全是连锁反应。
其他常见译名: 本‧霍根
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