Golf In A Parallel Universe

by Jimmy Bloodworth

  We worked on the range for a couple of hours. He went in debt on the physics of the golf swing. But he only made slight adjustments with my swing that I hardly noticed. But now things were really starting to make sense now because I know what the goal is. We hit a lot of balls and I could see the results. The ball was flying off my club head and my distance was improving. We took a short lunch. Then we came back out and worked for a few hours. That little voice in my head was also loving it. Seemed like a renewed spirit like I just got a new toy and wanted to play with it. “Let's go out and play nine holes," I said in an anxious tone. “Nope, you got the idea now. Just hit balls and we will work on these adjustments," he replied. So, I hit and hit and hit. He played close attention to my swing. He made some more slight adjustments and explained what he did and how that will progress to meeting our goal.

  Finally he said to call it a day. I could not believe it. But it was 6:00 pm! He got out of his teaching mode and back into his old self again. Be here at 8:00am he barked out in is grumpy personality and turned to walk away. Then he stopped and turned around. “By the way” he paused. “I am really pleased with your progress, good job today," he said in a confident tone. “Thanks!” I replied. Then and he turned and walked away. I felt so happy just to get an acknowledgment from him. I felt like a little kid when your dad says that he is proud of you. Or when you are in Junior High School and your PE coach tells you that you did something good.

  I picked up my cubes and got in the car. “Damn! I forgot to do that little pendulum stick drill," I said to myself. I looked out the window, thinking I hope he didn't catch that. Then I laughed and shook my head. I feel just like a kid trying to stay out of trouble. However, I really want to do that pendulum drill when I get home. I see the big picture now and that drill makes sense. I get home and grab a beer and think about all that went down today. The light bulb has turned on in my head. I know the goal for my swing now. I am thinking, this guy is really good. With all the crazy drills and props he used, really gave me a new understanding of the golf swing. He had made some adjustments in my swing that fit my body and my natural swing. I did not even feel were big adjustments, and I easily adapted. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings. I did some pendulum drills and went to bed early.

  Friday Morning. I am driving to the course for my fourth day of lessons with Gus. Yesterday was a breakthrough for my progress. I wonder what he will have in store for me today. I feel that I am on track. I am so focused on my game and I am looking forward to the US open just around the corner. As I am pulling in the parking lot, it hits me. Tonight! Friday! Date with Emily! “Man, what am I going to do, have not planned anything” I tell myself. Then I start to realize we are just meeting at a restaurant. So no big planning needs to be done. Hopefully I will get finished early today. After my practice session today, I will just go home get cleaned up and meet her at the restaurant.

  I get my gear and go to his building and tell him I am here. I go to the range hit a few balls get loose and pull out my pendulum toy. He finally shows with his same old personality. “Either this guy is really weird or a great actor with this grumpy personality," I say to myself laughing. But when he gets in teaching mode, he is a different person. So I hit a few more balls. “OK” he barked out. “Yesterday was a little of a breakthrough for you I think." I nodded and just said “Yes it was” in a satisfied tone. “But we still have a long way” to go he replied sarcastically. “Rome wasn't build in a day but we will give it a shot. The other day, we played nine, and I watched you closely. The last few days we have been working on a major component of your swing which was flawed. And that was you alignment and you swing path. We got that working so you develop a good pendulum and good centripetal force swing with a powerful impact. You got one other major flaw that we have to work on” he said in a serious tone. “What's that," I asked curiously. “Tempo and swing consistently” he replied. “Your problem is you do not swing the same on every shot and every swing. You have a different swing for your short irons, a different swing for mid irons, and a different swing for your long irons.” Then he paused. Actually you do not even have a swing with our long irons, I not sure what that is called. Your long irons are a joke," he said in an irritated tone. “Ah OK," I replied sheepishly. “So today, tempo the theme of the day," he replied.

  “Grab a 8," iron he said. “Hit some shots for me," he barked out. I hit a few smooth shots. He went over the smooth take away and talked about the pendulum and all of that. I hit some really good shots. “that's your swing right there!” he blurted out. “You have always had a good short iron game. But since we made some adjustments it has dramatically improved and the more you implement these techniques the better you will be. Right now you are hitting the 8 iron as far as you used to hit a 5 iron. “Right?," he asked. “Absolutely! And I am very happy about that," I replied. “Let me tell you” he said in a serious voice. “With the modifications we have made the last few days and your natural talent. Your short irons play is one of the best that I have ever seen. And believe me, I do not pass out compliments very often," he told me in a complementary tone. I was stunned! This guy has been around for a long time, he taught Jerry Churchill , Jacob Regan and others. “I don't know what to say” I said in a stunned tone. “Thanks I guess," I told him. “I am not just blowing smoke up your ass. But I did notice the first day that you have some potential if you dedicate yourself to your golf swing. “I am all in” I blurted out. I was really starting to see that there really is a chance for me excel at this crazy game of golf. “But I am not here to pat you on the head and say good boy. We got work to do, you work hard for your money and I work hard for mine so let's get to it," he told me in a stern tone.

  He paused for a second then started talking again. “As I told you, your short iron swing is great. But the swing you use for your mid and long irons are something less to be desired," he said in a matter of a fact tone. He pulls out a three iron and gives it to me. “Hit some balls," he barked out. So I started hitting balls with my three iron. He did not say a word. I expected him to say something, but he did not say anything. I hit quite of a few shots and they were smooth and solid. But hitting a long iron is hard. As I kept hitting balls I could feel myself getting tense. “Not enough distance” he said. So I started trying harder. My shots were getting poorer. They were going left, then right and not solid. “Is that as far as you can hit a three iron?," he barked out again. I felt myself sweating. Funny thing popped in my head. A few days ago I was watching a baseball game on TV. Tight game 8th inning. They brought in a relief pitcher. He was having a tough time. He was walking runners, and they were hitting off of him. They were scoring, and he was blowing the game. He was sweating and you could tell that he was done. But they did not take him out. They just kept it in. I thinking that poor guy must feel terrible. That's the way I felt now. “what's going on? Hit the damn ball” Gus barked out. “Think of this shot where you have to carry over water” he said. “You are in the water!," he yelled out. “And what the hell was that flopping your wrist going way past parallel? You need to keep your keep your swing parallel," he barked out in an angry tone. “Yeah I have been told that," I mumbled under my breath. “What?," he barked out again. “Never mind," I replied. “Let's go, don't stop," he screamed out. The more I hit the worse I got. I was hitting them all over the place and some really bad shots. “Ok stop!” he said sharply.

  I stopped, and I was sweating and breathing hard. “Take a break” he said, “Get some water, I will be back in a few," he said and walked away. I drank some water and cooled off. I was so pissed. A while ago, I felt great like I was making progress. But after this session, I feel hopeless. I felt like I let him down. And I felt like I have let myself down because I am not learning like I should. Finally he came back. “Grab your three iron” he barked out. “What did you feel?," he asked. I took a deep breath and sighed. “I just felt out of control," I replied. “I told you that I am not here to do this” he said as he walked up t
o me smiling. “But I am going to do it anyway," he said walking towards me. He came up to me. And then he patted me on the head “Good Boy, Good Boy," he said smiling. I was confused. “You fell right in my trap," he said smiling. “I knew if you hit that three iron long enough you would start going back to your old swing. I knew if I pressured you, you would get nervous." “So what's the point?," I replied in a defensive attitude.

  He walked up to me and looked me in the eye and said, “Because that's the way you always feel when you are in a tournament and you have a long iron. Especially if it is a critical shot," he told me looking into my eyes. I stepped back and thought about it. And realized he is right. “You may not panic as bad as you did a few minutes ago, but in some degree you have anxiety with long irons," he told me. I was leaning on my club with one hand. I was bobbing my head up and down with agreement. “You are right, it's always been an issue with me. I have just ignored it or made some excuse in my mind that it not my fault if I hit a bad shot with my long irons," I told him. “Welcome to the world of golf” he replied. Every amateur golfer has a problem with long irons. But the pros are different. We can fix it, he said confidently.

  “Ok setup, and take a few swings just like it was an eight iron," he told me. And I did. “Good tempo, that what you need." Not that whacking the ball like you were doing a few minutes ago. The key to a good golf swing is to have a good tempo." You know why” he asked. “Uh, I guess to keep things smooth and consistent” I replied. “No!” he barked out. “You need to have good tempo so you can accomplish what we went over yesterday. A good pendulum swing, with a powerful centripetal force and exploding impact at the release point. You cannot do that if you are just whacking at the ball. Your muscles get in the way. The way you swing with your 8 iron, should be exactly the way you swing with your 5 iron and exactly the same as your three iron. Because that swing gives you the maximum kinetic energy in your swing because you are making great pendulum and centripetal force swing. Once you get that in your brain your body will follow. All we have to do is move your position over the ball to allow the head of you club to hit the ball at the release point. Play the ball back of your stance for shorter clubs and play more outward for long irons.

  But telling you to have a nice smooth tempo is one thing. But you have to see it and feel it. I will explain after lunch. Be back here at 12:30” he said, and he walked away.

  I got a bite to eat and got back to the range about 12:15pm, wondering what the rest of the day will be like. I took out my pendulum ball and stick toy and went through the drill. Gus came back about 12:25pm. “Pick up your gear, Field Trip!," he barked out with a little smile.

  I am like “What?” “We were going I another golf course?," I asked. I was thinking about smarting off and asking if we are going to a real golf course. But I decided that I better not say that. I do not want to get on his bad side. “Nope he said, you will see. Let's go, I take my car, you follow me. I am parked right over there” and he pointed towards the right side parking lot. “Me too," I told him as we were walking.

  We get to the parking lot, and he goes to his car. I was surprised to see, it was a 1970’s model Chevy Caprice. “My gosh this guy really is stuck in the seventies” I told myself. I wanted so so bad to make some wisecrack and joke about his car. But, then again, I do not want to get on his bad side. Besides the car was in excellent shape. “Nice car” I said in a sincere way. “Thanks," he replied. I thought maybe he would give me some history on this car on how it was little jewel that he had resorted and all of that. But he did not say anything about his car. “Just follow me, we got about a 10 minute drive, no need to even get on the freeway," he said pointing towards the road.

  As I was following him. I was really curious. “Where the heck could he be taking me if it’s not a golf course," I said to myself. We drove through town and entered and industrial area. Lots of warehouses and business offices. Definitely no golf courses here. Finally we pulled into a parking lot. Quite a few cars there but no trouble finding a parking place. Looked like a building about 20,000 square feet and it was basically the last building in a row of continuous warehouses. We parked at the far left side of the lot. I did not really pay much attention but I could tell there was nothing behind this building. There seemed to be quite a bit of open space past this building. I saw a sign on the building “Golf Research and Development Company." “Wow, maybe I am getting some new clubs” I was thinking to myself. “Bring your gear," he barked out as he walked up to my car.

  As we were walking up to the main entrance he started to explain. “This facility is where golf equipment is designed, researched and tested. This is where it all starts in the golf world. Today, you will learn more about golf clubs, and other equipment than you ever realized” he told me as he opened the door. We walked in the front door of the building. It was apparent that this was no plush office meant to be seen by customers or the public. It was neat and clean but had the atmosphere that serious work is being done here. We were greeted by enthusiastic man in his late 40’s. He had a white lab coat on, unbutton with a golf shirt on.

  “Hey Hey, how you doing Gus?’, he said greeting us, and happily shook his hand. Then turned and smiled and shook my hand firmly. “Brad Davis, how you doing?," he said warmly. I returned his handshake smiling. ”Jim Galloway," I replied shaking his hand. “Thanks for coming by, we have been expecting you," he said as we were walking into the building. “Glad to be here," I responded. “Hey, Jim congratulations on you Masters win. Boy, we do not have very many Major tour winners come through here," he said smiling. I laughed and thanked him.

  We walked towards the back and he and Gus were chatting. It was clear that they were old friends. We arrived in the back part of the building. It was a big open space type of building, with lots of different of types of manufacturing equipment. It had five big bay doors in the back. And I could see what looked like a golf driving range outside the big bay doors. Finally, Brad looked at me. “So Jim, if I were to guess. I would bet that Gus did not tell you why you are here," he said smiling. “You got that right," I said in smiling in agreement. “Gus called me Monday, and we set some time for this. Let me tell you a on what we do here. I am the Director here. And we are happy to have you visit us. At this facility, we design, research and test golf equipment for various golf club manufactures. Whenever a new product comes out, it all gets started here. Our engineers design the equipment. Then we manufacture the prototypes and then test the equipment. It is all done here. We have about every type of engineer that you can think of working here. We even consult with doctors so we can have the right information to adapt the equipment to the human body. We have computer systems that NASA would love to have. And we have tons of manufacturing and testing equipment. When it comes to golf equipment, there is no detail that is overlooked," he told me proudly. “Wow! Pretty impressive I replied." “Yep, we are proud of it” he remarked. “And besides that, most of here are just golf nuts” he said laughing. “So that really makes this job fun. Anyway, Gus wants to show you where it all begins and how it all relates to the golf swing. So we are going to give you a tour. And I think Gus has some plans for you. By the way. Let me tell you one thing. Everything you see in this building or any other Golf Equipment manufacturing companies was pioneered by this guy right here," he says as he is pointing his finger at Gus and smiling. “Ah Hush” Gus barked out smiling and somewhat embarrassed. “OK, let's go," said Brad. Then he took us on the tour of the building.

  He took us one of the offices. “Step one of an idea which leads to a design starts here, in this office," he told us. He took us into a room where about five people were working. There where both men and women which looked like engineers, and they were busily working. Brad explained that the brain work starts here. Ideas are put to paper here. Plans are drawn by the engineers and designers. The plans are put on paper and in the computers. Everything is meticulously studied here. Then it goes into various stages of reviews and research to see if it
is a viable product. Everyone has a say on this, from the highest skilled engineers to the machinist or other staff. Anyone can and can kick it back for further review if it does not meet their standards. “No stone goes unturned," said in a satisfied tone. ”Impressive” I replied. He continued on. “So it all starts here and then goes through various process of R&D. We do the actual manufacturing of the prototypes right here in this building. Then we do a ton of testing. And if it all clears on all levels, then it goes to manufacturing facilities and then to your local store or pro shop," he said proudly.

  “Cool” I said as I had my hands on my hips shaking my head. “This is really amazing, I had no idea on what goes into the design and manufacturing of golf equipment” I told him.

  He walked us around various areas of the facility. He showed us the computer equipment which was amazing. He showed us a lot of the engineering drawings and computer animations of golf equipment. He went into detail on the computer models. He went into great detail on why clubs are designed a certain way to work with the human golf swing. He showed us the detailed simulations of the golf swing and information that Gus had been going over with me about the pendulum and centripetal force. And all these computer animations models had tons of complicated math equations along with the graphics of the golf swing. “All of our work in Research And Development is focused one thing right here," he said as he points to the computer screen. “Right where the club meets the ball," he said in a matter of a fact tone. “That's where it all happens in golf he said."