THINK / PLAY / LIVE: THE ENLIGHTENED GAMELessons
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HEZ REAVIE was already
a stellar ballstriker when
I started coaching him in- My first job was to
temper his preconceived
notion that his swing
contained too many deficiencies, and that
these deficiencies were to blame for a seri-
ous left-wrist injury he suffered in 2012.
(Chez missed the following two seasons
recovering from surgery.) There may have
been some merit to his anxiety, but my job
as a coach—for Chez or any player—is to
emphasize the good parts of a player’s tech-
nique first and highlight areas that can be
modified to avoid stress on the body second.
So far, the plan has worked. Chez bagged his
first victory in 11 years (the Travelers) back
in June, and has notched four additional
top-10 finishes this season (through the
Open Championship). There’s been a lot
of hard work, but also some smart focus on
ways to get Chez where he deserves to be—
competing week in and week out—sooner
than later. Call them “Chez’s Cheats.”
Here’s how they can help your game, too.
Cheat No. 1
Let Your Body Determine Your Swing
As I do with all the players I work with,
I physically screen Chez to see how his
movement patterns are influencing his
swing. (As a testament to how important
this is to Chez’s success, he also consults
with three performance experts: chi-C
The Playbook:
Chez’s Cheats
By: Mark Blackburn