26 APRIL 2018 | golf australia
BUBBA WATSON – A MISUNDERSTOOD GENIUS
PHOTO:GETTY IMAGESIN MY
OPINIONIT’S safe to say that, from a distance at
least, not many people in golf are quite
sure what to make of Bubba Watson.
He certainly has a “love him or hate him”
sort of image, which is something I have
always found both understandable and
unfair. I know Bubba better than most guys
on Tour – we share the same management- so I am pretty well qualifi ed to analyse his
quirky personality. I’ve spent a lot of time
with him and played many practice rounds
in his company.
At fi rst, I must admit, he was a little
strange to deal with. Bubba tends to
hold himself back until he knows you
are genuine. But once he makes that
realisation, he is fantastic to be around.
He’s witty and quick with the banter. And
he loves playing golf more than he loves
doing anything else.
Still, you have to take the time to get to
know him. There is some effort involved. I
took that time and made that effort, to the
point where I realised that I really liked
him. I defend him to anyone who doesn’t
feel that way and I really enjoy playing with
him, whether in practice or competition.
The joy he exhibits playing golf is part of
his genius. He has so much fun, even when
it might not look as if that is the case.
When I fi rst played with him, I thought
he was having a laugh. I couldn’t see how
anyone could play the way he does. I mean,
he hits 30-40-yard slices off the tee. Even
now, after playing with him maybe 100
times, it still surprises me how far he can
hit that slice. He plays the game like no one
else does today. It’s incredible. Yet he knows
exactly what he is doing. He seems to have
that huge right-to-left ball fl ight under
control. And he never hits a “normal” shot.
That would be boring for him.
Maybe the most remarkable thing about
Bubba is that he plays the way he does
with equipment that is designed to hit high
draws. Ask just about anyone on tour and
they will tell you how hard it is to shape
shots with the modern ball. But Bubba
does it anyway. I think that is why his swing
appears so extreme. He is really trying to
move the ball as far as he can. He’s a long-
hitting Corey Pavin, who was maybe the
best shot-maker on Tour 20 years ago.
I must admit that, when I play with
Bubba now, I never watch his swing. I
only watch the ball. His iron play – which
is relatively “normal” compared with his
driving – is as good as anyone’s. He hits
fades into left-hand pins and draws into
right hand pins. Which is how Ben Hogan
used to do it: aim for the middle of the
green and work the ball to the pins. I think
I’m safe saying Bubba doesn’t do that
because he read about it in a book though.
He does it instinctively.
Bubba is a master scorer too. He is a
long way from your typical Tour player, the
guy who spends a lot of time in the gym
and on the range with his
Trackman focusing on
technique. Bubba doesn’t
do anything like that. He
plays golf and that is it,
to the point where he will
play in a Tour event in
the morning then go find
somewhere else to play in
the afternoon. Rather than
hit balls, he’ll play nine
holes with his caddie. They
do that all the time.
So, as much as the sports
science and coaching world
might prosper with a book
on how to prepare a golfer,
nothing that Bubba does would be in there.
But it works for him, as his 10 PGA Tour
wins and two victories at Augusta National
shows only too clearly.
He’s a good bet to pick up a third green
jacket this year too. His recent victory in the
Genesis Open at Riviera – his third on that
great course – shows he is back to his best
form. And when he is playing that well, the
Masters is “made” for his game.
Bubba wins on courses that are very
testing around the greens. But the key on
those is having your first two shots finish
under the hole, which is why the best
ball-strikers tend to win when the greens
are that severe. Bubba might miss the odd
green, but he always misses on the “good”
side, the one that gives him the best chance
to save par.
Augusta – and Riviera – is all about
creating the best angles for your next shot.
And that is Bubba’s way of playing – “how
good an angle can I get for my next shot?”
Think about this too. Bubba’s golf is
pretty much “idiot proof.” He doesn’t try tohit draws off the tee. He just goes ahead
and hits his big fade – the shot pretty much
anyone can hit. Okay, it is diffi cult to hit
that shot as hard and consistently as he
does, but the point is he makes things easy
for himself. He doesn’t fi ght anything. He
just goes with it. There is a real logic to his
way of playing.
All of which is not to say he can’t hit
a draw off the tee. He can. And when he
does, he hits the ball un-Godly distances,
something he does maybe once or twice a
round. All of the above gives him a massive
advantage over most
other players. While they
are doing everything they
can to hit 310-yard drives,
he does that routinely with
what is – to him at least –
a little “bump” fade.
Maybe the only
question mark I ever have
about Bubba is on the
greens. He is a bit streaky
with the putter. But, then
again, I shake my head
watching him. He holes
a lot of putts even when
he doesn’t look very
convincing doing it. His
ball seems to “die” into the hole rather
than rolling in with a bit of conviction. The
key though, is that they fi nish at the bottom
of the cup.
All in all then, I love the way Bubba goes
about things on the golf course. I aspire
to play the way he does, in that he never
wastes time with insignifi cant little things
on the range. He isn’t interested in being
“perfect.” He just goes out to play and
score well. It doesn’t matter what it looks
like. And he doesn’t care what anyone says.
All that counts is the score.
One last thing about Bubba. While most
of his fellow long-hitters tend to be a little
obsessed with the length of their drives and
how to squeeze every last drop of yardage
from their shots, he never tries to. In that
sense, Bubba shows incredible patience.
He could hit a 350-yard drive on every hole.
But he hardly ever does. He focuses on
keeping the ball in play and making a good
score. That is a great lesson for all of us.
Watch and learn.EXCLUSIVE BY GEOFF OGILVY | GOLF AUSTRALIA COLUMNISTAT FIRST, I MUST
ADMIT, HE WAS A
LITTLE STRANGE
TO DEAL WITH.
BUBBA TENDS TO
HOLD HIMSELF
BACK UNTIL HE
KNOWS YOU ARE
GENUINE.