MAUREEN MADILL COLUMN: SUMMERTIME AND THE SWINGING IS EASY
Canada’s Anna Huang during the third round of The Amundi Evian Champion - Evian Resort Golf Club (Photo: LET/Mark Runnacles)
The golf swing is a thing of beauty. No, let me qualify that. The golf swing of a good player is a thing of beauty. (I’ve just witnessed a host of players hit off the tee at a local golf club.)
I was struck by my initial thought when watching the last knockings of the Ladies’ European Tour event last weekend at the Centurion Club, the PIF London Championship. Watching those women makes it easy to appreciate the sheer athleticism of the action, the build-up and storage of power and the smooth rhythm of the transition as the clubhead accelerates at great speed through the ball. It’s powerful and takes an inordinate and deceptive amount of strength and, as with all things done well, it looks easy.
When watching some of the men professionals you will still see the occasional “lurcher” – i.e. a player whose strength allows him to attempt to overpower the ball and one who relies on phenomenal hand/eye co-ordination as well as a fair degree of brute strength. That is less common amongst the women who need every last bit of the chain to be synchronised in order to produce the strongest, most accurate results. They completely understand the concept of swinging through the impact area at speed, gathering the ball en route. That’s completely different from trying to hit at the ball.
Watching 17-year old Anna Huang lift the title was impressive. Less than a year ago she was wondering should she take the giant step of turning professional at such a tender age. Eleven months later the young Canadian has four LET titles to her name, eclipsing the early exploits and record of her heroine Lydia Ko.
With her father on the bag she withstood the assault on her lead and on the title by Charley Hull, the home favourite, and ultimately was the one who refused to blink when one behind after seventy holes. A par, eagle finish – it was the fourth consecutive day that she’d eagled the last – saw her home by two shots.
What a player! Technically sound, mentally strong and seemingly impervious to pressure. It was only when she came off the final green and saw her mum, who was seeing her win for the first time, that Anna burst into tears and fell into her arms. And that’s when I thought, “My goodness, she’s just a kid!”
Her composure when under the cosh couldn’t be faulted. Perhaps that will change as her career unfolds and she inevitably suffers some scar tissue but it’s impossible not to marvel at the assuredness, on so many levels, of young players like Anna.
It all leads me to conclude there must be a number of factors contributing to the exceptional skill sets of such young players. The quality of the coaching is an obvious starting point. Don’t get me wrong – there have always been great coaches but back in the day they were less likely to share their “secrets”. I think the advent of specialised strength and conditioning coaches who understand how to develop these young athletes is key. There was no such thing in my day when I was 17. My “fitness” advice in the early days was to run along Portstewart strand and as for any mental skills input – that came from Dad who simply said, “Never, ever give up”.
Granted my playing and coaching careers spanned an enormous and seismic change in golf instruction and how it is delivered and there’s no doubt that this digital age we all now inhabit means that even the youngest aficionados of the game can gaze all day every day at the best swings in the world, imprinting as fast as their brain allows. Don’t underestimate the power of simply copying.
The popularity of what was once considered a game for fuddy-duddies is definitely on the up. In this 21st century there are now thousands and thousands more folk than ever before making a living from the game. That includes players, instructors of every discipline, mental and physical, equipment companies, tour officials and administrators at all levels from local to international, amateur to professional.
The lure of making lots of money at something can be quite the driving and motivating force and this, to a large extent, spearheaded the rise of the game, particularly the women’s game, in Asia and the Far East. Successful female golfers there are followed like pop stars and in many cases the players have single-handedly lifted their families to an elevated standard of living.
For lots of casual players, the relative ease of international travel means some of the game’s oldest and most venerated courses, as well as some phenomenal new designs, are now more accessible. The result is that golf tourism is very big business indeed. After all, who amongst us doesn’t have a bucket list of venues to visit?
I’m willing to bet that the majority of readers of this blog are middle-aged and upwards. No longer in the first flush of youth, it’s certainly easy to wonder what relevance the swing of such as Anna Huang has for you. Well, you could do worse than try to assimilate some of the smoothness, balance and rhythm – at your own pace, mind.
Remember, your body has undoubtedly changed over the years and be sure to allow your swing to adapt to your changing shape and years. That may mean relinquishing a decades-old swing thought that may have served you well…but now it may cause you pain – so let it slip into the ether. Your golf swing mustn’t hurt you. Your task is to swing through the impact zone with a reasonably square clubface and we’ll all do it slightly differently depending on our bodies, strength and age.
With a bit of luck your golf swing has given you more than you could ever have believed possible. Hours of exercise, enjoyment and fulfilment. It has helped you make friendships, undoubtedly caused hilarity now and again and perhaps provided you with unforgettable trips to lovely places.
Yes, indeed – a golf swing is a thing of beauty. I’m now going to modify my opening thoughts.
YOUR golf swing is a thing of beauty.
Love it no matter what – it’s given you so much…