In our quest for ease and grace and rhythm and all the things that comprise effortlessness, what could make more sense than walking in the oh-so-light footsteps of the giants? The players who make the complicated look simple, who seem to enter a flow state upon setting foot inside the ropes, who magically pull power from the ether. The ones whose buttery swings you’d kill for, with a butter knife if necessary.
Some, like Bobby Jones and Mickey Wright, are all-time greats; others are simply all-time pure. Here are the effortlessest of the effortless, in their own words.
“My best scores have always been when I had run into a streak in the midst of a round—late enough to permit me to get back to the clubhouse before I entirely regained consciousness.”
“When I play my best golf, I feel as if I’m in a fog, standing back watching the earth in orbit with a golf club in my hands.”
“If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do a golf club, they’d starve to death.”
“When I had good tempo, I played exceptionally well, because I had the club under control. It allowed me to complete my backswing and stay underneath and behind the ball.”
“As far as swing and techniques are concerned, I don’t know diddly squat. When I’m playing well, I don’t even take aim.”
“My swing may be considered smooth or rhythmical … [but it’s] really powerful. I’ve made a career, a living, out of having leverage, right? I know where the leverage is.”
“Make a conscious effort to loosen your hands and let your arms feel soft when you’re at address. Take the club back a bit shorter and feel as if you’re cracking a whip on the way down — not tensing up to smash something hard.”
“Ernie was everybody’s role model growing up, so I tried to copy some of his moves when I was a junior.”
“I always think about my rhythm. The other thing is, I always try to focus on my routine. Routine is very important — when you get nervous, so many things distract you that you can’t think about this moment.”
“You play your best when you don’t really think of anything — you just set your target and go.”
“Golf can get overcomplicated. There’s a key in the simplicity of it.”
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