Golf Advice From Hale Irwin

Photo courtesy of WWW.USGA.ORG No other use is permitted.

I had a chance to chat with Hale Irwin on what we as older amateurs can do to improve our games. It’s a subject that Irwin has thought a lot about; he’s written a book on the subject: Smart Golf: Wisdom and Strategies from the “Thinking Man’s Golfer”

“Younger golfers can focus on things like grip and posture and alignment. But as we get older the main thing is to try to get a better understanding of your body. You’ve got to figure out what you can do and what you can’t.”

“And if you’re serious about golf, you’ve got to think about doing some things you didn’t have to do when you were younger. You’ve got to push away from the dinner table a little sooner, and start to work out a little.

He also had a bit to say about his own game:

The hardest thing right now is to maintain that level of confidence, that level of intensity, that attention span that seems to be just part of my game, my makeup 30 years ago, 20 years ago.  That’s the hardest thing to do right now.  It’s not always hitting the shot, with a few exceptions.  I think the body doesn’t work quite the way it used to, but more than anything else, it’s that level of intensity, that competitive level you have to maintain to play against the Russ Cochrans of the world that are playing so very well.  And that is the hardest thing to do.