What You Can Learn From Bobby Jones

One of the greatest golfers of all time, Bobby Jones had an influence on the game of golf that’s hard to overestimate.

A naturally gifted sportsman with a swing as smooth as silk, he also had a great depth of knowledge about the game, as well as a great ability to articulate his theories. Amazingly for the modern-day but not unsurprising for his time, Bobby Jones never turned pro, retaining an amateur status throughout the whole of his career. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why the modern-day Masters tournament maintains such strong links to the amateur game by inviting the amateur champions from all the major golf playing continents to compete.

To celebrate the conclusion of this year’s Masters, we take a look at the overarching impact of the man who co-founded one of golf’s most iconic events almost 90 years ago. Let’s pick out some of his most valuable pearls of wisdom.

It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing

Even today, golfers obsess over Bobby Jones’s swing. There’s something beautifully simple about it. Let’s take a look at Bobby’s philosophy when it came to the perfect swing:

Backswing

1. Lead with the left hand – the left arm pulls the club right through the backswing, while the right hand is kept out of the stroke until contact is made. Keep both hands soft during both the backswing and the downswing.
2. At the top of the swing – the shaft of the club should at the same time be pointing to a spot slightly right of the object the player is aiming at.
3. Full shoulder rotation – at the top of the swing, the shoulders should be fully rotated with the back square onto the target, yet with the head firmly fixed.
4. Take it long –the backswing should be long enough to allow the downswing to come through in a natural, unrushed action. The top of the backswing should blend seamlessly with the start of the downswing.

Downswing

1. All in the hips – start the downswing with the rotation of the hips, to avoid slicing or hooking the ball.
2. Don’t swing through with the right – the impulse of most golfers is to use the right arm to power through. Instead of forcing the club to swing over and cut across the ball from the outside, the right arm should drop straight down, almost as one piece, until the elbow is close to the side of the body.
3. Don’t drive the clubhead with your hands and wrists – this can cause the clubhead to veer off from the centre.
4. Build momentum – the overall idea of the downswing is to gradually increase momentum until the clubhead reaches maximum speed, at which point the body relaxes and the weight of the club takes over.

The moment of impact

Bobby’s had a few key requirements for the proper conditions at the moment of impact:

1. Position – the face of the club should be aligned true to the hole of direction of play
2. Line of flight – the clubhead should be moving precisely along the line of the intended flight of the ball
3. Speed – the club should be moving at maximum speed.

Patience and judgement are key

“Old Man Par is a patient soul, who never shoots a birdie and never incurs a buzzard” said Bobby Jones when asked about his on-course temperament. “Travel the long route with him, you must be patient, too.”

Maybe it’s something you can’t teach, but rather comes with age. Still, as Bobby points out, having patience is a huge quality in golf and can be the fine margin between winning and losing.

It’s all about developing that keen sense of judgement that keeps you from making stupid mistakes when things aren’t going your way. All the greats know when to keep things simple when the going gets tough, waiting for the right moment to switch into aggressive mode.

As Bobby says: “I can’t help the opinion that it is judgment more than mechanical execution that counts, when you’re in trouble.”

Trust your instincts

While it’s true that Bobby was something of a pioneer when it comes to the forensic analysis of a swing, he had a very interesting point of view when it came to instinctual play.

“The one great difficulty from the standpoint of the average golfer has been in separating the consciously controlled movements from those that are purely instinctive.”

In other words, golf is far more than just a series of well coordinated movements. Every great golfer, without exception, had a style of their own that came to them from somewhere inside.

It’s that little spark of magic that can’t be learnt or transcribed in a text book (or a blog!) and it comes with countless hours of practice and experimentation.

Want extra distance? Relax

Strength and power are certainly two key components of the modern game. Yet, we shouldn’t forget the huge importance of relaxing the muscles to produce a rhythmic, well-timed swing.

 “It is a matter of well-timed acceleration,” said Bobby Jones, “rather than of physical effort of the kind that bends crowbars and lifts heavy weights.”

For pioneers of the modern game like Bobby, it was never about brute strength. “… relaxed muscles and a rhythmic swing are two essentials for the execution of a successful golf shot. More particularly these are the essentials of any stroke which is intended to drive the ball any considerable distance.”

Expect to make mistakes… and let them go

Not only did Bobby break new ground with his swing technique, but he also brought a new perspective on the psychology of golf.

“There are always a number of strokes in a round that you might have dropped … Don’t think so much about them.” For Bobby, it was always about expecting to drop a certain number of strokes during a round and, instead of dwelling on these mistakes, concentrating on upcoming shots.

He also made clear the importance of having perspective – he never wanted golf to be more than a game and, for him, there was no place for undue stress on the course.