The girls are back in town! February is when the LPGA Tour visits Hawaii and local and visiting golf fans get to watch the best female players in the world as they compete in two tournaments back-toback. There’s a lot to learn from watching these girls play as well.
The LPGA’s first tournament on the course! is the SBS Classic at the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s beautiful North Shore. This season opening event allows the pros time to get over their jet lag and work out some off-season rust. Then, the ladies kick their games into high gear the next week at the Fields Open in Hawaii played at Ko Olina Golf Club at the Ko Olina Resort and Marina.
I think the average golfer, whether they are male or female, can learn far more from watching the ladies play than their male counterparts on the PGA Tour. It’s really hard to relate to the astronomical yardages that the men are hitting these days with their drivers. Anyone trying to emulate Bubba Watson or J.B. Holmes shirtripping golf swings better have a large bottle of aspirin handy to fix their sprained back.
It’s not that the ladies are short by any means. The longest hitter on the LPGA Tour last year was Karin Sjodin who averaged 275 yards off of the tee – very respectable by any ones standards. The petite Lorena Ochoa, last year’s leading money winner, is not far behind averaging over 270 yards with her driver. Bubba Watson is leading the way on the PGA Tour with an average driving distance of 316 yards.
There is a remarkable difference, however, in watching the golf swings between a Bubba Watson and Lorena Ochoa. Lorena’s swing appears effortless while Bubba looks like he is making a sincere heroic effort to drive his ball over the moon!
Certainly, both players have excellent swing mechanics but the problem for the average spectator is that Bubba and many of his fellow male pros swing so fast, it’s all just a blur. Forget about trying to follow the flight of the ball as it’s rocketed off of their club-head. The average player really can’t relate to that swing nor should they. They generally mistake the outstanding swing dynamics that are taking place in Bubba’s swing for sheer muscular effort.
Lorena Ochoa, on the other hand, appears so relaxed while she’s swinging it’s almost as if she could actually yawn during her backswing. She still generates tremendous swing speed through the use of solid mechanics and fundamentals. She provides a much better role model for anyone trying to learn how to swing a golf club the right way.
I don’t want to give you a false impression however. The girls on the LPGA are not just hitting it farther these days due to good swing mechanics. Fitness training is common place and it’s rare to find a player who is not spending a huge amount of her time in the gym these days. An important key to playing good golf is to be relaxed and have good mechanics, but it also really helps to be in great physical shape. Come to think about it—that’s another good reason to come out and watch the girls play! Hope to see you on the course!
Greg Nichols, PGA, General Manager of Ko Olina Golf Club has been teaching golf for more than 20 years. He has taught everyone from four-year olds to a PGA professional and has even given President Bill Clinton and Condoleezza Rice golf lessons (separately of course).
