Lessons from Tom Watson

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Bill Pennington, who writes the OnPar blog for the New York Times, recently reviewed Tom Watson’s latest DVD Lessons of a Lifetime.

It has been an eventful 12 months for Tom Watson, from his near victory at last year’s British Open to his emotional exit at last week’s United States Open. Now is a good time for Watson to give his fans a glimpse into his thinking, his technique and his golf wisdom, and that is the principal ambition of Watson’s new, two-disc DVD, “Lessons of a Lifetime.” Watson has stored up a lot of instructional advice over the decades, much of it culled from the golfing greats he has known. But this is no quick-fix highlight reel of golf tricks worth trying.

That is obviously not Watson’s way of doing things. His DVD starts with fundamentals like grip, setup and alignment and takes you through just about everything else you might encounter on the golf course, including a downhill buried lie in a bunker. Some of us might just throw up our hands and declare that ball unplayable, but that obviously is not Watson’s way of doing things either.

So this is a DVD that is thorough in the thorough Midwestern way that Watson brings to most matters. It is about three hours, but moves quickly as it covers 46 chapters geared to full swing and short game shots. They are definitely lessons and would not be called “tips,” because each has been methodically thought out by Watson, the eight-time major winner. There is a treatise on how to hit a punch shot and a discourse on how to play in the wind  —  using wind machines.

It is not a laugh-fest but there is a sincere tone. My favorite parts of “Lessons of a Lifetime,” which retails for $49.95, are when Watson tries to motivate the viewer, the average golfer, to see that routine and difficult shots can be performed with consistency and confidence. To Watson it’s a matter of preparation and having a game plan for each shot. After he demonstrates what he means, he sometimes stops, stares into the camera like a veteran football coach giving a halftime speech and says: “That is how it’s done. And you can do it, too.”

And I’m telling you what, I just about jumped off my couch and ran to the nearest golf course to do that shot just as Watson had instructed me. I believed him. I could do it.

“Lessons of a Lifetime” is not just a collection of golf advice. It is Watson’s personal counsel. And following it has worked out pretty well for him.

Via Sincere Lessons From Watson

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