Jack Says...

I am doing my best to remain patient with my golf game. Let me explain. My home course, The Kansas City Country Club, has been out of commission since October 2024 Since then, I have only played 24 times. This year, I have played a grand total of eight rounds.

(Note: I have not broken 90 once this year. That’s very frustrating since for decades I consistently shot 83 to 87 at KCCC. Full disclosure: I am 74 and the lack of distance has become a real thing.)

(KCCC’s par-3, No. 12)

With the weather being so golf perfect and with our renovated course looking so playable, I keep telling myself, “It won’t be long now before we are going off on the first tee.”

The latest news from our club is that our “new” course will open around mid-July. That’s so close to the finish line, but, as you can imagine, I am quite eager to get back to my routine of playing a couple of times a week with my friends.

To get back into the right frame of mind, I thought it made sense to take a few lessons from The GOAT – Jack Nicklaus (Born 1940). His record in the Majors is unmatched – 18 Majors, 19 2nd-place finishes and nine 3rd-place finishes. His winning span of 24 years is surreal. He was Sports Illustrated’s Best Individual Male Athlete of the Twentieth Century. 

Here are Ten Play Better Golf Lessons that I believe will help me to reconnect to the mid-80s golfer I was a few years ago: 

√ “Chipping has never come easy to me, but I’ve found over the years that the SLOWER my tempo on these little recover shots the better I play them.”

√ “Have difficulty starting the putterhead away from the ball smoothly? Tension is often the problem and the one way to break it down is to initiate the backswing off a slight forward press. I hold my breath during and just prior to making the [putting] stroke. By preventing the diaphragm from moving this helps me to keep my body and head perfectly still.”

√ “I think it pays to have the feeling that you are accelerating the club through the ball and out on into the follow-through, even though this may not actually happen – your clubhead may actually reach its highest velocity a foot or two before impact. … The danger is that, if you don’t think of accelerating through impact, you’ll probably decelerate a lot earlier.”

√ “Keeping the right knee slightly flexed yet firmly in position during the backswing is tough for many golfers. The trick is to set and keep your weight on the inside of the right foot.”

√ “Know why you’re missing all those makable putts? You’re taking too long a backswing, which causes you to decelerate on the through-swing.”

√ “My primary thought in going for a big one is a faster hip unwind throughout the downswing. So long as you can keep the action smooth and fluid, the faster you uncoil your hips the greater the leverage you create, and thus the faster you’ll whip the clubhead through the ball.”

√ “The fuller your backswing, the longer it takes to execute, which can help your tempo. Longer swingers, I’ve noticed, usually enjoy longer-lasting careers.”

√ “The harder I want to hit the ball, the slower I start my takeaway. I want it to be just fast enough to avoid being jerky.”

√ “There’s one absolute rule whenever you are obliged to hit from any form of hardpan. That is to allow the LOFT OF THE CLUB to lift the ball, rather trying to do it with your swing.”

√ “Work on the feeling of turning the shoulders fully, then keeping them fully coiled as long as you can while your knees move targetwards and your hips unwind.”

As Andy Warhol said: “The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting.”

Allan Stark

Photo Credits:

Headline photo:  ‘Campioni Dello Sport' Panini 1973 – 1974. Wiki photos.

Hole No. 12 at KCCC: Copper Ward, KCCC assistant pro.

Jack putting: DepositPhotos; ProShooter.

Jack full swing: Deposit Photos; ProShooter.