Golf In A Parallel Universe

by Jimmy Bloodworth

  As I am heading towards the Driving Range, I run into Jerry Churchill . He is working the TV cast on this tournament this week. I still have some mixed feelings about this guy. But he seems be supporting me for some strange reason. Sometimes I think that he is a little wacky because he rambles on so much sometimes. But he is a legend of the game. I am lucky to have him in my corner. So I decide to be gracious and I really am happy to see him. He comes up and shakes my hand. “Congratulations on your win last week!," he told me enthusiastically. I could tell that he was really sincere, and my win seemed to really mean something to him. I thanked him for the congratulations and we chatted for a while.

  We talked about this course and the conditions and lots of things in general. He talked about old times when he was playing and rambled on. One strange thing. It may be my imagination, but he seems like he wants to tell me something else. Something important. But he seems to be making himself hold that back. I really noticed it when we finished talking. It was like he wanted to say something else, but he decided not to.

  After he left, I got a bit to eat and went to the range to hit some balls. I hit a few balls and I am so focused. I feel that competitive burning edge again. I am having fun as usual because that little voice in the back of my head is having so much fun. Every shot I hit, that voice seems to be thrilled. Not only am I have a lot of fun, I feel very determined. I am working on my power. “This is a long course. I need more yardage” I told Zack. “Maybe so” he says. “But this is not the time to tinker with your swing. Look at you. You are over swinging now to gain more power. You keep that up and you will mess up your whole swing. Just stick to what you have been doing and you will be fine. You can work on power later," he told me in a consulting tone. He’s right. If I start making changes on my swing now and try to get more distance, I will mess up my swing. “You're right buddy” I respond. “That's why I pay you the big bucks, so you can keep me grounded," I told him laughing. Finally we wrap things up. We make plans to meet in the morning, so we call it a day.

  I get back to the hotel about 6:00 pm which is early for me. The last few weeks, I would still be at the range hitting balls. “Wow, I am pacing myself," I am thinking. I grab a beer and sit by the window and think about things. The TV is on and it is on a sports channel. I am not paying much attention to it. But then they start talking about the Players Championship that is starting tomorrow. I am still not paying much attention to it. They are talking about some of the favorites on who they think has the best shot at this tournament. And of course they are talking about Cory McCullough. One of the commentators say’s, “yea, he is the favorite, but look who beat him, last week, Jim Galloway," he said. At that point I turned around and started watching it. They has a round table format going on. Four TV Sports Analyst talking about the tournament this week. They were discussing how my game has improved and that they have heard that I have been working really hard at my game recently. One said, “Look, Jim won the Masters and then he played last week at the World Championship Match Play in San Francisco. And he beat everyone in the field. And he beat Cory! I think he should be in the conversation," he said as he hit his hand on the table in a matter of a fact gesture. A couple of of the other guys agreed. They explained that this week will be good opportunity for me to see where I really stands on the tour today. “We will find out if he is a player, or just finishing up his 15 minutes of fame” one of them commented. “Yeah but let's be fair and give him a chance before we write him off," replied another.

  Jeff Barlow, which is one of the commentators and has been covering the tour for years. He had a different view. “Look. This guy is 32 years old and until a few weeks ago, he has not done anything the last few years. He has missed cuts and his game has deteriorated the last few years. Look! He got lucky at the Masters! He was playing out of his head just to make the cut. Then down the stretch he holed out that eagle from 150 yards. Then got on a hot streak with 5 birdies and the leaders stomped their toes and blew it. Jim came up the winner. He could never do again that in a million years! His next tournament was a joke on the first few holes he played. And Last week was just a match play tournament! Match play means nothing in the grand scheme of things as far golf is concerned. It is just one player against the other. Some players are good at match play and other players are not. The True test of golf is you against the course. And Jim Galloway does not have what it takes win in the long run. I don’t give him chance here!” he said as he finished his rant.

  I was pissed watching that. I had beer in my hand and I almost threw it through the TV. “The hell with them! I will show them all!," I screamed out loud. Then I calmed down. I turned off the TV and sat by the window thinking. I have seen similar commentaries on the Internet. But not as blunt as this Jerk. I started thinking. In reality he has a point. My past few years has not been the greatest. But for some reason, things have changed for me. I do not know why, but they have. I decided not to worry about what anyone says. I will just go out and show everyone wrong. I will make a run here. And the US Open is right around the corner. “We will see how this year plays out," I tell myself. Time for Bed. I got to bed and I crash.

  Thursday morning. Game day. I have a 9:30am tee time. I get at the course a little after 7:30. I hit some balls and get prepare for the round. I am fired up and ready to go. I have that same feeling as last week with that competitive fire. I am ready to win this tournament. Finally it's time to start and we walk up to the tee. There are a lot of people here today. This is the Players Championship, one of the biggest tournaments of year. We do our normal greeting and the Starter gets us started. When it is my time, the starter announces my name. “Ladies and Gentlemen. From Orlando Florida, the 2014 Masters Champion, Jim Galloway. And the gallery gave a round of applause. I feel good, line up and hit just like I wanted. Good solid shot right down the middle about 285 to 290 yards. I have a 7 iron approach shot. I knock it 20 feet from the hole. I get to the green mark my ball, and look it over. Then I knock it right in. Birdie! Good start. I par the second hold and then birdie hole three and four. The whole round I was focused. I hit my drives straight and my putting was awesome. I posted a 67 the first day. The second round I posted a 68. Not only did I make the cut, I was a position to make a run.

  Saturday, the third round and I was paired up with David Johnson He is ranked 10 in the world. He is also close to the top of the leaderboard and is making a run to win this thing. This is a tough course. And they are making it much more tough today. The pin placements are ridiculous and the greens are fast. David is is a great player. The key to this course today is shot making. Good drives and you approach shots have to be strategically placed on the green. Just getting on the green is not good enough. He is amazing. His irons are dead on. He made a run today and shot a 66 when the conditions were tough.

  For me, I hit the ball great. But, I could not put together good scoring round. I shot two over. But all the time, I felt great. That little voice in the back of my head was excited, and I was motivated. But I just could not put together a good round. After the round I got a bite to eat, then went out and hit balls for an hour. I am 7 strokes out of the lead. “I am going to make a run at this thing tomorrow," I tell myself.

  Finally I get back to the hotel and relax. I sit by the window and look at the views. If I can get hot like I did Thursday then I have a chance. “I did it in the masters, why not here” I tell myself. But This is the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course. They will have this course playing tough tomorrow. I am starting to realize some things. But I will not let myself believe what I am thinking. This is tough course, a lot different than Augusta. And to make a run on Sunday would be something. But a little doubt creeps in. I have played with top tier players in this tournament. Same thing last week at the Match Play tournament. Even Though I have been on fire recently, I have noticed the quality of these good players. The last few years because I was not ranked very high. I have been paired with mid to lower level pros which have about the same skill set
as me. But playing with the top players recently, I can really see the differences. They have the whole game. Power, touch, putting, and the mental game. I am playing as good as I can now and I want to hang with them. But something tells me I may be fooled.

  Sunday the final day. I have never felt so confident in my life. “Can I make a run like the Masters?," I ask myself? And I did. I played well. However, these guys are really good. Every Time I would get on a role I would look at the Leaderboard and see that the other players were doing it as well. “Gosh they are tough!," I told myself. I felt it was like watching a professional football game where you have a good offensive team playing a good defensive team. The defensive team gets ahead. And no matter how hard the other team with the good offense tries, they cannot catch them. They just get shut down. And the last few minutes of the game everyone realizes the offensive team will not win this battle and they will lose to the great defense. That's the way I felt here. I would make a move and the others would do the same, so I was not making any progress. But I played great! However, this course is tough and I shot one under. Probably my best performance in years as far as consistency under pressure, but not good enough. I finished tied with a few others for 9th place.

  I should feel happy that I played well. But I do not feel happy at all. I really feel that I am on the verge of something special. But I do not think I have the game to compete with the big boys. “I will just work harder” I tell myself. I got two weeks off now. Time to relax and work on my game.

  At the end the day, the players and caddies are getting their gear together. Zack says goodby. He is heading to the Airport to catch a flight home. Eventually I make it to the parking lot about dusk. And I run into Jerry Churchill . I am not too sure I want to talk to him at this time. But we talk for a while and I am starting to get comfortable with him. He really is a wealth of information if you get past his rambling. There are not many people around. The parking lot is clearing out and some goodbyes from other players as they pass by. Jerry looked at me. “Let's take a walk he says." It was obvious he had something on his mind that he wanted to talk to me about. So we take a walk around the area. He asked me how I feel about my golf game. I tell him that I feel so good about my golf game right now, but I want to make it to the next level. I tell him that I am disappointed that I could not be competitive enough to make a run on this tournament. He told me he had been through the same things lots of times during his career. There are always turning points in your game. Good and bad. “Jim” he says. “Getting to next level is really a hard thing to do. Especially at your age of 32. However you do have some good years ahead of you. There is always a chance he told me. “So” he said in an inquiring tone. “Are you really serious about improving your game to the next level?," he asked. “Absolutely!” I replied.” I told him that I have more enthusiasm and desire to play this game than ever. And I am hitting the ball better than I ever have. “The reason you are playing so well” he replied “is because you have found this new found happiness and enthusiasm for the game. And you are practicing more than you ever have in your life. “But Jim," you are not improving your game. You are just sharpening your current skill set, and the practice has made you more consistent. “Can I be Frank with you Jim?” he asked. “Sure," I replied. He continued. “Your game is nowhere close to where it should be. Sorry to say, but your swing sucks!," he told me. Well he got my attention. I was caught off guard a little, but I listened. Then he goes on. That's why you have never been an elite player on the tour. Look, for one thing you do not have the distance you need. Average drives today are well over 300 yards for the top players” And I mean well over 300 yards” he told me in a matter of a fact tone. “Yeah, I know," I replied. “I have been thinking about that. I plan to work on my swing and get some more distance on my drives, maybe even get a new driver." “Look” he said. “Sure there are ways to add some distance to you drive. There are new drivers and are a number of things you can work on with your swing to increase your driving distance. But that is a band aid fix. And the power is not just with your drives, it is with all the clubs in your bag. You are two to three clubs behind everyone else. They are hitting short irons to the green, and you are hitting mid irons. When they are hitting mid irons, you are hitting long irons. And besides that! Let me tell you one other thing” he says holding up his finger and really seems to getting agitated. “Your iron play is a disaster! It is the number one thing holding you back from going to the next level, not your drives. You are one of the best I have ever seen with short irons and chipping and putting. But your mid and long irons are killing you. You should have the same swing and basically the same results with a mid iron, or long iron as you do your short irons. A mid iron and long iron should be Money! Right on the green just like a short iron. Look at these guys this week they are deadly with their irons. They do not just try to hit the green, they try to pick their spot. When I was playing, I always swung the same whether it was a short iron, mid iron or a long iron. Only my stance or ball position would change. I always felt like I had just a good a chance with a 3 iron as with a wedge. As far as I am concerned, if you can reach the green, you should be able to place the ball where you need it, he said in a matter of a fact tone. As he is going on, I realize he is correct. My iron play is not what it should be. “Here's the deal” he said. “I know you do not have a swing coach, but that is exactly what you need. You need someone to manage you swing and get some good fundamentals. You do not need to make major changes, but you definitely need some work to get better, he told me. I told him that I have not had a swing coach or a teach the last few years because I just could not afford one. But now I finally have money now and I guess that something I should do. Then I started getting a little defensive. “But I like to do things my way, I said. Besides, if these swing coaches are so good why aren't they playing on the tour?” I asked. “Well” he replied. “A golf teacher or swing coach is just like a coach in any other sport. They may not have the physical talent to be a professional. And not many people do in any sport. But they know the game, and they know their sport, whether it is golf or football or whatever. There are a lot of great professional football and basketball coaches out there that never made it to the pros. But they know their craft. Same in golf. A swing coach or a golf teacher, as we called in my day know what they are doing. They will work on your swing and get your swing groomed to swing like it suppose to. Not a band aid fix for more power or to fix a slice like an amateur. But to develop your swing into what it is suppose to be. Once that is done, then the power and the accuracy will take care of itself."” Well I cannot disagree with that” I replied. Know any good Swing Coaches?," I asked smiling.

  “Actually I do” he says. “I know someone that I truly believe can help you. “What’s his name” I asked. He leaned back folded his arms, “Gus Gillespie” he replied. “Never heard of him” I remarked. “I know you have never heard of him and not many people have, at least not the last few years. But I can tell one thing. This is not just my opinion a lot of people agree with me that he knows the golf swing as good or better than anyone on the planet. And he is a great teacher. He has unique ways of teaching which really developed his students into a good solid golf swing.” Ok tell me about this guy, I replied, where is he, where did he come from?” “Ok, here is the story he replied ” and he went on. “Gus is an older gentleman, I say he is about sixty-five years old now. I worked with him the last few years of my career. I would say he extended my career about five years. And in those five years, I won three majors. He also did the same for Jacob Regan and Donney Sellers," Tommy Davidson, just to name a few." “Wow!," I replied. “Yeah, he really did” said Jerry.

  Jerry told me more about Gus. "He was not very well know on the tour at that time. His background on how he became a professional golf instructor or coach is really unique. He played golf when he was young and was pretty good. However his dream was his education. He was studying physics and Engineering. He got a partial academic scholar
ship at Yale University, because he was so smart. His goal was to work for NASA someday. He was very interested in the space program. He did very well in school. But he also loved golf and was fascinated with the physics of the golf swing. He was a walk on for the Yale golf team and he made the team. And he became a really good golfer. He studied the swing like no one else ever had. And his teammates realize how well he knew the golf swing and they sought him out all the time to help on their swings. He really developed a skill for teaching. He put his physics and engineering mind together with golf.

  While he was attending Yale, he got an internship a Golf Club Manufacturing company. That's when things really started to take off. He was working in the development and design department, developing golf clubs. And he excelled in that area. They realized they had someone special. They ended up giving him a job and paying for his undergraduate degree and Masters. Both in Physics and Engineering. He did so much in golf club design and development that it revolutionized golf clubs into being what we know today. Not only did he make a major advancements in golf equipment. He also designed the Golf Swing Machines that test golf clubs, and balls. Those old machines were just basic. He developed them to duplicate the human golf swing more than ever before. He really accelerated modern golf equipment standards. Today, every golf club, golf ball, golf computer simulator has his fingerprints on it in some form or fashion."

  “Gosh!," I replied. "So how did he transition into teaching the pros?," I asked. “Well, for years he liked to go back to Yale University, and he helped out the golf team and gave lessons to the players. Then the ended up teaching at a local golf course and got quite a reputation. But back to his college teaching. One of his students at Yale that became a Pro was Daniel Wilson.” “Really?” I responded. “Yep,"and Gus continued to work with him once he got on the tour. And other players like me, Jacob Regan, Bernie Sellers, and a few others found out about him and we hired him as our golf teacher."