Lessons from the PGA Tour: The Masters

The 2012 Masters tournament did not lack for excitement. From a double eagle early in the final round to an amazing escape shot during the playoff, it was some extraordinarily captivating golf.

As you might expect, there were plenty of lessons to be learned from watching the best golfers in the world playing one of the most beautiful courses on the planet. We noticed three principles that we want to keep in mind when we are playing, whether it’s a friendly round with our friends or a club tournament with bragging rights on the line.

Paying attention to such lessons is an important part of finding out how to get better at golf. It also is interesting to see which clubs highlighted in the 2012 golf club reviews are being used by tour players this year.

Here is a video of Daniel and I discussing the three lessons we learning from watching the Masters.

The first lesson focuses on Phil Mickelson, who finished third at the Masters, two strokes behind the two players who made it into the playoff. After the tournament, Mickelson talked about how he kept to his strategy of attacking pins at the right times.

Many golfers will aim at the flag even if it’s tucked behind a bunker in a most inaccessible position. The better play likely would be to aim at the middle of the green.

The point is to have a strategy before you start your round and stick to it.

The second lesson involves Masters champion Bubba Watson. He can hit the ball a mile even though he has never had a golf lesson in his life.

Watson won the tournament on the second playoff hole, thanks in large part to an incredible shot out of the trees. He hooked the ball around some limbs and onto the green.

Watson’s success should give hope to anybody who has played the game. You might not win the Masters, but you can get better if you have the desire.

The third lesson also focuses on Watson. He was witness to one of the rarest shots in golf, a double eagle, also known as an albatross.

On the second hole during the final round, Watson’s playing partner, Louis Oosthuizen, surged into the lead by making a 2 on a par 5. It would have been understandable if Watson would have faded into the background with all the hoopla of a double eagle going on around him.

The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell has an excellent overview of the scene.

But Watson kept his head in the game. He eventually tied Oosthuizen and won the Green Jacket on the second playoff hole.

We should remember that the next time one of our playing partners hits an incredible shot. It’s also worth keeping in mind when a golfer in our group hits a terrible shot. Play your game.

Here’s our usual outtake video for comic relief. Believe me when I say that we had plenty to choose from. It took us about 35 tries to get usable video.

In this video, Daniel turns his head when he is about to laugh. I thought he was looking at something behind me.

Despite numerous mess-ups and crack ups, we had a great time making the video. We had almost as much fun as we did watching Bubba Watson win the 2012 Masters and learning lessons from the PGA Tour along the way.

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2 Responses to Lessons from the PGA Tour: The Masters

  1. Cham says:

    Thanks for sharing the things you learned from the golf masters here!

  2. John Stewart says:

    I enjoyed your article. It was great to see Bubba win

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