My golf game has improved.  It is not my imagination.  The numbers don’t lie.    And, I owe it all to Bubba.  That’s right, Bubba Watson is my hero.

First of all, there is something about the name Bubba.  Only in America.  The name conjures up images for all of us.  Years back, when I heard there was a golfer on the pro circuit named Bubba, I was amused.  I guess that tells you what type of image it conjured up for me.  I wondered if when he bent over to address the ball, his butt crack showed.  He had to be somehow related to John Daly.  After all, like Daly, he does have his own line of clothes (“Bubba Golf” -what else?). 

I couldn’t wait to see what Bubba looked like.  I couldn’t wait to see him play.  Then, I saw he was swinging from the wrong side.  But how can you not pull for a guy named Bubba.  It also turned out that he was a nice guy.  Bubba “Nice Guy” Watson.  And, can he hit the ball!  His longest drive on the PGA tour was 416 yards.  I can’t hit the ball that far after I have hit it twice.  Bubba is leading the pro circuit with a driving average over 305 yards.  He generates a ball speed of 194 miles per hour.  Bubba is faster that a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive.  That’s right, Bubba is Superman!

And, he didn’t just win the Masters; it was the way he won it.  Bubba is a magician with his clubs.  He probably has a boomerang shot where the ball comes back to him.  This saves on retrieving practice balls.  Anyway, as many of you know, he executed one of his impossible shots to win the Masters.  Deep in the woods on the second playoff hole, from 164 yards away, he put 40 yards of hook on his 52 degree gap wedge shot to put the ball on to the green.  The rest was history.

So, how has Bubba helped my game.  He hits left handed, I hit right.  He drives over 300 yards.  I’m happy when I get it out there 175 yards.  He’s 6′ 3″, I’m 5′ 7″.  I had been serving as a Army JAG officer for 16 years before Bubba was born.  But, when I am going through my pre-shot routine, the last thing I say to myself is, “What would Bubba do with this shot?”  That thought is so ridiculous that it causes me to smile and relax.  When I smile and relax, the tension disappears.  Without the tension the swing is smoother and just better.  The ball has a greater chance of going where I intended it to go (and it also goes farther). 

Thanks Bubba.

Written by PJ Rice at www.ricequips.com