Bubba Watson: Just Like Magic – Hook Shot For the Win

If you missed this year’s Masters finish, you probably missed one of the best finishes since Tiger Woods was a double-digit handicap.  If you don’t know what a handicap is, insert “since Tiger was a baby.”

After missing two great opportunities close the books on his first Major, Bubba Watson snapped his drive right into the trees on the 10^th hole, which was the second playoff hole between him and Louie Oosthuizen.  Luckily for Watson, he had no choice but to play a 30-yard hook over a large bunker, up the hill, around several trees, branches, patrons, and a camera tower to a green sloping away from him in the waning sunlight (to Grandmother’s house we go…) to keep his hopes alive.  A shot of this difficulty, let alone the magnitude, would make most golfers soil themselves in fear and hopelessness.  But Bubba is not most golfers.  In fact, Bubba is now a Masters champion – largely due to the fact he hit that improbable shot from roughly 160 yards to 12 feet.

From here to there...

Probably the most interesting thing about Bubba Watson is his approach to the game.

First of all, take a look at his clubs.  They’re backwards!!

Aside from being left-handed, his driver is PINK.  Not kind of pink or it has pink on it – it is completely pink.  He was asked about it in an interview once – his answer was “because I don’t care what people think of me. [I just want to play golf.]”  Talk about a guy with a sense of rationality.

He also said, “There are other things I do in my life.  I’ve got my mom…I’ve got my wife…I’ve got my friends; Who cares if I shoot 80 or 60? My life is still going to keep going…I need to feel how lucky I am and how blessed I am to be healthy and play golf for a living…”

Secondly, guess how many golf lessons this guys has taken in his life.  Since this is a one-sided conversation, I’ll just give you the answer – ZERO.  He has no swing coach, only a caddie – who probably is the one person to give Bubba any type of advice.

This is why I love golf.  Anyone can win at any time.  The machine that is Tiger Woods can end up 15 strokes off the lead while a guy whose swing is worse than a lot of junior golfers’ can win by hitting that shot.  I think The Lord, himself, would need a few tries to put it that close from there.  I guess The Lord wouldn’t have hooked it into the trees to begin with, but you get my point.

Bubba Watson is exactly what golf needs – an eccentric guy with a pink driver who makes music videos with similarly eccentric personalities (click on this link).  He’s a guy who says “golf is boring” in press conferences.  He’s a guy you want to root for, not because he’s the underdog, but because he’s a refreshing character in an otherwise stale and musty sport.

Now – since it’s finally sunny in Seattle, I’m going to go see if I can hit that same 30-yard hook.  I might be there for a while…