Excuse Me, Are You A Hooker?

A couple were on a cruise when they met each other and fell in love. Coincidentally, they lived only a few miles apart in the same city and so they started dating. It was a whirlwind courtship that span restaurants, dance clubs, movies, concerts and walks in the park. They were falling head over heels for each other and each date was getting better than the last one. This is true love and they have found their soul mates indeed.

Exactly one month to the day they met on the cruise ship, while they were having fine food and wine at a restaurant, the guy nervously spoke: "I'm very much in love with you. Before I get too serious to the next stage of our relationship and ask you a life-changing question, I want to confess that I'm a golf nut. I play golf, read golf, watch golf on TV, eat, sleep and breathe golf. If this is a problem for you, please tell me now."

The lady responded: "This is not an issue. I love you and I love golf too but since we have to be totally honest with each other, I might as well tell you that I have been a hooker." Would you accept me? He kept silent for awhile looking down on the floor and seemed like in deep thoughts as the lady waited anxiously. Then he said: "You know, this is probably because you have not been keeping your wrist locked and straight when you hit the ball."

My friend, are you a hooker? If not, are you a slicer? How then do you prevent hooking or slicing? What are the resources available for damage control? Let's look at some as some folks are still confuse when describing their shots as they remain clueless in the difference between fade and draw, hook or slice.

Slice

While the best thing that ever happened was slice bread, the same cannot be said of golf. It is the worst thing. Because the slice is an out of control shot when golfer impact the ball with an open club face of swung from out to in causing the club face to contact the ball in an inappropriate angle slicing the ball and imparting side spin causing it to swerve violently towards the extreme right which is usually the fairway of another hole when lucky otherwise into the jungle, water or out of bound incurring penalty strokes.

Fade

A fade is not a slice as it just goes a little to the right and is a preferred shot of a pro when you hear them hitting a power fade with the ball going almost straight and turning just a bit right at the end. Pros like this because they can generate enough distance by themselves and the fade is a controlled shot which when landed does not run much. It is shorter than a straight shot as it turns right towards the end. To fade the ball, you have to play it with the front foot behind the hind foot (not in a line as in a straight shot) but with the club head facing the direction you are aiming at. The finishing will put the arms at 10 o'clock and not completely returning them right to the back.

Hook

The hook is the opposite of the slice. It goes to the extreme left usually into the watery grave or killing an innocent squirrel on a tree branch.

Draw

A draw is like David Beckham's free kicks. It sizzles and goes the furthest when side spin is imparted going almost straight but curving to the left a little towards the tail end. By right this should be a natural swing for most people because we are suppose to take the club from an in to out swing. To make a pronounced "draw" shot, you have to set up with the front foot ahead of the hind foot but with the club face facing where you want to go then make an "in to out" swing. It is a bit like playing from an uphill lie. So, I asked this pro in the picture to experiment with the technique I mentioned as he faced a slight uphill lie, blocked by a tree in front and his path to glory was sandwiched between ponds to the left and right. My intention was to get him into the water. Something that only Phil Mickelson would dare to attempt and you know what? He pulled it off as his ball whisked pass that tree, was going to the water on the right and then turned in to the left and landed smacked right in the middle of the fairway. But of course, he claimed it was his skill and I claimed it was my sharing but surely it was his guts!

Now this is what happened when you hooked your shot. You are walking on your own on the left. As you can see from the pix, you may look like Gandhi in deep thoughts but while he ponders on how he can free his people, you walked past a patch like desert sand hoping your ball is not nestled right at the foot of some trees to free you from more anguish. If politicians play golf like that one hook and the other slice, there will be no done deal at the end of the round because they never had the chance to walk the same path to talk. Remember - "wide is the path that leads to destruction." Go on the narrow and straight road!

I am telling you once again, golf is a game for people who do not have enough frustrations with their work.

Golf as in life, play as it lies.