Karl Morris is one of the finest thinkers in the game of golf. Karl is so good that even The Stig rings him for advice. Be sure to Check o...
Karl Morris is one of the finest thinkers in the game of golf. Karl is so good that even The Stig rings him for advice. Be sure to Check out Karl’s website www.golf-brain.com
![clip_image002[4]](//lh5.ggpht.com/_K5YBwW8ZZgY/Tdwli3Ut6TI/AAAAAAAAE84/7x2tJvSULEM/clip_image002%5B4%5D_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800 "clip_image002[4]")
Have you heard of Tony Lema? What does the name Tony Lema mean to you as a golfer? Have you ever heard of him? Do you know anything about him?
Well perhaps we SHOULD all know a little bit more about ‘Champagne Tony Lema’. This fascinating man and his tragic story and in particular his clear perception of what it he believed was key to being a great golfer and how that very insight YOU could put to good use this year on the golf course to reduce your scores.
In 1964 Lema won the British Open at St Andrews, by five shots over Jack Nicklaus. This was an unbelievable surprise.
Lema was not only making his first appearance in the championship, but had only nine holes of practice before starting.
However, Lema hired Arnold Palmer's regular Open caddy, Tip Anderson, since Palmer was not competing that year; Anderson, a descendant of a past Open champion, Jamie Anderson, had grown up on the course and likely knew more about it than anyone else.
From 1963 through July 1966, Lema finished in the top ten over 50% of the time on the PGA Tour and never missed a cut in a Major, finishing in the top ten in 8 of the 15 majors in which he played. He was a member of the 1963 and 1965 United States Ryder Cup teams, and his Ryder Cup record (9-1-1) is the best of any player who has played in two or more.
In 1966, at age 32 tragedy struck Tony Lema.
He was flying from the PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, with his wife, Betty, to an exhibition tournament, the Little Buick Open in Illinois, when their chartered twin-engine plane ran out of fuel and crashed in a water hazard short of the seventh green of Lansing Country Club in Lansing, Illinois, very close to their destination. All four people on board were killed.
Who knows what Lema may have gone on to achieve but it is very clear that the game lost one of its brightest stars that day. Lema was renowned for his colourful social life and sense of fun hence the ‘Champagne Tony’ tag but he was clearly a man ahead of his time in terms of the way he looked at the game long before extensive stats on just about everything became the norm.
Lema always talked about the ‘Cone of Contention’, the area from around 75 yards into the flag where he believed that tournament where either won or lost. He dedicated himself to learning DISTANCE CONTROL and feel for these shots knowing that because the hit the ball a long way his distance could only be turned into an advantage IF his short game was good. How many of us have tried everything we can to hit it further from new technology in our clubs to gym session to lessons and yet failed to realise that the added distance is only useful if we can take advantage of it with good pitching.
Might it just be worth the time and effort this year to take some lessons from your Pro and work on that ‘Cone of Contention’?
Learn what you need to do to be better at pitching and in particular HOW you improve your distance control. Make sure that when you go to the range you spend time hitting just ONE ball from various distances and see how many you can get within a range of six feet. Don’t make the mistake that most people do of hitting lots of shots from the same spot. On the course you will get ONE chance and one chance alone so practice in that way. Once you are getting the ball more consistently within that six foot radius you WILL lower your scores. Also just imagine how frustrating you are going to be to play against as you will find yourself playing some par fours badly being short in two and then zeroing in a great pitch and walking off the hole with the same score as the guy who has hit two great shots to the heart of the green and then missed his putt! You will find that you ‘bad days’ are suddenly nowhere near as bad as they used to be in the past.
I always talk to players in terms of the value of ONE shot and what that can do for a career, a championship or just a club handicap. I am absolutely certain that if you look into the wisdom of the late Tony Lema you will be very pleasantly surprised at how much of a return you get on your investment of time and effort.
![clip_image002[4]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_K5YBwW8ZZgY/TdwliIn7y_I/AAAAAAAAE80/MufU1_lZyqg/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B4%5D%5B5%5D.jpg "clip_image002[4]")
Have you heard of Tony Lema? What does the name Tony Lema mean to you as a golfer? Have you ever heard of him? Do you know anything about him?Well perhaps we SHOULD all know a little bit more about ‘Champagne Tony Lema’. This fascinating man and his tragic story and in particular his clear perception of what it he believed was key to being a great golfer and how that very insight YOU could put to good use this year on the golf course to reduce your scores.
In 1964 Lema won the British Open at St Andrews, by five shots over Jack Nicklaus. This was an unbelievable surprise.
Lema was not only making his first appearance in the championship, but had only nine holes of practice before starting. However, Lema hired Arnold Palmer's regular Open caddy, Tip Anderson, since Palmer was not competing that year; Anderson, a descendant of a past Open champion, Jamie Anderson, had grown up on the course and likely knew more about it than anyone else.
From 1963 through July 1966, Lema finished in the top ten over 50% of the time on the PGA Tour and never missed a cut in a Major, finishing in the top ten in 8 of the 15 majors in which he played. He was a member of the 1963 and 1965 United States Ryder Cup teams, and his Ryder Cup record (9-1-1) is the best of any player who has played in two or more.
In 1966, at age 32 tragedy struck Tony Lema.
He was flying from the PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, with his wife, Betty, to an exhibition tournament, the Little Buick Open in Illinois, when their chartered twin-engine plane ran out of fuel and crashed in a water hazard short of the seventh green of Lansing Country Club in Lansing, Illinois, very close to their destination. All four people on board were killed.
Who knows what Lema may have gone on to achieve but it is very clear that the game lost one of its brightest stars that day. Lema was renowned for his colourful social life and sense of fun hence the ‘Champagne Tony’ tag but he was clearly a man ahead of his time in terms of the way he looked at the game long before extensive stats on just about everything became the norm.
Lema always talked about the ‘Cone of Contention’, the area from around 75 yards into the flag where he believed that tournament where either won or lost. He dedicated himself to learning DISTANCE CONTROL and feel for these shots knowing that because the hit the ball a long way his distance could only be turned into an advantage IF his short game was good. How many of us have tried everything we can to hit it further from new technology in our clubs to gym session to lessons and yet failed to realise that the added distance is only useful if we can take advantage of it with good pitching.
Might it just be worth the time and effort this year to take some lessons from your Pro and work on that ‘Cone of Contention’?
Learn what you need to do to be better at pitching and in particular HOW you improve your distance control. Make sure that when you go to the range you spend time hitting just ONE ball from various distances and see how many you can get within a range of six feet. Don’t make the mistake that most people do of hitting lots of shots from the same spot. On the course you will get ONE chance and one chance alone so practice in that way. Once you are getting the ball more consistently within that six foot radius you WILL lower your scores. Also just imagine how frustrating you are going to be to play against as you will find yourself playing some par fours badly being short in two and then zeroing in a great pitch and walking off the hole with the same score as the guy who has hit two great shots to the heart of the green and then missed his putt! You will find that you ‘bad days’ are suddenly nowhere near as bad as they used to be in the past.
I always talk to players in terms of the value of ONE shot and what that can do for a career, a championship or just a club handicap. I am absolutely certain that if you look into the wisdom of the late Tony Lema you will be very pleasantly surprised at how much of a return you get on your investment of time and effort.
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